"i!^:'?^f»WPI^

WORKS BY
THE EEY. WILLIAM TAIT, M.A.,
Incwnhent of St. Matthew's, Rugby; amd late of Hol-y Trinity, Wakefleld .

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MEDITATIONES HEBEAICJ;.

MEDITATIONES HEBMICJl:
OE,
% initriEiil nKii :f rnttital (0ijinsitinn
OP
THE EPISTLE OF
ST. PAUL TO THE HEBREWS,
IN .i SERIES OE LECTURES.
BY WILLIAM TAIT, M.A.,
Late Incumbent of Holy Trinity Church, ¦Wakefield; nOTV of St. Matthe^w's, Rugby.
Tenues grandia conamur.

NEW AND ENLARGED EDITION.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND GO.
WERTHEIM AND MACINTOSH.

MDC C CL V.

JOHN STANFTELD, PBINTEB, 'WAKEFIELD.

CONTENTS OF. VOL. I.

PaBT I.  SUPEBIOBITY OF ChRIST TO PbOPHETS
AND Angels.
Lecture I. — Cap. i. 1—3. PAGE.
Jesus the Son of God is more exalted and more excellent than
Prophets  1
Lecture II.— Cap. i. 4—7.
Jesus is more exalted than Angels  14
Lecture III.— Cap. i. 8, 9.
Same subject continued. Jesns has the pre-eminence in moral
and spiritual character aa much as in native dignity  25
LEtTURE IV.— Cap. i. 10—12.
Jesus is Jehovah, the Creator and Upholder of all things. He
sball also change them by his word  37
Lecture V— Cap. i. 13, 14.
Jesus sits as Lord at the right hand of bis Father. Angels
%tand before him and minister to bis people  47
Lecture VI. — Cap. ii. 1 — 3.
We ought on this account to hearken to Christ, and ahall not
escape, if we refuse  59
Lecture VII.— Cap. ii. 3.
The gospel was first spoken by Christ himself, and has been
confirmed by those who heard him  71
Lecture VIII. — Cap. ii. 4.
It has been confirmed also by tbe miraculous signs of the Father
and the Holy Ghost  83

VI. CONTENTS.
Lecture IX.-^Cap. ii. 5—9. PAGE.
Greatness of the salvation of the Gospel. Inconceivable height
of glory to which man has been raised in Christ, and to which
Christ ypill raise his people  95
Lecture X.— Cap. ir. 10.
It became Jesus, as the Captain of his people's salvation, to pass
to this glory through suffering  107
Lecture XI.— Cap. ii. 11, 12.
This necessity is further demonstrated. Jesus himself acknow
ledges his people as brethren  120
Lecture XII. — Cap. ii. 13—15.
It is demonstrated yet more fully; he acknowledges them aa
children also. And it was necessary for their redemption,
that he should assume their flesh and die  133
Lecture XIII.— Cap. ii. 16—18.
The subject is concluded. That Jesus might comfort his people
in sorrow, and succour them under temptation, it was needful
that he should have experimental acquaintance with both  148
Paet II. — Superiority of Christ to Moses.
Lecture I. — Cap. iii. 1—6.
Christ is to be considered in the character ot Apostle and High
Priest. As Apostle, he is better than Moses, because he is
the builder and Lord of the House of God, whereas Moses was
but a servant in it  161
Lecture II. — Can. iii. 6.
The House of God is his believing people  174
Lecture III. — Cap. iii. 7— 11.
The sin and catastrophe of that generation of Israel whom'Moses
was appointed to lead to Canaan, ought to be a warning to us. 186
Lecture IV.— Cap. iii. 12—14.
We ought to take heed of their hard and nnbelieving heart, and
make diligent use ofthe means of grace  199
Lecture V. — Cap. iii. IS— 19.
We ought to remember that all that generation provoked God by
unbelief, and that they were shut out of the promised land in
consequence, and fell in the wilderness  212

contents. Vll.
Lecture VI.— Cap. iv. 1, 2. PAGE.
We ought to dread the same catastrophe, for we are in the same
circumstances, baving the promise of entering into the rest of
God  225
Lecture VIL— Cap. iv. 3-10.
This rest ol God is not that of Creation, nor that into which
Joshua introduced Israel, but the present and eternal rest of
the Redeemer  237
Lecture VIIL- Cap. iv. 11 -13.
We ought to labour to enter into it, remembering the awful
threatenings of God against unbelief. We ought to take heed
also of a mere profession of faith, remembering tbe omniscience
of tbe Saviour  250
Part III. — Supebiobity of Chbist to Aaeon and
HIS Sons.
Lecture I.— Cap. iv. 14—16.
Jesus the Son of God intercedes with the Father on our behalf.
He is also the Son of Man, and was tempted in all points like
as we are. This twofold consideration of him is full of most
blessed encouragement  262
Lecture II. — Cap. v. 1 — 4.
Every human HighPriest mediates between God and man. He
is compassed with the infirmity of those for whom he mediates.
He is also called of God  276
Lecture III. — Cap. y. 5 — 10.
These three things meet in Christ. He was called of God to the
Priestly Office; be was compassed with onr infirmity in the
days of his flesh ; he is the author of eternal life to us by his
prevalent mediation above  290
Lecture IV.— Cap. v. 11 — 14.; vi. 1 — 3. (Digression,)
Principles of the Christian faith are stated. The Hebrews are
blamed for not advancing beyond them  — 308
Lecture V. — Cap. vi. 4—8, (Digression continued.)
Those who stand still are in danger of apostacy. The apostate's
dreadful doom is declared  322

vm. contents.
Lecture VL— Cap. t1. 9— 12. (Digression continued.) PAGE.
Love ia the preservative against apostacy. The Hebrews are
commended for their love, and are urged to seek after the full
assurance of hope  337
Lecture VIL— Cap. vi. 13—20. (Digression concluded.)
God's promises are the ground of hope. They are ratified by
his oath, and their fulfilment is secured by the intercession of
Christ  350
Leciure VIIL— Cap. vi. 20.; vii. 1—10.
Christ is High-Priest after the order of Melohizedeo. Melchizedec
was superior to Abraham and to Levi, ol whom Aaron came.
Christ is therefore Aaron's superior  365
Lecture IX.— Cap. vii. U — 22.
The priesthood of Christ is superior to that of Aaron. It was
brought iu to supersede it, and the greater supersedes the less.
It is also eternal; and it is established by the oath of God  380
Lecture X. — Cap.vii. 23 — 28.
Christ's priesthood is untransferable: he is also qualified by his
perfect holiness, to minister in the presence of the Father  395
Lecture XI. — Cap. viii. 1-6.
Christ's ministrations are declared to us. Sitting with the Father
on his throne, he presents the blood of his perfect sacrifice, and
the gifts and services of his people  411
Lecture XII.— Cap. viii. 7 — 13.
This ministration is the guarantee of the promises of the " better
covenant." The words of Jeremiah are cited to prove that
snch a covenant was to come into existence  427
Lecture XIII. — Cap. ix. 1—8.
The legal covenant may not be despised. Its ordinances of Divine
service and worldly sanctuary shadowed forth spiritual and
heavenly realities  443
Lecture XIV. — Cap. ix. 9—14.
Jewish figures are now superseded by the realities which they
shadowed forth. The efficacy ot the blood of Christ to purge
the conscience, is argued from the efficacy of the legal sacrifices
to cleanse the fleah  460

PEEEACE.

In presenting to the christian reader a new and enlarged edition of
the MEDITATIONES HebraicjE, I feel constrained to acknowledge the
kind and indulgent manner in which the former edition has been
received, both in thia country and in America. And while very
sensible of the many faults and imperfections which still cleave to the
work, I can truly say that I have spared no pains to make it really
useful. Not a single remark of any reviewer has been passed lightly
by ; every objection has been maturely weighed ; every doctrinal
position has been rigidly tested, before being taken up again. I have
made myself acquainted also to a considerable extent, with what
others have written on the Epistle, and it has been a great gratification
to find myself Substantially at one with such writers as Barnes in
America and Ebrard in Germany.
The reader will find tbe work much more convenient for reference
than it formerly was. And every emendation of the text is printed in
capital letters, that the eye may at once discern it. If he is disposed
to ask whence these emendations are derived, I refer him to the
English Hexapla, to the Critical Commentary of the late Professor
Stuart, to the Horae Hebraicse of the Duke of Manchester, and to a
new translation of the Epistle by the Rev. Henry Craik of Bristol.
I beg to recommend the last work to all who value the exact inter
pretation of God's word. The acknowledged learning and Christian
excellence of ita Author constrain me to say, " cum talis sis, utinam
nosier esses 1 "
I cannot refrain from an expression of my earnest hope that it may
please God to accept and bless this feeble effort; feeble indeed if
compared with its mighty subject, but still a step in the right direction
which others may be induced to follow. The devotion to Patristic the
ology which now prevails, haa well nigh ruined the Church; and to my
brethren the Clergy I would express my solemn conviction that if we
would be owned and blessed of God as the spiritual Guides of His

X. preface.
people, we must devote ourselves instead, lo the study of His Holy
oracles. And the taught as well as the teacher may find something to
suit him in these pages. The private christian may discover the
falsehood of a recent allegation, that whereas ancient Christianity was
a, matter of substantial truth and a religion of faith, what is called
modern evangelicalism is a religion of feeling only. And in hours of
sorrow, weakness, and temptation, he may be at once cheered and
sustained by the truth which is here presented to him. And even those
who from the occupations and engrossments of business, have not
leisure for private reading, need not be repelled from these volumes.
They contain suitable matter for family-reading, aud may prove useful
in this way to the Head of the family-circle and to those who have the
charue of youth. The former edition has, I know, been extensively
used for theae purposes; and it has been to me no small gratification to
find that the lectures bave been both understood and appreciated by a
moat important class in the community, I mean domestic servants.
There ca n be no greater mistake than to suppose that the unlearned
are capable of understanding only the precepts of Christianity. They
can understand its deepest truths, if they are intelligibly set before
them .
If these and similar results shall attend thia renewed labour, the
labourer has his reward; he must thank God and take courage.

,^t. Matthew's Pa?sonagt', Rugby,
October, 18.54.

INTEODUCTION.

Between tho giving of the law on Sinai and the virtual abolition of
the Mosaic economy on the day of Pentecost, there intervened a period
of about fifteen hundred years. That economy therefore, before its
abolition, could number nearly as many centuries as the Christian
dispensation can number now. And besides this claim of venerable
antiquity, as the religion of his fathers' fathers, the legal dispensation
at once commended itself to the most sacred feelings of a Hebrew, and
appealed to his self-love and even to his senses for its support. The
Most High had descended from heaven to ordain it, surrounded by
myriada of holy angels ; its Mediator had been the most distinguished
prophet whom the world had ever seen ; its holy ministrations had
been conducted by an nnbroken succession of Heaven-appointed
priests. And whilst the splendour of the sacred edifice in which God
was pleased to dwell, the gorgeous vestments of the ministers, and the
pompous and imposing ritual, conspired to fascinate the senses, the
self-love of the Hebrew was gratified by the reflection that all this
was for him,— that his nation waa the peculiar people, the favoured
heritage of the Lord. We can well conceive then what a shook it
must have proved to every feeling which is dear to the heart of man,
when the believing Hebrews began first to understand that all this
was to pass away ; that God had forsaken the temple, and no longer
regarded either the priest or the sacrifice; that the institutions of
Moses had lost both authority and utility, and that Jew and Gentile
were one family in Christ. God is ev?r tender of the feelings of
hia people; and theae unwelcome intimationa were therefore given by
degrees. And in the days which immediately succeeded Pentecost,
when the hearts of those who believed on Jesus were filled to over
flowing with peace and joy and love, they would be more able to say
concerning all things, "Thy will be done." But these days of sun
shine were not to last for ever. Years rolled over the Churches of
God in Palestine ; the abounding of iniquity began to cause their love
to wax cold, and the long continuance of persecution at length broke
their spirits and subdued their courage. We cannot wonder that in
these circumstances, ancient attachments and prejudices should have
revived in their bosoms, and that while they were still desirous to
cleave to Jesus, they should have felt most unwilling to forsake Moses
and his law. And this seems to have been tbe very state of things
among them, when the great Apostle of the Gentiles, from the solitude
of his Roman prison, indited this Epistle lo the Hehre^ws.
b

X17. introduction.
Inspiration does not interfere with the natural current of thought ;
St. Paul addresses them therefore in the way most fitted to convince
their understandings and to subdue their prejudices. His whole argu
ment is based on one consideration, viz. that Messiah the Mediator of
the new dispensation, is the Son of God. He proves by this, that
Jesus is more exalted than thoae holy intelligences who were present
when the law was given, and those inspired prophets who attested it
from one generation to another. The same conaideration demonstrates
that he is more exalted than Moses the mediator ofthe legal covenant,
and the family of Aaron its priests and ministers. The deep humilia
tion of Jesus of Nazareth is shewn to be nowiss inconsistent with this
glorious dignity. He took this mortal flesh, they are told, that he
might be a sacriBce for sin : and on that sacrifice his mediation is
founded; a mediation as much more excellent than that of Aaron, as
the Divine person of the Son of God is more excellent than that of a
sinful, dying man. The gorgeous temple in which tbeir high-priest
officiated, and his imposing ritual, are shewn tobe mere figures of that
heaven of heavens in which Jesus intercedes, and of hia glorious and
eternal ministrations. He urges them therefore not to hesitate between
the imperfect and the perfect thing, and not to seek to mingle the
shadow with the substance. The doctrine of the epistle and its exhor
tation may in short be expressed in one word. The Substance has
come, says the writer; be contented therefore that ihe skadoms flee
away. But these Jewish prejudices, it may be said, are now antiquated
and forgotten; and the Epistle to the Hebrews is therefore of less im
portance to us than the other books of the New Testament. I would
remind those who are inclined to think so, that this treatise on the
Mosaic law, was indited, not by the apostles of ihe Circumcision, but
by the Apostle of the Gentiles * Is not this circumstance like a
link between the two dispensations ? Does it not look like a word of .
direction from God, bidding us Gentiles attend to the law of Moses ?
I apprehend that it is so. And the character of the epistle is in keep-.
ing with thia circumstance. For it connects the Old and New Testa
ments together, holding the torch of the Spirit to the institutions of
Moses, and discovering to us iu type and figure the blessed mysteries
of our faith. Every illustration of the gospel taken from human
thinga, is essentially (defective, because the creature in ita best estate,
is unable to represent God. But the illu,stration which ia thus
furnished, ia comprehensive and without defect; the tabernacle was
* The Pauline origin of the epistle is taken for granted throughout this
exposition. I have examined the objections to it with great care, but they
seem to me exceedingly weak and inconclusive. The late Professor Stuart
has brought a mass of learning to bear upon the question, and to his able and
unanswerable argument I refer the reader. He may consult also Barnes and
Ebrard, It ought however to be mentioned that Ebrard ascribes the actual
composition of the Epistle to St. Luke, but under fhe eye and dheotion of St
Paul.

introduction. xm.
ordained by God for that express end and object ; and there is not a
single doctrinal error which has ever troubled the Church, which in its
heavenly light does not stand exposed and condemned. We ought on
this account to bestow our most earnest consideration on the institu
tions of the Hebrew lawgiver. Oh that this appeal might induce the
ministers of Christ to do sol Heresiarohs would then be no longer
able, aa in the days of the famous Horsley, to base false doctrine on
dishonest Greek criticisms ; the broad light which Moaes throws
forward on his illustrious Amitype, would rebuke at once both their
wickedness and their folly.
Many proofs of the truth ot these statements occur in the course of
this exposition ; let me however sum up the argument, and lay it in
brief before tha mind of the reader. Three leading features stand out
from the others and arrest our attention, when we carefully examine
the tabernacle of Moses and the worship carried on within it. The
first is, the immeasurable distance which it established between the
Creator and the creature. TJpon the ark,. between the Cherubim, and
within the vail, there was placed the throne op Deity, the
INALIENABLE SEAT OP THE SUPREME. Israel was oftcu privileged
with angel-visitants; but Gabriel himself never presumed to intrude
into that seat of honour. The high- priest, the most favoured of the
sons of Israel, was permitted to stand before it, once a year; bnt no
other Israelite, not even the best and holiest, set foot, from infancy to
grey hairs, even within tbe sanctuary which contained it. The second
thing which arrests our attention, is that He who dwelt between the
Cherubim, might be approached only through the slain sacrifice and
the cleansing water; and the brazen altar and brazen laver stood
continually for these purposes, in the outer court. And there was yet
3 third remarkable feature in the worship enjoined by Moses. A
ministry headed up in the high-priest, mediated with God on Israel's
behalf; and it was an essential requisite of these ministers that they
should be compassed with the infirmities of the people. Now these
Mosaic ordinances, as St. Paul expressly declares, (viii. 5,) were "an
example and shadow of heavenly things." And faith discovers in the
light of thia precious epistle, "a throne set in heaven," the antitype
of that which was of old between the Cherubim. It discovers more
over TWO PERSONS sitting on that throne, for it hears One invite
ANOTHER to coms Up and sit beside him, (i. 13,) and sees the invitation
accepted, (i. 3, xii. 2,) He who gives thia invitation ia the eternal
Father ; (i . 1, 2, 5, 1 3 ;) he who accepts it, is Jesus Christ the Saviour
and High-Priest of the Cburch. (viii. 1, x. 12.) A third person is
also spoken of, viz. the Holy Ghost; he is referred to as the Instructor
of mankind, (iii. 7,) and the inditer of holy Scripture, (ix. 8, x. 15.)
Faith discovers besides this, a sacrifice and blood presented on higb,
(ix. 11, 12,) and hears the Saviour who presents it, promising the true
cleansing water, even the Spirit of grace to wash hia people's hearts
from wickedness and to bind them to the seryice of God. (viii. 10, 11.)
It aees that Saviour mediating within the holiest on their behalf ;
(ix. 24 ;) it is told that he is qualified for this office of mercy,
i3

XIV. • INTEODUOTIOR.
because he took their nature and was compassed with their infirmities;,
(iv. 14, IS;) it is assured that his mediation is effectual, because his
one offering haa rent the vail. It can even hear his gracious voice
inviting us within that sanctuary, bidding us come with our consciences
pacified in bis blood and our hearts cleansed by his holy Spirit.
(x.21,22.) Let us next examine by the aid of this heavenly light, every form of
false doctrine which troubles the Church now, or has troubled her io
ages past, and also eyery variety of theological sentiment. We have
only to keep closely to the pattern, to discern the precious from the
vile. The great perversion of Christianity to which modern times have
given birth, is Unitarianism. The leading tenet of that system, from
which also it derives its name, is unity of person in the Godhead ; and
with this are necessarily allied u Saviour who is merely a creature,
and a religion withoui sacrifice. If we remind the Unitarian tbat
Christ is called God, he answers the argument witb a Greek criticism;
if we remind bim further that he is said to be seated at the right
band of God, he explains it to signify simply high exaltation; if we
remind him finally, that " Christ our paasover " is aaid to be " sacrificed
for US," he tells us that the apostles being Jews, used Jewiah
phraseology. But let us bring his system to tbe test which has just
been mentioned. St. Paul declares expressly that the holiest in tbe
Jewish Tabernacle was a figure of God's dwelling-place above, (ix. 9,
24,) and that the seat between the Cherubim was a figure of the throne
inthe heaven of heavens, (viii. 1, 2.) Now every one possessed of
moral honesty must acknowledge that the strict appropriatiou of that
seat to Deity alone waa an essential feature of the Jewish dispensa
tion ; that tbe very thought or mention of Gabriel among angels, or
David or Elijah among men, assuming it^ would have made a devout
Hebrew tremble from head to foot with horror. What then can be
said when St. Paul lifts the pattern from earth to heaven, (viii. 1,) and
discovers to us Jesus occupying that seat above? No one may explain
this away as snper-angelio exaltation. Moses points with reverence
and awe to the throne of the Supreme ; and St. Paul reveals to us
Jesus sitting on that throne. If Jesus is a creature, he ranks with
Gabiiel or witb David ; and to say that God can thus exalt the
creature, is to say that the creature is Divine. The Unitarian system
is thus discovered to be false in its two leading tenets; for if the
Saviour be a Divine person, there is of necessity in the Godhead, more
than one personality. Aud this conclusion is confirmed by other parta
of the figure; for in cap. i. 13, x. 12, 13, two persons are discovere
to us sitting on that throne, and in cap. iii. 7, ix. 8, x. 15, a third
person is si.oken of, to whom the acts of God are ascribed. The eame
remarks will apply to the remaining tenet of Uuitarianism. Every
one possessed of moral honesty must acknowledge that Jewish worship
was based on sacrifice, that the blood of expiatory victims consecrated
every step of the creature's approach to God. And if this waa designed
by God aa "an example aad shadow" of Christian realities to come.

introduction. XV.
it follows undeniably that there must be a true and real sacrifice,
answering to these Jewish figures, and that Christian worship and
service must have continual respect to that sacrifice. And this is juat
what the apostle declares, in every variety of language, (viii. 3, ix. 14,
22, 23, 26, 28, x. 12, 14, 19.) To call this language Jewish phra3eolo(?y,
•a absolutely profane; for St. Paul tells us that in thus explaining
Jewish figures, he is expounding the intention of the Holy Ghost
in ordaining them. (ix. 8.) Uuitarianism stands thus convicted ii,
second time, in the light of the tabernacle of Moses. It may be a
system of philosophy; but if that light be Divine, it has rejected the
essential elements of Christianity, and is in character thoroughly
infidel. The language of the modern Rationalistic Jewish Church of
Germa ny, is a striking proof of all that has no w been advanced, and
shews plainly that this last remark is not uncharitable but true. "If
Moaaiam" they say " waa the radix of Christianity and aho an expia
tory system, then the death of Christ ia the fulfilment of the Mosaic
type. But this we utterly deny ; we utterly reject the doctrine of
the fall of man, and the necessity of a propitiatory sacrifice of infinite
value for his recovery again." Now here are "the essential elements
of Christianity," the fall ot man and God's infinite redeeming love.
They are acknowledged as taught in the Mosaic type, and for that
very reason the type ia rejected as Divine. It only proves how faith
fully it haa expressed its antitype, and that " the carnal mind is
enmity against God."
Popery is the other grand perversion of the Christian faith with
which modern times have to do ; and it also stands exposed and con
demned in the light of the tabernacle of Moses. For it appoints the
continual repetition of propitiatory offerings for the sins of quick and
dead. Now St. Paul declares expressly that the repetition of sacri
fices under the Mosaic economy demonstrated their ineffioacy ; that if
they had accomplished the object of sacrifice, they would have ceased
lo be offered, (x. 2.) As the necessary consequence, he further tella
ua, of a state of tbings which required the repetition of propitiatory
offerings, the vail was unrent, i.e. God was unpropitiated, (ix. 7. 8,)
and the conscience of the worshipper was unprvcified and troubled. (Ix.
9, X. 1, 3.) What then shall be said of the continual sacrifices of
Popery, when the light of the tabernacle is brought to bear on them i
Their repetition demonstrates their inefficacy, demonstrates that they
are unable to propitiate tbe Most High. But that which is offered, is
the body and blood of Christ. This only makes ths matter worse,
infinitely worse. The Jew waa aware that his propitiatory offerings
were inefficacious ; but he looked for a sacrifice to come. We Chris
tians have no such cheering prospect ; " there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sin" than the body and blood of Christ ; and if even that
sacrifice requires repetition, if even that offering is inefficacious, God
never can be propitiated, siu never oan be atoned for. And Popery
therefore, in thia her leading ordinance, aaaails the very vitals
of redemption, This argument ia well worthy the consideration of

XVI. INTRODUCTION.
thoae who though standing aloof in some respects from that anti
christian system, are yet found maintaining as " a doctrine of first-rate
importance," that there are truly and properly in the Christian
Church altara, sacrifices, and priests. We are forcibly reminded of the
nervous language of St. Paul, " Ye who desire to be under the law,
do ye not hear the law ?" Ye who maintain such views, do ye know to
what they necessarily lead ? When you shall have demonstrated
them to be sound and true, the Christian Church will be indebted to
you for having proved to her that sin is unatoned for, and never can
BE ATONED FOR; that God ia unpropitiated, aud never can be
propitiated ; that she and her children are now, and must remain
FOR EVER, under the isurae of the broken law. It is impossible for the
ablest advocate of these sentiments to rebut this irresistible conclu
sion. For if the ordinances of Moses be " the example and shadow
of -heavenly thinga," continued sacrifice and a propitiated God are
utterly and for ever irreconcileable.
But Popery does more than practise continued sacrifice; she offers
her sacrifices within the holiest of all. St. Paul tells us expressly,
(x. 19,) that we have "boldness to enter into the holiest;" and all
Christian worahip is conducted, all prayer, intercession, and thanks
giving are offered there. God's paternal presence is the true holiest :
do we not aay "Our Father which art in heaven," "Almighty and most
merciful Father," "We beseech thee, 0 Father ?" And it is there, i.e.
in God's immediate presence, that the sacrifice of the Mass is offered
for the cleansing of His people from their sins. This is most emphati
cally rebuked by the tabernacle. The fundamental principle of the
law of Moses, was that oo unclean thing might appear in the presence
of God. He therefore appointed two altars. The one altar (of brass)
waa for atoning sacrifice, and stood in the outer court. The other
altar (of gold) was for the incense of those cleansed by sacrffice, and
stood in the holy place, before the vail of the holiest. Aa for the
holiest itself, it might not be entered save once a year, and never
without the atoning blood of a victim previously slain. Had a Jewish
Priest presumed to lead a bull or a goat within the precincts of that
sacred presence-chamber to haye made atonement there witb its blood,
he would have been struck dead on the instant, for his impiety. But
this is just wbat the Priest of Rome has been doing for ages and is
doing at this hour; Rome's most solemn act of worship is bringing a
propitiatory sacrifice into the holiest of all.. It matters nothing that
this sacrifice is unbloody. It is a sacrifice for the taking away of sin;
its very presentation is therefore an acknowledgement that those for
whom it is presented, are unclean. What then have they to do with
God, how dare they to approach Him ! It was a mortal sin, while the
first tabernacle stood, for the unclean to come into His presence, or to
touch anything that related to liis holy seryice. (Leviticus vii. 20.)
And that tabernacle with its ordinances, was an "example and shadow"
of Christian realities now.
The same blessed light may be brought to bear, and with equal
effect, on the heresies of the ancient Church. The Sabellians taught

INTRODUCTION. XVII.
that there was only one personality in tbe Godhead, acting sometimes
ss the Father, sometimes as the Son, and sometimes as the Holy Ghost.
This heresy ia rebuked by the tabernacle; as St. Paul holds the
torch of the Spirit to the seat between the Cherubim, he diacovera to
us two PER50Na sitting on it, in dialogue and communion together.
(i. 13) The Tritheists taught on the other hand, that there were
three Gods. This also ia rebuked by the tabernacle. Moaea was
privileged to hear the voice which proceeded from between the
Cherubim, <Numbers vii. 89,) and the very first lesson which he
himself learned, and afterwards taught to larael, was, " The Lord our
God is ONE Lord." (Deuteronomy yi. 4.) The Nestorians taught that
there were in Christ a Divine and a human person, that the Divinity
dwelt in the man Christ Jesus as ia a temple. But the man Christ
Jesus sits between the Cherubim; and so this heresy, like Unitarian-
ism, would exalt a creature to the throne of Godi The Eutychians
taught that the Saviour had a celestial body; while the kindred
heresy of the Apollinarians denied to him a human soul. Both these
heresies are most emphatically rebuked if we compare Moses with St.
Paul. For Jesus could not have been the antitype of Aaron, the
high-priest "compassed with infirmity," if the doctrine of either had
been the truth.
We may bring the same light to bear on the shades of opinion
among ourselves. Does the Antinomian tell us that Christ has died
for bim and made his peace with God, aud that he is therefore under
no obligation of personally walking in God's ways ! He may be
safely chaUenged in reply, to name a single sacrifice enjoined by
Moaes which exempted the offerer from the obligation of obedience.
The purpose of every sacrifice enjoined by the Hebrew lawgiver
was in truth the very opposite, it was designed to cleanse the
offerer that his service and obedience might be accepted. And if his
institutions are to be regarded as a shadow of Christian realitiea, the
purpose of the sacrifice of Christ must necessarily be the same. Does
the Arminian tell us that the sacrifice of Christ is not a sufBcient
ground of confidence, that there ia "a qualified merit" in faith,
repentance, and good worksj Moses again rebukes the sentiment.
For while he appointed sacrifice as the way of approach to God, he
appointed nothing elae. The priests who presented the sacrifices, were
commanded indeed to wash their banda and feet in cleansing water;
and we in like manner, muat be cleansed in heart and life by the
Spirit of grace, that we may draw near to God in faith of bis slain
Son, and walk before him as his children. But the water in the
Jewish tabernacle did not atone for sin, or procure ceremonial absolu
tion; that was the virtue of the blood alone. And the case is the
same still. The work of tha Spirit in our hearts and the fruit of it
which appears in our lives, are not and never can be our atone
ment ; they tberefore are not and never can be our confidence
toward God. Finally, does the High-Calvinist tell us that Christ
died for his people only, and that it is not lawful to invite all men to
driiw near to God as a Father? St. Paul reminds him in reply, that

XVm. INTRODUCTION.
God waa once inaccessible, when the vail concealed him, (ix. 3, 7, 8,)
but that the vail ia rent now, and that he is in oonaequence inaccessible
no longer, (x, 19, 20.) We muat either then forbear to tell men any
thing about him, or we muat declare him as a Father. For there ia no
such Being under the Christian dispensation as an inaccessible God ;
the yail which once concealed him, is now " rent in twain from the top
to the bottom," (lUatthew xxvii. 61,) and that rending was his own act.
Woe unto ua if with our puny needlework we seek to stitch it up again!
Tbere is however an abuse of the institutions of Moaes aa well as a
reverent use of them. To return to them in the letter, to copy their
pattern, is a gross and most heinoua abuse. Figurative and symbolical
teaching auited the shadowy character of the Mosaic dispensation.
The form of the tabernacle, the architecture of the temple, the robes
of the priesthood, were therefore all figurea. Moses had a pattern in
the Mount after which he copied; King David had " a pattern by the
Spirit " of all " the courts and chambers of the house of the Lord ."
(I Chronicles xxviii. 11—19.) But what suited the external and
shadowy dispensation of Moses, is for that very reason, unsuited to a
diapenaation of spiritual realities, and ia therefore nowhere in the New
Testament commanded of the Lord. It could not indeed have been
commanded, for the two are inconsistent with each other. We cannot
have meridian sunlight and moonlight at tbe aame instant. And
Christianity is meridian sunlight; the moonlight of Jewish shadows
has therefore, of necessity, fled away. Besides, we never yalue the
shadow when we haye got the substance. A very simple but apt
illustration of this, occurs in the history of the early Church. " They
brought forth the sick into the streets" says St. Luke, " and laid them
en beds and couches, that at the leaat the shadow of Peter paasing by
might overshadow some of them." (Acts y. 15) Let us observe the
expression " at the least." They could not get access to the Apostle's
person ; he was overborne by the multitude of applicants for aid. And
so, debarred from the substance, they were fain to be content with the
shadow. But we do not read that when the same apoatle was actually
in the house of Dorcas, (Acts ix. 37—42,) the weeping widows took the
body of their benefactreaa and laid it n hia shadow ! ! Such a state
ment would bave been ridiculous; the shadow waa uselesa because the
substance was there. And it is so with higher things. While the Son of
God had not yet come, the blue, the purple, the scarlet, the fine linen,
were meet adumbrations of the Royal, Heayenly, Holy High-Priest
for whom the Church waa reverently waiting. But nothing can be
conceived more miachievons than to cleave to them now. It is to deny
that He haa come ; it is to say that we have not; Him with us " always
even to the end of the world." (Matthew xxviii. 20.)
The records of the New Testament bearing testimony, as they do,
to the striking difference in this respect between the two dispensations,
completely bear out these remarks. Eyery work of God ia perfect as
it comes from His hand ; the reader may therefore compare for him
self the fortieth of Exodua and second of Acts. The dispensation
of Moses commenced with a gorgeous tabernacle, and a priesthood

INTEODUCTION. XIX.
glittering in gold and gems ; when that costly edifice was reared up
and provided with its costly furniture, God descended into it and filled
it with Hia glory. The Christian dispensation commenced in an upper
room — such an apartment aa poor fialiermen whose best robe was the
fisherman's coat, were able to hire for their use ; upon these humble
men, assembled in thia humble retreat, the Holy Ghost descended
in cloven tongues of fire. This ia indeed no argument for God's
people aaaembling now in upper rooms to worship him, or for his
ministers conducting that worship without seemly attire ; we are in
circumstances to provide otherwise, and there is no reason why the
tasteful and becoming should not be consulted in the worship of God.
Bnt it proves most emphatically that clerical robes and ecclesiastical
architecture form no part of the Christian diapenaation ; they are
decencies indeed for the eyes of men, but no higher character can be
claimed for them ; they are not matters of religion, nor have they any
value in the eyes of the Lord. The tendency of the present day
however, ia to invest them with thia character. It is indeed already
assigned to architecture. We are told that "every part of a Church
is instinct with doctrine," that " each architectural feature conveys
teligious instruction," that " a Church-architect" should make his
profession " a matter of devotion and prayer," and seek '' to be filled
from above with the Spirit of wisdom" ! The Church of Rome,
consistent throughout, has long attached it both to architecture and
veatmenta. To attach it to either, is distinct Judaism. And being, as
we are, without the warrant which the Jew could plead, we are guilty
in doing so, of a systematic violation of the precept which forbids us
to make likenesses of thinga in heaven above. It is in vain for the
advocates of thia Chriatian symbolism, to appeal to the Old Teatament
ia ita support. They ought to know that it is emphatically declared
in the New Testament, that symbolism died when reality was intro
duced. It is equally vain to appeal to the hiatory of the Church, aa it
the antiquity of symbolical architectare aud of holy vestments
stamped a Divine character upon them. Thoae who say so, ought to
know in the first place, that while these things were among the Jews
tha original injunction of God, they were among Chriatiana the after
thought of man. And they ought to know in the aecond place, that
the myatery of iniquity, i.e. the grafting of Judaism and Heathenism
on Christianity, had begun to work even in the daya of St. Paul.
(II Thessaloniana ii. 7.) Their appeals to reason forcibly remind us of
the reply of the Jewish prophet to the disobedient Jewish king.
" Hath the Lord as great delight " he said, " in burnt-offerings and
sacrificea, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, to obey is
better than sacrifice." (I Samuel xv. 22.) This is a sufficient answer
to every argument for the utility of symbolic representations of
heavenly mysteries,- God has forbidden them. Besides, the alleged
utility exists only in the imagination of the reasoner. Spiritual
devotion is the fruit of the knowledge of God; it leads to God, and
is the essence of eternal life. (John xvii. 3. I John i. 1—3.) But
63

XX. INTRODUCTION.
there is also a sensual devotion, and such is that of thia meretricious
symbolism. It is mere natural feeling excited by appeals to the
senses, and its direct tendency is to lead away from Him.
Having thua endeavoured to point out the nse and abuse of the
Mosaic law, I would direct the attention of the reader to the doctrines
contained in these lectures; setting them alao inthe searching light
which shines from the Jewiah tabernacle, and dwelling particularly
on such as may require further elucidation.
The leading doctrinal views set forth in these lecturea, are the
Trinity, the Divinity and Humanity of Christ, his Sacrifice and
Priesthood, together with the remission of sin, and grace of the
Holy Ghost which they secure, and finally, his yet future Coming
AND Kingdom. It has been shewn already that the first two of these
doctrines, viz. the Trinity, and Divinity of the Saviour, correspond
exactly with the pattern. And the more that the reader is led to
examine Scripture on the matter, tbe more, I am persuaded, he will
be satisfied that all that is set forth concerning the man Jesus,
dependent on God and living by faith continually, is fully borne out
by his type, a high-priest "compassed with infirmity." The same
thing may be said of the doctrine of hia sacrifice and priesthood ; all
that is set forth concerning their spiritual efficacy, is fully juatified
by the ceremonial efficacy of the sacrifices and priesthood of the house
of Aaron. If I have endeavoured to shew moreover that remission of
sin and the grace of the Holy Ghost are inseparably and eternally
connected, I am again justified by tbe figure, for the atoning blood
and cleansing water were never separated in the tabernacle of Moaes.
If I have declared that the purpose of Christ's sacrifice is to conse
crate us to the service of God ; that we need no ground of confidence
toward him save that sacrifice alone ; that God ia now acceasible, and that
whoaoever will, may come to him, I am borne out, aa haa been shewn
already, in every one of these statements. The prophetical views
embodied in these lecturea, are alao borne out by the tabernacle. If I
have spoken of three conditions of blessedness and glory hereafter,
and endeavoured to explain the priesthood of the saints, I have
reminded the reader of the thiee apartments of that holy sanctuary,
and of the occupations of Aaron and his sons. I am not aware in
short, that in this exposition of " heayenly things," I haye departed
in anything from that " example and shadow " with which we are
favoured in the word of God .
Two of these ponita howeyer, viz. the Incarnation and Atonement
of Christ, demand a fuller elucidation than can be given to them in
popular discourse .
We are taught in that moat orthodox confesaion of our faith the
Athanasian Creed, tbat " it ia necessary to everlasting salvation that
we believe rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ." I
greatly fear that on this subject of vital importance much misappre
hension prevails. Many seriously-minded persons seem utterly unaware
that the Saviour in taking flesh, proyed the condition of the creature.

INTRODUCTION. XXI.
i. e. waa sustained through human weakness by the power of faith and
hope: they imagine that He lived and walked on earth in the indepen
dent strength of Deity. Now faith and hope are essential to the holy
condition of a human reasonable soul. Aud thia sentiment therefore
is only a hairsbreadth from the Apollinarian heresy which taught that
the Divine nature was the "reasonable aoul " of Christ. It is also
utterly at variance with the pattern. A High-Priest "compassed with
infirmity" was the express type of the Lord Jesus. And infirmity
positively implies dependence; to speak of Jesus as ''compassed with
infirmity" and yet to deny that he lived by faith, is a contradiction in
terms. But how could the Son of God, it is aaked, come into a
condition of dependence? how could he live by faith i Let it rather be
asked how he could pasa through death; that is the greater mystery of
the two. If he waa able, though a Divine person, to pass through the
death which was man's due, he was surely able to live man's life.
Tha life of our bodies is sustained by breath and food and sleep; that
of our souls, as has been already mentioned, by faith and hope and
prayer. Jesus iu assuming our nature, took to himself both forms of
existence; hia body grew and was nourished like the bodies of other
men, and from the manger to the cross his spii it was conscious to one
unbroken act of faith. (Psalm xxii. 9, 10.) This is utterly incomprehen
sible by reason, but it is the joy and consolation of thoae who believe
it on God's word. And it is impossible to believe otherwise if we take
that word as our guide ; it is impossible to rise from the perusal of the
twenty-second Psalm, believing in our hearta that the Speaker was
self-sustained. For his words most emphatically declare the opposite ;
his humblest servant never made a deeper confession of weakness than
is expressed in the complaint " Oh my Strength, haste thee to help
me." This mystery is sometimes explained by the hypothesia that
Christ acted on certain occasions, as God, and on other occasions, as
man. But those who adopt this hypothesis, forget that it divides the
person of the Saviour. The Athanasian Creed teaches us that " as the
reasonable soul and flash is one man, so God and man is one Chribt;
who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third
day from the dead." As in every intelligent act of which we are
conscious, mind and body concur, so all these acts of the Saviour were
acts of a person, not sometimes of the Divine, and at other times of the
human nature. To maintain the opposite is indeed distinct Nestorian-
iam, for it aaaigns to the humanity of the Saviour a personal and
separate existence. But there are Scriptural examples, it is aaid in
reply, of both theae things; we find Jesus acting sometimes in his
Divine and sometimes in hia human nature. He suffered in his
humanity; he wrought his miracles and raisedhimself from the dead
by the power of his Divinity. It must be acknowledged, I answer, as
most certain truth, that the Divine nature is incapable of suffering.
But though the human mind is incapable of bodily pain, such is the
unity of the human being, that we speak of the man enduring it.
And the sufferings of Christ in like manner, though endured in his

XXII. INTRODUCTION.
humanity, were the sufferings of a Divine person; " God purchased the
Church with his own blood." ( Acts xx. 28.) The other statement, viz.
that Christ acted sometimes in his Divinity only, is utterly untrue.
And to convince the reader of thia, I will now enter on a particnlar
conaideration of tbose two examples of it which have just been
referred to.
It is indeed most singular that any ahould be found maintaining
that Christ wrought his miracles in hia own name. Tbe credentials
of an ambassador are not from himself but from the power whose
messenger he is. Now Christ came into the world as the ambassador,
the servant of the Father, and Hia miraculous works were the creden
tials of His mission . If we refer to Hia words to the Jews, to His
disciples, or to tbe Father who sent Him, we ahall find this repeatedly
and most emphatically asserted. "Neither came I of myself" He
declared to Israel, "but He sent me:" (John viii. 42:) and again, "the
works which the Father hath giyen me to finish, bear witness of me,
that the Father hath sent me:" (v. 36:) and again, "the works that I
do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me." (x. 25.) " Believest
thou not " he aaid to Philip, " that I am in the Father, and the Father
in me ? the words that I apeak unto you I apeak not of myself : but
the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." (xiv. 10.)
Let us alao reverently obaerye him when just about to perform the
greatest of his miracles, the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead.
Hia apostle who waa doubtless an eye-witness, tells us that "Jesus
lifted up hia eyes, and said. Father, I thank thee that thou haat heard
me ." He did not offer this thanksgiving because it was unusual for
the Father to hear Him ; He tells us Himself that it waa for their
sakea who atood by, that in the stupendous miracle about to be
wrought, they might have another witness that the Father had sent
Him. " When He thus had spoken " adds St. John, " He cried with a
loud voice, Lazarus, come forth ! " And that God who answered
Elijah on Mount Carmel, (I Kinga xviii. 36-38,) bore immediate witness
to His holy child Jesus; "he that was dead came forth, bound band
and foot with grave-clothes." And it only remained for the conqueror
of death to add, "Looae him, and let him go." (John xi. 41 — 44.) Surely
these teatimonies are decisive. And the doctrine which they teach, has
abundant confirmation from other parts of the Divine word. The
apostle Peter, in hia two most important discourses, viz. the first
announcements of the gospel respectively to the Jews and to the
Gentiles, refers explicitly to the miracles of his Master. " Ye have
taken Jesus of Nazareth, ye men of Israel," he says to the Jews, " a
mau approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you." (Acts ii. 22, 23.) " We
are witneaaes" he tells the Gentilea, "how God anointed Jesus of
Nazareth with the Holy Ghoat and with power: who went about doing
good, and healing all that were oppressed of the Devil; for God was
WITH him." (x. 38, 39.) Theae laat words are moat important; they
not only declare that the mighty acta of Christ were the fruit of that
Divine power which rested on him, but refer us to his baptism in the

INTRODUCTION. XXUI.
Jordan when the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape like a dove, descended
on his aacred head, as the seaaon when he received this power. And
we are thus furnished with a most satisfactory explanation of the
difficulty that though the man Jeaua was a Divine person from his
birtb, he did not perform a aingle miracle till he waa thirty yeara of
age. The Father'a time was not come. The credentials of the messenger
did not therefore precede the message; he who acted in all thinga as
the Father's servant, had not received the power. The legends of
Buperatition tell us indeed of the miracles of the child Jeaus, wrought
for the support of his family I! It is not enough to say that we have
no record of such miracles ih Scripture ; these legends are convicted of
impious falsehood by the words which have just been quoted ; they
embody false doctrine concerning the Christ of God. It ia no doubt
true that Christ wrought many miracles without making mention of
the Father. But there are many instances, I would remind the reader
of his servants doing the same thing. When Elijah, juat before his
translation, had arrived at the Jordan, he mad3 mention of no name,
but " took hia mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters,
and they were divided hither and thither." (II Kings ii. 8.) And when
St. Paul saw at Lystra a lame man who "had faith to be healed," he
also made mention of no name, but said to the sufferer, " Stand upright
on thy feet. And he leaped and walked." (Acts xiv. 8— 10.) When
Scripture has distinctly stated a principle, it does not always repeat
the statement; from our knowledge of the harmony of the Divine
actings, we ought to be able to apply it for ourselves. If the Saviour
wrought some, he doubtless wrought all his miracles by the power of
the Father which rested on him. The same power rested afterwards
on his apostles. And thus thoae miraculous signs which "manifested
forth his glory" as the Son, (John ii. II,) declared them to be " ihe
servants of the Moat High God," sent to shew to men " the way of
salvation." (Acts xvi. 17.)
It is still more singular that any should be found maintaining that
Christ raised himself from the dead. For the declarations of St. Peter
on the day of Pentecost, his repeated assertion that God had raised
bis Master from the dead, and his application to Jesus of the sixteenth
Psalm which speaks of resurrection as having been the object of his
faith and hope in that God's eternal mercy, might have settled this
question for ever. And other Scriptures abundantly confirm this
testimony; there is indeed scarcely any truth of our holy religion on
which Scripture is so evidently harmonious. It is declared thiriy-one
times in the New Testament, that God the Father raised the Son
&om the dead. The reader may consult Acts ii. 24; 30, 31; 32; iii.
IS; 26; iv. 10; v. 30; x. 40; xiii. 30; 33; 34; 37; xvii, 31. He may
consult also Romana iv. 24; vi.4; 9; yii.4;yiii. 11; x. 9; I Corinthians
yi. 14; XV. IS; II Corinthians iv. 14; Galatians i. 1 ; Ephesians i. 20;
Philippians ii. 9; Colossians ii. 12; I Thessalonians i. 10; II Timothy
ii. 8; Hebrews xiii. 20; I Peter i. 3; 21; Revelation i. 5. And if after
consulting these Scriptures, he turns to the book of Psalms, he will
find a glorious confirmation of the same consoling truth. I have

XXIV. INTRODUCTION.
had occasion in the course of these lectures, to refer for this purpose
to the sixth, thirtieth, and eighty-eighth Psalma. I trust that none
of my readers will for a moment imagine that I have struck out a new
path in doing so. Bishop Horne, the authority of the devout, and
Biahop Horaley, of the learned, agree in applying the thirtieth and
eighty eighth Psalma to Messiah; and our Church by appointing the
latter of these Psalms for Good Friday, shews that she also believes it
to testify of Jesus. But even were such authority wanting, no one
can observe the way in which St. Paul and his brethren refer to this
portion of Scripture, without beiug convinced that to testify of Jeaus
ia the rule of the Psalma, and that application to anything else ia the
exception. Some one however may reply that if the Father and Son
are one, it matters nothing whether we say that the Son raised himself,
or that the Father raised him from the dead. This is a most serious
misconception; it ia of the utmost importance to discriminate the
actings of Godhead. The man who ahould say tbat the Father died
on the cross, would in vain seek to shelter himaelf from the charge of
false doctrine by pleading the unity of God. And he who shall say
that the Son raised himself from the dead, maintains as vital an error.
But did not Christ declare on two occasions that resurrection was to
be the act of His own Almighty power ? This is an entire mis
conception ; we have only to examine His words to be convinced that
they declare the contrary. " Destroy this temple" He said to the
Jews, (John ii. 19,) "and in three days I will raise it up. ..He spake
of the temple of His body." And if they asked how He was to do
this, they had again their answer from Himself. " I have power to lay
down my life," He said, (x. 18,) " and I have power io take it again;
this commandment have I received of my Father." How plain, how
unambiguous are these words I The Son of God is to raise up the
temple of His body, for He baa power to do so, and the power is the
commandment received . Now it is faith alone which receives, it is
faith alone which obeys a commandment: and it was therefore by
faith in the Father that the Son was raised from the dead.
Detailed examination of the latter of these texts only establishes
the conclusion we have drawn from it. The Greek word (i^ovaia)
which our translators have rendered power, almost always signifies
something delegated by another. (See Matthew ix. 8 ; x, 1 ; Mark iii. 15.)
Our Lord himself uses it repeatedly (see John xvii. 2 ; xix. 1 1 ; Matthew
xxviii. 18; Revelation ii. 26,) to express delegated authority. Thia is
evidently one of its meanings in the text befcre us. The Saviour held
his human life in trust for the Father from whom he received it, and
neither laid it down nor took it up again save by that Father's
authority. And there ia ability aa well aa authority in the word of
the Most High; he who hears him say " Have not I commanded thee,"
finds strength to do his will. We haye a most beautiful example of
this double meaning of power in John i. 12. " To as many as received
him," says that Apostle, " to them gave he power to become the sons
of God," i, e. he gave to them at once authority and holy ability to
assume that glorious priyilege. The same double meaning is manifest

INTRODUCTION. XXV.
in the words before us. Chriat's power to lay down hia life was the
commandment which he had received of the Father, i. e. the blessed
conaoionaneas that he waa doing the Father's will, bore him through
Gethsemane and Calvary. Hia power to take his life again, was of
the very same nature, for he tells us himself, " this commandment have
I received ."' The dead indeed cannot obey a commandment, but " he
that believeth in me," says the Saviour, " though he were dead, yet
shall he live;" (John xi. 25;) " the dead shall hear the voice of the Son
of God," he says again; "and they that hear shall live." (v. 25.)
And these words were fulfilled in him as the forerunner of his people ;
he heard the life-giving voice of the Father as he lay dead in Joseph's
sepulchre, and hearing it, he lived. His words in the text before us
aie thus in most beautiful, harmony with hia words in the sixteenth
Psalm. " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer
thine Holy One to see corruption; Thou wilt shew me the path of life,"
— is the natural expression of faith in God, the faith ol him who knew
that he had received a commandment to take that, life again. And the
worde that follow, "therefore my heart is glad; my flesh also shall
rest in hope," plainly teach us that if in hia dying momenta he com
mended hia spirit to God, he commended his body along with it, lying
down to reat in perfect confidence that the Father would awake him
at the appoin ted hour. And this confidence was not disappointed ; the
word of the Eternal penetrated the receasea uf the tomb, and reausci-
tated his sleeping child on the morning of the third day. The power
which Jesus possessed to take his life and to rebuild the temple of hia
body, waa therefore, I repeat, tbe power of faith.
Examination of Scripture baa thus demonstrated in the most aatis-
factory manner, that the Divinity of the Saviour did not act in
separation from his humanity; that every thing which he did, was the
act of the God-man, and was done through faith in God. One end of
incarnation is thus accomplished ; He ia to us hia people, the perfect
example of faith; teaching us how to live, how to die, how to rise
a..ain, and how to ascend to glory. And we may be exhorted, as in
this epistle, to follow the footsteps of him " who endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the riaht hand of the throne
of God." (xii. 1,2.)
But what makes it so necessary that we should understand theae
things ? Because we cannot otherwise make intelligent confession of
Chriat as "perfect God and perfect man." Omnipotence and Self-
Sufficiency are the essential attributes of God ; weakness and depen
dence are equally essential to man. How then did these opposites
meet ? Eutyches taught that the manhood of Christ was lost in His
Godhead ; it was like a drop of honey or vinegar, he said, absorbed in
the boundlesa ocean. But this would have been man becoming God :
whereas the mystery of Incarnation was tbat God became man.
" Being in the form of God," says St. Paul, He "thought it not robbery
to be equal with God : but emptied Himself., .and waa made in tbe
likeneas of men." (Philippians ii. 6, 7, original text.) The Omnipotent
consented for a season not to exert His Omnipotence, the Self-

XXVI. INTRODUCTION.
Suffioient consented to depend, God' consented to veil His glory and to
limit Hia actings within the bounds of manhood.* And we confess
this mystery when we acknowledge that the Saviour was " perfect
man." His " bnman flesh" might haye been sustained by ita union
with Deity ; Hia " reasonable soul" might have been upheld in like
manner, without either faith as its stay in perplexity, or hope as its
comfort in sorrow, or prayer as its refuge in danger. But these things
are essential to man, he cannot liye without them ; and if Jeaus had
lived without them. He would not have been a man. His Divine
power might with equal ease have overcome death and burst for Him
the barriers of the grave. But auch an act was inconsistent with
manhood ; it ia beyond the bounds of humanity. And if He had acted
beyond the bounds of humanity, He would bave ceaaed to be " perfect
man." Let not the Unitarian then tell ua of a human Saviour, for wa
also apeak of " Jeaua of Nazareth, a man approved of God," (Acts ii.
22,) who was vfeak as we are, who was dependent continually as we
are. Only, while Hia weaknesa was real, it was also voluntary ; the
" perfect man" was also " perfect God." Neither let the Romanist
teil ua that he finds in the Blessed Virgin, a human being, with a
tender human heart, to whom her fellow-creaturea can with confidence
go. For the Son is as human as the Mother. He was tried, but
more deeply, with all human temptations ; He waa exercised, but
more painfully, with all human Borrows ; He can be touched, but
more tenderly, with a feeling of all human infirmitiea. Only His
sympathy is never unavailing, for with His human tenderness there is
allied Almighty power. How full ia this blessed truth of present
consolation ! How full is it besides, of everlaating hope ! " He who
was rich" says St. Paul, "for your sakes became poor, that ye through
His poverty might be rich." (II Corinthians viii. 9.) His Omnipotence
and Self-Suffioiency were His riches. He became poor when He abased
their glory, in being made a man for us. And now we are rich through
His poverty. For through the Son of God baying become a son of
ma-n, we the sons of men, are made the Sons of God.
On the subject of Christ's atonement, I may be thought by some to
have departed from the pattern; for if the natural larael waa typical
of the Israel of God, the sacrifice of Chriat, it may be aaid, ought io
be limited to the latter, as the sacrifices enjoined by Moaes were exclu
sively for the benefit of the former. This statement howeyer ia more
than the truth. Exclusive aa the dispensation of Moses was, it per
mitted strangers to partake of its benefits on condition of their joining
themselves to the holy people ; as was plainly exemplified in the cases'
of Rahab and of Ruth. So that the glorious truth of the great
sacrifice, aa it is set forth in the epistle to the Hebrews, was shadowed
forth even then. It ia the sacrifice of the true Israel, and yet a
sacrifice for the world. For the true Israel, and they alone, partake of
• It is the invaluable remark of Ebrard, "An absolute Being can limit
Himself because He is absolute and His own Lord; but a finite being cannot be
made absolute."

INTEODUCTION. XXVU.
its benefits; and before we can partake of them, we must be joined to
that holy people by believing on the name of the Lord. But all
mankind are invited to this participation; for the blood of that blessed
sacrifice has rent the vail. "The living God" aa St. Paul says
elsewhere, " is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."
(1 Timothy iv. 10.)
No one who is acquainted with the history of the Church for the last
three hundred years, or with its present state, wUl require to be told
that the extent or limitation of the atonement, has been and still is a
subject of the keenest controversy. I do not envy that man his
theological attainments who feels no difficulty in the adjustment of
THIS MIGHTY QUESTION. StiU there appear to be ample materials for a
satisfactory settlement of it, if men will bow to the authority of God's
word. The words of God are to Theology what the facta of natnre
are to Science; they may not be set aaide by reasoning; whether we
can harmonize them or not, they claim the obedience of faith. The
Divines of the Higb-Calvinistic School appear to me to haye forgotten
this, for they have treated tbe aubject entirely as a matter of reaaoning.
If God has ao loved all men, they say, as to send bis Son to die for
them, why does he not reveal his love in their hearts, why does he
not lead them to repentance, why doea he not bestow on them the
grace of faith ? But it is not competent for human reason to begin
with such questions as these. Jeaua has teatified that " God ao loyed
the world, that he gave hia only-begotten Son;" (John iii. 16;) and the
Holy Ghost has added to the testimony, that he ia " the propitiation
for the sina of the whole world." (I John ii. 2.} And faith must do its
part in believing these declarations before a word of reaaoning can be
heard. And there never was a more untrue allegation than that the
blessed apostles in setting forth the truth of Christ's atonement or any
other heavenly myatery, use vague and ambiguous phraseology. They
tell us indeed in some places, that Chriat died for all men, and in other
placea, that he died for his people; but if we are careful to mark the
scope of the inspired writer in each particular place, we shall find
that the apparent discrepancy is beautiful and perfect harmony. The
reader may refer for an example of the truth of thia statement, to
John X. 11 ; xv. 13; Ephesians y. 25; I Timothy ii. S, 6. He will find
it written in these scriptures, " The good Shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep ;" " Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay
down hia life for hia friends;" " Husbands, love your wives, even as
Chriat also loved the Church, and gave himself for her;" " There ia one
Mediator between God and men, the man Chriat Jeaua, who gave
himaelf a ransom for all." Let the reader next examine the several
contexta ol these important scriptures. The purpose of every one of
them is to exhibit Christ as a pattern. Tbe first presents him as an
example of pastoral care; the second, of a friend's devoted affection;
the third, of a husband's love; the fourth, of universal philanthropy.
And in perfect consistency with these different objects, the inspired
writer speaks in the first of the texts cited, of the death of the Shep
herd or the sheep ; in the second, of the death of the Frieud for the

XXVIU. INTRODUCTION.
friends; in tbe third, of the death of the Husband for the wife; and
in the fourth, of the death of the Man for all men. No other rule
could have been followed. If we introduce univeraality into either of
the texta iu St. John, or into the text in the Ephesians, we totally
destroy their meaning; it doea not proclaim the excellencies of a
paator, a friend, or a huaband, that they give alma to the poor. If
we introduce speciality into the text in I Timothy, the result is the
same ; it does not proclaim the philanthropist, that he ia kind to his
own family. Thia principle of interpretation, aimple as it may appear,
explains in the most satisfactory manner, the apparent discrepancies
of the inspired writers in setting forth the death of Christ. When they
speak of him in his relation to the Chnrcb, they always represent it
as special; when they present bim in his relation to the world, they
always declare it univeraal. Terma of universality therefore when
employed by them, may be safely depended on as of definite and certain
import. Let but one example be found of departure from the principle
which I have staled ; let any inspired writer be found declaring, the
man Chriat Jesus gave himself a ransom /or his people, and 1 surrender
the whole question .
But it is dishonouring to God, some theologians reply, to suppose
that he would lift men up to heaven by sending his Son to die for their
sins and then cast them down to hell. It is equally dishonouring, they
add, to him to whom all his works are known from the beginning, to
suppose that he would put himself to an expense of love and mercy
for which he knew that there ahould be no return. On theae two points
let us hear the Lord Jesus ; one word from him outweighs the reaaon-
inga of a world. " Thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven,
shalt be brought down to hell," is His deliverance on the first; " Loye
ye your enemies, and do good, aud lend, hoping for nothing again;
and ye shall be tbe children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the
unthankful," ia his equally unambiguous declaration on the aecond,
(Matthew xi. 23; Luke vi. 35.) God is now acting then on the latter
of these principles, and will yet act on the former. But for what
purpose, it ia again asked, ia the univeraality of Chriat's death contended
for 2 — if men are not saved by it, it comea to the aame thing at last.
This is not the way to look at the matter; we are to regard atonement,
not simply in its bearing on the creature, but in its revelation of God.
Self-manifestation is the ultimate end of Deity. It is the same thing
to the prodigal living among the swine, whether his father's door has
been shut again.st him or he has refused to return ; but we do not regard
it as the same, in forming our estimate of the father's character. Shall
hell be peopled because God haa declined to love man, or becauae man
haa hated God % This is the question ; and the Divine glory ia concerned
in the answer which we return to it. For the difference between those
two things, as regards the eternal manifestation op Deity, is more
than human language can express.
I am well aware however that no citation of Scripture-texts, and no
arguments deduced from the character of God, will ever settle this
contebted question. The controversy liea deeper; the matter really in

INTRODUCTrON. XXix.
debate, is the nature of atonement itself. The view generally taken
of this subject by Divines of the High-Calviniatic School, ia that Christ
so endured the punishment which his people should bave borne, that it
is impossible in God's righteousness, that they ahould eyer be called to
bear it. Now it ia superfluous to say that no one holding thia view of
atonement, can ever believe it universal; an atonement of such a kind
ia another name for salvation. But there are three fatal objections
to it. He could not bear part of what we must have borne. The
reproaching conscience, " the worm that dieth not," ihat worm whose
gnawing Jesus never knew, ia as essential an element in future pun
ishment as "the fire that ia not quenched." Again, we bear in our own
persons part of what He has borne. The death of the body is as much
a part of the curse from which Christ died to redeem His people as
are the woes of the world co come. Bnt His haying died and borne
their penalty does not exempt them from death; the believer is not
translated as Enoch and Elijah were. A better life is indeed secured
for him, but in the meantime the penalty remains, death paases upon
all men " for that all have sinned." (Romana y. 12.) Once more, tbe
perfect truth of the Divine character is the foundation on which all
religion resta. Now we are expressly told in this epistle (ix. 22), that
forgiving mercy can have no existence except through atonement made ;
we are told with equal distinctness, (ii. 3; xii. 24, 25.) that we may
reject thia mercy to our eternal ruin. But if the view of atonement
which we are now considering be correct, i. e. if mercy has been pur
chased for us by a work which has tied up the hands of God's justice,
and laid him under a moral necessity of providing that we shall never
be punished for our aina, it is not posaible, in the nature of things, to
reject it. And the strong expreasions of Scripture concerning the
folly, wickedness, and blindness of thoae who reject God's peace, are
reduced in consequence, to mere figurea of speech. The nature of the
case, the dealings of God, and the statements of Scripture, combine in
this way to prove that such a view of atonement does not aet forth its
real character. I have endeavoured in different parta of this work, to
set forth what I believe to be the truth of God on this matter. Christ
was made a curae on our behalf, and hia Bufferings have taken away
our sins. But they have prevailed to do so, not because they were an
amount of pain, but because they were holy sufferings, i.e. because
they have cleared the character of the Most High for ever and eyer, of
all connivance at iniquity and indulgence of transgression. We may
in consequence, draw near to God and go in and out before him in the
confidence of filial love. We have also a claim on hia righteousneas.
But this is not that he dare not punish us; it is a far dearer claim:
we cast ourselves ou his eternal truth, assured that it is " impossible
for God to lie." The atonement in short which in thia work I haye
endeavoured to set forth, does not minister confidence against God, as
if aome one else kinder than be, had come between us and this dreadful
Being, It miniatera confidence toward God, shewing us that the work
of the Savionr was and is the expression of his benignity, that we might

XXX. INTRODUCTION.
be encouraged to cry to him Abba, Father, and to make his bosom our
eternal home.
The result of atonement is closely connected with its nature. In
forming our judgement of thia matter we muat carefully distinguish
between atonement as an act of God, and atonement as received by
man. Its result in the former character is that it has opened the way
to God. " Having therefore, boldness" says St. Paul, "to enter into
the holiest by the blood of Jesus. ..let ua draw near. ..let us hold faat
the profession of our faith. ..for if we sin wilfully.. .there remaineth no
more sacrifice." (x. 19—26.) How clearly in these worda is the nature
of atonement set forth! It is not a work which necessarily infers
salvation ; it has simply rendered God accessible. It has done this for
all; it haa done no more for any. Salvation ia the result not of
atonement made simply, but of atonement received. To say that any
act done for the creature, can secure his eternal peace whilst he is yet
walking and living as God's enemy, is distinct Antinomiauism. Saul
of Tarsus, as we are told in the Acts of the Apostles, looked on with
satisfaction to see God's martyr Stephen die. It was true of him
whilst he waa doing ao, that Jesus had loved and giyen himself for him.
And yet he was at that moment a child of wrath; (Ephesians ii. 3;)
nor did he waah away his sins till he called on the name of the Lord.
(Acts xxii. 16.) This view of the matter seema to my mind to remove
eyery difficulty. If any one feels averse to admit an atonement for
the world, because such a view seema to represent it as inefficacious,
let me remind bim that all which sacrifice by itself can do, is to open
the way to God . The sacrifice of Christ has done this, and in the opened
arms and bosom of Deity, its efficacy standa reveared. If he is atill
averae to admit an atonement for all men, because such a view seems
to represent that those who are saved, add something to Christ's work
to make it efficacious to them, the fear is needless and the conclusion
unjust. The believer ia led by the Spirit of hia risen Lord through
that vail which hia sacrificial blood has rent, and proves within the
holiest the embrace of those paternal arms which the aame blesaed
sacrifice has opened for the sons of men. He who was dead and is
alive again, has thus the whole glory of his present and eternal
salvation. And God the Father is glorified in the atonement of bis
Son, " in them that are saved and iu them that perish." He is glorified
in the salvation of the former, through his mercy received; he ia
glorified in the others, even though they perish, because the riches of
bis goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering haye been manifested
before their eyes.*
Our view of the atonement of Christ wUI necessarily affect our vievr
* Archbishop Usher's Letter on- " The Death and Satisfaction of Christ,"
recommended by the late Dr. Chalmers to the attention of his theological
students, contains substantially the views expressed above ; the phraseology
only is different. The Archbishop says that the sins of all men are
pardonable in virtue of Christ's work, whilst those of believers are pardoned,
i prefer to keep more closely to the -words of inspiration.

INTRODUCTION. XXXI.
of THE Election of God. The election of a people for whom an
atonement ahould bo made, ia the view of the High-Calviniat ; the
election of a people for God'a service, out of a world for which an
atonement haa been made, is the Calvinism of tbe Cburch of England.
But if the atonement is for tbe world, it is said, there is no place left
for election. This objection is the result of superficial consideration of
the matter. In his dealings with two generations especially, God
made trial of human nature. The first was the generation of the wil
derness, who enjoyed his personal ministry in glory ; the aecond was
that favoured people who saw and heard him, while he dwelt in
humbled flesh. And the reault in both cases, was the same. Those
who saw the glory of the God of Israel, perished in the wilderness
through unbelief; those who saw and heard tbe Lord Jeaus, nailed
bim to the accursed tree. And the world had yet a further probation;
Christ sent hia apoatles at once to Jew and Gentile, and " God bare
witness along witb them, both with signs, and wonders, and with divers
miracles, aud gifta of the Holy Ghost." (ii. 4.) The Grecian philoao-
phera proteased to have been long seeking afterGod, inquiring into
the nature of the soul and searching after certain evidences of its
immortality. And when tberefore it was announced to the heathen
world that he who had been so long sought in vain, had at length
revealed himself and was seeking his creatures that he might bless
them with life and immortality ; when the reality also of this revela
tion was attested by signs and wonders worthy of the God of love;
such an announcement ought to have awakened one nniversal burst of
joy. Historians should have had it to record that
" Men met each other with erected look.
The steps were higher which they took ;
Friends to congratulate their friends did haste.
And long inveterate foes saluted as they past."
But alaa, how different was the reception of God's message ! The
apostles with one exception, were gathered to their reat by the sword,
the fire, and the torture ; and if St. John remained alive, it was
because malice was not able to destroy bim. Who shall hope after
such demonstrations, to prevail with man as man ? If any one thinks
that his zeal and earnestness will do it, and tbat by the mere power
of moral auaaion he will induce men to be the fiervanta of God, let
him hear the Lord'a warning, a warning which, as we have just seen,
was moat emphatically verified, " If they have kept my saying, they
will ktep yours also." (John xv. 20.) But the Father has sworn that
Chrisl shall see his seed. And he fulfils this solemn promise, working
in men's hearts by his Spirit, and making a people willing in the day
of his power. His word haa never returned void to him from tbe
beginning of the world, and never shall to the end ; in eyery genera
tion since the fall, there haa been a people to serve him. And let no
one say that this mystery of Election is a high theological dogma, and
not a practical truth. All truth is practical; the love of the crosa and
the purpose of election are both of them practical, and both of them

xxxu. INTRODUCTION.
full of consolation. The zealous Elijah was encouraged to plead with
laaael on Mount Carmel, from hia remembrance of God'a unequalled
love and covenant-mercy to the aeed of Abraham his friend. And
when his pleading seemed lost on >¦, people who were " mad upon
tbeir idols,'' God graciously assured him that it waa not ; even
among these apostate onea, aaid Jehovah, " I have reaeryed to me
seven thouaand men." (I Kings xix. 18) The loving apostle of tbe
Gentilea in like manner, as he beheld the glory of the love of God in
the face of Jesus Christ, found blessed encouragement in proclaiming
it in Corinth and Ephesus and Thessalonica and Rome. And when
hia heart failed aa he walked through the atreeta of Corinth and looked
upon the fornicatora, the idolatera, the thievea and drunkards by whom
he waa surrounded, He "who comforteth thoae that are cast down,"
revived bim with the gracious assurance, " 1 haye much people in this
city." (Acts xviii. 10.) And the circumstances of God's ministers are
the same at this very day. We go forth with the love of the cross in
our mouths, encouraged by the message which it is our privilege to
Sear. But when we come in contact with man and discover his moral
state, hia apathy to Divine things, his blindneaa and his unbelief, we
are tempted to give over in despair. We have the Divine assurance
howeyer that our labour is not in vain, that Christ must haye a
people, that there is "a remnant according to the election of grace."
(Romans xi. 5.) We bless God for the consolation and labour in faith
to the end.
There is another deeply practical view of this subject which has
commended itaelf of late, very solemnly, to my mind. St. Paul finds
an example of election in those seven thousand faithful confessors of
the days of Elias to whom reference has just been made. Now
what was the position of these seven thousand? Was the God of
Abraham their God only, and were the rest of Israel "strangers from
the covenants of promise ? " No, He was the God of al! larael, and
theae seven thousand were "faithful among the faithless," believing in
Him in whom all should have believed, obeying and worshipping Him
whom all should have served, whom all should haye adored. Now thia
ia election ; God reserving to himself a people whose faith and obedience
condemn the world. For "even so then" continnea the Apostle,
" at this present time alao there is a remnant according to the
ELECTION of grace." (Romaus xi. 3—6.) We see it again in Caleb
and Joshua. The promise of the land belonged to all tbe congregation.
Theae faithful brethren believed what others gave no credit to, and
their faith condemned the rest. Once more, we see it in Noah, the
man warned of God and the preacher of righteousness. He believed
the warning which the men of his age rejected, and by doing so
"condemned the world." (Hebrews xi. 7.) To say then that God has
loved the elect only and that Christ has died for the elect only, ia to
destroy altogether the Scriptural idea of election. The elect are a
people called out of the world to bear witness for what Is true of all,
and which all have agreed to reject. That glorious truth ia the recon
ciliation of God. He has so loyed the woild aa to giye His only-begotten

INTRODUCTrON. xxxiii.
Son; (John iii, 16;) He was also in Christ reconciling that world unto
Himaelf; (II Corinthians >.19;) He may now be approached by all
flesh, aa a Friend and Father in the Lord Jesua. Men are thua iu the
position of Israel in the daya of Elias and Moaes, they are like them in
privilege, and like them, alas, in unbelief. The elect are in the position
of the seven thouaand, and of the two faithful brethren who finally
entered Canaan; their faith, love, ani obedience condemn the unbelief
and rejection of God which surround them. It is an easy thing to
contend for election as a doctrine, to make it a test of orthodoxy, to
anathematize those who qualify or deny it. All this we may do
without realizing our high calling as the elect of God. No man, I am
persuaded, realizes that calling who ia not distinctly conacious of
believing in a "common salvation ;" who is not witnessing continually
to all around bim, in, not believing with me, in not rejoicing with me,
you are without apology before God. This is indeed acknowledged as
far as love and obedience are concerned ; no one daubts that God's
people in thia respect, condemn the world. But if it be so, the reat
followE.. ObUgation to love God cannot be separated from the kindred
obligation of believing His love to ua ; if the one be universal, so is the
other. And men's incapacity to believe, is as their incapacity to love
and to obey, entirely moral. It cannot therefore be pleaded in arrest
of judgment ; it is another name for alienation of heart, and ia the very
sin for which God will judge. The calling of the elect out of the world
now, is thua in fact a warning of the judgment-seat. God will condemn
men another day for their unbelief and rejection of His mercy. And
it is only a part of the same procedure of righteousneas that in thoae
of like paaaions with themselves He ahould take witness againat them
now. But I will not extend theae observations further. In putting the
following expoaition into the reader's hands and soliciting his attention
to ita contenta, I am forcibly reminded of the beautiful language in
which the Christian poet commends hia work to God;—
" Jesus, Jehovah, Lord of heaven and earth,
To whom I owe my first and second birth,
"Whose hands first formed me, and whose precious blood
Redeemed my soul and gi.ves me peace with God,
My faithful friend, my Father reconciled,
Accept the offering of thy feeble cliild,
'Whose helpless hands this token mean and small,
"Would fondly give to thee, who glv'st hira all ;
Take both the gift and giver to thy care,
May both thy bounty and thy love declare;
By thee be both directed to fulfll
The holy counsels of thy heayenly will ! "

PART I.

SUPERIORITY OF CHRIST TO PROPHETS AND ANGELS.

LECTURE I.
Hebrews i. 1 — 3.
" God, 'who at sundry times, and in dii}ers manners, spake
in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken unto its by His Son; ¦whom he hath appointed
heir of aU things, by -whom also he made the worlds; who,
being the brightness of his glo-ry, and the express image of his
person, and upholding all things by tlie word of his power,
when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right
hand of the Majesty on high."
This epistle commences in a style of unusual dignity. The
writer does not mention his name, does not refer to his
authority. He is evidently conscious that what he 'writes,
needs no name for its sanction, no authority to recommend
it to men's attention. And so his statements come at once
upon the mind in the naked majesty of eternal truth,
claiming the reverent hearing and devout obedience of faith,
simply on the gromid that they evidence themselves to be
divine. But this claim is only their due, as a careful study
of this wonderful epistle will, 'with God's blessing, convince
us. Its opening statement demands our first regard.
VOL. I. B

•2 PART I. LECTURE I.
God, who IN DIVERS PORTIONS, 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.
Two deeply important truths are contained in these words.
The Hebrews, and we after them are, ui the first place,
reminded, that God, "in divers portions" and in divers
manners, spake in time past, unto the fathers, by the
prophets. It is, in the second place, solemnly announced
to the Hebrews and to us, that the same God hath, in these
last days, spoken unto us by his Son. There can be no
doubt that by the expression, "these last days," we are to
understand the Christian dispensation. And so the " time
past " of the former clause must refer to the Jewish dispen
sation, and not to it only, but to all those dispensations of
mercy under which man has been placed, and God has been
speaking, since the beginning of the world. These dispen
sations, including the Jewish, were four in number. The
first began with God's word of mercy to our first parents in
Eden, and reached to the flood. It was the dispensation of
promise — of mere promise : God said that in the fulness of
time the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the
serpent. The second reached from the flood to the call of
Abraham. It was the dispensation of promise confirmed by
covenant, that covenant of peace of which the rainbow was
the sign. The third, commencing 'with the call of Abraham,
continued imtil the gi'ving of the law. It was the dispen
sation of promise and covenant, sealed and ratified by
sacrament. For circumcision was then appointed the token
of the bond between God and his people, the memorial of
their duties to him, the pledge of his everlasting faithfulness
to them. And the fourth, commencing 'with the gi'raig of
the law, continued imtil the resurrection and ascension of
our Lord Jesus. It was the dispensation of promise and
covenant, not only ratified by sacrament, but illustrated and
revealed so plainly in type and sliadow, that the faith of
God's people was able to grasp the substance. Now under
every one of these dispensations God was speaking : he spake

CHAP. I. 1—3. 3
"to the fathers," the fathers of the world, the fathers of the
Hebrew nation; he spake "by the prophets," addressing
man by man's mouth. It was so under the first dispensation :
he spake to men then by the ministry of Noah. Others
also similarly commissioned, preceded that faithful minister
on this errand of mercy. " God," says St. Peter, " spared
not the old world, but saved Noah, the eighth preacher of
righteousness." ' * What a view does this present to us of
the Divine long-suffering ! Before he commissioned Noah
to lift up his voice, seven preachers of righteousness had
delivered their testimony in vain. We cannot wonder that
he should then have said, "my spirit shall not always strive
with man." ' And yet even after this provocation, he spared
the old world tiU he liad sent timely warning to its inha
bitants by the ministry of Noah. But they added to their
former sins, the guUt of despising that ministry; and the
vengeance which it threatened at length descended on their
heads. And if God thus spake to men, thus instructed, and
thus warned them during the first dispensation, we have no
reason to believe that he was silent during the second.
Noah lived after the flood for three hundred and fifty years,
— ^Uved to see the earth peopled 'with his descendants. The
preserver and second father of the human race, was doubtless,
the instructor of his children. It was not for lack of teach
ing, but because the sons of men did not like to retain God
in their knowledge,"' that we fnid the whole earth, at the
period of the call of Abraham, 'with one consent serving
other gods." The Lord was then pleased to separate a
people to himself, and to that people his instructions,
admonitions, and warnings were in consequence confined.
I IIPet.il. 5. = Gen. vi. 3. a Bom. 1.28. " Joshua xxiv.2.
• There are two other renderings of the words of St. Peter. The former is
thatof our authorized version, "saved Noah the eighth person;" the latter,
which is Luther's rendering, is " saved Noah with seven others." The former
rendering is set aside by the single consideration that Noah was not the eighth
person ftom Adam. I Chronicles i. 1-^ shews plainly that he was the tenth.
The latter is according to classical idiom, and has the support of very high
authorities i those may prefer it, who will. But after giving much consideration
to the subject, I prefer that which I have given above.
b2

4 PART I. LECTURE I.
He revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the
Patriarchs, and they were the instructors of their children
and descendants in the knowledge of his name. Abraham
is expressly called a prophet; ' and it is moreover mentioned
to his honour, that he commanded his children and house
hold after him to keep the law of the Lord, and to do justice
and judgment.' But it was imder the fourth dispensation
especially that God caused his voice to be heard. He spake
then by Moses and Aaron, by Samuel and David, by Isaiah
and Jeremiah, by Ezekiel and Daniel, and by many others
whose naines time would faU us to enumerate. This speak
ing was "in divers portions; " each dispensation contained a
greater amount of light than that which had preceded it.
As God went on to speak, He revealed more and more of
his character, his ways, and his purpose of salvation. Under
the first dispensation he revealed himself a little ; and pro
fiting by that little, Abel and Enoch walked before him in
righteousness. Under the second, when he established his
covenant of peace 'with Noah on behalf of all mankind, he
revealed himself a little more. He revealed himself more
still when he separated the family of Abraham, and took
them as his peculiar people. And he revealed most of
all when he made himself known to Moses, establishing
his holy worship in the midst of Israel, and gi'vdng to them
his statutes, ordinances and laws. Nor was this speaking
in divers portions only; it was also "in divers manners."
God communicated himself at one time by audible voice;
at another, by visions and dreams ; at another, by parables
or miracles ; at another, by types and figures. But aU these
manners, however diverse, were the revelation of one object
— Clirist the Sa'viour, who was thus made known to men
in divers portions, as the purpose of God went on to its
completion. The gradual Ught of these partial revelations,
which had been shining more and more unto the perfect day,
faded then before his meridian brightness. He came, he
died, he ascended, he poured down the Holy Ghost, and a
1 Gen, .xx. r. 2 Gen, xviii. 19.

CHAP. I, 1—3, 5
new dispensation began. For "God hath, in these last
days, spoken unto us by his Son."
This brings us to the present dispensation, under which
we ourselves are placed. It is called "these last days,"
because it is the last dispensation of the world. There is
none to succeed it; God has now told all his mind. It
may be said to have begun with Christ's personal ministry ;
it was made clearly manifest when he ascended on high and
commissioned his apostles ; it shall continue until he appears
the second time. It shall cease then; the day of grace
shall cease along with it; and the day of judgment shall
begin its awful course.
The grand feature of this dispensation is that the Son
Incarnate is the speaker of the Father's word. No such
act of grace ushered in or distinguished in its progress any
preceding dispensation. God spake then by servants, and
complained that He was not heeded. He expects to be
heeded now ; He says, " they will reverence my Son." ' This
must not be passed by; it is the special reason why God
expects us to reverence His Gospel. We must not suppose
that because Christ is personally absent, it is not so ; the
text says indeed "hath spoken," but tliis speaking has not
ceased. For the gospel is Christ's word. It "began at
the first to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto
us by them that heard him."' Having spoken it himself
while in flesh, he inspired his Apostles with it, and has left
it as his testimony in the mouth of his ministers, from age
to age. St. Paul says therefore, in another place, " see that
ye refuse not Him that speaketh; for if they escaped not,
who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not
we escape, if we turn away firom Him that speaketh from
Heaven."' This spealdng from Heaven then, this spealdng
of Christ through his ministers, and in his Church, it is om*
present, solemn, awful responsibility to hear.
The Hebrews acknowledged that they were bound to
reverence God's prophets, and condemned their fathers for
having killed them. St. Paul would shew to those who held
I Matt, xxi, 33—37, ^ Heb. ii. 3, 3 Heb. xii. 2-5.

6 PART I. LECTURE I.
the prophets in such reverence, that they ought still more
to reverence the Son. He therefore proceeds, —
Whom he hath appointed lieir of all things, by whom also
he made the worlds; ivho being the brightness of his glory,
and the exact impression of his substance, and upholding
all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
on high.
In these words we have a two-fold reason, applicable
equally to the Hebrews and to us, why greater heed should
be given to Christ, than to any other by whom God has ever
spoken. I. He is a messenger of more exalted dignity.
II. He is a minister of more abundant grace.
I. St. Paul has just declared that He who had been
speaking by prophets, has now spoken by the Son. And
who is he, an unbelieving Jew might have asked, to whom
you apply this sacred name? Is it he whom our nation
crucified? Do you prefer him to Abraham our father, and
Moses our iUustrious lawgiver? I do, answers St. Paul.
I know that your nation crucified him, but I know also that
God hath raised him from the dead, and "appointed" him
" heir of aU things." In right of the Father's Son he is
the inheritor of his vast possessions, and is constituted
Lord of universal nature. I know that your nation crucified
him, for it is 'written in your own Scriptures that "the kings
of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel
together, against the Lord and against his anointed." But
it is also 'written, " yet have I set my king upon my holy
hill of Zion." ' He was indeed set at nought of your priests
and rulers ; but it is again written that " the stone which
the builders refused, is become the head-stone of the
corner."' And of these things thus prophesied aforetime
my brother and fellow-apostle declared the fulfilment, when
he bade you " know assuredly that God hath made him
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." ' The
1 Psalm ii. 1 — 6. 9 Psalm cxviii 22. a Acts ii. 36.

CHAP. I. 1—3. 7
dignity then of this messenger of God whom you exalt so
liigWy, the unbelieving Jew might have continued, com
menced after he rose from the dead. It appears indeed to
be the case; for we remember him while he sojourned on
earth, a poor, despised and afllicted man. Abraham otir
father, and Moses our great lawgiver, were honoured while
they Uved ; but his honour and dignity, it appears, is all
subsequent to his having left the world. No, repUes the
apostle ; he existed in honour and dignity before the worlds
were, for by him the Father "made the worlds." He
declares in your own Scriptures, that Jehovah possessed
him "in the beginning of his way, before his works of old;''
that "he was set up from everlasting, from the beginning,
ere ever the earth was." "When he prepared the heavens,"
he tells you, "I was there; when he set a compass upon the
face of the depth ; when he gave to the sea his decree that
the waters should not pass his commandment, when he
appointed the foimdations of the earth, then I was by him." '
He veiled indeed this glory for a season, and became, as you
say, a poor, despised and afflicted man, but he did so for
our sakes ; and when he re-ascended to his native skies, and
was installed by the Father in the lordship of heaven and
earth, it was only gi'vdng to him that which was his own,
and placing under his authority the things which his hands
had made. Thus clearly, thus fully, thus forcibly does our
great Apostle declare the glory of Christ — his honour
subsequent to his passion — his dignity from everlasting.
Nor does he stop here. Apparently afraid lest any one
should misunderstand him, he enlarges on the blessed
theme. To prevent us from supposing that Jesus made
the worlds, and rules them as the mere servant of a higher
power; to put the Hebrews, and us after them, in fuU
possession of the contents of the Saviour's sacred name of
Son, he goes on to set it forth in three particulars. He
declares him to be the brightness of the Father's glory.
The glory of God is his exceUence. When Moses said,
"I beseech thee shew me thy gloiy," he said in reply,
1 Proverbs viii. 22— 3^.

8 PART I. LECTURE I.
" I wUl make aU my goodness pass before thee.'" Of this
glory, Jesus is " the brightness." He is exceUent as the
Father is exceUent, and good as the Father is good. AU
that is perfect and adorable in the Father, is equaUy to be
found in the Son. Nor is this aU. , Jn Jesus the Father's
glory was manifested : he was " the brightness " or shining
forth of it to men. " The Word was made flesh," says St.
John, "and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, fuU of grace
and truth."' In him, the suffering Son of Man, the grace
and truth of God shone forth, and the sons of men could
behold the heavenly Ught, because meUowed and reflected
from a brother's comitenance. And these rays did not shine
only, they were concentrated in Jesus ; He was " the
brightness " of them. We are able, by the operation of a
burning-glass, to concentrate the rays of the natural sun,
and to bring them to bear with such power that the hardest
metals are melted by their influence. And so, " to compare
great things with smaUest," the rays of the mercy, love and
truth of God were concentrated in Jesus; and in his life,
ministry and passion brought to bear on the sons of men,
that if possible, that hardest of substances, man's obdurate
heart might be melted by their power. AU this is but
expressed iu other language in what St. Paul proceeds to
say, "and the exact impression of His substance." As the
wax retains exactly and faithfuUy the impression of the seal,
so is He, says the Apostle, of whom I am now speaking,
the exact impression of the Almighty Father. This explains
what Jesus meant when He said, " he that hath seen Me,
hath seen the Father.'" As the son of the human is human,
and in all his features and lineaments declares his human
origin, the Son of the Divine is Divine, in aU His natural,
moral and spiritual attributes declaring Him of whom He
is everlastingly begotten. To put it beyond question that
this is his meanmg, St. Paul adds yet further, " and
upholding aU thiugs by the word of his power." This at
once declares the Omnipotent. The Omnipotent only can
' Exod. xxxiii, 18, 19. » Johni. 14. s John xiv. 9.

CHAP, I. 1—3. 9
guide the stars in their courses, and uphold by his all-
powerful word the vast fabric of universal nature. And
more is impUed in this expression. The effect of sin is to
destroy mankind. Were it suffered to work unrestrained,
human society could not be held together, and the church
of God could not exist in the world. But Christ has from
the beginning, by the working of his almighty spirit, been
restraining this dreadful tendency. He has also preserved
society by his holy providence, and upheld, from age to age,
a true and faithful church. He himself declares in the
Psalms, "the earth and aU the inhabitants thereof are
dissolved; I bear up the pillars of it."' And to this
gracious upbearing, (without which natural, social and
spiritual dissolution would ensue,) we owe all our peace in
this world, and aU our hopes for the world to come. Such
acts as these however plainly declare the Omniscient.
None but He who knows the hearts of men, their thoughts,
feelings, motives and designs, could so rule and restrain
them by his spirit and providence. None else could direct,
with infallible wisdom, all the intentions and doings of
mankind, and make them subservient, from age to age, to
the accomplishment of God's eternal purposes. Yet all this
Christ does, all this he has done from the beginning.
Such then, is the dignity of the messenger, who, in these
last days, has brought to us God's word — ^the dignity of the
Son. He says of himself, "I and my father are one."'
For he possesses Di"vine attributes, he exercises Divine
prerogatives, he is the emanation of Divine excellence. He
made all things at the first, he has upheld all things from
the beginning, he inherits and governs all things. None of
the prophets had any dignity approaching to this. They
spake in a master's name, and pleaded, as servants, a master's,
cause. But he pleaded his own cause, and with his own
creatures ; "he came unto his own, and his own received
him not."^ And the case is still the same, wherever the
gospel is preached, for in the preached gospel He is speaking
from hgaven. Oh ye Hebrews, says St. Paul, if ye would
I Psalmlxxy. 3. ¦' John x. 30. s John i. U.
B 3

10 PART I. LECTURE 1.
have hearkened to a prophet, hearken to the Son. The
same exhortation is addressed to us. For in the gospel
God's cause is pleaded with us ; yea, God himself is pleading
it. If any man have an ear then, let him hear ; for when
shall we hear, if not when God speaks ?
II. St. Paul adds another reason for hearkening to the
Lord Jesus — ^his abundant grace. He hath, "by himself,
purged our sins;" he hath also for us "sat down on the
right hand of the majesty on high." We cannot doubt who
they are, whose sins are here intended. The Apostle is
speaking of those to whom God's message comes ; God, he
says, hath spoken to us through him who hath purged our
sins. Now God is speaking to the world through Christ;
and the sins of the world have therefore been purged by
Christ. That we may apprehend this aright, we must
understand something of the dreadful nature of sin, and
something also of its awful consequences. Sin is the trans
gression by the creature, of the Creator's holy 'wUl. And
when God debarred our first parents in the beginning, from
the tree of knowledge of good and evU, He threatened death
as the penalty of such transgression. The essence of death
is separation, and the death then threatened, was twofold.
It was first, the death of the body by its separation from the
soul, the source and fountain of its life, and its being resolved
once more into the dust from which it came. It was second,
the spiritual and eternal death of the entire creature by its
separation both in time and eternity, from the blessed God.
Our first parents transgressed, and incurred this fearful
penalty. They incurred it for us their posterity, as weU as
for themselves. This is evident from fact; death reigns
over aU men, even over infants. It is evident also from
Scripture ; St. Paul declares that, " by the offence of one,
judgment came upon aU men to condemnation." ' This
tremendous curse of the law then, dooming man to death in
his body, judiciaUy debarring him from communion 'with
God in his soul, shutting him up in death spiritual, and
seaUng him for death eternal, descended on all men in the
1 Romans v. 18.

CHAP. I. 1—3. 11
person of the first man. And our actual transgressions
have added to this original guUtiness, so that had not God
interposed, our condition would have been for ever hopeless.
But, blessed be God, he did interpose, in sending Christ to
purge our sins. "I saw the Lord" says the prophet,
"sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. ..and one (seraph)
cried unto another and said, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord
of Hosts." Let us mark the effect of this -vision on the
prophet's mind. He cried, " woe is me, for I am undone ;
for I am a man of unclean Ups ; for mine eyes have seen the
Kiag, the Lord of Hosts." In these words the voice of
conscience answers to the curse of the law. The law debars
us, as sinners, from approaching the presence of the Holy
One ; and conscience, which testifies to our guUt, acknow
ledges the sentence to be just. But let us mark also, what
the prophet goes on to teU. He says that a seraph came to
him with " a Uve coal in his hand, which he had taken with
the tongs from off the altar ; " he also laid it on his Ups and
said, "lo, this has touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is
taken away, arid thy sin purged." The result of this taking
away of iniquity and purgation of sin, was immediate and
most blessed. The Lord proclaimed from his throne,
" whom shaU I send, and who wUl go for us ? " And the
prophet, forgetting aU his former terror, pressed to the foot
of the burning throne exclaiming " here am I, send me." '
Now what the seraph thus did for Isaiah, Christ the Saviour
has done for us ; He has taken away our iniquity, He has
purged our sin. Bearing it in his own body on the tree.
He has made full expiation for human guilt, so that man is
now invited and welcomed to draw near to God again.
Death indeed stUl reigns over the body ; but to those who
come to God by him, there is the promise of resurrection
out of it, the promise also of life in the presence of God for
ever. And these inestimable, these priceless benefits are
brought near to aU men. For the Father, having by the
Son reconcUed the world, declares himself accessible to all,
and his " free gift," as St. Paul witnesses, " has come on all
1 Isaiah vi.

1J2 PART I. LECTURE I.
men, to justification of Ufe." ' Let us then seek to apprehend
and let us thankfully receive this great salvation. Our
experience shall be that of the prophet — ^we shaU be
delivered from the spirit of bondage, and draw nigh to God
with confidence, crying Abba Father.
It greatly enhances the grace of Christ our Saviour, that
this purgation of sin was " by Himself." He did not send
an angel to suffer for us : He came himself. In the touching
and beautiful language of St. Peter, "his own s«Z/'bare our
sins in his own body on the tree."'
We are taught however, much more by this expression.
It rebukes the Romanist, who seeks, by his self-inflicted
penances to make atonement for his sins, by teUing him that
the only penance which God exacts, has already been endured.
The groans of Calvary were the penance: "by himself " 'he
purged our sins. It also rebukes those who say that Christ
has purged original sin, but that we must look to om re
pentance, faith and reformation for the expiation of actual
transgression. Christ "by himself" has purged " our sins,"
original and actual. As he bowed his sacred head in death,
he said, "it is finished." And in token that it was so — ^that
sin was indeed purged, that God was accessible as a reconcUed
father, and that there was no more any condemnation to
those who trusted in his perfect sacrifice, "the vail of the
temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom."^
Jesus, having accomplished this work of mercy, "sat down
on the right hand of the majesty on high." Here is dignity
as well as grace. The dignity we shaU consider hereafter.
The grace is manifest; He has taken that seat for our sakes,
as our living Mediator ; that we may come to God. We
shrink from approaching the presence of the heavenly
majesty. But he tells us that he is there, to embolden us
to come. And when we come, we are greeted with his
gracious smile; it awaits us as our welcome, and fills our
hearts with joy. No prophet was a minister of gmce like
this. No prophet could say, listen to my word; I have
purged your sins, I am your way to God, I am your great
I Romans v. 18. 2 I Peter ii, 24. ¦< John xix, 30; Matt, xxvii. SO, 51.

CH.iP I, 1—3, 13
salvation. But Christ can say so ; yea, Christ does say so.
Whether we think then of his dignity or of his grace, let
us hearken to him ; One so exalted and so gracious should
never speak in vain.
And let us consider our circumstances. They differ
most materially from the circumstances of those who have
preceded us, to whom, in past ages, God spake. Weare not
imder the dispensation of promise or of covenant; we are
not mider the patriarchal dispensation ; we have nothing to
do with the types and shadows of Moses. God has provided
some better thing for us. He has given to us the fulfilment
of promise, covenant, and sacrament, the substance of figure,
type, and shadow, in Jesus Christ revealed. We are mider
the fifth and last dispensation of the world — the dispensation
of siu purged, the vail rent, and God accessible through a
living Mediator. Hardness of heart is now the only inter
posing barrier between any human being and the bosom of
eternal love. We must not suppose that faith in these
things is that which makes them true. They are true, and
continue true, whether we believe them or not. All God's
expostulations with us, aU his warnings and entreaties,
proceed on His perfect knowledge of their truth. If believed,
they are our salvation; if neglected and disbelieved, they
are our deeper condemnation. "He that rejecteth me, and
receiveth not my words," says the Saviour, "hath one that
judgeth him, the word that I have spoken, the same shall
judge him in the last day."' May God therefore grant us
grace ! 1 John xii, 48.

(See Appendix, Note A.)

14

LECTURE II.
Hebrews i. 4 — 7.
"Being made so much better than the angels, as he liath hy
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 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. And again,
when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith.
And let all the angels of God worship hhn. And of the
angels he saith. Who maketh his angels spirits, and his
ministers aflame of fire."
In the opening verses of this epistle, St. Paul has de
monstrated Christ's immeasurable superiority to the prophets,
and has declared that he is sitting on the right hand of
the Majesty on high. In the verses now before us, he
prefers him to the angels also, and teUs us why God the
Father has desired him to take that seat.
Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by
inheritance obtained a inore excellent -name than tliey.
If we attentively consider these words, we shall find
that three distinct ideas are contained in them. Christ
is declared to be made better than the angels. We have
the measure of this superiority: His dignity is as much
superior to theirs, as his name is more exceUent than theirs.
This excellent name has been obtained by inheritance.
As the lowly Jesus of Nazareth, "that he, by the grace of
God, should taste death for every man," Christ was for a

CHAP I. 4—7. 15
season humbled beneath the angels. But, "for the suffering
of that death, he was crowned 'with glory and honour;"' for
when he ascended on high, having purged om sins. He took
his seat, by the Father's command, on the right hand of the
heavenly Majesty.' In being bidden to sit there, he was
"made better than the angels;" for no angel ever shall, ever
can sit in that seat of honour. The place which they occupy
is as far inferior as their names are inferior to his excellent
name. The exceUence of the name declares the dignity of
the seat : the name is that of Son, the seat that of equality
with the Father. And this exceUent name, entitling to this
honoured seat, is his " by inheritance." This is exceedingly
important. For when you seek to prove the Godhead of
Christ by alleging the names of honour given to him, men
tum aside the argument by saying that God has conferred
these as the reward of merit. But uiheritance is not merit.
He who, for worthy deeds, has been ennobled by his king
and country, cannot be said to have inherited his honours ;
he 'has, earned them. His son inherits them, for to him
they appertain by birthright. Now Christ has not earned
his exceUent name; it is His by inheritance. God did not
adopt him and oaU him Son, as the reward of merit; the
name belongs to him as the begotten of the Father. God
may indeed heap mercy and honour on the creature. But
the question may stiU be asked, "what hast thou that thou
didst not receive ? " And the creature is constrained to
answer, I have nothing. Not such is the answer of Christ.
He took that glorious seat on the right hand of God, and
took it as his ovm : " He thought it not robbery to be equal
with God.'"
This exceUent name of Christ belongs, as we have seen,
to himself only. St. Paul proceeds, —
For to 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. And vthbn
HE BRINGETH IN AGAIN THE FIRST-BEGOTTEN INTO THE
1 Heb. ii. 9. z Heb. i. 3, 13. 3 Philip, ii. S.

lb P.\RT I. LECTURE II,
HABITABLE EARTH he sciith. And let all the angels of God
worship him. And unto the angels he saith, (this, even He)
Who maketh his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.
Nothing can more strongly mark, than do these verses,
the difference between angels and Christ — the different
relation in which God stands to him from that in which he
stands to them. To none of them did he ever say, thou art
my son ; to all of them he saith, worship him. He is the
Son begotten ; they are creatures made : the Father begat
him; the Creator caUed them into being. Excellent they
may be, but the creature is nothing in its best estate. This
will appear in a very stiiking way, if we tum to the Psalm
from which the words of the seventh verse are a quotation.
It celebrates God as the great God, the God of honour and
majesty. It speaks of him as stretching out the heavens
like a curtain ; as maldng his angels winds, his ministers a
flaming fire ; as laying the fomidations of the earth, as setting
a bound to the sea. It tells us how he sends the springs
into the valleys ; how his goodness provides for every beast
of the field, and causes the fowls of the air to sing ; how he
makes grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service
of man. ' The same God then created the angels, the cattle,
the fowls, and the blades of grass. They all owe their
existence to his onmipotent word : He spake and it was done;
He commanded, and the creature sprang into being. We
cannot conceive a greater contrast than between Gabriel,
who stands in the presence of God, and the insect that
crawls upon the ground. But Gabriel, and "the poor beetle
which we tread upon," belong to one class, one category:
they are both things made, they are fellow-creatures. How
vast is the difference when we ascend to Christ! It is a
difference not ui degree, but in Idnd ; the maker of angels
saith to Jesus, I have begotten thee. An illustration may set
this before us in something of its vi'vid reality. Man caimot
create, but he can make many tilings; and his works are
wonderful exhibitions of the \risdom, sldll and abUity which
1 Psalm civ. 1 — 14,

CHAP. I. 4—7. 17
God his Creator has bestowed upon him. He has also power
to beget, in his own likeness, of his own substance; and in
this respect, as weU as in others, he is made in the image of
God. We pay a 'visit to an ingenious artist. He is sm-
rounded by specimens of his professional ability and skiU:
his chUdren also are standing beside their father. We
examine and admire the creations of the artist's fancy ; and
turning to him we ask, which do you value, these, or the
children who stand beside you? Who can doubt his reply?
Do you compare, he answers, the things which I made with
my hands, with the children begotten of my body? I made
these things, and could make many Uke them at my pleasure ;
but my chUdren are my flesh and bone, my own substance,
a part of myself. This iUustration from earthly things sets
forth, though faintly and unworthily, the truth of heavenly
things. Let us take aU the host of heaven, from the
Archangel Gabriel, the loftiest created inteUigence, do'wn to
the lowest of those shining ones who do the Almighty's
bidding, and wait to fulfil his word. Let us then visit the
worlds that roU in space. Let us next descend upon the
earth, and take the great and good of aU generations of
mankind — the sages, the legislators in whom nations have
gloried, and for the honour of whose birth-place cities have
disputed. And ha'ving thus gathered from universal natme
all that is good, exceUent, and glorious, let us place them
before the Lord on the one hand, and Christ alone on the
other. These, says the Eternal, pointing to the Ulustrious
company which we have gathered before him,— these I
made, and having made, I could annihilate. And were they
now annihilated, miUions of creatm'es as exceUent would
spring into being at the word of my mouth. But of the
Son he says, — my begotten, partaker of my substance,
sharer of my divinity, eternity, and glory. Comparison
with Christ then is impious, as it is with Jehovah Himself.
The made and the begotten in fact admit not of comparison ;
there is no likeness between them.
And here I cannot but bear my feeble testimony to the
excellence of those admirable creeds which our venerable

] 8 PAET I. LECTURE II.
Chmch has sanctioned and adopted. I refer especiaUy to
the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds. On the subject of which
we are speaking now, their statements are truth in its purest
form, distUled 'without mixtme, from the foimtain of trath.
"I beUeve" says the Nicene Creed, "in one Lord Jesus
Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his
Father before aU worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very
God of Very God, begotten not made; being of one substance
with tlie Father, By whom aU things were made." Let us
listen to the kindred statements of the Athanasian. It teUs
us that "such as the Father is, such is the Son... the Father
uncreate, the Son uncreatc.the Father incomprehensible,
the Son incomprehensible... the Father eternal, the Son
eternal." It tells us again, that "the Father is made of
none, neither created, nor begotten;" and that "the Son is
of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten."
It is impossible to conceive any thing truer than these
statements ; they are truth itself. The false UberaUty of a
freethinkingage has accused om venerable Chmch of bigotry,
because she puts these statements into the mouths of her
children as confessions of the true faith, and has also fenced
this true faith 'with anathemas, declaring that those who
keep it not on this and aU points, whole and undefiled, shall,
'without doubt, perish everlastingly. But the caUing of
Christ's Church in the world is to bear 'witness for his truth ;
and in denouncing those who depart from, or corrupt it, she
only foUows the example set her by the apostles of her Lord.
"Though we, or an angel from heaven," says St. Paul,
"preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed." ' Now the dignity
and glory of the Redeemer's person are the very substance
of that gospel about which St. Paul was so zealous. If they
are taken away, the Saviom' is taken away, and there is no
gospel left. WeU therefore has the Church of England
done to sanction that creed which sets forth these mysteries
so largely, and warns so faithfuUy those who pervert them,
that they do so at the peril of damnation. Christ long
maintain her in tliis glorious witness for His name !
1 Galat. i. 8.

CHAP. I. 4—7. 19
We have seen that to be begotten impUes unity of sub
stance. The begotten of the human is human ; the begotten
of the Divine is Divine. If further proof of this were
wanting, we have it in the sixth verse. It refers to the
Saviour's second coming, — "when he bringeth in again the
first-begotten into the habitable earth, he saith, and let all
the angels of God worship him." St. Paul has told us, in
the fourth verse, of the honour abeady conferred on Christ.
At his ascension, says the apostle, he was made better than
the angels, being seated on the right hand of the throne.
This honour, as we gather from the fifth verse, belongs to
him as the Son begotten. And in further proof of his
dignity as such, another honour is awaiting him. When the
Father brings him into the habitable earth, the second time,
he shall propose him as the object of manifested worship
and adoration to those very angels above whom he is sitting
now. Let us tum to the Psalm from which these words are
a quotation. It reveals Christ in aU his glory. " The Lord
reigneth," is its sublime commencement, "let the earth
rejoice, let the multitude of isles be glad. Clouds and
darluiess are round about him... a fire goeth before him and
bumeth up his enemies... his lightnings enlightened the
world... the hiUs melted like wax at the presence of the Lord
of the whole earth." It pours contempt on idol worship,
and points to the true object of adoration — "worship him,
ALL YE GODS.'"' Now this glorious Psalm contains, according
to the text, the words of God the Father : let us therefore
reverently examine it. We recognize Divinity in the name
here given to Christ. For the Uteral rendering of the first
verse is Jehovah reigneth ; and Jehovah is the incom-
mtmicable name of God. We recognize it also in the
accompaniments of the Saviour's advent — in the clouds and
darkness that are round about him — ^in the Gie that goeth
before liim and bumeth up his enemies — ^in the Ughtnings
that enlighten the world — in the melting of the hUls Uke
wax. And finally, we recognize it in the chaUenge here sent
forth, in the claim of worship and adoration from the
* Psalm xcvii. 1 — 7.

20 part I. LECTURE II.
wortliiest of God's creatures here made on the Saviour's
behalf. To offer worship to a creature, is blasphemy. He
who claims worship and receives it, must indeed be traly
God. Let us sum up, then, in one word, the doctrine of the
Scripture before us. We leam from it that Jesus our
Sa'viour, in virtue of his name of Son, is now sitting above
cherubim and seraphim. We leam from it, that when he
comes again, we shall behold, in 'virtue of the same name,
cherub and seraph adoring at his feet.
But h'ere a question of the utmost importance occurs, and
we pervert instead of expounding this precious Scriptme,
unless we give a true and sound reply to it. If the seat on
the right hand of the Father's majesty, is Christ's own seat ;
if the name of Son is his by inheritance ; if to receive Divine
worship is his native prerogative, why does St. Paul speak of
these things as conferred ? Why does he say in the text,
that having purged our sins, Christ was made better than
the angels; and in another Scripture, that "for the suffering
of death" he was "crowned 'with glory and honour;"' and
in another, that because he was obedient unto death,
" God hath highly exalted him?"' The reason is obvious.
St. Paul in the text, and in these other Scriptures, is not
speaking of Christ merely as the Son of God ; and it is not
his object to set forth to us the dignity of his Divine person
only. He is speaking of him as the God-man, the risen
Mediator between God and men ; and he designs to set forth
to us the superangelic glory which has been conferred on
him in that exalted character. As the Son of God, Christ
was infinitely glorious, and possessed all from everlastmg.
But "he who was rich, for our sakes became poor:"^ he
descended into the poverty of our nature that he might purge
our sins. This voluntary abasement, and voluntary poverty
made it possible for him to receive ; and he has received his
honours and riches back again. For when he had pmged
our sins, the Father raised him from the dead and bade him
re-ascend to his native skies. And he did re-ascend, taking
J Heb.ii. 9. 2 Phil, ii. S, 9, s II Cor. viii, 9,

CHAP. I. 4—7. 31
his manhood with him, and sitting down in om' humanity
on the right hand of the eternal throne. There he is
instaUed as Mediator; there the Son of God and man is
owned as the Father's begotten, and claims also, and receives
the worship of the host of heaven. For in his holy nativity,
resurrection and ascension, manhood has been taken into
God, and through etemal union with his Di-rine person,
partakes of the majesty and glory of God.
Did Christ then, it may be asked, lay down his native
honours, only that he might assume them again ? No; he
assumed them again ivitJi interest. He left the skies, and
after a season retumed to them ; but he retumed ' not as he
left them. He left them, the Son of God; he retumed,
the Son of God and Man. Love to us prompted him to
leave them. The honour and dignity which had been his from
everlasting would have remained 'with him for ever. But he
must have enjoyed them alone, for we could not have been
partakers with him ; we must have continued in our guUt and
dishonour, our head must have remained in the dust. Now
however, by his precious sacrifice, our sin is purged. He
has also risen again and ascended on high, our Mediator and
Advocate. And manhood having been in his person raised to
the throne of God, a way has been opened for the etemal
exaltation of his people. The com of wheat has faUen into
the ground and died, and by dying .has brought forth
abundant fruit.'
That it is indeed of Christ as risen Mediator, St. Paul is
speaking in the words before us, is evident from the
preceding context. It is evident also from the three texts
here cited, which are aU declarations of the Father concern
ing Christ. The first is, "Thou art my Son, this day have
I begotten thee." These words occur in the second Psalm,
and were spoken when the heathen raged, and the people
imagined a vain thing against the Lord, and against his
anointed. And this took place, as we know from infaUible
authority, when Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles
and the people of Israel, were gathered together to crucify
1 John xii. 24.

22 PAET I. LECTURE II.
and slay om blessed Lord. ' They did cracify and slay him,
but the Father raised him from the dead. He also hailed him,
as he rose again, in the very words before us — " Thou art my
Son, this day have I begotten thee."' "This day" then,
was the day of his resurrection, the day when the Mediator,
Son alike of God and man, was owned as God's begotten.
The second text referred to, occurs in the second book of
Samuel. God says to David, " I wUl set up thy seed after
thee which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I vriU
estabUsh his kingdom ; I will be his Father and he shall be
my Son."^ Now this son of David, who was thus to be
owned as Son of God, is none else than Christ. For St.
Peter teUs us, in reference to this very promise, that " God
had sworn to David, that of the fruit of his loins according
to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne."
And it is needless to say that this promise respects him as
Mediator. His humanity appears in it too plainly to be
overlooked : he is spoken of as David's Son, proceeding out
of Da'rid's bowels. And it respects him as the risen
Mediator ; for St. Peter adds, that David, " seeing this
before, spake of the resurrection of Christ."* The third text
referred to occurs, as we saw already, in the ninety-seventh
Psalm. St. Paul, in introducing it, calls Christ "the first-
begotten." This at once declares that he is speaking of
him as the risen Mediator. For this name belongs to him
through resmrection : he is " the first-begotten of the
dead."" Besides, in that Psalm Christ is celebrated as
Lord of heaven and eartli. And this lordship belongs to
the Mediator, Son of God and man. " I saw in the night-
visions," says the prophet, " and behold one Uke tlie Son of
Man came ¦with the clouds of heaven : and there was given
him dominion, glory and a kingdom, that aU people, nations,
and languages should serve him : his dominion is an ever
lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom
that which shall not be destroyed."" Such then, are the
honoms, the glories of Christ our Saviour. He sits now
1 Acts iv, 24—28. 2 Acts xiii. 33. s Sam. vii. 12—14.
i Actsii.30,3J. 9 Rev.i.5. g Dan. vii, 13, 14,

CHAP. I. 4—7. 23
above angels, and is owned as the Father's begotten: he
shaU receive, when he comes again, in the sight of assembled
worlds, angelic worship and adoration. These honoms are
the purchase of his work, but they prove his person to be
Di'vine. For they are Divine honours, and could not have
been granted to any to whom they appertained not by
birthright. To him, as we have already seen, they do thus
appertain. " Glorify thou me -with thine own self," was the
language of his prayer to be exalted to them, "with the
glory which I had with thee before the world was."^ That
prayer has found its answer in the Mediator's exalted seat,
in the Mediator's excellent name — a seat and a name which
are his by purchase — a seat and a name which are also his
"by inheritance."
The Hebrews gloried in their law: it had been "ordained
by angels." Receive then the gospel, says St. Paul, for the
Mediator of the gospel is better than angels. Your own
Scriptures teU you so. They tell you that as the begotten
Son, he is now preferred to angels ; they teU you that here
after you shall see angels adoring at his feet.
We are not Hebrews, but these things concern us equaUy.
Let us contemplate with solenan awe what has been now set
forth to us of the Saviour's gloiy. Ezekiel had a 'rision of
it when he saw the chembim by the river Chebar. "And
above the firmament that was over then heads," he says,
"was the Ukeness of a throne, and upon the likeness of the
throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above
upon it. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud
in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness
round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of
the glory of the Lord ; and when I saw it, I feU upon my
face, and I heard the voice of one that spake."' Jesus is
that man whose appearance Ezekiel saw — ^that man whose
likeness is the lUceness of the glory of the Lord. His
throne is above the cherubim, and from that throne we hear,
as the prophet did, the voice of one that speaks. For all
the promises of the gospel, its invitations, expostulations,
1 John xvii. 5. ' Ezek. i. 26—28.

24 PART I. LECTURE II,
and entreaties, proceed from that place of Ught inaccessible,
where he who is "made better than angels'' now sits on
high. Let us foUow the example of the prophet, let us faU
on our faces to hear. But, blessed be God, the glory which
he saw, was "the appearance of the bow in the cloud in the
day of rain " — ^the appearance of the cheering rainbow, the
sign of God's covenant of peace. Glorious though he be
who speaks to us in the gospel, he is the same who purged
our sins ; and his words are peace. God give us grace to
hear Him whUe it is caUed to-day !

25

LECTURE III.

Hebrews i. 8, 9.

" But unto the Son, he saith. Thy throne, O 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 gladtuss above thy fellows."
In these verses St. Paul pursues his theme. It wiU help
us to perceive the force of his reasoning, if we read in
connection, the sixth, seventh, and eighth verses. " And
when he again bringeth in the first-begotten into the habit
able earth, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship
him ; and to the angels he saith this, even he who maketh
his angels as the 'winds, and his ministers as a flame of fire ;
but unto the Son, he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever
and ever." Let us mark the force of this contrast. The
things contrasted are the words addressed to angels, and
those addressed to the Son. Angels are addressed as
creatures aud commanded to worship another : the Son is
addressed as God, the receiver, the object of worship. Not
a word is said in disparagement of angels, but quite the
contrary. We are given to understand, that in executing
the Almighty's 'will they are swift as the winds, and, to use
the words of an eloquent writer, "leave the lightnings
lagging far behind." But tliis intimates, only more strongly,
the excellence and glory of Christ. For we cannot help
exclaiming — how exalted then, how glorious must he be
whom even these excellent spirits are commanded to fall
down and worship !
VOL. I. c

36 PART I. LECTtTRE III.
Having thus observed the connection of the text with
the verses which precede it, let us consider it more
particularly, as a continuation of the apostle's argument-
The two verses of which it consists, are a citation from
the forty-fifth Psalm, and contain a two-fold testimony — a
testimony, first, to Christ's original, and, second, to his
mediatorial dignity. We shall take them in order.
But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, oh God, is for ever
and ever, a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Three things are mentioned in this Scripture. It speaks
of an etemal throne ; it speaks of a sceptre of righteousness ;
it tells us that he who shall occupy that throne and wield
that sceptre is a Divine person. That throne shaU be set up
at the blessed era for which aU creation waits, when the
Father brings again the fu-st-begotten into the world. This
is evident from the contrast already intimated between the
sixth and eighth verses. For the worshipping angels, and
the worshipped Son, are addressed by the Father at the same
instant. It is evident also, from the words of Christ.
" When the Son of Man," he teUs us, " shaU come in his
glory, and all the holy angels with him; then shall he sit
upon the throne of his glory." ' Then also shaU he sway his
righteous sceptre over a righteous world. For his people
shaU be "all righteous," yea "the earth shall be fiUed with
the knowledge of his glory, as the waters cover the sea."
And the devU, who now deceives the nations, being cast then
into the bottomless pit, there shall be nothing to hurt nor
offend in all God's holy moimtain. This leads me to notice
the remarkable connection of tlie three first petitions of the
Lord's Prayer. They shall , aU be fulfilled together ; the
accomplishment of one implies the accomplishment of the
rest. The -second petition, "thy kingdom come," asks for
the establishment of that very throne of which we are now
speaking, and for the appearing of him who is destined to
wield that sceptre. The text declares it to be a sceptre of
' Matt. xxv. 31 .

CHAP. I. 8, 9. 27
righteousness. When he appears therefore in answer to
this petition, the first and third petitions shall be answered
like-wise. The Father's name shaU then be hallo,wed from
sea to sea, and shore to shore. The Father's wUl shall also
then be done — done on earth, as it is now done in heaven
— done universaUy, perfectly, and constantly. But the
principal object of St. Paul in adducing this quotation, was
to prove to the Hebrews, from their own Scriptures, that
this throne and sceptre of righteousness are designed for a
Divine person. And he proves it by the manner of the
Father's address to him, "thy throne, 0 God." It is true
that the name " God " is often given in a lower sense. But
paraUel Scriptures make it evident that in this place it is
not so intended. The ninety-sixth and ninety-eighth Psalms
are both paraUel to the forty-fifth. They speak of one who
comes as universal Judge and King, and caU upon the earth
to make a joyful noise before him ; they describe his rule as
one of righteousness, equity and truth ; they declare him to
be the Lord Jehovah. Now there are not two kings, neither
are there two sceptres. He then, whom the Father addresses
in the Psalm before us, is none else than the Lord Jehovah,
God indeed.
But St. Paul, in his present argument, is not speaking of
Christ merely as the Son of God ; he is spealdng of him,
as we saw in the last lecture, as the risen Mediator, the
Son of God and man. And his object is to shew not merely
that he is a Di'vine person, but that in that sacred character
of Mediator he has been exalted above all, whether men or
angels, who have home the commission of the Etemal.
The quotation is therefore continued, —
Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore
God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows.
To one who does not perceive the object of the argument,
and who is unacquainted with the mystery of Christ's person,
this verse must appear to contradict that which has preceded
c2

¦28 , PART I. LECTURE III.
it. For while the former verse speaks of him as God, that
-«'hich we have just read speaks of his personal worthiness,
and teUs us that for that worthiness he has been rewarded
hy God, even his God. But the apparent contradiction
vanishes in a moment, if we only bear in mind that the
Psalmist, and the Apostle after him, are speaking of the
God-man Mediator. For he who is " God of God," as om
admirable creed teaches, " for us men and for our salvation,
came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy
Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man." One
purpose of this act of condescension was she-wn in the last
lecture — ^he stooped thus low that he might save and exalt
his people. And the words which we have just -read suggest
another. The etemal -throne of which the former verse
makes mention, belongs hy right to him who is " God of
God." But he laid aside his glory for a season, and clothed
in om- humble flesh, he obeyed and suffered all the Father's
v^ill. And we leam from the words before us that having
thus proved his personal worthiness, he shall be caUed to
that throne as the reward of merit. And so, when the king
dom comes, he shaU reign by a double claim — as the Father's
Son, to whom it appertains by birth— as the Son of God
and man, the worthiest of the worthy. For the purpose of
incarnation was not merely to save man ; it was to demonstrate
also the exceUence of Christ the Saviour. It was to reveal
his perfect moral beauty, and to constrain imiversal creation
-with one voice to proclaim, — " worthy is the Lamb that
WAS slain." '
Let us enter more particularly on the consideration of the
verse before us. There are three things set forth in it.
I. Christ is spoken of as ha%-ing loved righteousness and
hated iniquity, II, We are told that in acknowledgment of
this perfect goodness he has been anointed by his God, -with
the oil of gladness. III, It is intimated that this anointing
of glory and of joy has exalted him above his feUows.
I. The essence of righteousness is supreme love to God,
and perfect love to man. Such love is the substance of God's
* Revel. V. 11—14.

CHAP. I. 8, 9. 29
law, and his law is the standard of righteousness. The text
declares that Jesus loved this righteousness. And whether
we tmn to the Book of Psalms, which contains the secret
breathings of his soul, or to the record which the evangelists
have left of his life, behaviour and conversation, we shall find
this testimony abundantly confirmed. " Oh how love I thy
law," is his language, " it is my meditation aU the day." And
again he says, "how sweet are thy words unto my taste, yea,
sweeter than honey to my mouth." And again, "mine eyes
prevent the night-watches that I might meditate in thy
word."' Let us listen to his expressions of love to the
Father — deep, devoted, grateful love. " I will love thee," he
exclaims "oh Lord my strength."' And again, "I love the
Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. "^
And again, "I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise
shaU continually be in my mouth."'' And again, " Oh Lord
my God, I -will give thanks to thee for ever."-* And thus, as
he himself declares, God's law was within his heart,^ for on
the innermost tablets of that heart the love of the Father
was indelibly engraved. But it was not confined to the
heart; his whole Ufe declared it. Love to God will always
shew itself in obedience to his will, in self-forgetfulness, in
devotion to his glory. These are love's genuine fruits, and
they were eminently seen in Jesus. He obeyed universaUy,
constantly, and perfectly, in the most difficult circumstances,
and under the most accumulated trials. And his obedience
knew no limit: he "was obedient unto death, even the death
of the cross."'' For he forgot himself that he might seek
the Father's glory. When hunger, thirst, and weariness
pressed on him at once, he was unconscious of their
pressure; "my meat," he said, "is to do the will of him that
sent me."' When the darkness of the cross began to gather
round him, and the prayer, "Father, save me from this
hour,'' would have relieved his troubled soul, we hear him
rather asking, "Father, glorify thy name."'' We know how
1 Ps, cxix, 97, 103, 148, 2 Ps, xviii, I. » Ps. cxvi, I,
a Ps, xxxiv. 1. 5 Ps. xxx, 12, 0 Ps. xl. 8.
7 Philip, ii- 8. 8 John iv, 34, s John xii. 27, 23,

30 PART I. LECTUEE in.
his soul shrunk from that last dreadful hom — shrunk from
drinking the cup of bitterness. But it was the cup which
his Father had given to him,' and aU-prevaUing love made
him stretch out his wiUing hand. For he Uved, he died, that
the Father might be glorified. And if- he thus supremely
loved the Lord his God, he also, and that perfectly, loved his
neighbour. Nor was this love inactive. He Uved that man
might be blessed, for his work on earth was doing good ; he
died that man might be saved. I need not say that this love
was without a cause. It was love in return for hatred : love
under the most accumulated provocations : love unto death
to those by whose hands he died : love which spent its last
breath in seeking the pardon of its murderers. And if
righteousness be the law of love, then Jesus "loved righte
ousness." The intensity with which he loved it, is expressed
in the text, by the negative phrase, "and hated iniquity."
This is an idiom very common in the origuial. We read, for
example, that the Pharisees sent to the Baptist, to inquire
who he was, and that "he confessed and denied not, but
confessed, I am not the Christ."' The phrase, "and denied
not," expresses the intensity of St. John's confession that
the honour of the Christ belonged not to him. And so it is
with the words before us: they express the intensity -with
which the soul of the Saviour clave to his Father's holy law.
Of that intensity the cross was the measure. For his love
to the Father and desire for the Father's glory, his love to
man and desire for man's salvation, were both revealed in aU
their fulness in the cross. It was proclaimed on Calvary that
the love which Jesus bare to God and man, and the desire
for God's glory and man's salvation which filled and animated
his breast, were affections strong as death. The same cross
gives us the measm-e of his hatred to iniquity. He provoked
his enemies to nail him there by testifying of the world that
the deeds thereof were evil.^ And he gave himself wUlingly
to that shameful death, that he might take away sin. "He
bare our sins in Ids ovm body on the tree," says St. Peter,
" that we being dead to sins, should Uve unto righteo-usness."*
1 John xviii. 11. 2 Johni, 19, 2Q. s John vii, 7, « I Pet. ii ii.

CHAP, I, 8, 9. 31
"He gave himself for us," says St, Paul, "that he might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a
peculiar people,"' His hatred of uiiquity then was as his
love of righteousness. The cross revealed them both, and
revealed them to be strong as death. Such was the character
of our Saviour ; of him on whom God pronounces the blessed
eulogium of the text.
II. God never commends without rewarding. The text
proceeds, "therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness." This anointing is yet to come,
Jesus was anointed by the Father when he came up out of
the waters of Jordan; but that anointing was not "with the
oU of gladness." It sent him forth, indeed, to preach glad
tidings to others, and to comfort aU that mourned,' but it
was to himself an introduction to grief and sorrow — grief
and sorrow which ended only in the grave. He may be said
to have been anointed with gladness when he was raised out
of the grave, and being exalted to the right hand of God,
received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost. But
neither is that the anointing here referred to; for the
Saviom''s cup of joy was not filled then, nay it is not, even
now. He still waits for the ingathering of his people and
the establishment of his etemal throne. Then shall he be
anointed with this holy oU : then, to use the language of the
Canticles, we shall "behold Eng Solomon with the crown
wherewith his mother crowned him, in the day of his
espousals and in the day of tlu gladness of his heart." ^ A
due consideration of the text and of the connection of its
parts, proves this interpretation to be just. The Psalm from
which St. Paul is here quoting, is from beginning to end, a
prophecy of this glorious day: it describes the King, proclaims
his advent, and speaks of the ingathering of his people.
Moreover, in the first verse of om text, the verse imme
diately precedmg that which we are now considering, there is
mention made of the etemal throne and of the sceptre of
. righteousness attached to it. Nothing therefore, can be more
obvious than that the Psalmist, in the verse before us, is
< Titus ii. 14. 2 Isaiah Ixi. I— 3. 3 Cantic. iii, 11.

32 PAET I. LECTURE III.
describing what he was seeing at the moment, with a
prophet's eye. He sees the Saviour already seated on that
throne, and that sceptre already placed by God the Father
in his most worthy hand. And contemplating the majesty
of the crowned and sceptred King, he exclaims in holy
rapture, "God, thy God hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness.'' As Jesus shall in that day himself acknowledge,
saying before assembled worlds, "Thou anointest my head
with oil, my cup runneth over."
He who shaU anoint the Sa^viom^'s sacred head with this
oU of gladness, is called, in the text, "God even thy God."
The Father is the God of Jesus. He is the God whom
Jesus loved and served ; the God for whose glory Jesus Uved
and died. He promised to his holy chUd the mercy of
resurrection, glory and a kingdom, as the reward of his
finished work. And steadfast confidence in these gracious
promises sustained our Saviour in aU the trials of his life,
and carried him -victorious and triumphant through the
untold horrors of his death. They have already had a
partial fulfilment ; but the coming day of glory shall witness
their complete accomplishment. This accomplishment shall
be, as St. Paul teaches, "to the glory of God the Father."'
It shall reveal him to Creation as the faithful and the true ;
the God who promises that he may fulfil ; who knows indeed
how to exact obedience, but knows also how to observe it
when rendered to him, that he may etemaUy requite it,
But on the subject of Christ's reward, something yet
remains to be said. God wUl not give dominion and rule to
the unworthy; he who will not govern for the glory of God
and the blessedness of the creatme, cannot be trusted with
power. God wiU give it to Clirist, because Christ is worthy.
The same word which speaks of his throne as etemal, speaks
of his sceptre as a sceptre of righteousness. What proof
has Clirist given that it shaU be so? His life and death in
om natme are the proof The cross proclaims his qualifica
tions for empire. He who so loved God that for his glory
he was content to die, may weU be trusted to govern for that
» Philip, ii.u.

CHAP. I. 8, 9. 33
glory. And he who so loved man that he gave himself for
man's salvation, may well be trusted -with dominion over
man; his rule wUl be exercised in equity and truth. " Thou
hast loved righteousness and hated iuiqiuty, therefore God,
even thy God hath anointed thee."
This brings us again, to what has been mentioned already,
but is now explained more fuUy. I refer to the glorious
subject of Christ's double claim to empire-^his claim of merit
superadded to his claim of right — his claim as the Lamb
slain, as weU as the Son begotten. These claims are not
subversive of each other; you cannot pay a more flattering
tribute of homage to an earthly king than to say that the
splendour of his actions eclipses the lustre of his birth.
History tells us of a sovereign of whom this was eminently
true. He left, for a season, his hereditary throne, and veiling
his regal dignity in a humble garb, he ¦wrought with his
hands as a common artisan. He did this that he might
civilize his people, improve them in the arts of life, and
raise them in the scale of nations. And when, having done
it, he retumed to his dominions and re-assumed his native
honours, all Europe with one voice, proclaimed that Peter
the Great of Russia was worthy to be a kmg. And so, if we
may be aUowed to illustrate heavenly things by earthly, the
Son of the blessed God left for a season his native glories,
and veiUng his royal majesty in the weeds of mortal flesh,
laboured and travaUed and died on this \^Tetched earth. He
did this to redeem from death and destruction faUen mUlions
of Adam's family, to raise them to the sonship of God, to
teach them his holy fear and ser-vice, and to prepare them for
the inheritance of his glory. He has now flmished his work
of suffering, and the heavens have received him for a while.
But he shaU come forth again to take the throne prepared
for him. And as he ascends that throne, and receives his
crown and sceptre, the people who have been saved by him
from destruction, shaU proclaim his worthy deeds and hail
him as their King. They do not forget that he is the Son of
God ; but his love and wondrous death on their behalf, are
the bm'den of their praise. "Thou art worthy," they
c 3

34 PART I._ LECTURE III.
sing, "to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for
THOU WAST SLAIN, AND HAST EEDEEMED US TO GOD BY
THY BLOOD." ' *
III. We have yet to consider the concluding words of the
text, "above thy fellows." The Hebrews climg fondly to
that dispensation, which having been at first " ordained by
angels," had been home witness to, in the successive genera
tions of its continuance, by inspired prophets. But St. Paul
proves to them, in these words, from their own Scriptures,
that though prophets and angels, as having home along -with
him God's high commission, were in one sense Messiah's
"feUows," they aU took rank beneath him. He proves to
them that when the etemal throne of which mention has
just been made, shall be set up, and when Christ shall take
his righteous sceptre in his hand, angels of every rank, and
prophets of every name shall be the wUling subjects of that
throne, and shall bow before that sceptre. The argument
is perfect: a Hebrew was constrained either to reject the
testimony of his own Scriptures, or to submit to it without
uavU. But I should be sorry to dismiss these precious words
-with so brief a notice. If they are convincing on the one
hand, they are full of consolation on the other. If they
prove, that Christ is exalted above all who have been
associated with him in the ser-vice of God, they prove also,
that God -will bestow on all such, a measure of his anointing
of gladness. The humblest beUever may then lift up his
head and look for his eternal reward ; he is a feUow or asso
ciate of his Lord in the holy service of the Father. It is not
1 Revelations v. 9.
* This illustration has been vehemently objected to, on account of the moral
character of the famous Russian Autocrat. -What then shall we say to the
following : " A certain nubleman went into a far country, to receive for himself
a kingdom and to return? " (Luke xix, 12 ) Commentators tell us that our Lord
was referring in these words to the then recent visit of Archelaus to Rome, to
receive investiture from the hands of Augustus. If this is really so, the matter
is settled. Peter the Great contrasts most favourably with the cruel and licen
tious son of Herod. And it his journey to the seat of power, and his return
when invested with the diadem, was deemed by our Lord and Saviour a fitting
illustration of one heavenly mystery, the wondrous act of the Russian Autocrat
is equaUy suitable as the illustration of another.

CHAP. I. 8, 9. 35
too much to say so ; true Christians are indeed Christ's
fellows. The same spirit which rested on him, rests on them
also. " He that is joined to the Lord," says St. Paul, " is
one spirit."' And again he teUs us, "if any man have
not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his."' They are
sustained by the same faith in the same God and Father.
" Go to my brethren," said Jesus, " and say unto them, I
ascend to my Father and your Father, and to my God and
your God."^ Their hearts are fiUed with the same love and
animated by the same spirit of obedience. " He stretched
forth his hand," says St. Matthew, "towards his disciples and
said, behold my mother and my brethren. For whosoever,"
added that blessed one, " shaU do the will of my Father who
is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother."''
They tread the same path. He hath left us " an example,"
says St. Peter, " that ye should foUow his steps : "^ " be ye
followers of me, " says St. Paul, ' ' even as I also am of Christ. ' ' *
And finally, they are cheered on then way by the prospect of
the same glory. Our blessed Lord and Master looked through
present darkness and sorrow to the brightness and joy be^rond
the grave. "Thou wilt shew me the path of life," he said,
"in thy presence is fulness of joy, at thy right hand there
are pleasures for evermore." ' And St. Paul, when cold and
desolate in the damp Roman prison, and expecting daily to
be led forth to die, could say in like manner, "henceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, whieh the
Lord, the righteous Judge, shaU give me at that day,"'
Such are true Christians, They are associated with Christ
in character now, they shaU be associated in gloiy hereafter.
He who is Christ's God and their God also, wUl not leave
them imrewarded in the day of Christ's reward. They are
"heirs of God, and joint-heirs ivith Christ."^ The oil of
gladness wliich shall be poured on his head, shall descend on
their heads also ; they shaU share with him in his throne,
his sceptre and his crown. " To him that overcometh, wUl
ilCor.vi. 17. 2Rom. viii, 9, a John xx. 17.
4 Matt, xii. 49, 50. s I Peter ii. 21. = I Cor. xi. 1.
, Ps. xyi. 11. " II Tim. iv. 8. a Rom. viii. 17.

36 PART I. LECTURE III.
I grant," he says, "to sit with me in my throne."^ "I saw
a great white throne," says the beloved Apostle, " and him
THAT BAT ON IT." — " I saw throues and they sat on them."'
Moreover the sanae seer teUs us that he was caught up into
heaven, and that "a throne was set in heaven, and one sat
on the throne. And round about the throne," he adds,
" were fom' and twenty thrones, and upon the thrones I saw
four and twenty elders sitting, and they had on their heads
crowns of gold." ^ These quotations set before us at once
the promise and its fulfilment ; the fulfilment was seen by
the seer in prophetic vision. And as he saw, so, blessed be
God, shall it be. Those who have followed Christ now, in
lo-ving righteousness and hating iniquity, m lo'ving God and
living for his glory, in loving man and seeking his salvation,
shall be entrusted, under Christ hereafter, -with rule, govem
ment and power. And being so entrusted, they shaU govern
for God's glory for ever, and rule his creatures in justice,
equity and truth.
Let us pause, and consider these things. The portion
which we have in this miserable, dying world, is not for an
instant to be compared 'with the portion which God sets
before us, in caUing us to share m Christ's etemal joy. Ahd
we may share in it, if we wUl ; we may partake with Christ
as truly as he partook with us. For "he who was rich, for
our sakes became poor, that we, through his poverty, might
be rich."'* But there is only one path to glory, the path
which he trod ; and we must tread it also, if we would ever
arrive there. He will enable us to tread it, if we only
receive him as our Sa'viour ; looking to his blood for our
pardon, and to his Spirit for our strength. He will cleanse
and sanctify our hearts, he wUl teach us to call his God our
God, he -wUl make us lovers and doers of righteousness, he
wUl bring us to his heavenly Idngdom. May the Lord
incline us all thankfuUy to receive his mercy [
I Rev, iii, 21. 2 Rev. XX. 11, 4. 3 Rev. iy, 2, 4, original, •> II Cor. viij, 9.
(See Appendix, Note B.j

37

LECTURE IV.

Hebrews i. 10' — 12.

"And thou. Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the founda
tions of the earth, and the heavens are the works of thine
hands. They shall perish, but thou renuiinest, and they all
shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shall
thou fold thein up, and they shall he changed, but thou art
the same, and thy years shall not fail."
The principal object of the Apostle in his Scripture cita
tions hitherto, has been to prove to the Hebrews the
glory of -Christ as Mediator. But apparently afraid lest
they should construe the language employed into something
derogatory to his Lord's supreme Di-vdnity, he refers to the
Old Testament again, in the words which we have now
read. And these words are so plain as to put that matter
out of question. For they speak of Christ as Jehovah,
declare the works of Jehovah to be his, and ascribe to him
omnipotence and immutability, Jehovah's incommunicable
attributes. Let us consider ./irsi, the name here given to Christ. Let
us consider second, the works ascribed to him. And let us
consider third, the attributes which are declared to belong
to him.
I, Let us begin with the name.
And thou, Jehovah.

38 PART I, LECTURE IV,
The word in our translation is "Lord;" but the Greek
word which we render "Lord," is the translation of the
Hebrew "Jehovah," St, Paul is here quoting from the
hundred and second Psalm, which is a suppUcation addressed
to Jehovah. The ancient Jews acknowledged that this
Psalm referred to Messiah ; and the argament founded on it
must have been felt by the Hebrews as utterly unanswerable.
There is moreover a cUmax in the argument. St. Paul had
reminded them that in the second Psalm, Christ is caUed
the begotten. But this might have appeared to some, a
mere title of honom- and reverence. He had therefore
proceeded a step farther, and reminded them that in the
forty-fifth Psalm, Christ is addressed as God. But that
name is not of itself, decisive of divinity: "He called them
gods," it is written, "to whom the word of God came."'
He therefore proceeds a step farther yet, citing the Psalm
before us, in which Christ is addressed as Jehovah. This
is at once decisive. For if a Hebrew held anything as truth,
it was the incommunicableness of that sacred name. An
mibelie-ving Hebrew therefore, glorying in the dispensation
ordained by angels, must have been perfectly sUenced by
this citation. For it proved the gospel dispensation to be
better, by proving that Messiah its Mediator was the God of
angels. And a belie-ving Hebrew, whose -views of the
character and dignity of Christ were as yet but half formed
and imperfect, and who feared to tum away from the dis
pensation of his fathers, must have been equally edified,
comforted and strengthened by this testimony of the
Scriptures of his fathers, to Messiah's glory. But we must
not forget that St. Paid was vwiting for us also. And the
testimony to Christ contained in the words here quoted by
him, comes to us with double force. It comes as the testi
mony of the Old Testament, confirmed and established by
the new. So that we are constrained either to abandon
Scripture and foUow reason, or to say of Jesus, -\rith St.
Thomas, "my Lord and my God."'
1 John X. 35 X John xx. 28.

CHAP. I. 10—12. 39
II. But even were the name "Jehovah" not here given
to Christ, the testimony of the text to his Godhead would
be equaUy expUcit, for it ascribes to him the work of
creation. And thou, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the
earth, and the heavens are the works of thine hands.
That God and he only can create, is a truth self-evident.
To speak of the creature creating is contrary to reason. And
Scripture, which is ever in accordance -with reason, uniformly
ascribes this mighty work to God. " In the beginning," is
its opening statement, " God created the heavens and the
earth." ' It also ascribes to the Creator eternity and
omnipotence, and declares that the work of creation mani
fests that omnipotence, and shews him to be God indeed.
" Before the mountains were brought forth," is the sublime
language of the Psalmist, " or ever thou hadst formed the
earth and the world, even /rom everlasting to everlasting thou
art God."' The prophet is encouraged by the same con
sideration to address him as the Omnipotent. "Ah Lord
God," he says, "thou hast made the heavens and the earth;
and there is nothing too hard for thee." ^ And again, the
Psalmist tells us that "the heavens declare the glory of,
God. " ¦• Now the glory of God is his being manifested as
God. And the heavens manifest him as such, because they
proclaim to all who look upon them, that the hand which
stretched them out is Omnipotent and Divine. Moreover,
the creation of the heavens and the earth includes the
creation of those who dwell in the heavens above, and on
the earth beneath. These two acts are always in Scriptme
most expressly connected together, and ascribed to the same
mighty agency. " O Lord my God," says the Psalmist,
"thou art very great... who stretchest out the heavens Uke
a curtain... to/io maketh his angels winds."' Thus saith God
the Lord," says Isaiah, "he that spread forth the earth... /ie
¦ Gen. i. 1. 2 Psalm xc. 5. = Jerem, xxxii. 17.
» Psalm xix. 1. » Psalm civ. 1—1.

40 PART I. LECTURE IV.
that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them
that walk therein." ' And to the same purpose we read in
Zechariah, "thus saith the Lord... who layeth the foundation
of the earth, and formeth the sp'irit of man within 7um."'
And consider what creation is. It is bringing aU things out
of nothing. " Things which are seen," says St. Paul,
" were not made of things which do appear."' The glorious
intelUgences of heaven, and the livmg inhabitants of earth,
all owe their existence to God's mere word; "God said.
Let there be Ught, and there was light."'' But this stu
pendous work of speaking non-entity into existence, — ^not
material existence only, but living, mtelligent, etemal exist
ence, is in the text, expressly ascribed to Christ: "Thou
hast laid the foundation of the earth," it says, " and the
heavens are the works of thine hands." Between angels
and Christ there can be no comparison. It were comparing
the creature to Him who spake it into being.
II. But the Psalmist, as here quoted by St. Paul, not
satisfied vdth ascribmg Divine works to Christ, ascribes to
him Di'vine attributes also. Having spoken of the works of
natme he proceeds, —
They shall perish, but Thou renudnest, 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 tlie same, and
thy years shall not fail.
In these sublime words creation is contrasted with its
Creator. It is exhibited in its fraUty and mutabUity, subject
to wax old, to be changed, to perish : He is exhibited in his
omnipotence and immutabUity, folding up creation like a
worn-out garment, and remaining himself the same, while he
changes aU things at his word. This comparison is rendered
much more striking by the tenses here employed. We do
not read, they shaU perish, but thou shalt remain — they shall
be changed, but thou shalt he the same. " They shall perish,
but thou remainest," says the Psalmist; "they shall be
• Isaiah xiii. 5. 2 Zech. xii. 1. ¦> Heb xi. 3. 4 Gen. 1, 3.

CHAP. I, 10—12, 41
changed, but thou art the same," This remark is by no
means trivial. The present tense is a form of speech always
used of the Divine Being. It denotes that with him there is
no was nor shall be, but an everlasting am, because he never
alters. The creature, ever varying and mutable, has its past,
its present, and its futme. For the creature m itself is
nothing ; it has no existence of its own. To use the words
of an eloquent -writer, "it is but the shadow .cast by Deity."
A shadow tells that there is a substance : the shadow of
a man on the waU teUs that a man is passing by. But a
shadow is nothing in itself. In like manner the creature
teUs that there is a God who made it, but he is the substance
of which it is the shadow; it is nothing apart from him.
¦He is the only Existence. When Moses asked his name
that he might teU it to the chUdren of Israel, he desired him
to say, "I AM hath sent me unto you."' This is beautifuUy
paraphrased, and the idea which I have just thrown out, of
God as the substance and the creatme as the shadow, is
beautifuUy set forth to us in these lines of the Christian
poet, — *' Tell them, I am, Jehovah said
To Moses, while earth shook with dread;
And smitten to the Jieart
At once above, beneath, around
All nature without voice or sound
Replied, oh Lord, Taou akt,"
What a -view does this present to us of the majesty of the
eternal God ! Language can do no more to teU us what he
is, and when it has done its utmost, it leaves us to worship,
not to comprehend. But mcomprehensible as is this
majesty, it is the majesty of Christ our Sa-viom'. It is of
him that the text declares, that while the creature shall
perish, he remains; that whUe the creature shall wax old,
he is the same. This too, be it again remarked, is the
testimony borne to him at once by the Old Testament and
the New. And if this double testimony be, insufficient to
satisfy, let us hear his own. When the Jews asked him
who he was, he took to himself that name which expresses
1 Exodus iii. 14.

49 PART I. LECTURE TV.
these Divine perfections — "before Abraham was" he said,
" I AM "'
But we must go a little deeper into the text, and inquire
what are those changes of the creature, through which Christ
the Creator remains the same. For we must not suppose,
from the expression, " shall perish," that the heavens and
earth are to be annihUated. St. Peter uses the same expres
sion, in speaking of the heavens and earth before the flood :
he says that they were overflowed with water and "perished."
But his meaning is that they underwent a change. And that
the same is the meaning of the expression before us, is
manifest from the words that foUow, " as a vesture shalt
thou fold them up, and they shall be changed." On the
subject of this change let us refer to St. Peter again. He
teUs us, "that there shaU come in the last days, scoffers...
saying, where is the promise of his coming ?...aU things
continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
To this impious scoff he answers that it is founded on a lie ;
that there has been a change, and that there shall be a
change again. There was a chsmge, he says, when the
heavens and earth which had been in the days of Adam,
passed away by water, in the days of Noah. And there
shaU be another change, he proceeds to say, when "the
heavens and earth which are now,'' and have been since
Noah's flood, pass away by fire in the dreadful day of the
Lord. But shall they be destroyed utterly ? Let St. Peter
answer. " Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look
for new heavens and a neiv earth, wherein dwelleth righteous
ness."' There are three states then, of the heavens and
earth. There were heavens and there was an earth from
Adam to Noah ; and these, at God's command, passed away
by water. But the water did not destroy ; the earth, at the
same command, lifted its head again, and the heavens smUed
once more. We dweU on that earth and underneath these
heavens. But they also shall pass away, for they are
"reserved imto fire, against the day of judgment." And
tlien, out of the fn-e, at the command of the Etemal, as
1 John viii, 58. 2 II Peter iii. 3-13.

CHAP I. 10—12. 43
formerly out of the water, shaU new heavens appear, and a
new earth raise its head. On that new earth shaU Jesus
plant his throne, and under these new heavens shaU he sway
his righteous sceptre. In that new earth, as all the prophets
witness, there shaU be nothing to hurt nor offend, for it shall
be filled with the knowledge of his glory, as the waters cover
the sea. And from the rising of the sun, which performs its
circuit in these new heavens, to the going down of the same,
his name shaU be exalted. Such are the changes of the
creatme. "But thou," says the Psalmist addressing Christ,
unaffected by any, "remainest the same " through aU. The
years of the' creature may be and are numbered, but what
thou art, thou also wast and shalt be — " thy years shall not
faU." The text presents Christ to us as the Omnipotent, as well
as the Immutable, for it declares him to be the author of
creation's changes. "As a yestave shalt Thou fold them up,"
it says, " and they shall be changed." It was he who created
the heavens and the earth at first, as the former verse de
clares : it was he who then looked on everything which he
had made and pronounced it very good. And when man's
sin had made all things vei-y bad, it was he who gave com
mand, and heaven and earth were mingled in one common
ruin. He also is the author of the heavens and earth
which are now. And when man's sin shall exceed the limits
of his patience, he shall speak the word, and the fire shall
carry them away; he shall speak again and a new creation
shall take their place. These are mighty acts, but they are
nothing to the Omnipotent. As easily as a man folds up a
worn-out garment and substitutes another in its place, so
easUy shall Christ fold up the heavens and stretch them out
again ; destroy the earth, and caU it once more into being.
" They all shall wax old" is the sublime language of the text;
"but thou art the same," years make no change on thee.
Thine arm is as strong to day as when it laid the foundation
of the universe ; as able now to destroy and restore again as
it was at first to create.
There have not been wantmg impious men, who have

44 PART I. LECTURE IV.
denied the sacred truths now set forth from Scripture, and
have affirmed that Christ is a mere man or an angel. It is
easy, thank God, to confute tins impiety, if men will bow to
the authority of his word. But let us not esteem this as a
matter of mere argument. The question whether our Saviour
is truly God, is a question which concerns our dearest
interests. The value of the soul is infinite : it is formed for
eternity. And we need, — we surely need to know that he
on whom its eternal hopes are resting, is able to do for us
what he has promised, and is wUling as well as able. If
Christ be a mere man or an angel, he may have promised
beyond his abiUty, and so be unable to perform. Or he may
have changed his mind since he made the promise, and be
found at last unwUling to perform it. If either of these
things happen, our etemal all is lost. But the only security
against them is found in the Godhead of the Sa^sdour, in the
omnipotence and immutabillity of him in whom we trust.
The Ormupotent cannot have promised beyond his abiUty to
perform, for that abUity is infinite : and the Immutable
cannot alter in the affections and purposes of his heart;
what he is to-day, he remains for ever. These are no vain
words. The great promise of the gospel is resmrection and
etemal life. We have Christ's word as our security for this
imspeakable blessing : He has said that he will confer it on
us, if we hope in him. "This is the vdll," he said, "of him
that sent me, that every one who seeth the Son and beUeveth
on him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at
the last day."' He has also told us, "I am the resurrection
and the life... whosoever believeth on me, shall never d'le."^
But how do we know that he is able to perform these words?
A creature cannot raise to Ufe ; a creatme cannot guarantee
eternity. His own Ufe is the gift of another, and depends
for its continuance on another's wUl. But when vre know
that he who has given to us these promises is God, the
author of Ufe from the beginning, we are deUvered from all
fear of his abUity to perform them. What he has done
once, he can do again. He said, "let the waters bring forth
* John vi, 40. 2 John xi, 25, 26.

CHAP. I, 10—12, 45
abmidantly the movmg creature that hath Ufe. ..let the earth
brmg forth the living creature after his MnA...and it was so."
tie "fomied man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
mto his nostrils the breath of Ufe, and man became a Uving
soul. > He has also given Ufe to us and to om fathers
before us, smce the worid began. He has given to us our
bodies with thefr members, our minds with their faculties,
om hearts with their affections. And om secmity for Ufe
in the world to come, is that he has promised it. It is
mdeed a mighty promise ; but he is the Omnipotent. His
hand has laid the foundations of the earth, and his right
hand has spanned the heavens ; there is nothing too hard for
him. As the Christian poet so beautifuUy sings, —
" The word of grace is strong
As that which built the skies,
The voice that rolls the stars along
Speaks all the promises."
And we have the same guarantee that this life shaU be etemal.
He has said that it shall be so, whose years, as the text teUs
us, "shall not faU." He Ufts up his hand to heaven and
says, I live for ever; and "because I Uve,". is his word to
us, "ye shall live also." '
And who can teU the consolation of trusting in a Sa'viour
whom we know to be immutable ! We need not ask the
fearfully anxious question— shall he ever cease to love us ?
The Immutable changes not. He loved man while he
sojourned on earth, and when he died on Calvary ; and loves
hirn stUl. We need not ask — 'will he keep his promises.
His heart is bent on keeping them, as much this day as
when his sacred Ups first uttered them on earth. It is
eighteen hundred years since Jesus said, "him that cometh
to me I wUl in no 'wise cast out," — "he that beUeveth in me
hath everlasting Ufe." And this is his mind stUl, yea it is
his mind for ever. And those who have beUeved that he
came forth from God, and have come to him as their Saviour,
shall find his love to be michanging, his mercy to be etemal.
The disciple who lay on his bosom and knew his heart, tells
A Gen. i. 20 — 24 ; ii. 7. 2 John xiv. 19.

46 PART I. LECTUEE IV.
us that "having loved his own which were in the world, he
loved them to the end."' Isaiah spealdng in his name,
appeals to his believing people, "can a mother forget her
sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the
son of her womb? — yea, they may forget, yet 'wUl not I
forget thee." ' And St. Paul, having set forth the grace of that
Saviour whom in the text he preaches to us, exclaims in holy
triumph, "lam persuaded that neither death nor Ufe... nor
things present, nor things to come... shall be able to separate
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."^
This is the true meaning of what is called the perseverance
of the saints. It is not that we persevere, for there is no
StabUity in us. But we commit our souls to Christ's faithful
keeping, and Christ, the Immutable, perseveres in keeping ¦us to
the end. If we had not this assm'ance, aU joy and confidence
of salvation would be gone. But, blessed be God, we have
it. And therefore the weakest amongst us, unfeignedly
trusting in Christ, may sing 'with the Christian poet, —
" My name from the palms of hia hands
Eternity shall not erase,
Engi'aved on his heart it remains
In lines of indelible grace."

And again,-

' Things future, nor thinge that are now,
Not all things below nor above.
Can make him his purpose forego,
Or sever my soul from his love."

Let US know the Lord Jesus then as our Saviour, the object
of om daily confidence, of our fervent love. Let us beUeve
the promises of the Omnipotent, let us commit our souls
to the keeping of the Unchangeable, and we shall not be put
to shame. And let us leam to give om* hearts' best love to
him who left the glories of eternity, and died on this
wretched earth, that we miserable sinners might partake of
his etemal blessedness. God grant this grace to us all !
t John xiii. 1. ' Isaiah xlix. 15. 3 Rom. viii. 38, 39.

47

LECTURE V.
Hebrews i. 13 — 14.
" But to which of the angels said he at any time, sit on my
right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool ? Are
they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
who shall be heirs of salvation ? "
We are now arrived at the close of the first chapter of this
epistle. No one can have studied it -with any degree of care,
without having remarked a striking connection in its parts.
The first three verses contain in brief, what is amplified, in
the last eleven, in detail. In the first three verses we have
statements ; in the last eleven we have the same statements
successively proved out of holy Scriptme. The first three
verses are a demonstration of the superiority of Christ to
prophets. He is shewn to be better, because he is the
Son — the emanation of the Father's exceUence — the
Creator, Upholder, and Lord of all. And in proof that
this dignity is really his, it is stated that he is now sitting on
the right hand of the Majesty on high. The last eleven
verses are a demonstration of his superiority to angels also.
And the very same considerations are again brought forward
in proof. But St. Paul is not now satisfied with statements ;
he proves by unanswerable Scripture citations every claim
which he advances for his Lord. He proves him to be the
Son by two Scriptures which declare him to be so, and con
firms their testimony by a third which presents him to crea
tion as the object of divine worship. He proves him to he
the excellent one, the lover of righteousness and hater of
iniquity, from the forty-fifth Psalm. He proves him to be

48 PART I. LECTURE V.
the creator, upholder, and lord of aU, by a citation from the
forty-fifth and hundred and second Psalms. And finaUy,
from the hundred and tenth Psalm, cited in the text before
us, he proves that seat of honour which is God's testimony
to the Divinity of his person, to have been a seat designed
for him of old. The first chapter of this epistle contains
therefore a testimony to the glory of the Mediator, such as
we do. not meet vdth from one end of God's word to the
other. And it derives a very peculiar value from its double
character. For, as I have already remarked, it is the witness
of the Old Testament to this all-important truth, brought
out for us and exhibited by an inspired writer of the New.
St. Paul, in -writing it, to use Christ's iUustration, "Uke a
man that is an house-holder," has brought forth for us "out
of his treasure things new and old."^
With this brief-sketch of the contents of the chapter, let
us consider the text before us.
But to which of the angels said he at any time, sit on my
right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool ?
Of what St. Paul here says of angels I shall speak here
after, at present I confine myself to what he says concerning
Christ. His words are a quotation from the hundred and
tenth Psalm, and contain a three-fold testimony to Christ's
supreme dignity and glory. I. He is desired to sit in the
presence of heaven's Majesty. II. The seat appointed to
him is the highest seat of honour, on God's right hand.
III. God makes common cause with him: he is desired to
sit there till his enemies be made his footstool. These
honours can belong to a Divine person only. And the text
which declares them to belong to Christ, is therefore appo
sitely cited by St. Paul to prove that he is such. A due
consideration of the three things now mentioned wiU satisfy
us that this is true.
I. The Father desires Christ to sit. We may not sit in
the presence of an earthly king; far less may the most
I Matt, xiii, 52.

CHAP. I, 13, 14. 49
exalted creature sit in the presence of God. We have many
instances, in holy Scriptme, of God appearing to his people;
we have not a single instance of his desiring them to sit ui
his presence. He vouchsafed to appear to Abraham. But
we read even of the father of the faithful, the friend of God
— " Abraham stood yet before the Lord." ' He vouchsafed
to appear to Moses and Joshua, two of his most favomed
servants. But his word to both was, "loose thy shoe from
off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy." '
He appeared also to Daniel, the man "greatly beloved."
Yet even to him Ids word was, "stand upright; and when
he had spoken this word unto me," says the prophet, " I stood
trembling."' How very diff'erent is his word to Chiist ! To
him alone he says, "sit thou."
II. The Father does more than invite Christ to sit, he
bids him occupy the highest seat of honour : "sit thou" he
says, "on my right hand." If these words invited Christ
to occupy a seat beside the Father's throne, they would
confer on him an honour never granted to any angel. But
they invite him to a seat infinitely more exalted, even to sit
on the Father's tlrrone, beside him. This is indeed the
highest seat of honour ; the Father's own seat is not above
it. And we know from the testimony of his feUow-apostles
that this was St. Paul's understanding of the language which
he here quotes : " I overcame," says Jesus, speaking by
St. John, " and am set do-wn with my Father on his throne."*
He has taken that glorious seat by the in-vitation addressed
to him in the text. And we must therefore regard that
invitation as equivalent to a Divine decree, " that aU should
honour the Son even as they honour the Father."*
III. It is also to be observed that he who has invited
Christ to take this glorious seat, makes common cause -with
him: " sit on my right hand," he says, " untU I make thine
enemies thy footstool. " And the Father's Divine power is thus
engaged to put Christ's enemies under his feet, because the
Father acknowledges Christ's cause to be his own. Jesus
1 Gen. xviii. 22. 2 Exodus iii, 5; Joshua v. 15. 3 Daniel x, 11.
4 Revel, iii. 21. s John v. 23,
VOL, I, D

50 PART I. LECTUEE V.
himself declared this, while on earth. He said, " I and my
Father are one."' And again he said, "he that hath seen
me, hath seen the Father."' And again, "he that hateth
me, hateth my Father also."' And when men had hated and
persecuted and slain him, the Father from heaven confirmed
these his words on earth. For he raised him from the dead,
and exalted him to the right hand of the throne, and pro
mised, as he bade him take that seat, that he would make
his enemies his footstool. And by these acts he declared to
creation, and stfll declares — I and the Son are one ; he that
saw him, saw me ; he that hated Mm and slew him, hates me
also, and would aim at my life, if his arm could reach my
throne. It does not suit the majesty of God thus to make
common cause with any creature. Besides, enmity to Christ
and enmity to the Father, are by this Divine decree and
promise declared to be the same. But they would not be so,
if Christ were not " the brightness of the Father's glory" —
the emanation of His uncreated and etemal excellence.
Let us sum up then in one word the doctrine of the verse
before us. He of whom St. Paul is here discoursing to us,
sits in the presence of heaven's Majesty. He also occupies
the eternal throne, side by side with the etemal Father.
And the almightiness of the Father's Godhead is engaged to
put his enemies beneath his feet. Surely these are marks
of Divinity. If they be not, nowhere shall we find Divinity.
If he of whom these things are written, be not truly God,
we may adopt the language of the fool, and say, "there is
no God."
St. Paul was now -writing for Hebrews. The unbeUeving
among them, who gloried in the dispensation ordained by
angels, regarded it as blasphemy to say that anything greater
could succeed. And the beUeving among them, who had
been accustomed from childhood to regard that dispensation
with awe and reverence, feared to transfer too much of their
confidence and allegiance to another. But be it known to
you, oh ye Hebrews, St. Paul would say, that Messiah, the
Mediator of the gospel dispensation, is prefen-ed by God
1 John X. 30. 2 John xiv. 9. s John xv, 23,

CHAP, I. 13, 14. 51
above angels. And in proof that it is so, he is sittmg now
at the right hand of power, declared as God's co-equal Son,
Say not, he adds, that this is a new doctrine of mine; your
own Scriptures declare that this is Messiah's dignity and
Messiah's glorious seat. These Scriptures shall witness
against you, if you oppose yomselves and blaspheme ; yea,
they shall be accomplished, when you are crushed by
Messiah's -wrath. But if on the other hand, you sincerely
desire to know God's -wUl that you may do it, be not afraid to
give your confidence to Christ, and to foUow him without
fear. Those Scriptures which you have received from Moses
and the prophets encourage you to do so ; they testify of the
dignity of his person and his present seat in glory. But
St. Paul was not writing for Hebrews only; his words are
fuU of blessed encouragement and solemn warning to us
Gentiles also. We may well believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ; we may well trust in him whom the Father has so
honoured, whom the Father has declared both by word and
act to be Jehovah. To treat him with suspicion is to say
that God is faithless. Enmity to him, is also enmity to God,
and' shaU be 'visited as such. If we will not be the friends
of his bosom, we must be the footstool for his feet to rest on,
The enjoyment of his love, or the pressure of his wrath, are
the altematives proposed to us. May God give us grace to
make the choice of wisdom !
Having spoken thus of Christ in the thirteenth verse, St.
Paul proceeds, in the fourteenth, to speak more particularly
of angels.
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister
for them who shall inherit salvation ?
Nothing can exhibit m a more strildng Ught the dignity
and glory of Christ, than the contrast here intimated between
him and angels. He has just been presented to us as the
co-equal Son, occupying the Father's seat of empire; they
are now spoken of as servants, who wait the bidding of his
word, to go forth and mmister to his people. We saw in the
d2

fr^ P.\RT I. LECTURE V,
last lecture, that he is the Creator, whilst they are creatures.
And now we leam that he is the sender, whUst they are the
sent. For he created them that he might send them on his
errands; he made them that he might use them at his
pleasure. To what a measureless height then is he exalted
above them ! To which of them, asks St. Paul, did God say
at any time, sit on my right hand ? To none of them ; they
are "all ministering spirits." Far be it from God to speak
so to any servant; it is language fitting only for a son. No
angel presumes to sit at all in his presence, " I am Gabriel,"
says the most exalted of these intelligences, "who stand in
the presence of God." '
But let us enter more particularly on the consideration of
the verse before us. St. Paul calls angels ministering spuits,
sent forth to minister to those who shall inherit salvation.
He would prove to the Hebrews, by this consideration, that
they were inferior to Messiah. And the Hebrews must have
felt the force of this argument, for they were well aware that
this was the employment of angels. They knew from their
own Scriptures, that many sainted men who had looked to,
Messiah as their Lord, their life, their salvation, had been
waited on, and ministered to, by these glorious spirits.
Angels had delivered Lot from the impending destruction of
Sodom : '' angels had comforted the heart of Jacob when
Esau came to meet him wdth four hundred men.' An angel
had brought food to Elijah, when he fled from the face of
Jezebel : ¦* an angel had been despatched from heaven in
answer to the prayer of Daniel, to reveal to him the purposes
of God.* The unbelieving Hebrews, who preferred the dis
pensation ordained by angels to the dispensation of Christ,
were therefore left without excuse. Whilst the beUeving
among them, for whose instruction St. Paul was writing,
could not fail to see, that in turning from the law to Jesus,
they were forsaking the servants for the Master.
But we, who in God's mercy are free from the darkening
effect of Hebrew prejudices, may take a more extended view
1 Luke i, 10, 2 Gen. xix. s Gen. xxxii. 1—6.
4 I Kings xix, 4-8 s Dan, ix, 20, 21.

cH.vp, I. 13, 14. 53
of the contents of the verse before us, and reap much
instruction from it. It teaches us not only the dignity of
Christ, but the dignity to whieh he has advanced his people.
His servants serve them, his ministers wait on them. The
expression, inheritors of salvation, includes both him and
them. For he whom the Father sustained in bearing our
dreadful curse, whom he delivered also from the hand of
Satan, and from the power of the grave, is eminently the
inheritor of salvation. We are taught this in a very strildng
way, by the title of the eighteenth Psalm. It is one of
Christ's Psalms, inscribed, — "to the giver of victory, a
Psalm of the beloved, who spake unto Jehovah the words of
this song, in the day that Jehovah deUvered him from the
hand of all his enemies, and from the power of hell."' And
to this inheritor of salvation angels ministered in an especial
manner. An angel announced his advent before he was
conceived in the womb;' angels proclaimed his birth, and
ushered him into the world with their songs.' When Herod
sought his life, an angel warned Joseph and Mary, and they
fled with him into Egjrpt.* When Herod was dead, the
heavenly messenger appeared again, and they retumed, at
his bidding, into the land of Israel.-* When at the com
mencement of his mimstry, Jesus was tempted of the De-vil,
and had fasted forty days, "angels came and ministered to
him."° When he fainted in Gethsemane, in the prospect
of his passion, "there appeared an angel to him from
heaven, strengthening him." '' When 'wicked men laid hands
on him to drag him to death, the slightest expression of a
wish would have caUed at once, to his rescue, more than
twelve legions of angels : ° they aided him not, only because
he walled to die. But it was the Father's 'wUl that he should
rise again. The time appointed for his resurrection came,
and the angel of the Lord descending from heaven opened
the door of his sepulchre, that the Lord of angels might
come forth.' And when Mary Magdalene came to seek
I Horsley. -' Luke 1. 26—36. 3 Luke ii. 8—14.
4 Matt. ii. 13, 14. ' Matt. ii. 19— 21. o Matt. iv. 11.
1 Luke xxii, 43. s Matt, xxvi- 53. » Matt, xxviii. 2.

54 PART I. LECTUEE V.
him, she found two of these loving ministers sitting, " the
one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of
Jesus had lain." ' Such was their muiistration 'to him.
And after he had left the world, they ministered to his people
also. When the apostles were imprisoned by the Jewish
rulers, an angel opened the prison-doors, and bade them go
forth and preach. ' When Comelius sought the Lord by
prayer and fasting, an angel appeared to him and desired
him to send for St. Peter.' When St. Peter himself was
imprisoned by king Herod, and about to be brought forth
to death, the Lord sent his angel and delivered him fr-om
his hand.'' And finally, when St. Paul was ship'wrecked on
his voyage to Rome, and he and aU who sailed with him
expected to be swaUowed up in the deep, the angel of the
Lord stood by him and comforted his heart -with Divine
assurances of safety. And this angelic ministry to the
faithful continues stiU. "Take heed," says Christ, "that
ye despise not one of these little ones... their angels do
always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven." ^
And these blessed spirits comit it no dishonour thus to
minister ; nay, they give thanks to God who permits them
such a privUege. ° Nor does St. Paul here mention their
ministry to their dishonour. He mentions it only, that by
knowing their place aud employment, we may leam by con
trast, to know the dignity of Christ, and the dignity also to
which he has advanced his people.
What then is this dignity? It is the dignity of sonship.
"To as many as received him," says St. John, "to them
gave he power to become the sons of God."' It is because
God's people are his sons, that they shall inherit salvation ;
for to inherit salvation is to inherit Christ's glory. "If
children," says St Paul, "then heirs... joint-heirs with Christ
...that we may be also glorified together."' He has been
commanded to sit in the presence of God, and the seat
appointed to him is on the right hand of the Father's
majesty. And when the day of glory comes, we his believing
I John XX. n, 12. 2 Acts V. 17— 20. sActsx.l— 6. 4 Acts. xii. C— 11.
s Matt, xviii. 10. o Ps. ciii. 20,21, ijohni. 1?. s Eopi. viU, 17,

CHAP. I. 13, 14. 55
people shall be commanded to sit also, and the right hand of
the Saviour's majesty shall be the seat that is appointed to
us.' Well may angels minister to those who have such a
hope. " Order is heaven's first law : " it is fitting that in
God's family the servants wait upon the children.
It is needful to pause here and resolve what may appear
to some a most serious difficulty. Christ, it may be said,
is declared to be a Divine person, because Scripture caUs
him the Son of God ; because it declares that he sits before
the Father's majesty, and occupies the Father's throne.
But if we his belieidng people, who confessedly are mere
creatures, be also called sons of God, and if Scripture declares
that we also shall sit in God's presence, nay that our seat
shall be Christ's throne, this argument cannot stand good.
It does stand good, as a little explanation will shew. God
is not Christ's father and our father after the same manner.
Christ is son by generation ; we are sons by adoption only.
Christ's dignity is his own; ours is conferred on us by him.
Scripture states these things in the plainest manner. It
repeatedly calls Ghrist God's only-begotten Son.' And we
are told that the Jews sought to kill Jesus, because he said
"that God was his own father, making himself equal with
God."' Now we never can be sons of God in such a sense
as this. Our sonship is by faith in Christ, and through the
spirit dweUing in us. " Ye are all the children of God," says
St. Paul, "through faith in Christ Jesus."'' And again —
"as many as are led by the spirit of God, they are the sons
of God."'' But this is a real sonship. For faith in Christ,
and the possession of his spirit, constitute a spiritual union
between us and him. And through oneness with him who is
THE SON OF God, we become truly and properly sons of God.
And he who has made us by adoption the children of his
Father, confers on us the dignity which belongs to children.
"The kingdom of heaven," said the Lord Jesus, "is hke
unto a certain king who made a marriage for his son."^ The
Father-king in this parable, is God the Father ; the Son is
1 Revel, iii. 21. 2 John iii. 16. a John v. 18, original.
» Galatians iii, 26. 6 Eomansviii.H. e Matthew xxii. 2.

56 P.A.RT I, LEinURE V-
Christ ; the wife who is sought for the Son, is the church,
the company of the saved. For the church, because she is
joined to Christ in indissoluble and eternal union through
faith and by the Holy Ghost, is caUed in Scriptme, "the
bride, the Lamb's wife." ' Let us follow out this illustration.
A king's son, his father's heir, marries a peasant's child. By
making her his wife, he makes her the king's daughter, and
confers on her his own rank and honour. So it is with the
church. Christ by making her his 'wife, has conferred on
her the blessing of adoption : and God his Father addresses
her, " hearken oh daughter, and consider, and incline thine
ear."' This at once explains the future glory of the saints.
It is not their merit as creatures, nor the favour which God
bears to them as such ; it is their imion 'with Christ which
shall exalt them. Through that mdon they shaU take a
place, which no creature as such can ever occupy. They
shall sit in God's presence, because Christ sits there ; yea
their seat shall be the throne of glory, because it is his seat.
And he who makes common cause with Christ, shaU make
common cause vdth them also, saying of their enemies, "I
will make them to worship before thy feet, and to know that
I have loved thee."' Let us follow our iUustration to the
end. The king of whom we have spoken, bequeaths his
crown to the prince his son, and the peasant's chUd becomes
in consequence the queen. The eldest nobles in the land
now bow before her. But they bow before the queen, not
before the peasant-girl. Her obscure original is forgotten,
and none dare mention it ; for the king has ennobled her, and
the Idng is the fountain of honour. The daughters of the
highest nobility too are her inferiors. She was their inferior
originally ; but the king has made her his 'wife, and that has
exalted her above them. Thus then shall it be hereafter.
The day is coming, when God the Father shaU install Christ
as King. And the church, the company of the saved, shall
then appear in regal dignity, standing as Queen on Christ's
right hand.* The highest angels shall then appear inferior
to the saints. They were not so originally, but Christ has
J Eevel. xxi, 9, 2 Psalm xiv, IQ. 3 Revel, iii, 9, 4 Psalm xiv. 9.

CHAP. I, 13, 14. 67
made them so; He who "took not on him the nature of
angels, took on him the seed of Abraham.'" The Holy
Spirit has not disdained to refer to the usages of a royal
court, to explain the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.
It is one of these usages that the highest nobUity wait upon
a king and queen, as then attendants, their ministers, their
cupbearers, and esteem such services as posts of honour.
And the reference to this in the forty-fifth Psalm, warrants
us iu saying that so shaU it be hereafter. The highest
seraphim shall wait in the ages to come, on the king and
queen of glory, Christ and his saved people, and count
themselves ennobled by such ministry and service.
From aU this we see what it is to inherit salvation, and
how it is that Christ's people are exalted to such a height.
But the theme is so glorious that it is almost impossible to
dismiss it. It is enough to make one weep, to hear the
language which is often used on this subject. The honour
of being permitted to worship God with the holy angels, is
commonly held forth as one of the most attractive exhibitions
of heaven. But this is teUing the children of the honour of
conversing with the servants ! If we are ever counted worthy
to attain that world and Christ's throne, we shall see cherub
and seraph far beneath om feet. As we walk upon the earth,
we see the clouds above our heads, and feel our own Uttleness
in comparison with their altitude. But were we on the
summit of Mont Blanc, we should see these clouds beneath
our feet, and could watch the lightning as it flashed, and
hear the thunder rolling far below us. And in like manner,
dwellmg as we do here in cottages of clay, with fraU mortal
bodies which are crushed before the moth, we lift up om
eyes to heaven, and when we think of the holy angels, we
think of them only as exalted far above us. But when we
who are Christ's believing people have exchanged these
mortal for immortal bodies, and these our clay cottages for
mansions in the sides, we shaU look down on these angelic
intelligences, and be fiUed 'with wonder to see them so far
beneath us. For we shall be invested then with the glorious
1 Hebrews ii. 16.
D 3

58 PAET I. LECTURE V.
dignity in reserve now for the chfldren of the Highest, and
no possible accumulation of creature-honours shaU appear
anything in our eyes.
All this greatly strengthens the argument for the Divinity
of Christ's person. It is by union with a king, that his
espoused becomes a queen. And it proves Christ to be One
to whom Di^dne honour and dignity appertain, that union
mth him should raise children of the dust to such a dazzling
height of glory.
But what, it may be asked, is the practical use of this?
There is nothing more deeply practical, than adequate
conceptions of heavenly blessedness. Low and inadequate
conceptions of it produce languid desires after it. Men say
that they hope for heaven, and live, whUe they say so,
devoted to this present world. Whereas if we know what
heaven really is, we shall be constrained either to give up all
hope of attaining it, or to live worthy of such a hope. We
cannot look for the glories of eternity, and at the same time
give our thoughts, our time, om affections to the perishing
vanities of a day. Almighty God himself teach us to set
our hearts on these glories, and enable us to live for them !

59

LECTURE VI.
Hebrews u. 1 — 3.
" Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the
things which we have heard, lest at any time we sliould let
them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast,
and every transgression and disobedience received ajustrecom-
penee of reward; how shall we escape if we neglect so great
salvation, which at the first began to be spolcen hy the Lord? "
St. Paul having in the first chapter discoursed so very
largely concerning Christ, and salvation by him, proceeds
in the verses which we have just read, to apply personally
and practically aU that he has been saying. He addresses
himself and the Hebrews, he addresses us, he addresses the
Church and the world till the end of time.
Therefore —
Because God has in these last days spoken by his Son —
by Him who is the heir of all things, who made the worlds,
who is the Brightness of His glory, the exact impression of
His substance, and the Upholder of creation by His word —
by Him who ha'ving once died for us on earth, now sits our
exalted Mediator, speaking to us from heaven.
We ought to give tlie more earnest heed to the things which
we have heard.
God taking flesh of man that he may speak to man,
is the great mark of the Christian dispensation. And want
of heed when He so draws near to us, is the exprefsion of

60 PART I. LECTURE VI,
contempt. It is to put Christ to open shame. It is to say
that the message of wisdom, mercy and love which He has
brought from the bosom of the Father, is not worthy of
being listened to. How different was the treatment which
the Queen of Sheba gave to Solomon ! She came from the
uttermost parts of the earth to hear him ; and when she
listened, she was ravished with his wisdom. She wUl
therefore rise in the judgment with listless and indifferent
Israel; "a greater than Solomon," the incarnate Saviour,
was among them, and they heard him not." How different
also was the treatment which the Ninevites gave to Jonah !
" The Idng arose from Ids throne, and laid his robe from
him, and covered himself vdth sackcloth, and sat in ashes; "
yea, man and beast were clothed 'with sackcloth, and a
whole people cried mightily to God. ' And they shall
therefore rise in the judgment with heedless and gainsajdng
Israel; "a greater than Jonah,'' the incarnate Saviour
was among them, and they repented not.' And these
witnesses shall testify against us also, if, inheriting as we
do, Israel's distinguishing mercy, we foUow the example so
fatally set. For Christ 'will not accept from any a listless
hearing of his words. His dignity demands heed — eamest
heed — a heed more earnest than we give to any other
message, an attention more rivetted than we yield to any
other messenger.
This earnest heed, this rivetted attention to " the things
winch we have heard," is needful also for our own salvation —
Lest at any thne we should run out as leaking vessels.
This world's loiowledge remains with us, but our treacher
ous memories are as leaking vessels, when the knowledge of
salvation is the treasure committed to them. It is the state
of our hearts which occasions this ; we do not like to retain
God in our knowledge.'' This is a fatal tendency, for to
forget Christ and his gospel is to lose our souls.'' And
1 Matt, xii, 42, z Jonah iii. 6— 8. s Matt, xii. 41.
i Eom, i. 28. » I Cor. xv. %

chap ii. 1—3. 61
therefore according to our estimate of their value, should be
the eamestness of om heed. Moreover, there are seasons
in the history of every one of us, when we are m especial
danger of forgetting Christ. A season of prosperity is one
of these. Pride and worldly enjoyment conspire, at such a
time, to harden the heart. A season of adversity is another.
The heart crushed by sorrow and disappointment, refuses
at such a time to 'take interest in anything. A season of
worldly trouble may be mentioned also. The mind is then
tossed and agitated by anxiety and care, and cannot compose
itself to serious thought. Tins consideration gives great
fidness of meaning to the words before us, "lest at any time
we should let them sUp." For Satan takes advantage of
times like these, to drive Christ and his salvation altogether
out of our minds. Let us not be ignorant then, either of
om- own hearts, or of his devices. And since these hearts
are prone, especially in seasons of temptation, to forget Christ
and turn from him, let us seek grace from God, that giving
more eamest heed to our Saviour's words, and cleaving to
him faithfully, we may 'win his salvation in the end.
These solemn considerations are next amplified and
enlarged upon.
For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of
reivard; how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord?
" The word spoken by angels '' was the law given on
Mount Sinai. It is here contrasted with the gospel, the
word " spoken by the Lord." It was God who spake the
law also, an unbelieving Jew might have replied. But the
Apostle was prepared with his answer. It was indeed God
who spake it, but not God incarnate. It was God in like
manner who spake to our first parents in Eden — who blessed
Noah and his sons — who called Abraham — who spake to
Moses in the bush, and to Israel by the prophets, but not
God incarnate. Such speaking is peculiar to Christianity,

62 PAET I. LECTUEE VI.
the special mark of this last dispensation of the world. And
it is the reason of reasons why we should Usten to the gospel
of Christ.
We do not know in what way angels ministered, when the
law was given ; but Scripture distinctly states the fact. It
teUs us that God, on that day of solemnity, was surrounded
by myriads of these glorious spirits. "The Lord came from
Sinai," says Moses himself, ..." he came with ten thousands
of holy ones."' And the Psalmist teUs us that "the chariots
of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels,"
and that, " the Lord is among them as (he was) in Sinai, in the
holy place."' We are also told that angels were in some
way employed in delivering the law to Moses. St. Stephen
reminds the Jews that they had " received the law by fhe
disposition of angels : " ' and St. Paul declares to the Galatians
that "it was ordained by angels in the hand of a Mediator."*
This word spoken hy angels, as we are told in the text,
"was steadfast," i.e. was estabUshed, was confirmed. For
God confirmed and established it, by visiting, as we read in
the words that follow, " every transgression and (Usobedience
with a just recompence of reward." And St. Paul therefore
argues with the Hebrews and with us, that God wiU visit
with a sorer punishment those who neglect the great salva
tion which has been proclaimed by the mouth of the Lord.
The Hebrews were in a condition to feel the force of this
argument. They were weU aware that under the law of
Moses, mercy had never been shewn to the wUfid and pre
sumptuous transgressor. They knew that when their fathers
worshipped the golden calf, the offence had not been expiated
by the blood of three thousand men.' They knew that
when Korah, Dathan and Abiram rose up against Moses and
Aaron, they had been swaUowed up by the earth, and gone
do-wn living into the grave." They knew also that smaUer
offences than these had not escaped condign punishment.
When a man in the heat of passion, had blasphemed the
name of the Lord and cursed, the congregatioiLliad stoned
1 Deut. xxxiii. 2. 2 Psalm Ixviii. 17. 3 Acts vii. 53.
4 Galat, iii. 19, s Exod. xxxii. 26— 35. e Num. xvi. 31— 33.

CHAP. II. 1—3. 63
him by God's command.' When another had gone out
merely to gather a few sticks on the Sabbath-day, he had
perished by the same dreadful death.' And -viewing these
acts of severity as an exhibition of the character of God,
the Hebrews could not fail to see that escape from Divine
vengeance was impossible, if they despised the Lord's Christ
and neglected his salvation. St. Paul calls it "so great
salvation." This implies that the law of Moses with which
he has just contrasted it, was, in one sense, a salvation.
And so it was. For its rites and ceremonies testified to
Christ, and it contained promises of a life to come. The
sincere worshipper moreover, by the light which it afforded
to him, could find acceptance with God here, and attain to
this life hereafter. But St. Patd's words also imply that it
was not to be compared with the salvation revealed in the
gospel, for he pronotmces it in comparison, to be "so great
salvation." It is so, because of the dignity of its Mediator.
A prophet was the mediator of the law, and angels were its
ministers. But the Mediator and Minister of the gospel is
Cheist, the sender of prophets, Cheist, the Creator of
9,ngels. And it is so, for another reason. The law with its
rites and ceremonies, shadowed forth but darkly the true
atonement for transgression, and its promises of life and
blessedness to come, were only dim and indistinct intimations.
How very different is the gospel ! It sets forth Christ plainly
as the expiation for iniquity, and assures us of the Father's
mercy through faith in him. It also proclaims his resurrec
tion and glory at the right hand of God, as the sure and
certain pledge of the resurrection and glory of his people.
The whole force of this apostolic argument now comes before
us. The contemner of Moses and of angels escaped not.
How then, oh ye Hebrews, shall we escape, if we contemn
the Son of God! The despiser of the scanty grace of the
legal dispensation escaped not. How then, oh ye Hebrews,
shall we escape, if we neglect the abundant grace of the
gospel! I would also remark that the word "neglect" is
-^ery full of meaning. WhUe it left the waming of the
1 Leviticus xxiv. 10—14. 2 Numbers xv. 32—36.

64 PART I. LECTURE VI.
Apostle to tell with full force on Christ's active and
presumptuous enemies among the unbelieving Hebrews, it
reminded others who might suppose that neutrality was
safety, that not to be his friends ^&s sufficient to expose them
to his vengeance. And it reminded those vrithin the Hebrew
church, that except they were found valuing, and applying
to their own souls the salvation of Christ, their place in this
house should not save them in the day of his anger. FinaUy,
it reminded those who had been taught to value Christ and
rejoice in him, that it was only by continuing to do so, and
by not letting slip the things which they had heard, that they
should attain salvation in the end. And he includes himself
in the warning, he asks, "how shall we escape." The
question contains its answer — ^we shall not escape. On you
and me together, says St, Paul, if found to have neglected
Christ, God's vengeance shall alight in the day of his coming
¦wi'ath. All this applies equally to us. The salvation of 'which
St. Paul is here speaking, has been proclaimed to us
in the gospel, and sealed as ours in the sacraments. Its
greatness, as we shall see by a reference again to the first
chapter, appears in two respects. I. Christ has done great
things to save us from our lost estate. II. Christ has raised
our nature, and has promised to raise our persons through
faith in him, to a great height of glory. And the Ulustration
of these two particulars, will shew us, by God's help, that we
can by no means escape, "if we neglect so great salvation."
I. The Son of God, we were told in the first chapter, has
come to declare to us the Father's word. But He was not
satisfied ¦with opening the heavens to speak to us : he came
down and dwelt on the earth. As a man among men he
taught and instructed us; he warned us of the consequences
of sin; he revealed to us the grace of the Father; he
besought us to forsake our sins, and turn to the Lord cm-
God. Like the shepherd in the parable, he went after that
which was lost: like the woman witii the piece of silver, he
sought for us diligently as for precious treasure. And this
was but a small thing; "by himself he purged our sins," —

CHAP. II. 1—3. 63
he laid down his life to bring us back to God. He did not
merely point out the way, and beseech us to walk in it; he
also shed his precious blood to open that way for us, to enable
us to walk in it without obstruction. And now it is open.
The curse of the law is now removed — his one offering has
rent the vail. And God, once concealed behind that vaU,
but now revealed, says, "come unto me and I wiU receive
you, and will be a father to you." ' His gospel also encourages
us to come, pointing to Christ, and saying, " behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."''
These are the great things which Christ has done for us ; this
is the first part of the great salvation. We were lost in
ignorance of God, and lost mider his displeasure. Christ
has made known the Father, Christ has removed the curse;
"all things are ready," and whosoever wUl, may come.
II. These great things have been done to exalt us to a
great height of glory. Our nature is already exalted, for
Jesus, by incarnation, has taken manhood into God. We
learned this also from the first chapter. It told us that the
Son of God and Man now sits on high as the Father's
begotten, the object of worship to angels. It told us that on
his head the Father's croivn is resting, and that he now
occupies the Father's throne. It told us that in man's
countenance, creation is now to read for ever the expression
of the mind of invisible Godhead. This is indeed an
ennobling of human nature, of the human race. As an
eloquent writer has beautifully expressed it, " our brother
is the God of angels." Unitarians speak much of the
dignity of human nature. But denying as they do, the
Godhead of Christ, they know nothing of this dignity.
Man's real dignity consists in what I have just declared — the
Son of the Highest is a man.
The sovereign of a mighty empire marries into an obscure
family. But the family of which he has become a member
can be obscure uo longer ; connection with royalty ennobles
it. The King of Kings has become one of us, a member
of the human family. And his unspeakable condescension
1 II Corinthians vi. 17, 18, 2 John i, 29.

66 PART I. LECTUEE VI.
has for ever ennobled our race. Were an earthly sovereign
to do as we have now supposed, the members of the family of
which he had become one, would expect to be raised,
through his connection with them, to posts of honour in his
kingdom. And we may expect the same, from the Lord
JeSus. It is true that we are originally beggars; but "he
raises the beggar from the dunghill, that he may set him
with princes, even with the princes of his people." ' We
leamed this also from the first chapter. It told us that
Christ and his people should be glorified together. It told
us that the angels, the creatures of his power and ministers
of his 'will, went forth at his bidding, to wait on them as the
heirs of his glory. And this etemal and inconceivable
dignity, conferred on humanity in Christ, and then for
Christ's sake, on us his people, is the second part of the great
salvation. On this point however I would recapitulate more par
ticularly. This glory, as we have now seen, is reserved for
Christ's people : all men shaU not inherit it. Christ indeed,
by incarnation, has made himself a member of the human
family, and has become one with us all. But he has done
this to make us one with him. And we must become so
before we can inherit with him. On this point also we are
instructed, in considering the first chapter. We leamed that
by trusting in Christ as our Saviour, and receiving his Spirit
into our hearts, we become his feUows and co-heirs of his
glory. For Christ is presented to us in the gospel as our
Sa-riour. And when our hearts are opened to trust in him
in that endearing character, he comes into these hearts by
his spirit, and makes them his abode. And then, to use the
language of our church, " we dwell in Christ, and Christ in
us; we are one ¦with Christ, and Christ with us." Baptism
is the seal of this blessed pri^vUege. For we are baptized
into Christ, as the seal of union with Christ. But we must
not be satisfied with the mere rite ; it declares only God's
gracious purpose, which we may reject against ourselves.
We must seek the thing sealed in baptism — we must receive
1 Psalm cxiii. 7, 8.

CHAP. II. 1—3. 67
Christ into our hearts. And then, as smely as he now sits
on high, so surely shall we one day sit beside him, crowned,
sceptred and anointed kings. I cannot but observe it as a
remarkable featm-e of the gospel, that having laid us low as
if beyond redemption, by declaring us accursed of God, it
lifts us high beyond aU hope, by seating us on Christ's throne.
WeU may St. Paul caU it in the text, " so great salvation ! "
Well may he exclaim, " how shall we escape, if we neglect "
it! It is truly wonderful that men should neglect it. But the
very abundance of God's mercy seems to make men careless
of it. Were he more niggard in bestoviing it, peradventure
they might leam to value it. We are sentenced to die by
our country's laws. A petition, soUciting our pardon, is
forwarded to the throne. We know the day on which the
royal answer is expected. Can we await its approach without
anxiety ? The day comes, nay the hour which is to declare
our fate, and we hear the footsteps of the messenger, as he
approaches the door of our cell. Can we listen to such
sounds unmoved? He brings ¦with him news of pardon ;
can we hear them and be unaffected? And oh, if the
coming of Christ to teU us the mind of God were stiU a
future thing, if it were stiU a matter of uncertainty whether
God would remit the sentence of etemal death which he has
passed on us, how strangely hardened would that man appear
who should say that the Divine decision on this awful ques
tion was to him a matter of indifference ! But the exhibition
of human nature under the gospel is stranger stUl. Christ
has come and proclaimed the Divine forgiveness ; nay more,
he has promised to condemned malefactors a share in the
glories of his Idngdom. And what entertainment do men
give to his message? It is almost universally neglected.
They admit it into their creeds as a truth which they do not
seek to deny, but they admit it not mto their hearts as their
hope and cherished joy. Amid men's various objects of
interest and various pursuits, the love of God, his unspeak
able mercy and his unhoped-for promises, come the very last
in order. And this neglect of the great salvation is of aU

68 PART I. LECTURE VI.
proofs the most deeply affecting of the alienation of man's
heart from God.
The first consequence of this neglect, shaU be the loss of
the blessing neglected. God has sworn in righteousness that
those who set no value on his salvation, shall never partake
of its blessings : and the Strength of Israel is not a man
that he shorJd lie. But ah, men know not now the amount
of what they thus shaU lose. Nor shall eternity itself unfold
it perfectly, for it is infinite. The miserable shall be leaming
their loss for ever, but they shall not be able to reach its
total sum. And while they leam it, they shaU be tortured
StUl by the reflection — our own neglect has been the cause
of all. We might have had God's favour, but we did not
think it worthy of our acceptance ; we might have sat on
high with the blessed One, amid the light and glories of
eternity, but when that hope was set before us, we neglected
it for the things of time. This bitter reflection is "the
worm that dieth not." If that worm could but be killed,
heU would be deprived of half its terrors. But it shaU be
impossible to kill it. If you and I lose our soiUs, we shaU
never be able, though we search to eternity, to find a deeper
cause for it than our own neglect. The wiU of God is not
the cause of it : God has made no decree against any man,
save that the neglecter of Christ shaU come short of Christ's
salvation. The Ught of the judgment-seat and of eternity
shaU make clearly manifest the righteousness of this decree.
And the miserable shall be constrained to acknowledge,
throughout the ages of its endless execution, that 'they have
been themselves the cause of their own woe.
But loss of promised good shall not be the only con
sequence of salvation neglected : the endurance of penal wrath
is another element in heU. When God spake by angels, he
would not suffer his word to be slighted ; when he revealed
even the scanty grace of the legal dispensation, he would not
suffer that grace to be despised : he visited "every transgres
sion and disobedience vrith a just recompence of reward."
Now he is the just God stUl. It cannot therefore be
supposed tlrnt when he has spoken to us by Christ from

CHAP. II. 1—3. 69
heaven, he will suffer us to sUght his word. It cannot be
supposed that when he has revealed the abundant grace of
the gospel, purchased by the tears and agonies, the travail
and death of his beloved, he will suffer that grace to be
despised and trampled on. If he was severe in the one case,
he vriU be much more severe in the other; "if the word
spoken by angels was steadfast," the despiser of Christ
cannot hope to escape. Besides, Scripture tells us
that God " is a jealous God," nay, that his " -name is
Jealous."^ He is jealous of his dignity, jealous of his
authority, jealous of his honour. That dignity is outraged,
that authority is set at nought, that honour is insulted, when
men refuse to hearken to him. He wUl therefore smely visit
it. And this is only one meaning of this most awful name.
Jealousy is love turned into hatred, because it has been requited
with neglect. A husband who loves his wife, sees that her
heart is toward another ; and his jealousy burns in conse
quence, both against her and the man who has seduced her
affections. Of all human feelings this jealousy is the most
merciless. Scripture calls it "the rage of a man,'' and teUs
us that when actuated by it, "he wUl not spare in the day of
vengeance :"' it also tells us that whUe "love is strong as
death, jealousy is cruel as the grave."' Now God has loved
us most dearly. He has also proved this love by giving his
Son to die, by raising our nature in him to the highest
heavens, by promising to seat us beside him. And now he
comes in the preached gospel, making eamest suit for our
hearts in return. But the devU, the liar, the murderer, to
whom we owe nothing save abhorrence, comes at the same
time. And by his wiles, his temptations and his flatteries,
he prevaUs to win for the world and sin, those affections which
are due to God. Can God see this and not avenge it? He
will avenge it fearfully. Seducer and seduced shall perish
together in the day of his awakened wrath. The devil who
has deceived men shaU be cast into the lake of fire and
brimstone, and as many as have been deceived by him, shall
share his fearful doom.*
1 Exod. xxxiv 14, 2 Prov. vi. 31, 3 Cant, viii, 6. 4 Kev. xx, 10— 15,

70 PART I. LECTURE VI.
Let US then take heed to ourselves, lest we neglect God's
great salvation. It is not enough that we are not Christ's
enemies : we must be his friends and devoted people. It is
not enough that we are members of his church : we must be
prizing his gospel in our hearts as our hope and cherished
treasure. It addresses us as creatures ruined by transgression,
but tells us of a sacrifice in which there is remission of sin.
With unfeigned confession of sin we must trust unfeignedly
in that sacrifice. It addresses us as creatmes debased and
depraved, but teUs us of a Saviom' fiUed ¦with the Holy
Ghost, and able to sanctify us for God. We must open our
hearts to that Saviour that we may prove experimentally his
spirit's cleansing power. It addresses us as creatures doomed
to die, but sets before us the hope of resurrection out of
death, and endless glory at God's right hand. We must
embrace this hope, living above this present world, and ha'ving
a reference to eternity in all which we are now engaged in.
Finally, the gospel asks our hearts for God, in return for his
love to us. Constrained by that love, we must yield them
willingly. Nor must we do this for a time oiUy ; " the things
which we have heard," must abide 'with us to the end. We
must thus beUeve, thus hope, and thus love, till faith and
hope be swallowed up in vision, and love be perfected for
ever in the presence of the blessed God.
This exhortation applies to every one. No office in the
church dispenses with the necessity of personal reUgion.
The inspired Apostle who says in the words before us, " how
shaU we escape," was careful to keep under his body, lest
when he had preached to others, he himself shotdd be a
castaway.' Let us foUow his example, whether we be pastors
or people. The day is at hand when official position shall
be ended, and every one of us stand naked before God.
May He grant that then we may be found of him in peace —
yea, that we may meet at God's right hand, and exohajige
om greetings there ! 1 I Cor. ix. 27.

71

LECTURE VII.

Hebrews ii. 3.

" Which at the fii-st began to be spoken by the Lord, and
was confirmed unto us hy them that heard him!'
The words with which our text commences, were partly con
sidered in the last lecture. But I have introduced them
again, because they are connected with the argument which
follows, as well as that which has preceded them. The
Apostle has been discoursing to the Hebrews concerning
God's great salvation, and waming them of the certain de
struction which shaU fall on those who neglect it. But do
not think, he continues in the words which we have just read,
that anything of that which I now urge on you, is a new
doctrine of mine ; the Lord himself testified to it aU, in his
personal ministry on earth. And if you object to me that I
never knew him on earth, and never heard him, let us go to
those who did know him on earth, and did hear him ; let us
listen to the solemn testimony of the twelve whom he sent
forth, and see whether in anything that testimony disagrees
vdth mine. Bj thus referring to other witnesses for the
truth, St. Paid sought to strengthen the weak faith of the
Hebrew church. For he knew that though it was weak, they
were persuaded that Jesus was the Messiah, and that those
who had heard him, and had been ^ent forth by him, were
worthy of all credit. They were also in a condition to take
up his reference. They were perfectly aware of what the
Lord himself had preached, for the generation was yet living
who had heard him. They were equally aware of what his

Vy PART I. LECTURE VII,
apostles had preached, because for years aftor his ascension
these ministers had abode in Jerusalem, and gone in and out
among them. They coiUd therefore easily tell whether what
was now urged on them by St. Paul, was the doctrine of his
Lord and of his brethren, or was one pecuUar to himself.
We are not in their condition. Things which were difficulties
and stumbling-blocks to them, are not so to us. And resting
as we do on the inspired testimony of St. Paul, we do not feel
the need of any other witness. But it is most profitable to
compare Scripture 'with Scripture. Let us therefore examine
the records which we have of Christ's ministry on earth, and
see whether he affirms in his own person, all that his servant
has declared concerning him in the first chapter of tins book.
Let us also examine the epistles of St. Peter and the wTitings
of St. John, and see whether the word in their mouth con
firms that of Christ their Master, and of St. Paul their
fellow-labourer. The words of the text iu'dte us to this
employment. And we shall find it as pleasant as it is pro
fitable and instructive.
Which at the first hegan to be spoken by the Lord.
St. Paul, in the first chapter of this epistle, has testified
to Christ as the Son of God, a messenger of greater dignity
than prophets. He has borne testimony to him also as the
son of man, who came to speak to us men in the name of
God. He has declared that by the sacrifice of himself, this
blessed One has purged our sins ; that we being made the
sons of God, might be his feUows and the co-heirs of his
glory. Finally, he has warned us in the most solemn man
ner, that having been privUeged 'with so great a salvation, we
shall not escape, if we neglect it. Does Christ himself affirm
these things? St. Paul in the text declares that he does.
And a reference to his personal ministry 'will establish the
truth of this declaration.
I. Christ declares himself to be the Son of God. When
the high-priest asked him, "art thou the Clirist, the Son of
the Blessed," we are told by St. Mark that "Jesus said, I

CHAP. II. 3. 73
Am."' And we are not left in doubt as to the meaning of
this sacred designation. He meant to signify by using it,
that he was a sharer in the Father's Divinity and eternity,
and that he was entitled to share in the Father's honour,
because he was one with the Father. The high-priest under
stood this to be his meaning ; for he rent his clothes and
exclaimed, " ye have heard the blasphemy." He could not
faU indeed so to understand it, for we find Jesus in other
places distinctly declaring these things. The Jews, as we
are told by St. John, objected to him, "thou art not yet fifty
years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" And he took, in
reply to this objection, the incommunicable name of God,
the name which includes at once Divinity and eternity —
"before Abraham was," he said, "I am."' Moreover, he
distinctly declared to the Jews that he was entitled to share
in the Father's honour. He told them that he was consti
tuted Judge, "that all men shoidd honour the Son, even as
they honour the Father."' He declared with equal distinct
ness his unity with the Father; "I and my Father are one,"*
were his express words. His enemies sought to stone him
for saying this, and left him Uttle opportimity for explana
tion. But he had such opportunity just before his passion,
with his chosen few. One of them then asked him, " Lord,
shew us the Father." And what was his reply? "Have
I been so long time with you," he said, "and yet hast thou
not known me, Philip ? — ^he that hath seen me hath seen
the Father."* Here is unity indeed. He who did not know
that in seeing Jesus he saw the Father, is accused of not
knowing Jesus ! But the most remarkable testimony which
Christ ever bore to himself as a Divine person and the Son of
God, is found in the famous question, which as we are told
by St. Matthew, he proposed to the assembled Pharisees.
He first asked then judgment of Christ, and obtained from
them the confession that he was the son of David. And
then referring to the hundred and tenth Psalm, in which
Da'rid says, "the Lord said unto my Lord, sit on my right
t Mark xiv. 61, 62. 2 John viii. 56— 68. » John y. 23.
4 John X. 30. £ John xiv. 8, 9,
VOL. I. E

74 PART I. LECTURE Til.
hand," he asked them, "how then doth Da'vid m spirit caD
him Lord?" But the Pharisees, being ignorant of the mys
tery of Messiah's person, "could not answer him a word."'
For that mystery contains the only explanation of this seem
ing paradox. The Son of God, David's Lord in right of
Godhead, took flesh of Da'rid's daughter, and so became
David's Son. With this explanation the difficulty vanishes :
vrithout it, Christ's question remains unanswerable, as the
Pharisees felt it to be. His object therefore in proposing
it is most evident. It was to shew these Rabbis their igno
rance, and to lead them to search their own Scriptures, that
they might leam who Messiah was.
II. Christ declared himself to be a messenger of greater
dignity than prophets. " There -R-as a certain householder,"
he tells us, in one of his most remarkable parables, "who
planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen ; " and
" when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants''
to receive it. But the husbandmen laid hands on them,
beat, stoned and killed them. "Last of all, he sent to
them his son, saying, they wiU reverence my son." But so
far from doing so, "they said, this is the heir, come, let us
kill 1dm." " And they caught him, and cast him out of the
vineyard, and slew him." It required no instruction to make
this parable intelligible. The chief priests and Pharisees,
as soon as they had heard it, " perceived that he spake of
them."' They perceived that his object was to pourtray the
guUt of the Jewish people, who through the past ages of
God's forbearance, had been misusing his messengers, and
slaymg his prophets mth the sword. They perceived that
when he spake of the son and his dignity, he referred to
himself as a messenger more worthy of reverence than any
who had yet come forth from God. Finally, they perceived
that he meant to charge them with the guUt of consummated
apostacy, because they were refusing to hearken to his voice,
and were purposing to shed his blood. And what Christ
thus declared in this place by a parable, he declared in other
places 'without a parable. When he spoke of the queen of
" Matt. xxii. 42—46. 2 Matt. xxi. 33 — 45.

CHAP. II. 3. 75
the south coming from the ends of the earth, to hear the
wisdom of Solomon, he added in express terms, " behold, a
greater than Solomon is here." When he spoke of the
Ninevites repenting at the preaching of Jonas, he added in
terms equally express, "behold, a greater than Jonas is
here." And if with these and simUar testimonies of Christ
to himself the testimony of St. Paul to him in the opening
verses of this epistle, be compared. Master and servant wUl
be found to have spoken the same thing.
III. Christ declared himself to be the son of man, who
had come, m the name of God, to us the sons of men. " If
I have told you earthly things," he said to Nicodemus, " and
ye beUeve not, how shall ye believe, if I teU you of heavenly
things?" He then proceeded, "as Moses lifted up the
serpent, so must the Son of man be lifted up,... for God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son."^ Now
in these words, let us observe, Christ calls himself the only
begotten Son of God, and the Son of Man. This imion of
Godhead and manhood in his person, is just the heavenly
mystery which men are so slow to believe. And here it is
affirmed by himself. But why did the Son of God become
a Eon of man ? That he might have access to us the sons
of men, and speak to us in the name of God. On this
matter also let us hear himself. " The Son of Man," ' he
said, " is come to seek and to save that which was lost."'
IV. Christ also declared himself to be the sacrifice by
which our sins were to be pmged, and by which a way was
to be opened for us sinners to the bosom of God. His most
emphatic declaration of this was at the last supper. We
read that he took bread, and gave thanks, and gave it to his
disciples, sayuig, " this is my body which is given for you.''
We also read that he took the cup after supper, saying,
" this cup is the new testament in my blood which is shed
for you."' And we leam from his own testimony, that he
purposed thus to offer himself, not for them only but for
all. "My Father giveth you," he said to unbeUe-ving Israel,
"the true bread from heaven:" and again he said to them,
] John iii. 14—16. 2 Luke xix. 10. s Luke xxii, 19, 20.
E 2

76 PAET I. LECTURE VII.
" the bread which I wiU give, is my flesh, which I wiU give
for the life of the world." ' By thus giving his flesh for the
life of the world, Christ has become the revelation to us of
the Father's love, our salvation, our way to God. We learn
this also from his o-wn testimony. " I am the way," he said,
" and the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father
but by me."' But are aU men welcomed to come to God
by this way, — to rejoice in the tmth of revealed mercy, —
to receive the life which that mercy brings? "Him that
cometh unto me" are the Saviour's own words, "I wUl in
no wise cast out."' With this we may well be satisfied.
If human language means anything, these testimonies are
abundantly decisive.
V. Christ declared that through faith in him we should
receive this etemal life, should be made the sons of God,
and should be exalted as his feUows and as the co-heirs of
his glory. " He that beUeveth on me " was his express
testimony in public preaching, " hath everlasting life. " *
He also continually taught his disciples, and as many as
believed on him, to think of God as their Father, and to
regard themselves as God's children. " When ye pray," he
told them, "say, our Father which art in heaven."* He
also said to them, " your Father knoweth what things you
have need of : "° and again — " little flock, it is your father's
good pleasure to give you the kingdom:"' and again — "I
ascend to my father and your father."* And if we would
leam what it is to be Christ's "feUows," his own declarations
are the best exposition of the import of that blessed word.
" He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood," he said,
" dweUeth in me and I in him."^ Here is the essence of
feUowship. For when we dweU in him by faith, and he in
us by the Holy Ghost, he and we are one. Human language
contains accordingly no terms more endearing than those in
which Christ was wont continually to address his beUe-ving
people. " I have not caUed you servants, but I have called
1 John vi. 32, 51. 2 John xiv. 6. » John vi, 37.
4 John vi, 43. s Luke xi. 2. c Matt. vi. 8.
' Luke xii. 32. » John xx. 17. w John vi. 56.

CHAP. II. 3. 77
you friends : " ' and agam—" I say unto you, my friends, be
not afraid."' And as if the term friend were not sufficient,
he caUed them brother, sister, mother. ' He did this whUe
he dwelt with them on earth. And his putting off mortality
and clothing himself with glory, made no change in the
tenderness of his regard; his very first word, on rising to
immortaUty, was "go to my brethren, and say to them, I
ascend."* His ha-dng ascended, is the pledge that they
shaU ascend ; for they are co-heirs with him of his glory.
This he distinctly promised. " Where I am," he said to
his disciples, "there shaU also my servant be."-* "When
the Son of Man," he again said to them, " shall sit on the
throne of his glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones.""
And this promise was not confined to them, but extended to
aU his people. For he declared in another place, that the
servant who should be found watching, should be made, on
his Lord's appearing, "ruler over aU his goods."' And
again he promised in words of stUl larger grace, that he
would " gird himself and cause them to sit down to meat,
and come forth and serve them. " ' But it is needless to
multiply quotations. These few sayings of our gracious
Sa'viour, contain a testimony to the truths and promises of
God's great salvation, more full, express and abundant than
the most perverse unbeUef can demand.
The dreadful doom of those who neglect it, forms no part
of the gospel itself. But it is most instructive to find by
examination of Scripture, that on this awful subject also,
the Master confirms the servant's words. I will refer to
two out of many declarations of om Lord. He described,
on one occasion, in pubUc preaching, the awful realities of
the final judgment. He spake of those who should be
found to have neglected his salvation, and not to have
retumed his love. He declared that in that solemn and
tremendous day, he would charge their guilt upon them,
from the judgment-seat. And did he say that their guUt
should escape punishment? No: "the king shall say to
1 John XV. 15. 2 Luke xii. 4. » Matt. xii. 49,50. 4 John xx. 17.
=. John xii. 26. e Matt. xix. 28. ' Matt. xxiy. 47. s Luke xii. 37.

78 PART I. LECTURE VII.
them on the left hand, depart from me, ye cursed ; " and
they " shaU go away into everlasting pmdshment." ' Such
were the very words of him into whose Ups grace was
poured, who was anointed to heal the broken-hearted, and
to comfort all that momned. Nor did he speak thus on one
occasion only. As he looked on Capernaum, the city in
which he had been brought up, he said, "thou, which art
exalted to heaven, shalt be brought down to hell."' These
words testify at once to the greatness of God's salvation, and
to the fearful doom of its despisers. Christ had preached
the gospel in the streets of Capernaum ; her chUdren had
been, by this preaclnng, exalted to heaven's gates ; and
nothing but then owa unwillingness had prevented them
from entering in. But they had neglected his mercy, and
refused to enter in. According therefore to their exaltation
was to be their bringing do'wn : the exaltation had been to
heaven, the bringing down was to be as low as hell. We
have been, in Uke manner, exalted ; and nothing but our
un-willingness can hinder us from inheriting -with the blessed.
* And if therefore we neglect this great salvation, Christ's
words to Capernaum declare what our doom shall be.
Ha'ving thus obtained the solemn sanction of Christ's word
to aU the declarations of St. Paul, we may feel (Usposed to
stop, and to say, in another sense indeed from the high-priest,
"what need have we of any fm'ther 'witness, for we ourselves
have heard of his own mouth." Since however it has seemed
good to our Apostle to refer also to the testimony of his
brethren, we shall proceed to consider very briefly, the
statements of St. Peter and St. John. Such consideration
cannot fail to be instructive ; it wUl prove to us that God's
testimony in the gospel is a harmonious whole. Let us read
therefore, —
And was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.
In bis two cathoUc epistles, St. Peter has testified most
expressly to the Sonship of Christ, to his atonement and its
1 Matthew xxv. 31 — (6, 2 Matthew xi. 33,

CHAP. II. 3. 79
purpose, and to the dignity of the Chmch as caUed to the
feUowship of his glory. He tells us that with two of his
fellow-aposties, he was an eye-'witness of the Saviom's majesty,
in the holy Mount. And he adds that on that occasion, a
voice proclaimed "from the excellent glory, tins is my beloved
Som."' By this one word, St. Peter stamps with the seal of
his mspiration, the doctrine of St. Paid which we have just
been considering. And he speaks on other points with equal
plainness. Ha'ving told us that he was an eye-'witness of Christ's
majesty, he adds in another place, that he was a 'witness of
his sufferings also.' And he declares that these sufferings
were for the expiation of our sins — that the Just suffered for
the unjust, to bring the unjust to God.' He also testffies to
the present dignity and future prospects of God's believing
people. He entities them "a royal priesthood,"* speaks of
them as being, through union vrith Christ, "partakers of the
Di-vine nature."' and declares that "the God of all grace
has called them to his etemal glory." ° And that those to
whom he was -writing, ndght know the reaUty of these
pri-vileges and hopes, he speaks of himself as a partaker of
tids glory.'
So much for the testimony of St. Peter : we may now tum
to St. John. But here the great difficulty is to condense our
matter. For the testimony of St. John is beyond expression,
large and fuU. He bears 'witness to Christ's Sonship and
Godhead, to his manhood, to his atonement for our sins, to
our dignity by reason of union with him, and to the glory
which he has prepared for us. In the gospel which was
written by him, he calls Christ by two names. He caUs him
"the Word" who is " God," by whom "the world was made,"
and aU things that are therein.^ He caUs him also " the only
begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father."" Divinity
and Sonship are therefore, according to St. John, the same ;
and both belong to Jesus. And he is equally expUcit on all
the other points. He declares that "the Word was made
1 II Peteri. 16-18. 2 IPeterv.l. s IPeterii.24; lii. 18.
4 I Peter ii. 9. ' II Reter i. 4. 6 I Peter v. 10.
7 I Peter v. 1. " Join i. 1—3. » John i. 18.

80 PART I. LECTURE VII.
flesh and dwelt among us... full of grace and truth."' He
was made flesh — he became a man, a real man, "of a
reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting." Yet he was
the Word, the Son in the bosom of the Father, "begotten
before the worlds." He also, according to the same
testimony, gave himself for our sins. "If any man sin,"
says St. John in his first cathoUc epistle, "we have an
advocate 'with the Father... and he is the propitiation for our
sins."' And again he teUs us that "the blood of Jesus
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."' We have the
same authority for saying that by faith in Christ's perfect
sacrifice we are advanced to the dignity of sons of God.
"To as many as received him,'' are St. John's very words,
"to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe in his name."* And Christ's own language
does not express in more endearing tenns, the nearness of
the believing chUd to the Father in whom he trusts.
"Whosoever shall confess," he says, "that Jesus is the Son
of God, God dweUeth in him, and he in God."* He has
also presented himself to us in his gospel, as a Uving example
of this nearness. We read that when at the last supper,
Jesus said that one of them should betray him, "there was
lying on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved."
That disciple was St. John. St. Peter therefore beckoned
to him to ask their common master, " who it should be of
whom he spake." And we read that he, " lying on Jesus'
breast, said unto him, (evidently in a whisper) — Lord, who
is it?" " He it is," Jesus whispered back again, "to whom
I shall give a sop when I have dipped it."° What a won
derful scene is this ! Here we have fellowship -with Christ
in aU its blessed reality. One of the younger brethren leans
with fraternal confidence on his elder brother's breast. And
we leam from it, as no language could have taught us, the
beUever's nearness to Jesus, and his nearness, through Jesus,
to the Father of Jesus above. With this his present dignity
and privilege, his hope of glory hereafter is intimately
* Johni. 14. 2 IJohnii. 1, 2. 3 I John i. 7.
¦• John i. 12. » I John iv. 15. « John xiii 21—^5,

CHAP. II. 3. 8]
connected, for it flows from the same love. St. John has
therefore joined these in one, in the last of his words which
we shaU quote. " Beloved," he says, "now are we the sons
of God... and we know that when he shaU appear, we shall
be like him."'
Such is the testimony of these two apostles to those truths
of the great salvation, which have been set forth to us by
St. Paul, in the first chapter of this book. And they bear
emphatic witness, along with him, to the impossibUity of
those escaping who shall at last be found to have rejected it.
" If judgment first begin at us,'' says St. Peter, " what shall
the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God... where
shaU the ungodly and the sinner appear?"' And St. John
teUs us, in the Apocalypse, of the dismay of all kindreds of
the earth, in the day of Christ's second appearing ; they shall
call, he says, on the rocks and mountains to hide them from
"the wrath of the Lamb."' The wrath of the Lamb is
wrath for rejected mercy — ^wrath for rejected salvation. But
they shaU call in vain. He comes then who made rooks
and mountains, and whom rocks and mountains obey. The
only refuge from the arm of his vengeance, is in the bosom
of his love. And having despised that refuge when it was
open for them, they shall not escape.
This comparison of the doctrine of St. Paul vrith that of
his feUow-apostles, has of necessity been veiy brief ; but we
may make it more fully in private for ourselves. It 'will
greatly confirm our faith, and enlarge our acquaintance \vith
Scripture. It is true that the inspired documents to which
we have referred, were not in existence when this epistle to
the Hebrews was written. But that circumstance makes no
difference. They contain the doctrine which from the first
the writers had taught and delivered, to which St. Paul here
appeals, in confirmation of his own.
Let us remember what this doctrine is. It is the doctrine
of om Saviom-'s Godhead, of his manhood, of his atone
ment for our sins, of salvation and etemal glory through
faith in him who died for us. These things have been
brought before us in the last six lectures, from the words of
1 I John iii. 2. 'I Peter iv. 17, 18. ' Rev. vi. 15—17.
E 3

82 PART I. LECTURE 'VII.
St. Paul in the first chapter of this book; and we have now
leamed them from the pergonal testimony of Christ, and
from the testimony of those who heard him. I say there
fore with humble but assured confidence, they are the true
sayings of God. This, I know, is not popular language ; the
people of this generation are jealous of their liberty of
thought and opinion beyond any who have gone before them.
They are wUling to hear the honest convictions of God's
minister on any sacred subject, but they account it bigotry
if he tells them that these con'victions are the truth. Holy
Scriptm-e however commands him to do so. "If any man
speak,'' says St. Peter, "let him speak as the oracles of
God."' The oracles of God deliver only solemn certainties:
God's minister then must do the same. Woe unto him if he
do not, for the people committed to him shaU not find salva
tion. " If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shaU
prepare himself to the battle?"' If a minister of God
knows not with certainty the way which leads to heaven, he
can neither address himself to it, nor invite others to walk
along with him.
But blessed be God, these doctrines are solemn certainties.
For they are written, as with a sunbeam, in God's word, and
nothing but the most pen^erse unbelief can question them.
And oh, seeing that they are so, what manner of persons
ought we to be! What requital should we make to that
Saviom who has died for us, that we through his death,
might live for ever in glory ! For the love which Christ
asks from us, is not a mere sentiment. His love to us has
been a reaUty, and ours to him must be the same. "This
is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.''
Thus love always shews itself. And if love to Christ
prompts in us the desire to do so, he 'wiU teach us the way.
In the family, in society, in the world's business, in aU
states, places and circumstances, he wUl enable us to serve
him. "And his commandments are not grievous; " ' they are
a Ught burden, an easy yoke. Oh that there were such a
heart in us ! — we should then find rest to our souls. God give
to us such a heart, for our present and etemal peace !
1 I Peter iv. 11. 2 1 Cor. xiv, 8. 3 1 John v. 3.

83

LECTURE VIII,
Hebrews U. 4.
" God also bearing them ivitness, both with signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy
Ghost, according to his own will."
We have found in the last lecture, that to the doctrine
deUvered by St. Paul in the first chapter of this epistle, we
have the solemn attestation of our blessed Lord, together
with that of his apostles St. Peter and St. John. And we
have now to leam, as the words before us declare, that it has
StiU further 'witness, even that of God the Father and God
the Holy Ghost, by signs and wonders from on high.
God also BEARING WITNESS ALONG WITH THEM, both With
signs and wonders, and with divers miracles and distributions
of the Holy Ghost, according to His own will.
St. Paul here presents to us an accumulation of testimony.
He brings forward, first, the testimony of Christ, then that
of his apostles, then that of God the Father, then that of
the Holy Ghost. And this fourfold testimony he brings to
bear on one point, he brings to affirm one doctrine, the
doctrine delivered by himseK in the first chapter of this
epistle. The text contains two deeply solemn statements. It tells
ns, first, that God the Father and the Holy Ghost have set
aside the course of nature, and borne special witness on the
earth, by miracles and wonders and signs. It tells us, second,
that this witness was along with Christ and his apostles;

84 PART I. LECTUEE VIII.
intimating that what appeared m God's eyes so important as
to call for it, was the holy gospel. It tUus proves at once
the truth of that gospel, and commends it to us as a great
salvation. We indeed shall not escape, if we neglect that
which appears to Almighty God, of such vast, such infinite
moment !
We shall take these statements in order.
I. The Father testified directly by miracles, signs and
wonders. On more than one occasion he spake audibly from
heaven. He did so, at the baptism of Jesus.' He did so
again, when shortly before his passion Jesus prayed, " Father,
glorify thy name." " I have both glorified it," he said, "and
wiU glorify it again."* And the prodigies which attended
the crucifixion — ^the darkened sun — ^the rending rocks — the
hea'ving earth — ^the opening graves, are to be numbered
among the Father's signs. He also bore witness, and the
Holy Spirit along 'with him, by the heavenly anointing
which he shed down on the head of Jesus and his servants
after him, and by the miraculous agency which was the fruit
of that anointing. For the miracles of Christ were not, as
some imagine, Christ's own attestation to himself and to his
doctrine; they were the attestation of the Father and the
Holy Ghost. "The Father who dwelleth in me,'' said our
Lord, "he doeth the works."' He did them by the hands
of his holy Child, through the energy of his mighty Spirit;
"I cast out devils," said Jesus again, "by the Spirit of
God."* That Spirit descended on him as he came up out of
the waters of Jordan, "in abodUy shape, Uke a dove." And
"being full of the Holy Ghost," he commenced his public
ministry, "preachmg the gospel of the kingdom, and healing
all manner of sickness and aU manner of disease among the
people."* The same Spirit descended on the apostles, on the
ever-memorable day of Pentecost, in cloven tongues of fire.
"And they were all filled 'with the Holy Ghost, and spake
the word of God with boldness." And he who had witnessed
with Christ, witnessed with them also, by stretching forth
J Matthew iii. 17. a John xii. 28. a John xiv. 10.
4 Matthew xii. 28. s Luke iv. 1.

CHAP. II. 4. 85
his hand to heal, and by granting signs and wonders to be
done in the name of his holy child Jesus. ' Now this, I
repeat, was a twofold witness. It was the 'witness at once of
the Father and the Holy Ghost. The Father witnessed as
the Sender; the Holy Ghost as the Sent. And if to their
witness in act be added Christ's witness in word, we have a
threefold attestation to the holy gospel, the attestation of the
blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Smely then,
•we are bound to believe it. We receive the witness of men,
unless we have some reason to suspect them as deceivers,
and "the witness of God is greater."' But it is much easier,
some say, to believe the word of a man, which we are sure
that we know and understand, than to receive the witness of
that mysterious and incomprehensible Being who dweUs amid
the glories of eternity, far above out of our sight. If we
say so, God has met this feeling, for he has condescended to
include man's witness with his own. The statements and
preaching of the apostles, as we saw in the last lecture,
confirm their Master's words. They also confirm the wdtness
of the Father and of the Holy Ghost. Jesus said to them
before he left the world, "when the Comforter is come... the
Spirit of truth who proceedeth from the Father, he shall
testify of me; and ye also shall bear witness."' The gospel
has thus a fourfold attestation. And he who disbelieves it,
makes both God and man a liar. He disbelieves his God,
speaking by signs in the heaven above and on the earth
beneath : he disbelieves his fellow-man, though he sees him
lay down his life to commend to his reception the message
which he bears. Want of faith in the gospel is therefore the
most unreasonable of aU things. And it is not 'without
cause that St. Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray for him,
"that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked
men, /or all men have not faith."*
II. The gospel is the truth which this fourfold 'witness
attests ; St. Paul states expressly that God witnessed along
with those who preached it. We saw, in the last lecture,
what the gospel is. It is the truth that Jesus the Saviour is
1 Matt iv. 23. 2 I John y. 9. s John xv. 26, 27. 4 u Thess. iii. 2.

86 PAET I. LECTUEE VIII.
the Son of God; that being so, he became for our sakes, the
Son of Man ; that his blood has made atonement for our
sins ; that we through faith in him receive remission of sins,
the sonship of God and everlasting Ufe. These are the
truths which, as we saw in the last lecture, Christ and his
apostles preached continually : these are the traths to which,
as the text declares, the Father and the Holy Ghost have
given their solemn 'witness. It remains now therefore that
we mquire particularly in u)hat way this miraculous 'witness
attested the word of our salvation. I observe then, —
1st. — The prodigies exhibited by God the Father, were a
dfrect attestation of it. It was an unquestionable prodigy
when he opened the blue vault of heaven and so spake that
he was heard upon the earth. And for what end did he thus
set aside the course of natme ? That he might bear 'witness
personally to that blessed truth which is the foundation of
our holy reUgion — that he might teU mankind, with his own
lips, " This is my beloved Son." He bore the same witness
on the other occasion also. For again speaking audibly
from heaven, in the hearing of assembled multitudes, he
promised to Jesus support in his agony, and declared that
the hom of darkness which was then coming on him, should
be sucoeeded by blessed and everlasting light. For the
sufferings of that hour, the heavenly voice assured him,
should redound to the glory of God's great name. But the
prodigies exhibited at the crucifixion, were the most remark
able of aU the Father's sig^ns. And if we ask what they
signified, the heathen soldiers tell us. To them was com
mitted the task of watching Jesus. And we read that when
they "saw the earthquake and those things that were done,
they feared greatly, saying, teuly this was the Son of
God."' And then conclusion was a just one; God meant to
say so by these signs. The darkened sun — ^the rending
rooks — the hea-ving earth — ^the opening graves — universal
natm-e convulsed told that the heart of the God of natme
was moved within him, that the bowels of the Father were
troubled for His Son. But I observe, —
1 Matthew xxvii, 54.

CHAP. II. 4. 87
2nd. — The descent of the Spirit on Christ at his baptism
m the Jordan, and on the apostles and brethren on the day
of Pentecost, was a stiU more direct attestation of the holy
gospel. The voice from heaven proclaimed him Son of God,
but the* descent of the Holy Ghost manifested him to be
such. For it was the royal anouiting, avouching him on
whose head it was pom-ed, to be Son and heir of the Most
High. Moreover, by pouring it on man's head, the Father
proclaimed in the face of heaven and earth, the amazing
truth of incarnation-— that manhood was now taken into
God, and owned as God's begotten. It was besides, his
anointing as the Sa'viour, — the Father's witness to his errand,
and to the message of mercy which he came to deliver in his
name. And when the same anointing was shed do'wn on the
head of the apostles and brethren on the day of Pentecost,
this manifest participation of one Spirit, was an open attesta
tion to the blessed truth of the believer's unity -mth Christ.
The Spirit of their Father resting on and speaking in them,
declared those who then received him, to be sons of God.
And declaring them to be sons, it also declared them hens ;
"for i/ children," says St. Paul, "then heirs, heirs of God."'
In conformity with which, he tells the Ephesians that " the
holy Spirit of promise " which they had received after
believing in Jesus, was "the earnest" or pledge of their
inheritance of glory.' The various gifts of the Holy
Ghost which were the fruit of this heavenly anomting, are
enumerated by St. Paul elsewhere. "To one is given by
the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another, the word of
knowledge; to another, faith; to another, the gifts of healing;
to another, the working of miracles ; to another, prophecy ;
to another, discerning of spirits ; to another, divers kinds of
tongues; to another, the interpretation of tongues."' These
precious gifts were seen in perfection in Jesus. His was
" the word of wisdom " and " of knowledge." Men marvelled
at him, saying one to another, "whence hath this man this
wisdom?"* And again they said, " how knoweth this man
1 Rom. viii. 17. 2 Ephes. i. 13, 14. 3 I Cor. xii. 8—10.
<! Matt, xiii, 54.

88 PAET I. LECTUEE VIII.
letters, having never learned?"' His too, was faith in its
most conspicuous exhibitions. The gifts of healing and the
working of miracles, were every-day manifestations of his
power. He saw the coming destruction of Jerusalem and
the woes of Judea with a prophet's eye; he warned her
children of them 'with a prophet's voice.' He continuaUy
discerned the spirits and read the thoughts of men.^ Tongues
with their interpretation were not indeed seen in him, because
they were not needed : the gospel had not then passed beyond
the Umits of Judea. But after his ascension, it spread into
aU nations; and that gift then appeared in his apostles.
And along with it, all the others now enumerated appeared
also. For the Spirit, as St. Paul goes on to teU the
Corinthians, di^rided them to every man severally, according
to his will.* These were the " distributions of the Holy Ghost
accordhig to His own 'will," of which the text makes mention.
The members had each a share of what their Lord possessed
'without measure.* Now this measureless anointing of Christ,
was, I repeat, God's testimony to his true character and
dignity : God told men by it who he was. And the anointing
of his people was for the same end. For it was not confined
to the apostles ; the whole Church received it.^ And God
told men by it who believees weee : he proclaimed them
as his chUdren and his heirs; he shewed beforehand the
place which they should occupy when the day of the
manifestation of the sons of God should come. This out
pouring of the blessed Spirit was therefore a direct attestation
to the truth of the holy gospel. But I observe, —
3rd. — The miraculous works of Christ and his apostles,
were, from their pecuUar character, the most direct attesta
tion of aU. I say, from their pecuUar character ; for this, I
fear is not attended to, nor understood. Men teU us that the
miraculous works of Christ and his servants proved their
Divine mission. But is this aU? Had they cast the
mountains iaito the midst of the sea and turned the rivers
from their course, had they stopped the sun in his mid-circuit
1 John vii. 15, 2 Luke xix, 41 — 44. s Matt. ix. 6.
« ICor. xii, II. 6 John iii. 34. e Acts viii.l4— 17; xix. 1— 7.

CHAP. II. 4. 89
through the heavens and compeUed the moon to leave her
place, these acts, confessedly above human power, would have
proved equally a mission from on high. But would they have
attested the holy gospel, as those miracles did which they
actuaUy wrought ? If we answer that they would, we have
not yet seen the peculiar and blessed significancy of the
miraculous ministry recorded in the New 'Testament. You
are in circumstances of deepest affliction, watching by the
paUet of a dying chUd. Some one enters yom- house,
professing to have received a commission from God, and
appeaUng to miraculous powers in attestation of his claim.
What is your reply, when he asks you to acknowledge him ?
If you reaUy possess, you say, those powers of which you
speak, prove them by bidding my sick one leave its couch of
pain. Miracles of another kind may speak to my understand
ing, but this 'will speak at once to my understanding and my
heart. The case of the nobleman mentioned by St. John, is
a beautiful iUustration of what I now mean to convey. He
sent for Jesus, beseeching him "to come and heal his son,
for he was at the point of death.'' Jesus, to try him,
answered, "except ye see signs and wonders, ye wUl not
believe." But the afflicted father said, "sir, come do'wn ere
my child die."' For he was not in that state of mind which
disposes to sit in suspicious judgment on the credentials of a
messenger ; he was in distress and anguish, seeking aid from
God. Now it was just that state of mind which the miracles
of Christ and of his apostles addressed. They were not
mere signs of power; they were works of love and mercy.
They were designed to diminish the sad amount of human
suffering, to heal the broken-hearted, and to comfort those
that mourned. They were therefore a most signfficant
attestation of a word of love, a most signiflcant testimony to
the truth of a message of mercy ; and by them God appealed
at once to the understandings and the hearts of men. This
explains the reason of the heavy woes denounced by Christ on
those cities, "wherein most of his mighty works were done,
because they repented not.'" Their inhabitants had heard the
1 John iv. 46—49. ¦" Matthew xi, 20—24.

yU PAET I. lecture viii.
gospel from his own lips, and had also enjoyed the blessing
of his miraculous ministry in the midst of them. Then-
sick had been restored to health, their lepers had been
cleansed, their maimed had been made whole, their dead had
been brought back to them fr-om the tomb. God had thus
spoken to them both by word and act, beseeching them to
repent and tum to him. But he had spoken in vain. They
had taken advantage of his mercy — of life, of health, of
limbs restored, only to return again to sin. This was the
fearful aggravation of their offence, and was also the cause of
their fearfully aggravated woe.
But we have not yet searched the depth of this most
interesting subject. Christ and his apostles healed the sick,
raised the dead, and cast out the de'ril. Sickness and
mortaUty are the consequences of transgression; they are the
sign that the curse of God has descended on man as the
wages of his sin. Christ came into a world groaning under
these consequences of the faU — ^under pain, affliction, sorrow,
disease, and death. He came into it, preaching the forgive
ness of sin. And how did he prove his word ? By setting
men free from sin's bitter consequences. He preached the
forgiveness of God, and as he preached it, he bade the lame
to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lepers to be
cleansed, and the sick to leave their beds of languishing.
Who does not see that these acts were the natural attestation
of his word ? A most beautiful example of this occm-s in
St. Matthew's gospel. They brought to him a man sick of
the palsy, and Jesus said to him, " son, be of good cheer,
thy sms are forgiven thee." Some of the Scribes present
accused him of blasphemy, alleging that he took to IdmseU
unwarrantably the authority of God. His reply proves the
truth of what I have just declared. To shew them that he
had authority from God to proclaim his forgiveness to a fallen
world, he said to the sick of the palsy, "arise, take up thy
bed and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed
to his house."' No one who heard that word of forgiveness
and witnessed the act which followed it, could possibly doubt
I Matt.ix. 2— 7.

CHAP. II. 4. 9j
that the word was Dirine, For the act was manifestly
^mne: God only can absolve from the penal consequences
ot having sinned against him. And the act was the natm-al
attestation of the word of absolution which had preceded it
This remark appUes equally, to the miracles of the Aposties.
St. Peter and St. John, as we saw in the last lectm-e, preached
tiie forgiveness of sin. Do we ask for Divme confirmation
of then word? They absolved men, in God's name, from
sin's penal consequences. They took by the hand, at the
beautiful gate of thetfemple, "a man lame from his mother's
womb." And immediately on their touching him, "his feet
and ancle-bones received strength, and he entered 'with them
into the temple, walldng and leaping and praising God.'"
And this was only a sample of what marked their entire
ministry. The forgiving mercy of God was the word in their
mouths, and the healing power of God attested it, by going
forth from their very persons. For even the shadow of St.
Peter passing by, restored health and vigom to the sick and
languishing.' But the forgiveness of sin was not the only trath of salva
tion which Christ and his apostles preached. They preached
the hope of resurrection from the dead and of etemal life.
And how did they attest their word ? By loosing the bonds
of death, and bringing the dead up again from the grave.
The act, I have again to say, was the natural attestation of
the word. We are, let me suppose, among the hearers of
the Saviour. We listen to him, saying, " he that believeth
on me hath everlasting life, and I wUl raise him up at the
last day." We follow him shortly after to the grave of
Lazaras, and listen in breathless awe while he pronounces,
" Lazarus, come forth." " And he who was dead comes
forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes,"' and walks
into the midst of us, a U'ving man. Which of us, after
'witnessing this amazing scene, could have doubted, 'without
impiety, the truth of his word of mercy? Or let us suppose
again, that we had heard St. Peter preaching " through
Jesus, the resurrection of the dead." Your doctrine, we
1 Actsiii. 6— 8. 2 Acts v. 15. 3 John xi, 43, 44,

92 PART I, LECTURE 'VIII,
say to him, is unwarrantable and presumptuous. He bids
us, in reply, follow him to the chamber of Dorcas. We see
the dead laid out, St. Peter turns to the body and says,
" Tabitha, arise." The glazed eyes of the dead perceive
the Lord's minister, she sits up, he caUs the saints and
widows, and presents her alive.' Then turning to us, he
asks, is my doctrine presumptuous, or has it the attestation
of the living God? But we are struck dumb with amaze
ment, and can find no answer to his words.
Christ and his apostles preached besides, the final over
throw of Satan. Satan is our grand enemy, and the promise
of his overthrow is an essential part of the gospel. St. Paul
has proved in the first chapter of this book, that Christ is
superior to good angels, for he has declared him to be their
God and Creator. He is therefore of necessity superior to
evU angels also, and able to cast them out. This accordingly
was the doctrine which both he and his apostles preached
continually, holding forth the hope of Satan's overthrow as
the consolation of the church of God. And how did they
prove thefr word ? By casting him out on the earth, before
the eyes of men. The act, it is needless to repeat, was the
natural attestation of their word. The devU was permitted
at that time, in the providence of God, to tyrannize in an
unexampled and fearful manner over the souls and bodies of
men. Let us take one example of this from the gospel of
St. Mark. He tells us that a miserable father, whose son
was possessed ¦with "a dumb spirit," brought him to Jesus.
But when the youth saw Christ, "the spirit tare him, and he
feU on the ground, and wallowed foaming." " This,'' said the
afflicted parent, "hath come to him of a chUd, and ofttimes
it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters to destroy
him."' But fearful as was this manifestation of Satantic
power, it afforded to Jesus only an opportunity of she\ring
himself stronger than the strong one. He commanded the
torturing fiend to leave the child, and his irresistible word
was immediately obeyed. He committed the same power to
his apostles and evangelists. After their first experience of
1 Acts ix. 36 — 41. 2 Mark ix. 17— 27.

CHAP. II. 4. 93
It, they "retumed 'with joy, saying. Lord, even the devils are
subject to us through thy name."' Yea, Satan himself
confessed, — "Jesus I know, and Paul I know."' And who
that was thus delivered from the power of the fell destroyer
by the word of Christ and his ministers, could possibly doubt
the truth of the same word, when it assured them of his final
overthrow? Could Mary Magdalene doubt this promise of
Jesus — she, "out of whom he had cast seven devUs?" Or
could the once miserable and distracted demoniac doubt it,
when he was sitting clothed and in his right mind, at the feet
of his deliverer ? No, the act attested the word. This then
was the pecuUar and blessed significancy of the miraoidous
ministry recorded in the New Testament. The Lord, and
those sent forth by him, declared the forgiveness of offences,
and relieved men, while they spake, from the consequences of
haring offended. They preached resurrection from the grave,
and whUe they preached it, they raised the dead. They
proclaimed the coming overthrow of Satan, and whUe they
proclaimed it, they cast him out.
These signs, wonders, and divers miracles were yet fresh
in the remembrance of the believing Hebrews ; and they were
witnessing daily the manifestation of the various gifts of the
Holy Ghost. They must have felt therefore the irresistible
power of the argument which we are now considering. As
for the unbeUeving, it left them 'without excuse. For whUe
they did not seek to deny the reality of these ndraculous
signs, they saw not, alas, the glory of God in them, and so
they made no impression on their hearts. And can we be
surprised at this, when we read in the narratives of the
evangeUsts, that it was so even with those who saw the
miracles of the Sariom ? Wonder — stupid wonder seems to
have been the only impression produced. ' ' The dumb spake, "
says St. Luke, "and the people wondered."' That was aU.
The signs which revealed God were wrought before their eyes,
and yet they died in their sins, from ignorance of his saring
mercy. As St. Paul says elsewhere in his emphatic and awful
language, "behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish."*
iLukex.17. 2 Acts xix. 16. sLukexi.t4. 4 Acts xiii. 41 .

94 PART I. LECTURE VIII.
'Let not us be found among these stupid wonderers. Let
us behold the glory of our God in the miraculous signs which
estabUshed Christianity in the world, that we may believe the
gospel which they attest, St, John teUs us that the gospel
is that Jesus is the Son of God, and that God hath given to
us in him etemal life. He tells us further that he who
believes it not, makes God a liar.' And it is most true, as
we have leamed from the consideration of this solemn
subject. For he who believes not that Jesus is the Son of
God, accuses God the Father of having uttered a lie from
heaven, and God the Spirit of having descended from heaven
to attest it. Moreover, he who beUeves not in God's gift of
etemal life — that believers are through Christ made sons and
heirs of the Most High, makes the awful scene of Pentecost
a solemn falsehood. And he who believes not in God's
forgiving mercy, in the hope^of resurrection from the grave,
in the coming overthrow of Satan and final glory of the
church, accuses the Father and the Spirit of ha'ving lent
their healing and life-giving energy to palm Ues upon mankind.
But perhaps we say, we do believe the gospel — we dare
not resist the Almighty thus speaking to us from heaven.
Let us see then, that the glory of his mercy which these his
miraculous signs were designed to reveal, shines into om
hearts and captivates our affections. That mighty subject so
interested the etemal Father, that he opened the heavens
to speak of it. It so interested the Holy Ghost, that he
came do'wn from heaven to bear 'witness to it on earth.
May it interest us also! May God be pleased to give to
us one mind 'with Himself on this matter ! So shall it be
granted to us another day to behold the glory which he
has given to Jesus — Jesus his beloved Son in whom he
is weU pleased, 1 I John V, 10.

(See Appendix, Note C.J

95

LECTURE IX.
Hebrews ii. 5 — 9.
"For unto the angels hath lie not put in subjection the world
to come, whereof we speak. 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. But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the
angels, for the suffering of deatii crowned with glory and
honour, that he by the grace of God should taste death for
every man."
There is a two-fold connection between these verses and
those which have preceded them. St. Paul has just stated
in the most forcible manner the impossibility of those escap
ing who neglect the salvation of the gospel. The word
spoken by angels, he has reminded us, was steadfast; and
how much more then, he has argued, shall that word be
established which was spoken by the Son of God Himself —
was confirmed as His testimony by them that heard Him —
was attested by the signs of God the Father, and by the
distributions of the Holy Ghost ! This solemn thought is
now enlarged upon. The Son of Man, whose word the
gospel is, is Lord of the world to come, and everything in
that world is in subjection under his feet. Whence then
shall we go from his spirit, or flee from his presence? If

96 PART I. LECTURE IX.
we ascend into heaven, he is there ; if we make our bed in
hell, behold he is there also. If we take the 'wings of the
moming and flee into the uttermost parts of the sea, even '
there shall his hand lead us, his right hand shaU hold us.
If we say, the darkness shall cover us, even the night shaU
be light about us. For the darkness hideth not from the
Lord of universal nature, but the night shineth as the day,
the darlmess and the light are to him both aUke. ' This is
indeed a climax. WeU may it be said — how shall we escape,
if we despise him !
But St. Paul has been spealdng also of the greatness of
Christ's salvation. And on this thought he enlarges yet
more. He declares, and proves for the satisfaction of the
Hebrews, from the Old Testament Scriptures, that the glory
of the world to come is reserved as the inheritance, not of
angels, but of man. Man, and the Son of Man, he teUs
them, shall have aU things put under his feet. And while
he admits that this purpose of God is as yet unaccompUshed,
he points to the exaltation of Jesus, as the certain pledge of
its accomplishment.
As this is the prominent subject of the verses before us,
we shall now consider it in detaU.
For unto the angels hath he not put in s-ubjection the
FUTURE INHABITED EARTH, wliereof WC Speak.
God, as we have already seen, shaU bring the heavens and
earth out of the fire for which they are now reserved, as
in the days of Noah he brought them out of the water.
"Behold," he says by Isaiah, "I create new heavens and a
new earth, and the former shaU not be remembered, nor
come into mind.' "I saw," says St. John, "a new heaven
and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth were
passed away."' That new earth shall be inhabited ; we read
expressly in the Book of Revelation, that the deril shaU be
cast into the bottomless pit, " that he may deceive the
nations no more."* And in consequence of the destroyer
' Psalm Cxxxix. 7— 12. 2 Isaiah ixv. 17. s Rev, xxi, I. » Rev. xx, 3.

CHAP. II. 6—9. 97
being chained, the moral and spiritual condition of these
nations shaU be very different from what it now is. " We
look for a new earth," says St. Peter, " wherein dwelleth
righteousness.'" And God himself tells us by Isaiah —
" they shaU not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain,
for the earth shall be fuU of the knowledge of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea." ' Palestine shall then be the
royal nation, and Jerusalem its capital, the royal city of the
world. And the seed of Abraham shall be honoured of God
to instruct the world in the knowledge of his name. " It
shall come to pass in the last days," says Isaiah, " that the
mountain of the Lord's house shaU be estabUshed in the
top of the mountains, and exalted above the hills, and all
nations shall flow unto it." As they flow unto it, they shall
say, " come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the
Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he 'wUl teach
us of his ways, and we wiU walk in his paths, for out of
Zion shaU go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem."' And delivered from a deceiving deril on the
one hand, and taught, on the other, to beat their swords into
ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and to
know and love and serve the Lord their God, the nations
shall be at rest and in quiet, and the whole eartii shall break
forth into singing. Such shaU be "the world to come,''
this earth in the regeneration, when it has become God's
kingdom, a place where his name is hallowed, and in which
his will is done as sincerely, perfectly, and constantly as now
it is done in heaven.
¦This " world to come " is not put in subjection to angels ;
they shaU not bear rule over it in the coming day of glory.
This dignity is reserved by God for Christ and his saved
people. " I saw,'' says the prophet Daniel, " and behold
one Uke the son of man came with the clouds of heaven,
and came to the Ancient of days ; " and " there was given
to him dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all people,
nations and languages should serve him." What is thus
bestowed on him, shall be bestowed on his people also. For
1 II Peter iii. 13. 2 Isaiah xi. 9. s Isaiah ii. 1—5.
VOL. I. F

98 PAET I. LECTUEE IX.
the prophet goes on to teU us expressly, that " the kingdom
and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of
the Most High."' And with this testimony of Daniel all
other Scripture agrees. The whole earth is bidden by the
holy Psalmist, to " make a joyful noise before the Lord the
King." The sea, the floods, the hUls, the trees, the world
and its inhabitants are invoked together. And universal
nature is thus commanded to rejoice before Christ's, face,
because he comes to eeign, because he shaU judge the
people righteously and govern the nations upon earth.*
And when he is thus exalted, shall his saved people be
forgotten ? No ; the amazing discoveries of the Apocalypse
abundantly confirm the prophet's testimony, and forbid us
for a moment to thmk so. " Thou hast made us," they sing,
addressing the Redeemer, "kings and priests, and we shaU
reign on the earth."' In verification too of this extatic
hope, St. John saw them even in heaven, crowned, enthroned
and waitmg for their kingdom. * And when the rision was
transferred to the earth, he saw them in possession of that
kingdom. His language is so plain that none can miscon
ceive its meaning. "I saw thrones, and they sat on them...
they lived and reigned 'with Christ."* These Scriptm'es
both explain and establish the testimony of St. Paul before
us. Of the glories of which we have now spoken, "the world
to come" is the theatre. It is very important to observe
this. For many poisons, affixing a figurative meaning to
these declarations of God concerning Christ and his people
reigning on the earth, expect them to be accompUshed in the
world that now is. But this expectation is founded on
misconception and mistake. St. John tells us expressly,
that when the seventh angel shaU sound, time shaU be no
longer, and the mystery of God shall be finished.** He tells
us with equal distinctness, that he heard that angel sound,
and that "there were great voices in heaven, saying, the
1 Dan. vii. 13, 14, 27. 2 Psalm xcviii. 6— 9; Ixvii. 4, s Eev. v. 10.
4 Eev. iy. 4. % Rev, xx, 4. e Rev, x, 5— 7.

CHAP. 11. 6—9. 99
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord
and of his Christ."' That blessed consummation shaU not
arrive then in the world that now is. It shaU arrive when
time is no longer, when the present dispensation and day of
grace shaU have issued in the dispensation of judgment and
the day of glory.
St. Paul, having thus referred to the world to come, adds,
"whereof we speak." For this is not his first reference to it :'
it has been the subject-matter and end of aU his preceding
discourse. He has told us of Christ being appointed heir of
all things — of the heavenly host acknowledging him as Lord
when he comes again into the world — of his throne being for
ever and ever — of his sceptre being swayed in righteousness —
of his changing the present heavens and earth by his word —
of his people being heirs along ¦with him. He has told us
moreover, that angels minister to the saints. For angels, he
goes on to say in the words before us, have no such heirship,
no such hope. Dominion in that world of glory whereof we
speak is not reserved for them. It is reserved for Christ and
for Christ's believing people.
But St. Paul was writing for Hebrews, and it became him
to prove his words. He therefore refers to the Old Testa
ment Scriptures.
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 tlie 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.
The eighth Psalm, from which these words are taken,
celebrates the glories of the world to come. It tells of a
time when the name of the Lord shall be counted excellent
in all the earth ; when his praise shaU be proclaimed even
by the tongues of infants ; when Satan, the enemy and
avenger shaU be stilled ; when man, and the son of man,
) Revelation xi. 15. ,.
f2

100 part I. LECTURE IX.
shaU have all things put under his feet. Nothing therefore
could have been more apposite to the Apostle's purpose than
the quotation from it here given : it was demonstration to a
Hebrew of the truth of what he had just declared. But we
must not forget, that he was ¦writing for us also. And we
shaU be abundantly recompensed by a dUigent examination
of the precious Scripture which he here presents to our
notice. David is understood to have been the writer of this Psalm.
Viewing ¦with a prophet's eye the glories of the coming king
dom and the final exaltation of man, he bursts forth in
admiration of the amazing goodness of God. " What is
man,'' he asks, " that thou art mindful of him, or the son
of man that thou visitest him?" These expressions "man''
and "the son of man,'' are not to be regarded as idle
repetition. In the original Hebrew the verse reads — What
is miserable man tliat thou art mindful of him, or the son of
Adam that thou visitest him ? Miserable man is man in his
present sinful, wretched and mortal condition. But the son
of Adam is the Lord from heaven, our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Of ndserable man God has been mindful, for he has sent
his Son to save him. But he has risited the son of Adam
with his peculiar mercy and most tender love. And both
these Dirine acts are celebrated in the words before us.
These words, moreover, read to us a most humbUng lesson ;
for they speak of both as acts of condescension. The Son
of God had so abased himself by assuming the nature of
man, that the Psalmist exclaims, " what is the son of Adam? "
But this abasement, through aUiance with our lowliness,
was chosen by him who loved us, that he might raise us to
etemal honour through alliance with his glory.
The words which we have yet to consider, must be
regarded as applicable to the son of Adam in particular,
and to miserable man in general. " Thou madest him a
little lower than (or, for a little whUe, inferior to) the
angels." These words, it is needless to say, were fulfiUed
in the humiliation of Christ. The Son of God, the Creator
of angels, was, while wearing om mortal natme, apparentiy

chap. n. 6—9. 101
their inferior. But it was for a little whUe only. I'he
Psalmist adds immediately, " thou crownedst him with glory
and honom, and didst set him over the works of thy hands."
And this ¦was fulfilled when the Father raised Christ from
the dead, causing him to exchange mortality and shame for
immortality and glory, seating him also at his own right
hand, and committing to him all authority both in heaven
and on earth. The last words of the quotation, " thou hast
put all things in subjection under his feet," yet wait for their
fulfilment. They shall be fulfilled when Satan's power is
broken — ^when all God's enemies are crushed — when death
is destroyed, and when every intelligent creature whom God
has made shaU cheerfuUy submit himself to Christ's authority,
and deUght to do his wUl. The Psalmist 'writes as if these
things were ahready brought about. We need not be surprised
at his doing so : it is the genuine language of faith. Faith
has no doubt of the accomplishment of the Di'rine counsels,
and therefore to it the future is as certain as the present and
the past. When David penned this psalm, every word of its
contents was future. The humiliation and present exaltation
of Christ were then as truly matters of prophecy, as his
kingdom and glory are now. And yet all these things are
presented to us as if they already were. I beUeve, from the
whole style of expression, that the ¦writer was privUeged 'with
a 'vision of the glory of the kingdom, and that he wrote as
he has done imder the impression of what he saw.
But, as I have already remarked, the words of this sweet
Psalm apply to miserable man as truly as to the Son of
Adam. If God has risited the one with his peculiar mercy,
he has also been mindful of the other. God made man at
the first a little lower than the angels. But it 'was only for
a season, for his purpose even then, 'was to lift him far above
them. And when Satan tempted man to distrust his Creator,
and thereby prevaUed to cast him down, his malice only
paved the way for the accomplishment of this gracious design.
For it brought about the wondrous mercy of incamation,
whereby manhood has been taken into God, and the sons of
men are made the sons of God. And when the kingdom

102 PART I. LECTURE IX.
shall come, the sons of men who have been saved by Christ,
though the heirs now of ¦wretchedness and mortaUty, shall
be exalted 'with Christ their Sariour. We have a most
touching example and blessed pledge of this in the case of
him to whom Jesus said, " to-day shalt thou be 'with me in
paradise." The son of Adam died on Calvary, and miserable
man gave up the ghost beside him. But the words just
quoted teU us that the mercy which risited the one, was
mindful of the other in his lost estate — that the bosom of
etemal love which received the holy soul of the Saviour,
repeUed not from its embrace his wretched feUow-sufferer.
And this is but a sample of God's dealings with aU who
believe on Christ. Not one of them shall be amissing here
after : they shaU all be in paradise with their Saviour. This,
I conceive, passed in rision before the Psalmist's deUghted
eye. He saw the glory, not of the Saviour only, but of his
saved people. He saw man who was at the first made lower
than the angels, crowned with super-angelic glory and honour,
invested with dominion over the works of God's hands, and
with all things put under his feet. And his design in the
words before us, was to celebrate what he saw. And I
have only further to repeat that if these words are received
in eridence, they contain the most triumphant possible
demonstration of what St. Paul has just declared to us.
The apostie reasons on the words which he has quoted.
For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left
nothing that is not put under him.
The import of these words is amazing. They tell us that
the Father has left nothing that is not put under Christ's
feet. There is but one exception which is elsewhere stated
by St. Paul — ^the exception of the Father himself.'
Every other intelligent being in his vast universe shaU O'wn
the authority and submit to the dominion of the -once
suffering son of Adam. This may give us some idea, of
what the throne of the world to come shall he. It shall be the
1 Corinthians xv. 27,

chap. II. 5—9. 103
throne of the universe ; and this earth on which it is planted,
shall be the head of the creation of God. Astronomers tell
us of miUions of worlds, of innumerable suns and systems.
And perhaps myriads of intelligent beings are to be found in
every one of them. But is this against the promises of God?
.No; it only swells the number of Christ's subjects, and adds
to the extent of his vast dominion. And we must not forget
that his people shall reign along with him. And as there
is none above him, save the Father only, so there shall
be none above them hereafter, save himself, then- head and
Lord. All else, from the highest seraph who stands in the
presence of God, down to the meanest thing which Ids hands
have made, shall take rank beneath them, and be put under
their feet. Yes, the whole creation shall in the age to come,
be put under the feet of man, — sinful, wretched, and mortal
though man now be. The thought is too vast for human
comprehension. Well may St. Paul call such prospects "so
great salvation," and "a weight of glory!" And yet his
declaration in the words before us, is only a legitimate
inference from the words of David which he has cited.
The Hebrews might object that there was no sign of the
accompUshment of these things with respect either to Christ
or his people. St. Paul takes up this objection and answers
it Ul the concluding words of the text —
But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we
see Jesus vSho was made a little lower than the angels, for the
suffering of death crowned with glory and honour, that he by
the grace qf God should taste death Jor every man.
I admit, says St. Paul, that we see not as yet all things
put under Christ. I admit that so far from his enemies
iDeing crushed, they are strong and mighty. I adnut that so
far from his people being now exalted and glorified, they
are stUl heirs of misery, death, and corruption. We see
nevertheless, the accompUshment in part of those gracious
purposes of which this Psalm makes mention, which is to us
a pledge and earnest of the fulfilment of those which remain.

] 04 PAET I. LECTUEE IX.
Those parts of the eighth Psalm which, according to St. Paul,
we see accomplished, are the prophecies which it contains of
the humUiation and exaltation of Christ. Its prophecy of
his humiUation has been fulfiUed, for we see Jesus to have
been made a little lower than the angels, that he by the
grace of God should taste death for every man. And its
prophecy of his exaltation has been also fulfUled, for we see
the same Jesus, for, or rather, through the suffering of death,
crowned with glory and honour. And the accompUshment
of these two prophecies respecting him is the pledge of the
certain fulfilment of that which yet remains. As smely as
he has humbled himself and has been exalted, so surely shaU
he sit on the throne of his glory -with all his enemies put
under his feet. This reasoning of St. Paul proves, let us
observe, our interpretation of the eighth Psalm to be just.
The Apostle takes it for granted that the son of Adam
mentioned in that Psalm, is Jesus our blessed Sariour.
And does that which we thus see to be accomplished in
him, contain in it any pledge of the future gloiy of his
people? Yes; Jesus was humbled beneath the angels for a
season for this very end, ¦viz. that he by the grace of God
should taste death for every man. And if God has thus
dealt with a world of enemies, what may we not expect from
him when his Idndness has made us friends? Besides, the
same word in the mouth of his holy prophets which spake of
the Sariour coining to die for us, speaks also of the glory
prepared for his believing people. Nor is this aU. Christ
took part with us in our ignominy and lowliness, for the
very purpose of raising us to the fellowship of his dignity
and honour. The fulfilment of the one part of this
Divine counsel, is the certain pledge that the other shaU be
accompUshed also. And therefore as surely as Jesus died
for us on Calvary and rose again to glory, so surely shall we
his beliering people sit with him on his etemal throne. I
cannot, says St. Paul, hid you behold with the eye of sense
Christ and his people reigning, inasmuch as that is reserved
not for this world but for the world to come. But I can tell
you that aU things are ready, that the salvation and glory of

CHAP. II. 6—9. 105
his people is provided for by Christ haring suffered unto
death and having been exalted, and that this blessed con
summation tarries only tUl God shall speak the word.
MeanwhUe let what God has done for us in the past,
encourage us to hope in him for the future.
This argument must have told, with peculiar power, on
those to whom it was addressed. For the life of Christ in
flesh, his deep humUiation, his lowly condition, his bitter
and shameful death, were not with them, as ¦with us, matters
of history, but had passed almost before their eyes: the
generation which had vritnessed them, was. yet living in the
world. And the stupendous miracles wrought in his name,
through the power of the Holy Ghost bestowed by him, were
StUl, ¦with the Hebrews, matters of daUy experience. This
accounts for the somewhat remarkable expression " we see
Jesus... cro^wned with glory and honour." It denotes that his
being so crowned was a thing beyond all question ; because
the abundant attestation which it was daily receiving from on
high, made it to be so in the minds of all reasonable men.
"He hath shed forth this" (Holy Ghost) says St. Peter,
"which ye now see and hear;" "therefore let all the house
of Israel know assuredly that God hath made" him "both
Lord and Christ."' The life and death of Jesus are not so
fresh in our remembrance, nor is his exaltation and glory
now estabUshed by miraculous witness. But we have an
advantage which compensates us. The truth of Christ's
atonement has now stood the test of ages. And the watchful
proridence which has preserved the church for eighteen
hundred years, and still preserves her, abundantly establishes
the blessed truth that he who died on Calvary is now at the
right hand of power. To us therefore, as to the Hebrews,
it may be said, "we see Jesus crowned with glory and
honour.'' And we as well as they may be exhorted to look
upon the accompUshment of God's promises in the past, as
the pledge of their fulfilment in the future.
Let us pause then, and consider for a moment the blessed
and joyful truths which the Scripture before us has presented
1 Acts ii. 33—36.
f3

106 FART 1, tECTUEE IX.
to our notice. We have seen that for Christ and his people.
Gad is reserring the throne of the world to corne. We have
seen further that it is the throne of the universe, — ^that they
who sit upon it shaU have dominion over the works of God's
hands, and shall have all things put under thefr feet. The
Creator alone shaU be above them, whUe creatures of
every grade and name shall take rank beneath them. It is
moreover God's gracious wUl that every one of us should sit
in this seat of glory. The text declares that through the
grace of God, Jesus tasted death for all of us. And the
love which appointed such a sacrifice, can seek nothing but
our etemal feUcity, Besides, the death of Christ on our
behalf has removed all that can hinder this feUcity. It has
taken away our sins, and the forgiveness of God the Father
waits only for our acceptance. It has also obtained for us
the Holy Ghost, the spirit of Ufe in Christ Jesus, that we
may live to God. Moreover, Christ took part ¦with us in our
lowliness, for the very end of raising us to the fellowship
of his glory. His haring done so, sufficiently proves his
wiUingness to exalt us. And if then we are not exalted,
nothing has hindered, but our unwillingness. The cross of
Jesus testifies for ever that God would have miserable man
to sit on high. It testifies for ever that if degradation and
woe be his etemal portion, he has chosen and prepared that
portion for himself. Let us pray then that God in his
mercy may save us from making such a choice, and that he
who is ¦willing to bless us etemaUy, may give us grace to
consent to be blessed !

107

LECTURE X.
Hebrews ii. 10.
"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 qf their salvation perfect through sufferings!'
I NEVER addressed myself to the exposition of any portion
of God's word under so deep a consciousness of the difficulty
of the task. It is not that the words which we have read
are ambiguous, dark, or obscure, for they are plain and easy
of understanding. But St. Paul has crowded such a variety
of the loftiest spiritual conceptions into so very short a
sentence, and his words eridentiy imply so much more thaii
they positively assert, that it reqmres very deep meditation
to lay hold of each sublime thought by itself, and very great
patience to arrange these thoughts in luminous and per
spicuous order. May his blessing render this truly dirine
sentence profitable to us aU !
The conjunction "for," with which the text commences,
mdicates at once that it contains a reason for some pre
ceding statement. The preceding statement, as we saw in
the last lecture, is that God is reserring for Christ and
his people the throne of the world to come. And St.
Paul has just declared that the death of Jesus, and his
exaltation, through death, to glory and honour, is the pledge
of the accomplishment of this gracious purpose of God.
But nothing could be more offensive to Hebrew prejudices,
than such a declaration. A Hebrew could not listen to it
without asking immediately, if Messiah be indeed the Son of
the blessed, and the Lord of angels, why should he have

108 part I. LECTUEE X,
tasted death — why should such ignominy and suffering have
been his path to glory ? St. Paul, in the words before us,
sets himself, I conceive, to answer this two-fold question.
He explains to the Hebrews that the purpose indicated in
the eighth Psalm, of bringing many sons to glory, must needs
be accomplished by God in a manner worthy of himself.
His words evidently imply that the expiation of sin, and the
cleansing of the heirs of glory, through the discipline of
suffering, from sin's poUution, were absolutely necessary to
its accompUshment. And therefore it was, he says, that Jesus
the author of his people's salvation, tasted death ; therefore
it was that he went before his saved ones to glory through
suffering, sorrow and shame. It became him as thefr
Sariour to expiate thefr sins ; it became him as thefr leader
to tread the path which their Father's wisdom had appointed
for them.
Such appears the general meaidng and force of the words
before us. When examined in detail, they present three
statements to the mind. They declare something concerning
God — something concerning his purpose — something of the
means which it has seemed good to Alndghty wisdom to use
for the accompUshment of this purpose.
I. St. Paul here declares concerning God, "for whom are
all things, and by whom are all things." All things are " for "
God, inasmuch as universal nature exists to manifest its
Creator's glory. The glory of God is his excellence : he is
wise, loving, merciful and faitliful; holy, just and true.
And his works glorify him because they declare him to be
possessed of these attributes. Though in our present
condition we see but through a glass darkly, we can even
now discern this to be the case. The structure of the human
body and of the bodies of animals, yea, even of the bodies
of insects as the microscope reveals them, testffies to God's
wisdom. And the discoveries of the telescope, revealing to
om astonished riew unnumbered worlds, unnumbered suns
and systems, all guided in thefr courses and upheld by an
unerring and Almighty hand, testify to it yet more abundantly.
Atheism itself has confessed this. One of the most famous

chap. II. 10. 109
of the infidel astronomers of France gave it as his deliberate
reason for infidelity, that no mind, created or uncreated,
could have conceived the vast scheme of the universe ! And
if the universe thus testifies to God's wisdom, that part of it
with which we are most acquainted, testffies equally to his
love and mercy. For love and mercy alone built, love and
mercy alone uphold for rebelUous man, a world so clothed
with beauty and so fafr as this. To love and mercy alone
we owe it that seed-time and harvest, cold and heat, summer
and winter, day and night, never cease from age to age.
And the eristence in the world of his redeemed Church — of
a people saved from condemnation through Christ's death,
upheld by his Spirit, and cheered by the prospect of glory,
testifies to his mercy, his faithfulness and his truth. WhUe
the blessedness which is even now the reward of righteous
ness, and the misery which is even now the penalty of
transgression, testify that he is the holy and just. This
however is only partially the case at present, for we know
little of God's works, and many of his ways are past our
feeble comprehension. But it shall not be always so : the
day is coming which shall reveal God face to face. The
glories of creation shall then burst on the enraptured rision
of his people, constraining them to wonder and adore. The
glories of redemption shall also burst upon them, when those
things are revealed to sight which God has prepared for them
that love him. Hell too, with its fearful lessons of the yet
untold malignity of sin, shall be bared to their astonished
riew. Nothing then shall seem mysterious, nothing then
shall want explanation. Heaven 'with its blessed inhabitants,
earth redeemed from the curse and from the hand of Satan,
and hell beneath, where there is waUing and gnashing of
teeth, shall then appear infinitely worthy of the God who
appointed and made them, proclaming him as the loving, the
merciful, and the just. And satisfied that the Almighty has
done all things well, saints and angels shall unite in raising
the etemal anthem, "Gloey be to the Father, and to
the Son, and to the Holy Ghost."
St. Paul teUs us also that aU things are "by " God. They

110 PAET I. LECTUEE X.
were created and are upheld by him, for the great pmpose
afready mentioned, riz., to manifest his glory. Whatever is
by God is also for him ; nothing can continue to exist which
reflects dishonour on the Creator. The wickedness of the
world once came to such a head that in the judgment of
God it dishonom-ed him. "And it repented the Lord," we
read, "that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved
him at his heart." And the decree followed immediately,
"I 'will destroy man whom I have created."' This explains
the words, "the Lord hath made all things for himself, yea
even the 'wicked for the day of eril."' For 'wickedness,
though apparently now to the dirine dishonour, is suffered
by God to continue, that he may one day be glorified in its
etemal overthrow.
CaUed thus into existence by his Omnipotent fiat, and
sustained for himself, by his Almighty word, the Universe
belongs to God. It appertains to him as the "Lord of
Heaven and Earth'' to order his Creation as he wUl, to
bestow dominion, power, authority, as shall seem to his
'wisdom good. It is not that He needs ricegerents to assist
Him in his rule ; He would bind His creatures together as
bestowers and receivers of blessing. And therefore —
II. He has the gracious purpose of "bringing many sons
unto glory." It is a very common sentiment that God has
not told us what this glory is. He has told us, men say,
that we shaU be happy in heaven ; but of the nature of this
happiness he has not been pleased to speak. And the words
of St. Paul that "eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man, the things which God
hatii prepared for them that love him," are quoted in proof
that this is true. But these words, form only the first half
of a sentence — a sentence which ends with the emphatic
declaration, "but God has revealed them unto us by his
Spirit."' So far then from St. Paul appro'ring, he utterly
condemns this sentiment. To say that the glory of which
he is speaking in the text, is a blessedness of whose nature
we have no definite information, is to betray the most
' Gen. vi, 6, 7. 2 Prov, xvi, 4. 2 I Cor. ii. 9, 1 0.

chap II. 10. Ill
criminal inattention to the express statements of God's word.
St. Paul is reasoning in the text, as he has been doing
in the two verses preceding, on the quotation which he has
just presented to us from the eighth Psalm. He has
introduced that Psalm to prove that God designs to give to
Christ and to his people, dominion over the works of his
hands, and to put all things under their feet. And while
admitting that this purpose is as yet unaccomplished, he has
-deferred to the exaltation of Christ after his work of atone
ment for man's sin was finished, as the certain pledge of its
accomplishment. Then follow the words of the text, which
are designed in explanation of the necessity of Christ's
sufferings. They were necessary, we are told, that his saved
ones ndght be exalted to glory. For he, says the apostle,
who made and sustains the universe for himself, and to whom
by right it belongs, designs to set his many children as lords
and kings over his vast possessions, and to constitute them
rulers of universal nature. This and notldng less than
this, is the glory prepared for the just. WeU might David
beholding it in prophetic vision, exclaim, " what is man that
thou art mindful of him ! "
God is no niggard of his mercies : he is reserving this
glory for "many sons.'' Every similitude which nature
affords has been exhausted by the blessed Spirit to set forth
the multitude of Christ's saved people. They are compared
to the drops of dew, to the blades of grass, to the dust of
the earth, to the sand on the sea shore. St. John saw them
in the visions of the Apocalypse, "a multitude which no man
can number, of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation."' And he heard the hallelujah of that multitude,
*' Loud as from numhers without number, sweet
As from blest voices uttering joy."
God has been gathering these "many sons" from the days
of Abel until now, and is still gathering them. The
kingdom which has been prepared from the foundation of
the world, tanies only till the last of them is sought and
* Revelation vii. 9,

112 PAET 1. LECTURE X.
found. It shall then be revealed and given to them as
thefr inheritance. They shaU go forth, Recording to God's
appointment, to exercise rule, govemment and authority
over the widely-extended provinces of thefr royal Father's
dominion. This appears to many, a carnal riew of heavenly blessedness.
They say that adoration and worship are the employment of
the blessed, but that the prospect of authority and power has
no charms for a holy mind. Far be it from us to deny that
the adoration of the blessed God is the etemal joy of heaven's
inhabitants. But why may not those who adore him, also
govern for him? These two are not inconsistent. We read
in the Apocalypse, of the enthroned elders casting their
crowns at the feet of Jesus.' The act is expressive of adoring
worship, but the worshippers are kings. The prospect which
fills the holy soul of Christ with joy, ought surely to have
charms for his people also. And the day of his coronation,
as we read in the Canticles, is "the day of the gladness of
his heart." ^ It is the desire of power for seffish purposes,
which constitutes the wickedness of ambition. But it is
prized by the holy and righteous for the opportunities which
it affords of doing good. A king is able to encourage the
well-doing, to reUeve the oppressed, and to comfort the
afiUcted. "I have lost a day," was the saying of the Roman
Emperor, when even one day passed 'without some of his
subjects being blessed by him. The poet has beautifuUy
expressed this sentiment. Speaking of a king relieving
afiUcted worth, he says —
*• The monarch drank, that happy hour.
The sweetest, holiest draught of power.
When it can say, with godlike voice,
Arise, sad virtue, and rejoice."
This is at once the holiness of power, and the reason why
power is prized by the holy. It is the reason why Jesus
prizes it. For wherever his name is known, and his govern
ment extends, "men shall be blessed in him, aU nations
shaU call him blessed."' And what applies to him, applies
1 Rev. iv. 10. ' Canticles iii. 18. ' Psalm Ixxii. 17.

chap. II. 10. 113
to his people also. In the world to come indeed, there shall
be neither distress to reUeve nor mourners needing comfort.
But StiU we cannot for an instant doubt that God's people,
when set over the provinces of their Father's boundless
empire, shall bless unnumbered myriads by the exercise of
righteous rule. Kings under Christ, and over his heritage,
they shall govern for his glory, and for the blessedness of the
universe which is subjected to him. And he who does not
esteem this as a reward worthy of God to give, and of
himseK to receive 'with adoring thankfulness, is not Uke-
minded with his Lord and Saviour.
III. We must now consider the means which it has
seemed good to Almighty wisdom to use for the accomplish
ment of this purpose. " It became him," says the text, "in
bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of
thefr salvation perfect through sufferings." I have already
observed, that God can do nothing save in a way which is
worthy of himself. If his children are to be thus exalted,
thefr Father must be glorified in thefr glory. The sovereign
of these realms takes we shall suppose, convicted felons
doomed to die, and sets them as riceroys, governors,
lieutenants, over the kingdoms and provinces of this English
empfre. Thieves, robbers, murderers are invested with the
highest offices. Or, to vary the iUustration, the thoughtless,
the ignorant, the untutored are entrusted with the affairs of
state. Would such an ordering of the Commonwealth, be
to the honour of the Sovereign of England? No, the weU-
conducted, the industrious, the peaceable members of the
community would complain, and be justified in their com
plaint. Misgovernment not nearly so atrocious has, in past
ages, hurled many a sovereign from his throne. And now, to
apply this illustration, we the fallen children of men, are the
persons whom God designs to exalt to glory. But we are all
felons, convicted felons in his sight, and by nature doomed
to die. We confess the truth of this continually ; we pray,
in the sanctuary, "from thy wrath and from everlasting
damnation, good Lord, deliver us.'' And surely we are not
praying to be deUvered from that which we have never

114 parti. LECTUEE X.
deserved! We have besides by nature, the hearts of
felons — hearts disaffected to God and his holy ways, and
filled vdth all rebellion. And we are by nature, slow to
apprehend the things of God, slow to beUeve in him, slow to
love and serve him. Can God exalt us to glory whUst con
tinuing in this condition? Can he give to us dominion over
the works of his hands whUst the stain of unforgiven sin
attaches to us, and we stUl abide in our vdckedness and
folly? No; God has created and must order the universe
for himself : and such an exaltation of his people, dearly as
he loves them, would dishonour instead of glorifying him in
the eyes of his unfaUen Creation. And therefore we read
expressly in holy Scriptm-e, "that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the Idngdom of God."' And again, we read "that
no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man who
is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ
and of God."' And again we are told by St. John, that
"there shall in nowise enter" into Christ's holy city "any
thing that defileth."' Far be it from God, to exalt us in
our sin and folly to the throne of his dear Son. In the
expressive language of the Book of Proverbs, "as snow in
summer, and as rain in harvest, so honour is not seemly for
a fool." We are told in the same Scripture what is seemly
for him — " a whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a
rod for the fool's back."* And this is what our foUy, if we
abide in it, shaU receive at the hand of God; we shaU be
cast down into eternal dishonour, and beaten with many
stiipes. But if this is the case, we may weU ask with the disciples,
"who then can be saved?" For all are by nature in this
condition of guilt and sin and folly, and the heirs of glory
are taken from this corrupt mass. To this question Jesus
answers, "with men indeed it is impossible, but not with
God, for with God all things are possible." He has appointed
an expiation for sin, whereby pardon is obtained for his
people's accumulated guilt: he has appointed for them also
the discipline of suffering, whereby, through thefr Saviom's
'ICor. vi. 9. 2 Ephes. ». 5. 'Rev. xxi. 27. 4 Prov. xxvi. 1, 3.

CHAP. II. 10. 115
grace, they are cleansed from sin and folly, and made meet
to be partakers of his etemal inheritance. And therefore it
was, in the wisdom of God, that Christ the Captain of his
people's salvation, was advanced " through sufferings " to
his perfect reward. These sufferings were needful for the
expiation of sin. It was also needful that Jesus should have
personal experience of sorrow, affliction and pain, that he
might lead his people in the same path — the path which
conducts to glory and to God.
This subject demands however a fuller elucidation. Christ
is called in the text, the Captain or Author of the salvation
of the sons of God. In other words, he brings his people
out of their natural condition of guUt and misery, and makes
them members of God's family. To enable him to do this,
he laid down his life to expiate their sins, and even to the
suffering of death, fulfilled on their behalf all righteousness.
This work of atonement and of righteousness was indeed,
as St. Paul has told us in the preceding verse, on behalf of
all mankind. And through it the bosom of eternal love has
been opened, and all men are made welcome to draw near
to God and live, But to those who receive Christ by faith,
his- work is attended 'with infinitely more important results.
To them it is salvation. "To as many as received him,"
says St. John, "to them gave he power to become the sons
of God." ' For when we are conrinced of our lost estate by
nature, and brought to rest unfeignedly on him "whom God
hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his
blood,"' we obtain in the Divine faithfulness, the remission
of all trespasses. Christ comes moreover, into our opened
hearts, and taking possession of them by his Holy Spirit,
makes us one 'with himself. We are thus freed from con
demnation in his freedom from it, accepted in his acceptance,
and sons of God in his sonship. And our Father shall be
glorified in exalting us to share his throne. We were indeed
by natme, conricted and hell-deserving rebels; but God
remembers it no more against us, for we are now, through
faith and union with Jesus, his-fergiven and adopted chUdrpn.
' John i. 12. 2 Romans iii. 25.

116 PAET I. LECTUEE X.
To ask whether it shall be so — whether God shall be glorified
in thus exalting his many sons, is to ask whether he shall be
glorified in exalting Christ himself. Is there any tongue
within God's vdde universe which shaU impeach the worthiness
of the Lord Jesus? There is none. May the challenge be
safely sounded without any venturing to answer? It may.
There is no tongue then which shall impeach the worthiness
of his people. St. Paul has afready sounded the challenge
in thefr name, and dared the enemy to reply to it. "Who
shall lay any thing," is his triumphant language, " to the
charge of God's elect? — it is God that justifieth : who is he
that condemneth? — ^it is Christ that died, yea, rather that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us."' And as long as he over whom
death has no power, is found at the right hand of the Father,
so long shall his people found in him be presented " unblame-
able and unreproveable"' in God's sight. This is a great
mystery ; but mysterious as it is, it is the geand seceet of
salvation. We have already seen that there was another reason for
Clirist passing through suffering to glory. Suffering is the
discipline appointed by God for cleansing and purifying his
many sons, the heirs of glory. "Whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."'
God dwelt of old between the Cherubims, and they were
made of beaten gold. And in this we see a type of the
discipline by which he prepares that people among whom he
is to dweU, and from whom his glory shall shine forth for
ever. He subjects them to pain, trial and sorrow, brings
them into difficulties and perplexities, exposes them to per
secution and affliction, and thus weans thefr affections from
the creature to fix them on himself. He also teaches them in
this severe school to exercise patience, resignation, and faith ;
to cultivate gentleness, meekness, and every Christian
grace. "We glory" St. Paul says, "in tribulations also;
knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience
experience, and experience hope."* And the same apostle
' Eom. viii. 33, 34. s Coloss. i. 22, 83. sHeb. xii. 6. ^Rom. v.3, 4.

CHAP. II. 10. 117
tells us, that through this end accomplished in them, God's
people are made meet for thefr inheritance. "Om light
affUction" he declares, "which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding and etemal weight of glory." '
God's way with his Church has been, and is in every age
the same. Believers are not now indeed exposed to the rage
of heathen persecutors as they were at the beginning. But
stUl they have thefr troubles. One is stretched for wearisome
weeks and months on a bed of languishing ; another is made
to mourn over domestic bereavements ; while another is tried
with loss of substance, and smarts under the contempt of a
cold-hearted and cruel world. These afflictions are not
indeed peculiar to the righteous; they are common to all
men. But the wicked do not receive them from the hand of
God; and so to them they bring no blessing, but a curse.
For unsanctified sorrow hardens the heart, and is a foretaste
of that which shall never end. With the beUever however,
it is different. He recognizes a Father's hand in aU the
affUctions which befall him, and is through them, by the
blessing of God's holy spirit, conformed to the image of his
Sariour. And thus, amid abounding trial and heart-breaking
grief " Every moment's calm that soothes the breast.
Is given in earnest of etemal rest,"
Now the sons of God, while they tread this thorny road,
stand in daily need of succour, sympathy, and comfort.
They stand in need also of guidance when perplexed, and
counsel when in difficulty. God bids them betake themselves
to Jesus, the friend "that sticketh' closer than a brother.''
"Behold I have given him," he says, "for a 'witness to the
people, a leader and commander to the people."' And weU
may the people of God betake themselves to him. He can
afford them sympathy, for he himself was once distressed :
he can guide and counsel them, for he himself was once in
sore perplexity. His own blessed feet had painful experience
of every step of that thomy way by which they are travelling,
1 IlCor. iv. 17. ' Isaiah ly. 4.

118 PART I. LECTURE X.
and he knows every snare and stumbling block with which
that dangerous path abounds. He is therefore a guide at
once safe and merciful. For, as the text declares, it
seemed good to the AU-wise God to give to the Captain of
his people's salvation a perfect personal experience of his
people's condition. And no language can describe the
consolation which is thus treasured up for them in him.
The path which conducts them to glory may be rough, but
they know that it cannot be rougher than the path by which
Jesus travelled to it. They know moreover, that after a
little while, a very Uttle while, he who now keeps them from
falling, wiU present them "faultless, before the presence of
his glory, vnth exceeding joy."' Exceeding joj' indeed! — ah
what tongue shaU utter it ? Jesus shaU present his people,
faultless because found in him, cleansed also and sanctified
by the grace of his holy Spfrit, and through the discipline of
his holy proridence. And as he presents them, he shall
confess then- names before his Father and before his angels.
These, he shall say, are meet to sit on the etemal throne —
to wear the etemal crown — ^to hold the etemal sceptre : I
thefr Sariour am thefr guarantee that thou shalt not be
dishonoured in having seated them so high, in haring
appointed them to so lofty a trust! We wonder, when 'n-e
read of the just submitting to be stoned and savyn asunder,
to be tempted and slain with the sword, to wander about
in sheepskins and goatsldns, being destitute, afflicted,
tormented.' But a glimpse of the glories of which I have
now spoken is able to tum a bed of torture into one of sweet
repose. Think you that St. Stephen regarded the murderous
stones? No ; he was occupied v^ith something far different:
he was seeing "the glory of God and Jesus standing on the
right hand of God."'
Let us see then that we be found in Christ, and that we
be committing our souls to him as the Captain of our
salvation. So shall his atonement and finished righteousness
be our salvation in the coming day of the Lord. So shall
all the afflictions and trials of this mortal life be blessed by
I Jude 24. 2 Hebrews xi, 36—33. s Acts vu S5, 56.

CHAP. II. Io. 119
his holy Spirit, to make us meet for his eternal inheritance.
No words can express the desolation of that house of mourning
in which Jesus is not to be found. There is no consolation,
in such cfrcumstances, in looking at the suffering before
you ; it appears simply .as the wages of sin, the begun
accomplishment of God's sentence on transgression. But
oh how different are the afflictions of the righteous ! One
is comforted in ¦witnessing their sufferings by the blessed
assurance, that they shall one day give thanks to God for
every pang which they are now enduring. We cannot expect
to pass through this life -without experience of its trials : days
of darkness, be they many or few, must be awaiting all of us.
But may God grant to us that beUering in the Saviom, we
may receive these trials from his gracious hand! They
shall thus accomplish his holy wUl in us, and prepare us for
the glories of his everlasting Idngdom.

120

LECTURE XI.
Hebrews U. 11, 12.
"For both he that sanctifieth, and tliey who are sanctified,
are all of one, for which ca-use 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."
The Apostle haring made a statement so very offensive to
Hebrew prejudices, as that the Son of God tasted death, and
was advanced through sufferings to his reward, has just given
a reason for this abasement on the part of the glorious and
the blessed One. It was necessary, he has just declared,
for the exaltation to glory, of the people beloved of God.
But knowing that a crucified Redeemer was the grand
stumbling-block of those to whom he was writing, he does
not dismiss this matter with so brief a notice, but enlarges
on the blessed theme. He declares in the words before us,
and goes on to prove from the Old Testament Scriptmes,
that Christ and his people are "all of one." He deduces
from this the necessity of the assumption of our nature on
the part of the Sariour, and of his having passed through
death. Again, he reminds the Hebrews that Christ came
not to help the faUen angels, but to help the sons of men.
And from this he shews them that " it behoved him in all
things to be made like unto his brethren" — ^that it behoved
him to prove the utmost depths of human trial, suffering and
sorrow, that having had personal experience of temptation,
he might be able to succour the tempted. Such is St. Paul's
argument to the close of this second chapter ; and it brings
to a conclusion, as we shall see hereafter, the first part of
this epistle.

chap. II. 11, 12. 121
Haring given this general view of the Apostle's meaning
let me now attempt the detaUed exposition of his words.
For both he that sanctifieth, and they who are sanctified,
are all of one.
To sanctify, is to separate from a common to a holy use.
We are all by nature the servants of sin, the world and the
Deril. And we are sanctffied when we are separated from
their service, to the serrice of God and of righteousness.
Christ is the only Sanotifier. He sanctifies in two ways,
by his blood and by his Spirit. His blood sanctifies,
because it has taken away our sins, and has made approach
to God on our part possible once more. And his Spirit
sanctifies by revealing in the heart this Dirinelove and mercy,
and gaining the heart to God by the power of the blessed
revelation. For Christ thus turns our willing feet into the
way of God's commandments, and by making us his servants
now, prepares us to be his servants for ever. Sanctffication
therefore is salvation. And the words before us, "he that
sanctffieth, and they who are sanctified," just mean, the
Sariour and his saved people. If we express their meaning
thus, we shall discover a very striking connection between
the text and the verse preceding it. St. Paul has told us
that it became the Father of his people " to make the Captain
of their salvation perfect through sufferings." And now
follows the reason of this appointment. The Saviour and the
saved, the Captain and the soldiers whom he leads to victory,
" are all of one." And what more fitting than that the
General should devote himself for his soldiers ; what more
fitting than that he and they, the servants of one Prince and
Sovereign, should share together the dangers, privations and
fatigues inoident to his honourable and blessed serrice !
That we may fully miderstand however this apostoUc
statement we must specially consider the words, "are all of
one." St, Paul has been speaking of God as the Father of
many sons. He therefore now means to tell us that Christ
and his people have one common Father. And because it is
VOL. I. G

VH PAET I. LECTUEE XI.
so, they have a common race to run, a common enemy to
combat, a common glory to vdn. The common race is the
way of that Father's commandments ; the common enemy is
"the Devil and Satan;'' the common glory is the kingdom
which God has prepared for them that love him.
It is most important that we understand in what sense it
can be said that Christ and his people have one common
Father. St. Paul in the words before us is speaking of him
as the God-man — the risen Sariour of the Church. And
as such, let us ever remember, Christ is the Son of God by
generation of the Holy Ghost. " The Holy Ghost shaU
eome upon thee," said the angel to his mother, "and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore also
that holy thing which shaU be bom of thee shall be called
the Son of God."' And with this agree the words of Christ
himself "Say ye of him," he asked the Jews, "whom
the Father hath sanctffied and sent into the world, thou
blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son of God?"' The
Father sanctified or set him apart for his special serrice, and
sent him into the world. He came into the world, taking
our nature into union -with his Dirine person by generation
of the Holy Ghost. And he is thus in humanity, as truly
as in Divinity, the Son of God. Now in this spuitual
sonship we his people are one with him. His mfraculous
conception and generation were indeed peculiar to himself,
but the holiness of his human NATURE HAI) THE SAME
SOURCE AND ROOT WITH HOLINESS IN US. The Father
sanctified him for his service, sending him into the world,
his Son born from above. And Christ sanctifies us in hke
manner, putting his own Spfrit within us, and sending us
into the world, a people bom from above. This is indeed
the grand characteristic dUference between the true Christian
and the wicked world around him. " Ye must be bom
again," is Christ's express declaration; "that which is bom
of the flesh is flesh, and that winch is born of the Spirit is
spuit.'" And again he says of his people, "as thou hast
sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into
1 Luke i. 35. 2 John x. 36. . John iii. 6, 7.

CHAP. IL 11, 12. 123
the world," And again, " they are not of the world, even
as I am not of the world.'" Jesus, when thus sanctffied by
the Father, and sent into the world on his high and holy
serrice, had, as we have already seen, his Father's command
ments to keep. In the power of the Holy Ghost he kept
them. He had his Father's enemy and the enemy of his
people to overcome. In the power of the Holy Ghost he
overcame him. He had his Father's promised glory to win.
In the power of the Holy Ghost he won it; for "through
the Eternal Spirit "he "offered himself without spot unto
God."' And the case, as has also been remarked, is the
same "with us his people. Sanctffied by him om Saviour,
and sent into the world, we have the same Father's wiU to
do. In doing it, we have to overcome the same enemy who
withstood our Lord. And the reward which is set before us
is the promise of being glorified 'with him. Moreover, the
same Spirit is our strength. In the power of the Holy
Ghost, we obey and overcome and win; "for both he that
sanctffieth and they who are sanctffied, are all of one."
They " are all of one : " the poorest, meanest, humblest
beUever is bound to his Saviour by this blessed tie ; he is
bom of the same Spirit, and can look up to the same
Father. Precious, unspeakable consolation ! Stumble not,
ye Hebrews, says St. Paul, at the doctrine of a crucffied
Redeemer. Think it not strange that for a people so nearly
allied and so dear to him the Son of the Blessed stooped
thus low. Think it not strange that he became one with
them in thefr sorrows, their sufferings and their pains. For
he and they " are all of one," — all engaged in the service of
one God and Father. And surely it became not him their
appointed leader in his Father's holy ways, and in the con
test 'with the enemy, to shrink back himself from the brunt
of the battle. He was to be fijrst in dignity and glory, and
therefore it became him to be first in suffering, sorrow and
shame. But those to whom St. Paul was 'writing might ask some
proof of his words. He therefore refers immediately to an
J John xvii. 16, 18. 2 Hebrews ix. 14.
g2

124 PART I. LECTURE XI.
authority which they all acknowledged, viz. the Old Testa
ment Scriptures.
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.
These words are taken from the twenty-second Psalm,
and are most apposite to the Apostle's purpose. Was any
Hebrew stumbled and revolted by the statements of the
gospel concerning Christ's humiUation? Did any Hebrew
listen to the statement that Christ and his people were aU of
one, and doubt the truth of it ? Your o'wn Messiah, says
St. Paul in reply, speaking in yom own Scriptures, acknow
ledges us poor mortals as his brethren, and speaks of himself
as one of the congregation of the faithful, leading, in the
midst of them, the worship of God !
This precious Scripture however, was not cited by St. Paul
merely to meet an objection ; it is full of instruction and
most blessed consolation. We leam from it, as he teUs
us, that Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren, if his
Spirit is dwelling in our hearts, and leading us in his holy
ways. And the reason which the Apostle states for this
condescension on his part, 'viz. that he and the sanctffied are
all of one, appears on the face of the Scripture itself. For
surely brothers are the members of one famUy ! Surely he
who in the midst of his people shaU lead their worship for
ever, acknowledges 'with his people one common God aud
Father !
But let us give to the words before us the special consi
deration which they deserve. They were spoken by om
blessed Saviom- on the Cross shortly before he died. He
had been exposed to the onsets of Satan, and to the riolence
of the wicked, and God had hid his face from him. In
these cfrcumstances of accumulated and hitherto unexpe
rienced sorrow, he had been pouring forth his soul in prayer.
But before he resigned his spirit, light broke in upon his
darkness, and the consolations of God retumed. And the

CHAP. IL 11, 13. 125
first expressions of his thankfulness to him who had listened
to his cry, were in the words before us, " I wUl declare thy
name imto my brethi-en, in the midst of the congregation
will I praise thee." For even in that awful hour, in pouring
forth his gratitude to the Father, the Saviour thought of us.
If he promised to declare his name, it was to his brethren :
if he vowed to proclaim his praise, it was in the midst of
his saved people.
The name of God, as recorded in holy Scripture, is "the
Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering and
abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiring iniquity, transgression and sin, and that will by no
means clear the guilty."' Jesus had personal experience of
this name. He was charged with our transgressions, and
the Father had not cleared the guUty. Still he had not
forsaken him. When overwhelmed with sorrow and anguish,
when amazed with grief,' Jesus had found him merciful and
gracious, yea abundant in goodness and tru'th. And his
acceptance of the offering for our sins, intimated to his dj'ing
child by the light which broke in upon his darkness even
before his passion ended, proclaimed him as long-suffering,
forgiring iniquity and transgression. This then was the
name which Jesus was to declare to his brethren — the
Father's Holiness, the Father's Meeoy and Love. But
when wag he to declare it ? The words which we axe now
considering, cannot refer to his personal ministry on earth;
it was ended before he uttered them. They refer to his
ministry in glory from the day of his resun-ection till now.
He began to perform this vow as soon as he rose from the
dead. "Go, tell my brethren," was his first word on leaving
the tomb, "that they go into GalUee, and there shall they
see me."' And when they met him there, he remained with
them forty days, speaking of the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God."* He also "opened their understandings,
that they should understand the Scriptures,'' and " expounded
to them in all the Scriptures the thhigs conoeming himself; " *
I Exod, xxxiv. 8, 7. 2 Mark xiv. 33. s Matt, xxviii. 10.
¦> Acts i. 3. 5 Luke xxiv. 27, 46.

126 PART I. LECTUEE XI.
for in him the Father is declared. Nor did his ascension
put a period to this blessed work : he has been engaged in it
ever since, and is engaged in it stUl. All who in any gene
ration, have known the Father's name, and all who know
it now, have learnt it from his teaching. None else is
competent to teach it. For "no man," Jesus himself
declares, "knoweth the Father save the Son, and he to
whomsoever the Son wUl reveal him."' This blessed work
is Christ's deUght. Grateful love to the Father, and com
passionate love to us, combme to make it so. He therefore
inrites us to come and learn of him. And if we take Mary's
place, sitting at his feet to hear his word, we are choosing
"that good part which shall not be taken away" from us.'
It is a good part indeed ; blessed are they who are taught by
him. His is a brother's teaching. He looks with a brother's
love on those whose hearts have been opened to receive his
Spirit, and takes a brother's interest in thefr progress in the
knowledge of God. He has also a brother's patience vdth
thefr slovmess and inaptitude to leam. And by the grace of
his holy Spfrit he quickens that slowness and overcomes that
inaptitude, making his word, his sacraments and aU his
ordinances conducive to thefr advancement in the knowledge,
and estabUshment in the ways of God.
But the teaching which Christ vouchsafes to his people by
his Spfrit now, is only the beginning of the perfojmance of
this vow. It relates, as the latter part of it may shew us,
rather to eternity than to time ; for eternity alone affords
scope and opportunity for its discharge. And it shall be
discharged then. He who owned his saints as brethren
whUe clothed ¦with their mortal nature, and also after resur
rection from the dead, ¦will own them as brethren when the
glories of the Idngdom are revealed. ' It shall also be his
delight, through the ages of etemity, to declare to them the
Father's name. The theme on the one hand, is itffinite,
and etemity shall not exhaust it. And no limit can be set,
on the other, to the capacities of the glorified spirit. They
shall be enlarging through etemal -ages, and stiU, as they
1 Matt. xi. 27. 2 Luke x. 42. = Matt. xxv. 40, 45.

CHAP. IL 11, 12. 127
enlarge, they shall be filled with God, as their infinite and
satisfying object. But the inrisible Father shall never be
known save in and through the Son ; and therefore as Jesus
shaU deUght to teach, his people shaU delight to leam of him.
They shall sit eternally at his blessed feet, and listen to his
wondrous revelations without weariness and without satiety.
In what an engaging aspect does this present to us the
happmess of the heavenly world ! It was set forth in the
two last lectures, in quite a different aspect ; crowns, thrones,
and sceptres, were then presented to us as the heritage of
the just. But methinks what is now presented seems more
desfrable stiU. Let us suppose that before the patriarch
Abraham closed his eyes in death, we had been privUeged to
sit at his feet, and to be instructed by him in the knowledge
of Abraham's God. He communicates to us the results of
the personal experience of an hundred years. He tells us
how at God's word he left Ur of the Chaldees, and sojourned
in Canaan, in Egypt, and in Gerar. He teUs us how faithful
and true to Ids promises, how gracious, how considerate, and
how merciful he has ever found Jehovah. And he passes in
reriew before us the history of his eventful life, bidding us
read in it the Divine character, and behold in it the Dirine
glory. Such a communication, I need not say, would have
been esteemed by us a special privilege. But it is not
worthy of mention compared with the privilege which is
reserved for the redeemed hereafter, when they shall sit at
the feet of Jesus, looking up mto his face as into the face of
an elder brother, and Ustening to his revelations of God.
He shaU tell them how he has known him from etemity,
how he lay in his bosom before the worlds were. And
especiaUy shaU he teU them how he proved, when in their
mortal flesh, his faithfulness, his mercy and his love. He
shall recount his eventful experience from his leaving the
womb of Mary and entering this world of sorrow, to his
learing the womb of the grave and re-entering the world of
joy. And as he recounts it, he shall bid them read in it
the Father's character, and behold in it the Father's glory.
Who wiU not say that such a privUege is heaven indeed !

128 PAET I. LECTURE XI.
Who will not esteem all things loss to be counted worthy at
length to partake therein !
In this our present sinful condition, even Divine knowledge
too often rests as a barren speculation in the understanding.
It shaU not be so in heaven : knowledge there shall always
affect the heart. As Jesus teaches his people to know the
Father, he shall also teach them to worship and adore him ;
yea, in this blessed employment he shaU be himself thefr
example. What says his vow on Calvary ? Let us read the
remainder of his words, " in the midst of the Church wiU
I sing praise unto thee.'' This vow shall be performed.
From the midst of the redeemed who sit around him, and
listen in breathless mterest to his revelations of the Father's
goodness, ever and anon shaU the Redeemer rise, and taking
in his hand his golden harp, shaU tune it to the Father's
praise. And his melodious voice, " Uke the sound of many
waters," shaU give forth the heavenly measure, and raise the
heavenly song. Nor shall his redeemed be slow to foUow
him. They have "every one of them harps,"' and shall
leam of him to tune them. They shall also catch from his
Ups the measure and fall into the strain, nor shaU one jarring
note disturb the harmony of heaven. How overwhelming is
the contemplation of such wonders ! And let no one say,
that these things cannot be — ^that Jesus caimot be at once
worshipped and a worshipper. It seems indeed a contra
diction, but it is not ; for he possesses a twofold natme, and
is invested with a twofold office. He is the Son of God, the
Creator of aU things, and as such, is the object of worship.
He is the Son of Man, the pattern to the sons of men of
all that is good and excellent ; " the first-bom of every
creature,"' that he may lead up every creature to the worship
of the Father of aU. He is also God's Melchizedec — King
and Priest. As King, he is adored; for a voice from the
oracle proclaims, "let all the angels of God worship him."'
And as Priest, he renders that, which as King, he receives.
A priest not worshipping, is indeed a contradiction. And
God hath sworn and 'wiU not repent that Jesus is a Priest
for ever. *
1 Rev. v. 8. 2 Coloss. i. 15. » Hebrews i. 6. 4Psalmcx.4.

CHAP. II. 11, 12. 129
And we are not falUng into the snare of being wise above
what is written, because we search into these things. Holy
Scripture is fuU of them. Whether we read the records of
our Sariour's life in flesh, or attend to the intimations given
to us of his employment now in the blessed regions above,
or ponder the glorious risions of the kingdom, we find them
plainly revealed. We are expressly told that whUe on earth,
he both accepted and rendered worship. When on one
occasion he had displayed the power of his Father in stilUng
the raging sea, his disciples " came and worshipped him,
saying, of a truth thou art the Son of God." ' And again,
after his resun-ection, " they came and held him by the feet
and worshipped him."' But he rendered worship also. St.
John teUs us, " these words spake Jesus, and lifted up his
eyes to heaven and said. Father, the hour is come, glorify
thy Son."' St. Luke says, that " when he was praying in a
certain place, one of his disciples said unto him. Lord, teach
us to pray."* And both St. Matthew and St. Mark concur
with St. Luke in saying that Jesus " fell on his face " in dark
Gethsemane, " and prayed, Abba Father, remove this cup
from me."° For he was then in suffering and sorrow, and
prayer was the worship suited to his cfrcumstances. But
let us follow him from earth to heaven, and we shaU find
that prayer exchanged for praise. Even whUe the redeemed
cast their crowns at his feet, adoring him, "they sing," St.
John tells us, " the song of th3 Lamb." ^ The Lamb then
has a song which his people leam of him. Yes, he has
many songs. The Book of Psalms which is filled from one
end to another vrith expressions of adoration and thanks-
giring, of which he is the object, is filled also with his own
songs of praise. We read in one Psalm, " I will praise the
Lord 'with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright,
and in the congregation."'' And in another, ''I 'wiU extol
thee, oh Lord, for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made
my foes to rejoice over me."^ And in another stiU, " oh God,
» Matthew xiv. 33. a Matthew xxviii. 9. s John xvii, 1.
« Luke xi. 1. 6 Matt. xxvi. ; Mark xiv. ; Luke xxii.
e Rev. XV. 3. ' Psalm cxi. 1. s Psalm xxx. I.
g3

130 PAET I. LECTUEE XI.
my heart is fixed, I wUl sing and give praise even 'with my
glory: awake, psaltery and harp, I myself wUl awake early."'
It is not difficult to discover the meaning of these songs.
We have just leamed from the Book of Revelation, which,
in this particular, is in most beautiful harmony 'with the text,
that the redeemed are taught by their Redeemer to sing the
praise of God. We are taught by the same book that none
but the redeemed can sing thefr song.' For those only can
understand it who have been in distress and extremity, and
have known by experience the mercy and deUverance of the
Lord. This then is the reason why Jesus at once sings
himself, and is the leader of his people's praise. He was
indeed in distress and extremity; he indeed knows by
experience, what the Father's mercy is. He was deUvered
by him from the violence of man, and from the hand of
Satan ; from the power of the curse also, and from the cold
grasp of death and the grave.' This explains the bmsts of
gratitude with which the Psalms are filled ; the Father's
loring child can never forget these mercies. In a Psalm
which expressly refers to them, we find him saying, " Thou
hast turned for me my mourning into dancing, thou hast put
off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness ; to the end
that my glory may sing praise to thee and not be sUent : oh
Lord my God, I wiU give thanks to thee for ever."*
And it shall be no derogation from the glory of the Sariour
that he thus appears for ever as a worshipper ; it shall only
commend him to heaven's blessed inhabitants as the worthier
object of worship. They shall be pririleged to behold that
head which was cro'wned with thorns ou Calvary, encircled
with the diadem of etemal dominion, and they shaU faU on
their faces and adore. And when they also behold those
hands which were nailed to the bitter cross, sweeping the
strings of the golden harp, they shaU recognize him, amid
his glories, as the meek and lowly Jesus stUl, and they shaU
only sing the louder, "woethy is the Lamb that was
SLAIN.'' 1 Psalm cviil ], 2. 2 Rev.xiy. •¦). s Title of 18th Psalm, Horsley.
1 Psalm xxx. 11, 12.

chap. II. 11, 12. 131
This subject is fuU both of consolation and of waming.
The Old Testament and the New combine to assure us that
Jesus is not ashamed to call his people brethren, yea, that he
acknowledges himself as one of them. How precious then
in his eyes, must be the grace of the Holy Spirit and the
image of God which that Spirit forms in us ! For it is this
which constitutes such brotherhood and blessed unity. And
whUe the value which he sets on this image of God in us
appears now, and is declared in the holy gospel, we have
learned from the subject before us that it shall appear more
abundantly in the world of glory. For then in everlasting
testimony to this link between the Sariour and the saved, he
shall dweU in the midst of them as a brother among brethren,
as the Chief Musician and sweet singer of Israel. Are we
then united to the Sariour by this Unk ? — have we received
into our hearts his Holy Spirit ? — are we indeed the children
of "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ?" If
not, he 'wUl be ashamed of us. And instead of owning us as
brethren, he wUl say, "I never knew you, depart from me,
ye that work iniquity." Ah, the nominal professor and
cold-hearted formaUst shaU then weep bitterly. But they
shall weep in vain. The Saviour's decree is peremptory, and
his mind is unalterable, that "-without holiness no man shall
see the Lord."'
Let us then earnestly seek to be sanctified indeed. We
cannot sanctify ourselves ; but let none be discouraged by.
this as if it were a hard saying. The greatest hindrance to
our sanctification, is our imagining that by our own efforts
we can accompUsh it. "They that be whole need not a
physician, but they that are sick ; " and so long as this
perverse imagination remains in us, we shall never apply to
the Sariour. We have no reason then to be discouraged,
but rather to thank God, if he has taught us to know our
sickness — if he has made us to feel that our hearts are at
enmity with him, and that self-renewal is as impossible as for
the Ethiopian to change his skin. For if this conviction
is followed by an honest surrender of these bad hearts to
1 Hebrews xii. 14.

132 PAET 1. LECTUEE XI.
Christ, nothing shaU hinder the Sariour from taking
possession of them by his Holy Spirit, and haUowing them
as his etemal abode. We shaU be taught of that Spirit to
know the value of redeeming love, and to experience the
riches of redeeming mercy ; we shall be prepared to sing the
praises of the loring and the merciful One in the world of
light above. Blessed for ever and ever is the man to whom
such a pririlege shall be granted ! For there the Son of
God himself presiding shall lead the melody and animate
the song.

153

LECTURE XII.
Hebrews ii. 13 — 15.
"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 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!' '
In the first of the verses which we have now read, St. Paul
continues to prove, by further reference to Old Testament
Scripture, the oneness between Christ and his people. He
then proceeds in the two remaining verses, to demonstrate
from this oneness the necessity which was laid on the Saviour,
of assuming their mortal nature and of passmg through
death. That the all-glorious Messiah should have done so
was the very truth which the Hebrews were so slow to
receive. It was the very truth therefore in which St. Paul
was now seeking to confirm and establish them.
We shall begin by examining the argument here addressed
to the Hebrews, and then seek to draw from this precious
Scripture instruction and edffication for ourselves.
St. Paul continues his citations, "and again, I 'will put
my trust in him, and again, behold I and the children which
God hath given me.'' The first of these expressions occurs
ui the second verse of the eighteenth Psalm. The whole
passage reads thus — " I will love thee, oh Lord, my Strength :
the Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deUverer, my
God, my strength, in whom I 'wUl trust, my buckler and the

134 PART I. LECTUEE XII.
hom of my salvation and my high tower.'' And the Hebrews
without hesitation acknowledged this to be a Psalm of
Messiah. The other expression occurs in the eighteenth
verse of the eighth chapter of Isaiah. It is doubtful whether
the Hebrews regarded it as the language of Messiah himself
or of the prophet. But the matter is of no importance.
For if the prophet used this language in reference to himself
and his remarkable chUdren, he used it as the ^ type of
Christ ; and the ultimate reference of the words is to Messiah
and his people. If the Hebrews had not been satisfied of
this, St. Paul would not have adduced the quotation
Let me now point out the meaning and force of these
quotations, and explain the argument which foUows them.
I have shewed to you already, says St. Paul, that Messiah,
speaking in your own Scriptures, acknowledges his people as
brethren ; now I shew to you that he calls them children
also. But if they are brethren and chUdren, they are
partakers of the same nature and of the same life with him
who is at once thefr father and thefr elder brother. I have
introduced Messiah declaring in your own Scriptmes that he
shall one day praise God in the midst of the church; now
I introduce him declaring that his condition shaU be one of
confidence in that God, and dependance on him continuaUy.
He shall trust in God, he tells you, that he may receive
deliverance ; he shall praise God, he also tells you, for that
deliverance when vouchsafed to him. And it is erident that
he shall do this as the example of his people, who led by the
impulse of the same natme, shall follow his sacred footsteps.
But these his dirine declarations could have been accom
plished only through his assuming their humanity and laying
down his life for them. He could not have been thefr ex
ample of confldence in God, having never himself needed
to trust in him ; he could not have been their example in
praising him, haring never himself received deUverance.
Moreover these children and brethren of Christ were by
nature under condemnation, and Satan their enemy had a
right to demand of the justice of God, that they should be
adjudged for their sins, to eternjil death. Before they could

CHAP. II. 13—15. 135
be taught to trust in God and praise him, it was absolutely
necessary that their condemnation should be removed, and
that their accuser should be sUenced. And this could
have been accomplished only through thefr Saviour's death.
"Forasmuch then,'' the apostle continues, "as the chUdren
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 DevU."
St. Paul greatly strengthens this argument by stating as
another purpose of the death of Christ, " and deliver them
who through fear of death were aU their lifetime subject to
bondage." The persons referred to are the Old Testament
saints, who, because of the darkness of that dispensation,
had Uved and died in bondage, having no assured peace with
God. The Hebrews expected the deliverance of the souls
of these deceased saints from Hades, as one of the glorious
acts of Messiah ; for the commentaries of the Rabbis declare
plainly that this was the faith of the Jewish church. But
he cannot deUver your sleeping fathers, says St, Paul,
except he expiate their sins. And why then, he asks, do
you stumble at the doctrine of a humbled and suffering
Redeemer? Without humiUation and death it is impossible
on the one hand, that he can be the glorious example of his
people, and equally impossible, on the other, that he can
perform those acts of glorious power for their deliverance
which your nation expects of Messiah.
Having thus attempted to explain the argument of St.
Paul, I wUl endeavour, by God's help, to unfold the treasures
of wisdom and knowledge which this precious Scripture
contains. And again, I will put my trust in him.
It has been mentioned afready that the Hebrews ascribed
to Christ the Psalm from which these words are taken.
There can be no doubt that they were right m doing so : its
contents plainly shew it to have been his triumphant song
when the Father raised him from the dead. "I wUl love

136 PAET I. LECTUEE XII.
thee," he exclaims in holy gratitude, "oh Lord, my strength."
And then in recompense of the Father's goodness, he vows
eternal trust in him as his rock, his fortress, his deliverer,
his God, his strength, his buckler, the hom of his salvation,
and his high tower ! These words are fuU of instruction.
They reveal to us the prominent feature of the Sariour's
character — ^the feature which "wiU distinguish it for ever.
Confidence in God. For doubtless he keeps this vow.
And therefore though surrounded now 'with the glories of
eternity, and participating in the honours of Deity, he stUl
trusts in the Father. " For the Edng trusteth in the Lord,"
we read, " and through the mercy of the Most High he shall
not be moved." ' And if this feature marks his character in
heaven, surely it must have marked it yet more distinctly on
the earth. If the glorified Son of God trusts in the Father,
surely the lowly Jesus of Nazareth depended on him con-
tmually. Let us Usten to his own words. "Thou art He,"
he exclaims, "that took me out of the womb; thou didst
make me hope when I was on my mother's breasts : I was
cast on thee from the womb, thou art my God from my
mother's beUy."' Let us listen to his language in another
Psalm. Spealdng of his persecutors he says, "for my love
they are my adversaries, but I am all prayer."' And in the
immediate context in this eighteenth Psalm, we shall find a
most striking proof and beautiful iUustration of the same
precious truth. The Son of God risen from the dead looks
back on his life of sorrow, suffering and trial, and on his
death of agony and shame. "The sorrows of death com
passed me," he says, "and the floods of ungodly men made
me afraid." But he also tells us how he found deliverance
and escape, "in my distress I caUed upon the Lord, and
cried unto my God, he heard my voice out of his temple."
These words suggest an iUustration. The lamb on the
mountain-side shrinks at the 'wintry blast. And coining to
the foaming mountain-torrent, it fears to ventme through.
But the shepherd takes it in his arms and carries it across.
It looks upon the raging waters and is afraid, but its fear
1 Psalm xxi, 7. 2 psalm xxii, 9, 10. 3 Psalm eix. 4, Horsley.

CHAP. II. 13—15. 137
makes it only cUng the closer to those arms which encircle
and protect it. And soon, in safety on the opposite bank,
it looks back on the object of its dread. Christ is " the
Lamb of God," The Father his Almighty shepherd tended
him, carrying him in his arms, and sheltering him in his
bosom continually. And when the hom- and power of dark
ness came, and the floods of the ungodly made that Lamb
afraid, he fled for shelter to those arms of love, " I am
not alone," he said, "the Father is with me."' And the
Father who was 'with him bore him through. The floods of
the ungodly, and the dark river of death are now passed for
ever, and the Lamb "in the midst of the throne'' proclaims
his Deliverer's praise. The faith of Jesus has thus met with
its reward ; it has issued in thanksgiving. And as he trusts
in the Father for ever, he shall be rewarded eternally with
renewed cause for thanksgiving. Nor shaU it be otherwise
with his people. The faith which he teaches them to repose
in God now, shaU issue, another day, in songs of praise.
Taught also by his Spirit and after his example to trust in
the Lord for ever, they shall have eternal cause to extol and
magnify his name.
This leads us to consider the other citation of St, Paul.
And again, Behold I and the children which God hath
given me.
A father is the author of life to his children, and the life
which he communicates is his own. God has given to Christ
to be the Father of chUdren, and these chUdren are begotten
in his own likeness, and after his own image. We have
afready seen what Christ's likeness and image are. Holy
confidence in God, holy gratitude and thankfulness, are the
prominent features of his perfect character. And this is the
character which he forms by his holy Spfrit in his chUdren.
St. Paul assigns this as Christ's object in bringing himself
and his brethren into trouble. "Always bearing about in
the body," he says, "the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the
1 John xvi. 32,

138 PAET I. LECTUEE XII.
life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body."
And again he says with more distinctness, "we which live,
are alway deUvered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the Ufe
also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh."
And what was this life of Jesus? "The same spfrit of
faith," says St. Paul; and then quoting his Lord's words,
"I beUeved and therefore have I spoken," he adds, "we also
believe and therefore speak."' And if in this severe school
they leamed to trust in God as Christ did, they also leamed
in it to praise him. Assmed that the faithfulness of God
woidd make present sorrow to issue in eternal joy, they
gloried in tiibulations. And being caused in these tribula
tions, to experience God's mercifid deliverances, they praised
while they trusted, and trusted whUe they praised. Christ
blessed the troubles of his people in this way, to form in
them his own character; and they were known as his chUdren
on the earth. Now his way 'with his people is the same stUl.
And when the character which he thus forms in them on
earth, appears in perfection in the heavenly kingdom, they
shall be known as his chUdren for ever. Repine not then,
oh believer, that thou art brought into trial, and made to
experience sorrow. Christ brings thee into his own cfrcum
stances, that he may teach thee to trust thy God, and give
thee cause to praise him. He would also thus prepare thee
for dweUing vdth him hereafter, known by thy family-likeness
to be one of those whom he has begotten to himself
St. Paul proceeds, —
Forasmuch then as tlie children are partakers of flesh and
blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same.
These words contam the oiUy answer which can be given
to a question of deep importance and mterest, which the
preceding verses suggest. For we cannot give due considera
tion to the statements which have just been made concerning
Christ as the example of his people, and compare them with
other statements of St. Paul in this epistie conceming his
1 II Corinthians iv. 10, 11, 13.

CHAP. II. 13-15. 139
etemal Godhead, without serious difficulties occurring to the
mind. Can God depend on another — can hereceive deliver
ance from another's hand — can he acknowledge another's
benefits? We know that he cannot. The self-existent is
necessarily self-sufficient; there is none who has first given to
him. Scripture nowhere speaks of God trusting in anything
save in Ids own almighty arm, or taking counsel with any
thing save with his o-wn infinite wisdom. But whUe it speaks
of Christ as God, it speaks of him as depending on another,
and receiving help from another's hand. The words before
us fully explain the paradox. For they teU us that he
took to himself a created and mortal nature, even the flesh
and blood of the chUdren. He who was rich thus partook
of their poverty,' descending into their condition. The
creature's poverty is its essential weakness and feebleness; it
needs everything ; it has nothing but what it every moment
receives. And into this condition the Son of God descended,
proring on the one hand, as his people's example, their estate
and cfrcumstances, and glorifying the Father on the other,
by continual dependance on his grace. This is the wondrous
mystery of Incarnation; unsearchable indeed, but fuU of
comfort. We leam from it that our God can be our brother ;
that our Almighty Creator can Imow by personal experience
the weaknesses, infirmities and trials of his ndserable and
dying creatures ! And Reason is baffled, while faith humbly
adores. St. Paul goes on to say, —
That through death he might destroy Mm that had the power
of death, that is, the Devil.
He assigns in these words another reason why the Son of
God assumed the children's flesh and blood. It was that he
might destroy Satan as the prince of death, i. e. take from
Satan his power to kUl them. And because this could be
accomplished only through his own death, he took a nature
which was capable of dying. Three considerations here
J II Corinthians viii, 9.

140 PAET I. LECTUEE XII.
present themselves to the mind. We inqufre, in the first
place, how Satan has power to kill us, and what is the death
which he inflicts. We inqufre, in the second place, how
Jesus by dying has destroyed that deadly power. And we
inquire, in the third place, who the chUdren are for whose
etemal salvation from it he was pleased to become incarnate.
We shall take these questions in order.
1st. Our blessed Lord has told us that Satan is " a
murderer from the beginning.'' The destruction of the body
is what we call murder, for man can do no more. And the
dissolution of the body is what we call death, for all else is
hidden from our riew. But real death and real murder is
the destruction of both soul and body in heU. Over both
these forms of death, Satan the murderer has power. He
introduced the former ; he wiU accompUsh the latter. He
had no such power over man originaUy. But he prevaUed
with man to be his accomplice in transgression, and now he
is the executioner of the vengeance denounced against it.
It were easy indeed for the Omnipotent to snatch us from
his hand. But God cannot dishonour Ms justice and his
truth. And so long therefore as he who is emphatically
styled " the accuser," can substantiate any plea against us
at the bar of God, he has a right to demand his rictims. I
gather this from wliat is declared in Scripture conceming
Satan's accusations of the just. We are told in the
Apocalypse, that he accuses them before God night and
day.' And God himself declares that he moved him against
holy Job, to destroy him without cause.' Now these accu
sations must be fairly met, and the enemy who prefers
them must be silenced. And this brings us to the next
consideration. 2nd. The Son of God, assuming our mortal nature, came
into the world to save us, and Satan fixed on him immediately
his murderous eye. It was at his instigation that the Jews
sought to shed his blood; Jesus told them, "ye are of
your father the Deril, and the lusts of your father ye wUl
do."' And he was permitted to do according to the lust of
1 Eev. xii, 10, 3 Job ii, 3, 3 John viii. 44.

CHAP. II. 13—15. 141
his heart, for by thefr hands he kiUed the Prince of life.
But here that vdcked one fell into the ditch which he had
made ; the death of Jesus proved the destruction of his
power. For that death, though Satan knew it not, was the
atonement for man's transgression, and the expiation of his
iniquity ; and by it moreover, everlasting righteousness was
brought in. Jesus therefore, when he rose from the dead,
became an everlasting sanctuary from Satan's power to all
who should fly to him for refuge. In his death the denun
ciations of the broken law have been accomplished, and its
precepts have been aU fulfilled. And those who trust in
him have a claim, not on the mercy only, but on the justice
and truth of God. They have a claim on his justice, for
they present the atonement of his Son ; they have a claim
on his truth, for he has bidden them trust in that atonement,
and sworn that they shall not be ashamed. God cannot
disallow these claims, and the accuser has nothing to answer.
He retires from the judgment-seat without a plea against
Christ's people ; his power to kill is taken from him, and
his prey escapes his unvsilling grasp. " They overcome
him," as we read m the Apocalypse, "by the blood of the
Lamb." ' Though the death of the body remains, that
blood has plucked out its sting. And as for the threatened
death to come, it is changed by the power of that sacrffice
into the glories of endless life.
3rd. Let us next inqufre who those children are for whose
salvation from the enemy's power Christ was pleased to
become incarnate. They are those, as we have already
seen, whom Christ has begotten to himself — his brethren,
his saved Church. He calls them in the text, "the children
which God hath given "me.'' And he intimates by these
words the humbling truth that to choose him as a Saviour
and to come to him is no act of the freewill of man. For
"he hath no form nor comeliness" in human eyes, "and
when we shall see him," says the prophet, "there is no
beauty that we should desire him."' AU therefore who
reaUy come to Christ are the children whom God has given
1 Eev. xii. 11. 2 Isaiah Iiii. 2.

142 PART I. LECTURE XII.
to him, for they have been drawn by the Father who sent
him.' But the Father has promised to him such a seed.
For "predestination to life," as our seventeenth article
teaches, "is the everlasting purpose of God, whereby, (before
the foundations of the world were laid) he hath constantly
decreed, by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse
and damnation those whom he hath chosen m Christ out of
mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salva
tion, as vessels made to honour." Those thus predestinated
to life are the children here spoken of. And bemg given by
the Father to Christ, "they be caUed,'' as the article goes on
to teU us, " according to God's purpose, by his Spirit working
in due season; they through grace, obey the calling; they be
justified freely; they be made sons of God by adoption; they
be made Uke the image of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ ;
they walk reUgiously in good works, and at length, by God's
mercy, attain to everlastmg felicity." The reward of the
Redeemer, and the final salvation of his people, are thus
eternally secured. If that reward and that salvation stood
on the sUppery base of man's freewUl, they would be more
than uncertain. But they stand on the promise and deter
mined counsel of God. The Father has said that Christ
"shaU see his seed," that "he shaU see of the tiavaU of his
soul and shaU be satisfied;"' and the wickedness of heU and
earth combined cannot cause the blessed word to fail. He
to whom aU his '^^'ol¦ks are known from the beginning, had
the salvation of this his predestmated family in his eye
from everlastmg. And to effect this salvation, was his
ultimate purpose in sending his Son into the world. It was
the ultimate purpose of Christ also in taking thefr flesh
and blood. For they were before him from etemity, from
righteous Abel to the last believer who shaU be gathered in ;
and he delighted before the worlds were, in the prospect of
their being 'with him for ever.' In the fulness of time
therefore he came and died, and his death has effected its
blessed purpose. His children led by the Spirit to him as
their Saviour, are placed, one by one, beyond the destroyer's
i John vl. 37, 44. 2 Isaiah Iiii, 10, 11. s Prov. viii. 31.

CHAP. II. 13—15. 143
reach. The power of the Prince of death is broken, so far
as they are concerned. And it is of them only that St. Paul
in the text is speaking.
I have said that the whole saved Church, from the time of
Abel to the yet future revelation of the kingdom, were in
the Redeemer's eye, when he vouchsafed to become incarnate.
When he came into the world, some of these were sleeping
in the dust. But he did not forget them because they were
asleep. His work in flesh had reference to them, as truly as
to those then alive upon the earth, and to all who to the end
of time shall believe in his blessed name. St. Paul reminds
us of this in the concluding words of the text —
And deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage.
It has been mentioned already that the persons here re
ferred to are the Old Testament saints. They were "subject
to bondage, through fear of death." The law under which
they lived, was a yoke which neither thefr fathers nor they
were able to bear.' It threatened them with death for the
omission of the slightest ceremony, and they were kept in
constant dread. We have an example of this in David.
As the ark of God was in its progress to Jerusalem, "Uzza,"
the member of a family which had given it shelter for twenty
years, "put forth his hand to hold it, for the oxen stumbled."
But he was smitten on the instant, "there he died before
God." And Darid, who witnessed this act of judgment,
"was afraid of God that day." He said, "how shaU the
ark of God come home to me?" he carried it aside to the
house of Obed-Edom the Gittite! Here was the "bondage
through fear of death" of which the text makes mention.
God's own anointed king sent his ark to the aUen and the
stranger. The unintentional omission of some ceremony
might have brought destruction on himself and his house.'
And there was another way in which Old Testament saints
were in bondage tiirough fear of death. That awful event
1 Acts XV. 10. ^ I Chron. xiii.

144 PART I. LECTURE XII.
is before us aU. And a sense of guilt makes the prospect
terrible; "the sting of death is sin."' Nothing but the
assmance of forgiving mercy can possibly pluck out this
sting.- But the dispensation under which these saints lived,
did not minister tlds assurance in its fulness. Its offerings
brought sm to remembrance and kept alive a sense of guUt,
and thus alarmed without pacifying the conscience. Doubt
less they were shadows of a coming substance, even the
Lamb which God should proride. But that substance was
dimly revealed and imperfectly apprehended. And the
prospect of death was not therefore to these sain'ts one of
unmingled peace ; they rather dreaded the day when the
disembodied spirit should be caUed to give in its account.
As we have taken Darid for an example, let us also take
Hezekiah. He had walked before God " m truth, and with
a perfect heart;"' and yet when he was sick unto death,
he expresses no fiUal confidence, but miserable bondage
and fear. He speaks of God " as a lion," waiting " to break
his bones," and of himself as mourning like a dove, and for
peace having "great bitterness."' Instead of "a desire to
depart," and accounting it " far better," " Hezekiah wept
sore." If these were the feelings of men like Hezekiah and
David, we may infer the spiritual condition of those of lower
attainments. They served God indeed, but m bondage ;
they hoped in his mercy, but their hope was with fear and
trembling. And even after they passed into the lUsembodied
state, their felicity was not perfected; St. Paul says expressly
in the text before us, that the Saviour became mcamate and
died and rose again, " that he might deliver them.'' From
what condition could they possibly need deliverance then?
The question is momentous, and leads us into a subject
confessedly deep and mj^sterious. But we are not without
some light to guide us. St. Paul declares in another place,
" that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made
manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing.*
1 I Cor. XV. 66. 2 II Kings xx, 3. s Isaiah xxxviii 3, 13, 17.
^ Hebrews ix. 8.

CHAP. II. 13—15. 145
The way into the hoUest of aU, is access to God as a Father.
He was not revealed in this gracious character, under the
legal dispensation, but was known only as a Master and a
Friend. The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus revealed his
patemal grace; till "that mfracle of time" was accom
plished, its discoveries could not be antedated, either by
saints in flesh or those disembodied and at rest. These last
had their place of rest, and waited the completion of a yet
unperfected felicity. Jesus, having died, descended into his
people's grave. And we know that during the three days of
his abode in it, he did not ascend to his Father. "It is to
be believed," says the 3rd Article, "that he descended into
hell." "His ghost,'' says an old Article, "was with the
ghosts that were in hell, and did preach to the same, as the
place of St. Peter doth testify."' These ghosts or spirits
could be none other than those of Old Testament saints at
rest in Hades. Why might not Jesus really preach to them ?
Why might he not be the Herald of his own accomplished
work of righteousness, and of that patemal name of God
which was about to be proclaimed to men? He carried many
of his people with him, in their bodies, direct from the tomb
to glory.* Why might he not translate the spirits of the
remainder from a state of imperfect happiness to the per
fected felicity of the presence of God ? Let these things
be, and the words of St. Paul, " the spirits of just men
made perfect,"' are at once and most satisfactorily explained.
And the same may be said of the words before us. Such
an act would indeed be the delivering of those who had once
been in bondage.
The Apostle teUs us, in those words to which I have just
referred, that we are come to the spirits of these just ones
made perfect. For we have been privUeged to hear those
glad tidings of salvation accomplished, which fill their hearts
with joy. And the same revelation of the blessed God which
1 Art. Synod London : a.d. 1553. ' Hebrews xii. 23,
* Matthew xxvii. 52, 53. It cannot for an instant be supposed that the saints
here spoken of returned apain to the tomb. They must have joined their Lord
after his ascension into heaven.
VOL. I. H

146 PAET I. LECTUEE XII.
delivered these Old Testament saints, once through fear of
death subject to bondage, plucks out the sting of death ere
it comes to beUevers now. He who trusts in Christ, and is
assured, trusting in him, of remission of sin and etemal
acceptance 'with God, cannot be afraid to die. Death comes,
not as a Uon, to break his bones, but as a friend, to take
down his earthly tabemacle, that the spirit may flit to the
bosom of a reconciled Father and an elder Brother above.
Believmg hi what Christ has done, he says with aged Simeon,
"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,... for
mme eyes have seen thy salvation."' And filled 'with love
to the Author of this salvation he longs to behold his glory,
saying with the blessed Apostle whose words we are now
considering, "haring a desfre to depart and to be with
Christ, which is far better."' Oh may God grantto us such
precious faith and love !
This subject teaches us most emphaticaUy the deprarity of
human nature. Why did God caU the patriarch Abraham
to leave his kindred, and father's house? Because the
whole earth had relapsed into idolatry, and he sought a
holy famUy that he might preserve in an apostate world the
knowledge of his name. He had tried man with mercy, in
the promise of salvation given to Adam ; 'with judg-ment, in
the dreadful flood; with mercy agam, in Noah's gracious
covenant ; but all had been in vain, the whole earth was fast
forgetting him. And the case was the same with favoured
Israel. They were preserved from becoming a nation of
idolaters, only, as we leam from God's own mouth, because
HE EESERVED TO HIMSELF scvcn thousaud mcu wMch had
not bowed the knee to Baal. And even so, at this present
TIME,'' says St. Paul, "there is a remnant according to the
election of grace." ^ God has a faithful people on the earth
now, only because the Father has promised that Christ " shall
see his seed." AU that God has done in Christ for the world,
fails and has ever failed to eUcit from man any response of
grateful obedience. These precious words therefore, " behold
I and the chUdren which God hath given me,'' are the con-
1 Luke ii, 29, 80. 2 Phil. i. 23i s Romans xi. 1— S,

CHAP. II. 13—15. 147
solation of the private Christian who has experience in his
own heart of the common sin of his race. They are the
consolation also of the faithful minister who has experience
of the hearts of others, by assuring him from God, that he
shall not labour in vain. But I must agam repeat that they
Contain the most emphatic proof which is to be met with
in the book of God, of the depravity of man — depravity
incurable, save by the power of the Omnipotent.
This subject teaches us another lesson. We have seen
how in reference to God's believing people, the power of
Satan is destroyed. Let us leam then who they are over
whom Satan retains his power, and how it is that he retains
it. He retains it over aU who are not found in Christ ; he
accuses them, and his accusations prevail ; they are deUvered
to the tormentor. God saves his family not merely by having
sent his Son to die for them, but by bringing thern to him as
thefr everlasting sanctuary from the power of that terrible
one. Christ died for us, but that alone 'wUl not ensure our
safety ; we must be found m him. So long as unconvinced
of our ruined and undone condition, we rest on something
else save on his blood and righteousness, we are exposed to
the malice of Satan, and his accusations -will prevaU against
us at the judgment-bar of God. But if we are brought by
the Spirit's gracious teaching, to rest on him alone, we shall
be delivered from bondage now, and be enabled ¦without fear
to look to death, judgment and etemity. And when these
avriul realities come upon us, as one day they surely will, we
shaU fijid the Sariour in whom we have trusted, to be a sure
hiding-place from trouble. Which may God grant to us of
his infinite mercy !

h2

149

LECTURE XIIL
Hebrews u. 16—18.
"For verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he
took on him the seed of Abraham. 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 pertaining to
God, to make reconciUation for the sins of the people. Forin
that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able t&
succour them tliat are tempted!'
The Apostle enlarges on the reason why the Sariour assumeet
humanity, and on the necessary results of such assumption.
He came to extend help not to the fallen angels but to the
ruined seed of Abraham. And having assumed their natme
with this merciful and gracious design, it was needful for
effecting it, that he should in aU things be made Uke unto
his brethren. He could not have been a merciful and
faithful high-priest ; he could not have been a succomer of
the tempted, without having proved himself to the very
uttermost the infirmities,, sorrows and temptations of his
people. Here is at once perfect argument and infinite fulness of
consolation. For verily he extendeth no help tg angels, but to the
seed of Abraham he extendeth help.
We have just been told that the Sariom took the chUdren's
flesh and blood, that he might save them and destroy the
Devil, For verily, says St. Paul, dwelUng on the sentiment.

chap II. 16— IS. 149
his manifestation had no aspect of mercy towards the faUen
angels ; its aspect of mercy was to the seed of Abraham.
And what then could be more fitting, what more necessary,
than that when he came into the world, he should come as
a son of Abraham? But Chiist, it may be said, did not
come to save the Jews only. It is true ; but still the Jew
is the first in the covenant and purpose of God. And
St. Paul 'writing to Hebrews, gives to thefr nation the
pre-eminence which of right belongs to it. But this pre
eminence of the Jew does not exclude the Gentile ; God
has made of one blood all nations of men. When his Son
therefore took flesh of Abraham, he took the flesh of all
men. And he wears that common flesh eternally. Saviour
aUke of Jew and Gentile.
The sentiment then of the verse before us, is that the
Son of God assumed humanity, because he came not to save
the angels but to save us the sons of men. Angels smned
against God, and he cast them down to hell, reserving them
in chains of darkness to the judgment of the great day.
Man sinned against him, and he visited man in mercy,
sending his dear Son to bear the punishment of hi'S ti-ans-
gressions. Let us not seek to find reasons for this difference :
let us not say that the Devil's sin was of himself, while ours
was of him. Scripture gives no sanction to such extenuation
of human guUt. The only reason which it assigns is, " even
so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight." And let us,
accepting this as the only reason, be humbled before God,
and adore his sovereign mercy.
But if the Son of God required to assume humanity that
he might redeem mankind, we should have expected him to
have assumed it, the Hebrews might have answered, clothed
with the glory and dignity with which it was invested in the
person of the first Adam,
" With him his noblest sons might not compare
In godlike feature and majestic air."
And such, human wisdom says, should have been the form
and fashion on eaith of the man who was the Son of God,

150 PART I. LECTURE XIII.
But a Sariour so conditioned would not have suited om
rumed cfrcumstances. Coming to save the lost, he came of
fallen Abraham, not of unfallen Adam. He came, in other
words, under the faU, and subject to the fall's disadvantages.
For we read, —
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 pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people.
Lotus observe the word "wherefore." Haring come to
extend help to the seed of Abraham, it behoved him on this
account, to be m aU things made Uke unto his brethren.
From these " all things," sin is of course excepted, for he
came to save from sin. But it is the only exception. He
was made Uke to them in all other things — ^in thefr condition
of weakness, in thefr circumstances of necessity, in their
sorrows and trials, m everything in short which is incident
to their mortal nature. And he was made thus like to them,
as we leam from the apostolic statement before us, that he
might effect the purposes of that mercy which had sent him
from heaven, "that he might be a merciful and faithful
High-Priest." We are taught mercy to others by ha'ving been omselves
distressed. "Ye know the heart of a stranger," was God's
word to Israel, " for ye were strangers in the land of
Egypt."' And this blessed lesson is engraven yet more
deeply on our hearts, if in the hour of extremity, the mercy
of another has been our only stay. For we remember this
when om mercy is appealed to, and we cannot tum the
suppUant away. And therefore it is, that when his people
pom out thefr complaints to Jesus, they are assured of an
attentive ear. I was once distressed like you, he says, and
my only stay was the mercy of another. But what! Was
Christ distressed Uke us? Was Christ's only stay the mercy
of another? It was indeed so. Let us listen; "my God, my
1 Exodus xxiii. 9,

CHAP. II, 16—18. 151
God, why hast thou forsaken me, why art thou so far from
helping me, and from the words of my roaring?" And
again, " be not far from me, for trouble is near, for there is
none to help.'' And again, " but be not thou far from me,
oh Lord: oh my strength, haste thee to help me : deliver my
soul from the sword; save me from the lion's mouth."' Was
any human sorrow ever Uke unto this sorrow? No; here
indeed was unexampled distress, and the only stay of the
distressed one was his etemal Father's mercy. It pleased
the Father thus to bruise him, that when we in our distress,
should appeal to his mercy, we might not appeal in vain.
And, blessed be God, we do not appeal in vam. The man
of sorrows remembers his ovm griefs, and compassionates the
sorrowful. St. Paul conjoins "faithful" with "mercifid;" for to
faithfulness the same principle applies. If iu the hour of
extremity, we have trusted in another's plighted word, and
have experienced the blessedness of not being deceived in
our trust, we cannot resist the appeal of those who have
trusted in our veracity. Now the stay of Jesus, was not the
mercy only, it was also the faithfulness of God. "Oh my
God, I trust in thee, let me not be ashamed,"' was his con
tinual appeal. It was his appeal amid the trials which beset
him during his earthly pilgrimage : it was his appeal when
descending into the darkness of the grave. " Thou \rilt not
leave my soul in hell," he said, " neither wilt thou suffer
thine Holy One to see corruption ; thou wilt shew me the
path of Ufe."' He was not made ashamed of this confidence ;
every jot and tittle ofthe Father's promises were accomplished
in the Father's faithfulness. And it behoved him, as the
text declares, to pass through this experience, that when we
in om distress, should depend on his faithfulness, we might
not depend in vain. He has promised to be with us in every
trouble and extremity. He has said that when we pass
through the fire, we shall not be burnt; that when we walk
through the vaUey of the shadow of death, we need fear no
evU. He has said that he wUl keep our dust while we sleep
• Psalm xxii. 1,11,19— 21. aPsalmxxv. 2. s Psalm xvi. 10, U.

] 53 PART I. LECTURE XIII.
in the tomb, and raise us up again at the last day. We
trust Ul his pUghted word for the performance of these
gracious promises. And they shaU be performed. Jesus
StUl remembers his time of need when he depended on
another's faithfulness; and he 'wUl not shake us off from
him, when in our helplessness we now depend on his.
This mercy and faithfulness of Christ, is the mercy and
faithfulness of a High-Priest, of one charged 'with "things
pertaining to God, to make reconciUation for the sins of the
people." The priests imder the law were charged with the
sm-offerings, the peace-offerings and the thank-offerings of
Israel. And on the due fulfilment of these duties of thefr
holy function, Israel's reconcUiation with God continuaUy
depended. Christ in Uke manner, is charged with his
people's confessions of sin, with thefr complaints of weakness,
and with their prayers, whether for pardoning mercy, or for
the help which they need from above. And his discharge of
this blessed function on thefr behalf, is a continual recon
ciliation for their sins. Reconciliation under the law, was
not effected simply by the rictim bemg slain ; the High-
Priest carried its blood within the veU, and sprinkled it
before the mercy-seat. And so does Jesus, his great antitype.
In presenting his people's confessions, prayers and complaints
to the Father, he presents along with them the blood of his
sacrffice ; and the Father, looking to that blood, accepts these
confessions, listens to these complaints, and hears these
prayers. For "the blood of sprinkUng, which speaketh
better things than that of Abel,"' pleads for the petitioner,
and never pleads in vain. And in the discharge of this
office of love, om- High-Priest's mercy and faithfulness at once
appear. He does not reject our complaints and petitions ;
he graciously carries them in before his Father's majesty,
and brings back to us an answer of peace. And when we
have committed our requests to him, we need not fear; he
never forgets any; he sends not the meanest petitioner
unreUeved away. We read of the Chief Butler, that when
exalted from the prison to the right hand of Pharaoh, he
1 Hebrews xii. 24.

CHAP. II. 16—18. 153
did not "remember Joseph, but forgat him." ' But it is far
otherwise with om faithful High-Priest above; his exaltation
from the grave to the right hand of the Father's majesty,
does not make him unmindful of his poor people on the eai-th.
He remembers that he was once m thefr cfrcumstances, and
lives to be thefr friend and advocate.
Let us behold then this merciful and faithful High-Priest,
let us look to Him and be saved ! And ye that seek the
Lord, it may be in heaviness and sorrow, hope in this High-
Priest's mercy, stay yourselves on his faithfulness, and be of
good cheer in him. No prayer for mercy, no complaint of
weakness, can possibly remain unlistened to, or unanswered,
as long as he lives at the right hand of God, —
For in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is
able to succour them that are tempted.
The conjunction " for,'' 'with which this verse commences,
fridicates at once that it is designed in further explanation
of that which we have just been considering. And so the
statement, that Christ was in all things made Uke unto his
brethren, means that he himself hath suffered, being tempted.
And the statement, that he is quaUfied by this experience
as a merciful and faithful High-Priest in things pertaining
to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people,
means that he is able on this account to succour them that
are tempted. St. Paul's interpretation of his own words
exactly agrees with the exposition of them which has just
been given.
Let us now consider this interpretation with the attention
which it deserves. Christ is here said to have been tempted
or tried ; and his people are caUed the tempted or tried ones.
There are several kinds of temptations or trials. Some
eome dfrect from God. He commands us to do what is
grievous to flesh and blood, and it is a sore trial to obey.
Or his proridences toward us are of a dark and mysterious
character, and it is a sore trial to yield unmurmming
1 Genesis xl. 23.
H 3

1S4 PART I. LECTUEE XIII.
submission. Other trials come from God indfrectly. We
experience the violent opposition of Satan and a 'wicked
world in doing the Divine 'wUl, and we are (Usheartened and
tempted to tum back. And there are temptations of another
kind, which come direct from Satan. He addresses us
through the wealmess of our nature, and through the seduc
tions of a wicked world, temptmg us to sin. Or he vexes
and harasses the mind 'with hard thoughts of God, tempting
us to despafr of his mercy, and to blaspheme him in our
hearts. And God's people are well called, in the text, the
tempted ones ; they have had, in every age, and have stUl
experience of aU these temptations. Had not Abraham our
father such experience when he was commanded to take his
son, his only son Isaac, and offer him for a bumt-offermg?'
And had not Jacob such experience when Joseph was tom
from him, and Simeon detained and Benjamin demanded ;
and when under the cloud of these dark and mysterious
providences the patriarch exclaimed, "aU these things are
against me ? " ' And had not the apostles of our Lord such
experience when, in doing their Master's wiU, they encoun
tered the fury of Satan and the rage of a wicked world,
being always, as St. Paul teUs us, "deUvered unto death
for Jesus' sake."' Agam, was not righteous Joseph, in the
house of Potiphar, tempted of Satan, through his master's
wife ? " * And was not holy Job vexed and harassed by him,
and tempted, through his wife, to "curse God and (lie?"'
And these cases are but a sample of many ; temptation or
trial in some form is universal with the people of God. And
they suffer when thus tempted ; for temptation and suffering
are inseparable, I need not dwell on the sufferings of
Abraham when he took the Imife to slay his son; or on
those of Jacob as he mourned for his beloved Joseph. The
apostles tell us what they suffered. They speak of being
troubled, perplexed, and cast down, adding only that they
were "not m despafr."^ And Satan's temptations are
peculiarly afflicting. For it is impossible to come in contact
' Genesis xxii. 1, 2. 2 Genesis xiii. 36, s IlCor. iv. 11.
" Genesisxxxix, 7— 12. s Job ii. 9. e II Cor. iy. 7— 9.

CHAP. n. 16—18. 155
with the foul spirit of evU, and to be enticed by him to that
which the soul abhors, without the acutest suffering. Blessed
be God, then, who has prorided for his tried and suffering
people help and succour in their hour of need !
Where is this help and succour to be found? It is to be
found in Christ, who, that he might be able to render it,
" himself," says the text, " suffered, being tempted. " For, as
we have afready seen, the Sariour, in his adorable condescen
sion, passed through his people's trials. I need not remind
you of his life of homeless poverty, of his betrayal, of his
ignominy and stripes, of his bitter cross, of his cold and
silent grave. These thmgs were the Father's will. And
Jesus, when thus tried, was found obedient. Forgetting his
own ease and comfort, he gave himself a wUUng sacrifice.
And was this trial without suffering ? No ; Jesus was a
man. And though humanity may endure such things, it
must suffer in enduring them. And he had other trials.
He daily encountered the utmost rage of Satan, and the
riolence of the ungodly, in doing his Father's will. Let
himself teU us whether he felt these things. " My soul is
among lions, and I lie among them are set on fire, the sons
of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and thefr tongue
a sharp sword."' And again, " oh that I had wings Uke a
dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest! "' But the
suffering which was thus occasioned to him, was little in
comparison 'with what awaited him at the end of his course.
For when he hung on the Cross, even the Father appeared
his enemy. We speak of dark and mysterious proridences :
let us be sUent and contemplate the amazing scene on
Calvary. Jesus, in the hour of his utmost need, was utterly
forsaken; forsaken by him to whose glory he had always
devoted himself And his faith must have been tried to the
uttermost by this desertion, for regardless of the presence
of his enemies, he implored a reason for it, saying, " why
hast thou forsaken me ? " But his faith, though tried, was
"found unto praise and honom; "' for even while this dark
cloud hung over him, " my God, my God," was the thriUing
3 Psalm Ivii. 4. 2 Psalm iv. 6. s I Peter i, 7.

156 PAET I. LECTUEE XIII.
language of his appeal. He was thus victorious, when
tempted. But it were to make his Cross a mockery to say
that he did not suffer.
And these were only a part of our blessed Saviour's trials.
That he might, in all things, be made like unto us, he was
tempted of Satan also. That foul and wicked spirit sought,
throughout all his course, to deter him by threatenings, or
to allure him by promises, from douig his Father's wiU.
And when he saw that he prevailed not, he came upon him
at the last, -with all the powers of darkness, to vex and affUct
his parting hours. This is a sacred subject : to treat of it
is to lay bare the Redeemer's heart. God forbid then, that
in meditating on it we should follow our own imaginations,
or go one hafr's-breadth beyond what is written m the infal
lible word of truth.
But it is written in that infaUible word that Jesus was
' ' tempted of the DevU ; " ' and St. Paul declares in the text that
he suffered when thus tempted. Let it not seem strange to us
that the Holy One of God was tempted. Temptation is not
sin in the heart ; it is sin presented to the mind. And if we
do not consent to it, we are sinless in temptation. Both the
first and second Adam were tempted, and both were without
sm when the temptation was presented. The first Adam
consented to the temptation, and admittmg the sin into his
heart, became a sinner. The second Adam consented not,
and refusing the sin presented to him, remained for ever
righteous. But it is a remark which ought never to be
forgotten, that this "was owing to the strength of his rirtue
and holiness, and not to the weakness of the temptation."'
The temptation was an awful reality. But it met a
StiU deeper reality in the perfect holiness of the tempted
One. It seems strange to many that Christ should have
suffered, when thus tempted. For the evil thing, they say,
had no power over his heart. But this was just the cause
of his suffering. Let us take an iUustration from human
nature. Let us suppose that to a man of stainless honom
some rillain suggests a dishonest scheme, or that to a woman
of spotless vfrtue he has the hardihood to make an unchaste
1 Lukeiv. 1, 2. 2 Pjofessor Stewart.

CHAP. II. 16—18. 157
proposal. The blood rushing to the cheek tells at once the
sense of injury, reveals at once the indignant feeling of
outraged honour, of insulted virtue. And from such sense
of injury suffering is inseparable : it consists in the recoU
of the mmd from the evil thing presented to it. Let us
carry our illustration further. The tempter, let us suppose,
has opportunity, not once nor twice, but many times, to press
upon the tempted his infamous proposals, working alternately
on thefr hopes and fears. They continue to resist his impor
tunity, but the suffering of bemg exposed to it is only more
acutely felt. And, to carry our illustration to the end, the
tempter has his rictims in his power, and is enabled to take
advantage of their hours of weakness, and of their seasons
of privation, when neither mind nor body is able to bear up.
He takes this advantage, vering them with continual solici
tations, and their abhorrence of what he offers increases
every moment. Let us present this picture to the mind.
It is as finished a picture of suffering as the imagination
can conceive. But it was 'with Jesus a sad reality. We
talk of our honour, of our virtue, and can tell how it suffers
by coming in contact with evil. What then must Jesus have
felt when he came in contact 'with it ! His bosom never
harboured a thought save love, loyalty and entire devotion
to his Father. And yet Satan was permitted to propose to
him to disobey, dishonour and forsake the object of his etemal
affections. His holy soul recoiled from the abominable thing
presented to it; but none of us may conceive the pain of
that recoil. And Satan had opportunity to bring sin before
him, not once nor twice, but many times. We read that
even after he had mrited the Saviour to fall down and worship
him, "he departed from him" only "for a season," soon
returning on the same accursed errand.' And Jesus con
tinuing to abhor the wickedness of the wicked one, continued
to suffer from exposure to his hated presence. Satan was
able also to time his temptations. He came upon the Saviour
in his hours of weakness, when his body was spent with
hunger in the wUderness, and his spirit was fainting in
Gethsemane. On this last occasion he plied his infernal
1 Luke iy. 13.

158 PART I. LECTUEE XIII.
counsel tUl he threw our Lord into such an agony, that it
wrung from him a sweat of blood. Let us consider these
things 'with the reverential attention which they deserve,
and it wUl not seem strange to us that the holy One of God
could suffer through temptation. His immaculate purity
abhorred the contact of sin.
Scriptme also teUs us, that when the Prince of this world
prevailed not to seduce our Saviour, he came upon him to
afflict and vex him. For Jesus himself caUs his last hour,
" the power of darkness."' And oh, who can tell what that
power of darkness was ! Who can teU the advantage which
Satan took of the Father's desertion, to pour in upon the
soul of his dying chUd a flood of distracted and despairing
thoughts ! But, blessed be God, his maUce proved as
ineffectual as his seduction had been. Jesus, afflicted but
beUering, rose above the dark temptations which surrounded
him, and expired in calm peacefulness, commendmg his
spirit into his Father's hands.
It is this experience of Christ, as the text declares, which
qualifies him to succour the tempted ones. We should have
said that the abUity of the Son of God, combined 'with his
heart of etemal love, was quaUfication sufficient. Such
however, is not the mmd of St. Paul. The Father and the
Holy Ghost are equaUy almighty, and equally lovmg with
the Son : but they are never spoken of as the refuge of the
tempted in the way in which the Son is spoken of For they
never passed through human circumstances, nor experienced
human trials ; whereas the Son for this very end became
incarnate, and dwelt as a man among men. There is a
remarkable testimony to this Dirine mystery of oiu- faith in
the famous "Ode to Adversity.'' The 'writer says, —
" When first thy Sire to send on earth
Virtue his darling child designed.
To thee he gave the heavenly birth.
And bade thee form the infant mind.
** Stem, rugged nurse ! thy rigid lore "
With patience many a year she bore ;
What sorrow was thou bad'st her know.
And from her own she leamed to melt at others' woe."
* Luke xxii. •'i3.

chap, n, 16—18. 159
These two last lines contain, though the 'writer knew it not,
the great principle of incamation. Jesus, God's darling
child, who was -vfrtue and goodness personified, leamed in
the school of sorrow, to melt at his people's woes.
And who are these tempted ones whom Jesus is thus able
to succour? They are those of whom I have been speaking
in the two last lectures, — ^his brethren, his children whom
God hath given to him. They are partakers of one natm-e
with him, for they are begotten in his own image. They
love the same Father and make it the business of their lives
to serve him ; they hate the same enemy and choose none of
his ways. Jesus looks down on them, with a brother's eye,
as they struggle on through thefr earthly pilgrimage. He
sees them desiring and striring to obey, when the will of
God is grievous to flesh and blood. He sees them walking
in darkness under the cloud of mysterious providences, but
StUl seeking to walk with God. He sees them gomg heavily
through the opposition of the world and the Devil, but still
refusing to tm-n back. He sees them under temptation,
labouring to keep themselves that the 'wicked one touch them
not.' Ffrially, he sees them in all these troubles looking
upwards, turning their eyes to him for counsel, for consolation,
for aid. And he resists not that imploring look. With the
speed of pitying love he hastens into the Father's presence,
and presenting that blood which makes continual atonement
for their sins, retums to minister the succour wldch they
need. They cannot therefore be overborne by the enemy.
As thefr day is, their strength shall always be. And in the
end they shall be more than conquerors through him who
loves them.
Let us see then, that we are among this blessed people.
And oh, let us beware how we speak of Christ's sympathy
and love while we are servants of the DevU and of sin.
When we embrace at once, and from the heart, the evil
thing which that enemy presents, there is no suffering in
temptation; he who "suffered, being tempted," has no
fellow-feeling with us ; and all the love which he has shewn,
1 I John v. 18.

160 PAET I. LECTUEE XIII.
shall not hinder him from rejecting us at last. But if we
are made the servants of his Father, and our feet are turned
into his most holy ways, we shall experience the comfort of
his love and the deep reaUty of his sympathy. And as we
experience them, we will give glory to God who has prorided
a Saviour so entirely suited to our need.
We have now finished the first part of this epistle. It
contains the greatest height, and also the greatest depth. It
has exhibited Christ to us as the mighty God, the Creator of
the ends of the earth, the Maker of angels, the Lord of the
world to come. It has also exhibited him as the lowly Son
of man, afflicted by Satan and a wicked world, vexed with
trials of every form and name, and trusting in God in his
extremity. It has spoken too of his atonement, teUing us
that to purge our sins he laid down his precious life. It thus
presents to us Almighty power and mercy combined 'with
human sympathy and love. This then is the Saviom, whom
the gospel proclaims. Let us betake ourselves to his
mercy, put our frust in his power to save, stay ourselves on
his sympathy, and comfort our hearts in his love. Let us
believe in Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God, and believ
ing, we shaU have life through his name. Which may God
grant to us of his infinite mercy !

PART II.

SUPEEIORITY OF CHRIST TO MOSES.

LECTURE I.
Hebrews iii. 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, inasmuch as he
who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
For every Iwuse 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 he spoken after; but Christ as a Son over his own house."
The Apostle in these verses enters on the second part of
the great subject before him. He has already demonstrated
the superiority of Christ to prophets, and to angels. But
Moses had been more than a mere prophet, and in official
dignity might be preferred even to angels. He had been
the mediator between God and Israel. The Hebrews
had received from his hand their statutes, ordinances and
laws ; and owed their very existence, as a nation, to his

162 PART II. LECTURE I.
prevalent intercession. They therefore gloried in his sainted
memory. And it was needful to prove to them the infinite
superiority of Messiah.
Much 'wisdom is displayed by St. Paul in the way in
which he introduces and handles this delicate subject. It
is introduced naturally and almost insensibly as a deduction
from the preceding argument. He has just been setting
forth the dignity of Christ as the apostle, or dirinely
commissioned messenger of the Father, and the High-Priest
of his Chm-ch. From this he is most naturally led to
exhort the Hebrews to " consider " him in these sacred
characters. And they could hardly do this without Moses
and Aaron being presented to their minds. For these
distinguished servants of God may be said to have shared
this twofold dignity between them. Moses was eminentiy
God's apostle, for he was sent by him on the highest and
holiest errand ever entrusted to man. And Aaron was at
once high-priest in his own person, and the father of Israel's
priesthood. Having spoken then of Christ as Apostle and
High-Priest, St. Paul is led to compare him in this exalted
character, 'with those who had borne the same dignities.
The comparison with Aaron is taken up afterwards : the
comparison with Moses is handled in the words of the te.xt.
The Hebrews gloried in the faithfulness of Moses, which
had been acknowledged by God himself. St. Paul therefore
begins by declaring that Christ was equaUy faithful. And
he then goes on to shew that because of the Divinity of his
person, he is worthy of much more glory. He reminds them
that the buUder of a house is better than the house which
he builds ; and that the son in the family is better than the
servant. And as they had leamed from the preceding argu
ment that Christ was the buUder of the Chm-ch, and the
Father's Son from everlasting, the application was obvious
and irresistible. He was necessarily as much better than
Moses as a man is better than the stones with which he
buUds ; or, as the son in his own house and the house of his
father, is better than the hired servant. Such is the argu
ment of the text in general ; let us now consider it in detail.

chap. III. 1—6. ] 63
'Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle and High-Priest of our profession, Christ
Jesus. St. Paul here calls the Hebrews " holy brethren, partakers
of the heavenly caUing." The holy are those who are sanc
tified or separated to the service of God. To partake of the
heavenly calling is to be led, through the teaching of the
Holy Ghost, to believe in Jesus as the Christ. And St. Paul
conjoins these two things, because they are inseparable.
There is no holiness save through the knowledge and faith
of Christ. And such knowledge and faith infallibly lead to
holiness; "sanctify them through thy truth,"' was the
prayer of our Lord for his disciples. Now St. Paul trusted
that this was the case with those to whom he was 'writing.
They had separated themselves from the mass of their
unbeliering countrymen, professing to receive that Sariour
whom they had rejected, and had enrolled themselves by
baptism in the number of his people. And therefore he
considered them, in the judgment of charity, as holy and
called of God. I say, m the judgment of charity, for we
must not suppose that the Apostle had an infallible assurance
of their being so. The way in which he addresses them
throughout this epistle, proves that he had not. He warns
them, in this very chapter, to take heed lest like their
fathers, they came short of the rest of God. And further
on in the epistle he speaks in the most awful terms of the
consequences of apostacy, reminding them that the ground
which bears briers and thorns, is given over to be burned ;
that vengeance and fiery indignation shall devour the adver
saries ; and that those who like Esau, sell their birthright,
shall like him, find no place of repentance. But the
apostles never attempted to read the hearts of men. They
received them on their profession, except their practice
contradicted it. And while they did so, they addressed to
them exhortations and admonitions which discovered their
sincerity or hypocrisy. Of this we have an example in the
1 John xvii, 17,

164 PART II. LECTUEE 1.
words before us. St. Paul exhorts those whom he has just
addressed as holy and called of God, to consider the Apostle
and High-Priest of their profession, i.e. to consider him in
whom they professed to beUeve as the Apostle of the Father
and the High-Priest of the Chmch. Their unbeliering
countrymen had regarded him as a deceiver while he lived,
considered his death to have been that of a malefactor, and
pretended that his disciples had stolen his dead body from
the sepulchre. They, on the other hand, acknowledged him
to have been, in his life and ministry, the faithful messenger
of the Father's truth, acknowledged his death as the great
atonement for sin, and made open confession of thefr faith
in his glorious resurrection from the dead, as the anointed
Sariom of mankind. But St. Paul reminds them that this
was not enough, that it was needful also to consider him.
And this exhortation implied a great deal. It impUed con
sideration of thefr spiritual necessities, thefr blindness and
need of instruction, their guilt and need of pardoning
mercy, their weakness and need of succour from on high.
It implied also consideration of his abiUty to help them;
his abUity, as Apostie, to instruct them ; his abffity, as
High-Priest, to make reconcUiation for thefr sins, and to
minister to them continuaUy the aids of heavenly grace. It
was in short, a consideration which would lead them to
Christ, as ignorant and guilty sinners, to receive these
mercies from his hand. For this is the end of aU teaching
on the one hand, and of aU knowledge on the other. " These
things are 'written,'' says St. John, "that ye may beUeve that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that beUeving, ye
might have life through his name."' In exhorting therefore
to such consideration, St. Paul appUed a touchstone to the
spiritual state of the Hebrews. For none save those who
have been taught of the Holy Ghost and have been made,
by his grace, the true-hearted servants of God, wUl ever be
persuaded to consider the Lord Jesus. The carnal eye sees
no beauty in him, the carnal mind sees no reason why it
should desire him. And thus the appeUation and admonition
' John XX, 31.

CHAP. Ill, 1—6, 165
contained in the words before us, are beautifuUy apposite to
each other : compliance with the latter declaring who those
were to whom the former by right belonged.
We are not Hebrews, but St. Paul addresses us in these
words; he speaks to us as "holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly caUing." We all profess to be the servants of God,
we all profess to have been taught by the Spirit to know and
beUeve in Christ. We were enrolled by baptism m the
number of his people ; and our observance ever since of the
ordinances of the Church, and attendance on her holy
worship, have been, and are a continued declaration on our
part of adherence to that Sariour in whose name we were
baptized. If we do not intend them as such, we are guilty
of trffimg with the Lord; and the very confessions and
prayers which we contmually present in the sanctuary, shall
rise up in judgment against us. If on the other hand, this
profession is sincere, we shall welcome the exhortation of the
text, we shall "consider the Apostle and High-Priest of our
profession, Christ Jesus." We shall consider his name, we
shaU consider his offices of love. His name is Jesus, or
Jah Hoshua, i. e. God the Sariour. His name is also Christ,
i. e. the anointed One. For he was anointed to the offices
which he fiUs, anointed as the Father's Apostle, anointed
as his people's High-Priest. We leamed these things from
the preceding part of the epistle. We learned to know him
as God, the brightness of the Father's glory, the express
image of his person, the layer of the foimdations of the
earth, the upholder of all things by the word of his power.
We leamed to know him also as God the Saviour, who took
part of the flesh and blood of the children, who was made
perfect through sufferings, who haring by himself purged om
sins, sat down for us on the right hand of the heavenly
Majesty, We leamed to know him as the Father's Apostle,
by whom he who in past ages spake by prophets, is now
speaking to mankind. We learned to know him as his
people's High- Priest, who in the fulness of his mercy makes
reconciUation for thefr sins, and faithfully ministers help and
succour in their every time of need. And finaUy, we leamed

166 PAET II, LECTUEE I.
to know him as the Christ, by the heavenly anointing which
descended on him as he came out of the waters of Jordan,
and by the signs and wonders and divers miracles which, in
the power of that anomting, were wrought by his hands.
Now these things afford abundant matter for the most
solemn and profitable consideration. It is not the manner
of the Lord to make a needless display of love and mercy.
We must have been lost indeed to have made it needful that
for our salvation the Son of his love should bleed and die !
We must have been prodigals indeed to have made it needful
that such a Messenger should leave his native skies to speak
to us in God's name, and bring us back ! We must be
ignorant, bUnd and helpless indeed, unable to find the
heavenly road, and equaUy unable to walk in it, to make us
need the compassionate succour and gracious guidance of
such a High-Priest by the way ! The provision which God
has made for our spiritual destitution and necessities, declares
the reaUty of that destitution and the extent of these neces
sities. Have we ever considered this ? And have our eyes
been opened to discern the suitableness and fulness of this
Divine prorision ? " Unto you that believe," says St. Peter,
" he is precious." ' Is Christ precious to us ? " The Lord
hath anointed me," said that heavenly apostle, "to preach
good tidmgs to the meek : he hath sent me to bmd up the
broken-hearted ... to comfort aU that mourn."' Are we
among these broken-hearted mourners ? Has a discovery of
our sinful and lost estate quieted and subdued om spirits,
and taught us to welcome the glad tidings of the mercy of
our God ? Has it taught us to know the value of that blood
through which this mercy comes ? And again, has experience
of our bUndness, weakness and helplessness taught us to
prize the promised aids of heavenly grace, and to lift our
eyes in every extremity to our glorious High- Priest above ?
Then are we indeed "holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly
calling." And having been afready rewarded by increased
knowledge of the Sariour, for our past consideration of him,
we shaU be disposed to consider him still.
1 I Peter ii. 7. 2 Isaiah 1x1. 1, 2.

chap. III. 1—6. 167
But we proceed with the text, in which St. Paul furnishes
additional materials for that consideration to which he exhorts
us. Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses
was faithful in all his house.
In these words, as has been afready stated, St. Paul begins
to compare Christ, the great Apostle of our profession, with
Moses, the apostle of the former dispensation. The Hebrews
had reason to speak of the faithfulness of Moses, and St.
Paul hastens to acknowledge it. God himself had done so
in the very words which are here quoted. " My servant
Moses," he said, "is faithful in all mine house."' But
whUe I admit the faithfulness of Moses, says St. Paul,
I cannot aUow that in this respect he has any advantage
over Christ. For Christ also was faithful to him that
appointed him : he spake the Father's word faithfully, and
did the Father's work. The Apostle might weU say so.
"I have glorified thee on the earth," was the solemn decla
ration of Jesus himself, " I have finished the work which
thou gavest me to do."' And the Father testffied that he
had done so, by raising him from the dead. The words
however which we are now considering, contain something
more than a mere averment of Christ's faithfulness : the
dignity of his person also appears in them. For Moses is
said to have been faithful " m his (i.e. in Christ's) house.'"
This impUes, what is afterwards more fully stated, that
Christ is the Builder and Lord of the house in which Moses
exercised his ministry. It also implies that the testimony
to the faithfulness of Moses, to which we have already
referred, was borne by Christ himself as Moses' Lord and
Master. And this is obriously equivalent to a declaration
of the Sariour's Dirinity ; for the speaker on that memorable
occasion is declared to have been the living God. Finally,
if we couple this testimony to the Divinity of Christ with
the statement which we have just been considering, of his
I Numbers xii. 7. » John xvii. 4.

168 PAET II. LECTUEE I.
having been appointed to his office by another, he comes
before us at once in his sacred character of Mediator, Son
of God and man, " equal to the Father, as touching his
Godhead," but the Father's willing servant in the nature
which he had assumed. St. Paul has afready discoursed of
him in this sacred character, and has preferred him to angels.
And now, discoursing of him in the same character, he goes
on to prefer him to Moses.
That the Hebrews might understand the reason of this
preference, the Apostle states in express terms what his
preceding language has impUed.
For He is counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inas
much as he who hath builded the house hath more honour
than the house. For every house is builded by some man, but
lie that built all things is God.
Moses was an apostie and mediator, immediately appointed
by God. Christ was the same. And St. Paul means now
to tell the Hebrews, This Apostle and Mediator is counted
by him that appointed him, worthy of more glory than
Moses. They had been instructed conceming this glory in
the preceding part of the epistie. They had been told of
Christ's exaltation to the right hand of the heavenly
majesty, and of his receiring there the honour and worship
of the Father. And they knew that such honom and
dignity were never bestowed on Moses. St. Paul next states
the reason of this difference. Christ is the builder of the
Church, he says, and Moses was but a part of it. And
surely "he who hath builded the house hath more honour
than the house ! " But how do you prove, a Hebrew might
have asked, that Christ is the builder of the Church.
"Every house," answers St. Paul, "is budded by some
man,'' for no house can buUd itself. The Church therefore
did not build itself, but was built by God the maker of aU
things. And Christ is that God; in the beginning he laid
the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work

CHAP. III. 1—0. 169
of his hands.' Christ is therefore the buUder of the Chmch ;
his hands laid its foundation and shall also bring forth its
topstone. This unanswerable argument is immediately followed up ;
And Moses verily was faithful in all his house as a confi
dential SEEVANT, for a testimony of those things which were
to be spoken after. But Christ, as a Son, over his own house.
Here we have a high and noble testimony to Moses, intro
duced eridentiy for a double purpose. It soothed Hebrew
feelings and disarmed Hebrew prejudices on the one hand ;
it enhanced and stUl enhances the testimony borne to Christ
on the other. Moses was a confidential servant. God trusted
him, for he knew him worthy of trust; and his habitual
faithfulness in all things, justified the confidence reposed in
him. Let us observe the word " verily.'' It is indeed so,
says St. Paul ; let no man take from the iUustrious Moses
this weU-eamed glory. Can there then be a greater glory ?
To this, the natural question of every Hebrew, the Apostle
answers, the glory of Christ the Son. Moses after all,
was but a servant, having charge m the house of another.
But Christ is over the house, and the house is his own. For
he is the Son, and "all things that the Father hath "are
his.' God's people, we may observe, have just been called
the house which Christ buUds, and are now caUed the
household over which he has authority. St. Peter in like
maimer, caUs beUevers the temple of God, and the priest
hood in the temple.' Such mixed metaphors are contmual
in the sacred writers. They serve to set forth the fulness
of Christ, and the varied relations in which he stands to his
people. If they are the stones of a building, he is their
BuUder ; if they are a household, he is thefr Head. Christ
is faithful as Head over this family of God. Entering into
the Father's mind, and knowing the Father's counsels, he
faithfully carries out that mind, and faithfully executes these
counsels. He thus orders everything within the Church for
1 Hebrews i. 10. 2 John xvi. 15. a I Peter ii. 5.
VOL. I. I

170 PAET II. LECTUEE I,
the Divine glory, and for the blessedness of his people. The
faithfulness of Moses was that of a servant, " for a testimony
of those things which were to be spoken after," He did not
understand the reason of almost anything which was done by
his dfrection; the time for explaining them was not then
come; they "were to be spoken after.'' His duty was to
testify truly what he heard from God's mouth, and to do
exactly as God desfred him ; and of this duty he faithfuUy
acquitted himself. But surely the glory which is due to him
for ha'ving done so, is not for a moment to be compared 'with
the glory due to Christ, the possessor of the Father's mind,
the sharer in his secret counsels, the intelUgent guide and
orderer of the Church from the beginning !
Such is the substance of this important argument. And
we may truly say of it, that if he granted its premises to be
correct, 'viz. the Divinity of Christ's person, the most devoted
adherent of Moses could not question its conclusion. But
we must not look upon it as a mere argument. The
considerations which it suggests are fitted, as we shaU now
see, to edify beUevers to the end of time.
I. What is here declared conceming Christ's faithfulness
to him that appointed him, is very fuU of comfort. Our
attention was already dra'wn to his faithfulness to us as
om- High-Priest ; now we are told of his faithfulness to
the Father as his Apostie. We are assured that he
has delivered the Father's message faithfully, and truly
expressed the Father's ndnd. "I have not spoken of
myself," he says, "but the Father which sent me, he gave
me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should
speak;... whatsoever I speak therefore,, even as the Father
said unto me, so I speak."* How fuU of consolation is this
faithfulness of Christ, his fcdthfulness in both his offices !
If on the one hand, God's messenger could have dealt
untruly, we might be believing a lie in believing the blessed
gospel, and so at last come short of salvation. Or if on the
other hand, our High-Priest could prove unmindful of us,
we might lift our eyes to him, and yet be left to perish in
» John xii, 49, 50.

CHAP. III. 1—6. 171
om need. But, blessed be God, the faithfulness of Christ
to the Father and to us, malies both these things impossible.
The Father shaU avouch at last every word which the Son
has spoken, to be his true message, the expression of his
very mind. And aU who have looked to Jesus, or called on
his name, shall avouch that they have never on one occasion
been sent unrelieved and unassisted away. The faithfulness
of Christ is thus the security of our salvation. Because
it cannot faU, "he that beUeveth on him shaU not be con
founded." '
II. What is here declared concerning Christ's Di'vine
Majesty, is fitted to teach us the deepest humility. There
never was any servant of God so distinguished and honoured
as Moses : God was wont to speak face to face with him,
"as a man speaketh with his friend."' There is none of
us who would not have felt awe-struck in his august and
sainted presence. But what was this eminent prophet and
confidential minister of God in comparison with Christ ?
As a stone is in comparison with the livmg and intelligent
buUder who holds it in his hand ! If it is a polished stone,
fitted to occupy a prominent place in the edifice, the buUder
has polished and prepared it. So it was with Moses ; he
owed all his exceUence to his Saviour. If he was meek,
holy, wise, Christ had made him so. If he was fitted for
that distinguished place in the Church which it was God's
will that he should occupy, Christ had fitted him. In him
self he was no better than a stone, but he was in the hands
of him of whom Scripture testffies " that he is able of these
stones to raise up chUdren unto Abraham." ' If such was the
case vrith the iUustrious Moses, which of us shaU boast of
himseK? We are, in comparison with Christ, as the clay
in the hand of the potter. If there is any good thing in
us, we owe it to his grace. If we have learned to " walk
reUgiously in good works," it is because we "are his work
manship."* The rough stones of the quarry may sooner
prepare themselves to be buUt into the royal palace than we
the faUen children of men make ourselves meet, as poUshed
1 I Peter ii. 6, 2 Exodus xxxiii. H. s Matt. iii. 9. 1 Ephes, ii, 10,
i2

172 PAET II. LECTUEE 1.
Stones, for God's spiritual and everlasting temple. Contem
plating then the infinite distance between our vjleness and
the adorable majesty of the Saviour, let us lie submissive at
his feet, imploring him of his sovereign mercy to create in us
a clean heart, and to work in us continually all the good
pleasm-e of his 'wiU.
III. What is here declared conceming Christ as faithful
head over the house of his Father, ought to teach us unre
served obedience to his will, and unhesitating confidence iu
his grace. We ought to obey him, because He is our head,
and because disobedience is contempt of " him that appointed
him," And we are bound by the ties of gratitude to obey
him, because He is our faithful head, faithful in ordering
everything which befalls his believing people for the glory of
the Father in them, and for thefr present and everlasting
blessedness. For through his watchful proridence it comes
to pass "that all things work together for good to them that
love God."' This may not appear so dear at present, but
when we shall have arrived at God's heavenly kingdom, the
Ught of etemity shall make it clear. And beholding in that
glorious light the faithfulness of Christ to us, we shaU be
ashamed for ever of our miserable retums to him. If then
we have tasted that He is gracious, let us manifest our
gratitude to our faithful Lord by lives of devoted and unre
served obedience ! We shall feel doubtiess, if we know
ourselves, that we are not able to serve Him, that we lack
both strength and 'wisdom. But the wants of a household
Ue upon its head : it is his part to feed, clothe and proride
for the members of his family. " If any proride not for his
own," says St. Paul, "and specially for those of his own
house,... he is worse than an infidel."' The head of the
Church is no exception to this rule; his household has a
claim upon him, and he acknowledges the claim. Let our
wants then lie on Him. He will strengthen us with spiritual
food, and clothe us 'with the garments of righteousness ; ' He
^rill be to us 'wisdom, sanctification and redemption. ¦* And
because the disordered state of a household reflects upon its
• Rom. viii. 28. " I Timothy v. a s Isaiah Ixi. 10. -"ICor-i. 30.

CHAP. III. 1—6. 173
head. He wUl teach us for the glory of his name "how to
walk and to please God."' He also knows our necessities
too well to be wearied by the importunity of incessant appU
cation. Let om prayer then be vrithout ceasing : let the
relation in which he stands to us inspfre our hearts vdth
confidence in his grace contmually.
And now, if we are. disposed to " consider" the Lord Jesus,
we have been fumished with additional and abundant mate
rials for thought. He has been presented to us as the
Mighty God, the BuUder of the Chm-ch; as the Father's
faithful Apostle, as his people's faithful Head. By consider
ing him in these sacred characters we shall be taught to know
our nothingness, and leam to lift up our heads with joy,
seeing our salvation as secured and all our wants provided
for, through faith in him. May God therefore of his mercy
grant us grace to do so. It wiU tend to our edification and
estabUshment in the faith, if we have already known the
Lord Jesus ; it vdll be our salvation, if such knowledge is
yet to be acquired. 1 I Thessalonians iv. 1.

174

LECTURE II.

Hebrews iU. 6.

" Whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and
the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end."
We have just had Christ presented to us, as the Builder of
God's house and the Head over God's fandly. St. Paul now
goes on to shew the Hebrews that this house, this fanuly, is
the congregation of God's people, and that he and they
therefore were a part of it, if they possessed the character
of God's people, i. e. if they held "fast the confidence and
the rejoicmg of the hope firm to the end."
The term house ha'ring been used in the context m these
two senses, we may take them in order. I. The mark of
Christ's famUy is the confidence and the rejoicing of the
hope held firm to the end. II. This character belonging to
us and abiding 'with us is the sign to omselves and others
that we are the buUding of the Lord.
I. A family comprehends both servants and chUdren.
And therefore the statement that we are Christ's fanuly may
mean that we are Christ's servants, or it may mean that we
are his children. There cannot be a doubt that the latter is
the meaning. Believers are mdeed servants, but they serve
as sons, for they "are all the children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus." ' And Christ's headship over his house is
not therefore the headship of a master over a household of
servants, but of a Son over a family of sons. They are "his
own " family, because he is thefr Father, having made them
partakers of his own life by the communication of his blessed
1 Galatians iii, 26,

CHAP. Ill, 6. 175
spirit. And this life shews itself in them, as it always
shewed itself in him, riz. in the spirit of adoption, in the
confidence and rejoicing of the hope held firm to the end.
This spirit of adoption is thus the mark of the family of
God. We have already leamed tlds, " I wUl put my trust
in him," Christ says of the Father, "and again, Behold I
and the chUdren which God hath given me."'
A point so important as this demands larger proof and
fuller Ulustration : let us refer therefore to holy Scripture.
By consulting its sacred pages we shall find that confidence
in God and hope in his mercy, have been the leading
characteristic of his people m every age, and is the dis
tinguishing mark of the true Christian still. The saints
who Uved before Christ's commg, were under dispensations
of comparative darkness, and yet even in them we find this
confidence and hope. The eleventh chapter of this book
contains a long roU of illustrious names, the names of those
who before that coming had obtained God's good report
And St. Paul declares that they obtained it "by faith." Now
faith is confidence in God. And wherever it exists, it gives
birth to hope, which is assured expectation of his mercy.
We leam this from the Scripture to which I have just
referred, which defines faith as "the substance of things
hoped for, the eridence of things not seen." By this sacred
principle then, the principle referred to in the text as
marking the family of Christ, righteous Abel " offered unto
God a more exceUent sacrifice than Cain." For he offered
it, confidmg in that mercy which in the fulness of time
should send the prondsed seed. By the same sacred
principle, even the faith which believes that God "is, and
that he is a rewarder of them that dUigently seek him,"
Enoch attained to please God, and to be translated without
seemg death. Noah too, because he confided m God and
looked for his promised mercy, "prepared," at his command.
"an ark to the savmg of his house," and condemned an
unbeliering world. The same blessed confidence enabled
Abraham to leave his country and his father's house;
1 Hebrews ii. 13,

176 PAET II. LECTURE II.
Strengthened Sarah to conceive the chUd of promise; and
made her and her aged partner the parents of a seed like
"the stars of the sky in multitude," and "as the sand by
the sea shore innumerable.'' It appeared more eminently
stUl, 'when the same patriarch, at the Divine command,
"took the knife to slay his son; " nothing doubting, whUe he
did so, that the promises of God to that son should be
accompUshed, even though thefr accomplishment should
requfre him to be raised from the dead. It appeared also in
Isaac and Jacob, when they pronounced prophetic blessings
over the heads of thefr children from thefr dying beds.
For confidence in God and in his prondses of mercy told
them that these blessings should be fulfiUed. And it appeared
in Joseph, when he commanded that his bones should be
carried mto Canaan, assuring his brethren 'with his dying
breath that God, according to his oath, would bestow that
land upon thefr seed. It appeared m the parents of Moses,
when relying on the protection of the God of Israel, and
therefore fearless of the king's commandment, they hid thefr
child. And it appeared m Moses himself, when from respect
to the recompense of God's reward, he refused to be called
the son of Pharaoh's daughter; when staying himself on the
Inrisible, he led Israel forth from Egypt, not fearing the
wrath of the king; when by stretching forth his rod he
tumed the Red Sea mto dry land, and made the waters a
waU for the people, on thefr right hand and on thefr left. It
appeared in Joshua and m Israel, when the waUs of Jericho
feU flat before them : it appeared even in Rahab the harlot,
when she took part with God's people against her idolatrous
country. It appeared in the fax-famed worthies of Jevdsh
history, during the period of Israel's glory, and also m the
time of her decline. It nerved thefr arms for heroic action,
and was the animatmg principle of thefr no less heroic
sufferings. It smote down the Canaanite before Barak, the
Midianite before Gideon, the Ammonite before Jephthah, the
Philistine before Sampson: it put the enemies of Darid
under the soles of his feet. It strengthened Elijah to con
front the 'wicked Ahab, and to slay the priests of Baal. It

CHAP. III. 6. 177
enabled Elisha to divide the Jordan, to smite the Syrians
and to raise the dead. It charmed the consuming fire,
stilled the Uon's savage nature, and blunted the edge of the
sword, that they should not harm God's people. Or if it
was otherwise, the same principle gave them strength to
endure. It taught them to welcome the murderous stones
and the torturing saw, and made them gladly consent to
wander as naked outcasts, and homeless exUes in the desert
or by the mountain-side. Confidence in God, and unhesi
tating reUance on his mercy, was the secret animating
principle of this holy obedience, this contempt of a present
world, this mdomitable courage, this frresistible strength,
and when it' was needed, this patient suffering. For it was
the leading characteristic of those men of God, whose names
have been handed down to us in this imperishable record
of inspiration. And who was the spiritual father of this
goodly family? Who mspfred them with this noble principle
of faith? Christ was their Father, and the life which he
breathed into them was his own. For immediately after
referring to them and their faith, St. Paul exhorts us, if we
would possess the same, to look to Jesus, "the author and
finisher of faith." Jesus therefore was the author of their
faith. And faith is his own grace ; besides being its author,
he is also its finisher or perfecter. He carried faith to its
perfection in his own most glorious course on earth, when,
"for the joy that was set before him," as St. Paul adds
immediately, he "endured the cross, despismg the shame."'
And the principle which strengthened him thus to endure,
was the same which strengthened these his people. Par
takers, through communication of his Spirit, of that con
fidence in God and hope in his mercy wldch was afterwards
to distinguish thefr Saviour, they lived and laboured and
suffered for his glory on the earth.
And if this feature distinguished the saints even of earlier
dispensations, under which the Dirine character and the
Divine mercy were but darkly revealed, it marked still more
distinctly the saints of apostolic times. Owing to the almost
^ Hebrews xii. 2.
i3

178 PART n. LECTUEE II.
unceasing persecution to which God's people were then
exposed, they were strongly tempted to forsake Christ, and
to let sUp thefr hope of salvation. St. Paul eridentiy refers
to this in the words before us, when he warns the Hebrews
that this hope must be held "firm to the end." And it was
held firm ; God made the maUce of the enemy to defeat
itself. The disastrous cfrcumstances of the persecuted
taught them to cling closer to thefr Sariour, and thus
brought out mto bolder and stronger reUef this leading
feature of the Christian character. In the saints of the Old
Testament we meet with confidence in God and hope in his
mercy; in those of the New, we meet with triumphant
confidence and a rejoicing in hope. Nothing else could
have enabled them to meet thefr circumstances. Hence the
eamestness with which the aposties pressed upon the early
churches this confidence and triumphant hope. "Now the
God of hope," says St. Paul to the Romans, "fiU you 'with
aU joy and peace in beliering, that ye may abound in hope,
through the power of the Holy Ghost."' And again —
"rejoicing m hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant
in prayer."' He also 'writes to the PhUippians, "finaUy, my
brethren, rejoice in the Lord : to 'write the same things to
you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe."'
It was safe for them so to do, because joy in the Lord was
the sacred prmciple which sustained them. How wonder
fuUy the apostles were sustained ! When St. Peter and St.
John were beaten before the Sanhedrim for the testimony of
Jesus, "they departed from the presence of the councU,
rejoicmg that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for
his name."'' When St. Paul and Silas were beaten at
PhUippi, and thefr feet were made fast in the stocks, the
prisoners heard them at midnight, praying and singing
praises to God.'' St. Paul's own troubles were more, we
should say, than humanity could sustain. He was five times
scourged, three times beaten ¦with rods, once stoned and left
for dead. He was three times shipwrecked. He was also in
1 Romans xv. 13. 2 Romans xii. 12. s Philippians iii. 1.
4 Acts V. 41. 6 Acts xvi. 25.

CHAP. III. 6. 179
continual perils ; perils among aU sorts of persons, whether
his own countrymen, the heathen, or false brethren ; perils
in aU places, whether in the city, in the wildemess, or on the
sea. And besides all this, he was exercised with continual
weariness and painfulness, continual watching and fasting,
and was exposed to hunger and thirst, to cold and nakedness.'
But he was sustained through all these things, and he tells
us expressly that the principle which sustained both him and
his persecuted brethren, was their confidence and triumphant
hope in Christ. "Being justifled by faith," he says, "we
have peace vdth God... and rejoice in hope of the glory of
God." And having stated this, he adds immediately, as the
result of this faith and hope, " we glory in tribulations also."'
And in another place, haring referred m the most affecting
language, to the tribulations of every kind to which he and
his brethren were exposed, haring spoken of them as "kUled
all the day long and accounted as sheep for the slaughter,"
he declares that assurance of thefr Redeemer's love, and
triumphant persuasion, that neither death nor life, time nor
etemity, should ever separate them from it, made them more
than conquerers over all that the enemy could do. He speaks
also of their being "saved," i.e. sustained "by hope."' And
finally, m writing to the Corinthians, he reminds them of
this hope, of God's promise to raise them to life and glory
with Christ their Lord; and adds immediately, "for which
cause we faint not."'' St. Peter testifies to the same thing.
He speaks of God's people as "in heaviness through mani
fold temptations," that thefr confidence in thefr Saviour
might be proved ; and of the faith which they were then
exercising in him, as filling them "with joy unspeakable and
fuU of glory."' And we may add the testimony of St. John.
He declares in his own name and in that of his . believing
brethren, that their faith in Jesus as the Son of God,
was that which enabled them to overcome the world,
which made them fearless of its fro-wns on the one hand,
and raised them above its blandishments on the other. He
I n Cor. xi. 24— 27. 2 Romans y. I— 3. » Romans viii. 24, 35 — 39.
• II Cor. iv. 13, 14, 16. s I Peter 1, 8.

180 PART II. LECTURE II.
adds that without this faith the world cannot be overcome,
and then he defines it as the blessed confidence " that God
hath given to us etemal Ufe. " ' It were easy to multi
ply quotations. But it is not needful. Enough has been
said to shew that the leading characteristic of the early
Christians was triumphant confidence and joyful hope in
Christ. And Christianity has not changed its essential features
since the days of these first disciples : the true Christian is
StiU known by confidence m Christ and hope in his salvation.
It cannot indeed be otherwise, for the way of salvation is the
same from age to age. We are stUl saved by beUe-ring in
the Lord Jesus Christ, i. e. by confidence in him as our
Saviour. And Christian hope is still, and must ever be
inseparable from Christian faith. St. Peter therefore describes
God's people as kept by his power, "through faith unto
salvation," and as begotten "unto a Uvmg hope."' For this
faith and hope are the badges which distinguish them. This
living hope, as St. John defines it, is the hope of seeing
Christ and of being like him hereafter. "And every man,"
he says, "that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even
as he is pure."' Here agam we discern the Christian. He
separates himself from the pollutions of a wicked world, and
labours to be like his Lord m heart, behariour and conversa
tion. And this denying of himself to sm, and labouring
after holiness, are the fruits of the blessed hope which he
cherishes, of one day seeing and being Uke that Sariom, in
whose mercy he is now confiding.
True Christians are indeed such a people ; this character
marks them both in life and death. They do not rely on
thefr o^wn wisdom, or seek to guide their own footsteps in
their course through life. Desiring to walk to the praise
and glory of God, they confide in Christ to guide them.
For "the steps of a good man," Scriptme tells us, "are
ordered by the Lord," and therefore "he delighteth in his
way."* 'The Lord deUghteth m it, because it is to his
glory ; the good man deUghteth in it, because it is a way of
1 I John v. 4,5, 11. 2lPet. 1,3,5. s I John iii. 2, 3. i Ps, xxxvii. 83.

CHAP. III. 6. 181
peace. Does prosperity meet the Christian in this path ?
His heart is not carried away by it ; his hope in Christ is
better to him than aU the world beside. Do adversity and
sorrow meet him? Leaning on the arm of Christ his
beloved,' he is prepared to encounter them ; and because that
arm sustains him, he is not overwhelmed. He knows also
that God is faithful, who wUl not suffer him to be tempted
above that he is able to bear.' Is he, when God's time is
come, caUed to pass through humanity's last hom of sorrow,
the valley of the shadow of death ? Even then he fears no
evil, because the Sariour in whom he trusts, is with him.'
Confidence and hope abide when heart and flesh faU and
strength sinks utterly ; and even in the article of death the
believer's spirit sings, "Christ is mine, he cannot fail me."
Thus Jesus Uved and died, and in tlds life of holiness and
death of peace, his people who have received his spirit,
foUow him. And therefore they are called Christians. The
name mdicates thefr relation and their likeness to him who
is the Christ.
II. We have already seen that true Christians are Christ's
house in another sense : they are his buUding. " We are
labourers together vdth God," says St. Paul to the Corinthians,
"ye are. ..God's buUding."'' " If so be ye have tasted," says
St. Peter, "that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming as
unto a Uring stone ... ye also, Uring stones, are built up
a spiritual house."'' Christ who is God, is according to
these Scriptures, the buUder of this house. And the
stones 'with which he buUds are "living stones," i. e. hearts
which have been made alive to God by the Holy Ghost, —
which have tasted " that the Lord is gracious," — which have
been taught to confide in his love and to hope in his etemal
mercy. These stones are budded together and cemented by
his grace, "for an habitation of God through the Spirit.""
For aU who have tasted the Redeemer's grace, are bound to
each other by the most sacred ties ; they are sustamed by
the same faith and animated by the same hope ; they also
1 Canticles viii. 5. 2 I Corinthians x. 13. s Psalm xxiii. 4,
4 I Cor. iii. 9, 'I Peter ii. 3—5, original. " Ephes. ii. 22.

182 PART II. LECTUEE II.
acknowledge the same Father who is in them all. ' They
" are the temple of the living God, as God hath said, I vriU
dweU in them, and walk in them, and I wUl be their God." '
It is so in measure even now, and shall be so indeed
when the kingdom -of Christ shall come. Jesus, the true
Zerubbabel, whose hands laid the foimdations of this house,
shaU bring forth its headstone with shoutings of grace, ' and
God's saved people shaU then be manifested to creation as
his dweUing-place, from which his glory shaU shine forth
for evermore.
But "living stones" only can be budded into this spiritual
house ; aU others are useless for the purpose of the heavenly
BuUder. He buUds an habitation for God, and God cannot
dweU in the unbeUeving heart; unbelief shuts him out,
grieves his Spirit, and provokes his anger. St. Paul there
fore prays for the Ephesians, "that Christ may dweU in
your hearts by faith."'' And so the sign to ourselves, that
we are the building of the Lord, is that we are believing m
God and trusting in his salvation. Convinced of our ruined
state by nature, we shaU be found trustmg for our pardon
and acceptance in Christ's blood, righteousness and mterces-
sion. We shall also be found looking to God as our Father,
and rejoicing m that promise of Ufe and glory which has
been given to us in Christ our Lord. This faith and hope
moreover wiU Uft our affections above the world, and teach
us to die to the things which are seen and temporal. We
shaU live to the praise of God, and for the things which are
not seen and etemal.
And this must not be the case for a time only ; the text
warns us that this confidence and hope must be held "firm to
the end." For whether we regard the beliering Church as
Christ's famUy or as his buUding, permanence is its essential
characteristic. There is an impression of Divine things
which is deep while it lasts, but is evanescent. Christ
mentions, m the parable of the sower, four classes of gospel
hearers. On the first it made no impression. The second
and third however received it 'with gladness. But the one
1 Ephes.iv.4— 8. 2 II Cor. yi. 16. s zech. iv. 7— 9, 4 Ephes.iii. 17.

CHAP. III. 6. 183
was afraid of the world's frovm, and the other could not part
with its gains, and both in consequence feU back. The
fourth class only, receiring the word with understanding,
brought forth fruit with patience.' Various circumstances
also may produce impressions of Dirine truth on the mind.
They may be produced by a religious education, or by our
being thrown into the society of godly relatives and friends.
Or a series of afflictive dispensations, and sad experience of
the disappointment that is in aU earthly thmgs, may mcUne
the heart to seek its happiness in God. And yet alas, as we
'witness continually, after a time these impressions die away.
But in all such cases, real apprehension of Christ, and real
faith in him, have been wanting. " They went out from us,"
says St. John, speaking of such persons m his day, "because
they were not of us ; for if they had been of us, they would
no doubt have continued 'with us."' Real faith always abides.
If we regard Christ as the Father of his people, the Ufe
which he communicates to their souls by the inspiration of
his blessed Spuit, is as eternal as himself.' His name is
"the everlastmg Father,"* i, e, the Father of the life which
cannot die. The life of his posterity was confided to the
first Adam, and he lost it by falUng from God. The life of
his spfritual chUdren is confided to Christ the second Adam,
and it "is hid with him in God,"* safe beyond the reach of
harm; the malice even of Satan cannot kill that deatlUess
principle. And so whatever that enemy has prevaUed through
his temptations to destroy, is proved, by his having destroyed
it, not to have been the life of Christ. Again, if we regard
Christ as the builder of his Church, what he builds, endures.
When St. Peter confessed him as "the Christ, the Son of
the Uving God," Jesus pronounced him blessed, "for flesh
and blood," he said, "hath not revealed it unto thee, but my
Father which is in heaven." And he added immediately,
" on this rock -wiU I build my Church, and the gates of heU
shaU not prevail against it."" The rock of which he here
speaks is himself, in the character in which St. Peter had
1 Matt. xiii. 18—23. 2 I John ii. 19. s John xvii, 2, 3.
. Isaiah ix. 6. = Colossians iii. 3. s Matt, xyi, 16— 18.

184 PAET II. LECTURE II.
just confessed him, i.e. as the Christ, the Son of God. The
Church builded on this rock is the people who have been
taught of the Father, as St. Peter was taught, to know and
beUeve in him as such. And he here declares expressly that
against this people aU the powers of darkness shaU be unable
to prevaU. St. Peter himself is a remarkable example of this.
"Simon, Simon," said the Lord, "behold Satan hath desfred
to have you... but I have prayed for thee that thy faith faU
not." And let us observe the result. Satan had him for a
season, for he fell most grievously. But he was recovered
again, for "the Lord tumed and looked" on his servant, and
he "went out and wept bitterly."' Satan may do much mis
chief. He may throw down alas, what pious parents or godly
relatives have long laboured, and ¦with apparent success, to
buUd up ; he may destroy the promising fruit of the zealous
exertions of the faithful pastor. But Satan is not omnipotent,
and there is one thing which he cannot do ; he cannot throw
down the buUding of the Lord. He may excite the tempest
of persecution or dark temptation ; the rain may descend,
the floods may come, the winds may blow at his command:
but they shaU beat in vain against that house which Jesus
has founded on the rock. The people whom he has taught to
fix their confidence and hope m him he shaU maintain in
that hope and confidence "firm unto the end."
Such is the doctrine of St. Paul, as deUvered in the text
before us. Superficial readers may understand him to mean
that prorided we hold fast our confidence in Christ to the
end, we shall be of his famUy and of his buUding. But this
is very far indeed from being his real meaning. God does
not promise to reward a life of faith by receiving us into
Christ's family and budding us mto his Chmch; such an
idea desfroys the very nature of faith. Om faith in the
Lord Jesus is the sign that we belong to his famUy, and that
we have been builded by him into his spfritual house. But
trae faith in us, as in St. Peter, is the result of Di^vine teach
ing; and wherever it erists therefore, it is permanent. It
shaU sustain us amid the trials and troubles, the changes
1 Luke xxii, 31, 32; 61, 62.

CHAP. III. 6. 185
and chances of time; it shall prepare us for the rision of
God's glory in etemity. WeU then might the Lord Jesus,
when he recognized this sacred principle in St. Peter, say,
" Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona ! "
And we are aU equaUy blessed if we have been taught to
make Christ our confidence and hope. Let us consider the
prospects which he sets before Ids people, what it is to be
the dwellmg-place of God, the temple in which his glory is
unveiled, and to which, m the age to come, all creation shall
resort, to pay its adoring homage to the great Creator ! Let
us consider what it is to dwell with Christ as chUdren, to be
gladdened for ever by his fatherly smUe, to go in and out
before him in the fearless confidence of love ! There is a
most amazing union of majesty and condescension in the
Sariour. When St. John saw him in his glory, he "fell at
his feet as dead."' And yet the same St. John had often
lain on his bosom. When he came forth from the grave,
the glory even of his attendant ministers paralysed the hardy
Roman soldiers vrith fear.' And yet we find that Divine
Redeemer on whose high behests these ministers humbly
waited, speaking to his disciples in the tender accents of a
father — "children, have ye any meat,,, come and dine."'
And in the same accents of tenderness shall he speak to
his saved ones for ever. His glory shaU not affright us when
we eat and drink at his table, in his kingdom ; he shall shew
the exceeding riches of his grace in his etemal kindness
towards us. May God teach aU of us who have proved the
consolation of these hopes, to pmify ourselves as Christ is
pure ! And if any of us are yet strangers to them because
we are yet strangers to the Saviour, may He be pleased of
His mfimite mercy to reveal that Sariour in our hearts !
1 Eev. i. 17. 2 Matthew xxviii, 2—4. ' John xxi. 5-12,

186

LECTURE III.
Hebrews di. 7 — 11.
" Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith, to-day, if ye will
hear his voice, 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 always err in their heart, and they have not known my
ways. So I sware in my ¦wrath, they shall not enter into my
rest." Having shewed to the Hebrews that they were Christ's
house, if they held firm to the end thefr confidence and hope
in him, St. Paul is led now, m the natural progress of his
discourse, to warn them solemnly and earnestly against the
sin of unbeUef And to render this waming more impressive,
he takes as the basis of it, a simUar waming of the Holy
Ghost to thefr fathers in the days of Darid. This quotation
from the Old Testament Scriptures serves his purpose also
in another way. Reference is made m it to the generation
which came out of Egypt under the conduct of Moses,
but afterwards, through unbelief, came short of the rest of
God. And as St. Paul has just been shevdng that Christ is
greater than Moses, this reference enables him to demonstrate,
as we shall see in subsequent lectures, the certain and more
dreadful doom of those who are disobedient to Christ.
Keepmg in mind these preUminary observations, let us
now consider particularly the contents of the Scripture before
us. St. Paul introduces his quotation in a somewhat remark
able manner.
Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith.

CHAP. III. 7—11. 187
This expression is not to be passed by; it contains the
testimony of an uispfred Apostie to two most important truths.
We leam from fr first, the plenary inspiration of the holy
Scriptures; they are the words of the Holy Ghost. It is
not an uncommon opudon, that the inspired writers were
merely kept from error in the execution of thefr honomable
task. But such an idea lowers the dignity of the Dirine
word exceedingly, making it m fact, cease to be Dirine.
How very different is the testimony borne to it m the text!
St. Paul is quoting the words of David, and yet he teUs us
that " the Holy Ghost saith." He declares the same thing
in another place, caUing it "the word of Christ."' And
Christ confirms his servant's testimony.. He repeUed the
charge of blasphemy in the days of his flesh, by a reference
to an apparently accidental phrase m the Psalms, adding
these remarkable words, " the Scripture cannot be broken."'
It is most important that our minds be established m this
truth. For just in proportion to our confidence in holy
Scripture, and veneration for it, as the book of the law of the
Lord, shall we be disposed to devote our nights and days to
meditation on its sacred contents. We leam second, from
this language of St. Paul, the personality of the Holy
Ghost : an influence cannot speak. His Divinity also is
implied ; for his words are referred to, as the words of God.
And this testimony is the more valuable, because it foUows
so closely on the positive assertion and laboured demonstra
tion of the personality and Dirinity of the Son. For as no
one doubts the Father's Divinity and personality, we have
thus apostoUc testimony to a Trinity in the Godhead. And
it is most comforting to observe that the Hebrews required
no proof either of the true character of the Scriptures, or
of the personality of the blessed Spirit. St. Paul's dan guage
implies that they were familiar -with both these truths. And
they were familiar vdth them, be it remembered, not as
Christians merely, but as Jews. We find the mystery of the
Trinity, in the writings of the Jewish Rabbis, long before
the time of the Sariour. When Jesus called himself the
I Colossians iii. IS, 2 John x, 34 — 36.

188 PART II. LECTUEE III.
Son of God, his enemies expressed no surprise at hearing of
a Son in the Godhead ; they only said, and said truly, that
in assummg that name, he made himself equal with God.'
Nor did the Vfrgin ask the angel to whom he referred, when
he said, "the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee."' For
these Dirine mysteries were not unknown, even to unlearned
and private persons in the ancient Jewish Chmch. There is
indeed one Scripture-text which seems to say the contrary.
We read that St. Paul when at Ephesus, met with certain
Jewish disciples, who said, "we have not so much as heard
whether there be any Holy Ghost."' But these words are
eridentiy a mistranslation. The persons in question were
disciples of St. John Baptist, who had preached the promise
of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And when the Apostle
therefore asked them whether they had received this promised
blessing, they said in reply, we have not so much as heard
whether the Holy Ghost be yet given. He was not to be
given tUl Jesus was glorified.*
But we must not dwell longer on St, Paul's manner of
introducing his quotation: let us proceed to the quotation
itself To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as
in THE BiTTEE PEOvooATioN, in the day of the 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 always err in their heart,
and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my wrath,
they shall not enter into my rest.
These words are taken from the ninety-fifth Psalm, which
is supposed to have been indited and sung on the removal of
the ark to Jerusalem, in the days of Darid. That Divine
ode consists of two parts. In the first seven verses God's
people, answering each other in alternate chorus, stir them
selves up to worship him as Jehovah, thefr Maker, and the
Rock of their salvation, a great God and King. "Let us
1 John y. 17, 18. 2 Luke i. 35. » Acts xix, 2. • John vii. 39.

CHAP. III. 7—11. 189
come before his presence 'with thanksgi'ring," they exclaim,
"and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms: for he is
the Lord our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and
the sheep of his hand." And the last four verses, which are
cited by St. Paul in the text, contain Jehovah's waming from
his oracle to his people thus assembling to wait on him.
Harden not your hearts, he says, and be not like your
fathers ; for I sware in my wrath concerning them, that they
should not enter into my rest.
No one can compare this Psalm with the chapter from
which the text is taken, without being arrested by the
perfect identity between them. In the Psalm the wor
shippers call themselves the people of God's pasture and the
sheep of his hand ; for this sacred character belongs to you,
says the one chorus of singers answering the other,' "to day,
if ye will hear his voice." We have then the solemn waming
which God addresses to these worshippers, to take heed lest
by refusing to hear, they lost aU title to this character, and
finally came short of his rest. St. Paul in like manner
addresses the Hebrews as " holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling." But to shew them that he does so only
in the judgment of charity, he adds immediately, "if we
hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope.''
And he then appUes to them the very waming which God
gave to his ancient worshippers. Harden not your hearts,
he says, and provoke not God by unbelief, lest you lose his
favour and come short of his rest. All this is most important
for us. We are God's people by covenant and profession, as
the Jews were in the days of Moses, as the same Jews in
the days of David, and as the Hebrews in the days of St.
Paul. We avouch this to be true continually. We come
into God's sanctuary and worship him in the language of
this very Psalm. We proclaim him as our God and the Rock
of om salvation, and declare omselves to be the people -of his
pasture. But are we all therefore necessarily on the way to
his etemal rest? If the high character to which we lay
claim truly belongs to us, we are. But God warns us as he
1 Horsley on the Psalms.

190 PAET II. LECTUEE III.
warned his ancient worshippers, to see that this indeed be
the case. And here let me say a word in defence of our
Apostolic Church. She has been blamed exceedingly for
addressing aU her members as the people of God, for caUing
them members of Christ, chUdren of God, and inheritors of
the Idngdom of heaven. For it is said that by this language
she deceives men's souls, leading them to beUeve that aU is
well with them. But the Church of England only follows
in this, the example of the Psalmist and of St, Paul. We
have aU been accepted by God in baptism as his chUdren,
and we all profess to have received his grace. On the
ground therefore of this covenant on God's part, and profes
sion on our O'wn part, the Church addresses us as she does.
But she tells us at the same time, of the necessity of "a
true penitent heart and lively faith;" she restricts God's
absolution to those "who truly repent and unfeignedly believe
his holy gospel;" she teaches us to seek his grace that we
may please him now by a pure and holy life, and thus at last
attain to his eternal joy. AU this, I repeat, the Church tells
us faithfully, and haring done so, she leaves our responsibffity
on ourselves. She can do no more for us, except she were
to judge om hearts. And to judge the heart is the inaUen-
able prerogative of the Almighty.
Let us now consider the Dirine waming of the text, in its
application, first, to those to whom it was addressed originaUy ;
second, to the Hebrews to whom St. Paul addresses it; and
thfrd, to ourselves.
I. The sin of their fathers, against which God warned his
people in the days of Darid, was hardness of heart, shewing
itself in suspicion and distrust of him. "Your fathers
tempted me " is his language. They tempted him by sus
pecting his sincerity. He had visited Egypt with ten plagues
for their sakes ; he had drowned Pharaoh and his host, whUe
he led them through the sea dryshod ; he was proceeding
before them as their guide in the pillar of cloud and fire.
Nevertheless, frrthe midst of all these demonstrations ofthe
sincerity of his love, and when thefr song of praise on the
banks of the Red Sea was scarcely ended, they accused him

CHAP. III. 7—11. 191
of having brought them forth frito the wUderness, " to kiU
tlds whole assembly vdth hunger."' But he rained bread
from heaven for them: and thus they "proved me," the
Lord continues, whether I was capable of the foul design.
Untaught however by this experience of his mercy, they no
sooner felt the want of water than they accused him agam of
having brought them out of Egypt to kUl them and thefr
children and their cattle with thfrst ! ' And on this occasion
they again proved him, for Moses by his command smote
the rock, and there came water out of it, and the people
drank thefr fill. And as it had begun, so it continued. They
went on for forty years, temptmg God by thefr suspicions,
seeing his works and witnessing his interpositions on their
behalf, provmg thereby the falsehood and wickedness of
these suspicions, and yet suspecting him stUl. It was
this which grieved him with that generation. "They do
always err m thefr heart," he said, misconceiving of my holy
character, and they have not understood my ways of faith
fulness and mercy towards them. But the most prominent
manifestation of this evil heart of unbelief was on the
borders of the promised land. On that occasion they dared
to say that God had brought them out of Egypt and led them
through the wUderness, to deUver them into the hand of the
Amorites, to slay them ! ' This was thefr crowning offence.
It was then that God expressed that judgment of thefr
character to which I have just referred, and sware m his
wrath that they should not enter into his rest. This hap
pened at the beginning of the forty years, not at the end of
them, as the text appears to say. But the wordmg of the
text is, doubtless intentional. And the intention, I beUeve,
is to teach us that dm-ing that long period of their subsequent
history their unchanged character of unbeUef proved the
truth of the Divine judgment, and justffied the Divine
severity. This solemn waming teaches very strikmg lessons.
It displays in a most awful manner the maUgnant and
inveterate character of unbelief Israel distrusted God in
1 Exodus xvi. 3, 4. ' Exodus xvii. 3-6. s Numbers xiv. a.

192 PAET II. LECTUEE ni.
the wildemess, a place in which their countiess thousands had
no means of subsistence, except the continual ndraculous
supplies of that proridence which never faded them. They
were also separated from the idolatrous Egyptians, so that
they had none to tempt them to disbeUeve the Lord. They
were pririleged 'with the instructions, warnings and admoni
tions of Moses, the greatest prophet m word and deed whom
the world had ever seen. And they were eye-'witnesses from
day to day of the manifestations of the dirine glory. But
aU these things combmed faded to teach them faith ; they
disbeUeved God still, nay they went on, even" while every
day's experience made his faithfulness manifest, to dis
believe him for forty years. And surely this proves, if any
thing can prove it, that man's unbeUef is not the result
of cfrcumstances ; that it proceeds from his o-wn evil heart ;
and that it is absolutely mcurable, save by the power of
Omnipotence. Wo leam also from this waming, the
provoldng character of unbelief. The language used is par
ticularly strong. " Harden not your hearts," says Jehovah,
"as in the bitter provocation, m the day of the temptation."
He speaks as if he had never been provoked, as if he had
never been tempted till then. The sms of the old world
were so provoking, that he destroyed it by the flood. The
sins of Sodom and Gomorrah were so provoldng, that he
rained fire from heaven upon them. But both these examples
are passed by, and in waming against hardness of heart, he
points to the unbelief of Israel in the desert as its most
bitterly-provoking manifestation. We learn finally, from
this waming, the desert and punishment of unbelief It
forfeited to Israel the promised land, in which God, would
have given them rest, dwelling in the midst of them as
thefr God and Kmg. Unbelief deserves such a punishment
because of its maUgnant character, and because it is the
parent of every other sin. Those who have no faith in God,
can never leam his ways.
It is easy to see the appUcation of all this to the Jews in
the days of Darid. They were then bringing up the ark to
Jerusalem, the place of which God had said, "this is mv

CHAP. Ill, 7— a. 193
rest.,, here wiU I dweU.'" He therefore reminds them of
the sin and punishment of their fathers. They were hard
hearted and unbeliering, he says, and I sware to exclude
them from my rest. The chUdren were thus admonished
not to follow their fathers' ways. They were reminded that
an unbelieving people never should be privileged with God's
sacred presence in the midst of them. But alas, they took
not the waming, and God's word was, in consequence, but
too truly fulfilled.
II. St. Paul applies this wammg to the Hebrews, in urging
them to be obedient to Christ. There is a pecuUar fitness
in the application. He has just been telUng them that this
Dirine Redeemer sought to build them up as his spiritual
house, and to gather them round him as his family, in the
midst of whom he might dwell. He therefore beseeches
them to hear " his voice " while the day of salvation lasted ;
reminding them, by the very language made use of, that the
Sariour who now spake to them was the God who had spoken
to their fathers in the days of David. He has also been
proving to them that this Saviour was the Father's Apostle,
sent to lead them to the land of etemal rest, and that by
reason of the Divinity of his person, he was worthy of more
glory than Moses. He therefore reminds them of that
generation whom Moses was appointed to lead from Egypt
to Canaan, and who, for rebelling against his guidance and
refusing God's word in his mouth, were excluded from the
promised land. For this terrible dealing was the most
emphatic of aU warnings : it taught them that they should
most certainly be excluded from God's etemal rest, if they
rebelled against the guidance and refused the life-giving
word of that Divine Redeemer, whose servant and humble
minister thefr illustrious prophet had been. Their privUeges
moreover were as great as those of that favoured generation.
For they also had proved the Lord, and seen his works.
The incamation of the Son of God, his life of wondrous love,
his death of mispeakable mercy, had passed almost before
thefr eyes. And these things had surely proved him to be
1 Psalm cxxxil 13, 14.
VOL. I. K

194 PAET II. LECTUEE III,
"full of grace and truth," proved the depth and tenderness
of his Dirine compassion. And the mfraculous works of
mercy which were vprought in his name by the power of the
Holy Ghost, after he rose from the dead, those " signs fol-
lowmg," with which the Lord, seated on the right hand of
the Father, confirmed the word of his grace,' were with
them matters of daUy experience and observation. Unbelief
on thefr part had therefore no apology. Like that of thefr
fathers in the desert, it could arise from nothing but hard
ness of heart. They were shutting their hearts against the
claims of love, and closing thefr eyes that they might not
behold the glorious workmg of God's mighty hand. That
love had appeared in the Cross of the humbled Sariour, and
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven had displayed, and
was even then displaying, both in the Chmch and in the
world, the omnipotence of the risen Lord. And if notvrith-
standing aU this they were stUl found erring in thefr hearts,
misconceiving the Divine character, and not knowing the
way of salvation, St. Paul warns them that like their fathers
of old, they were grieving God's Spirit, tempting him, and
bitterly provoking him to sware in his 'wrath conceming
them, that they should not enter into his rest.
III. And though we admit without hesitation the claims
of Jesus as the Christ, and entertain not the sUghtest doubt
of his infinite superiority to Moses, this waming appUes to
us. For we have the same obduracy of heart with the Jews
in the days of Moses and of David, and with the Hebrews
in the days of St. Paul. It leads us to deny to the Lord
our love and confidence, though we have proved him and
seen his works. It leads us to err in our hearts conceming
him, and prevents us from knowing his holy ways. These
things grieve his Spirit, tempt him and provoke him bitterly.
And while they do so, they expose us to the fearful danger of
coming short of his etemal rest.
The Lord Jesus, in one of his parables, thus speaks of the
heart of man. "Behold a sower went forth to sow: and
some seeds fell by the way-side, and the fowls came and
5 Mark xvi. 19,20.

CHAP. III. 7-11. 195
devoured them up." And he adds in explanation, "when
any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and miderstandeth
it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that
which was, sown in his heart : this is he who received seed
by the way-side."' Now this is just the case 'with the vast
majority of gospel-hearers; they hear and understand not,
and Satan catches the word away. But this lack of under
standing arises from hardness of heart. How very striking
is the similitude by which the Lord would teach us this
truth ! Does the husbandman sow tlie way-side in spring,
and return in autumn, to receive the crop ? If he does so, he
is disappointed; the hardness of the ground has prevented
the seed from entering. And such is the heart of man in
reference to the word of God; it rejects it in its impenetrable
obduracy. We must admit the truth of this, if we are honest
with ourselves. We have heard of the love of Jesus, for we
have been told in the blessed gospel, that he laid down his
life for om salvation. We have heard of the blood of his
Cross which has taken away our sins, and of the Father's
forgiveness proclaimed through the risen Sariour. We have
received these things moreover into our creeds, and they are
enroUed among our articles of faith. But have they sunk
into our hearts, have they dra'wn these hearts to God ? Do
we love the Lord Jesus, because he has loved us ? Are we
trustmg in his blood for our pardon, and enjoying, through
faith in that blood, the peace of assured forgiveness, the
peace which passeth understanding? Are we leaning on the
Sariour's gracious arm for support, as we travel up through
this wildemess, to the heavenly country? Are we looking
for his mercy, unto eternal life ? Those of us 'with whom it
is so, vdll, I am sure, acknowledge that the natural hardness
of their hearts has been softened, and that these blessed
lessons have been taught them by the grace of God. But
vrith the vast majority of gospel-hearers this, alas, is not the
case. ReUgion is a form with them. Confidence in a
Saviour's love, peace of conscience m his blood, aud the
blessed hope of everlasting life are things which they do not
I Matthew xiii. 3, 4, 19.
k2

196 PART II. LECTORE III,
understand. And notwithstanding the revelation which the
Cross of Christ has made of the love and mercy qf God, they
err concerning him in their hearts, and do not know his
ways. Instead of regarding him as a Father and esteeming
his commandments perfect freedom, they think of him as a
hard master and complain of the strictness of his law.
Christ speaks in the gospel, in the accents of tenderness and
love, but men are so occupied with the engrossing cares of
business, the acquisition of wealth, or the pursuit of pleasure,
that they cannot "hear his voice." And so it awakens in
thefr bosoms no response of love, of grateful confidence or
of joyful hope. But those who thus neglect the Saviour, are
griering the Spirit of their God, and by doing so, tempt and
provoke him to swear in his wrath against them. He wUl
thus swear, alas, conceming multitudes in the day when his
judgment is revealed; and the oath shall declare thefr
sentence of exclusion from his rest to be irreversible and
eternal. Let not Satan persuade us that God cannot be so
severe. In his judgment this severity isto his honour. He
prefaced the sentence of Israel's exclusion from Canaan
with the remarkable words, " as truly as I Uve, aU the earth
shall be filled 'with the glory of the Lord."' And in con
formity with this, the Church teaches us, when we worship
him in the sanctuary, m the words of this very Psalm,
repeating the solemn waming and fearful threatenmg which
it contains, to add to our devotion an ascription of etemal
glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Have
we ever considered what is meant by this addition ? It ia
on our part a continual acknowledgment that if we are found
at last to have neglected the Saviour, God 'will be glorified
eternally in our final exclusion from bUss.
There are many who answer to aU this, we confess it to be
true. We acknowledge the hardness of our hearts, and that
we are at this moment utterly indisposed to listen to Christ's
voice. But do not let us be esteemed on this account as
reprobates, for we fuUy pmpose, another day, to attend to
the concems of etemity. The text meets here the seU-
1 Numbers xiv. 21.

CHAP. in. 7—11. 197
deceiving heart, bidding us not boast of to-morrow. "To
day," it says, "if ye wiU hear his voice, harden not your
hearts," i.e. if you mean to listen to Christ's voice, Usten to
it now, delay only hardens the heart And this is the counsel
of wisdom and truth, verified, alas, in the mournful ex
perience of thousands. The youth of twenty years says,
give me for a while my fill of youthful pleasure, I will think
of salvation again. See him when ten years have passed
over his head. Pleasure then has greatly lost its power, but
something else has risen up in its stead. The world has
begun to be an object of serious interest, and has already
entangled his heart in its ensnaring net. He is more
indisposed than he was before to listen to the word of
salvation ; a convenient season, he says, has not yet come.
Ten years more pass over him. You find him then entirely
occupied with the all-absorbing cares and interests of time,
and without a thought to spai-e for eternity. The word of
God is more distasteful than ever ; I cannot attend to it yet,
he says. Subsequent years only increase the eril. The
conscience becomes seared through long trifling with known
duty ; the moral feelings become blunted through intercourse
vrith the world ; the warnings, threatenings and promises of
God's word lose their power of impressing the heart; and by
degrees that heart surrenders itself, 'vrithout further struggle,
to the dominion of unbelief. The unhappy man at last
forgets that he ever cherished the purpose of one day
thinking of God, comes to the conclusion that it is not
needful to think of him, and dies, as he has lived, in
confirmed neglect of the Saviour. But even if procrastina
tion did not thus harden the heart, to-day is the time to hear
Christ's voice, for no one is sure of to-morrow. We may all
be in health at this moment, but we have no security for the
next; our souls may at any time be required of us. Besides,
the Holy Ghost is a Sovereign, and will not always strive
vrith man. And to trifle for a single moment with his
earnest exhortations, is to tempt him to forsake us for ever.
But there are others of a different mould. They listen to
the exhortation of the text and say. Would God we could

198 PART II. LECTURE III.
comply with it ! We desire to hear Christ's voice, we would
cease from tempting and griering and provoking his holy
Spfrit, we would fain be made meet for his eternal rest.
But our hard hearts wdl not permit us, and alas, we cannot
soften them. To such I say, Who exhorts you to hear the
voice of your Sariour, who bids you cease from provoking
him, who warns you to take heed lest you be excluded from
his rest? Read in the text; it is the Holy Ghost, It is
HIS blessed will then that you listen to the voice of Jesus,
that you cease to grieve him by your unbelief, that you leam
his holy ways, and at last attain to his Idngdom. And he
who wills this, has also power to effect it. For it is the
Holy Ghost who enables us to hear the gospel saringly, who
takes out the heart of stone, and gives the heart of flesh,
who creates us in Christ Jesus unto good works, who makes
us meet for the kingdom of God. Oh that I could convey
to every mom-ning and dejected soul the consolation of this
precious thought ! It is not the wUl of the Holy Ghost,
that sin and unbeUef should have dominion over us. Let us
only realize this, and their dominion is for ever ended. To
complain of our hard hearts wiU never soften them. Let us
realize it as the will of the Holy Ghost that we shoidd be
the faithful people of Jesus, and we shaU find spfritual
strength to become so. For he who commands us is the
mighty God, and his command gives power to obey. Let
us not tempt him then by saying that we would fain be his
people, but that he denies to us his grace. The text tells
us that we are "the sheep of his hand to-day, if ye wiU
hear his voice." Notldng then but disinclination on our
part prevents us from being so, from bemg so at this very
moment. For the great God deals honestly with us his poor
creatures. And the exhortation of the Holy Ghost in the
text, contains in it an impUed assurance that from none who
are disposed to obey him shall his omnipotent grace be
withheld. May he then so dispose us, for his glory's saJie !

199

LECTURE IV,
Hebrews di. 12 — 14.
" Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbeUef, in departing from the living God. But
exhort one another daily while it is ealled 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 steadfast unto the end."
We have seen with what eamestness St. Paul has pressed
upon the Hebrews the waming of the Holy Ghost to their
fathers. He now goes on to make that waming the basis of
exhortation from himself, taking up and dwelling particularly
on each of the points contained in it It has spoken of the
hard and deceitful heart, of the sin of provoking and grieving
the Lord, and of the dreadful punishment which overtook
that sin in the case of the Israelites in the wildemess ; and
he dwells, as we shall see, on these points successively, to the
close of the present chapter. In the verses before us, he
makes the first and second of them his subject, warning the
Hebrews to take heed of the hard and unbelieving heart, and
reminding them of the deceitfulness of sin. We shall con
sider his words, first, in their application to those to whom
they were originally addressed, and second, in their applica
tion to God's people, whether Jews or Gentiles, to the end of
time. Before we enter however on this special consideration of
the text, let us observe the distinct chain of meaidng which
connects its three verses. We have an exhortation against
unbeUef, —

200 PART II. LECTURE IV.
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart
of unbelief, in departing from the living Ood.
We have next a preventive suggested for this monstrous
mischief, —
But exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day, lest
any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
And we have finaUy the necessity of using this and every
other preventive urged in the strongest manner.
For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the begin
ning of our confidence steadfast to the end.
All this was most apposite to the circumstances of the He
brews, and is equally applicable to us.
I. The Hebrews had been distracted by St. Paul in the
Divinity of Messiah's person. They had been told that he
had come out from the bosom of the Father, as the messenger
of his mercy and truth, and that tiie Holy Ghost commanded
them to hear his voice. They had been further told that he
was now seeking to buUd them up as his spiritual house, and
to gather them round 1dm as his family, in the midst of whom
he might dwell. And finally, they had been warned that by
unbelief on their part they might forfeit this intended mercy,
and come short of this amazing grace. They are now there
fore entreated by him who had thus instructed and warned
them, entreated to take heed of the evU, unbeUeving heart.
This evil heart shews itself, he tells them, "in departing
from the liring God." The context makes it evident that by
this designation he intends the Saviour. He has just declared
him to be the God who spake to their fathers in the days of
David, and whom Israel grieved and provoked in the desert.
And his purpose now is to warn the children not to "tempt
Christ,"' as their fathers also tempted. "The living God,"
moreover, is Christ's true name. For he is God, the possessor
5 I Corinthians x. 9.

CHAP. III. 12—14. 201
of life, and his word communicates life. "The word was
God," says St. John, "in him was life." ' " The words that
I speak unto you," says Jesus himself, "they are spirit, and
they are life." It was because the twelve experienced this,
that when others departed from him, they continued faithful.
"Lord, to whom shall we go," said St. Peter, "thou hast the
words of etemal life. "" Now this liring God had come unto
his own Hebrew nation, and his own, instead of receiving
him, had set at nought and crucified him.' But instead of
departing from them for this offence, he was still presenting
himself to Israel as a Prince and a Saviour,'' as the trae
Moses, the messenger whom the Father had sent to lead
them to the land of eternal rest. And St. Paul therefore
entreats them not to depart from him. He also cliaracterizes
the heart which would depart, as the "e'vU heart of mibelief "
As if he would say. Do not charge your sin on your circum
stances ; think not to forsake your Sariom- and say that the
force of persecution compelled you. His presence and pro
mised help can strengthen you to meet the most appalling
trials. If you forsake him then, the cause is in yourselves ;
you have never truly believed in his love. For those who
confide in Jesus, and have tasted that he is gracious, will
answer, when tempted to forsake him, "Lord to whom shall
we go?"
But though the Apostle could thus write, he was not
insensible to the trials of the Hebrew Church, and of the
danger of forsaking Christ, to which such trials exposed
them. He therefore proposes a remedy for the evil. That
remedy is brotherly love. You must watch, every one over
his brother, he tells them, for you stand as an united phalanx,
and if "any of you" be thrown down by the enemy, the
strength of the phalanx is broken. Make it yom daily
business then, by words of godly counsel and encouragement,
to hold up each others' hands. And if you discern in a
brother any indication of a heart wavering in its faith aud
aUegiance to Christ, exhort him, "whUe it is caUed to-day;"
for such is the deceitfulness of sin that before to-morrow the
1 Johni 1,4. 2 John vi. 63, G8. a Johni 10,11. 4 Acts v, 30, 31.
k3

202 PAET II. LECTUEE IV.
mischief may be past repafr, he may be lost irrecoverably
both to Christ and to you, St. Paul next proceeds to urge
upon the Hebrews the necessity of this mutual watchfulness.
Neither you nor I, he says, shall be made partakers of Christ's
salvation, because we have once confided in him; we must
maintain this confidence steadfast to the end. At a time
then when the enemy is seeking by all means to shake it, a
regard even to our own salvation requires that we thus stand
on our watch-tower, and be "not ignorant of his derices,''
II. All this, as has been afready remarked, applies to us
as much as to the Hebrews. For we have the same hearts
vrith them, and are exposed to the same spiritual perils.
That we have the same hearts was pointed out in the last
lecture, Man's natural heart ever since the fall has been a
heart of unbelief, i. e. a heart predisposed to distrust God ;
yea "an evil heart of unbelief," for nothing can be more evil
than such a disposition. And the effects are as evil as the
cause. DisbeUeving God's love to us we refuse om affections
in return ; we depart from the living God. For love believed
excites love back again. And where confidence is not won,
it is impossible to 'win affection.
Since the beginning of the world there never was such an
exhibition of this truth, such an exhibition of this evil heart
of unbeUef, and of these its most eril results, as in the
history referred to in the context. Everything which God
could do, was done to win the confidence of Israel in the
vdldemess. He smote Egypt; he dried the Red Sea; he
guided them through the desert in the pillar of cloud and
fire ; he brought water for them out of the flinty rock, and
gave them bread from heaven. He never departed from
them. Tlie manna was not missed for a smgle moming,
nor the pillar of cloud for a single day, nor the pUlar of fire
throughout the darkness of a smgle night, for forty years.
But for all this "they believed not in God, and trusted not
in his salvation."' So that the Lord himself marvelled,
saying to Moses, "how long will it be ere they believe me
for all the signs which I have shewed among them.''' And
1 Psalm Ixxviii. 22. 2 N' umbers xiv. 11.

CHAP. III. 12—14. 203
as the natural result of this unbeUef, they departed from
him. His love utterly failed to elicit any return of abiding
gratitude or affection ; they obeyed him indeed, but chiefly
through the constraint of fear. For when that constraint
was removed, and they imagined that they might choose for
themselves, even the semblance of regard and of obedience
ceased. I refer, in this remark, to what took place at Sinai.
Moses had been apart 'with God for forty days, and Israel
supposed that he did not intend to return to them. And
they immediately discovered what was in thefr hearts, by
displacing Jehovah and setting a golden calf in his room !
Here was departing from the living God indeed ! And they
departed also from his holy ways, for "the people sat down
to eat and to drink, and rose up to play." ' They served the
god whom they had set up, by indulging in gluttony and
drunkenness, by lascirious dancing, g,nd by all the impurities
of heathen worship. They had witnessed these obscene
rites in Egypt, and they preferred them in their hearts to
the pure worship of the Lord. Let us jpause and contemplate
this astonishing transaction; it is the most striking of all
commentaries on the text. These were the people who
had never learned to trust Jehovah. And behold the
consequence; they preferred to his etemal majesty "the
similitude of an ox that eateth grass ! "' They also polluted
the immediate ricudty of that momitain on which he had
descended for the gracious purpose of instructing them,
vrith the abominable orgies of heathenism ! Surely the
heart of unbelief is eril — evU m its character, and dreadfully
eril m its results.
But Israel in the desert is not the only generation of men
to whom the Alndghty has been gracious ; he is lovmg to
every man, and his tender mercies are over all his works.
We have experienced this abundantly, for we have received
from his hand "life and breath and all things :"' He is our
Creator, Preserver, Redeemer. Every one of us is to
himself, in the wonderful mechanism of his body, and in the
still more wonderful inspiration of his soul, a witness of his
I Exodus xxxii. 1 — 6. 2 Psalm evi. 20. s Acts xvii. 25.

204 PAST II. LECTUEE IV.
Creator's love. And our gracious Preserver's love is written
on every crust of bread, on every cup of cold water, on the
sound sleep of eveiy night, on the protection and keeping of
every day. It is 'witten on our parents' early care, on the
blessings of education and of friendship, and on the thousand
comforts which render life agreeable. God in bestowing
these benefits has "not left himself without witness,"' and
"God is Love."' And these mercies are not worthy to be
mentioned, when compared 'with the stupendous benefits of
redemption. He thought on us in our lost estate and sent
his Son as the propitiation for our sins ; he also raised him
from the dead to bless us. And that this may prove effectual
to our salvation, he has bestowed on us the means of grace.
He has indited holy Scripture and put it into our hands :
He has appointed the blessed sacraments : He has instituted
the ministry of the word. But notwithstanding all this, he
does not win our confidence, and fails, in consequence, to
win our love. Israel in the desert is not, alas, the only
generation which has repaid his good with evil. We follow
their example but too faithfully, if God leaves us to om--
selves ; we are all found departing from him whose loving
kindness has never departed from us.
The proof of this is only too easy. It is evidently true
of one class of men, the openly vicious. They Uve in the
impurities of the flesh, trampling on the commandments of
God, and do not conceal their hatred either of him or of his
ways. And unbeUef is the parent of this profligacy: men
could not act thus towards God, if they believed his love to
them. But vicious men, it may be answered, acknowledge
the benefits of creation and providence, and many of them
assent to the truth of the sublime mysteries of redemption.
Tlds however is not faith. Israel acknowledged that God
had smitten Egypt and dried the Red Sea for them ; they
aolmowledged that he was daily raining bread from heaven
for their food, and guiding them by his mfraculous presence.
And yet Scripture calls them unbelievers. Because though
they admitted these benefits, they never were convinced in
1 Acts xiv. 17, 2 1 John iv. 8.

CHAP. III. 12—14. 205
their hearts that sincere and genuine love on the part of God
bestowed them. Now this is unbelief It is, while admitting
the fact of the dirine benefits, to deny the lesson of the fact.
It was this which made Israel in the desert depart from the
liring God, and it is the same evil principle still which
makes vicious men, while acknowledging that they are
surrounded on every hand by God's mercies, trample on the
Giver of them, and wantonly grieve his Spirit. They do not
believe that these mercies proceed from love. But the
openly vicious are not the only class who depart from the
liring God : the worldly-minded are another I separate this
class from the former, because in many instances they are
moral, decent and inoffensive in their behaviour. But their
joys, their hopes, their comforts are confined to this present
world, and entirely bounded by it; and therefore in the
judgment of God, "they have forsaken him, the fountain of
living waters,'" and hewn out unto themselves " cisterns,
broken cisterns, that can hold no water." ' He is called " the
fountain of living waters," because he is the exhaustless
source of living joy. In loving him our Creator, Preserver,
Redeemer, in keeping his commandments and striving to
please him, and in the consciousness of his approving smile,
there is present and soul-satisfying joy, the foretaste of that
which is eternal. And to turn away from this and seek our
happiness m the creature, is the sin which the text now
quoted so emphaticaUy condemns. But it is the sin of the
class of which I am now spealdng ; God is no source of
enjoyment to them ; the creature is their all. And it is
unbelief, I have again to remark, which is the cause of this
fearful estrangement. Like the former class, they admit the
Divine benefits, and assent to the doctrines of the faith.
But these doctrines are the mere articles of a creed, and
have never revealed to them "the living God;" they have
no faith in his love as a reality, and therefore they depart
from him. And there is another class still who are charge
able with this sm, the self-righteous. They differ materially
from both the former classes, for they believe that they have
J Jeremiah ii. 13.

206 PAET II. LECTUEE IV.
souls to be saved, and are in eamest about their salvation.
But -'being ignorant of God's righteousness," i.e. of the
Divine mercy already revealed in Christ, they go about "to
establish their own,"' seekmg by thefr assiduous attendance
in God's house, and their good works out of it, to purchase
his favour and etemal life. Their religion is thus based on
unbeUef, and the bitter fruit appears ; it is a religion of mere
formality. They do not seek the retfrement of thefr closets
to pour out thefr hearts before God, or frequent his sanctuary
that they may be instructed in the knowledge of his wUl, or
approach his holy table that they may have communion with
him who died for them. These things are to them unmean
ing and uninteresting outward services, engaged in for an
ulterior, selfish end. And thus, though differing in many
respects from the other classes mentioned, they agree with
them in the great feature which always marks unbeUef, they
depart from the living God.
Now these three classes comprehend all mankind, except
those only who have been taught of God's Spirit, and renewed
in their mmds, by the operation of his grace. And we may
therefore rest assured, unless this is the case with us, that
we belong to one or other of them. If it is so, I need not
say that we require the exhortation of the text ; for unless
we take heed of this heart of unbelief and are delivered from
its fatal operation, it will separate us from God eternally.
And even if it is otherwise, even if the glory of God has so
shone into our hearts that belie'ving in his love we have been
tumed away from every other source of enjoyment, to find
our happiness m himself alone, we still requfre this exhor
tation. For "the infection of nature,"' as the Church
teaches, still remains in us though we be the people of God ;
our natural tendencies are subdued, but not eradicated.
And to prevent them from having the mastery over us,
continual watchfulness is required.
But we are not left to ourselves in the performance of
this necessary duty. God has connected us together, and
the Apostle enjoins mutual watchfulness expressing itself in
1 Romans x. 3. ^ Article ix.

CHAP. III. 12—14, 207
mutual exhortation and warnfrig. This watchfulness and'
exhortation ought to be continual; "exhort one another
daily," is the counsel of the holy Apostle. Nothing can
teach more strikingly than such language does, that brotherly
love is of the very essence of Christianity. And it teaches
in a manner equally striking, that the service and glory
of God is, with the true Christian, a matter of daily and
unceasing interest. Is there any of us, let me ask, who
dislikes to hear these things? Does any heart among us
whisper, "Am I my brother's keeper?" Or do we say.
Religion suits very well for the sanctuary and for holy seasons,
but we cannot be always thinking of it ? The" heart which
harbours such thoughts is departing from the living God.
" He that loveth not," says St. John, "knoweth not God, for
God is Love." ' And we leam from that prayer, which Christ
indited, as at once the expression and the guide of his people's
devotion, that the true Christian feels as sensibly his daily
need of grace to preserve him from the temptations of the
¦wicked one, as of bread to nourish and sustain his body. It
is not without a reason then that the injunction of St. Paul
before us, to give and receive exhortation daUy, follows
immediately on his solemn warning against departing from
the living God. There is a most beautiful connection
between these counsels of vrisdom ; he who is listening to
the first, will be preserved from the danger of which the
second so emphatically warns us. And this dady exhortation
must be necessary, for otherwise it would not be pressed on
us. What makes it necessary is the nature of sin, which is
hardening and yet deceitful. In other words, it hardens the
heart before we are aware, and the more the heart is hardened
the less aware do we become. While we keep near to God,
the heart is very soft, and we are alive to the least coldness
of affection, the least failure in duty, the least trespass on his
holy laws. But as we depart from God, the heart becomes
gradually hardened, and in exact proportion to such growing
hardness we become less aware of its existence. The more
men run on in sin, the less they are always found to
1 I John iv. 8.

208 PART II. LECTURE IV.
think of it ; and those who have wandered farthest from
God, are the very persons whom it is most difficult to
conrince that they have ever strayed from him at all. For
sin benumbs the feelings, and in time, destroys them. We
need not wonder then that St. Paul enjoins us, when we
perceive sin in a brother, to exhort him "while it is caUed
to-day.'' For the feelings which are quick to-day, may
to-morrow be benumbed ; and he who to-day has a heart
soft and impressible, which 'wUl receive admonition, may be
hardened to-morrow, and reject it to his eternal destruction.
One has heard of the effect of the atmosphere on the heights
of the Alps : it benumbs the traveller and sets him asleep,
and if he sleeps he never wakes again. And one has heard
of those who guide travellers through these Alpine soUtudes,
calling out to them every moment. Keep each other awake,
for if you sleep, you die. Such is the meaning of St. Paul in
the words which we are now considering. Appointed by God
as the spiritual guide of his people through the dangerous,
soul-benumbing atmosphere of this present evU world, which
if it once takes effect on the spiritual system, brings over it
the sleep of etemal death, he calls on us to exercise continual
watchfulness. Keep each other awake, he says, to the
realities of God's love, of Christ's salvation, of your etemal
hopes m him ; if you sleep, you die etemaUy.
But though this apostolic mjunction includes private bro
therly admonition, it has principal reference, I doubt not,
to assemblies for the worship of God. The Hebrews and
other believers of apostolic times, assembled for this pm
pose daily. And the Church being then, what, alas, she
is not now, filled with the Holy Ghost, her private members
were able, on these occasions, to teach and admonish one
another.' This duty now devolves entirely on the over
burdened pastor. I say overburdened, not because his duty
is burdensome, but because more is required of him, m the
present state of the Church, than human diligence and zeal
can possibly perform. He cannot read the heart, and so
cannot tell \rith certainty the spuitual state of any of his
^ Romans xv, 14, ; II Cor, viii, 7,

CHAP, III. 12—14. 209
people. But the word of God assures him that they have
aU, by natm-e, that evd heart of unbelief which leads them
to depart from him. He knows therefore but too certainly
that unless his grace has taught them otherwise, they are
aU departing from him, iu some one of the ways already
set forth in this discourse. And He learns from the
same authority, that even if his grace has bestowed on them
another heart, they need continual mstruction and admonition
to keep them in the right way. In these cfrcumstances it
is required of him that He exhort them " whUe it is called
to-day," setting the word of God fully and faithfuUy before
them, and learing the blessed Spirit to apply it as their
several cases and varjdng spiritual conditions make such
application needful. But who is sufficient for so weighty
and responsible a task as this ? A full and faithful setting
forth of the word of God, implies a true exhibition of the
Dirine character; an exhibition of God in his love and
mercy, in his holiness and justice ; an exhibition of him in
the harmony of his attributes, that he may be commended
to his people as the worthy object of thefr love and reverence,
that they may take him for thefr God, thefr Friend and their
-Father. It implies also a true exhibition of Christ. He
must be set forth in his essential glory as the Son of God,
and in his glory as Incarnate Mediator, Son of God and man.
He must be set forth in his holy example and temptations, in
his precious death and burial, in his glorious resurrection and
ascension, in his present session at the right hand of the
Father, and in his future advent to judge the world. All
this must be done, that His people may leam to trust in
him, and long for his appearing. The sacraments must also
be expounded, for they are the seals of God to the truth of
his word of grace, and to our participation in the benefits of
Christ's passion. We must be exhorted moreover, to personal
faith in this blessed Saviour, that we may have life through
his name. And those good works, which are the fruits of
faith, must also be pointed out. We must be addressed as
husbands, fathers, masters, as chUdren, and as servants ; we
must be taught our several duties, and warned of the snares

210 PART II, LECTURE IV.
in our path. Our understandings must be informed, lest
feeling take the place of judgment ; our hearts must be dealt
with, lest the intellect be informed without the affections
being gained for God. And what makes this heavy and
responsible task the hearier, is the scanty opportunity
which, in the present state of the Church, is afforded to the
pastor of efficiently fulfUling it. , He is compeUed to crowd
this immense mass of matter, these appeals to his people's
understandings, thefr consciences, their hearts, within the
space of two, or at the most, of three pulpitaddresses weekly.
These addresses too are of very moderate length. Short
time mdeed to instruct men for etemity ! Smce then it is
so short, and since these opportunities of mstruction are so
few, let us see that we do not neglect them. Let us take
heed how we sacrffice etemity and its everlasting interests
to time and its fleeting concems. If we do so, we shall
repent it only once, but that wiU be foe evee.
To give point and energy to his injunction, St. Paul adds
in the text, that it is only by enduring to the end that we
are made partakers of Christ's salvation. He has already
mentioned perseverance as the mark of Christ's fandly,' and
now he mentions it again m connection with daily exhorta
tion, because such exhortation has been appomted by God as
the means of preserring his people faithful, and enabling
them to persevere. There is no greater delusion than the
idea that we are saved by one act of faith. The food of
yesterday will not suffice for to-day, and neither will the faith
of yesterday. The faith which saves, is a continued act.
" By which also ye are saved," says St. Paul to the Corin
thians, " if ye keep m memory what I preached unto you."'
Let us not think then that we are independent of the minis
tered word, because we have been taught by the Spirit, and
enabled to believe on Jesus. That word is ministered that
we may continue to believe, that we may keep the Saviom in
memory and so attain eternal Ufe.
But we are taught another most important lesson by these
words of St. Paul. That which must be held steadfast to
> Heb. iii. 6. 21 Cor. xv. 2.

CHAP. III. 12—14. 21 1
the end, is "the beginning of om confidence." When we
first discovered the awful reality of our ruined condition, we
fled to Christ as the hope of the condemned, the Sariour of
the lost : his mercy was then our only stay. But we must
never have another stay ; this beginning of confidence must
be held fast to the end. We must not think that because
we have served God long and faithfully, we are entitled to
another ground of confidence. The Church teaches us both
in the confession and in the Litany, to acknowledge ourselves
to the end, to be miserable sinners, who look for mercy only
through the blood of Christ. In that character we began to
deal with God, and in the same character we must continue
to deal -with him; if we seek to assume another, he wUl
refuse to deal vrith us. The ministry of the gospel then is
not one word for the sinner, and another for the beUever.
It is the same word for both, the word of God's mercy in his
dear Son, to draw to him the sinner's wandering heart, and
to establish the beUever's confidence to the end. May the
Uving God be pleased to bless for the accomplishment of
both these ends, the ministry of his gospel in this our day !
The word of exhortation shall thus be tvdce blessed, blessed
to him that receives, blessed equally to him that gives. And
those now connected as pastor and people shall meet at
last, in that place where there shaU be no possibility of
departmg from him any more.
" There we shall see his face.
And never, never sin ;
There from the rivers of his grace
Drink endless pleasures in,"
May tlds be our experience in God's everlasting mercy I

212

LECTURE V.

Hebrews id. 15 — 19.

" While it is said. To-day if ye ¦will hear his voice, harden
not your hearts as in the provocation. For some, when tliey
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
ihe ¦wilderness ? And to whom svjare 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."
In the verses which we have just read, the Apostle, as was
pointed out in the beginning of the last lecture, continues to
dwell, for the instruction and waming of the Hebrews, on
the history of their fathers in the desert, as referred to in
the ninety-fifth Psalm. He repeats the exhortation of the
Holy Ghost against the hard and unbelieving heart. To
prevent the Hebrews from supposing that it was impossible
for a people privileged as they had been, to disbelieve
God, he next reminds them that thefr fathers, in the most
favourable circumstances in which any people were ever
placed, were guilty of this sin. And again, lest they should
suppose that they were bound to God by ties of too endear
ing a character to make it possible for them to fall under his
wrath, he remmds them that the sin of their fathers brake
all bonds between God and them, forfeited his plighted
mercy and brought down on them to their destruction, his
terrible indignation. We shall consider these important
statements in the first place, in their peculiar appUcation to
the Hebrews, and seek to draw from them in the second
place, lessons of cathoUc truth.

CHAP. III. 15—19. 213
While it is said. To-day if ye w'lll hear his voice, harden
not your hearts, as in the provocation. Foe who weee
they, THAT when THEY HEARD, DID PROVOKE ? WeEE
they not all INDEED THAT CAME OUT OF EgYPT BT MoSES?
St. Paul had just enjoined the Hebrews to exhort each
other while it was called to-day, and reminded them that if
they would be partakers of Christ, they must endure to the
end. And he is so impressed with the urgent necessity of
this warning, that he repeats it m the first verse of the text,
beseechmg them, while they were stdl invited to hear it, not
to shut their ears against that voice which spake to them of
the glories of redemption, and of the blessedness of the
eternal rest in reserve for the people of God. But to this
they might have answered, we have believed in the love of
the Saviour and seen his glory, we have also exchanged the
bondage of Judaism for the gentle yoke of the gospel ; there
is no fear therefore of any of us being so hardened as now
to disbelieve and depart from him. Say not so, St. Paul
repUes, "for who were they that when they heard" the good
report of the pleasant land from the mouth of Caleb and
Joshua, provoked God by not beliering it? "Were they
not ALL indeed that came out of Egypt by Moses ? " It is
impossible to express in language the power of this thrilling
question. It presents in rapid succession three considera
tions to the mind, and each of them is deeply fitted to arrest
and solemnize it. God's word was disbelieved, and God
himself distrusted by the very people whom he had led forth
from Egypt. They had seen his miracles in Egypt and at the
Red Sea, they had been delivered by him from the oppressor's
yoke, they had seen his glory in the wddemess, they had
received from his hand the miraculous supply of all thefr
wants, and yet they disbelieved him. They had never
knovra his word to fad, they had never found him prove
unfaithful, and yet when the hom of trial came, they cast
that word back upon him, and refused to go forward, or to
trust him any more. This were enough, but there is more
behind. God was thus distrusted by a people who promised

S14 PART II. LECTURE V.
well at the beginning; they "came out of Egypt," says the
the text. They submitted wiUingly to the guidance of
Moses, they followed him through the Red Sea and through
the wilderness, and though on several occasions they grieved
the Spirit of the Lord, they never tumed back till they came
to the borders of their inheritance. But these promising
beginnings ended then in open apostacy; "let us make us a
captain," they said, "and let us return to Egypt."' And
the worst is yet to come. God was thus distrusted not by a
few black-hearted men in that vast congregation, but by
THEM ALL. Among six hundred thousand footmen there
was not one who believed him, "save Caleb the son of
Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun."' Oh then, ye
Hebrews, says St. Paul, am I over-anrious when I warn you
against the eril heart of unbeUef? You have indeed enjoyed
great privUeges, and you have begun weU. But your fathers
also had great pri'vUeges, your fathers also began weU. T^d
if not'withstanding this they aU disbelieved God, surely it is
not over-fearfulness which suggests the danger of some
among you being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
The apostle however has not yet done with his subject.
He proceeds, —
And with whom was he grieved forty years ? was it not
with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilder
ness ? And to whom sware he that they should not enter into
his rest, but to them that believed not ?
He had warned them just before of the effect of unbeUef,
that it leads to depart from God. And now he instances
this in the case of their fathers. For unbeUef led them into
aU manner of sin, into idolatry, lusting, murmuring, fornica
tion; and they grieved the Lord by these sms for forty years.
The Hebrews are also remmded that by these sms, and the
unbelief from which they sprung, their fathers had brought
down most signal vengeance on their heads. God had
promised to bring them into the land of Canaan ; but after
1 Numbers xiy, 4. 2 Numbers xxvi. 65.

CHAP. rn. 15—19. 215
they disbelieved him, he sware that they should never see it,
and that their carcases shoidd fall in the wildei-ness. And it
was so. They were shut out from that good land, and given
over judicially to the dominion of their evil heart of unbeUef,
It led them into the sins which thus provoked the Lord, and
brought about in time the accomplishment of the whole of
his fearful word. See then in the sins of your fathers, ye
Hebrews, says St. Paul, how unbelief leads away from God,
how it will lead you away from him. And see m thefr
punishment, that nothing will screen you, if unbelieving and
disobedient, from his anger. You have his covenant in
Christ and his promise of salvation; but these will not
screen you. For your fathers also had his covenant, and he
had promised to bring them into Canaan, But he set aside
that covenant, he brake that promise ; the very men who had
left Egypt expecting to sit in that good land under thefr own
vine and fig-tree, died and were buried in the sandy desert.
And as he dealt with them, so -wiU he deal with you : "be
not high-minded, but fear,"
The Apostle still proceeds, —
So we see that they could not not enter in, became of unbelief.
These words contain a summary of the preceding argu
ment, bringing before the Hebrews, at one glance, both the
sin and the punishment of thefr fathers, Thefr sm is
referred to, for it is expressly stated that unbelief prevented
them from entering into the land of promise ; and their
punishment is referred to, for we are told that "they could
not enter in." This remarkable expression traces also the
necessary connection between thefr sin and the punishment
which foUowed it. God could not, consistently with his
character, lead an unbeUeving people into the prondsed
inheritance. And deprived through thefr mibelief of the
assistance of his almighty arm, they were not able, by any
efforts of thefr own, to possess themselves of that good land.
They attempted to do so, for even after the oath of exclusion,
they armed themselves and " presumed to go up to the hill-

216 PART II. LECTURE V.
top." But " the ark of the covenant of the Lord and
Moses,'' as we read m the sacred narrative, " departed not
out of the camp." And the Amorites finding these unbeUev
ing men separated from their protecting God, discomfited and
chased them.' This reference to the history of their fathers
must have been peculiarly arresting to Hebrew readers.
They were aware too of its perfect truth. They knew that
to these questions of St. Paul only one answer could be
returned. They knew that it was not Ammonites, Moabites,
or Egyptians, but thefr ovm pririleged fathers who had thus
provoked the Lord. They knew that the dreadful severity
which excluded the objects of it from his rest, and doomed
them to perish in the wUderness, was not used by God toward
an alien people, but toward a people to whom he was bound
by solemn covenant, the seed of Abraham his friend. And
this taught them, if anything could teach them, not to trust
in thefr own hearts or to rest on thefr spiritual pririleges. It
taught them also that unbeUef and disobedience on thefr part
would cancel all bonds between God and them, would justify
him in failing to fuffil his most solemn promises, and glorify
him in his most dreadful severity. Fmally, it reminded them
that without faith in God, and the aid of his almighty arm,
they never should be able to overcome a persecuting world
and opposing DevU, and to enter into his heavenly rest.
II. Let us now direct our attention to the lessons of
cathoUc truth which may be leamed from this precious
subject. It teaches us what the voice of Jesus, which we
are caUed to hear, is now declaring ; warns us against that
unbelief which is so fearfuUy common ; and reminds us
that the present is the time to Usten. We shall observe
this, if we look carefuUy into the text. Our hearing
Christ, is compared to the Israelites hearing the good report
which Caleb and Joshua brought of the promised land. For
it was when they heard that report, that those who had come
out of Egypt by Moses, and who tUl then had been partially
obedient, were guUty of " the bitter provocation." The
testimony of these servants of God theu to their brethren
^ Numbers xiv. 40 — i,").

CHAP, III, 15—19. 217
of Israel, may be regarded as a typical shadowing forth of
the testimony of Christ in the gospel. They spake of a good
laud, a land of ndlk and honey, a land of bread and vine
yards, a land of brooks and streams of water ; and to confirm
their words, they brought in their hands a sample of its
fruits,' And Christ, who has passed through the heavens
and entered into the rest of God, brings to us in like manner,
in his holy gospel, a report of the blessedness of this rest.
He speaks to us from heaven of the covenant of God, of
himself as its Mediator, of his precious blood of sprinkling,
and of access through him to God the Judge of all. He speaks
of the glory prepared for his beUeving people, even of Mount
Zion the seat of his kingdom; of the heavenly Jerusalem
the city of the Uring God, and of the innumerable company
of ministering angels. He speaks also of the blessedness
prepared, of fellowship with the spirits of the just made
perfect, and with the general assembly and Church of the
first-bom.' And he bids us set our hearts on these things,
the things which are above,' and of which the consolations
of his Spirit are now the gracious earnest.* But let us
hear his own account of the way in which his report of
this good land is received. " They all with one consent,"
when they were inrited to the royal supper, "began to make
excuse.'' One spoke of his piece of ground, another of his
yoke of oxen, and a third of his domestic engagements.
For, while differing m their tastes, they agreed in esteeming
these respective pursuits and occupations more than the
company of thefr Prince.* And the concems and interests
of time in like manner, appear to the thoughtless and unbe
lieving more worthy of attention than the promise of etemal
life in the presence of the blessed God; They acknowledge
in words that the blessings which the gospel sets before
them are inconceivably great and glorious ; but they regard
them as unattainable. To expect assurance of God's mercy
and the iadwelling of his holy Spirit, and to be made par
takers of that purity which shaU prepare for his presence
I Numbers xiii. 21—27. J Hebrews xii. 22—25. s Col. iii. i.
¦• Ephesians i. 14, s Luke xiy. 15—20.
VOL. I. L

218 PAET II. LECTUEE V,
hereafter, appears nothing better to them than an enthusiast s
dream. Such was the spirit of Israel m the desert. They
complained that the cities of Canaan were impregnable, and
that the sons of Anak its inhabitants, were stronger than
they.' God had prondsed to be with them, to smite down
the Canaanites, aad to put them in possession of the land.
But they distrusted him on the one hand, and Canaan did
not appear to them to be worthy of such an effort on the
other. "They despised the pleasant land, they beUeved
not his word,"' The sin of gospel-hearers then who
listen not to Christ is exactly analogous to thefrs. And
such listless unbelief is above all other sins, and as the
root of all other sins, thefr "bitter provocation" of the
Saviour. The text therefore warns us agamst it, and
reminds us that the present is the time to listen to him.
We have been told this already, but now St. Paul repeats it,
beseeching us that whUe the admonition of the Holy Ghost
to hear Christ's voice to-day, is yet sounding in our ears, we
he not found disobedient. For Christ is speaking, and the
Holy Ghost is admonishing us to hear him, to-day. Time
is our to-day, etemity is to-morrow. And whUe to-day lasts,
and we can say he speaks, and the Holy Ghost admoidshes,
it is our part to hear and to obey. We shall soon enter the
world of spirits, and it shall then avail us nothmg to say, he
•spake, he admonished yesterday. I believe that the case of
the IsraeUtes is adduced to impress this truth on the mind.
They repented bitterly of their evil behariour, when it was
too late ; God had sworn against them, and would not repent.'
And so shall it be with multitudes hereafter. They shall
wish that they had heard Christ, when he has ceased to
speak, and it is for ever too late to hear him.
We leam also from this subject that no abidmg goodness
is to be expected from the heart of man, even in the most
favom-able circumstances and after the most promising
beginnings. For the history of Israel in the desert is left
on record in holy Scripture as a faithful exhibition of human
natme from age to age. The men who provoked God on the
1 Numbers xiii. 28, 29, 31—33. 2 Psalm evi, 24. 3 Deut, i. 45.

CHAP. III. 15—19. 219
borders of the land of Canaan, had not heard of his miracles
by tradition, or even from thefr fathers, but were the very
men who came out of Egypt by Moses. Let us consider
for a moment what these men had heard and seen ! Moses
had come to them fresh from the awful vision of the bummg
bush, and had told them of the merciful remembrance of
Abraham's God. He had gone in before thefr eyes, to the
Egyptian tyrant on thefr behalf ; and when Pharaoh refused
to hear, he had stretched forth his rod to smite him. And
thefr eyes had beheld, as the immediate, dreadful conse
quence, the waters of Egypt tumed into blood, her idol-river
pregnant 'with loathsome frogs, her dust with lice, her air
with swarms of flies. They had seen her cattie destroyed by
pestUence ; they had seen her harvest consumed ; they had
seen the haU and fire which ran along the ground, and the
armies of locusts which came at God's command, to consume
it. They had witnessed the supernatm-al darkness which
brooded for three days, over the land of thefr oppressors.
And last, but most impressive of all, they had heard the
agonizing cry of a smitten people on that never-to-be-forgotten
night on which God smote the first-bom, and when there
was not a house in which there was not one dead. And
aU this to them was but the beginning of marvels. These
were the very men who went harnessed out of the land of
Egypt, who saw the waters of the sea roll back, and marched
through the flood on foot behind the Almighty as their guide ;
the very men who dranlc from the smitten rock, whose hands
gathered the manna, whose tongue tasted, whose bodies were
nourished by that angels' food. Yea, these were the men m
whose presence God descended on Mount Smai, who heard
the dreadful trumpet, who saw the mountain quaking, and
God's glory on the top of it, like devouring fire. And out of
that fire they heard the voice of the Almighty in accents so
terrible that its utterance seemed death ; and yet mercy was
mingled with the terror, for it avouched them to be his
people, and declared him to be their God.' Such had been
their wonderful experience. And oh, how promising their
1 Exodus xix. ; xx. ; xxiv. 17,
l2

220 PART II. LECTURE V.
beginning was ! When they first heard from the moutb
of Moses "that the Lord had looked on thefr affliction,
they bowed thefr heads and worshipped."' It surely
shewed some confidence in God to forsake Egypt at the
utterance of his word, and to descend at his command,
into the slimy bottom of the deep. It surely shewed some
gratitude, when they sung, his praise on the banks of the Red
Sea ; and some purpose of cleaving to Mm, when they declared
at Sinai, " AU that the Lord hath spoken we 'wUl do,"' But
the most affecting part of thefr history, was thefr conduct
in the matter of the tabemacle, God asked them to bring
an offering for the construction of his sanctuary. "And
they came, both men and women,,,. and brought bracelets,
and ear-rings, and rings, and tablets, aU jewels of gold,"
As many as possessed blue, or purple, or scarlet, or fine
linen, or goat's hair, or ram's skins, or badger's skins, or
shittim wood, brought them with vdUingness of heart. The
women too spun with thefr hands and brought what they had
spun. And the rulers brought onyx-stones, spices and oU,
Yea, they continued to bring, tUl Moses restrained their zeal.
Nor was this all. They 'wrought dUigentiy in the construc
tion of the tabemacle under the direction of Moses ; so
that when he looked on it, he found it done and fimished
just "as the Lord had commanded." "And Moses blessed
THEM."' It is almost impossible to read this account
and refram from tears. Which of us, if we had seen
these zealous-hearted Israelites giving their substance for
God's serrice, and laboming vrith their hands in his work,
could have foreseen the dfreful entUng of so promising a
beginning, even the bitter provocation and the mouldering
of their bones m the desert? But so it was. What seemed
like gratitude, confidence, obedience, was but excited by
cfrcumstances, and soon passed away. And we are thus
taught m the most emphatic manner, to expect no abidmg
fruit of righteousness from faUen man. In many cases there
is not even an apparent return. We see the privUeges of
' Exodus iy, 31. 2 Exodus xix. 8. ' Exodns xxxv. 20— 29;
xxxvi. 5 — 7; xxxix. 43.

CHAP. III. 15—19. 221
pious parents, of early instruction in his word, and of con
tinual pastoral admonition bestowed by God on multitudes,
and bestowed in vain. And we see many to whom these
privUeges for a time seemed blessed, many who, as far as
the eye of man could discern, turned 'with purpose of heart
to the Lord, wander fr-om his ways even after apparent
perseverance in them, and faU miserably m the paths of
the destroyer.' Both these things are causes of bitter
lamentation, but neither of them are matters of surprise.
He who does not lament over them, is destitute of the mind
of Christ ; he who wonders at them, has yet to leam both
the true character of the heart of man and the lessons of
the word of God.
We learn from this subject finaUy, that the unbeUef and
disobedience of the creature, cancels aU bonds and forfeits
every promise. Let us mark the catastrophe of this
people's history ; they were excluded from the land of promise,
and thefr carcases feU in the 'wUderness. This catastrophe
is indeed to be remarked ; for God was pledged to them by
bonds which it seemed impossible to break. A father who
has power over his own substance, has executed a deed,
constituting his son his heir. And the ungrateful son says,
I may behave as i~please toward my parent, he cannot recaU
his act. Israel peradventure had something of this feeling
when provoking the Lord to anger. They had received so
many assurances of his mercy, so many prondses of being
led into his inheritance, that peradventure thefr ungrateful
hearts whispered. We may sin as we please, Jehovah cannot
go back. He said to Moses at the bush, " I have
smely seen the affliction of my people which are in
Egypt. ..and I am eome do'wn to deliver them,,, and to bring
them unto a good land and a large, a land flowmg with mUk
and honey." He said to him in Egypt, •" go and gather the
elders of Israel together and say unto them, The Lord God of
your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob
appeared unto me, saying,. ..I wdl bring you. ..unto the land
ofthe Canaanites... a land flowing 'with milk and honey."'
1 Exodus iii. 7, 8, 16, 17.

2'22 PART II. LECTURE V.
And again he said unto him, " say unto the chUdren of Israel, I
am the Lord. . .1 wdl bring you in unto the land, conceming the
which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,
and I WILL GIVE it you foe an heritage — I the Lord." '
Such had been the language, and such the prondses of the
God of truth; and stronger language or more stringent
promises it is impossible to conceive. We are incUned to
ask how he could, consistently vrith his faithfulness, leave
them unperformed. Let us hear himself on the matter.
" Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, conceming
which I sware to make you dwell therein;.,, your carcases
shall fall in this 'wilderness,,, and ye shall know my breach
OF PROMISE."' These last most remarkable words shew
plainly that God expected Israel to accuse him of a
breach of promise. Accuse me then, is his answer ; I do
not deny my promise, I do not deny my oath ; but neither
promise nor oath is binding, neither promise nor oath shall
be fulfiUed to the perverse and imbelieving. Israel took up
his challenge, and audaciously charged him with having
broken his word. When Dathan and Abiram were gathered
against Moses, they said, (but their words were against the
Lord,) " Moreover thou hast not brought us into a land that
floweth 'with milk and honey, or given us inheritance of fields
and vineyards: wUt thou put out the eyes of these men?
we wdl not come up." But " he that reproveth God, let him
answer it ;" the Almighty deigned no explanation, the
earth rindicated its Creator's honour by opening her mouth
and swaUovdng them.' When man threatens not to perform
his word, it is often done under the impulse of anger, and
he relents in consequence, when his anger is abated. But
the "Uring and eternal God" is " without passions,"'' and
therefore it is not so with him. He gave fearful proof of
this in the 'wilderness. Israel, after the bitter provocation,
appealed to that goodness which had so often forgiven them,
but they appealed in vain.* They hoped perhaps that before
forty years should pass, his Idndness would relent in their
1 Exodus vi, 6—8. 2 Num'bers xiv. 30—34. s Numbers xvi, 14, 31—33.
4 Article i. ij Deut. i. 45,

CHAP, III, 15—19, 223
favour. If they hoped so, they were again mistaken ; it did
not relent. When Moses and Eleazar the priest numbered
the children of Israel at the end of the forty years, in the
plains of Moab, there was not left a man of those who
were numbered at the beginning of them, in the wUdemess
of Smai, " save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua
the son of Nun," '
The last verse of the text explains more fully this principle
of the Dirine govemment. It is impossible, it tells us, that
God's promises shoidd be fulfilled to the unbelieving; it
cannot be. If it were possible, these prondses would be an
encouragement to iniquity, an incitement to sin. And there
is nothing of which God is more jealous than this. When
he commanded Moses to appomt cities of refuge for the
unintentional manslayer, he said of the deliberate and inten
tional murderer, " thou shalt take him fi-om mine altar, that
he may die."' And this principle is apparent m all the
Divine word. The homs of the altar were esteemed the
last security, but even they, by this enactment, were not to
shelter guUt. And it is so with every declaration of his
mercy, with every promise of his grace ; they shall afford no
shelter for persevering unbelief. There is nothing in God
of which sin may lay hold. His goodness shakes it off,
his faithfulness disowns its claim; "depart from me," says
the good and faithful One, "ye that work iniquity."'
It is moreover, a righteous thing with God to deal with
men according as they deal with him. And therefore
Scripture teUs us that he is pure to the pure, and froward
to the froward.'' It is the righteous reward of faith to find
him true, and the righteous punishment of unbeUef to find
its suspicions verified, to find him untrue. This is indeed
strong language, but not stronger than his ovm word. He
gave fearful demonstration of it in those deaUngs with Israel
which we are now considering. They said that he had
brought them out of Egypt, to deliver them into the hand
of the Amorites, to slay them. "As truly as I Uve,'' was
) Numbers xxvi. 63 — 65. 2 Exodus xxi. 14. 3 Matthew vii. 23.
4 Psalm xviii, 26.

224 PART II. LECTURE V.
his tremendous answer, " as ye have spoken in mine ears, so
wUl I do to you: your carcases shall fall in this wddemess.'"
They said that it was so, and God said, let it be so. And
his sentence on unbelief is stUl the same. It treats his
message of love and mercy as a falsehood, and considers his
purpose of salvation as a nuUity. Let them prove then a
falsehood and a nullity, is the answer of the Lord. But to
those who confide in him, his language is the very opposite.
You liave believed in my love and mercy, he says, and hoped
in my salvation. "According to your faith be it unto you; "
that love and mercy shaU be your etemal stay, and you shall
be satisfied for ever with the riches of that salvation.
Let these three lessons sink into our hearts. Let us
be impressed with the necessity of hearkening to-day to
the voice of Jesus. Let us not trust in our own hearts, or
conclude that aU is necessarily well with us, because we have
begun, it may be vrith sincerity, to attend to the concerns of
etemity. We see how Israel fell back ; remembering then
that but for the grace of God, their case wiU be ours
to-morrow, let us not "be high-minded, but fear.'' And let us
take heed of the fatal error, that though we be unbeUeving
and forgetful of God, the blood of Christ and the covenant
of God, and the relation to him into which that covenant has
brought us, shaU shelter us in the day of his anger. It
shaU not be so, as the history of Israel is a vritness to us.
God wdl cut aU bonds that bind him to the creatme, save
those of faith and love. Let these then be the bonds by
which we are bound to him. For if it is so, then, oh
transporting thought, he shaU be oms and we shaU be his,
FOE EVER. Which may he grant of his frffinite mercy !
1 Numbers xiy. 28, 29,

225

LECTURE VI.
Hebrews iv. 1,2.
"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering
into his rest, any of you shall seem to come short of it. For
unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them : but the
word pleached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith
in them that heard it."
We have been occupied, in the last three lectures, with the
consideration of the eventful history of Israel in the desert,
as it is referred to by the Holy Ghost in the mouth of David,
and commented on by St. Paul. The Apostle however has
not yet done with his subject ; it furnishes him with con
siderations of which he makes most efficient use to the close
of this part of the epistle. Our privileges, he tells the
Hebrews in the words which have just been read, are as
great as were the privUeges of our fathers ; we have heard
the glad tidings of Christ's rest even as they did, and a
promise of entering into it has been made to us, even as it
was to them. Let us therefore beware of their sin ; the word
which they heard, was not mixed with faith. And let us
also beware of their punishment ; that word in consequence,
" did not profit them," they came short of the rest of God.
These three all-important truths have already been brought
before us and largely dwelt upon. But God's word is
so varied and abundant both in instruction and iUustration,
that in faithfully foUovring and carefully expounding it,
there is no risk of repetition. We shall therefore enter on
the consideration of these natural divisions of the text,
inquiring into the application of the truths contained in
them, at once to the Hebrews and to ourselves.
l3

226 PABT IT. LECTURE VI.
I. St. Paul declares expressly that Christ has left to us a
promise of entering into his rest, and that "the gospel" (or
glad tidings of this rest) has been " preached to us " as
traly as to the generation of the wilderness. What was
preached to that generation was not merely entrance into the
land of Canaan. This promise flowed out of something else,
viz. the covenant of God. And this covenant was preached
to them by word, by sacrament, and by type. By word: "I
will take you to me for a people, and I wUl be to you
a God," and "I wUl bring you into the land."' By
sacrament : in the passover God avouched them to be his
redeemed people, and they "were aU baptized unto Moses
in the cloud and in the sea."' By type : the passover, the
smitten rock, and the manna were aU foreshewmgs of the
Sariour, and taught them to look forward to his coming.
And the rest which was prondsed to them in Canaan was
intimately connected with this covenant. It was to consist
not UI that land's fertility and abundance, but in God's
presence with them there as "a Idngdom of priests and an
holy nation."' According as he himself declared to Moses,
"MY presence shall go 'with thee, and I -wiU give thee
BEST."'' Such was the gospel which was preached to that
generation. And the same gospel is preached to us in
much greater fulness, both by word and sacrament ; reality
also has now taken the place of type. It is preached to
us in word ; we are told that " herein is love, not that
we loved God. but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for om sms."* We are also told that through
this Saviour there "is preached to us the forgiveness of
sins."" Aud God proclaims to us, "I will receive you, and
ye shall be my sons and daughters."' These blessed truths
are also sealed in both the sacraments. Baptism in the
name of the Father, the Son and the Holy .Ghost, declai'es
on the part of God that he waits to receive us as a father, to
take us as children, and to bless us with his heavenly gi-ace.
And it is given to us in the Lord's Supper to eat of that
] Exod.vi,?, 8, 2 1 Cor, X, 2, 3 Exod, xix, 6, • Exod. xxxiii, 14,
s I John iv. 10, 0 Acts xiii, 38, 7 II Cor. vi. 17, 18.

chap, IV. 1, 2, 227
body which was broken for us, to drink of that blood which was
shed to take away our sins. We have thus the reality of the
manna, for the body of Jesus is the true manna, "the bread
of God which cometh do^vn from heaven, and giveth life
unto the world." ' We have also the reality of the passover,
in Jesus slain to save us from the -wrath to come. And we
have the reality of the smitten rock, in Jesus smitten mito
death that we might drink of the full river of everlasting
consolation. The promise too of entering into his rest is
deolared to us both by word and sacrament. It is declared
by word, we are told that "this is the promise that he
has prondsed us, even etemal life."' And of this promise
the cup in the holy Supper is the sacramental confirmation.
Jesus while giving it, spake of that day when he should
drink it new -with us in his Father's kingdom.' And it
therefore remains in the Church, the pledge to her members
that they shall one day feast with their Lord.
But there is one point among those now referred to, which
demands fuller elucidation, that we may see the perfect
identity of our circumstances with those of the generation
of the wilderness. The Apostle speaks of Christ's rest, and
says that a promise is left to us of entering into it. Rest
signifies release from care, vexation, grief and change. Into
this rest Christ entered when he ascended to the right hand
of God, leaving all his soitows, cares and temptations behind
him. And he has left to us now tossed with trouble, care
and grief, the precious legacy of the promise of the text, the
promise of entering after him into this rest, a rest which
neither accident shall interrupt nor malice disturb for ever.
Does St. Paul mean then that we shall go and abide for ever
vrith the Saviour at the right hand of God ? No ; Christ
himself says that he has gone there to prepare a place for
us, and that he will come again and receive us to himself,
that where he is, there we may be also.'' To what place then
shall he come again ? To the place from which he ascended,
the place in which he was abiding when he uttered the
promise, this world, when it is brought out of the cleansing
¦ John vi. 33 2 1 John ii, 2.' ¦ Matt. xxvi. 29. 4 John xiv, 2, j.

228 part ii.. lecture vi.
flre and prepared as his holy kingdom. It shall then be his
rest for ever, and where he is, there shall we his people be.
This blessed tmth has been afready brought before us. Let
us remember St. Paul's declaration that the world to -come
shall be the seat of Christ's glorious kingdom, and that
the thrones of his samts shall be planted beside his throne.
And Scripture in other places is even more particular; it
mentions the very locality of this blessed rest. Canaan is
that locality. " And in that day," says the prophet,
" there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an
ensign of the people ; to it shaU the GentUes seek : and his
REST shaU be glorious." ' This root of Jesse is Jesus, the
son and Lord of David. And when the nations seek to him
as their Lord and King, they shaU repair to Canaan to pay
thefr adoring homage,' He shaU appear in that land in
which he was crowned with thorns, wearing the diadem of
etemal dominion. And the excellent glory of the Shekinah,
the manifestation of his Divine majesty shaU tum into dark
ness aU created Ught, This is no enthusiast's dream but the
sure word of God. " The moon shaU be confounded," Isaiah
teUs us, " and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of Hosts
shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his
ancients gloriously."' These ancients are the same, I doubt
not, with the crowned elders of the Book of Revelation.'*
The word is the same in the original, and is a term of
honour applied by God to such men as Abraham, Moses,
Samuel and the other venerable fathers of his Church. Two
of that iUustrious company appeared in gloiy with Jesus
when he was transfigured on the Mount.' And they shaU
heboid his glory and be glorified along with him, in the day
when he shall reign on Mount Zion. But the promise of
reigning with Christ ui Canaan, belongs to all the just ; " I
wiU give unto thee," said God to Abraham, " and to thy seed
after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land
of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be thefr
God."° And " they which are of faith, "i. e. Christ's believing
I Isaiah xi. ID. 2 Zechariah xiv. 9, 16. 3 Isaiah xxiv. 23.
4 Hev. iv. 4. 6 Luke ix. 28—31. c Gen. xvii. 8.

chap, IV, 1, 2. 229
people are, according to St. Paul, the seed wldch is here
intended.' He says also expressly iu another place, " if ye
be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according
to the promise. " ' Christ's believmg people then shaU inherit
Canaan in the coming day of glory, and reign with thefr
Lord in that truly holy land. This is the promise to which
St. Paul in the text, has reference, which our Redeemer left
to us as his precious legacy, when he ascended up on high.
St. Paul's language in another part of the epistle proves tlds
interpretation to be just. " Ye are come," he teUs the
Hebrews, " unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the liring
God, the heavenly Jerusalem."' He does not mean that they
were then in Mount Zion, but that they had the promise of
commg to it when Jesus should come, and when the holy
Jerusalem, his saved people, should descend out of heaven
in his company.'' For this, I repeat, was the promise which
was left to them, and is also left to us, of entering into the
rest of the Redeemer. We see therefore the exact identity
of our cfrcumstances with those of the generation of the
•wilderness. They had the covenant of God's love and mercy
declared to them by word, conifrmed by sacramental pledge,
and iUustrated by type and figure. They had also the
promise of thefr covenantGod to lead them into Canaan,
and to grant to them there the rest of his sacred presence.
We have the same covenant of love and mercy declared in
words of much larger grace, and confirmed by sacramental
pledge. We have also the prondse of being led uito Canaan,
and of resting with Christ there in the day of glory. We
have indeed nothmg to do vrith Canaan in the world that
now is. But the difference in this respect, between our
prospects and those of Israel, does not destroy the Apostle's
parallel. For their rest in Canaan during tlds mortal life,
would have been an eamest and foretaste of rest in it for
ever. II. St. Paul bids us beware of the sin of Israel; "the
word preached" was not "mixed with faith m them that
heard it." The expression in the original is the word of
1 Gal. iii. 7. 2 Gal. iii. 29. ^ Heb. xii. 22. 4 Rev, xxi. 1—3.

230 PART II. LECTUEE VI.
hearing, and St. Paul's intention seems to be to contrast
hearuig with beUering ; they heard, he says, but they
beUeved not. For though it is impossible to beUeve without
having first heard, it is quite possible to hear without
beUering. The history of Israel m the desert is a melan
choly proof of this. They heard from God's own mouth
and from the mouth of Moses, of God's covenant, of his
mercy, and of his promise of the land ; they heard of that
land's fertffity and abundance from the mouth of Caleb and
Joshua : but they beUeved nothing of what they heard. For
though for a time they professed to beUeve it, thefr discou
ragement and murmuring on the occurrence of the least
difficulty, and thefr final apostacy on the borders of the land,
proved that profession insincere. St. Paul has dwelt on
this exhibition of thefr character in the former chapter, and
introduces his present caution to us with his usual emphatic
"therefore;" intimating by this expression that we, haviag
by nature the same hearts, are Uable to faU mto the same
sin. And the caution is not a needless one, as we have
mournful proof in the experience of every day. We who
dwell in this Christian land, are privUeged to hear the
gospel, to hear of the love of God who gave his Son to
redeem us from our lost estate, to hear of the forgiveness
of sin, to hear of the promise which is left us of entering
into Christ's rest. But of the unnumbered thousands who
hear these thmgs continuaUy, how very few beUeve them !
How many are there, alas, who from year to year, and
throughout the countless Sabbaths of a long life, frequent
the sanctuary of God where they are faithfuUy declared,
and yet Uve and die vrithout laying one of them to heart !
He who supposes that he can never prove thus unthankful
to God, and thus forgetful of his best mterests, has yet to
leam to know himself. " He that trusteth m his own heart,"
Scriptme teUs us, "is a fool."' And again it teUs us that
"happy is the man that feareth alway."' If this happiness
is ours, we shall welcome the caution of the te.xt.
1 Proverbs xxviii. 26. 2 Proverbs xxviii, 14.

CHAP. IV. 1, 2. 231
III. St. Paul bids us beware of the punishment of Israel's
sin; "the word preached did not profit them." Thus they
came short of the rest, and thus we may come short of it,
says the Apostle; "let us therefore fear." It is most striking
to observe again the marked connection between unbelief
and its punishment. The word which they heard did not
profit these Israelites, because it was not "mixed with faith."
Faith has been weU termed the gastric juice of the soul.
For as our food, through mixture with that juice, is tumed
into nourishment, so the word of God received by faith is
made conducive to our spiritual nourishment. We grow, as
we continue to receive and believe it, in love, obedience,
holy boldness and determination in the service of God.
•Had Israel in the desert believed the word which they heard,
it would thus have profited them. But they did not believe
it, and as the natural consequence of unbelief, they were
not profited. Their hearts remained estranged from God,
they could not leam obedience, and instead of boldly meetmg
and triumphing over difficulties, they were appaUed at the
prospect of them and tumed back. And as another natural
consequence of unbelief, the word did not profit them so far
as God was concerned. His having said that they shoidd
enter Canaan, availed nothing in the end ; he could not lead
into his inheritance an unbelieving and disobedient people.
And essaying to enter it without his aid, they were at once
discomfited. The Psalmist tells us, alluding to this dis
comfiture, that "the children of Ephraim, being armed, and
carrying bows, tumed back in the day of battle." And then
he accounts for it by adding, " they kept not the covenant
of God, and refused to walk in his law:"' for God could
not aid a people to whom such a character belonged. Such
was the pmdshment of Israel's unbelief, and such also shall
be the pmdshment of ours ; the word preached shall not
profit us. Om hearts will remain estranged from God and
destitute therefore of the only principle of obedience, and
we shall not be able to overcome the difficulties which lie ui
the way to the kingdom of God. We are not indeed iu the
' Psalm Ixxviii, 9, 10.

232 PAET II. LECTUEE VI.
circumstances of those to whom this epistle was addressed.
They were exposed to persecution, reproach, and all manner
of affliction and suffering, as a trial of their fideUty to the
Lord. And they must therefore have known experimentaUy
that without the strength which faith mspfres, they were not
able to advance a single step. But let no one suppose that
because this is not our case, the path which leads to God's
kingdom has now no difficidties, no stumbUng-blocks left in
it. The canon of Jesus is unalterable, " whosoever wdl come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me."' And it is no easy matter so to do. It is no
easy matter to overcome the world when it smUes and seeks
to seduce us from God ; and when it frowns, to remain
indifferent and pmsue steadily the onward path of obedience. "
And the heart by nature is so entangled with things seen and
sensible, that if we are merely seeking to lead a religious
life and have a few languid desfres after heaven, without that
religion being based on faith, we shaU find it impossible to
proceed. We shall tum back as Israel did, and for the same
reason. God aUowed sinful cowardice in their case, to be
the punishment of sinful unbeUef; and so it is stdl. And as
this unbeUef and cowardice together shut them out of the
promised inheritance, so shall it be with us : it is as impos
sible now as it was in thefr day, for God to lead into his
rest an unbeUeving and disobedient people. A promise of
entering mto it has indeed been left to us, but God's promises
have neither being nor reaUty except to faith : unbeUef turns
the Uvdng word into a dead and useless letter. Let us
therefore take heed of Israel's pmdshment, by taking heed
of Israel's sin. St. Paul's two counsels are in reaUty one.
The sin and punishment are so Unked together that where
the one is, the other wiU always be found.
This subject both in itself and from its connection with
the teaching which has preceded it, is full of most important
instruction. St. Paul exhorts to fear ; "let us therefore
fear," is his language. Many persons greatly misunderstand
this and simUar apostolic cautions. Over-confidence in
» Mark viii. 34.

CHAP. IV. 1, 2. 233
religion is not a good thmg, they say ; fear is a most whole
some state. But what do they mean by over-confidence?
They mean assmed faith in God's love, in Christ's propitia
tion, in the taldng away of our sins thereby, in the promise
of etemal life; they mean in short, "the Spirit of adoption,
whereby we cry, Abba Father."' And the fear which they
recommend is a state of continual doubt, hesitation, and
uncertainty conceming the mind of God and the reality of
his everlasting promises. But this is not the fear which St.
Paul recommends in the text. This fear is distrust of God ;
the fear recommended by the Apostle is distrust of omselves.
In some of the older versions of the Scripture this appears
in a very striking way. They read, "let us fear therefore
lest any of us forsaking the promise of entering into his rest,
should seem to come behmd."' There is no fear of the
promise proving untrue, the fear is lest we forsake it.
Nothmg can be more different than these two fears. We
read in the gospel-narrative, that an affUcted father brought
to Jesus on one occasion, a deril-possessed child. Having
told his piteous tale, he appealed to the Lord's compassion,
but the language m which he did so, plamly shewed that he
doubted his power. It was, "If thou canst do anything,
have compassion on us, and- help us." Christ's dignffied
reply is most remarkable. '' If thou canst believe, aU
things are possible to him that beUeveth."' There is no
question about my ability to help thee, was his meanmg,
no need to put an if there; the only question is. Canst thou
trust me ? If thou canst, all is weU. And the case is still the
same ; there are stUl no ifs with God, the if is with ourselves.
His love, his mercy, his promises may be safely relied on ;
and if we rely on them, there is no fear of their deceiving
us. The only question is whether we wdl rely on them;
the only fear is that we 'wUl forsake them to our etemal loss.
To aU this many reply that it comes to the same thmg in
the end. We have been told, they say, that our hearts are
disposed to forsake God, and have been exhorted to distrust
ourselves ; we have also been warned that if we forsake him,
» Eom. viii. 15. » Tyndale, Cranmer, Geneva, Eheims. ' Markix.22,23.

234 PART II. LECTURE VI.
we shall come short of his etemal rest. There can be no
confidence of ultimate salvation then; for there can be no
assured hope of perseverance to the end. Let us not say so.
Those counsels and warnings of St. Paul, to which our
attention has been of late and is now dfrected, set forth
merely the natural tendencies of the human heart, and the
inevitable results of these tendencies. But God forbid that
this shoidd affect in the least the blessed trath, to which our
attention was also of late dfrected, that in the heart in which
the Holy Ghost is dwelling, these tendencies 'will be counter
acted, and these deadly results prevented. The same Apostle
whose counsels and warnings we are now considering, declares
to the Corinthians that Christ shaU confirm them to the end,
adding "God is faithful, by whom ye were caUed."' He
also writes to the PhUippians, "being confident of this very
thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you wiU
perform it untU the day of Jesus Christ."' His confidence,
let us observe, in the perseverance of these beUevers, was
fomided on another confidence, a confidence not in them but
in Christ. Let us look then to the same Sariour; and we
need not fear that in doing so, we shall be unable to perse
vere to the end. If he has communicated to us his holy
Spirit, he may well be trusted to maintain that life which he
has inspfred, against every hostile influence ; if he has
builded us into his spiritual house, he 'wiU surely preserve
from destruction the work of his own hands.
But it may be objected that St. Paul in the text is
addressing persons whom he knew to be believers on Christ,
and to have received the Holy Ghost, and that even to them
he writes " let us therefore fear." And surely then, it may be
argued, we never can attain to any confident persuasion that
we shall inherit eternal Ufe. This objection is founded on
misapprehension of the nature of the Apostolic epistles.
Men imagine that these epistles were written to persons of
whose gracious state the writers were assured, nay that on
the gromid of this Apostolic assmance respecting them,
these persons had been received into the Church. And
1 I Corinthians i, 7— 9, 2 Philippians i. 6,

CHAP, IV, 1, 2. 235
when they take up the epistles under this impression of
them, and find the Apostles addressing the members of the
different chmches as if thefr salvation were an uncertainty,
it is no cause of smprise that they are led to form false
conceptions of what really was ApostoUc doctrme. But
this is entfre misapprehension. The Apostles had no
infaUible assmance of the gracious condition of those to
whom they wrote. If these venerable guides of the chmch
had any principle of action more clear and distinct than
another, it was that of throwing the responsibUity of men's
spiritual state entirely on themselves. They received them
on thefr profession, and when they saw what appeared to their
judgment erident tokens of a work of grace in theu- hearts,
they unfeignedly rejoiced ; but they gave to no man thefr
assmance that he was " an IsraeUte indeed." These things
duly considered, plainly shew who the persons were to whom
the waming of the text was addressed. It was addressed to a
company of persons who professed faith in the Lord ; most of
them, we should say, truly, but perhaps not aU. Let us mark
then the consummate wisdom of the waming. By dweUing
on the unbelief of the human heart, and its certain and
dreadful catastrophe, the Apostle taught the really faithful
among those to whom he wrote, to exercise a holy cfr cum
spection, and to look every instant to thefr Saviour. WhUst
those on the other hand who were trusting in thefr privUeges,
might, through being thus addressed, be awakened by God's
grace from their lethargy, and made Uving members of
Christ. But there is nothing in this or simUar warnings
which contradicts for a moment either the blessed truth, that
God's promises of eternal mercy may be safely depended on,
or the kindred apostoUc doctrine that those who indeed depend
on them shall inherit etemal Ufe.
Let us clearly understand then the perfect consistency of
the doctrine of St. Paul. He has set before the Hebrews as
certain and etemal verities, the love of God, the proclaimed
remission of sin, and the promise of eternal life which was
given to them in Christ Jesus. He has declared many times,
and declares now once more, that he who had ascended to

336 PART II. LECTURE VI.
the right hand of the Father, had left to them a promise of
entering into his rest. And yet he says, "let us therefore
fear." Because he could not teU who among them had
embraced that promise. What he 'wrote for them, he wrote
for us also ; may we profit by his words ! May those among
us who have believed in the Lord, be taught, iu the glass of
Israel's history, to see the treachery of our hearts, that we
may distrust these hearts more than ever, and leam that our
strength to persevere is in Christ, and in him alone ! And
may those among us who have hitherto supposed that om
hearts were very good, and that having been baptized and
received into the church, we were of course meet for the
kingdom of God, be awakened ere it be too late for ever,
from this most fatal dream ; God gi-ring us to see, in the
glass of Israel's sin and Israel's catastrophe, what our hearts
really are, and what our doom shaU be ! For " all these
things happened unto them for .ensamples: and they are
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world
are come."' 1 I Corinthians x. II.

237

LECTURE VII.
Hebrews iv. 3 — 10.
" 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. 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. And in this place again. If they shall enter into my
rest. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein,
and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because
qf unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David,
To-day, after so long a time ; «s it is said. To-day if ye will
hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus (i. e.
Joshua) had given them rest, then would he not afterwards
have spolcen 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."
I HAVE taken all these verses at once, because they form one
subject and thefr contents cannot weU be dirided. In going
through them, I shaU not dwell minutely on any one, but
endeavour to exhibit the contents of the whole. The passage,
as far as construction is concerned, is one of the most difficult
in the New Testament, but when its meaning is discerned,
it is one of the most precious.
Let me begm by pomting out its connection with the imme
diately-preceding context. St. Paul has just been warnmg
us to take heed lest, through unbelief, we come short of the
rest of God. And now, to stfr us up to faith, he proceeds
in the first verse of the text, to remind us that it has the

238 PART II. LECTUEE VII.
assmance of entrance into this rest ; and to prove his words,
he also reminds us that nothing but Israel's want of faith
made God to swear to thefr exclusion. The Apostie after
this, proceeds to demonstrate the nature of the rest of which
he has been speaking; to shew that it is not the rest of
creation, which is past, nor the inheritance of Canaan into
which Joshua mtroduoed Israel, which is also past, but a
rest which is yet futm-e, viz. the rest of Christ the Redeemer.
This, I say, is eridentiy his object, but the construction of
the passage, sentence by sentence, is notvrithstanding this, a
very difficult task. The versions of Tyndale and Cranmer
throw great Ught on its meaning. In them the first verse of
the text 'reads thus, —
But we which have believed, do enter into his rest, as
contrariwise he said to the other, I have sworn in my wrath,
tliey shall not enter into my rest : and that spaSe he verily
LONG AFTER THAT THE WORKS WERE MADE, AND THE FOUNDA
TION OF THE WORLD LAID.
The rest, St. Paul would say, of which in this ninety-fifth
Psalm the Holy Ghost is speaking, and which I have been
setting before you so earnestly, urgmg you to seek to enter
into it, is manifestly not the rest of creation ; for that inspfred
song was uttered by the mouth of Darid long after the work
of creation was perfected by its Almighty Author. We read,
St. Paul then continues, in the book of Genesis, of the rest
of creation, and m the Psalm which we are now considering
we read of the rest from which unbeUef excludes. But fhe
one rest is spoken of as past, for we are told that " God did
REST on the seventh day ;" while the other is spoken of as
future, ¦' if they shall enter into my rest," being the lan
guage of God's threatening against Israel. These two rests
then, the Apostie argues, cannot possibly be the same. Into
this rest, which Israel forfeited by unbelief, some, he goes on
to reason, must be found to enter ; and since the love of God
has so determined, the Holy Ghost again makes offer of it
in the mouth of Darid, saying, " To-day, if ye wUl hear his

chap. IV. 3—10. 239
voice, harden not yom hearts." But to this the Hebrews
might have answered, Our fathers were brought into this rest,
when Joshua led them into Canaan. No, says St. Paul.
If Joshua had given rest to your fathers, the Holy Ghost
would not, in the days of David, " after so long a time," even
five hundred years of possession, "have spoken of another
day." The rest therefore of which he speaks, stUl waits to
be revealed; it "remameth" to "the people of God." It
is the glorious rest of Christ the Redeemer, who having
finished his labours for the redemption of mankind, now rests
from his work as the Creator did from his. Of this rest " we
which have believed " have even now the foretaste ; and when
Jesus shall appear, we shall be blest wdth its everlasting
fruition. I have no doubt that this is the true interpretation of this
very difficult passage. We Gentiles may think the argument
contained in it very needless, but the Hebrews must have
needed it ; for there is no triflmg in the reasonings of inspfrar
tion. With the Old Testament scriptmes as their only guide,
they might have said to the Apostle, you bid us beware lest
by unbelief we come short of the rest of God ; what is the
meaning of this language ? We read of the rest of Creation,
and we read of the rest of Canaan mto which Joshua brought
our fathers, and in which we now are. God nowhere speaks
of another rest than these : to what rest then do you aUude?
To this St. Paul answers, God does speak of another rest.
The rest of the ninety-fifth Psalm cannot possibly be the rest
of Creation, neither can it be the rest of Canaan. That good
land indeed, through the sin of our nation, has never been
worthy of this sacred appellation, it has never proved God's
rest. But his promise cannot fail, and the day therefore is
at hand when he shall rest in it for ever. For " the Re
deemer shall come to Zion,"' and Abraham's spiritual chUdren,
the true Israel, shall be gathered round him ; they shaU be
his " kingdom of priests," and his " holy_ nation,'" dwelling
with him as his people, and haring him in the midst of them,
as their God, This is the glorious rest to which the Holy
1 Isaiah Iix. 20. 2 Exodus xix. 6.

240 PAET II. LECTUEE VII.
Ghost, speaking by the mouth of Darid, dfrected the hopes
of your fathers, and which I, in this gospel-day, press on the
attention of thefr chddren.
This precious Scripture proves incontestably the truth
of the declaration of our Church, that " they are not to be
heard which feign that the old Fathers did look only for
transitory promises."' For the whole argument of St. Paul
before us, goes to prove that beUevers in the days of Darid,
were dfrected by the Holy Ghost to look forward to the rest
which yet " remaineth to the people of God." It was offered
indeed even in this world to the generation of the vrildemess ;
for the presence of their covenantGod vrith them m the land
of Canaan, would have been at once a foreshowing, an
eamest and a foretaste of the blessedness of the rest of
glory. But thefr perverse unbelief prevented the accom
pUshment of this gracious counsel of God. And thefr
chUdren, in the successive generations of their history, trod
in their fathers' steps, so that God was never able to find his
rest in the midst of them. He found a rest in this world
before sm entered it, even the rest of the seventh day. And
he shaU find a rest in it again when sin is driven out of it,
even m the day of glory. MeanwhUe, tUl God introduce
that blessed era, the Redeemer is resting in heaven, at the
right hand of his Father.
Having thus settled the meaning of the text, let us now
seek to warm our hearts and to lift our affections to the
things unseen and etemal, by dweUing in the first place,
somewhat at length, on this blessed rest of the Redeemer ;
and by considering in the second place, how it is that
through faith we partake in it.
I. This rest of Christ is both present and future. He is
even ^now, as the last verse of the text declares, " entered
into his rest," for "he hath ceased from his own works as
God did from his." The works from which Christ has thus
ceased are well caUed " his own works." They are the works
peculiar to him as Redeemer; his tods, labours and sufferings
in achiering redemption, and in founding and constituting
I Article vii.

chap. IV. 3—10. 241
the Church. He has ceased from his sufferings; he has no
more wrath to endure, no more desertion on the part of
his Father to complain of; sin is now expiated and trans
gression made an. end of He has ceased from his toils ; he
has no more a temptfrtg devU to wrestle with and overcome,
nor an alluring world to resist, nor smroundmg sin to strive
agamst ;* these our enemies are for ever vanquished. Both
the tempter and his temptations are excluded from that holy
place in which Jesus has now his abode : he was troubled once,
but his rest now is perfect, and trouble can approach him no
more. He rests also from his labours. During his earthly
pilgrimage these labours were unceasing. He laboured in
preaching the gospel, now in the temple, now on the moun
tain-top, now in the wddemess, now on the sea-shore, now
from the ship. He began these labours with early dawn, and
continued at them long after the sun had set,' passing from
them even then to nightly rigds and sleepless hours of prayer.'
Nor did he preach the gospel in word only, he " went about
doing good."' He visited every city and vUlage within the
bounds of Judea and Galilee,* giving eyes to the blmd,
hearing to the deaf, and power of speech to the dumb ;
causing the lame to leap as an hart ; restoring vigour to the
palsied ; cleansing the lepers ; casting out the devd, and
bursting the bands of death. He laboured also in instruct
ing the ignorance of his apostles, in fitting the fishermen of
Galilee to be the guides of his Church and the instructors of
mankind. And it was not till he had fitted them for this
work, till he had left in charge with them the precious trea
sure of his gospel, tdl he had secured the Holy Ghost to
teach, to guide, to counsel them, that he rested from his
labours. But these labours are over ; he rests now. And
where does he rest ? Men speak of the grave as the place
J Luke xxi, 38; Mark i, 32, 33. ' Luke vi. 12; Mark 1. 35.
3 Acts X. 38. 4 Luke yiii. 1,
* I use the 'word ' * surrounding" in contrast to indwelling. Our Lord " resisted
unto blood, striving against sin," (see Part III. Lecture I.) and we his people are
called to follow him in the strife. But the enemy which was in his case, without,
is in our case, vrithin also.
VOL. I. M

242 fart II. LECTURE VII,
of rest, God forbid that we should call it so ! It is the
house of corruption and decay, and so long as thefr bodies
lie mouldering in it, the rest of the samts is not perfect.
The grave is not the rest of Christ, He consented to
descend into it, but not to abide in it. The Father in whom
he trusted, raised him out of it, and the rest into which he
has entered, in soul and body, is at the right hand of the
Majesty on high.
The rest into which Christ has thus entered, is compared
in the text 'with the rest of God after the work of Creation ;
" He hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his."
But though there is a Ukeness between these rests, there is
also a great difference. Creation was a work neither of suf
fering nor of toU. " God said. Let there be Ught," and " there
was light :" " God said, Let the dry land appear,'' and "it was
so." ' But Christ did not say. Let man be saved ; he toUed
and laboured and suffered before it was so. Creation was a
work of EASE ; Redemption was a work of pain. But the
pain made the rest the sweeter. No tongue of man may
express, nor heart presume to conceive, how sweet was this
rest to Jesus. He must mdeed have welcomed the hour
when his weary head was laid to rest, laid to rest on the
piUow of his etemal Father's bosom.
But we have yet to speak of the rest of Christ as future ;
he shaU not remain for ever where he now is. He hath "sat
down on the right hand of God, from henceforth expecting tiU
his enemies be made his footstool,"' He shall then come
again and assume his own tlirone, and that rest shaU be
revealed which yet remaineth for his people. The word in
the ninth verse, which our translation renders " a rest," is in
the original, a sabbatism. And what makes this more
deserring of our attention, is the comparison here instituted
between the rest of creation and the rest of glory. For it
seems to bear out a constant tradition of the Jews, which is
also affirmed by the early Christian fathers, riz., that as
God was occupied for six days in the work of creation and
rested on the seventh, so the world shall continue m its
1 Genesis i, 3, 9. ' Hebrews x. 12, 13; Psalm ex. 1.

chap. IV. 3—10. 243
pTesent state till six thousand years are completed, leaving a
seventh thousand for the mUlennial rest or Sabbath of
redemption. But there are difficulties attending this view ;
and instead of indulging in speculation beyond what is clearly
written, let us contemplate rather the nature of Christ's rest,
as it is pointed out to us by this most expressive phrase.
God's rest on the seventh day was, as has, been already
remarked, not a rest from toil ; it was a rest of holy compla
cency, satisfaction and delight. Scripture tell us that " in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth," and that " on the
seventh he rested, and was refreshed."' He contemplated
with infinite complacency the work which he had finished ;
it refreshed him to look upon it. The seventh day seems,
from the text just cited, to have been devoted to this object
by the great Creator : He seems to have occupied it in pass
ing creation in review before his eye. The sun, the moon,
the stars, moving in their several orbits and obeying the
laws which he had imposed on them, would first attract his
notice. He would next look on this green earth, clothed in
its primeval beauty, and diversffied, as he had ordained, with
the varieties of ocean and solid land. He would look also on
its living inhabitants ; on the fishes sporting in the waters,
on the birds exulting in the freedom of their -wing, on the
quadrupeds gambolling over the extensive plains. And last
but chief of all, he would look on man made in his own image,
and his eye would 'Unger 'with peculiar complacency on Eden,
where it beheld our first parents blessed in Him and in each
other. And as he saw all these his works to be perfect in their
several kinds, to be good, very good and worthy of himself,
the Almighty Artificer was refreshed and was glad.
Such was the primeval rest, the rest of the Creator. And
such shall be the rest of Christ, for it too is a Sabbatism.
But the joy of this rest, the joy of the Redeemer contem
plating EEDEMPTION, may not be expressed by the tongue,
nor conceived by the heart of man. "He shall see," says
Isaiah, " of the travaU of his soul, and shaU be satisfied."'
1 Exodus xxxi. 17. 2 Isaiah Iiii. 11.
M 2

244 PART II. LECTUEfi Vll,
For in the kingdom to come, which is the fruit of that
travail, the name of the Father shall be hallowed, and his
wiU shaU be done on earth as now it is done in heaven. Sin
shaU in that day be made eternally infamous, and righteous
ness shall be exalted on high. The people of God delivered
from that gulph of misery into which they had fallen, and
exalted with thefr Saviom-, shall cast their crowns at his
feet and call him blessed. Satan, the fell destroyer, shaU
lie helpless in the burning lake, with all his power broken
and all his works made an end of This fair creation also,
after haring groaned for ages in his deadly grasp, and under
the oppression of sin and miser}', shall be filled with
righteousness and peace as the waters cover the sea. And
as all this passes in review before the Saviour's delighted
EYE, he " shall be satisfied ; " acknowledging that in the
bloody sweat of Gethsemane and groans of Calvary, he has
travailed for an object worthy of himself Nor shall om'
gracious Redeemer ever be bereaved of this joy. When
creation came at first from its Creator's hand, it was very
good and was pronoimced by himself to be so, but the enemy
soon marred and defiled it. But when it shall come from its
Redeemer's hand, and when his word shall pronounce it good,
uo enemy shall mar or defile it any more for ever. It shaU
be established by his grace, in obedience to God and in the
possession of his favour, and shaU be the etei-nal object of
Christ's complacency, satisfaction and delight. Such is the
coming Sabbatism. Blessed is the man to whom it shall
then be given to enter mto his Saviom-'s joy !
II. This leads us to the next point which we proposed to
consider : it is given to us, through faith, to partake with
Clnist in his rest. The rest which is set before us in the
gospel, like that of Christ himself, is both a present and a
future blessing. We need rest now, for in om-selves by
nature we liave none. We are the servants of sfri, ui miserable
bondage to our lusts, appetites and passions. Satan also takes
advantage of this eril heart to tempt us but too successfully,
and to hurry us along the path of evil ; and we alas, are not
able to stop our career, beuig " taken captive by him at his

CHAP. IV. 3—10. 245
will,"' But though we are thus led captive, conscience
warns us that we are responsible, and torments us continually
with fears of coming 'wrath. We are therefore by nature,
vpretched, realizing in our sad experience the ti-uth of that
expressive word which compares the carnal and unbeliering
heart to "the troubled sea, when it cannot rest."' But amid
the raging of these troubled waters the Saviour's voice is
heard, " Come unto me.,, and I wUl give you rest."^ We
listen, we believe, and all things become new with us. We
no longer agonize under the convictions of conscience and
fears of the wrath of God, for we tmst in that blood which
•the gospel proclaims, and which " cleanseth from all sin."
We are no longer hurried along the path of evU and taken
captive by Satan at his 'will, for we open om hearts to him
who is stronger than the strong one, and who taking up his
abode in them, breaks the oppressor's chain. Nor are we
any longer the slaves of our appetites and passions, for in
the grace of the same Sariour we find deliverance from their
power. We therefore walk at Uberty as the freed-men of
Christ and are in peace. We read that when of old he
rebuked the wind and the raging of the water, the wind
ceased and there was a great calm.'' So it is with us. Our
troubled hearts hear his voice and are troubled no longer ;
" we which have believed, do enter into rest."
And the rest which Christ thus bestows on us, is both a
qualffication for his heavenly rest, and an eamest and fore
taste of its blessedness. Those only who find rest in the
Sariour now, shaU rest with the Sariour in his etemal
kingdom. And those to whom it shall at last be given to
enter into that kingdom, are not strangers even now to its
blessedness. Faith gives a present, rirtual entrance ; and
therefore St. Paul, though speakmg in the text of the rest of
glory, says "we which have believed, do enter." There is
moreover a connection between the present rest of Christ of
which we have afready spoken, and this present rest of his
people ; the one is founded on the other. As Christ rests
in heaven^ having finished the work of expiation and secured
1 II Tim ii. 26. 2 Isaiah Ivii. 20. a Matt. xi. 28. 4 Luke viii. 22-21.

246 PAET 11. LECTUEE VII,
the Holy Ghost, his people rest on earth, beliering in that
expiation and finding in that omnipotent grace strength
against sin and Satan, and abUity to serve God, They are
thus " kept by his power, through faith unto salvation, ready
to be revealed in the last time." ' And when it is revealed,
they shaU be glorified together vrith thefr Lord.
This leads me to speak of the believer's rest as a futme
blessing. Rest implies both previous suffering and prerious
labour; and therefore the rest of glory remains "to the
people of God," for they only suffer, they only labour for
him, they only require rest. They suffer, as thefr Lord did
before them, in striving agamst sin, in overcoming the world,
in resisting the temptations of the deril. And they labour,
as he did before them, to do the wdl of God against
aU these opposing influences, spending themselves and
being spent for the advancement of his gloiy on the
earth. The same etemal rest therefore which is the reward '
of his toil and suffering is also laid up for them. There is an
entrance into this rest in measure when the spirit leaves the
body. " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord," saith the
Scripture, for they " rest from thefr labours."* But it is in
measure, for this is the rest of the spirit only. And the body
which has toiled and suffered in the cause of God must have
its reward also before the believer's rest is complete. That
rest therefore shaU be perfected at the resurrection of the
just. Then shall the blessed martyr who gave his flesh to be
shriveUed, the blood in his veins to be dried up, and his bones
to be consumed to ashes by the devouring fire, be recom
pensed in his body for those agonies. Then shall the mouth
and tongue which have spent themselves in pleadmg God's
cause, the hands which have wrought righteousness, the
feet which have often been wearied in his serrice, be recom
pensed etei-naUy for their toil. Yea, the hand which has done
no more than reach a cup of cold water to some of Christ's
afflicted ones, shall m no wise lose its reward,' " For we
must all stand," says St. Paul, -"before the judgment-seat
of Christ, that every one may receive, through his body,
I I Peteri. 5. 2 Eevelations xiv. 13. a Matt. a. 42.

CHAP. rv. 3—10. 247
according to the things which he hath done." ' And besides
the reward of labom, this rest is release from suffering. Sin
shall no longer exist to grieve those who have resisted and
hated it Nor shaU an alluring world exist to spread its
seductions before them. Nor shaU a tempting devU have
access to them any more. These things have no access to
Christ. And the rest of his people shaU be as his own rest ;
trouble shaU approach them no more for ever.
But the future rest of the people of God shall be moreover
like that of Christ, a Sabbatism. " Enter thou into the joy of
thy Lord," ' is the blessed invitation which shall be addressed
to every one of them at last. We have seen already what the
j oy of Christ is ; he shaU see of the travail of his soul, and shall
be satisfied for ever with what he sees. And their joy shall
be the same. They shall see the fruit of tiieir prayers and
pains and tods, and shaU be satisfied etemaUy. Before their
dady bread, before even the forgiveness of thefr sins, they
have desired to see the kingdom of their Father come, his
name haUowed and his will done.' What then shall be their
joy when this desire of thefr hearts is granted ? They have
mourned because of the prevalence of sin and misery ; and
because of the power of Satan, the enemy of God, the de
ceiver and destroyer of mankind. Who then shall describe
the comfort of these mourners,'' when sin and misery, Satan's
hateful works, are brought to an everlasting end, and Satan
himself is cast into the burning lake ? No tongue can de
scribe, no heart may attempt to conceive it. They shall raise
the shout of etemal triumph, the shout of " salvation and
glory and honom " to the Lord Jehovah, And as the smoke
of the torment of his enemies ascends " for ever and ever,"
his people's haUelujahs shaU be heard as " the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings," And the joy
which shall inspfre these hallelujahs, is that the long-promised
kingdom is come at last, that " the Lord God Omnipotent
reigneth," Thus Scripture has described to us the blessed
ness of the rest of God. St. John was privUeged, for our
' II Corin, v. 10, original. ' Matt. xxv. 21. ' Lord's Prayer,
4 Matt, V , 4.

248 PART II. LECTUEE VII.
sakes, to Usten to these haUelujahs, and to hear these songs
of praise. And he has recorded them for our consolation,
adding the remarkable announcement, " these are the true
sayings of God."'
It is needless for me to remark that this Sabbatism is re
served for the people of God only ; for to others it would be
no joy. He who loves not " the Lord God Omnipotent"
cannot possibly " rejoice and be glad" because of the estabUsh
ment of his etemal throne. And he who takes part with
Satan, indulging himseff in sin's forbidden pleasures and
leading others into them, cannot possibly regard it as a cause
for everlasting praise that the tempter is crushed and that
all his works are destroyed; Those therefore who are of
this mind shaU have no portion in the rest of the Redeemer.
" If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be
Anathema." ' He shaU be anathema, when the Lord appears.
" Depart from me, ye cursed,"' shall be the divine sentence
on him and on his feUows ; and thefr portion, according to
that sentence, shaU be " in the lake which bumeth vrith fire
and brimstone, which is the second death."''
Let us show then that we are IsraeUtes indeed, the true
seed of Abraham, by setting our hearts now on the promises
of Abraham's God. These promises are yet unappropriated,
and the love of God still prolongs the day of our -merciful ri-
sitation, because it has determined that they shaU not be
unenjoyed. The language of the text is pecuUarly strong.
" Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein,
and they to whom it was first preached, entered not in because
of unbeUef, again he limiteth a certain day." This language
moreover is another proof of what was stated in the last lec
ture, viz. that the place of Christ's rest is Canaan. God
kept the Sabbath of creation on earth (for there is no dirision
of days in heaven) ; and its locality was Eden. Christ in
like manner shall keep the Sabbath of redemption on earth ;
and its locality shall be Canaan. The Sheldnah glory abode
on the bowers of- Eden, whde the Creator contemplated his
finished work. And the same Shekinah shall abide on the
' Eev. xix. 1-7, 9. » I Cor. xvi. 22, s Matt, xxv, 41. 4 Eev. xxi. 8.

CHAP. IV. 3—10, 249
towers of Mount Zion and on the palaces of Jerusalem while
Christ rests in his love over a redeemed world- Man was
privileged to keep the Sabbaths of creation in the presence of
his God, for Jehovah came dovs-n into Eden in the cool of the
day, seeking the society of his creature,' And man shall be
privileged to keep the Sabbath of redemption in the presence
of Christ, for the tabernacle of God shall be 'with men, and
they shall be his people.' But there is this blessed differ
ence. Sin and Satan broke up the rest of creation, and parted
man from his God. But neither sin nor Satan shall break
up the rest of redemption. The harmony which Christ by
his blood and Spirit has restored between God and his believing
people shall endure through etemal ages, as the throne of
the Etemal himself. May God grant that his everlasting
joy be ours !
1 Genesis iii, 8. 2 Revelations xxi. 3.

M 3

2.50

LECTURE VIII.

Hebrews iv. 1 1 — 13.

" Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any
man fall after the same example of unbelief . 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 crea
ture 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."
The Apostle in these verses sums up and concludes the
argument which we have been consideiing for the last four
lectures. The first of them contains his final exhortation to
the Hebrews and to us, that having the catastrophe of Israel
in the desert before our eyes, we labour to enter into the rest
of God. In the second he assigns an additional reason for
his solemn eamestness, and removes what might arise in the
mind as an objection to what he has advanced. WhUst the
thfrd contains such explanations as render it impossible for
any one who deals honestly 'with himself either to misunder
stand his meanmg or to evade his counsel. We shaU take
the verses in succession, applying thefr all-important contents
at once to the case of the Hebrews and to ourselves.
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man
fall after the same exam.ple of unbelief.
We have been already exhorted to fear lest we come short
of the rest ; now we are exhorted to labour to enter into it.

CHAP. IV. 11—13. 251
The exhortation is one ; only to render it more impressive,
St. Paul repeats in the positive form, what he has before
stated in the negative. He introduces both forms with his
usual emphatic " therefore," because the reasonfor fearing and
for labouring is one, viz. the sin and catastrophe of Israel. We
must take heed however that we do not misunderstand this
exhortation. Our hearts are naturally self-righteous, and we
are prone to regard our works and labours as our title to
etemal life. And looking at the text superfioiaUy, we may
take encouragement from it in this eril course ; so far from
representing God's kingdom as the reward of faith merely,
St. Paul, we may say, bids us labour that we may enter into
it. If disposed however to put this interpretation on his
words, we have only to examine them more closely to
discover our mistake. The labour -which St. Paul here so
earnestly recommends, so far from being opposed to faith or
in any way distinct from it, is the labour of faith ; for he
opposes it to the unbeUef of Israel. He also alludes again for
our waming, to the catastrophe of that unbelief. To explain
his meaning therefore, let us call to mind what has already
been fully set forth, viz. the nature of Israel's provocation
and the cause of their fall. God had freely bestowed on them
the promise of Canaan ; he had said and sworn that He
would lead them into it ; but they refused to believe his
word. He therefore sware that they should never see it.
And though they afterwards bitterly regretted their folly, he
refused to revoke his oath. This is the example of their unbe
Uef. St. Paul's meaning then in this place cannot be better
iUustrated than by himself elsewhere. " Behold therefore,"
he says to the Romans, " the goodness and severity of God :
on them which fell, severity ; but toward thee, goodness, if
thou continue in his goodness : otherwise thou also shalt be
cut off." ' These words refer indeed to another subject, but
the argument is the same. The goodness which bestowed on
Israel in the desert the free promise of Canaan, has bestowed
on us, in this gospel-day, the free promise of entrance into
the rest of Christ. And our labour therefore must be, not
1 Romans xi. 22.

252 PART II. LECTUEE VIII.
the labom of works to deserve this promise ; but the labour
of faith to abide in God's goodness, by embracing it now,
and holding it fast 'with rigilent eamestness to the end,
" Labour not," said our blessed Lord, " for the meat which
perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting
Iffe." His hearers, from the word labour, imagined that he
was calling on them to do something, and discovered this by
immediately asking him, " What shaU we do ?" But mark his
reply. " This is the work of God," he said, " that ye believe
on him whom he hath sent." ' What they were to do wsts to
believe in that goolness which had sent him mto the world,
and to embrace those declarations of love and promises of
mercy which he had brought -with him from the bosom of
God, And the eamestness of attention and eagerness of
faith which this blessed gospel claimed from them, are set
forth by the Saviour in the word labour. The same thing is
expressed by him in another place, in still stronger language ;
Wrestle, contend as for a pr'ize, he tells his hearers, "to en
ter in at the strait gate." He tells them elsewhere of this
strait gate, that " few there be that find it." This doubtiess
is one reason for wrestUng to enter into it, and he states as
an additional reason in the Scriptm-e just cited, that " many
shall seek to enter in and shall not be able when once the
Master of the house is risen up and hath shut to the door."'
How remarkable is the accordance between all this and the
doctrine of St. Paul in the text ! In the example of unbeUef
referred to by him, two persons only, out of six hundred thou
sand, entered into the promised rest. And though that unbe
liering congregation sought to enter in, they were not able ;
God had sworn against them, and the door was shut. St. Paul
therefore in the words before us, is only repeating his Master's
admonition, and enforcing his Master's solemn warnmg.
Aud truly it is not without cause that the Apostle urges
us to labour to enter into the rest of God. For another,
even our adversary the deril, is labouring to keep us out
of it. The sin that is in our hearts and the temptations
of a wicked world, supply that adversary with instruments
¦ John vi. 27—29. 2 Luke xiii. 24, 25, original ; Matt. vii. 14.

CHAP. IV. 11—13. 253
and occasions of evil, of which he makes continual and
most malignant use. He addresses himself to our natural
faithlessness, seeking to destroy any confidence in God
which may be in us. He presents temptations suited to
our evil propensities, and seeks to draw us into sin. He
spreads the seductions of a wicked world before us and
seeks to dazzle our eyes with its glare, that he may tum
away our hearts from the word and promises of God. And
he varies these accursed wiles according to our various
dispositions and characters, that he may take us all in his
net. For our destruction is the object which he is labouring
continually to effect. Would to God that we were convinced
of tlds awful trath, that there were laid bare before us
the heart of this dreadful enemy, that we knew the hatred
with which he hates us, the intensity of malice with which
he plots against us continually ! And it is not by a few
languid aspirations after heaven, and a few heartless prayers
for salvation, that such malice can be met and counteracted
in its deadly workmg. It must be met on our part by
continual rigilance. In proportion as the enemy seeks to
shake our confidence in God, we must labour to have our
faith and hope in his salvation kept in lively exercise. In
proportion to the strength of the temptation which would
draw us aside, we must labour to have om goings upheld in
the way of the Dirine commandments. And in proportion
as the world spreads its aUuring seductions before us. we
must labour to have our sight and eyes turned from beholding
vanity. We must be aware too of our besetting sin, of our
vulnerable point, and we must labour to have that weakness
strengthened that we may stand in the evU day. By thus
continually looking to Jesus we shall foil and disappoint our
malicious enemy. And it is to this labour of faith that St.
Paul in the text exhorts us. He proceeds —
For the word of God is quick, dTid powerful, and sharper
than any two-edged sword! piercing even to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow.

254 PART II. LECTUEE VIII.
The Hebrews might have objected to the appUcation of
the history of thefr fathers which St. Paul has been making
in the preceding argument; they might have said that it
was a past transaction with which they had nothing to do.
It is indeed a past transaction, answers the Apostie, but it
is the revelation of an abiding character. " For the word
of God,'" i. e. his threatening against unbeUef is not the
letter of an obsolete statute, the enactment of a legislator
who has been dead for ages, but is " quick,'' i. e. of present
Uving force, being the word of him who liveth and abideth
for ever. It is indeed many hundred years since he uttered
it against our fathers, but the word is as fresh now as when
it then left his lips, for from generation to generation his
mind remains the same. And besides being quick, it is
" powerful." It is no idle utterance, the threatening of one
who cannot do as he has said, but is certain and prompt
in execution, being armed vrith the power of the ever-living
Speaker. This powerfulness of the word of God is expressed
in the language which foUows, "sharper than any two-edged
sword, piercing even to the diridmg asunder of soul and
spirit, and of the joints and marrow." With man there are
two acts ; he threatens 'with his mouth and then he slays
'with his hand. With God there is but one; He speaks
and his word is death. And therefore we read in the
Apocalyptic rision of Christ in glory, that " out of his
mouth went a sharp two-edged sword," ' God has given
many examples of this awful power of his word. When St.
Paul said to Elymas the sorcerer " Thou shalt be blind, not
seeing the sun for a season," there needed no more ; " im
mediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness ; and he
went about, seeking some to lead him by the hand." ' When
St. Peter said to Ananias, "Why hath Satan filled thme heart
to lie to the Holy Ghost ?...thou hast not lied unto men but
unto God," the miserable man " hearing these words feU
dovm, and gave up the ghost." And when the same apostle
said immediately afterwards fb Sapphira, " the feet of
them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and
1 Revelations i. 16. 2 Acts xiii. 9 — 11.

CHAP. IV. 11—13. 255
shaU carry thee out," she also " fell down straightway at his
feet, and yielded up the ghost." ' In each of these cases
God's word executed itself ; and m the two latter, when its
utterance was death, it was proved indeed to be sharper than
any two-edged sword. Israel in the wildemess had fearful
proof of this. They said that God had brought them out of
Egypt to deliver them into the hand of the Amorites, to slay
them. But they found that the sword of the alarmed and
incensed Canaanite, was not half so sharp to kUl as was the
word of an angry God. He uttered that word against them,
and under its malediction they died. For forty years it con
tinued slowly but surely to glean them one by one, and at the
end of that period " there was not left a man'' of those who
had provoked the Lord. And God's threatening against un
belief has still the same deadly efficacy. No sharp sword
with two edges has such power to wound the flesh, as the
dreadful word " he that believeth not shall be damned,"' has
power to wound the spirit. Let a conviction of our unbeUef
be only borne home on the conscience without a correspond
ing discovery of God's mercy in Jesus Christ, and we shall
soon experience that this is true, Its truth shall yet be
manifested. In the day of the Lord, when the unbelieving
shall stand at his bar, their guilt shall be borne home on their
consciences in the light of the etemal judgment-seat, and the
Judge shall sentence them in terms of this very threatening.
And then shall the power of his word be seen ; its utterance
shaU be death. For God's favour is life ; the conscious pos
session of his love is Ufe eternal.' And the essence of the
second death is the consciousness on the part of the crea
ture that it has for ever lost that favour. The dreadful
word therefore, "Depart from me, ye cursed,"'' — the word
which assures them of this, shall pass through the miserable
like a sword, " piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow," inflicting con
scious death. Oh what intensity of meaning does all this
give to the exhortation of St, Paul in the text ! For if the
word of God which excluded unbelieving Israel from his rest.
' Actsv. 3— 10. ' Mark xvi. 16, s John xvii, 3, 4 Matt. xxv. 41,

256 PAST II. LECTUEE VIII.
be mdeed registered in heaven's etemal statute-book as ol
force through all generations, if unbeUevers now are the
objects against whom this word is directed, and if its utter
ance at last shall prove etemal death, surely no language
can express the eamestness with which we should avoid the
example of Israel's unbelief on the one hand, and labour to
enter into the rest of God on the other. I feel at least most
painfully that no language of mine can express it. May he
who only teacheth saringly, impress it on our hearts by his
grace !
St. Paul proceeds, —
And He 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.
St. Paul has just been reminding the Hebrews of the
terrible power of God's threatenings, and he now brings
before them the omniscience of him who threatens. His
purpose in doing this is most evident. The Hebrews were
then tempted to apostacy through the force of persecution,
and he has therefore counselled them to fear the wrath of
God as the best antidote to the fear of man. But some
faint-hearted professor terrified by his awful language, might
seek to compromise in this all-important matter; avoiding
open apostacy lest he should incur Christ's wrath, and yet
allowing himself in secret and sinful compliances that he
might escape the world's frown. And he ndght suppose, in
the blindness of his heart, that this was the course of 'wisdom
and the path of safety. St. Paul therefore reminds such an
one that Christ knows what he is thinking and discems the
intents of his heart. And to make this more impressive to a
Hebrew, he illustrates it by an evident reference to the
sacrifices under the law. When the animal was slain it
was opened by the kidfe of the priest, and the heart, the
liver, the kidneys, and all the inwards were laid bare before
his eye. Even so is it, says the apostie, with the High-Priest

CHAP. IV, 11—13. 257
'with whom we have to do. There is not a creatme that is
not manifest in his sight ; our whole inner man lies bare and
exposed before him. And he wUl not accept our sacrifice if
he finds us to be half-hearted in his cause. Think not then,
my brethren, St. Paul would say, to escape the threatenings
of the Lord by a mere outward profession of his name. For
he knows how to accompUsh them on the hypocritical for
malist, as well as on the open apostate.
The application of this waming to us is as obvious as
the waming itself is necessary. We are not indeed in the
cfrcumstances of the Hebrews, and so are not exposed to
their peculiar snares. But under every possible variety of
circumstances, man's deceitful heart discovers its unchanging
character. There are many whose fears have been awakened
by the terrors of the coming wrath, and who feel the neces
sity of an interest in God's mercy. But they cannot tear
their affections from a present eril world. And thiiddng of
God that he is such an one as themselves, they seek to
secure his pardon and avert his 'wrath by the assiduity of
'thefr outward homage. They are found in his house and at
his table ; they are constant in the observance of all the
external decencies of religion : but their hearts all the while
have never knovra his kindness, have never beat with a
quicker throb at the mention of his love, have never been
gladdened with the hope of etemal life in his presence,
and are utter strangers to that glow of grateful affection
which is the animating principle of the believer's obedience.
For St. John has warned us that " if any man love
the world, the love of the Father is not in him." ' And
we learn from St. Paul, that the heart which is not
divorced from things seen and temporal, never can dwell
among the things unseen and etemal. ' This however is the
religion of many whose conduct is consistent aud whose out
ward profession is fair. Is it our religion? Are these "the
thoughts and intents " to which our hearts are conscious? Or,
are we thinking of God as of a Father who has loved us and
deserves our love in return ? Are we repaying his Fatherly
) 1 John ii. IS, ? II Corinthians jv. IS,.

258 PAET II. LECTUEE VIII.
Idndness 'with childlike affection and confidence, and seeking
to keep his commandments that we may glorify his worthy
name ? Are our hearts now ¦with him and with Jesus our
Sariour above, and are we cheered as we travel through this
wddemess, by the hope of being with him for ever? In
short, is our religion a form or is it a reaUty ? Is it the
religion of faith and love, or the serrice of the unloving,
calculating and selfish heart? We shall do weU to ask
ourselves these questions, and may God give us grace to
return a faithful answer! There is One who knows the
truth, who is acquainted exactly with the state of matters
between our souls and God. Jesus the Omniscient One
" with whom we have to do," discems every thought and
intention of our hearts, for there is not a creature that is
not manifest in his sight, and aU things are open to his eye.
There is nothing in this to discourage us, if we are un
feignedly trusting m his mercy, and, seeking to walk in his
blessed ways. We may mourn over om faith as feeble, over
our love as languid, over our obedience as miserably im
perfect ; but if these shortcomings are our grief, he 'wiU not
reject us because of them. He breaks not the braised reed
nor quenches the smoking flax ; he rejects not any from his
mercy in whom " there is found some good thing toward the
Lord God of Israel."' But there is everythmg in the
omniscience of the Sariour to alarm us out of a dead
profession. Such a profession may indeed pass unchaUenged
by man, because he judges the heart by the conduct. But
it shall not abide the searchfrig glance of Christ's eye, because
he judges the conduct by what he knows of the heart. And
that religion which has not sprung from faith and love shaU
be pronounced by him at last to have been worthless, whde
those who have trusted in it shall be cast into utter darkness.
The solemnity of this consideration is greatly enhanced
by the peculiarity of the language employed, and by the
erident reference of the text to our Sariour's priesthood. St.
Paul does not say that "all tldngs are naked and open" to
Christ's eyes. This would have brought before the mind
• I Kings xiv. 13.

CHAP. IV. 11—13. 259
simply the omniscience of the Creator, The phrase is " naked
and opened," implying that concealment if attempted is
hopeless, that the hand of the righteous Judge tears every
disguise away. Besides, the word " opened " refers to open
ing vrith the knffe, which brings Christ's priesthood at once
before us. When an IsraeUte would present an offering to
the Lord, he brought it to the priest. The animal, let
us suppose, appears outwardly to be in good condition.
But the priest, haring received it at the hand of the
offerer, slays and cuts it open. And behold on in
spection, he finds disease and insipient death within !
Wliat, I ask, would in these circumstances, have been
the judgment of a Jewish high-priest? "Cursed be the
deceiver,'' he would have said, " who voweth and sacrifi-
ceth to the Lord a corrupt thing." ' Now this was but a type
of a deeply solemn reality. All the worship, serrice and
obedience which we render to God, passes through the hands
of Christ, and is submitted to his searching eye. That eye
pierces indeed through all nature, but the members of the
professing Church mvite its inspection by putting their sacri
fices into his hand. And what language can express the
boldness, nay the impious audacity of the man who puts into
the hands of that High-Priest a corrupt sacrifice ! WeU may
St. Paul say, " having an High- Priest over the house of God,
let us draw near with a true heart."' For the heart is the
sacrifice which God seeks. And all worship, serrice and
obedience professes to come from it, and to be the genume
expression of its feelings. But if Christ takes up the heart
whose outward seeming is so fair, and finds it full of worldU
ness, of selfishness, of smister motives, of corrupt principles,
of spiritual death vrithin, — ^what, oh what shaU be his judg
ment ? I dare not attempt to translate it into language, for
human language is too weak to carry its dreadful burden.
Nor shall the Judge himself stand in need of language to ex
press his anger. The glance of his eye has detected the
hypocrisy, and the rebuke of that eye of Omniscience shall
be the hypocrite's torment for ever.
1 Malachi i 14. = Hebrews x. 21, 22.

260 PART II. LECTUEE VIII.
Let us then be honest vrith ourselves and not misunder
stand the counsel of the text. In urging us to labour to enter
into God's rest, St. Paul, as we have seen, distinctly warns us
that the profession of faith shall not suffice, that the gospel
of the grace of God must be received into the heart, and
must vrin for God the heart's love and confidence. Even
when this is the case, as I have already stated, we shall have
much weakness to lament, and many faults and sins to mourn
over. But stUl, where faith is genume, we shaU be true-hearted
with God, St. Peter was rash and self-confident and fell
into the awful sin of denying his Lord and Master. But
amid it all St. Peter was true-hearted: " Thou knowest aU
things, thou knowest that I love thee," ' was his appeal to
his Omniscient Lord. And Christ forgave St. Peter. For
he knows how to forgive sin where the heart is true. But
hypocrisy and insincerity is what he 'will not pardon.
I cannot but remark, before lea'ving this Scripture, that
it contains a most striking testimony to the supreme
Godhead of Christ, It ascribes to him that word whose
utterance is death, and that eye before whose glance all
creation lies revealed. It we have any doubt that St. Paul
is here speaking of Christ, let us compare the text with the
sjTnboUcal language of St. John, and with Christ's explana
tion of that language. When " the Son of Man" appeared
to him in Patmos, St. John tells us that " his eyes were as a
flame of fire," and that " out of his mouth went a sharp two-
edged sword." ' Christ explams the latter symbol by threat
ening the church of Pergamos, " I 'will fight against them
with the sword of my mouth." And he explains the former
symbol yet more distinctly by declaring to Thyatfra, " AU the
Churches should know that I am he who searcheth the reins
and hearts."' St. John therefore has told us in symbol, what
St. Paul in the text, tells us \rithout a symbol. And Christ's
intei-pretation of the symbol of the one apostle, exactly
agrees with the testimony borne to him by the other.
We are now arrived at the close of the second great dirision.
of our subject. Let us reriew for an instant, the argument
> John xxi. 17, 2 Ejvelations i. 14, 16, ' Eey, ii. 16, 23.

CHAP. IV. 11—13. 261
which we have been considering in detail. It commences by
declaring Christ to be better than Moses, because he is the
Son of God, tiie builder of aU things, the builder of that
Chmch of which Moses was but a part, the Head and Master
of that family in which Moses was but a servant. It then
goes on to rendnd us that Moses was appointed to lead Israel
from Egypt to Canaan, butthat " aU who came out of Egypt"
under his guidance, save only two, came short of that rest by
unbelief. Christ in Uke manner, as we are next reminded,
has been appointed by the Father as our heavenly guide to
conduct us to the land of etemal rest. And from this simi
larity between our circumstances and those of Israel, St. Paul
takes occasion to exhort us most earnestly to avoid the catas
trophe of their unbelief He then closes the argument as he
commenced it, bringing forward agam, as we have just seen,
the supreme Divinity of that " leader and commander" ' with
whom we have to do," whose arm, is almighty to smite
unbelief, and his eye omniscient to detect hypocrisy.
Such is the close and consecutive argument of this second
division of our epistle. Let us ask the grace of God that
these blessed truths may sink into our hearts ! That same
glorious Being to whom the omnipotent arm and omniscient
eye belong, took on him our nature and put away our sins in
his cross, that we might be saved eternally. Men ask, is
salvation such an easy thing that we are saved by faith only ?
No, salvation is the most difficult of all things, but Christ
has borne the difficulty ; he has laboured that we may rest.
The only labour which he has left to us is to enter into his
rest. To which may God incline our hearts !
^ Isaiah Iv. 4.

PART III.

SUPEEIOEITY OF CHEIST TO AAEON AND HIS SONS.
LECTURE I.
Hebrews iv. 14 — 16.
"Seeing then that we have a great High-Priest, that is
passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
fast our profession. For we have not an High-Priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; but was
in aU, points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may
obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
St. Paul, in the words which we have just read, enters on
the third dirision of his great subject. He has afready
demonstrated to the Hebrews that Jesus the Son of God
and man, is better than prophets and angels. He has also
demonsfrated that Jesus the Apostie of God, the Head and
Master of his Father's house, is better than Moses. And
now his object is to prove to them that Jesus the High-'
Priest of our profession, is better than Aaron and the priests
of Aaron's famUy. Tlds is indeed the main subject of the
epistie. The verses before us may be regarded as the intto-
duction to it, for they suggest those considerations which
are afterwards enlarged upon. We shall consider them

chap. IV. 14—16. 263
successively. There is a most beautfful connection between
the topics of each ; they are like the golden Unks of a
perfect chain.
Seeing then that we have a great High-Priest, that is passed
THEOUGH the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast
THE profession.
Before proceeding to the exposition of these words, let me
make a single remark in elucidation of the epistle generally.
The subject of the second part of it, is Christ's Apostolic
Ministry; its 067'eci is exhortation ; its fc«y-note is " consider."
The subject of this thfrd part, is Christ's Priesthood ; its
object is encouragement; its key-note is "hold fast." St.
Paul is now passing from the one to the other ; let us
observe his manner of doing so.
There are no abrupt transitions here or anywhere in his
discourse. He has already mtroduced Christ to us m the
character of High-Priest, for he has spoken of him as the
Omniscient One who discems the inwards of our spiritual
sacrifices. And the subject which he h£is thus, as it were,
casuaUy brought before us, he now follows up at large ;
" seeing then," he continues, " that we have a great High-
Priest." He has already spoken of Christ as haring entered
into his rest, and following up this theme, he now remmds
the Hebrews that this High-Priest " is passed through the
heavens." They had been accustomed under the law, to a
high-priest who, on the great day of atonement, passed
through the outer court and holy place into the holiest of
aU, bearing 'with him the blood of the sacrffice, and burning
incense before the mercy-seat.' And whde he did so, " the
whole multitude" of Israel "was praying without."' The
great High-Priest, says St. Paul, of whom I now speak, has
in like manner passed through the risible heavens into the
invisible, the dwelUng-place of the Father's majesty, bearing
'with him the blood of his own sacrifice, and making, on the
ground of that sacrffice, continual intercession for us. This
1 Leviticus xvi. 11— 14. 2 Luke i. 10.

264 PAET III. LECTURE t.
High-Priest is "Jesus the Son of God." We need not
therefore be afraid that his intercession shaU be in vain ;
the Father hears his Son. And we his people who pray
here on earth, shall be heard for his sake who prays for us
¦within the vaU. Seeing then that these things are so, " let
us hold fast the profession." Let us not be afraid because
of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy.
Let us not be tempted, through his riolence, to dissemble
with the Omniscient One, but let us boldly and faithfully
profess Christ's name. He knows that it is our faithfulness
to him which exposes us to persecution, and he therefore
cannot forget us at the right hand of God. And no earthly
riolence can possibly ovei-whelm those who are privileged to
be thus remembered above.
For we have not an High-Priest which cannot be touched
with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points
tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
The conjunction " for,'' 'with which this verse commences,
indicates at once the connection between it and the preceding.
You speak, the Hebrews might have said, of Jesus inter-
cedmg for us above, and bid us therefore take courage.
But one so " great " as " the Son of God," dwellmg amid the
glories of etemity at the right hand of his Father, caimot
possibly know much of the infirmities, or care much for the
sufferings of us poor mortals dweUmg here on earth. You
greatly mistake, my brethren, if you thmk so, is the answer
of St. Paul. The High-Priest of whom I now speak to you,
is not one " who cannot be touched 'with the feeUng of our
infirmities." He took to himself our nature that he might
make these infirmities his own ; and haring made them his
O'wn, he " was tempted in all points, Uke as we are." I have
spoken of him as the Son of God, that you may know that
his intercession is available. But let not this tempt you for
an instant to forget that he is the Son of man, and that his
sympathy vrith the inhabitants of earth, is as perfect and as
tender as his glory is great among the inhabitants of heaven.

CHAP. IV. 14—16. 265
And oh leam from his example that infirmity and temptation
are no excuse for sin ; for though begirt with infimuty and
surrounded with temptation, he was " vrithout sin." When
your flesh shrinks from suffering, you have the comfort of
his sympathy : but when you tum into crooked ways to avoid
suffering, that sympathy at once and entirely ceases. Know
therefore, oh ye Hebrews, the tenderness but yet the purity
of your Lord. His dignity does not destroy his tenderness,
but neither does his tenderness trench upon his awful purity.
The subject which was thus pressed on the attention of
the Hebrews, is one of vital importance to the Church of
God, and wdl contmue to be so tUl the end of time. Our
hope of etemal salvation depends on the intercession of that
great High-Priest whom the Father heareth always. We
are also encouraged to confess his name on earth because
we are assured that he remembers us in heaven. And
our daily comfort amid the trials, temptations and sorrows
of time, flows from the knowledge of his sympathy. We
have afready considered the former subject, the dignity
of the Son of God, and shall have occasion to consider it
again : I therefore dweU not on it now. But let me speak
for a Uttle most earnestly on the latter, — ^the sympathy of the
Son of Man. It is evident from St. Paul's language, that
infirmity is not sin, but that it fmnishes nevertheless
occasion against us to om subtle and restiess enemy. Let us
then mquire in the first place, what om- mfimdty is and
how Christ partook of it : in the second place, how through
participation of it, he was "tempted m aU pomts like as we
are :" and in the thfr-d place, how in the midst of temptation,
he StUl remained the holy One of God.
I. God has formed the human creatme with a certain
capacity of happiness and a certam susceptibffity of pain,
both in ndnd and body. It is of om very natme to desire
this happiness, and it cannot be set before us without the
desfre being called forth. It is also of om very natme
to avoid this paui; we shrink from it mtuitively. This
shrinking of natme, is our infirmity. And our blessed Lord
can be touched with the feeUng of it because he possessed it
VOL. I. N

265 PAET III. LECTURE 1.
himseff. For Jesus was a man. His human nature was
pure indeed, but stdl it was human nature. He could
appreciate the comforts of home, the feUowship of kindred ;
he was capable of receiving happmess from the esteem and
love of those who were about him. And the same humanity
gave capacity of pain to a far greater extent than we can
conceive. For sin has blunted our feelings, but perfect
purity imparted tenderness to his. No human being there
fore ever felt hatred, reproach and shame so acutely as did
the blessed Jesus. "Reproach hath broken my heart," he
says, " and I am full of heariness ; and I looked for some to
take pity, but there was none ; and for comforters, but I
found none."' And his deeply afiecting words "foxes have
holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of
man hath not where to lay his head,"' bring before the mind,
in aU their poignancy, the desolate feelmgs of the homeless
one, who was a stranger to his brethren and an aUen to
his mother's children. ' His bodUy frame moreover was as
delicately fashioned as ours is, and his nerves were as
exquisitely susceptible of pain and anguish. Nature therefore
in him shrank from bodUy and mental suffering, and fainted
under the endurance of it, just as it does in us. It is not
without a purpose, as I shaU now proceed to shew, that our
gracious God has prorided for us such a High-Priest
II. Satan takes most signal advantage of this infirmity
which is m us, to tempt us to sin. He tempts in two ways,
by promise and by threatenmg. He watches his opportunity
to present something to the mmd which is not ui itself evU,
but which cannot be had without disobedience to God. He
then works on our unwilling'uess to forego the advantage,
that he may thereby lead us into sin ; continuaUy whispering
that it may be ours, if we 'will consent to the offered terms.
This is temptation by promise. But if the tempter finds
that in this he makes no way, and that he cannot bribe us
out of the path of obedience, he takes another comse,
addressing our infirmity with greater advantage stUl. He
brings before the mmd the losses and crosses, the dangers
J Psalm Ixix. 20. 2 Matt, viii, 20, 8 Psalm Ixix. 8,

CHAP. IV. 14—16, 267
and sufferings, yea (if God perndt him) even the death
which shall certainly encounter us if we dare to go
forward ; and he seeks by thus working on our fears, to
make nature give back, and to tum us out of the way
of God, This is temptation by threatening. Under these
two heads may be classed almost aU Satan's temptations
of the righteous; and God's choicest saints have often
fallen before him, when addressed in either way. Thus
it was 'with- righteous Lot, when from love to the well-watered
plain of Sodom he consented to dwell within its accursed
confines, foregoing his duty to God for the sake of worldly
advantage. And thus it was also 'with St. Peter, when from
fear of being condemned with his Master he denied with
curses that he had ever seen his face. And if Satan can thus
deal 'with the righteous, how easy must be his task with the
wicked! For they love sin for its own sake, and so require
no subtlety, and no addressing of infirmity; they are "taken
captive by him at his will."'
But St. Paul is spealdng in the text, of the tempations of
righteous men, and for our consolation, if we are so, he
declares expressly that our blessed Lord and Saviour was
" tempted in aU points like as we are.'' He was tempted by
promise, and he was tempted also by threatenmg. We have
examples of this m the record of his life and ministry. The
memorable scene in the 'wilderness was a temptation by
promise, an attempt to bribe him from the path of obedience
and duty. " The deril, taking him up mto a high mountain,
shewed unto him all the Idngdoms of the world in a moment
of time: and said,,, All this power vrill I give thee, and the
glory of them... if thou wUt worship me, aU shall be thine."'
The circumstances of the tempted were on this occasion a
peculiar advantage to the tempter. For he to whom this
splendid offer was made, was the son of a cai-penter of
Nazareth, -without wealth and without distinction. But oh the
change had he accepted it ! The poor Nazarene should have
been the monarch of the world, the inheritor of its opulence
and splendom; and, as an eloquent writer has beautifully
I II Timothy ii. 26. 2 Luke iv. 5—7.
n2

269 PART III. LECTUEE 1,
and truly expressed it, "the rictories of Alexander would
have sunk into insignificance before the glories of the King
of the Jews,"' But Jesus would not accept it because he
abhorred the terms. Rather than consent to them, he
deUberately put from him on the one hand, a life of honour,
opulence and ease, and as deliberately embraced on the other,
one of shame, poverty and suffering. He was not indifferent
to what he thus rejected, nor did he love for its own sake the
pain and shame which he embraced instead : the deep reaUty
of his human feeUngs forbade such apathy. But this deep
reaUty only added lustre to his rictory, and made his choice
that bright manifestation of love to the Father which God
designed it tobe. And Satan finding that he could not be
moved by prondses, made trial before the end of his mmistry,
whether his constancy could be shaken by fear. For the
same evangeUst to whose account of the scene in the vrilder-
ness we have just referred, has recorded also the awful
conflict of Gethsemane. And that conflict, I have not a
doubt, was occasioned by temptation of the devU. I am aware
that this is not a common sentiment : the mysterious " agony
and bloody sweat " of that fearful hour are generally
regarded as the effects of penal wrath. But this is to con
found the garden with the cross." "He bore om sins in
his own body,'' not in the garden, but '¦ on the tree."^ In
the cross Jesus met the Father as the penal avenger of
sin, for " cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." ' But
in the garden he met the tempter. For he said, just before
entering it, " the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing
in me,"'' i.e. he cometh m search of some latent wickedness,
some disobedience of heart, some eril affection of which he
can make use ; but he sliall retire baffled, for he shall find
none. And aware that Satan came on this accursed errand,
he had no sooner entered the garden than he said to his three
chosen foUowers, " tarry ye here and watch with me.'' We
do not watch against a friend, and Jesus watched not against
his Father. We watch against an enemy, and Jesus watched
^ Horse Hebraicae. ^ i Peter ii. 24. s Galations iii. 13,
4 John xiy. SO.

CHAP. rv. 14—16, 269
against the tempter. And he had good cause to do so; that
dreadful enemy soon appeared. For om Lord said to his
disciples, on rising the first time from prayer, "could ye not
watch vrith me one hom? — watch and pray that ye enter not
into temptation, the spirit indeed is wiUmg, but the flesh is
weak." And these were experimental words; the words of
one who had himself entered into temptation, and was then
feeUng its dreadful power, of one who though more than
sustained by the wiUingness of his devoted spfrit, felt at that
moment even to agony, the weakness of his frail flesh. I say
this with confidence, because we read it in holy Scripture.
The prayer of the prostrate sufferer, " O my Father, ff this
cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will
be done!"' — that prayer, I say, three times repeated, testi
fied to the weakness of the quivering flesh, and declared at
the same distant the submissive obedience of the ready
spirit. What then, it may be asked, was the temptation of
this dreadful hour? In the Ught of the Scriptures which
I have cited, I can have no hesitation in answering that it
was temptation to refuse the cup. That enemy who had
passed m bright reriew before him in the wddemess, all the
kmgdoms of the world and their glory, passed now in dark
reriew before his eye all the bitter aggravations of his
approaching passion. Notldng, we may be assured, would
be wanting which malice could suggest. The betrayal, the
condemnation, the buffetting and spitting, the scourging and
crowmiug with thorns, the naiUng to the cross, the agonies of
that lingering death, the darkness and coldness of the grave;
aU this, and much more than this would be made to press
with inconceivable pain on the afflicted spfrit of the Man of
sorrows. And as "the fron entered into his soul,'' as he saw
before him the dreadful sufferings which would be the certain
consequence of obedience to his Father's wiU, the tempter
seized his opportunity to urge him to be disobedient, to
avoid these sufferings by refusing the proffered cup. And
bad that enemy prevailed to eUcit one wish, one expression
of desire, it would have been enough, for " more than twelve
' Matthew, xxvL 36 — 42,

270 PART III. LECTURE I.
legions of angels " ' waited only for the sufferer's word. But
he did not prevail. His malice tortured the weak flesh, but
could not shake for an instant, the resolution of the wilUng
spirit. Nay it confirmed it, for in his extremity the afiUcted
One sought his Father. And from him he received " mercy
and grace to help " in his " time of need ;'' " there appeared
unto him," says St. Luke, " an angel from heaven, strengthen
ing him." The tempter seems to have been conscious of this
increase of strength and to have pressed his temptation with
greater vehemence than ever ; for immediately after receiving
it, our Lord was " in an agony." But as this agony increased
"he prayed more earnestly," tiU the straggle between the
wUUng spirit on the one hand, and the weak flesh fainting
at the awful prospects before it on the other, assumed a
character so dreadful that " his sweat was as it were great
drops of blood falling down to the ground." ' " Ye have not
yet resisted unto blood," says St. Paul to the Hebrews,
"striving against sm."' Let us behold the bright pattern
of such resistance in Jesus om blessed Redeemer. His
Father's 'will was death, but he refused to disobey it, though
the refusal threw nature into such an agony that it 'wrung
from him a sweat of blood.
III. And thus it was, as the words of the text declare,
that Jesus, though tempted m all points like as we are, was
"yet without sin." For whether Satan sought to dazzle
him 'with risions of worldly glory on the one hand, or to
terrffy him 'with the prospect of death on the other, he failed
to excite a single rebellious feeling, or to call forth even a
half-formed wish contrary to the wiU of God. To the offer
of worldly glory when made to him ui the wildemess, as the
price of disobedience, he answered with holy indignation,
" Get thee behind me, Satan."* And his parting words as he
left the garden, " The cup which my Father hath given me,
shall not I drink it ? " ' — declared that contest over, and the
rictory won. But we must not be satisfied with mere admi
ration of the sinless conqueror. For we are liable at any
^ Matthew xxvi. 53. 2 Luke xxii. 43, 44, s Hebrews xii, 4.
4 Lukeiv. 8. a John xviii. 11.

CHAP. IV. 14—16. -271
time to enter into temptation, and he has left to us "an
example, that we should follow his steps ;" ' overcoming as
he overcame. It becomes us therefore reverently to inquire
with what weapons Jesus encountered and foded our maU-
cious enemy. Scripture declares this most distinctly. " It
is written,"^ was the Sariour's weapon in the vrildemess ; he
silenced the tempter by the word of God. And again we
read that "through the etemal Spirit he offered himself
-without spot ;" ' for he prevailed m the power of the Holy
Ghost, against aU the suggestions of the tempter and in
spite of the weakness of the flesh, to give himseff a vrilling
sacrifice. These then must be our weapons. We must
open our hearts to the Spirit of Jesus and have his word
dwellmg m us richly : and when temptation comes it shaU
not take us unprepared. And though we may not pass
through it scathless and unharmed as the Saviour did, we
shaU surely be " more than conquerors through him that
loved us."''
This practical appUcation of the subject is suggested by
the Apostle in the last verse of the text.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
The Hebrews were then exposed to such affliction and
suffering, that without the mercfful remembrance of their
Heavenly Father and his grace to help them in thefr time
of need, they could not hope to stand. St. Paul therefore
reminds them for thefr encouragement, that this was his
O'wn case; that as he 'with them had a great and merciful
High-Priest, so he with them was exposed to continual trouble.
And joining himself with them, he points to the common
refuge, " Let us come boldly to the throne of grace.'' To come
to this throne " boldly" is to approach to God -with confidence
of being heard. The ground of this confidence is contained in
the preceding verses, as we leam from the word " therefore."
We have a great High-Priest, even the Son of God, who
' I Pfitfir il 21, 2 Luke iv. 4 — 12, ' Hebrews ix. 14. •• Eom. viii. 37.

272 PAET III, LECTUEE I,
pleads for us before his Father ; let us therefore come boldly.
We have a High-Priest who knows by personal experience
our mfirmities, sorrows and tempations; in soliciting aid
from above, let us therefore come boldly. This last con
sideration is one of peculiar power, and must have been
precious to the troubled Hebrew Church beyond what
language can express. They were called on for Christ's
sake to make many sacrifices, and to undergo much which
was grievous to flesh and blood. And they might have said
to St. Paul, you tell us of a great High-Priest that can help
us, but we are ashamed to teU him of all our Uttle infirmities
and all om shrinkings of nature. Do not be ashamed,
answers the Apostle ; tell him of them boldly. These
infirmities were once his own, and he vrill not despise you
for them. It is indeed so : blessed be the Lord that we can
say it ! Let the martyr before he embraces the stake, go to
Jesus and say, Thou once did sweat blood m dark Gethsemane
at the prospect of thy cup ; have pity therefore upon me,
for nature is in an agony at the prospect of mine. Let him
say. Lord, pity me as thou thyself wast pitied ; help me as
thou thyseff in that awful hom wast helped. This is a
prayer to which the very heart of him who sits on the throne
will respond ; a prayer which -will surely bring down mercy
and grace to help in time of need.
We are inrited to come thus boldly "to the throne of
grace." God's throne of grace under the law was on the
mercy-seat, between the Cherubim, within the vail. But no
Israelite dared to enter into that terrible and sacred darkness ;
if he had done so, he would have atoned for his boldness with
his life. He saw the High-Priest enter in, and hoped
through his offices to be remembered of God ; but his own
place was vrithout. It is not so now ; " the vail of the
temple " is now "rent in twain,"' and the holiest of aU is
open. Jesus is on the right hand of the throne of grace in
heaven,' and we may therefore approach boldly to the throne
of grace on earth. We may express this vrithout a symbol.
Jesus is pleading for us above, as a Son with his Father ; and
1 Matt, xxvii. 51. 2 Hebre-ws viii. K

CHAP. IV. 14—16, 273
we may therefore, as chUdren vrith thefr father, plead for
ourselves below, for we " are all the children of God by
faith in Christ Jesus,"' It is thi? filial pleading, I again
repeat, which 'wUl bring down mercy and secure grace to help
us. It was thus 'with our blessed Lord himself, when he
agonized in Gethsemane, His cry "Abba- Father," pierced
the heavens and brought do-wn the ministering angel. And
the "Abba Father" of his troubled children pierces in like
manner the heavens now. And God answers it by bending
on them his pitying eye, and stretching forth for thefr aid,
his helpmg hand. For he ministers to them that Holy
Ghost through whom Jesus triumphed m the garden, and
fiUs them with the strengthening consolations of that word
with which he foiled the tempter in the desert.
It is impossible to pass from this without remarking on
the wonderful encouragement to prayer which is given in the
blessed gospel. It is not merely that One pleads for us
above who is at once the Son of God and our Brother ; he
with whom he pleads, is his Father and our Father, his God
and our God. ' Can any needful mercy then, can any grace
to help be asked in vain ? No, the supposition is blasphemy.
WeU says St. Peter, " who is he that will harm you, ff ye be
followers of that which is good ? "' Aye, who indeed ! The
question may be asked, but neither earth nor hell can furnish
the reply. For " ff God be for us," says St. Paul, " who cari
be agauist us ? " ''
And let us remember in conclusion, that the consola
tion with which these precious truths are filled, was designed
not for the Hebrews only, but for God's people to the end of
time. It was laid up for them in his word against thefr
hour of need. Nor was it laid up in vain. The day arrived
when the -writer of this inspired Scriptm-e, had m his own
time of need no other consolation to fall back upon. For St.
Paul, as we all know, was beheaded at Rome ; and as he lay
cold and desolate in the damp Roman prison, " ready to be
offered," and with the day of his departure "at hand,"'
' Galat. iii. 26. . John xx. 17. a I Peter iii. 13. ¦• Rom. viii 31.
s II Timothy iv. 6.
N 3

274 PART III. LECTURE I.
nature in him doubtless, as in us, shrank from the contem
plation of this bloody exit. St. Peter also became a martyr in
the same heathen city, being crucified with his head to the
earth. It was not in human nature to anticipate with
calmness such a fearful death. But St. Peter had been in
Gethsemane, and had been "a witness" there "of the
sufferings of Christ ; " ' he had seen the Lord Jesus, (won
drous spectacle !) prostrate on the ground in his fearful
agony. And oh what boldness must this have given to the
servant in appealing to his master's gracious pity ! And the
same consolation was laid up for the other apostles, who, save
St. John only, were all gathered to thefr rest by the sword,
the fire and the torture. It was laid up also for the martyrs
of the early ages, who followed the example which aposties
had so nobly set. And it has been from thefr day tUl now, the
stay of God's persecuted people. The men who m this very
land of England, died in Popish flames that truth might
live, — Cranmer and Ridley, and Latimer and Hooper, and
many more besides, " being dead, yet speak"' to us, and teU
us that this is so. And all God's faithful people of this and
every age, though not called upon to pass through thefr
sufferings, have borne and bear the same witness. They
teU us that without the consolation of which we are now
speaking, they could not have 'withstood the shock of the
sicknesses, the bereavements, and the other manifold trials of
life. We shaU do well to thmk of this. Some hour of
darkness is awaiting us aU. And that cold-hearted unbelief
which makes up the mind to Ufe's ineritable iUs, is a
miserable preparation for it. Let our preparation be that of
the tender-hearted Christian, who trusts that when his spirit
is wounded and his heart is broken, a father's love will
comfort and a- father's hand vrill bind up. And for aught
we know, a pecuUar " time of need " may now be await
ing the Church of God. The ominous character of the
present fearful times, justifies us in fearing that persecution
for Christ's sake may not be far away. Popery and InfideUty
are at this moment both striving for the mastery. .And ff
> 1 Peter y. 1. 2 Hebrews xi. 4.

CHAP. IY. 14-16. 275
either of these unclean spfrits become dominant, what shaU
be the issue to God's Church and people ? If the futme
may be judged of by the past, this question is easdy answered.
Infidelity indeed has never persecuted, but Popery has
always done so when she has possessed the power. We are
told mdeed that there is no danger of persecution now,
because Popery is altogether changed. I have read somewhere
of men extracting the claws of the tiger, and then using him
as a domestic play-thing. And such, I suppose, is now the
case, and we may play 'with the 'wdd beast without fear of
harm. But peradventure these claws are oidy sheathed,
and not extracted ; peradventure that tiger has not forgot
his spring ! Alndghty God grant that it be not so, and that
we may never have such occasion for the precious consolation
of the text ! But if it be otherwise, may we prove its value,
finding strength to stand in the eril day !

27Q

LECTURE II.
Hebrews v. 1—4.
"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 compassion on
the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way ; for that
he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason
hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer
for sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but
he that is called of God, as was Aaeon,"
It is worthy of remark, that from the fourteenth verse of this
fourth chapter of this epistle to the close of the tenth verse
of the fifth, is one unbroken sentence. It ought mdeed to
have formed one chapter, for it contains the introduction to
the subject which is treated of in the third division of the
epistle, viz. the priesthood of Christ. In the first three
verses, which we considered in the last lecture, this great
subject is generally mtroduced. In the four foUowing verses
which we have read now, the Apostie enters more mto detaU,
particularizing three thmgs concemmg the Jewish priesthood,
viz. thefr functions, their qualifications, and their caU. And
in the six remaining verses, which we shall consider in the
next lecture, he shews that these three things have been and
are fuffiUed in their great antitype, the Lord Jesus,
Such, I repeat, is his introduction. Ha-ring thus stated
his subject, he pauses for a moment to warn and exhort the
Hebrews, but speedUy returns to his main argument, taking
up these three topics one by one and dwellmg on them
minutely. He begins 'with Christ's call, proceeds from that

CHAP. T, ] — 4. . 277
to his quaUfications, and from them to his functions ;
demonstrating him to be, in all these respects, immeasurably
superior to Aaron and his fandly. And to shew this more
fuUy, he goes on to compare the acknowledged mefficacy of
their sacrifices and thefr priesthood vrith the efficacy of his.
This argument extends to the eighteenth verse of the tenth
chapter, where the third dirision of the epistle terminates.
St. Paul haring then demonstrated the superiority of Christ
to Angels, to Moses, and to Aaron, takes leave of doctrine,
devoting what remains of the epistle, to admonition,
encouragement and waming.
With these prelimmary observations, that we may distmctiy
understand at what part of the epistle we are now arrived, let
us direct our attention speciaUy to the contents of the text.
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.
St. Paul has just told the Hebrews, as we saw in the last
lecture, that Christ in the heavens was transactmg with God
on their behaff. And he now goes on to say, you may
understand the natm-e of his functions in the temple above,
by observing those of your own priesthood in the temple
below. " For every high-priest taken from among men," is
ordained to transact 'with God on men's behalf; and this
transaction consists, as you know, in his offering " both
gifts, and sacrifices for sms." We must not confound these
two things together : a gift and a sacrifice were carefully
distinguished from each other by the law of Moses. An
IsraeUte wished to offer something to God as a testimony of
gratitude for mercies received. God permitted him to do so ;
and what he offered was his gift. Again, if the same man
had transgressed the law of Moses, he brought his sacrifice
that his sin might be put away. But ff any IsraeUte,
presuming on the divine mercy, had entered into the holy
place and laid his gift with his ovm hands on God's altar, he
would have been struck dead for his temerity. He was

278 PAET III. lecture II.
enjoined to bring it to the priest,- who recei'ving it at his
hand, presented it to the Lord and blessed the giver. We
have an example of this in the history of Samuel, His
parents desfred to dedicate him to God's service ; and "they
slew a buUook, and brought the chUd to EU." And EU, who
was then God's priest, received at their hands this costiy gfft,
and blessed them both m return. ' The case was the same
with the sacrifice ; the offender brought it to the priest.
There was also a striking connection between gffts and
sacrifices. If any IsraeUte was unclean by reason of trans
gression, his gfft could not be accepted tdl he was cleansed
from such uncleanness by sacrifice. But being so cleansed,
he was at Uberty to draw near and present it.
The text informs us that it was the duty of the priest
to offer the sacrifice as weU as the gift. There is an
erroneous impression on this subject. Many persons
suppose that when the priest slew the rictim, the sacrffice
was offered ; and that in the shedding of its blood the
sin was put away. But this was by no means the case.
The slaying of the rictim was not an act pecuUar to the
priest ; any IsraeUte might on most occasions, slay his own
sacrifice. ' The act peculiar to the priest was presenting the
blood before the Lord. This was done on ordinary occasions,
by dipping his finger in it and sprinkUng it " before the vaU
of the sanctuary."' And it was done on extraordinary occa
sions, by sprinkling it before the mercy-seat, vrithin the vail.
But until it was done, the sacrifice was not considered to
have been offered, nor was the sin forgiven. A reference
to Old Testament-Scripture 'vrill prove the truth of this
remark. There was a great atonement once a year, for
Aaron and his house, and for all the congregation of Israel.
Let us observe what God enjoined conceming it. "Aaron
shaU bring the buUook... which is for himseff... and shall kUl
the bullock. ..and shaU take ofthe blood. ..and sprinkle it
'with his finger upon the mercy-seat and before the mercy-
seat seven times." "Then shall he kiU the goat of the
sin-offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood 'within
1 I Samuel i. 25 ; ii. 20. 2 Levit. vi. ; iii.; iv, s Levit. iy, 6.

CHAP. V. 1—4. 279
the vaU,...and sprdilde it upon the mercy-seat and before the
mercy-seat." It was thus that God's anoffited high-priest
was to " make atonement for himseff and for his household,
and for aU the congregation of Israel." ' And as a sign that
it was accepted, he was to come out and bless the people in
God's name. This was done on the day of Aaron's conse
cration. After the sacrifices had been slain, and their blood
had been presented to the Lord, "Moses and Aaron went
into the tabernacle of the congregation and came out and
blessed the people."'
Such were the high functions of the Jewish priesthood.
They transacted between God and his people ; entering into
his presence on their behalf to present to him the blood of
their sacrifices, and to lay their gifts on his altar; and coming
forth agam to assm-e them' on his behaff, of his forgiring
mercy and gracious acceptance of thefr offerings. Attention
to these detads is most important. They are a sure and
safe guide, as I shall have occasion in this lecture to point
out, to a right understanding of the gospel of Christ.
St. Paul proceeds to state thefr qualifications.
Being able to deal gently with the ignorant and
ERRING. We leam from these words that to fit him for his holy
functions a Jewish high-priest required the grace of patience.
The character of those on whose behalf he mediated 'with God
rendered this grace necessary; for they are here described as
"ignorant and erring," and this is more or less the character
of all men. We are all by nature slow in acquiring the
knowledge of God, slow to learn his will and to keep his
commandments. This is the ignorance here spoken of;
and it is continually leading us, unless the grace of God
prevent, out of his ways of righteousness and truth, into our
own ways of sin and foUy. I need not say that this was the
character of Israel. Let us take as an example the gene
ration of the wddemess over whom Aaron was appointed
. Leviticus xvi. 11— 17. ¦• Leviticus ix. 22, 23.

280 PART III. LECTUEE II.
high-priest. Look at thefr slowness to apprehend the wUl,
and to leam the statutes of the Lord ; look at their continual
departures from him. - Aaron must have been indeed endued
'with the grace of patience ; without the continual exercise
of forbearing and compassionate love he would soon have
grown weary of presenting sacrffice on sacrifice, to avert the
wrath of God from an obstmate and sinful people. And
Israel's character was the same m the days of Samuel that it
had been in those of Aaron; nay, it contmued the same to the
very end of thefr history. Whoever therefore had the charge
of mediating mth God on thefr behaff, must have been, to
use the language of the text, one who could deal gently with
the ignorant and erring. God made prorision that it should
be so, and St. Paul tells us what this prorision was.
For that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
The Lord ndght have appomted one of his attendant angels
to be high-priest over his chosen people. But unconscious of
infirmity himseff, an angel could not have exercised patience
'with so wayward and smful a congregation. He therefore
appointed one of themselves, a " high-priest taken from among
men," who being himseff Uable to sin and faU, might leam
from this humbUng experience, patience vrith his erring
brethren. If we desire an example of this, let us look at
Aaron, at his behariour in the matter of the golden calf and
at the waters of Meribah. In these transactions we discover a
high-priest " compassed with mfimdty,'' one who needing
mercy for himseff, was in circumstances fitted to teach him
patience day by day -with those among whom he ministered.
God took means to ensme this under the Mosaic law.
And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also
for himself, to offer for sins.
The high-priest of the old economy was pririleged with a
nearness to God enjoyed by no other Israelite. This might
have tempted him to forget himself ; and instead of deaUng

CHAP. V. 1—4. 281
gently vrith his brethren, he might have despised or have
been impatient with them. He was therefore forbidden to
comprehend his sin, on the great day of atonement, in the
general sin of the congregation; and was enjoined, as we
have already seen, to present a sacrifice for himself and his
house before presenting the people's offering. It is to this
ordinance that the words before us refer. The purpose of
it was to rendnd this honoured minister contmuaUy, that he
was a man " compassed with infirmity," and to teach him that
patience with others which was an essential requisite of his
ministry. St. Paul proceeds next to the call of the Jewish high-
priests. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that
is called of God, as vjas Aaron.
We need not enlarge upon this head. AU who know
anything of the old economy, are aware that God allowed no
man to take to himself the honom of the priesthood. When
Korah attempted to do so, the earth swallowed him ; and his
wicked associates were consumed.' Aaron was solemnly
caUed. " Take thou unto thee," said God to Moses, " Aaron
thy brother... that he may minister unto me in the priest's
office,'" He was also solemnly consecrated. For Moses
took him by God's command, and in the sight of all the con
gregation put on him the holy garments, -with the Urim and
Thummim, and set the mifre on his head and anointed him
-with od. ¦" And to put it beyond question that this call and
consecration were of God, the princes of Israel laid up thefr
rods by his command in the tabemacle of 'witness, along with
the rod of Aaron, And the buds and blossoms and almonds
which appeared on that rod in the moming, became, as God
intended, his testimony to aU condng generations, that Aaron
and his famUy were his chosen priests,''
Those to whom St. Paul was writing, were weU aware of
1 Numb. xvi. 1-35, 2 Exod, xxviii. 1. ' Levit. via. 1-12.
4 Numbers xvii. 1—10.

282 PAET III. LECTUEE II.
all these things. But his object was to teach them, tiirough
this medium, concemmg Aaron's great antitype, thefr High-
Priest above. We shaU find accordmgly, when we come to
the next lecture, the spiritual meaning of aU the typical
cfrcumstances which we have now been consideiing. But
it wiU not at aU anticipate our matter on that occasion, ff we
dweU for a Uttie on them now. We shaU therefore dfrect
our attention, in what remams of the present lecture, to the
functions of Christ m the temple above, and to his quaUfica
tions for his office of mercy, as these are set forth in the
ministry of Aaron and his famUy.
The functions of the Jewish high-priests are fuU of instruc
tion. It is a very common idea that Christ has obtamed
forgiveness for us simply by his death. But we have just
leamed from the legal sacrffices, that forgiveness was not
obtamed merely through the rictim's death, but by the high-
priest taking the blood and carrying it within the vaU. And
this was a type of the reaUty. For " Christ bemg come
an High-Priest of good tldngs to come,... neither by the blood
of goats and calves, but by his own blood," has " entered in
once into the holy place."' And in that holy place he
abides, presenting the blood of his sacrifice to the Etemal
Father. That sacrifice was slain for aU, and is presented for
those that trust in it, obtaining for them continually the remis
sion of aU trespasses. As an Israelite, when he saw the high-
priest pass with the blood of the sacrffice uito the hoUest,
felt assured that his sin was purged ; so we who beUeve on
Christ, knowmg that he has passed 'with the blood of his
own sacrffice into the heavens, rest m the assurance of
forgiveness. This consideration throws great Ught on the
nature of the Divme forgiveness. No act of man toward his
fellow is a just iUustration of it. The mercy of a kmg in
pardonmg a condemned crimmal, which is the Ulustration
chiefly resorted to, is exceedingly defective. In the first
place, it is merely retrospective, and cannot reach to future
breaches of the law. But this is not the character of God's
forgiveness; ff it were, that forgiveness would he of no
1 Hebrews ix, 11, 12.

CHAP. V. l_4. 283
service to us, for we are continually offending the Lord and
condng short of his glory. A king's pardon is in the second
place, an act done in a moment. But the mercy which God
vouchsafes in answer to the continual presentation of the
blood of Christ on our behaff, is a continued act, forgi'ving
sm as it IS committed and covermg transgression as it comes
mto view. It is this which makes om salvation sure whde
we trust in Christ unfeignedly. He cannot cease to plead
for those who do so, and God cannot cease to hear him ;
" He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto
God by him, seemg he ever Uveth to make mtercession
for them."' And the same high-priest who presented
Israel's sacrifices, presented thefr- gffts also. We leamed
from the legal ordinances, that no man might present his own
gfft. We leamed also that whdst any uncleanness attached
to him, no man might present anything to God. Now the
uncleanness of sin attaches by nature to us, and we have
forfeited in consequence, the pri'vUege of serring God. All
the serrice therefore which we render, whether it be waiting
on Him in his house, or ordering our families in his fear,
giring our substance for his cause, or distributing it to the
poor and necessitous, must pass through the hands of Christ,
must be presented to the Father by that glorious High-Priest
whose blood has purged our suis. And the pure and holy
God of heaven will accept no offering, unless the offerer be
cleansed and justified in the blood of his dear Son.
Do we desfre then to be made partakers of the forgiveness
of God ? Let us flee for refuge to the blood which is even
now being presented on high ; it wUl plead for us. Do we
desfre to serve God? — do we desfre that our seryices be
accepted ? The same High-Priest who obtams forgiveness
for our sms, will obtain acceptance for om- sei-vices. Let us
present them m his name and trasting m his blood : they
shaU be " an odom of a sweet smeU, a sacrifice acceptable,
well-pleasmg to God,"'
Error can be discerned only when contrasted -with trath.
In the Ught of the truth therefore which we have now con-
1 Hebrews vii. 25. ' Phil. iv. 16.

284 PAET III. LECTUEE II,
sidered, let us dfrect your attention to two forms of error.
The first is a very common form. If we serve God to the
best of our abiUty, men say, he wUl accept our pious
endeavours and graciously forgive our shortcomings. Now
those who say so expect forgiveness as the reward of
obedience, they hope that for the sake of their good actions
thefr sins shaU be passed over. But they never think of
inquiring whether God wdl accept these good actions ; tiiey
regard that as a pomt settled. It is settled indeed, but in
the other way. The actions which m thefr eyes appear so
good, the sendees which to them seem so meritorious, are
the actions and sendees of sinners — aye of condemned
sinners, and therefore cannot be received, A crimmal sen
tenced to die may presume to send a present to his sovereign,
but wUl his sovereign condescend to accept it? This question
is easdy answered; even the offer would be esteemed an
insult. And shall the great God then accept from us any
service, while we Ue under the curse of unforgiven sin?
No : obedience first and forgiveness afterwards is the order
of seff-righteous man; but forgiveness first and obedience
afterwards is the order of the holy and righteous God, Let
us not expect forgiveness then at the close of a Ufe of well
doing; let us accept it now through the blood of Christ
our Sariour. Then shall we indeed do well, and be rewarded
in doing so 'with God's present and etemal approbation.
But there is another and a more dangerous form of error,
which is also promulgated m public and high places. Men
say that by his death Christ has obtamed forgiveness for us,
and that this forgiveness has been communicated in the
act of baptism. But they add that by sm after baptism ¦
this grace is forfeited, and warn us that ff this be our
unhappy case, we may not fall back again on the uncondi
tional mercy of the gospel, but recover ourselves, as best
we may, by tears and penitence and fastmg. It is impossible
to conceive anythmg more poisonous than such teaching.
It makes us our ovm saviours, for we have aU sinned
since our baptism. But let me show the bitter root of it ;
Christ's priesthood is set aside. His passion is indeed spoken

CHAP, V. 1—4. 285
of, and the forgiveness of God is represented as vouchsafed
to us thereby. But the appearance of the Saviour in the
presence of God on behalf of his beUeving people is never
spoken of and the Dirine forgiveness instead of being repre
sented as a continuous aud ever-repeated act, vouchsafed in
answer to a continued mtercession, is spoken of as an
fristantaneous act, done and finished in the celebration of an
ordinance. How great is the difference between the com
fortless darkness of error, and the comfortable Ught of
truth ! Some prodigal child of our Father in heaven, some
baptized man who has lived for many years in forgetfulness
of the holy name which is upon him, is at last conrinced of
his sin and foUy and desires to become God's servant. He
earnestly asks God's ministers what is required of him that
he may obtain mercy. Shall we answer, you obtained mercy
at your baptism, but you have lost it now ; nothdig remains
but to recover yourself, as best you may, by penitence,
mortffication and fasting ; these things may even yet procure
the blessing which you seek ? Ah, were we to do so, well
might the inquirer tum from us exclaiming, " ndserable
comforters are ye aU." But Christ bids us return a very
different answer. And by his authority we say to the
distressed prodigal, the blood which is even now being
presented in the hoUest above, was shed for you ; put your
trast in it and claim an interest in its advocacy, and the
mercy of God is yours. But wUl the Sariour receive my
name, he asks, will he become my advocate ? He wiU, is our
reply ; hear his own word to the prodigals of the circumcision,
the breakers of the old covenant, " him that cometh to
me I will in no -wise cast out."' And will my Father in
heaven, he asks again, accept the serrices of one who has so
long forgotten him ? He wiU accept them, we answer, and
vrith such joyful welcome that even the angels of glory shaU
tune their harps and sing. For the Highest shaU proclaim
through the shining ranks which smround him, " it is meet
that we make merry ; this_ my son was dead and is alive again,
he was lost and his found." '
1 John yi. 37. 2 Luke xv. 24, 32.

286 PART III. LECTUEE II.
And if the functions of the Je^rish high-priest as a type
of the Sariour, are thus full of mstruction, his quaUfications
in the same typical character are equally fuU of comfort.
¦When we begin in eamest to serve the Lord, we become so
conscious of the hardness of our hearts, our backwardness to
leam God's wiU, and proneness to depart from his ways, that
we are apt to sink in despondency. But in this state of
feeUng we are consoled by the assurance that Aarons's great
Antitype is, in a far more emment sense than was trae of
him, one who deals gently with " the ignorant and erring."
How persevering was the ignorance of his disciples ! After
they had been long instructed m the spfritual natme of his
kingdom, they disputed, almost m his presence, which among
them, should be the greatest ; and two of them asked that they
might sit, one on his right hand and the other on his left hand,
in his glory. After they had long followed his merciful foot
steps, and seen it stamped on his every act, that he had come
not to destroy men's Uves but to save them, they sought to
bring down fire from heaven, to consume the churlish Sama
ritans. Wlien he told them that he should be slain and
rise again, the saying was unwelcome to them all, and one of
them presumed to rebuke him. And when at length he was
slain, the dreadful event took them, notwithstandmg aU his
wammgs, at unawares, and thefr hopes were buried in his
tomb : they heard of his resurrection, but refused to beUeve it.
Such was thefr ignorance. It must have been provoking
indeed when even Jesus felt constrained to say, " Oh
fools, and slow of heart to believe aU that the prophets have
spoken!"' But he never wearied of his task as their
Instructor ; he continued compassionately patient vrith them,
tiU he had filled them with the knowledge of his wiU. And as
they were ignorant, so they were prone, just as we are, to
wander out of the way, and did wander out of it whenever
they were left to themselves. Satan was permitted at the
a'wful season of the crucifixion, to try his strength on them
aU, but especially on St. Peter. And the result was that
they all forsook him, and that St. Peter 'with oaths and cmses
1 Luke xxiv. 25.

CHAP. V. 1—4. 287
denied having seen his face. But aU this was permitted
that the gracious character of thefr heavenly High-Priest
might appear. Jesus had compassion on his erring brethren.
I have prayed for "thee," he said to Peter, "that thy
faith faU not:"' and that prayer recovered the faUen one.
Now we have to do -with the same High-Priest He is as
merciful to our dulness of apprehension as he was to that of
his disciples ; and as compassionate, when by the riolence of
Satan and the force of temptation we at any time are driven
from the way of God. Amid aU om short-comings in love
and continual faUures in duty, let us be true-hearted vrith our
Sariour, trusting in his mercy; and he on his part, wdl
never weary of interceding for us above. He will also vouch
safe to us the same proof of Dirine forgiveness which he
vouchsafed to these disciples ; our ignorance shall be
removed by his heavenly teaching, our feeble goings shall
be estabUshed in the way of his holy commandments.
We have seen already that the Jewish high-priest was
taught compassionate patience 'with his brethren, by bemg
himseff "compassed vrith mfimdty." And in so far as a
sinless Being can prove the cfrcumstances of the faUen, this
is true of his great Antitype. The blessed Jesus had mdeed
no experience of our smful propensities, but he had experience,
whde he dwelt on earth, of -all those infirmities of which
Satan takes advantage to lead us into sm. We saw m the
last lecture, that in the awful conflict of the garden the
tempter addressed these infirmities, that he might per
suade him to disobey his Father. And we leamed the
precious and consoling truth that the remembrance of this,
his own experience, makes our High-Priest pity us when
we are assaulted by the same dreadful enemy. To impress
this yet more, I wdl give a scriptural example of it, an
example of Satan succeeding 'with the servant m the very
thing which he had attempted in vam with the Master;
and of the Master pitying the servant when he feU. The
same hour of trial, arising from the common aversion
of humanity to suffering and death, awaited Jesus and
1 Luke xxii. 31, 32.

288 PAET III. LECTURE II.
his servant Peter.* The master was aware of what was
coming on them both, and warned the self-confident
disciple.' Havmg done so, he entered Gethsemane, and
St. Peter followed him. Jesus immediately betook himseff
to prayer. His disciple, in spite of repeated wammgs, lost
the precious moments in sinful sleep. Let us mark the
result. The hour of darkness came, Jesus met it fresh from
communion with his Father, and was borne through it in his
Father's strength ; but St. Peter, just awaked from sleep,
was taken at unawares and at once thrown down. I have
already referred to his dreadful faU, and need not dweU on
it. Let us rather observe what foUowed. " The Lord
turned and looked upon Peter." Oh may we dare to
translate that look mto language ? Guided by holy Scrip
ture, I believe we may. It was methinks as ff Jesus would
have said — hath he thrown thee down, my poor servant —
the same malicious enemy who thrust sore at me that I
might fall, and wrung from me that sweat of blood? — but be
comforted, he shall not triumph, I witl raise thee up again.
That look restored St. Peter. The sign of his recovery was
a flood of penitential tears : " he went out, and wept
bitterly."' Such was the benignant compassion towards
his erring brethren of him who m the days of his flesh was
compassed with our infirmity-; and such it is still, though
he is now exalted to glory. But we must take heed
that we do not turn this grace of God into wantonness,
taking encouragement from it in -wdful sm, St. Peter's sin
was not wifful : he fell through infirmity and by reason of
sudden temptation ; and he was raised up again. But Judas
the traitor, who fell through love of sin, through deliberate,
rillamous intention, fell to rise no more and went to his
own place. If then we desfre to serve the Lord and mourn
sincerely over our shortcomings, we may comfort om-selves
in thinking of his mercy to St. Peter, But ff we are
disposed to esteem sin as a Uttle matter, and to harden
• John xiii, 36—38. • Luke xxii. 61, 62.
• Our Lord's trial was indeed incomparably the' greater, for he had a peculiar
reason for dreading death.

CHAP. IV. 1—4. 289
ourselves in the commission of it, let us think on the doom
of Judas, and let us tremble !
I do not enter at present on the consideration of Christ's
call to his priestly office, reserving that for the next lecture.
Let me only remark that his having been called and ap
pointed by the Father to execute the functions of high-priest
on our behalf, conveys to us an additional assurance that the
blood of his sacrifice shall be accepted, and that our gifts
presented by his hand, shall not be rejected by heaven's
Majesty. And it stamps an additional value on the blessing
of a compassionate High-Priest, that he is the gift of a
compassionate God. It is of all proofs the most affecting,
that the Highest knows our frame, and remembers that we
are dust.
These blessed truths, let us remember in conclusion,
deeply interesting as they are to the understandmg, far more
so than the revelations of science, or the discoveries of art,
have been revealed to us by God for a higher pmpose, even
to touch and melt our hearts. May he in his infinite mercy
give them power to do so !

290

LECTURE HI.
Hebrews v. 5 — 10.
" So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an. high-
p)riest ; hut he that said unto him, Tliou art my Son, to-day
have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place. Thou
art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec. 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 ;-
though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things
which he suffered; and being made perfect, he became the
author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
called of God an high priest after the order of Melchizedec."
We saw in the beginning of the last lectme, that from the
fourteenth verse of the fourth chapter of this epistle, down
to the tenth verse of the fifth chapter at which we have just
stopped readmg, is one unbroken sentence, and is divided
into three distinct parts. St. Paul sets out by declaring
Christ's priesthood in general terms, proceeds tiien to explain
particularly the functions, qualifications, and call of the
Jewish high-priests ; and concludes in the verses which we
have read now, by demonstrating that this Divine call, these
quaUfications, and these high and holy functions belong to,
and are possessed by, their great antitype the Lord Jesus.
Let me only remark fm-ther that the apostie has inverted the
order of his discourse. In speaking of the Jewish priests,
as we saw in the last lecture, he mentions thefr functions
first, their qualifications second, and their call thfrd.
Whereas, in spealdng of the Lord Jesus, as we shall see in
the present lecture, he mentions his call first, his qualifica-

CHAP. V. 5—10. 291
tions second, and his functions third. This makes of
comse, no difference so far as the argument is concemed ;
but I notice it to throw light on the meaning of the passage.
Let us now proceed to its exposition.
So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high-
priest ; but he that said unto him. Thou an my Son, to-day
have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place. Thou
art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec.
In these words we have Christ's call declared to us. "If
I honour myself," said Jesus to the Jews, " my honour is
nothing : it is my Father that honoureth me ; of whom ye
say, that he is your God."' To the same effect spake St.
Peter. "The God of our fathers," he said to Israel, "hath
glorified his Son Jesus."' And such is also the testimony
of St. Paul in his words now before us ; Christ took not on
himself he says, the glory of the priesthood; the Father
conferred it on him. It was incumbent on him to prove
this statement ; and he does so in a way which to a Hebrew
was demonstration, viz. by referring to the words of the
Father conceming Christ recorded m Old Testament-
Scripture. His first reference is to the second Psalm.
Messiah, speaking m that Psalm by the mouth of Darid,
says, "I will declare the decree : the Lord hath said unto
me. Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee:''
and the Father speaking in the same Psalm, says of his
acknowledged Son, " Yet have I set my Kmg upon my holy
hiU of Zion."' There is indeed in these words, no mention
of the priesthood ; but the Hebrews were perfectly aware,
from the testimony of their prophets, that he who should
inherit the kingdom, should inherit the priesthood also.
They knew that Zechariah had written, " Behold the man
whose name is The Branch... shaU sit and rale upon his
throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne. '' * And they
must therefore have been conscious that the inference of the
apostle from the second Psalm, was perfectly legitimate and
• John viii. 54, 2 Actsiii. 13. 3 Psalm ii. 6, 7. 4 Zech. vi. 12, 13.

PAUT III, LECTURE III.

conclusive But lest his argument might appear in any
.way defective, he strengthens it by a reference to the
hundred and tenth Psalm. In that Psalm we have Christ's
priesthood declared in express terms ; the Father announces
from his throne, " Thou art a priest for ever after the order
of Melchizedec." ' And Melchizedec, be it further observed,
was, as the Hebrews well knew, both a king ahd a priest.
This circumstance is most important, for it unites m one
the testimony which these two Psalms bear to Christ, plamly
shewing that in his person he was to gather up this twofold
honour. Now the priesthood of (Christ was, as we shaU see
more fully in the next lecture, the very point of doctrine
which the Hebrew Church was so slow to receive. But no
Hebrew could resist the force of an argument like this.
And St. Paul therefore, in placing these two citations side
by side, discovers admirable knowledge of the feelings of
those to whom he was 'writing, and an abUity in reasonmg
out of the Scriptures, worthy of an inspired apostle.
It is impossible to leave these verses without observing
the testimony which they bear to the exceeding glory and
dignity of Christ's sacerdotal office. How great must be
the dignity, how immeasurable the glory of that office which
even the Son of God put not forth his own hand to assume !
These verses tell us moreover that it was conferred on him
as the reward of his passion. The expression "to be made
an high-priest," taken with its connection, marks this in a
very striking manner. We remember a similar expression,
"being made so much better than the angels,"' We saw,
in considering these words, that they denoted conferred
dignity, and that the pre-eminence over angels of which they
spoke, was the reward of the Mediator's work. And the
same thing is true of the words before us. Taken along
with the declaration which precedes them, that Christ
glorified not Idmseff, they denote, in the most emphatic
manner, a dignity conferred by another. This dignity was
conferred, according to the text, when the Father said to
him, "thou art my Sou, to-day have I begotten thee," Aud,
1 Psalm ex. I. 2 Hebrews i. 4,

CHAP. V. 5—10, il'Jii
we have the autiiority of St, Paul fur saying that this
"to-day" was the day of Christ's resurrection, — that God
addressed him in these words when he begat him from the
womb of the grave, and clothed him with immortality,' The
other citation perfectiy corresponds with this. For the
words "Thou art a priest for ever," were addressed by God
to his risen and ascended Son, at the moment when he said
to him, " Sit thou on my right hand."' Both these declara
tions then being subsequent to his resm-roction, mark his
priesthood as the reward of his finished work. He was
indeed from the beginning, the predestinate Christ, and as
such, interceded for his people. But it was not till he had
passed through death and risen agam, that the Son of God
and Man was solemnly installed as priest for ever, and
entered on the full discharge of the functions of his holy
office. If then we would know the dignity and glory of this
office, let us measure it by the bitterness of the passion
which went before. Let us go to Gethsemane and behold
him in his agony, "sore amazed and very hea'vy." Let us
go from thence to Calvary, and listen to his piteous lamen
tations, to his mournful cries. Let us behold him when he
could lament, when he could cry no longer ; when he sank
from the bloody tree a load of unconscious clay in the arms
of Nicodemus and of Joseph, and was laid a dead man in the
cold and silent grave. Let us remember that these were
the sufferings and that this was the death of the Son of the
Highest, and that their value in the sight of God availed to
the redemption of the world. And let us then judge how
great must be the glory, how inconceivable the digmty of
that priesthood which has been deemed by him the adequate
reward of such a sufferer, the adequate recompense of such
a passion !
St. Paul proceeds to declare the qualifications of this
Dirinely called High-Priest.
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up
prayers and suppUcations, ivith strong crying and tears, unto
> Acts xiii. 33. 2 Psalm ex. 1 .

294 PAET III. LECTUEE III.
him that loas able to save him out of death, and was
DELIVERED FEOM THAT WHICH HE FEAEED.. Though he Were
a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.
There cannot be a doubt that St. Paul's object in these
words is to present Christ before us as the antitype of the
Jewish high-priest; these prayers and suppUcations, this
strong crying and tears, and tlds leaming of obedience by
suffering, being the most conclusive of all eridences that om
blessed Sariour was himself once compassed 'with infirmity,
£ut there is an apparent confusion in tiie Apostle's reasoning
on this point which it is needful to remove. The infirmity
of which he speaks in the fffteenth verse of the former
chapter, and to which he refers agam m the words before us,
is, it may be said, the sinless weakness of our nature. Whereas
the infirmity 'with which the Jewish high-priest was com
passed, to which reference is made in the second verse of
this chapter, was something more, viz. man's common Uabdity
to sin and wander from the ways of God. And what analogy
can there be, it may be asked, between these two cases ;
between a sinful son of Aaron, and our sinless High-Priest
above ? To reason in this way however, is to misunderstand
the apostle's meandig. He is not speaking of different kinds
of infirmity. The radical meaning of the word infirmity in
these twp places is the same, riz. the weakness incident to
and inseparable from humanity. The difference between
the Jewish high-priests and their great Antitype consisted,
not in their bemg compassed with different kmds of infirm
ity, but in the same infirmity being found m different moral
subjects. For that weakness which in a sinless being is
simply the occasion of. temptation, renders a sinful being
liable to transgress and fall. This is just the representation
of the matter which St. Paul himself gives. The sinless
Jesus, he says, having taken our infirmity, was tempted in
consequence, in all points like as we .are ; high-priests taken
from among sinful men, he adds, being themselves com
passed 'with infirmity, were enjoined to offer sacrifices for
their own sins, as weU as for the people's.

CHAP. V. 5—10. 295
The Jew then, it may be said, had an advantage over us ;
his high-priest, having actually fallen into his sins, could
more perfectly sympathize with him when ignorant and
erring. This objection occurs to every one who thinks
deeply on the subject, and must not be lightly passed by.
What is the sympathy which the sinful need? Is it
sympathy vrith them in their sins ? No ; it is holy sympathy,
i. e. the sympathy of one who pities them in their bondage
and helps them to break thefr chains. Now it is needless to
say that a smful high-priest must have been deficient in such
sympathy. The pollution of sin in his own heart must have
prevented him from hating it and pitying its victims as he
ought; perfect love also and perfect patience 'with the
offending, never conld have been found in a sfrfful bosom.
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken m a fault," says St. Paul,
"ye (not who have sinned the most, but) which are spiritual,"
i. e. have most of the mind of God, and have proved most
of the blessedness of his ways, " restore such an one in the
spirit of meekness.'' But perfection of holiness, patience,
and love excludes, it may be said, the possibility of fellow-
feeUng with the sinful. It does not exclude it : there is no
need of our High-Priest having fallen into our sins, to enable
•him to sympathize 'with us : it is necessary only that he
should have proved the power of- our temptations. And St.
Paul therefore adds in the text just cited, "considering
thyseff, (not, how often thou hast fallen, but) lest thou also
be tempted."' If one therefore can be found who has
proved to the uttermost the temptations of the sinful, and
yet is " 'without sin," such an one will be a perfect high-priest.
I need not add that these qualifications meet in Jesus : if he
corresponds not in all things vrith Aaron his type, it is only
because as the Son of God, He is infinitely Aaron's superior.
Let me refer for a moment, in proof of this, to the per
sonal experience of Aaron and of Christ. Aaron in the
matter of the golden calf ff we judge from the inspired
account of the transaction, and from his ovm account of it,
seems to have sinned through infirmity; he was afraid
1 Galatians vi. 1.

296 PART III. LECTURE III.
probably of being stoned ff he had withstood the madness of
the people. ' His great antitype passed' through a far more
fearful experience in Gethsemane; he was exposed to the
fury not of men but of derils, whose malice made trial to the
uttermost what apprehension and fear could effect on the
sensitive and shrinking mmd. We have thus a most apposite
illustration of the statements made above. The weakness
incident to humanity surprised the sitfful high-priest into
sin, whilst it exposed the sinless to the inroads of dark
temptation. Now let us suppose that an Israelite who had
been overtaken in a fault through the impulse of sudden and
overwhelming fear, had been brought before the father of the
Jewish priesthood. I cannot be severe on you, Aaron would
have said, I fell myself when tempted in like manner. Jesus
indeed cannot say so ; but let us mark what he can say. St.
Peter was in these very circumstances ; he feU before a
temptation which wrung from his Master's a sweat of blood,
and " the Lord tumed and looked upon Peter." I have
already attempted to explain that look. I liave proved, it
said, the power of that temptation before which thou hast
fallen, and will not leave thee in the dust. The sympathy
was as perfect in the latter case as it could have been in
the former; and yet it was holy sympathy. The faUen
Apostle found also in the Christian High-Priest what he
never could have found in the High-Priest of his o'wn
nation, a bosom of perfect love, patience and forgi'ving kind
ness, to fall back upon in his time of need.
Let us now enter on the reverent consideration of those
sufferings of our Lord Jesus, to which aUusion is here made.
He offered, St. Paul teUs us, in the days of his flesh, prayers
and supplications with strong crying and tears. These
supplications, he further teUs us, were dfrected to him who
was able to save him ; the object of them was to be saved out
of death ; and in this he was heard, bemg delivered from
that vphich he feared. This sentence has occasioned the
greatest possible difficulty to aU students of holy Scripture,
because the authorized version has been followed. St. Paul
1 Exodus xxxii. ], 2, 22—24.

CHAP. V, 5—10, 29T
is generally understood to be referring here to the prayers of
Gethsemane. On that occasion, it is said, Christ prayed to be
saved /roTO death, iox he asked thatthe cup might pass from
him. But it is an insuperable objection to this interpretation,
that in this prayer he was not heard ; the cup did not pass
from him'. To get rid of this difficulty it has been suggested
that in one sense he was heard, being supported in the pros
pect of death by an angel sent to him from heaven. But this is
not an honest interpretation of holy Scripture. To be saved
from death, cannot mean to be supported in the prospect of
dying. The whole difficulty vanishes, and we are presented
instead with a fulness of blessed meaning, when we adopt
the emendation suggested above. Prayer to be saved out of
death, is prayer to be raised from the dead. The mercy of
resurrection was with Jesus a matter of positive prondse, and
the fulfilment of this promise, the Apostle here means to tell
us, was the object of these prayers and supplications, this
strong crying and tears. But where, it may be asked, in the
record of Christ's life as given by the evangelists, do we find
any record of such prayers and tears ? We do not find it in
any of them: but this need not surprise us, for there is
no reference to the New Testament in this entire epistle,
every thmg contained in it being proved from the Hebrew
Scriptures. The Book of Psalms was in St. Paul's mmd as
he penned the words of the text; he has afready proved
Christ's divine caU to be High-Priest by two citations from
it. And we shaU find in the same book what he refers to
now. It has been weU caUed " the Redeemer's prayer-book."
If we would acquamt omselves -with Christ indeed, we must
give our days and nights to the study of that precious Scrip
ture. The evangeUsts record his Iffe, but it lays bare his very
heart : they mention the fact of his being given to prayer,
but it leads us mto his closet and gives us to hear his
very words. And these his secret devotions discover a
Sariour who fully participated in all the sinless fraUties
of humanity, who intuitively shrank from every form
of suffermg, and to whom that hour of nature's agony
which has been emphatically called the king of terrors,
o 3

298 PAET III. LECTURE III.
was a peculiar object of dread. He had a pecuUar reason
for this dread. Death came to him as God's penal in
fliction on siu, the expression of the Di'rine curse. HoW
fearful are these words of Moses, "he that is hanged
is accursed of God!"' And yet St. Paul teUs us
that they were fulfilled in his sacred person when he died on
the bloody tree.' Dare we then to attempt conceiving
his feelings in the prospect of enduring this curse, in the
prospect of dying as its conscious object, and of descending
under it, into the darkness of the grave ? Nor was this aU.
He died under the hand of Satan through the instrumen
tality of wicked men. For the prince of death had power
to kill him because he stood as the substitute of sinners.
We leam this from his own words. " This is your hom,"
he said to the multitudes who came to take him m the
garden, "and the power of darkness."' And we also leam
from himself how much this aggravated the bitterness of
death. For as we stand by his cross, we hear him exclaim
" Save me from the lion's mouth.''" These considerations
duly weighed, at once explain to us why the text caUs death
emphatically " that which he feared," and prepare us to
understand those prayers and supplications, that strong
crying and tears, of which it makes mention. For they
. were addressed to him who was able to Uft him by resur
rection, from under this dreadful curse, to rid him outof
the hand of this hateful enemy, and to comfort him, in the
light of immortality, with the consolations of his etemal love.
He prays in the sixth Psalm, " O Lord, rebuke me not in
thme anger, neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. Have
mercy upon me, 0 Lord, for I am weak,., Return, O Lord,
deliver my soul : oh save me for thy mercies' sake !" Here is
a prayer to One " who was able to save him," And if we
ask from what he desfred salvation, we have our answer in
the words that follow ; " For in death there is no remem
brance of thee : in the grave who shall give thee thanks ?, , ,
All the night make I my bed to swim ; I water my couch
1 Deuteronomy xxi. 23. 2 Galat. iii. 13. 3 Luke xxii. 53,
^ Psalin xxii. 21 ; I Peter v. S.

CHAP. V. 5—10. 299
¦with my tears.'' Tears then mingled 'with this prayer.
Let us compare the text vrith this language and mark their
wonderful agreement. Again, in the thirtieth Psalm the -
Saviour addresses the Father, " Thou didst hide thy
face, and I was troubled : I cried to thee, O Lord ; and
unto the Lord I made suppUcation. What profit is there in
my blood, when I go down to the pit ? Shall the dust praise
thee ? shall it declare thy truth ?" Now the pit is the grave,
and the mercy which is implored in this supplication is
evidently resurrection from the dust of death. Let us
compare this Psalm also with the text ; there is a wonderful
harmony between them. But besides prayers, tears and
supplications, the text mentions " strong crying," — " the
voice raised high by the eamestness of agonizmg entreaty."
Let us refer therefore, in addition, to the eighty-eighth
Psalm which Bishop Horsley entitles "the lamentation of
Messiah." " 0 Lord God of my salvation," he exclaims, " I
have cried day and night before thee : let my prayer come
before thee, incline thine ear unto my cry ; for my soul is
fuU of troubles, and my life draweth nigh unto the grave...
Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the
deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted
me with all thy waves." I need not remark that this
" strong crying" is the language of One on whose spirit the
wrath of God. was pressing, and who was distinctly conscious
that it would continue to press on him tdl it had sunk him
as low as the grave. Under this distressing consciousness,
he asks the eternal Father, "Wilt thou shew wonders to the
dead ? shall the dead arise and praise thee ? Shall thy loving-
kindness be deolared in the grave ? or thy faithfulness m
destruction ? ShaU thy wonders be known in the dark ? and
thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" These
questions imply no doubt of the Father's abiUty or faithful
ness ; they only express in the most striking possible manner
the greatness of the mercy which Messiah was then im
ploring, a mercy so vast and so amazing that Divine power
alone was competent to bestow it. And Jesus knew that
Di'rine power would bestow it, for he adds immediately, " But

300 PART III. LECTURE III.
unto thee have I cried, O Lord ; and in the moming shaU
my prayer prevent thee.'' It was so : these questions were
all answered affirmatively, these impossible things were aU
brought to pass on the moming of the thfrd day. These
wonderful Psalms completely elucidate the Apostolic sentence
before us. They verify the statement which has just been
made, that Christ dreaded death as the expression of penal
wrath ; and establish the declaration here made by St. Paul,
that the mercy of resurrection, though pledged to him in
the Father's faithfulness, was obtained, Uke aU the Dirine
promises, through prayer and suppUcation, through strong
crying and tears.
The text goes on to tell us that through this discipline of
suffering, Christ "leamed obedience.'' These words have
occasioned as much difficulty as those which we have just
been considering. For to speak of Jesus learmng anything,
appears to many, to be dishonouring to his Godhead. But
by attending to the erident purpose of St. Paul, we shaU at
once get rid of this difficulty. He does not mean that the
Son of God needed to acqufre any information concerning
either suffering or obedience. He means that before Christ
was exalted as the Saviour of a suffering Church, and the
Master of a people who were to obey his voice, it pleased
God that by passing through the disciphne of suffering he
should himself prove experimentaUy what it was to obey
another. Fellow-feeling with those whom he is leading
through present sorrow to futme glory, is accordmg to the
doctrine of this epistle, an essential requisite of the High-
Priest of the Church. And this can be found only in a
Saviour who has himseff been in the circumstances and
proved the trials of the saved.
Christ learned this obedience, we are told, " by the things
which he suffered." In professing ourselves 'wiUing to obey
God's voice, we often luiow not what we say. When
Abraham received the promised child iuto his arms, he
might have said in the fidness of his heart. What doth the
Lord require of me '? — let him sjieak, for his servant heareth.
But 'the same Abraham, as .he travelled to Mount Moriah

CHAP. V, 5—10, 301
'with that favoured child m one hand and the fire and knife
in the other, leamed in the school of suffering that obe
dience was a very serious thmg. And I understand the
meaning of the text to be that it was thus 'with our Lord
himself, that he leamed "by the thmgs which he suffered"
this indispensable but solemn lesson. " I came down from
heaven," said the blessed Jesus, '' not to do mine ovm wiU,
but the will of him that sent me." ' That wiU was to the
last degree grievous 'to flesh and blood. It appointed his
earthly lot to be one of ignominy, pain and sorrow, leaving
him exposed to the violence of the wicked, and the constant
assaults of Satan. And it appomted this course of suffering
to have its end in a death of shame. A cross and a
bloody grave, the curse of God and the malediction of man,
were to be the only recompense in this world, of a life of
spotless obedience and unexampled love. Such was the path
which the Father marked out for Jesus ; such was the path
which -without a murmur, the obedient Son pursued. And
every step which he took in it was one of mcreased and
increasmg suffering, his day growing darker and darker as
it approached its evenmg. We leam this from his cwn
mouth. When his passion was yet comparatively far off,
we find him calmly shewing to his disciples that " he must
go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things... and be kdled."'
¦When it approached nearer, we find him saying, " Now is
my soul troubled."' And on the eve of it, while he waited
in Gethsemane for the expected traitor, we behold him on
his bended knees, praying "that, if it were possible, the hour
might pass from him."* StUl, though nature bled at every
pore, Jesus tumed not aside tUl the whole wUl of God was
accompUshed in him. And haring then leamed obedience
in the school of suffering, he bowed his head and gave up
the ghost.
Christ was subjected to this discipline, we are further told,
" though he were a Son." His path was not strewed vrith
flowers because of his relation to the Etemal Father, and
1 John 'vi. 38. 2 Matthew xvi, 2'. a John xii. 57.
4 Mark xiv. S5.

302 PART III. LECTURE III.
tender estimation in his sight. The etemal Son of the
Lord of Heaven and Earth found no royal road to obedience.
The Father did not say of Abraham, Moses or Elijah, let
them pass through suffering, but let my Son be spared.
No ; the Son was to be pre-eminent in glory and dignity ;
and he was therefore pre-emment also in suffering, tod, and
shame. Need I repeat, that m aU this we discover a Sariour com
passed with infirmity ? The Hebrews might have said, we
know that the Sariour passed through suffering and death ;
but what were suffering and death to him? Just what they
are to you, is the answer of St. Paul, as you may leam from
your own Scriptures. And ff he appoints to you at present,
reproach and persecution as the recompense of doing his
wdl, do not therefore suppose that he is a cruel Master ; for
he knows what you are able to bear and feels for you most
tenderly. He passed through your very experience m domg
the will of another ; and though now exalted to glory, he
remembers "the days of his flesh." These lessons are for
us as much as for the Hebrews. There is no truth which
we are so apt to forget as the tempted manhood of om- Lord.
And yet none of the mysteries of our religion is so fitted to
comfort in sorrow, to cheer in despondency, and to strengthen
the faintmg heart in the path of obedience and duty.
St. Paul proceeds finaUy, to declare to us the functions
of this Dirinely called and thoroughly qualffied High-Priest.
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him: called. of God an high
priest after the order of Melchizedec.
We need not dwell long on this head, for its contents have
been already to a great extent anticipated. The phrase
" being made perfect," signifies being exalted to glory.
The glory of the authorship of salvation, the glory of
the Melchizedec priesthood. And this, let us observe,
confirms what has been already stated, 'viz., that this
priesthood is a conferred dignity, that the fulness of it

CHAP. V. 5—10. 303
was bestowed after the Sariour's resm-rection, and that
its glory is to be measured by the bitterness of his pas
sion. For the expressions, "he became the author of
salvation,'' and "caUedof God an High-Priest," both mark
conferred dignity. We are also told that he was made
perfect after he had leamed obedience through suffering, and
had been deUvered from death, the object of his fear. And
finally, this declaration of his glory immediately after such
expUcit reference to his bitter passion, very strikingly marks
the one as the decreed reward of the other. It was a meet
reward. Most fit it was that he who had died for man,
shoidd be made the author of man's salvation ! It was a
reward indeed which a heart of love could alone appreciate.
Jesus therefore could appreciate it : ff he had not possessed
such a heart, his bitter passion had never been. For this
"joy set before him. He endured the cross;"' love esteemed
it "all joy" to be enabled to save and bless.
The purpose of St. Paul in these two verses, has been
somewhat misunderstood, and the meaning of the text has
been in consequence obscured. From his again repeating
" called of God an High-Priest," it has been supposed that
he is retuming to the subject of Christ's call. But he has
afready declared this fuUy, and no writer, sacred or profane,
is less given to return on his words. These two verses are a
contmuation, and an essential part of his argument. He
means to tell us, foUowing out the type, that Christ is the
author of salvation, as God's called High-Priest ; i. e. that
he saves us on earth by executing in heaven on our behalf,
the functions of the priestly office. Let us now therefore,
applying the type for ourselves, consider what these functions
are. Salvation, the authorship of which is here ascribed to
Christ, is both a present and a futm-e blessing. As a
present blessing, it is the forgiveness of sm, acceptance for
ourselves and om services before the etemal Father, and
gracious preservation by the power of the Holy Ghost, from
the subtleties and riolence of the devU. Of this Christ is
1 Hebrews xii. 2.

'304 part III. lecture iii.
the author "to aU them that obey him," i. e. that hearken to
his voice and trust in him. He obtams thefr pardon by
presenting his blood m the hoUest, according as it is written,
"ff any man sm, we have an advocate vrith the Father."''
By presenting the same blood he obtains acceptance for
them and thefr serrices; by him "we have access," says
St. Paul, "into this grace wherem we stand."' The Christian
poet has expressed this in the most beautiful and touching
manner, Ha'ving spoken of his acts of obedience, and thefr
worthlessness considered m themselves, he adds,
*'But in the robe which Christ did spin.
They are of great and high request ;
They flnd acceptance, wrapped within
M-y elder brother's bloody vest.'*
Christ's eye moreover is on his people in the dark hour
of temptation, and in answer to his prevalent intercession,
the help of the Holy Ghost is ministered to them from the
throne. For Christ as Aaron's antitype blesses the Israel
of God with Aaron's priestly blessing. The Jewish high-
priest was commanded to lift up his hands and say, "the
Lord bless thee, and keep thee : the Lord make his face
shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee : the Lord Ifft up
his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." And
this was no idle form ; he who commanded him to pronounce
these words over Israel, ¦ added "I 'wiU bless them."'
Those hands of our heavenly High-Priest m like manner,
which are lifted to the etemal Father on om behalf con
tinually, are Iffted also over us who obey him, blessing us
in the Father's name. And ff even Aaron's blessing was
no form, the blessmg of Jesus must be fuU of reaUty. It
brings down into our hearts the peace of forgiven sin ; it
gives to us the assurance of Divme acceptance,' enabling
us to walk in the light of our Father's countenance;- it
graciously preserves us from every evd work, and keeps us
safe andd all the wiles, and against all the power of the
enemy. 1 IJohnii. 1, 2 Romans V. 2. 3 Numbers vi. 26— 27.

CHAP. V. 5—10. 305
It is not iu our selfish hearts to conceive the joy of
the tender-hearted Saviour fri these blessed functions of
his office. The experience of " the days of his flesh " is
rewarded in tlds joy. He knows the power of that wrath
from which his intercession shields his people ; for he
declares in the eighty-eighth Psalm, "wldle I suffer thy
terrors, I am distracted." He knows the value of that
favour wldch in Him is secured to them for ever, for again
we hear him saying, during his sojourn m this " dry and
thirsty land," " because thy lovmg-kindness is better than
life, my lips shall praise thee."' And he knows the power
and subtlety of that dreadful enemy against whom he is ever
'protecting them. Need I speak again of Gethsemane — of
the Sariour's bloody sweat, St. Peter's shameful fall and the
Sariour's restoring look ? Oh, who shaU describe that look !
— ^the expression of those eyes of dovelike tenderness, when
fresh from the experience of his own mfirmity, he bent
them on his fallen servant ! And remembrance of that
infirmity gives to these eyes, the same expression stiU.
Bent now on his troubled and fallen people, they beam with
that compassionate benignity which rejoices to help them in
thefr hour of need.
But salvation is also a future blessing, as St. Paul shews
by his language in the text, for he calls it " eternal salva
tion." " The God of peace," he says to the Romans, " shaU
bruise Satan under your feet shortly."' " He that believeth
on me," said our blessed Lord to the Jews, " hath everlast
ing life, and I will raise him up at the last day."' " The
Lord shall deliver me from every evil work," says St. Paul
again to Timothy, " and will preserve me to his heavenly
kingdom."^ In these things " etemal salvation " consists.
And when Christ performs these things, crushmg Satan
under the feet of his saints, raismg also these saints
from then- graves, and gi-ring to them an entrance mto
his etemal Idngdom, he shall be known as its glorious
Author. He is the Author of this salvation " to aU them
that obey him." It is very striking to compare this state-
1 Psalm Ixiii. 3. 2 Romans xvi. 20. 3 John vi. 47, 54. ¦> II Tim. iv. 18.

306 PART III. lecture III.
ment with the preceding part of the text. St. Paul has just
told us that Christ in the days of his flesh offered prayers
and supplications to him who was able to save him out of
death, and that he was heard learning obedience. And
now he tells us that he has become the Author of salvation
to them that obey him. It is impossible to avoid observing
the obviously- intended parallel. Just as surely as Jesus, by
hearkening to the Father's voice and trustmg in him, was
delivered out of the dust of death, and made to triumph over
Satan and exalted to immortaUty ; so surely shall we, heark
ening to our Saviour's voice and making him our confidence,
be delivered from the power of the grave, and behold Satan
crushed beneath our feet, and enjoy etemal Ufe in the king
dom of om God. The faithfulness of the Father to Christ
is the pledge of Christ's faithfulness to us. Most blessed,
most consoUng thought ! Fmally, Christ is the Author of
this etemal salvation as " High-Priest after the order of
Melchizedec," i.e. in -virtue of his twofold office as King and
Priest of God. His kingly power shall bruise the destroyer's
head, shaU spoU the grave, shall raise his beUering ones
to the possession of etemal life. For the King knows who
they are who have fled for refuge to the High-Priest's mercy,
and it is therefore on thefr behaff that he shaU perform these
acts of power. And in -vfrtue of the same twofold office he
shall pronounce over thefr heads, in the sight of assembled
worlds, THE PEIESTLY BLESSING from THE THEOKB. " When
the Son of Man," he himself declares, " shall come in his
glory," and " before him shall be gathered aU nations," "then
shall THE KJNG say unto them on his right hand, Come,
YE BLESSED... inherit the kingdom prepared for you."' Then
shaU etemal salvation be revealed m all its fulness ; for the
righteous, in the power of that blessing, shaU go into Ufe
etemal, shining forth " as the sun in the Idngdom of thefr
Father.'" May the Holy Spfrit impress these precious truths on our
hearts ! They roU back the vail which hides the inrisible
world, and open to the view of those who trust m God what
1 Matt. xxv. 31—34. 2 Matt. xiii. 43,

CHAP. V. 5-10. 307
is passing there. They discover to them the Father who
fiUs that vast unseen, and the Brother who appears for them
before his face. They reveal also the coming eternity, giving
them to behold, with the eye of faith, the kingdom which is
prepared for them that love him. May such faith, such
hope be ours ! Then shall he of whom we have now been
speaking, be our comfort in life, our peace in death, and our
exceeding joy throughout eternal ages. Which may God
of his infinite mercy grant !
iSee Appendix, Note D.

308

LECTURE IV.
Hebrews v. 11 — 14. vi. 1 — 3.
(digression.)
" Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be
uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time
ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you
again which be the first principles of the oracles of God;
and are become 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 excercised to discern both good
and evil. 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, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands,
and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
And this tvill we do, if God permit!'
The apostle, as has been afready remarked, pauses here in
his argument, to warn and exhort the Hebrews. He
continues in this stram to the end of the sixth chapter, but
with the opening of the seventh the argument is resumed.
We cannot do justice either to the purpose or import of this
digression, without understanding something of the state of
those to whom St. Paul was writmg. They had been able,
as he tells us in the verses which we have just read, to
receive the principles of the doctrine of Christ; but there
was a point at which they stood stiU. They had repented of
their dead works ; they had beUeved in him who had sent
Jesus to save them ; they had understood the doctrine of
baptisms aud of lajdng on of hands ; they hoped for resurrec-

CHAP, V, 11—14; VI, 1-3. 309
tion from the dead, and looked for the eternal judgment :
and so far all was weU. But they found it vei-y hard tO'
believe that the heaven-appointed sacrifices, the imposing
ritual, and the gorgeous priesthood, to wldch they had been
accustomed under the law, had never, even from their first
institution, been anything but shadows. And they found it
harder still to believe that because the substance had come,
these shadows had fled away. They coidd not bear to hear
that God had now no occasion for the services of the legal
high-priest; that his sacrifices and his incense were alike
'without avail ; and that in Jesus alone, as at once sacrffice
and priest, acceptance with God was to be found. For
though believing in that sacrifice and loving him as their
Saviour, they could not divest themselves of confidence in
those rites to which they had been accustomed, and in the
intercession of that priesthood which from infancy they had
been taught to venerate.
These preliminary remarks, shewing the state in which
the Hebrew Churches then were, will enable us to under
stand the verses which form our text. I have spoken, says
St. Paul, of the Son of God as High-Priest after the order
of Melchizedec. On this subject I have many tldngs to srj,
but they are hard to be uttered, not because of their
difficulty, but because of your inaptitude to learn. This
inaptitude is the more melancholy, because considering the
time that you have been learners of the Christian faith, you
ought now to be able to instruct others in it. But so far is
this from being the case, that you have need to be taught
over again what are the elementary principles of the oracles
of God : we must feed you with milk, because, like babes,
you cannot digest strong meat. For every one who stops
short at this elementary instruction, and is contented with
such partial knowledge of the word of justification and
salvation, deserves no other name than a babe. The matured
Christian on the other hand, who by frequent exercise of his
mind on the mysteries of the faith can discern truth from
error, and is prepared to receive the one and to reject the
other, seeks deeper instm:-'ti.m, and will not lie con'.entcd

310 PART III. LECTURE IV.
without it. Seeing then that this is the case, continues the
apostle, let us leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ,
and go on to perfection. I cannot be always teaching, and
you must not be always leaming, about repentance from
dead works and faith toward God, about baptisms and
imposition of hands, about resurrection and etemal judg
ment : for m all these pomts you have been fuUy instructed
afready. We shaU therefore, with God's permission, advance
to higher and deeper things.
These higher and deeper things, as we shaU see when St.
Paul comes to their exposition, were Christ's Melchizedec-
priesthood, and his functions in the temple above. He calls
them "the perfection," because the knowledge and faith of
them is absolutely necessary to make the worshipper "per
fect as pertaining to the conscience," ' i. e. to impart to him
perfect peace vrith God. And for the same reason he teUs
the Hebrews that in being ignorant of them, they were un-
skUled " in the word of righteousness," i. e. in the way of
justification and acceptance. Nor is this aU. In caUing
those things in which they had already been instructed " the
principles of the doctrine of Christ,' and " the foundation "
on which this superstructure of matured knowledge was to
be budded, he plainly shews that simple as they were, they
contained the elements of those higher truths to which he
desired to conduct them. And finally, in telling the Hebrews
that they needed to be mstructed in these ffrst principles
" again," he as plainly shews that had they understood even
the elements of Christianity aright, they would have been
led to receive the very truths at which they were now
stumbling. And it is most true. A thorough comprehen
sion even of the ffrst principles of the oracles of God, would
have proved to them the utter inefficacy of the legal sacri
fices and the worthlessness of mere human mediation; and
in pro-ring this, it would have demonstrated the necessity
of these shadows being swaUowed up and done away in
Christ the glorious substance.
Haring thus endeavoured to explain the meaning of the
1 Hebrews ix. 9.

CHAP. V. 11—14; VI. 1—3. 311
text, so far as the Hebrews were concemed, let me now
shew from its contents what, in the judgment of an inspired
apostle, are the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and.
what is that matmed Imowledge of him which is necessary
for Christian men, if God is to be glorified in his Chmch.
These principles, which are six m number, have a most
remarkable connection together, and contain, when summed
up in one, an astonishing fulness of truth, elementary
though it be. For our better understanding of them, let
us observe that they are in pairs. Repentance and faith
are linked together, for there can be no repentance vrithout
faith, nor faith without repentance. Baptism and laying on
of hands are also Imked, for there was no baptism m St.
Paul's days without laying on of hands, nor laying on of
hands without baptism. And resurrection and judgment
are Unked, for resurrection is to judgment, and there can
be no judgment without resurrection. The first pair concerns
us as indiriduals ; the second, as members of God's Church
in this world ; the third, as creatures destined to live for
ever m the world to come. Such is their general import.
We shall now proceed to consider them one by one.
" Repentance from dead works" comes first in order.
The expression "dead works" is capable of two explanations.
It may signify sinful works, for St. James says that " sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth death ;" ' and St. Paul teUs
us that " the wages of sin is death."' Or it may signffy
works done -without the principle of life; referring to the
nature of sin rather than to its effects. The principle
which ought to animate us in all that we do, is love to God
and desire for his glory. But sin closes the heart against
God, and where this is the case, this living principle is
wanting, and our works in consequence are dead. They
may indeed be outwardly beautiful, but they cannot please
God. The beautiful features and well-turned limbs of the
dead cannot please us ; we turn from the sight with loathmg,
because life is wanting. And even so does God tum away
from the outwardly good actions of the man in whose heart
1 James i. 15. 2 Romans vi, 23.

312 PART III. LECTURE IV,
his love is not dwelling : it is in his eyes the beauty of the
dead. " Though I bestow all my goods," says St. Paul, "to
feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and
have not charity, it profiteth me nothmg."' And the
Church therefore teaches us to ask that God would pour into
our hearts "that most exceUent gift of charity, without
which," we are mstructed to say, " whosoever liveth is
comited dead before Thee."' " Repentance from dead
works" then, riewed m both these aspects, is ceasing from
sin, and ceasing to mock God 'with a serrice in which the -
heart is not. And that he calls on us to do this, is the first
lessson of Christianity.
But how is this to be done ? By " faith toward God,"
which is the second lesson. For ff a man has long been the
servant of sin, how is he to be taught to hate and forsake
it ? Or, if his heart has long been destitute of the love of
God, how is that love to be implanted ? Can the fear of
hell teach genuine hatred of sin ? Can the hope of heaven
implant in the heart the genuine love of God ? No ; such fear
and such hope, may lead those who are influenced by them,
to pretend to an experience which they never knew ; but
fmther they cannot go. Love can only produce its own Uke
ness. " We love him," says St. John, " because he first
loved us."' We know that he hath loved us, because itis
declared in the holy gospel that " God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son."* And believing this
gospel is " faith toward God." This faith therefore teaches
repentance ; believing in God's love to us, we leam to love
him again, and to tum from aU that is displeasmg in his
sight -with the abhorrence which love inspires. Let us
observe then the connection between the two first lessons
of Christianity. The flrst cannot be learnt -without
the second ; the second cannot be learnt without, in the
very nature of things, engraring the first upon the heart.
Reduced into one, these lessons declare God's -wiU con
cerning us as individuals. They teU us that if we would
1 I Cor. xiii. 3, a Collect for Quinquagesima Sunday.
s I John iv. 19, 4 John iii. 16.

OilAP. V. 11— 14 ; VI. 1—3. 313
please him now and see his face hereafter, we must beUeve
in his love in Christ Jesus, and be constrained by the power
of the holy affection which it produces, to forsake sm and to
walk in his blessed ways. This is the beginning of the
prmciples of the doctrine of Christ, the first letter of the
Christian alphabet.
" The doctrine of baptisms " comes next in order. St. Paul
does not say baptism, but baptisms, for the Hebrews were
acquainted with two, viz. that of St. John Baptist, and that
of Christ ; and many of them had received both. " The
doctrine " of these baptisms means the thing taught by them,
their import, thefr significancy. It is not difficult to ascer
tain this. St. Paul tells us that St. John "baptized 'with
the baptism of repentance, saying to the people, that they
should believe on him who should come after him, that is
on Christ Jesus."' The doctrine therefore of his baptism
was " repentance from dead works, and faith toward God."
And he enrolled those who received his words, among the
expectant disciples of the Saviour. But the baptism of
Christ, while comprehending this repentance and faith, went
a great deal further. The Saviour had come, had risen, had
died, had ascended, and had poured down the Holy Ghost
before it was administered. And those who believed on him
were received by that rite into the membership of the Church
" which his body," ' partaking through union with that body, of
the fatherly love and mercy which rested on it, and of the spirit
of Ufe which had descended from on high to animate it.
" Repent and be baptized every one of you," said St. Peter,
" in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and
ye shaU receive the gift of the Holy Ghost :" and " they,"
it is added, " that gladly received his word, were bap
tized.''' This then, is " the doctrine " of Christian baptism.
It is the seal of the new covenant, assuring us of the forgive
ness of God, and of the gift of the Holy Ghost. We may
indeed reject this forgiveness ; we may grieve and quench
this blessed Spirit, and so may finally perish. But this does
not disprove the doctrine which I have just laid down.
1 Acts xix. 4. 2Ephe». i. 23. s Acts ii. 38, 41.
VOL. I. P

314 PAET III. LECTUEE IV.
" Behold," says St. Paul, reasoning with the baptized
Gentile from God's dealings 'with the circumcised Jew,
" the goodness and severity of God : on them which feU,
seventy ; but toward thee, goodness, ff thou contmue in his
goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."' The bap
tized shall perish as the circumcised did, by not abiding
in the goodness of God. His goodness appears in the
remission of sin and in the Holy Spirit, both freely bestowed
on us in Christ. And for these inestimable benefits we are
for ever responsible to the giver.
With the doctrine of baptisms the text conjoins " laying
on of hands." St. Paul and his brethren the apostles, laid
on hands for two separate and distinct purposes. They laid
on hands in ordination, conferring by the same act authority
and abUity to minister. We read that before the seven
deacons of the early Hebrew Chmch entered on the func
tions of their office, the congregation set them " before the
aposties," who " when they had prayed, laid their hands on
them."* And St. Paul writes to Timothy, " stfr up the gfft
of God, which is m thee by the puttmg on of my hands.'"
No emblem could be more significant. It was a standing
sign to the Church that the authority and abiUty of her
mmisters both proceeded from above. But the apostles laid
on their hands also on all the congregation, that they might
communicate the Holy Ghost, We read that when " Samaria
had received the word of God," St. Peter and St. John went
down to them, and prayed " that they might receive the
Holy Ghost." And having prayed, " they laid thefr hands on
them, and they received the Holy Ghost."'' And we also
read that St. Paul when at Ephesus, found certain disciples,
and that when he " had laid his hands upon them, the Holy
Ghost came on them."* These two apostoUc acts are worthy
of separate and particular consideration. This consideration
we shall now endeavour to bestow.
God is the source of all authority, and the fountain of
all grace. When his Son appeared in the world, he bore
Roman xi. 22. * Acts vi. 6. s II Timothy i. 6.
* Acts viii. 14 — 17. & Acts xix. 6.

CHAP. V. 14—16 ; VI. 1—3. 315
his Father's commission. " The works that I do in my
Father's name," he said, " they bear vritness of me."' And
his Father's Spirit rested on him, for he " retumed in the
power of the Spirit into Galdee, and taught in their syna
gogues, being glorffied of aU."' He gave this commission
to his apostles; "as my Father hath sent me," he said,
" even so send I you." And he imparted this grace along
with it ; " he breathed on them," and said, " receive ye the
Holy Ghost."' They gave the same commission, as we have
seen, and imparted the same grace to those whom they
ordained. And aware that they could not be always vrith
the Church, they made prorision that after thefr decease,
her Bishops, as the ministry next in order, should continue
the exercise of this holy function. We find St. Paul
authorizmg Titus in Crete to " ordain elders in every city,"*
and charging Timothy in Ephesus, "the things that thou
hast heard of me, the same commit thou to faithful men,
who shall be able to teach others also."' And by this pro
vision, the holy ministry of Christ has been presen-ed from
generation to generation even to our own day. Its authority
has indeed in ages past been fearfully abused, and its grace
tumed into gaU and wormwood by the desperate vrickedness
ofthe heart of man. But, blessed be God, because Jesus lives
on high, this authority and this grace exist still in all their
freshness ; and those who desfre to serve him in his Church
may yet receive both, through the channels which he has
appointed. This then is the first part of " the doctrine of
the laying on of hands.'' And from St. Paul reckonmg it
among the principles of the doctrine of Christ, we are to
understand it as an unalterable Canon of the Church of the
liring God, that her ministry is at once heaven-appointed
and heaven-endowed. I am aware that this doctrine is
exceedingly unpalatable to the taste of the present day.
Why may I not take on myself the office of the ministry ? —
is the question of every self-confident and haff-instructed
man. Because Christ your Sariour did not do so, is our
1 John X. 25. ' Lukeiv. 14, 15. « John xx. 21, 12.
4 Titus i. 5. » II Tim, ii, 2.
P 2

316 PART III. LECTUEE IV.
answer. His ministry in this world, and his ministry in
glory were both given to him by another. And ff he has
not " glorified himself," surely you should forbear. Then
we shall have our church-ordinances and our own ordination,
is what many say. In answer to this I have only to ask, of
what ordination is St. Paul speaking in the text ? In his
days there was but one, as there was but "one baptism:"'
he could not have conceived of another. And there ought
never to have been another, for there is but one baptism stdl.
Rival altars in the Church of God, and the baptized set against
the baptized, are an awful spectacle m his sight. God has
indeed, in his adorable mercy, brought good out of this enor
mous evil. But while we acknowledge this with thankfulness,
we must not shut our eyes to the character of the eril itself.
But there was, as we have afready seen, another laying
on of hands, riz. on all the congregation, that they might
receive the Holy Ghost. It is a great mistake to say that
the purpose of it was to communicate miraculous gifts.
They were merely one manifestation of the Spirit, suited
for the time ; and all did not receive them. But the anoint
ing of the Spirit himseff, in whatever form he was manffested,
was designed for the whole Chm-ch. That this laying on of
hands was intended to contmue, may be certainly gathered
from two considerations. St. Paul calls it in the text, one
of the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and surely he
would not have spoken thus of a merely temporary ordinance.
He also connects it with baptism ; and ff we tum to the
Acts of the Aposties, we shaU find that this connection was
very close indeed. Baptism was the seal of God that hia
people were entitied to expect this heavenly anointing,
and the laying on of hands was the channel through which
it was communicated. When St. Peter and his feUow
apostle went down to Samaria, they found that the disci
ples had been " baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,"
and they forth-with "laid thefr hands on them." The case
of St. Paul at Ephesus is more striking stiU. He found
disciples tiiere who knew only St. John's baptism ; but he
1 Ephesians iv, 5.

CHAP. V. 11—14; VI, 1—3. 317
commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord,
and when this was done, immediately "laid his hands on
them," Now the principles of Christianity are unalterable,
and Christian baptism is the same from age to age. The
laying on of hands therefore of which we are now speaking,
was intended by God to continue ; and the Church of Eng
land in appointmg its continuance in confirmation, has acted
in a manner becoming her apostolic character. Like ordma-
tion, this holy function has by necessity descended on the
bishops since apostles have been gathered to their rest. But
this makes no essential difference ; the blessing conveyed is
'with God and not vrith man. He has no need of any man's
hands, to bless his people, nor of any man's mouth, to
instruct them. The hands of the bishop, and the mouth of
the minister, are used by him only because it seems good in
his sight ; man has been from the beginning, and will
wUl be to the end, heaven's appointed instrument in saving
and blessing his fellow. Are we then, men ask, to teach
our children to expect the blessing of the Holy Ghost from
the bishop's hands, in confirmation ? Most certainly you
are ; Almighty God is no trifler in his Church, every thing
-with him is deep reality. But it is not received, is the
objection. I beUeve that it is received, when the rite is not
tumed into a form ; and this is 'witnessed by the experience
of many who date their first conscious visitation of the Spirit
from this very time. And we may not attribute this merely to
the instruction which preceded, lest we separate what God has
joined together. He has connected instruction with imposition
of hands ; and the blessing given must be attributed to both.
Such then are the third and fourth lessons of Christianity,
As I have already pomted out, they respect us as members
of a body, and not as individuals. For taken together, they
declare that God having received us into his Church, has
bestowed on us m Christ the rendssion of sm, and the gift
of the Holy Ghost ; a ministry also to teach us concerning
this, his mestimable mercy; and hands privdeged to commu
nicate this heavenly gift. He who knows not these things,
is as yet ignorant of one of the principles of the faith -which

SI'S PAET III, LECTUEE IV.
he professes, has yet to learn the second letter of the
Christian alphabet.
" Resurrection from the dead and eternal judgment " come
last in order. Thefr doctrine is that all men shall take thefr
bodies agam, and that this shall be followed by a judgment, the
consequences of which shaU be etemal. It is needless to point
out the evident connection between this resmrection and
this judgment. The resurrection of Christ is at once the
pledge of both. His haring taken his body again is the
pledge that we shaU do so, for "in Christ," Scripture tells
us, "shall all be made alive."' And it is the pledge of
judgment also : he rose that he might judge ; God " hath
appointed a day, in the which he -will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath
raised him from the dead."' It is also declared with equal
emphasis that we shaU rise to be judged. " The hour is
coming," says our blessed Lord, speaking of himself, "in
the which aU that are m the graves shaU hear his voice, and
shaU come forth; they that have done good, unto the resur
rection of Ufe ; and they have done e-ril, un-to the resmrection
of damnation."' The indissoluble connection between the
resmrection of the dead, and their etemal judgment for
weal or for woe, is strikingly marked in these two expres
sions. The resurrection of life is our rising to inherit, by the
award of the Judge, the etemal kmgdom. And the resm
rection of damnation is our rising to inherit by the same
award the fire which is-prepared for the devU. And as the
resurrection of Christ is the pledge that this judgment ^aU
take place, it is the pledge of his people's eternal happinfesS.
" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
says St. Peter, "who according to his abundant mercy hath
begotten us again unto a living hope, by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead."* It is also the pledge of the
etemal misery of the wicked. For it assures them that they
have a Judge, living to sentence them and living to execute
his sentence. Such are the fifth and sixth lessons of the
1 I Cor. XV. 22. 2 Acts xvii. 31. a John y. 28, 29. « I Pet. i. 3.

CHAP. V. 11—14; VI. 1—3. 319
Christian faith. They respect us, as I have already men
tioned, m our relation to the world to come.
I have thus exhibited the principles of our holy religion.
Taken together, they declare God's Idndness to us as indi
riduals, his kindness to us as members of hi? Church, and
his intentions conceming us in the world to come. They
teach us also that he expects a return for this kindness in
our believing his gospel, receiving his Spfrit, forsakmg sin
and leaming to love and serve him. And they warn us not
to suppose that this kind One cannot be severe, pomtmg
our eyes forward not only to the kingdom which is prepared
for them that love him, but to the fire which is reserved
for his enemies. It is absolutely needful that we understand
these truths, and they are not difficult of understanding ;
they are the A, B, C of Christianity.
The Hebrews were well acquainted vrith them ; but St,
Paul finds fault because they did not discern in them the
germ of higher truths, and so stood stdl instead of advancmg.
Before considering how this applies to us, what those truths
are to which we ought td advance, it may be well to inqufre
whether the Church, as a body, in the present day, has at
tained to these principles. In asking this question, I do
not speak of those who have never given any serious thought
to religion. For though they belong to the Church as bap
tized persons, their minds are a blank on the whole subject.
But I speak of those who are laying religion to heart, and
professing to walk in the fear of God, And I ask, have
they as a class, attained to these " principles ? " Would to
God it could be said that they had ! But no one can pos
sibly say so who has made any extended or intelligent
observation of what is called " the religious world," On
every one of these principles much misapprehension pre
vails. Very many serious persons are completely astray on
the first and most elementary. They are perplexed with
the idea that repentance and faith is some condition of
mercy, which they are to perform before obtaming it. Or,
to vary the error, they imagine that repentance for sin gives
the right and title to believe on Christ for salvation! And

320 PAET III. LECTUEE IV.
as we advance in these principles, the darkness increases.
What knowledge is there now, (I speak generaUy) of " the
doctrine of baptisms and of laymg on of hands?" It is
thought presumption to be assured of the remission of sins,
and to look for the indweUing of the Holy Ghost. And
yet these are the very things sealed in baptism. Again,
men wUl come to God's house, to hear his word preached ;
but they forget that it is his word; they come to hear a
man speak to them. They do not enter the house of God,
expecting to hear, through his appomted ordinance, the
voice of him who dweUs there. And yet this is the differ
ence between the holy ministrations of the sanctuary, and
the expositions of a scientific lecture-room. The latter is
man speaking ; the former, in the Divine intention, is God
speaking by man's mouth: if it is not so, woe, woe be to
the mmister ! But we do not hear what instracts us, is the
immediate objection. And one great cause of our not doing
so, I answer, is the lack of this very faith. FmaUy, on the
subject of resurrection and judgment very great darkness
prevails. I have conversed with many serious persons, some
of them teachers of others, who had no idea of any hap
piness hereafter but that of the disembodied state, and who
complained, when you spoke of a material body, that you
lowered their conceptions of heaven ! And when the resur
rection of Christ has been instanced, it has been met not
unfrequentiy by the startling reply that for aught we know,
his human body may not exist for ever, that his humanity
peradventure shaU be absorbed into Deity again ! ! The
poet has expressed this sentiment in language beautiful
indeed, but fearfully unscriptural, —
"His human form dissolved on high
In its own radiancy.*'
I am not bringing a raffing accusation in stating these
tldngs, but declaring a mournful truth. And it is weU that
it be declared. There is no medicme for our spiritual pride
like a comparison -with the early Church. The Hebrews
knew all these things ; and yet, in the judgment of an
inspired Apostle, they were only children. What then, in
the judgment of God, is the present condition of the Chmch?

CHAP. IV. 11—14; VI. 1—3. 321
If the Church in this day, has not attained to these
principles, she cannot be expected to go beyond them. Nor
does she. A great proportion of what is called evangelical
preaching now, is a mere tale of the cruoifirion ; all theology
is comprehended by it in the statement that Christ died for
our sins. And men justify themselves in this by the de
claration of St. Paul, that he was " determined to Imow
nothing... save Jesus Christ and him crucified."' But
is there nothing in Jesus Christ save a tale of suffering
and death ? Yes, verily there is : He is God's Melchizedec ;
not the Sacrifice only, but also the Priest and the King.
To preach the Cross by itseff, is not then to preach Christ
fully. The Cross, the Mitre and the Crown, all centre
in his sacred person. And the attention of his people
should be directed not only to what he did for them on
Calvary, but to what he is doing now for them in heaven,
and also to what he shall do on their behalf, when he shall
come in the glory of his Father.
What then should be the object of the minister of Christ
with his people? To gi-ound them in the principles which
St. Paul here enforces, and then to lead them on. To
possess thefr hearts -with the faith of God's love, and to win
them by the exhibition of it, to his holy service. To lead
them into their closets to ask their heavenly Father's
teaching ; to bring them from the closet to the sanctuary,
expecting to hear there that Father's voice. To fill them
with the hope of resmrection, to impart to them that know
ledge of the Sariour which shall give them boldness in the
day of judgment He should thus roll back the vaU which
conceals the unseen world, and advancing to higher things,
so set forth the glories of the Royal, Everlasting High-
Priest as to darken in thefr esteem who listen to him, all
created beauty. Blessed is that Minister whom his Lord,
when he cometh, shall find to have so done ; blessed is that
flock on whom such labour is not in vain !
^ I Corinthians ii. 2.
See Appendix, Note E.
p 3

322

LECTURE V.
Hebrews ^. 4 — 8.
(digression continued.)
" 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. 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 : but that which
beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing;
whose end is to be burned!'
St. Paul has just been exhorting the Hebrews not to be
contented -with knovring the principles of the doctrine of
Christ, but to go on to " the perfection ; " and he now states
his reasons for this urgent admomtion. That he designs
the words of the text to be understood in this Ught, is mani
fest from the word " for" with which it commences. It is,
as ff he had said, I exhort you not to stand still, but to
advance. For there is great fear of those who stand stiU,
that they wiU lose the ground which they have gained, and
faU away altogether. And if you do so, after you have been
so far enUghtened, and have tasted the heavenly gfft, and
have been made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have
tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world
to come, it shall be impossible for me, as God's minister.

CHAP. VI. 4—8. 323
tq renew you again to repentance, since you wiU thus crucify
to yourselves the Son of God afresh. You will moreover,
by such apostacy, forfeit tliat blessing which God has pro
mised to the obedient, agd bring down on your souls that
heavy curse which is the meet reward of the reprobate.
Such is the erident import of the tremendous words of
the text. But when we come to consider them particularly,
they present very great difficulties ; and it becomes every
one who ventures to expound them, to proceed both with
caution and with modesty. I shaU divide the subject into
two parts, considering first, the case here supposed by St.
Paul ; and second, his judgment on it, with his reasons for
this judgment.
I. To put us in possession of the case here supposed by
St. Paul, let us read again his own words. It is the case
of— Those who where 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.
Expositors of Scripture have understood these words ac
cording to their different views of Christian doctrine. Some,
holding with the Armmian the possibiUty of believers in
Christ falling at any time from his grace and sinking at
last into perdition, appeal to them in direct confirmation of
the trath of that doctrine: while others, holding with the
Calrinist that the beUever cannot fall away, explain them
by saying that they merely suppose a case, and that as God
works by means, so a salutary fear of falling is used by the •
Apostle as the means of preserving God's people from such
a fearful catastrophe. I see strong objections to both these
riews of the meaning of the text. Having stated these
objections, I shall then present what I believe to be the
truth which it contains.
If we had no other scripture than tlds to guide us, I
frankly ovm that looking at its very strong language, it
VOL. I. p 4*

324 PART, III. lecture v.
would be difficult, if not impossible, to resist the Arminian 's
conclusion. But we have other scriptures, and in thefr light
we must understand that which we are now considering:
for the testimony of the blessed gpirit is ever in harmony
with itself And the statement that either the sin that is in
their own hearts, or the sin that is in the world around them,
or the power of Satan, can ever finally separate between
Christ and his believing children, I regard as contrary
not to a few texts, but to the great principles of the word
of God. Let it suffice for the present to mention one of
them. The life which we have received from Adam our
father after the flesh, is a mortal life, for it has been forfeited
by sin : but the life which we receive, through faith, from
Christ our spiritual Father, is expressly declared to be an
eternal life. If indeed this life did not commence tUl the
believer had passed mto glory, nothing could be deduced
from such an argument. But it is not so; this Iffe com
mences now, "He that beUeveth on me," said our Lord
to the Jews, " hath everlasting life." ' He explained him
self more fuUy when he said to his disciples, " This is Ufe
eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." ' And the disciple who
records these words has added to them the testimony of his
own experience. "We know," he says, speaking for himself
and his brethren, " that the Son of God is come, and hath
given us an understanding, that we may know him that
is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son
Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life." '
If we read these texts with understanding, we cannot fail to
perceive that the conscious fellowship which the believer
, now has with Christ his Saviour, is the beginnmg of a Iffe
which cannot die. This sacred principle may indeed be
feeble, nay it will be so till we quit this mortal body ; but
however feeble its beginnings are, it is an eternal prmciple.
As Jesus is now "the true God," and will be so for ever, to
know him, and to be in him, is to be possessed of Iffe, life as
eternal as his own. From these scriptural premises then,
1 John vi. 47. a John xvii. 3. 3 I John T. -20,

CHAP. VI, 4-8, :i25
we may conclude that he who is possessed of this life can
never finally perish. We are also possessed at this moment
of the life of Adam. But we may lose it before another
sun is set, for the reason which has been already given,— ^
it is a mortal life. And if the same thing be true of the
Ufe which we have through faith in Christ, if we may be
possessed of it now, and yet at some future period lose it
for ever, it also is a mortal, instead of bemg an etemal
life. But this conclusion is directly at variance with Christ's
own reasoning on the subject, " Your fathers." he said to
Israel, " did eat manna, and are dead ; this is the bread which
cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and
not die,"' There is no possibiUty, I am satisfied, of fairly
meeting this argument. To say that the life shall endure
as long as faith endures, is to betray ignorance of the whole
subject. For faith and love are the actings of spiritual life,
as much as breatldng and moring are the actings of natural
life. When breathing and moving cease, it is because
natural Ufe has ceased; when faith and love cease, it is
because spiritual life has ceased. But Christ declares et-
pressly in the words just quoted, that spiritual life cannot
cease ; and he repeats this assertion in stiU stronger language,
for he adds immediately, " if any man eat of this bread, he
shaU live forever."' This may be made further erident
both from the nature of faith, and from the relation between
Christ and his people. Christ himself has instructed us on
this subject, in that discourse to which we have afready
referred. He says of the believer, " he dwelleth in me and
I in him."' To dweU in Christ is to make him the object
of our confidence. " He that dweUeth in the secret place
of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. I vriU say of the Lord.,, he is my God; in him
wiU I trust," ' In thus dwelling in Christ we trust in him
for the forgiveness of our sins past, and for grace to subdue
them in the future ; we trust in him also for grace to over
come the world, and to protect us against the wUes of the
devU, And in this confidence we cannot be disappointed,
1 John vi, 49, 50, 51, 56. 2 Psalm xci. 1, 2.

326 PAET III. LECTURE V,
because the Lord is faithful. These hostile influences
cannot then prevaU to separate us finally from Christ ; for
ff they did prevail to do so, this confidence would be dis-
appomted. And thus, from the nature of faith, we may
certainly demonstrate its continuance. Nor is this all.
When the pride of our hearts is subdued and we trust in
Christ for pardon, and when our love of sin and of a present
world is subdued and we trust in him for grace to overcome
them, Christ comes into the hearts thus opened to him
and takes possession of them by the Holy Ghost; we
dweUing in him, he also dwells in us. As he declares by
St. John, " Behold I stand at the door and knock : if any
man hear my voice, and open the door, I wUl come in to
him."' And when Jesus thus comes into our hearts and
makes them his abode, who shall dispossess him ? Sin
cannot dispossess him, unless it is stronger than he. Nor
can Satan dispossess him. We have many instances, in
the gospel-narrative, of Jesus casting Satan out ; but we
have no instance of the contrary : and the strong man,
blessed be God, has not yet waxed stronger than his
conqueror. It is impossible then that Jesus shoidd be
dispossessed ; no power of evil can compel him to quit that
heart which he has made his abode. And from this may
be demonstrated the certainty of the believer's final salva
tion,. The Saviour to whom he has surrendered himself
will keep that which is committed to him tiU the day of
judgment and of glory, '
May St, Paul then be understood, as some Calvinistic
expositors say, to be merely supposing a case in the words
before us, that by the influence of salutary fear he might
preserve the Hebrews faithful? I cannot believe this. It is
unworthy of the blessed Spirit to suppose an imaginary
case : it is unworthy of men writing under his inspira
tion to seek to influence the minds of God's people
by the fear of an imaginary eril. Besides what do men
mean by a salutary fear ? The fear of falling one day
into endless perdition is a fear that " hath torment ; "
> Revelation iii. 20. 2 n Timothy i. 12,

CHAP. VI. 4—8. 327
the dreadful thought that even though committing our
souls to Christ's keeping, and trastmg in him for rictory
over the deril, the world, and the flesh, we may be given
up to these enemies and destroyed by them, is more than
sufficient to damp the beUever's joy m God, and to make
him distrust his Sariom. So far from being salutary
then, such a fear as this would be in the highest degree
detrimental. Moreover, it is not a truly Christian motive,
and cannot be made use of as such. This may be lAade
evident in a very simple manner. We are commanded, as
the chUdren of God by faith, to have " the same mind in
us, which was also m Christ Jesus ; " ' which implies that
we are to be influenced by his joys, his anxieties, his hopes
and his fears. Now was the blessed Jesus ever influenced
by such a fear as this, the fear of one day losmg his etemal
Father's favour ? It would be blasphemy to say so. It is
no motive for his people then ; and he who would make use
of it as such, separates the believer from his Saviour, Tor
menting fear is the motive of the slave, the lash which is
held over the sullen and disobedient. But fiUal confidence
is the motive of the child : looking up to heaven and crying
with Jesus, Abba Father, we are fiUed vrith that joy of
the Lord which is the strength of his people.
St. Paul appears to me to be declaring in the words
before us, only a mournful truth, viz. the possibUity of men
going a certain length in religion, and after aU, faUing
utterly away. And he reminds the Hebrews of this, be
cause their standing stiU at the principles of the doctrine
of Christ, made him afraid that this might possibly be the
case -with them. He mdeed discerned that about them, as
we shaU see in the next lecture, which greatly quieted these
fears ; but he had no infaUible assurance of their gracious
state, and saw enough to constiam him to write this waming.
Looking at the text m this light, let us consider it most
carefully. It wiU shew to us how far men went in the
apostle's days, who after aU, apostatized from Christ ; how
far men may go in our ovm days, and after all, alas, faU
back into perdition. 1 Phil, ii, 5.

828 PART III. LECTUEE V.
In looking then mto the words before us with the atten
tion whch they deserve, we discern three things, as marking
those who may afterwards fall away, viz. knowledge of reU
gion, comfort in reUgion, and power. These three things
were all found in the Hebrews ; for otherwise this warnmg
would not have applied to them. They had received the
knowledge of religion, for they had been "enUghtened."
They had discerned Jesus, the despised Nazarene, whom
thefr bUnded rulers had crucified as a malefactor, to be
indeed the Messiah promised to the fathers ; they had been
conrinced that there was none, other name save his only,
whereby they could be saved. They had therefore been
baptized in that name, and having, through the imposition
of hands before referred to, been made "partakers of the
Holy Ghost," they had received doubtless in yet larger
measure, "the spirit of vrisdom and revelation in the know
ledge" of the Saviour.' They had also found comfort in
reUgion, for they had "tasted the heavenly gift," and "the
good word of God." They had experienced the sweetness of
the gospel, they had been cheered by its declarations of grace
and its promises of glory. " After ye were Uluminated," says
St. Paul to them in another place, " ye endured a great fight of
afflictions." But "ye took joyfuUy," he adds, " the spoiling of
your goods, knowing in yomselves that ye have in heaven a
better and endurmg substance."' They had also experienced
the power of God sent down from heaven upon them, in attes
tation to Jesus as the Sariour. Having received the Holy
Ghost by the imposition of apostles' hands, they had both
exercised in their own persons, and seen exercised by others,
"the powers of' the world to come." They had healed the
sick, they had raised the dead, they had cast out the
deril ; they had performed, or had seen performed, all those
mighty acts which were a fore-shewing, even in this world,
of the powers of that which shall foUow. But ff the
Hebrews had really attained to aU these things, what
more, we are disposed to ask, could they lack to make
them Christians indeed ? And if those who had made such
1 Ephesians i. 17, 2 Hebrews x. 32— 34.

CHAP. VI. 4—8. 329
attainments might stUl faU away, which of us shaU esteem
himseff secure ? Let us look a Uttle deeper mto the text,
and we shall see that something is wanting in the enumera
tion of the apostie. He speaks of knowledge, comfort and
power, but he does not speak of lo-ve. And when he omits
to mention this bond of perfectness, we need not be surprised
at his speaking of the possibility of falling away. For if
love be wanting in our religion, everything vital is wanting.
" Though I speak v\ith the tongues of meii and of angels,"
says St. Paul in another place, " and have not charity, I
am become as sounding brass, or a tmkling cymbal. And
though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand aU
mysteries, and all knowledge ; and though I have all faith,
so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity,
I am nothing."' This language is much stronger than that
which we are now considering. The Hebrews knew only the
principles of the doctrine of Christ, but it speaks of all
knowledge, and of the understanding of aU mysteries. It
speaks also of the highest exercise of the powers of the
world to come, even of removing mountains by the strength
of faith. And surely the man to whom it was given to
discourse with an angel's eloquence on the wonderful
works of God, could scarcely fad to find some comfort in
what he uttered, to taste that good word which he was
declaring, and that heavenly gift whose value he was setting
forth to others. And yet even of him who possessed this
knowledge and power, and to whom it was given to discourse
on divine things vrith such superhuman eloquence, St.
Paul declares that wanting charity, he was nothing in the
sight of God. Our blessed Lord declares the same thing.
For he tells us of some who shall remind him at last,
"Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in
thy name cast out devils ? and in thy name done many
wonderful works ?" — ^to whom he shall profess, " I never
knew you."' And he tells us of others who for a time
had found comfort in reUgion, receiving the word " with
joy," but who for want of the " honest and good heart," i.e.
J I Cor, xiii, 1,2, 2 Matt, vii, 22, 23,

330 PAET III. LECTUEE V.
the heart of love, "in time of temptation fall away."'
In the Ught of these Scriptmes I would expound the
text. I believe that it describes a religion of knowledge,
comfort and power which may after aU, come to nothing
for lack of love. , And I am confirmed in this interpretation
by observmg, as we shaU see in the next lecture, what it
was which quieted the fears of St. Paul conceming the
Hebrews, and gave to him a comfortable persuasion that
thefr religion was not of this kind. It was his discovering
in thefr past history and present behariour, indications of
of their bemg possessed of love.
It becomes us to give heed to this solemn waming. " The
powers of the world to come" are not indeed now in the
Church, but the rest of St. Paul's description is verified in
the experience of every day. It is perfectly possible for
men to attain to the knowledge of reUgion, and even to great
comfort in religion, while yet it has no root in their hearts.
They may learn from the preached word brought home to
their consciences m the power of the Spirit, thefr lost estate
by nature, their need of a Saviom, and that Christ moreover
is a Saviour suited that need. And under this conriction
they may Usten -with joy to the message of salvation,
recei-ving comfort from its gracious declarations and cheered
by its promises of mercy. Under the mfluence of this joy
they may also do many things m God's serrice, tiU they are
supposed by others, and really suppose themselves to be in
the way to the kingdom of God. But aU the whde, to use
the somewhat quaint but expressive language of an older
school of divinity, the persons of whom we are speaking,
have never closed with Christ as a Saviour. Thefr con
riction of then- lost estate has not been so deep as tho
roughly to subdue their pride. They have looked back on
thefr past Uves, and seen themselves to be sinners needing
mercy, but they have not discovered the depth of the
-wickedness and corruption that is stdl vrithin them. They
have never been constrained therefore to fly for refuge to
the Saviour and to surrender thefr hearts unreservedly to,
1 Luke viii. 13, 15.

CHAP. VI.- 4—8. 331
the -regenerating power of his Almighty Spirit. Their
obedience and their zeal for God have been the fruit of
religious comfort; they have not been prompted by the
sober, steady, abiding impulse of love. Temptation comes
on this superficial religion ; the cares of • this world and
deceitfulness of riches entangle its professors ; and under
these evil influences it vanishes. The heart having again
found its comfort and its solace in the things of the world
and of time, gradually loses aU relish for the things of God
and of eternity. The Imowledge continues, but like all
unsanctified knowledge, it hardens that heart still more.
The profession perhaps contmues also, but all its vitality is
fled ; for those who have passed through the experience now
described, are, of all men, the most unimpressible and the
most fearfully estranged from God.
II. We now read St. Paul's judgment on this case, —
It is impossible... to renew them again unto repentance;
and also his reasons for this judgment, —
Seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh,
and put him to an open shame. For land 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 : but IP IT BEAE thorns and briers it is rejected, and is
nigh unto cursing ; whose end is to be burned.
The only means which St. Paul had, or which any
minister of God possesses of bringing men to true repen
tance, is the exhibition of the love of Jesus. But you
already know this love, he says to the Hebrews, as fuUy as I
can declare it to you. You have moreover tasted its consola
tions, and have had its truth attested from heaven in the
Holy Ghost descending on yourselves. And if in the fuU
knowdedge of this love, and iu the full experience of this
mercy, you deliberately tum away from him, enlisting your
selves among his bitter and implacable enemies, I possess no

332 P.i.RT III. LECTUEE V.
means of renewing you to repentance. The most powerful
considerations which the gospel furnishes, have already
been brought to bear on you ; ff you sin agamst these con
siderations and prove yourselves insensible to their mfluence,
I have nothing stronger to address to you; and I shaU
therefore find it impossible to touch your hearts any more.
The experience of God's ministers attests, alas, continuaUy,
the truth of this solemn waming. The mere fact that a
man has Uved in time past, in sin and estrangement from
God, ought to be no discom-agement in bearing to him the
gospel-message. It may be that no one has instructed
him; it may be that he has never heard of that love against
which ,sm is an offence ; it may be that when he does hear
of it, his heart will be melted within him. But when it is
otherwise, when we find ourselves speaking to one who
knows everything ¦ which we can teU him, who once pro
fessed to be influenced by the love of God, but has long
held it in unrighteousness, the case is very different. I
have never met -with such a case -without a renewed
conviction of the truth of the words before us, that it is
impossible to renew the enlightened again to repentance.
The two-edged sword of God's word has been blunted agamst
the adamantine hardness of the heart, and is m consequence
a powerless weapon in the minister's feeble hand.
We must remember moreover that apostacy provokes
God to deny that grace which alone can give efficacy to the
words of his minister. St. Paul points to this also in the
words before us. Those who in your circumstances, he
says- to the Hebrews, apostatize from Christ, not only
declare to the world your conriction that he was a deceiver,
and that he deserved his ignominious death; but you
declare this as the result of acquaintance 'with him, th6
result of haring been among his people, the result of haring
proved his religion. He is thus m you crucffied afresh and
put to an open shame ; you are worse than his origmal
betrayer, worse than his original murderers. And can God
be expected to vouchsafe his grace anew after such aggravated
provocation? He cannot be expected to do so. Those who

CHAP, 'VI, 4—8. 333
receive that grace mto their hearts and bring forth under its
holy influence those fruits of righteousness and trath which
are meet for that heavenly husbandman, shaU be rewarded
with his blessmg. But those on the other hand who repay
him for all the privUeges which he has bestowed on them,
with such base ingratitude and treachery, shaU be etemaUy
rejected from his mercy. The day is at hand when he shall
thunder against them from the judgment-seat, "Depart from
me, ye cursed :" and the end of those cursed ones is the
"everlasting ffre prepared for the devil and his angels."'
It is plam then, that whether he regarded the means
which he possessed as God's ndnister, of bringing men to
repentance, or looked at the principles of the divine pro
cedure toward men, St. Paul considered it impossible to
recover again such apostates as he here describes. It does
not foUow however that this rule is applicable in all its
strictness now ; our case is not in aU respects paraUel 'with
that of the early Church ; and God may, and often does
recover from most fearful blacksUding. But whde I say this
on the one hand that I may not Umit his mercy, I feel
constrained to add on the other, that it is an awful thing to
try what amount of provocation his patience wdl bear. And
the man who having tasted the consolations of religion, turns
back again afterwards into the ways of sin and folly, thereby
declaxmg openly that he has found the living God to be "a
wildemess," and " a land of darkness,"' puts that patience to
a trial which it may weU make us tremble to contemplate.
"It had been better'' for him, to use the language of St.
Peter, "not to have known the way of righteousness," than
after he has known it, to have tumed from God's holy
commandment. For ff "the sow that was washed," to use
the image of the same apostle, shaU return " to her waUowing
in the mire,"' it is presundng on Dirine mercy to expect a
second cleansing.
Let us now in conclusion, apply these lessons to ourselves.
The connection between the words which we have now
considered and their preceding context teaches us that those
I Matt, xxv, 41. -,! Jeremiah u, 31. ' II Peter ii. 21, 22,

334 PART III. LECTURE V.
who have received into thefr hearts as Ufe from God, "the
principles of the doctrine of Christ," will be found advancing.
It is the very nature of life to expand into maturity : it was
just because he did not discern the Hebrews to be advancing
in this way, that St. Paul addressed to them the waming of
the text, leavmg it on record also for our instruction. But
let us bear in mind on the other hand, that Ufe only can
advance, and see that we are receiring these principles of
the doctrme of Christ as Ufe to our souls. Let us seek to
know the Sariour as an object of confidence, trusting in him
for the forgiveness of our sins, and committmg to him om
sinful souls to be washed and cleansed and sanctffied for the
holy serrice of God. We shaU thus know him as an object
of love, for genuine confidence always produces love. And
genuine love m its turn strengthens and perfects confidence ;
"there is no fear in love," says the beloved apostle, "perfect
love casteth out fear." ' Thus to know the Sariour as the
object of unsuspecting, affectionate confidence, is life —
LIFE FROM ABOVE, the blcsscd gift of him who lives for
evermore And he from whom this Ufe proceeds, matmes
and perfects it through the ordinances of his Chmch. We
were instructed conceming these ordmances in the last
discourse, when we considered " the doctrine of baptisms
and of laying on of hands.'' For we are his Church, .his
husbandry,' his garden,' and the Father of Jesus is om
heavenly husbandman.* And as the earth, by careful tiUage,
and by drmking in the continual, fertiUzmg rain, brings
forth herbs to recompense man's labour, we in Uke manner,
if we have indeed received this Ufe, shall recompense the
labour of our God, and receive his blessing. Opening
our hearts to the 'word of heavenly instruction, and drinking
it in as it ". cometh oft upon" us, we shaU " grow in grace and
in the knowledge of our Lord and Sariom-," and bring
forth those fruits of righteousness which are to his praise
and glory. St. Peter, from whom I have just quoted, goes
on to tell us what those fruits are, " Add to your faith
1 I John iv. 18. ' ICor. iii. 9. s Cant. iv. 16.
A John xy. 1.

CHAP. VI. 4—8. 335
virtue ; and to rirtue knowledge ; and to knowledge tem
perance ; and to temperance patience ; and to patience
godliness ; and to godliness brotherly kindness ; and to
brotherly kindness charity. For ff these things be in you,
and abound, ye shall be neither barren nor unfraitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." We have seen
already that this life is etemal. And St. Peter confirms
us m this truth ; for having enumerated these fruits of it,
he continues, "if ye do these things, ye shaU never fall...
an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlastmg kmgdom."' Let us receive then into our
hearts through faith, this blessed, this fruit-bearing Ufe.
It wUl preserve us from the works and ways of unrighteous
ness, and from the fiery mdignation reserved for those who
foUow them : it -will enable us to serve God now, and prepare
us for his presence hereafter.
To this word of exhortation, I would add a word of wam
ing also derived from the text. Let us take heed of the
reUgion of mere knowledge. It is a fearfuUy perilous thing
to have the understanding enlightened in the mysteries of
the faith, whUe the heart remains unaffected : the knowledge
which does not melt, never fails to harden. And let us not
be too desirous of mere comfort, as if religion consisted m
elevated feelings and extatic joys. Let us labour to be
filled with Love. " Comfort may be the affafr of an hour : "
love is begun communion with the Father, and with his Son
Jesus Christ. It is that " bond of perfectness " between
the soul and God which " neither death, nor Ufe, nor angels,
nor principaUties, nor powers, nor things present, nor things
to come "' shaU ever be able to sever. It is that etemal
principle which shaU survive the decay of nature and the
change of aU created things, itself enduring as the throne of
God. FinaUy, it is that principle of mighty power which
shaU give us " boldness in the day of judgment."' When
he appears, before the rebuke of whose eye the heavens and
earth shaU flee away,* and when the fire which goes before
1 II Peter i. 5 — 8, 1 0, 1 1 ; iii. 18. 2 Romans viii. 38, 39. ^ I John iv. 1 7.
4 Eevelations xx. 11.

336 PART nt. LECTURE V.
him burns up his enemies on every side, ' those who have
known him as the object of their affectionate confidence,
Unaffrighted by his a'wful majesty, and by the throes and
convulsions of expiiing nature, shaU Uft up their heads,
exclaiming " Lo, this is our God ; we have waited for him, we
will be glad and rejoice in his salvation."' The apostle who
leant on Jesus' bosom concludes his prophecy of the glories
of that day by saying, " Even so, come. Lord Jesus."' And
if we leam with him to lean on the bosom of the Sariour,
we shall also be prepared with him for the appearing of the
Judge. Let us remember then the counsel of St. Paul,
"foUow after Love:" for "now abideth faith, hope, love,
these three; but the greatest of these is Love."*
Almighty God of his infinite mercy -write this blessed lesson
on our hearts !
1 Psalm xcvii, 3. 2 Isaiah xxv. 9. 3 Eevelations xxii. 20,
4 I Corinthians xiii, 13; xiv. 1, original,
See Appendix, Note F.

337

LECTURE VI,
Hebrews vi, 9 — 12,
(digeession continued,)
" But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and
things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour
of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye
liave ministered to tlie saints, and do minister. And we
desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to
the full assurance of hope unto the end : that ye be not
slothful, hut followers of them who through faith and patience
inherit the promises."
We may well suppose that when the tremendous words
which formed the subject of the last lecture, were read in
the ears of the Hebrew Churches, they would ffil those who
heard them -with consternation. They would say to each
other, it is plain that the apostle has lost all confldence in
us, and that he regards us as fast receding to apostacy ; and
as he cannot think so vrithout good reason, we fear that it
must be the case. St. Paul himself seems to have been
afraid of this, and of its exercising an evil influence on
those whose spiritual welfare he was so desirous to promote.
For he hastens, in the words which we have just read, to
qualify his language, assuring the Hebrews of his confidence
in thefr state, and declaring his reason for such confidence.
But at the same time, to prevent the alarm which he had
sounded from losmg its effect, he foUows up this expression
of confidence ¦with a most solemn and eamest exhortation.
'V'OL. I. Q

338 PAET III. LECTURE VI.
Such are the contents of the text. The confidence which
St, Paul expresses in the Hebrews, and the reason assigned
for it, naturally present themselves as the first subject of
consideration ; whilst the terms of his exhortation as
naturaUy form the second. We shall therefore take up
these important topics in order,
I. But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,
and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour
of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye
have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
Let not the language which I have used, says St, Paul,
make you stand in doubt for a moment, either of the sin
cerity of my affection for you, or of the depth of my interest
ui you. For I have confidence that you are Christ's people,
and you are therefore the beloved of my heart. Though
I have spoken of the danger of apostacy, I am " persuaded
better tldngs of you and things which accompany salvation ;"
I beUeve that you will persevere in the comse which
you have begun, till you attain the salvation of God and
the glory of his Idngdom. I have obsen-ed m you a " work
and labour of love," shewed towards God's name; and I
feel assured that he to whom it has been shewed, is " not
unrighteous to forget" it. A work and labour of love is
somethmg which we undertake for God's service, under the
constraining impulse of affection towards him. The word
" labour," indicates that it is m itself toUsome and painful,
but that it is persevered ui notwithstanding, because love
makes labom- light. This was the nature of the serrice
which the Hebrews had rendered in time past, and were
then rendering to God. It was " shewed toward his name ;''
implymg that his name was the object of thefr faith, and
had excited tiieir love. The name of God is his infinitely
perfect character. When Moses enti-eated that he ndght
be permitted to see his glory, "the Lord descended in
the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the

chap. VI. 9—12. 339
NAME of the Lord." He " proclaimed The Lord, The Lord
God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant
in goodness and trath, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving miquity and transgression and sin, and that wiU
by no means clear the guilty."' This is the name which
is revealed in Christ. It is the name of him who " so
loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son ;" who
in the blood of that Son, when he hung upon the cross as the
uncleared representative of the guilty, put away man's trans
gressions ; who through the same blood proclaims to man
forgiveness. The Hebrews had Imown this name, and had
put thefr trust in it ; they had believed in God as their
forgivmg Father, and had been taught by that faith which
always works by love, to surrender their affections to him
who had first loved them. Nothing therefore which was
undertaken for his glory, had seemed in their eyes an
exertion or a toil. The particular direction which this love
to God had taken, was toward his poor saints. They had
sought them out in thefr destitution, ministered to them in
their necessities, and comforted them in their sorrows. And
they had not been deterred by fear of suffering, from ac
knowledging these persecuted samts as brethren. St. Paul
reminds them, "ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
partly, whdst ye were made a gazing stock... and partly,
whUst ye became companions of them that were so used."'
He had therefore confidence in thefr state. He knew that
the eye of God was upon these works and labours, and that
he was not unrighteous to forget either them or the blessed
principle from which they proceeded. But can any works
and labours of ours deserve the remembrance of the
righteous God ? They cannot deserve it : but he has said
that he vriU remember them, and he is not unrighteous to
break his word. The gracious work of ministry to the
afflicted saints, has above all others the promise of such
remembrance. "'Whosoever," said our Lord to his disci
ples, "shaU give you a cup of water to drink... verily I
say unto you, he shaU not lose his reward."' And again
I Exodus xxxiv. 5— 7. ^ Hebrews x. 32, 33. = Mark ix. 41.
Q 2

;ilO PART III. LECTUEE VI.
on he tells us that in the day of glory he shall say unto them
the right hand, "Come, ye blessed... inherit the kingdom :...
for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat : I was thfrsty,
and ye gave me drink : I was a stranger, and ye took me in :
naked, and ye clothed me : I was sick, and ye risited me :
I was in prison, and ye came mito me." The Lord receives
these ministrations of mercy in the persons of his saints ;
for I " Verily say unto you," he adds, " Inasmuch as ye
have done it mito one of the least of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me."' Now St. Paul knew that the
members of the Hebrew Churches had been, and were
still given to such ministration. He had seen them feeding
the hungry samts, giring drink to the thfrsty, and waiting
on the sick. He knew that they had opened their doors
on many occasions to the poor afflicted wanderer and
clothed Ids nakedness, that they had sought out such as
were in prison and had not been ashamed of their chain.'
He knew that the word of a king' was passed that these
gracious acts should be remembered, and he therefore came
to the blessed conclusion, that Christ would not suffer those
who had thus loved him to fall finally from his grace, but
would sm-ely preserve them from every evil work, to the
promised rewards of his heavenly Idngdom.
This is indeed most consoling. It proves incontestably
the truth of what was stated in the last lectme, riz. that if
genuine love to God be found in us, we cannot faU finaUy
from his mercy. Love is far too precious in his eyes to
be thus rilely cast away. The words before us were not
written for the Hebrews only. We read'm the prophet
Malachi, conceming all that think upon God's name, "they
shall be mine, saith the Lord of Hosts, iu that day when
I make up my jewels."* They are the Lord's "special
treasure,"'' emphaticaUy his ; none of them shall be suffered
to faU into the enemy's hand. Shall God ever look down
from his throne of light upon the miserable tenants of
darkness, and say of them. They once loved me ? No, it
1 Matthew XXV. 34 — 40. 2 u Tim. i. 16— 18. s Matthew xxv. 34.
« Malachi iii. 16, 17. 5 Marginal reading of last text.

CHAP. VI. 9—12. 341
shaU never be. Or shaU those who blaspheme him in the
regions of despair ever look up and say. We once thought
-with tender affection on that name which we are cursing
now? No, it shall never be. They prophesied m that
name, m that name they cast out derils, in that name they
did many wonderful works ; and they remind Christ at the
judgment-seat of all these things. But wonderful works
and the casting out of devils are not works and labours of
love; of these they cannot speak. The flame of holy
affection towards God was at no time kindled in their hearts ;
for the Omniscient Judge declares, "I never knew you."'
Had that sacred flame ever been kindled, nothing should
have extmguished it. For while the religion of mere
knowledge, comfort, and power, may and often does, as we
saw in the last lecture, evaporate and come to nothing,
" charity never fadeth,"'
Let us however consider more particularly the ground
of flnal salvation. It is not correct to say on the one hand,
that we shall be saved if we love God ; such a sentiment
makes Divine grace to wait on human merit. But neither
is it correct to say on the other hand, that we shall be saved
if He loves us. Scripture tells us expressly that this
blessed love may be rejected, and that if it be rejected,
it shall condemn mstead of saring. What has been already
stated, appears to me to be the revealed truth of God on
this infinitely momentous matter. His love proceeds from
his own bosom, uncaused by anything in the fallen creature.
It is declared m the cross of Jesus, it is published in the
blessed gospel ; and it comes to om hearts, seeking to
produce its own Ukeness, to awaken a response towards
him. If it fail to awaken this response, it produces deeper
condemnation. " If our gospel be hid," says St. Paul, " it
is hid to them that are lost :"' "I was an hungred, and ye
gave me no meat," is the final sentence of the Lord Jesus.*
For the lost ones are those who have never believed Christ's
love, and who, not believing, have never learned to return
¦ Matthew vii. 22, 23. 2 r Cor. xiii. 8. ' II Corinthians iv, 3.
4 Matthew xxv, 42,

342 PAET III. LECTURE VI.
it. But if this love awaken in our bosoms the response
of confiding affection, we are bound to our God for ever
by the golden link of charity. Etemity itself shall never
separate between the God of love and that human spfrit by
whom his love has been received. A man loves a woman
and woos her to be his wife, but she rejects his love. No
bond is therefore formed between them. He may rise to
wealth' and distinction, whilst she sinks neglected into
poverty and destitution ; she has no claim on him whose
affection she has sUghted and put away. But if she accept
Ids love and become his wife, the case is altogether altered.
The husband and wife cease from the moment of thefr
union, to have any separate interests ; he endows her 'with
his goods, and honours her with his honour. She cannot
possibly sink into poverty, whdst he is blessed 'with abun
dance, for her claim on him is perfect and indefeasible.
St. Panl applies this iUustration. " Ye, my brethren," he
writes to the Romans, " are become dead to the law by the
body of Christ ; that ye should be married to another, even
to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring
forth fruit unto God.'" The risen Sariom then is our
heavenly suitor. He has so loved us as to lay down his
precious life on our behaff; and he now pleads with us in
the blessed gospel, putting us m muid of this love, and
beseeching us to put our trust in him, to place ourselves
under his protection, to submit to his guidance, and to
surrender our hearts to his holy Spfrit, that we may bring
forth fruit unto God. If our hearts remain shut against
this pleading, the love even of the cross cannot save us.
We can have no claim on affection which we have rejected
and put away ; we may be in the depths of perdition, whdst
the Sariour sits enthroned in glory. But if we receive his
love and accept him as the husband of our hearts, we are
bound to him for ever, by the indissoluble marriage-tie.
He camiot forget us amid the trials of time; "he that
loveth his wife," says St Paul, "loveth himseff... I speak
conceming Christ and the Church."' Neither can he forget
1 Romans vii. 4. 2 Ephesians v. 28, 32.

chap. VI. 9—12. 343
us when the glories of eternity are revealed ; he wiU endow
us with his goods, he will honour us with his honom.
Union -with Christ then, through his love received into the
heart, is the gi-ound and security of final salvation. The
language of St. Paul in the conclusion of the eighth chapter
of his epistle to the Romans, is a most triumphant demon
stration of this truth. For the Apostle in that famous
scripture, is not speaking, as some seem to apprehend, of
Divine love simply as existing in God's bosom and thereby
ensuring the salvation of its objects, but of that love when
it has awakened a response in the human heart. If he
tells us on the one hand that God is the friend of his
people and that he has given his Son to die for them, he
tells us on the other, that he has brought them home to
himseff in caUing and justification, that he has taught them
to love him, and "that all thmgs work together for good
to them that love God." And ff he tells us of a love in
Christ which cannot forget his people, he teUs us also that
this sacred principle has taken in their hearts such deep
and abiding root that they "are more than conquerors"
over eveiy effort of the enemy to make them forget him.
"Tribulation" and "distress," "persecution," "famine,"
"nakedness," "perd," and "sword," all assail them in
vain ; for his sake who has loved them they rejoice to be
"kiUedallthe daylong," and to be "accounted as sheep
for the slaughter." And havmg told us these tldngs, the
Apostle sums up his argument, declaring his persuasion
"that neither death, nor Ufe,"..." nor things present, nor
things tocome,"..."norangels, nor principalities, nor powers,''
nor any creatm-e which God has made, shall ever be able to
tear from the Divine embrace the souls whom the Saviour
has loved, and by whom he is thus loved again.' Such is
the value of love. Well saith the Holy Ghost, "Many
waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it :
if a man would give aU the substance of his house for love,
it would utterly be contemned."' The water- floods of his
people's transgressions cannot quench it in the bosom of
' Eomans viii. 23 — 39. 2 Canticles viii. 7.

344 PAET III. LECTUEE VI.
God ; the waves and billows of tribulation cannot drown it
in his people's hearts. We need not he surprised then at
the language of St. Paul in the text. It gave him no
assurance of the safety of the Hebrews to know that they
possessed knowledge, that they had found comfort in
religion, and that they had been privileged to exercise
" the powers of the world to come." But when he saw in
them uidications of this "exceUent gfft of charity,'' he
was persuaded conceming them " things which accompany
salvation." II. Having given utterance to this expression of con
fidence in the spiritual state of the Hebrews, the apostle
seems to have been afraid lest they ndght take undue
advantage of it, and so stand stiU mstead of pressing forward.
He therefore adds immediately —
And we desire that every one of you do shew the same dili
gence to the full assurance of hope unto the end : that ye
MAY NOT BE slothful, but followers of them who through
faith and patience inherit the promises.
You have loved the Lord, he tells them, and ministered
to his saints, and I commend you for it. But I desfre that
the same dUigence which you have shewed in doing so,
be maidfested by every one of you in seeking after that
enlarged knowledge of Christ which shall fiU you, even to
the end of your present comse of trial, with a steadfast and
unwavermg expectation of the fulfilment of those glorious
and everlasting promises which God has given to us in
him. I counsel you to seek after this fuU assurarice of
hope, that proving its invigorating and soul-sustaining
power, ye may be no longer slothful, but leam to bear
patiently whatever afflictions the Lord may lay upon
you ; following their bright example, who confiding in his
mercy have trod the same path before you. Their tiials
are now ended, and they inherit those promises in which
they trusted ; and so, after a season, shall it be with you,
if you follow their blessed footsteps.

CHAP, VI. 9—12. 345
Such is the substance of the verses which are now before
ns. Hope was the blessed principle which was to banish
slothfulness, and to inspire the Hebrews with patience in
running thefr Christian race. What a striking proof is
this of the truth of the statement of the last lecture, that
slavish fear is not a Christian motive ! The Apostle in the
immediate context, has been speaking of the terrors of
perdition. But when he would urge the Hebrews to press
on, he alters his tone and speaks ui the language of kind
ness, bidding them assure themselves of God's etemal mercy,
and look forward to that day when, with aU the company
of the just, they should inherit his glorious promises. The
worthies of the former dispensation, whose history is referred
to at length in the eleventh chapter of this book, are evi
dently those whose example he here bids them foUow.
Such men as Jacob, Moses, and Samuel, had many trials
appointed to them, and requfred, throughout thefr earthly
course, to exercise both faith and patience. But they had
the promises of God, and sustained by assured hope of
their fulfilment, they did his work in their generation,
and have now entered into his rest. Prove ye then, my
brethren, says St. Paul, the invigorating and soul-sustaining
power of the same promises, now revealed 'with a distinct
ness not vouchsafed in the days of these patriarchs, kings
and prophets. So shall you copy the pattern of their exalted
walk, and pressing forward to do Christ's will and to witness
for his name in the midst of persecution and trial, shall
have at last an entrance ministered to you, into Ids eternal
kingdom. But if fear is not a Christian motive, why, it may be asked,
does St. Paul speak at all in the context of the teiTors of
perdition ? And are the words of the text, it may be further
asked, designed to supersede and nullify those which have
preceded them? This were altogether unworthy of an
inspfred apostle. If St. Paul had been privileged vrith an
infaUible assurance of the gracious condition of all whom he
was now addressdig, he would not, I conceive, have made
use of this language of terror. But he had no such
Q 3

•VIS PAET III. LECTUEE VI.
assurance ; his judgment was that of charity only. If we
bear this in mind, so far from thinking the apostle incon
sistent, we shall see reason to admire his wisdom. He
addresses to the Hebrews a word of severity and alarm,
and then foUows it up by one of kindness and encourage
ment. If there were any in the Hebrew Chmches who
-were trusting in their knowledge, gifts, and attainments,
whilst they were destitute of faith and love, the word
of alarm might be blessed to arouse them from their
lethargy, and to lead them to the Sariour. Whilst the
faithful in these Chmches could not fail to be affected vrith
ths most poignant grief and shame, that thefr backwardness
in God's ways should have been such, as to suggest to the
mind of the writer the possibility of thefr being of those
who might draw back to perdition. And when they found
that not'withstanding this, they were stdl the beloved of his
heart, and that he spoke to them in tones of encouragement
and kindness, they would be fumished vrith the most
generous of aU motives to press forward. For this kindness
would melt thefr hearts and fill them with anxious, affec
tionate desire never again to be the occasion of similar
disappointment either to him or to that Di'vine Master
whose word was m his mouth. And the case is the same
Btdl. If we, as God's ministers, were pri-rileged with an
assmance from him, of the gracious state of all whom we
addressed, we would never use the language of terror. To
speak to a man as a believer, and yet to teU him of the
danger of perdition, is indeed a contradiction in terms.
Those who imagine that we are saved for the merit of our
faith may not think so : but all who know what faith
really is, viz. an unfeigned trust in Christ for salvation, and
who know also that in the Saviour's faithfulness this trust
cannot be disappointed, must discern it to be true. But
God only knows with certainty who the believer is ; we can
know men as professors merely. And therefore it is that
we use, in addressing them, the language of terror and alarm.
Fear is often a most efficient instrument for rousing the
dead and carnal professor, and constraining him to fly to

CHAP. VI. 9—12. 347
the Saviour. But after we have kno-wn that Saviom's
name and trusted in his grace, fear can do no more for us.
We come then under the influence of higher and nobler
motives ; we learn to obey as Jesus himself obeyed ; our
work and labour becomes a work and labour of love.
Let me now conclude this subject by applying to our
selves its other lessons also. Let us observe first, what the
Hebrews had attained, and seek to make their attainments
oijr own. They had attained to love; and we have seen its
unspeakable value.. Do we ask how we are to learn the
lesson ? As the Hebrews leamed it, is the answer : let us
know God's name. When that name was revealed to Moses,
we read that he " made haste, and bowed his head toward
the earth, and worshipped." He also prayed for himself and
for Israel, " If now I have found grace in thy sight, let my
Lord, I pray thee, go among us ; and pardon our iniquity
and our sm, and take us for thine inheritance."' And if
the glory of this name shines into our hearts, the effect on
us -will be the same. Beholding in Jesus the love of God,
beholding in the bitter cross mercy and ti-uth meetmg
together, righteousness and peace kissing each other,'
seeing God revealed in it as the just God and yet the
Sariour,' we shall desfre above all things to be his people,
and to have him for our God. We shall not ask tlien how
we are to learn to love him ; love wiU possess our hearts
unbidden, and fill them to overflowing. But we must
guard here against a mistake into which we may be apt to
fall. It has been afready pointed out that the love of God
saves us by awakening a response in our hearts. And we
may therefore suppose that our consciousness of loving God
is to be our ground of confidence toward him, the ground
of our hope of salvation. Let us take heed of this fatal
error ; our love vrill die under its influence, losing its
generous character, and becommg mere covered selfishness.
If a man seek the affections of a woman and prevail to
gain them, the exhibition of his character which wms her
love, wins her confidence along with it. And it is so with
1 Exodus xxxiv. 8, 9. 2 Psalm Ixxxv. 10. a Isaiah -xlv. 21.

348 PART HI. LECTDRE VI.
the Sariour and us ; the glory of his goodness shining into
our hearts wins our affection, and wins, at the same instant,
our entire and unreserved confidence. We trust without
fear m this goodness, for our forgiveness and final salvation :
and to one who is so gracious, we are not able to refuse our
love. Affection and confldence are in fact twin-sisters :
where you find the one you will never miss the other.
Let us be stirred up in the second place, to seek after that
wldch the Hebrews had not attained. It is very instructive
to compare the text with what St. Paul teUs us of the Thes-
salonian Church. " Remembering -without ceasing," he -writes
to them, " your work of faith, and labom- of love, and patience
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and
our Father." God looked down on his Thessalonian children,
and was witness to faith, love, and hope : he looked down on
his Hebrew children and saw faith and love only ; hope was
lacking. The Thessalonians desired so ardently to behold
the glory of their risen Sariour, that the Apostle felt con
strained to pray for them, " The Lord direct your hearts
into. . .the patient waitmg for Christ." ' But it was otherwise
with the Hebrews ; " the example and shadow of heavenly
things"' was obscuring in thefr eyes the heavenly thmgs
. themselves. Would to God, that in looking from his throne
of light he saw in us aU which he saw in the Hebrews ! But
even if it were so, it should not be enough ; we must
foUow the Church which is commended, and not that which
is blamed. Enlarged knowledge of the Sariour leads to the
full assmance of hope. Let us not say then that knowledge
is not necessary, that love is aU : for Itnowledge, if received
aright, increases love. Besides, love is not all. " Now
abideth,'' says St. Paul, "faith, hope, love, these three."'
We must therefore prove their combmed influence, if we
would walk and live to the praise and glory of God. St.
Paul brings the power of hope to bear on the Hebrews to
quicken their slothfulness, and to lead them to foUow the
example of the samts who had gone before them. And it
I I Thess. i. 3, 10; II Thess. iii. 6. 2 Hebrews viii. 5.
3 I Corinthians xiii. 13.

CHAP. VI. 9—12. 349
wiU exercise on us the same quickening power. Dwelling
habitually among its invisible and etemal realities, we shall
be raised above the petty interests of this present passing
world ; om faces will shine like that of Moses when he
descended from the holy mount, and men shall bear witness
of us that " our citizenship is in heaven."' This fuU assu
rance of hope, this faith also and this love, ought moreover,
to be the attainment of " every one " of us. I know not
whether in this day we receive little because we expect little,
but certainly in tlds respect there is utterly a fault among
us. A minister of God has hundreds of baptized families
committed to his pastoral care, and preaches the word among
them. One member of one famdy and two members of
another, scattered up and down through the congregation,
receive that word and live under its influence, and he who
preaches it thanks God for his success. But why should
the word of God produce so scanty a return ? Would the
apostles have been satisfied with this measure of success
in the early Churches ? No ; they knew the way to heaven
themselves, and, as we may leam from the text, the object
for which they labomed was to carry all the baptized to
heaven along with them. They did not indeed succeed
with all, but those with whom they faUed were the excep
tion. But now alas we fail with the majority, and those
are the exception whom -we prevail to bring to Christ and
save. It ought not sm-ely so to be : God " wiU have all
men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the
truth."' He wiU have "every one" of us, the young and
the old, the rich and the poor, the parent and child, the
husband and -wife, the master and servant — all without
exception, all without distinction, to know his name, to
love him and to hope in his eternal mercy. May the Lord
himseff incUne us to this, his holy wiU !
1 Philip iii. 20. Original. 2 I Tim ii. 4,

350

LECTURE VII.
Hebrews vi. 13—20.
(digression concluded.) ,
" For when God made promise to Abraham, because he
could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, saying,
Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will
¦multipily thee. And so, after lie had patiently endured, he
obtained the promise. For men verily swear by the greater :
and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto tlie heirs
of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an
oath: that by two immutable things, in which it was im
possible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation,
who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before
us : vjliich hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure
and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the vail;
iritither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an
high priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedec."
It is with considerable hesitation that I apply myseff to the
exposition of this magnificent scripture. That the Almighty
should swear by himself is an announcement so amazing,
that it is impossible to give adequate expression to the
feeUngs which it awakens. The etemal existence and glori
ous character which are thus staked to the fulfUment of his
word, the unspeakable condescension which has induced him
to offer such a pledge to his people, the everlasting and
indefeasible secm-ity of those that trust in him a security
perfect as his own eternal throne, all rush at once upon the
mind and nearly overpower it. He must be irreverent indeed

CHAP. VI. 13—20. 351
who does not feel constrained to stand stiU and adore. Let
us endeavour however by God's help, to consider this
mighty subject. And may he who has caused all Scriptm-e
to be -written for our leaming, at once make it plain to our
understandings, and impress it on our hearts !
The text naturally divides itself mto three heads. We are
told in the first place, that God made a promise and sware
with an oath to Abraham, that Abraham believed him, and
that God was faithful. We are told in the second place,
that God has made this promise and sworn with this oath, to
as many as take refuge in his mercy. Having told us these
things, St. Paul enlarges in the third place, on the eternal
secmity of this promise and oath of God.
I. For when God made promise to Abraham, because 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, lie obtained
the promise.
St. Paul has been exhorting the Hebrews m the immediate
context, 'to seek after " the full assurance of hope," and to
" be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit
the proniises.'' From this exhortation the transition to the
case of Abraham is at once natural and apposite. For God
raised up that patriarch, made promises to him and fulfiUed
them, for the very end of so revealing the faithfulness of the
Divine character, that his people to the end of time,
might be encouraged to hope in his mercy. Abraham
also was "the father of aU them that believe,"' the most
distinguished of that goodly company of whose faith and
patience the apostle had just made mention. If therefore
the Hebrews wanted encouragement to hope in God, the
case of this patriarch fumished them -with such encourage
ment. And ff they wanted an example of such hope, they
found this example m him. We, I need not say, may make
the same twofold use of his history. Let us therefore give
» Romans iv. 11.

352 PAET III. LECTURE VII.
earnest heed to what St. Paul here declares concerning him.
He tells us that God " made promise to Abraham." This
prondse unquestionably was that of him should come the
seed who should inherit Canaan, and from whom, in the
fulness of time, should proceed that Sariour who was the
destmed hefr of the etemal throne. But there was a smaller
promise, viz. of the birth of a son to the patriarch in his
childless age. And this smaller promise was the germ of
the larger, containing the pledge of its accomplishment.
Abraham doubtless regarded it m this light, for we are told
in the words before us, that " he obtained the promise.'' He
received Isaac from his Creator's hand as the first fruits of
the fulfilment of his gracious word, and as the pledge that
all which was promised ih connection -with him, should
surely come to pass.
St. Paul tells us also, that God confirmed this promise with
an oath, swearing by himself, " because he could swear by
no greater," saying " Surely blessing I wdl bless thee, and
multiplymg I -will multiply thee."' These words were
spoken on Mount Moriah, after the patriarch had offered his
son on the altar, to convey to him the assurance of the
Divine approbation and reward. But this suggests a diffi
culty. If they were spoken so many years after Isaac's
bfrth, why does St. Paul introduce them in thefr present
connection ? why does he quote them as the language of an
oath confirmatory of the promise of that birth? This
difficulty I shall endeavour to explam. Twenty-five years
before Isaac's bd-th God promised to Abraham, that he
should be blessed and multiplied. And full fifteen years
before it, he confirmed that promise with an oath. He did
not indeed repress that oath in words ; but it was expressed
by an act far more solemn than any words. And the words
here quoted, which were spoken some forty years afterwards,
were merely a clothing in language of the adjuration which
had preceded. St. Paul therefore introduces them, to avoid
circumlocution ; it makes no difference to the essential
truth of his argument, that they were uttered, in point of
1 Genesis xxii. 16,17,

CHAP, VI. 13—20. 353
time, subsequently to the bfrth of Isaac. Let us refer to
the book of Genesis, that we may at once perceive the trath
of these remarks, and in the light which it affords, apprehend
the meaning of the text. " Abraham was seventy and five
years old when he departed out of Haran." God had
promised to him before this, "I wdl make of thee a great
nation, and I -will bless thee, and make thy name great ; and
thou shalt be a blessing.'' He repeated that promise when
the patriarch came into Canaan, saying, " Unto thy seed wUl
I give this land." ' And some six years afterwards he
repeated it again, saying, " All the land which thou seest, to
thee will I give it, and to thy seed ; and I will make thy seed
as the dust of the earth."' The patriarch seems at first to
have imagined that these promises were to be fulfilled in the
issue of an adopted chUd. But God forbad him to think so,
for he appeared to him in a vision and declared expressly,
" he that shall come forth out of thine o-wn bowels, shall be
thine hefr." He then assured him that his seed should be
as the stars of heaven in multitude, and repeated the
promise of the inheritance of the land.' The patriarch
havdig received so many assurances of Divine mercy, ven
tured at length to soUcit a sign of their fulfilment. Aud
this brmgs us to the very pomt which we are now consider
ing ; God, in answer to this petition, confirmed his word by
AN OATH. " Take me," he said, " an heifer of three years
old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three
years old, aud a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon." " And
Abram took unto him all these, and divided them in the
midst, and laid each piece one against another." Haring
done this he waited many homs in anxious expectation ; but
at length, " behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that
passed between those pieces :'' and " the Lord made a coven
ant with Abram, saying. Unto thy seed have I given this
land."* These verses requfre a few words of explanation.
It was commom in old times, to establish covenants by
sacrifice. There were two modes of doing this. The con
tracting parties sometimes laid their hands on the head of
1 Gen, xii. 1—7. 2 Gen, xiii, 15, 16, » Gen, xv. 1—7. 4 8—18.

S-'ll PAET III. LECTURE VII.
the victim, imprecating on themselves the same death which
had descended upon it, if they observed not thefr plighted
word. At other times, as in the case before us, the rictim
was cut asunder, and the contracting parties passed between
the parts of it. But the meanmg of this act was the same.
It was. May we be cut asunder like this rictim, ff we keep
not the faith which we have pledged ! This covenanting by
sacrifice was regarded as the most solemn form of adjuration,
far more so than any oath which could be expressed by word.
If a man deceived his neighbour after having so sworn to
him, it was the most atrocious offence which could possibly
be committed, and brought down the Dirine malediction.
The prophet Jeremiah has recorded a most awful example
of this. It was the commandment of God by Moses that
every seventh year should be a year of release to Hebrew
slaves ; but the Jews in the days of Jeremiah were U-ving
in contempt of this commandment. And though, when the
army of the king of Babylon approached Jerusalem, they
were so wrought upon by their fears as to make a covenant
by sacrifice to perform it, they forgot their promises and
brought thefr brethren again into subjection whenever these
fears subsided. Let us hear the judgment of God on
this atrocious breach of faith : it fully confirms the state
ments which have just been made. " I -wdl give the men,"
he said, " which have not performed the words of the cove
nant which they made before me, when they cut the caff in
twain, and passed between the parts thereof, the princes of
Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the
priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between
the parts of the calf ; I -will even give them into the hand
of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek thefr
life : and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls
of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth,"' Let us
mark the emphasis of this judgment. Twice over does the
Almighty declare that they had passed between the parts of
the calf And the deadly vengeance which this signfficant
act imprecated, was therefore to be accomplished on these
1 Jerem. xxxiv. 8 — ^20.

chap. VI. 13—20. 38 5
miserable men. These tldngs at once explam the transac
tion between God and Abraham which we are now considering.
The "smoking furnace" and "bummg lamp" which passed
between the parts of the heifer, the she-goat and the ram,
were, beyond aU question, the emblems of the Divme Majesty.
Almighty God then (amazing condescension !) passed in
THESE EMBLEMS, BETWEEN THE PARTED SACRIFICE, declar
ing by the significant act, as truly as I live, as truly as
I CANNOT DIE, AS TRULY AS I CANNOT BE CUT ASUNDER, SO
TRULY -WILL I PERFORM MY WORD. Was not this Swearing
by himself ? And what was the word which this sacrificial
oath conffrmed ? It was the promise, as the words afready
quoted from the book of Genesis declare expressly, that
Abraham should be the father of a seed as numerous as the
stars of heaven, and that this seed should inherit Canaan.
Let us compare this -with the text. It tells us that God
sware by himseff that Abraham should be blessed and multi
plied. It is evident that these statements are in all
respects the same. The words then which were uttered on
Mount Moriah were not the first divme adjmation -with
which the patriarch was favom-ed, but a repetition of one
which had gone before. We may gather this indeed from
the words themselves, "By myself hate I sworn.'" As if
he meant to convey to the patriarch this delightful intima
tion — I sware before that I would bless and multiply you,
and now I repeat my oath; you have proved by the obedience
of this day, that you are worthy of my blessing.
St. Paul teUs us finally, that Abraham, having received
this promise and having had it so solemnly confirmed,
"patiently endured" and at last "obtamed" it. For ten
long years his confidence was sustamed by the promise only.
But at the end of that period the haff-querulous expostula
tion, "Lord God, I go chddless,"' intimated that faith was
wavering. He received in answer to this, as we have
already seen, the confirmation of the oath, by which his
confidence was revived and upheld for fifteen years longer.
They must have been years of singular trial. During four-
1 Genesis xxii, 16. ' xv. 2.

356 PART III. LECTURE VII.
teen of them he had no communications from on high ; ' his
marriage with Hagar, by which he had hoped to obtam the
promised seed, proved only bitterness and disappointment,
and every year was diminishmg the probability that Sarah
should ever become a mother. But God's eye had been
on this patient endurance, and it was at length rewarded.
He visited Sarah "as he had said," and she bare to the
the patriarch " a son in his old age." The patriarch was an
hundred years old, and his aged partner was ninety, when
this child of promise was bom. And so astonishmg in these
circumstances, was the mercy of his birth, that the joyful
mother exclaimed, " God hath made me to laugh, so that all
that hear wUl laugh with me."' This was commemorated
in the name of the child ; for Isaac signifies laughter, glad
ness of heart. The language of the text then is most
perfectly natural. Aged Simeon did not Uve to see the
salvation of God perfected, for that salvation in its perfect
ness, is not yet revealed. Nevertheless, beholding in the
infant of Bethlehem the germ of God's mighty purposes
and the certam pledge of their accomplishment, "he took
him in his arms, and blessed God, and said... mine eyes have
seen thy salvation."' And we may weU conceive that
Abraham's feeUngs on the day of Isaac's circumcision, were
tiie same. He did not live to see his seed multiplied and
every thmg fulfiUed of which God had spoken to him ; but
yet, as he took the child in his arms, he could say vrith most
perfect truth, after patient endurance. Lord, I have obtained
thy promise.
And now ye Hebrews, says St. Paul, when your faith and
patience are about to fail, when you are tempted to think
that your course of trial is needlessly protracted and that
God has forgotten you, remember your father Abraham.
See in him a pattern of faith and patience, see in him the
faithfulness of God. Let every tempted and exercised
Christian take the same comfort from this patriarch's history.;
for Abraham is our father also.* And blessed be God, 'there
' Genesis xvi. 16, xvii, 1, 2 xxi, 1 — 6, 3 Luke ii, 27 — 30,
4 Romans iv, 16,

CHAP. VI. 13—20. 357
is even yet greater consolaticHi stored up for us in his
dealings vrith Abraham. AU the promises which were made
to him, had a double reference, first to his natural seed and
to the earthly Canaan ; second to his spiritual seed, Chrigt
and his beliering people, and to the kingdom of glory which
is their destined inheritance. The same thing is true of the
oaths. In the sacrificial oath which has now been expounded,
and in the verbal oath on Mount Moriah, God sware by
himseff, not only that the Jews should be multiplied and
should inherit Canaan, but that the spiritual seed should be
a multitude which no man could number, that they should
inherit God's blessing and should enter at last into his rest.
This -will appear very plainly when we now proceed with the
text. II. For men verily swear by the greater : and an oath for
confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherein God,
willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the
immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath : 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.
It is the custom among men, says St. Paul, to "swear by
the greater," and when there is any strife between man and
man, such " an oath for confirmation " settles it. But God,
he contmues, is " more abundantly " desirous " to shew unto
the heirs of promise the immutabdity" of his pmpose to
bless them, than any man can be to assure his fellow of his
faithfulness. And therefore, observing that this is the way
among men, he has adopted it in his adorable condescen
sion, confirming with an oath his words of grace and mercy.
Those whom God has thus determined to bless, are the
people who beUeve m Jesus. For they are Christ's, and the
promise to Abraham, "a God to thee and to thy seed,"'
descends and terminates on them. St. Paul teaches this
most distinctiy, in his epistles both to the Romans and
^ Genesis xvii. 7.

358 PART III, LECTUEE TII.
Galatians. To the Romans he says that Abraham " received
the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the
faith which he had : . , ,tliat he might be the father of aU them
that beUeve : , , ,that righteousness might be imputed unto them
also,"' And to the Galatians he says, " Know ye therefore
that they which are of faith, the same are the children of
Abraham :" and agam, " They which be of faith are blessed
vrith faithful Abraham,"' To explain to us also how it is
that we are the chddren of Abraham and are blessed -with
him, he adds,'"ff ye be ¦ Christ's, then are ye Abraham's
seed, and hefrs according to the promise,'" For Christ is
that seed whom God prondsed to give to Abraham and to
bless etemaUy ; and in Christ his people are included. This
gracious purpose of God to bless the heirs of promise, has
been confirmed, as the text assures us, " by an oath." St.
Paul refers eridentiy to the oath sworn to Abraham. There
is no other oath to assure the believer of salvation ; and
those who are hefrs of the patriarch's promises must be heirs
also of the irrefragable oath which confirms them. The
"smoking furnace " and "burnmg lamp" were God's oath
to Abraham that his seed should inherit Canaan. This, no
doubt, had a fulfilment when Israel left Egypt under the
conduct of Moses, and were put in possession of that land
by Joshua.* But another fuffilment awaits it ; St. Paul
declares expressly that this seed was Christ, and adds in
reference to this very transaction, that the covenant which
was thus " confirmed before of God unto Christ," could not
afterwards be annuUed by the law." We have afready seeu
that Canaan in the day of glory, is the destmed inheritance
of Jesus and his people. This therefore was the covenant
which was then confirmed unto Christ. And when the Son
of God shaU appear and his saved ones along with him, this
oath and the oath on Mount Moriah shaU have thefr final
and etemal accomplishment. For the saved shall be " as
the dust of the earth,'' as the sand of the sea, " as the stars
of the sky in multitude," and Jesus " the Lord of Hosts "
3 Eom. iv. 11. 2 Galat. iii. 7, 9. s yerse 29.
» Gen. XV. 13—16. » Galat. iii. 16, 17. Original.

CHAP. VI. 13—20 359
-with whom they come to inherit, "shall reign in Mount Zion,
and m Jerusalem, and before his ancients, gloriously." '
God has then sworn by himself that Jesus and Ids believ
ing people shaU " be glorffied together."' This counsel is
immutable, and is expressed in " two immutable things, in
which it was impossible for God to lie." These are the
promise and the oath : he cannot forget his promise, and it
is an eternal impossibUity that he should break his solemn
oath. And we therefore, adds the Apostle, may have "strong
consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold on this
hope set before us." But the promise and hope of which
St. Paul here speaks, are merely the expression and con
firmation to us of this immutable counsel. What really
renders it immutable is something far deeper, even that
which induced the Almighty thus to promise and thus to
swear. The Son is the object of the Father's eternal love ;
it is therefore the Father's etemal purpose to glorify the
Son for ever. Nothing can change this ndnd in God,
nothing can alter this purpose ; they are as immutable as
the Everlastmg himself. But Christ's people are ui the
sight of the Father, one with the Son thefr Saviour. The
love which embraces him rests therefore on them also,' and
their glory is necessarily provided for in that pmpose which
has determined on his. Here then indeed is strong conso
lation for as many as have made Christ their hope. Nothing
can separate from the Sariour those who unfeignedly trust
m him. And he with whom they are one, is the possessor
of the Father's love, and hefr of his unchangeable promises.
Before leaving this precious subject, let me remark further
that to strengthen this hope in us, and to fill us with this
consolation, we have afready witnessed the begun accom
pUshment of this promise and oath of God. In the case of
a covenant by sacrifice, only the contracting parties passed
between the parts of the calf Abraham therefore did not
pass between them on the occasion to which we have been
referring; the covenant was confirmed "of God unto Christ;"
the Father and Son were the contracting parties. And the
^ Isai. xxiv. 23. 2 Eomans viii. 17. 3 John xvii. 23.

360 PAET III. LECTUEE VII.
" smoldng furnace " and " burning lamp " were the signffi
cant emblems, the one of the Son's bitter passion, the other
of the Father's everlasting promises. The Son sware on
his part to become the seed of Abraham, to suffer, to die
and to descend into the grave on man's behaff. And the
Ught of glory was to succeed and chase away the darkness of
this transient agony ; the Father sware on his part to
be a God to this seed of Abraham, to raise the Son from the
dead, to exalt him to his own right hand, and to instal him
as the true Melchizedec, King and Priest for ever. These
blessed contracting parties, have so far, even afready, ful
fiUed this solemn oath. The Son of God has appeared in
the world, clothed with mortal flesh, " the Son of David,
'the Son of Abraham."' He has passed through the agony
and bloody sweat of Gethsemane, he has borne our sins in his
own body on the tree on the hiU of Calvary, he has gone down
for our sakes into the dust of death. And the Father has
raised him from the dead, has exalted him to the right hand
of the heavenly Majesty, and has committed to him aU
power both in heaven and on earth. This indeed is not aU :
the light of the " bm-rdng lamp " discovers other risions of
glory. Jesus has yet to be revealed in kmgly majesty, he
has yet to raise his sleeping saints, to change those who are
waiting for him into the Ukeness of his glory, to bind Satan,
to judge the earth, to bring in the new creation, to plant his
etemal throne and to seat his saints beside him. But what
has been accomplished, is the pledge of that which remains. -
And when we think on the bitter cross and glorious resurrec
tion of our Sariom-, and contemplate the faithfulness of the
Father and the Son in the begun accompUshment of their
solemn, mutual oath, we may weU trust them for the final
and etemal accompUshment of all to which they have swom.
Lfft up your heads then, ye Hebrews, says St. Paul, and
be not dismayed by the tribulations of a day. Remember
the oath which God sware to your Father Abraham ; remem
ber that if your trust is in Christ, that oath, with aU its
assurance of blessing, descends and terminates on you. The
¦ Matthew i. 1.

CHAP. VI. 13—20. 361
oath which excluded your unbeliering fathers from God's rest,'
was not more certain of accomplishment. You have taken
"the breast-plate of faith and love,"' and you have done weU;
take also, " for an helmet, the hope of salvation."' So shaU
the enemy attemptin vam to terrify you fromfaithful adherence
to your Saviour and confession of his name ; sustained by the
"strong consolation" of his glorious promises, you shall be
more than conquerors m the evil day.
III. St. Paul next enlarges on the etemal security of this
promise and oath of God.
Whieh hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and
steadfast, and which entereth into that ivithin the veil; whither
the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high-
priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec.
Hope in God's etemal mercy, hope which stays itself on
his promise and on his oath, is here called " an anchor of the
soul, both sure and steadfast.'' No image can be more beautiful
or more consoling. The smeness and steadfastness of an anchor
depends on its haring caught hold of something which is
immoveable. This anchor is therefore sure and steadfast ; "it
entereth into that " — ^its grappling iron has caught hold on the
immoveable things "within the veil." These were the ark of
the covenant, and the mercy-seat above upon the ark, and God
himself upon the mercy-seat. And hope, to drop the figme,
stays itself on God's covenant of plighted mercy revealed in
his dear Son, and lays hold on God who has revealed that
mercy and swom to observe that covenant. Can any of these
give way? Can the covenant of God be dishonoured? Can
his mercy ratified by oath, prove to him who trusts in it a
broken reed ? Can He who has framed the covenant and swom
to the mercy, ever deny himself? No ; these things cannot
be. Christian hope then is indeed an anchor both sure and
steadfast. Let the tempest blow ever so high, let the tide
run ever so strong, our fraU vessel, if we only slip not our
cable, cannot be drifted on the rocks. " Cast not away
1 Hebrews iv. 3, 2 Hebrews vi, 9, 10. 3 I Thes. v. 8.
VOL. I. E

HO'2 PART in. LECTURE VII.
therefore your confidence," says the Apostle, " which hath
great recompense of reward." '
And a more precious consideration yet remains. How
shall we, miserable sinners, presume to cast our anchor
withm the veil, to trust in God's covenant, to hope in his
etemal mercy, and to take to ourselves the consolation of his
oaths ? Because he who died for us has entered on our
belialf into " that terrible and sacred darkness," and is now
sprinkUng before the mercy-seat, for those who trust in him,
his blood of everlasting efficacy. He has entered moreover as
our " forerunner;" implying that we shall one day foUow him.
His Father and his God, who sits between the cherubim,
is our Father and our God also, and his immediate presence
is our destined etemal home. And though he who has thus
entered for us as High-Priest be now concealed from our view,
the day is at hand when, arrayed in kingly Majesty, he shaU
come forth to invite us in. Sinners as we are then, we may
cast anchor -within the vail. It is no presumption to do so ;
Jesus is there ; Jesus, who has made the peace of the sinful,
and who is able to make them meet both in soul and body
for the blissful presence of God. And as long as he, the true
Melchizedec, fills the etemal throne, none shall be ashamed
or confounded who have made Him their confidence and stay.
But St. Paul, in his words which we are now considering,
had especial reference to the outward condition and spuitual
state of those to whom he was writmg.
The tempest was indeed at this time blowing Idgh, and the
tide running strong against them. Their brethren after the
flesh persecuted, reviled, and excommunicated them ; and not
content -with this, denounced them to the heathen magistrates.
And whilst they had these things to contend with on the one
hand, they were plied on the other, with every form of
argument and persuasion to return to the reUgion of thefr
fathers, whose gorgeous ritual and heaven-appointed institu
tions they had from infancy been taught to venerate. They
were therefore in imminent danger of making shipwreck of
faith. This accounts for the peculiar figure employed inthe
' Hebrews x. 35,

CHAP. VI. 13—20, 363
verses before us, and also for the eamestness -with which,
throughout this chapter, the Apostle exhorts tiiem to give aU
dUigence to attain the full assurance of hope One would
have thought that the considerations suggested iu the pre
ceding verses concerning the promise and oath of God,
were sufficient for this purpose. But the Apostle had a
peculiar reason for reminding them that the hope which he
was seeking to strengthen in their hearts, cast its anchor
within the vail where the true Melchizedec was appearing
before God. For this was the very point at which, as I have
afready stated, the Hebrews stood still. Judaism yet
mingled with their Christianity ; they had not leamed to
lfft their eyes and hearts from the sons of Aaron m the
temple below, to thefr glorious antitype above. But as long
as this is the case with you, St. Paul would convey to them
in the words before us, you never can attain to this hope of
which I speak. Rise then, T conjure you, from the shadows
to the substance ; stay yourselves on the intercession of him
who appears for you above, and no earthly violence can pos
sibly overwhelm you. Hope -wdl also in its tum, increase
and strengthen love ; consciously upheld by the intercession
of your Saviour, you will cheerfully hazard your lives for his
precious name. And think of the future reward which shall
recompense present suffering. Melchizedec intercedes
for you ; he who shall shortly appear as King, to receive his
people to himseff. Let this hope fiU yom- hearts, and you
will esteem as nothing the " light affliction " of " this present
time," Besides, it " is but for a moment,"' Soon shall the
tempest cease, which now sits upon your sails ; soon shall
the angry waters subside which now threaten to engulph you.
And God shall give to you a safe and quiet entrance into the
haven of eternal rest.
We learn frjm this subject, the etemal security of the
believer. When the oath of the Everlasting is dishonoured,
when it is possible for God to lie, the believer in Christ may
perish ; till then, he cannot. And we learn also from
it, who the believer is. He is one who has "fled for refuge''
1 II Corinthians, iv, 17.
E 2

364 PART III. LECTUEE VII.
to lay hold on the hope set before him. We shaU never flee
for refuge till we feel ourselves undone. The poor pubUcan
who had only a life of dishonesty and extortion to look back
upon, — ^the thief on the cross who had only a retrospect of
crime, — ^the heathen jaUor at Philippi — ^these Qed fbr refuge.
And between us and them there is in the sight of God
"no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the
glory of God."' Would we be heirs then of the beUever's
blessedness and security, this is the strait gate and narrow
way which leads to it ; we must confess omselves undone.
If we will not receive salvation on these terms, we must find
it as best we may ; we have nothing to do vrith the promise
and oath of the text ; they are designed exclusively for such
as " have fled for refuge."
" For Christ as soon will abdicate hia own
As stoop from heaven to sell the proud a throne."
Let US have grace then to stoop our pride, and to bring
down every high thought to the obedience of Christ; and
" worthdy lamenting our sins and acknowledging our
wretchedness," we shall " obtain from the God of all mercy,
perfect remission and forgiveness, through Jesus Christ our
Lord." Which may he of his infinite mercy grant !
> Romans iii. 22, 23.

(See Appendix, Note G.J

UT)

LECTURE VIII.
Hebrews vi, 20, vii, 1 — 10.
" Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus,
made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec,
For this Melchizedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high
God, who met Abraham retumiiig from the slaughter of the
kings, and blessed him ; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth
part of all ; first being by interpretation King of righteousness,
and after that also King of Salem, which is. King of peace ;
without father, without mother, without descent, having
neither beginning of days, nor end of life ; but made like unto
the Son of God ; abideth a priest continually. Now consider
how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham
ga've the tenth of the spoils. And verily they that are of the sons
of Levi, who recei'oe the office of the priesthood, have a com
mandment to take tithes cf the people according 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
Melchizedec met him."
We have been following St. Paul through the last four
lectures, fri his reproof and admonition of the Hebrews. He
has found fault with them for standing stdl at the principles
of the doctrine of Christ ; he has wamed them that this is
often the indication of that superficial religion which ends in

366 PAET III. LECTURE VHI.
hopeless apostacy ; and while declaring his persuasion that
their religion was not of this transient kind, he has enfreated
them not to rest satisfied with what they had attained, but to
press after the fuU assurance of hope. To encomage them
to the exercise of this hope he has reminded them of the
faithfulness of God to their father Abraham ; that the same
faithfulness pledged in solemn oath was the guarantee of
his promises now ; and that the entrance of the true Mel
chizedec into the holiest of all on thefr behaff, was a still
further assurance that these prondses and oaths shoidd be
remembered. The mention of this last glorious truth recalls
St. Paul to his argument. He had been handling, before
this digression, the subject of Christ's priesthood, he had
proved that in his caU, his qualffications, and his functions, he
was the antitype of the Jewish priests : and he now retums
to take up these points in detad. The verses which we have
just read, are devoted to Christ's call. The antitype is
infinitely superior to aU his types ; and St. Paul therefore
proves from the terms of it that our heavenly High-Priest is
exalted far above the sons of Aaron. He also adduces it to
explain what offended the Hebrews, viz., why this heavenly
priesthood is an immediate gift from above, instead of being
by succession, like that to which they had been accus
tomed. With these introductory remarks I wUl now at
tempt a paraphrase of the sense of the text.*
I proved to you, my brethren, says St. Paul, out of
your ovm Scriptures, that Christ is "caUed of God an High-
Priest, after the order of Melchizedec,'' and I told you
that of this Melchizedec I had " many things to say," These
things I wUl now seek to lay before you. This distinguished
type of the Messiah was, as Scripture tell us, " king of
Salem," and " priest of the most high God." He " met
Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings" who
• If the reader wishes to folloTV St. Paul's argument without interruption, he
may read this and the following Lectures immediately after Lecture IIT,
omitting the Digression, which may be read by itself. The text of the apostle
connects, — "called of God an High-Priest after the order of Melchizedec. of
whom we have many things to say. .for this Melchizedec, King of Salem," &c.
And the argument is strictly consecutive.

CHAP. VI. 20 ; VII. 1—10. 867
invaded Canaan, " and blessed him ; " Abraham also gave to
him a tenth part of all the spoils which he had taken from
them.' His name and the seat of his kingdom are both
full of instruction ; for Melchizedec signffies King of righteous
ness, and King of Salem signifies King of peace. His priest
hood is especially to be observed ; it was conferred on him
not by descent, but by the immediate appointment of God.
For he was without priestly father, without mother of sacer
dotal race, and vrithout sacerdotal descent. It was also in
another feature, utterly unUke the priesthood of the sons of
Aaron, For they commence the duties of their office at the
age of thfrty years, and cease from them at the age of fifty.'
But he, that he might be a type of the Son of God, had
neither appointed begmning nor appomted end of priestly
days; being made priest by the immediate appointment. of
heaven, he continued priest whUst he lived. Consider, my
brethren, St. Paul continues, what these things teach you.
You acknowledge our father Abraham to be superior -to all
his chUdren, and therefore to Aaron and his sons. How
great then must this Melchizedec have been, whom even
Abraham acknowledged as his superior, by giving to him the
tenth of the spoils ! You are aware that this was an acknow
ledgment of superiority. For you know that those sons of
Levi, " who receive the office of the priesthood," are thereby
elevated above their brethren of the seed of Abraham, and
"have a commandment to take tithes'' from them on this
very account. But the history which we have just been con
sidering, teUs us that he whose descent and dignity is derived
not from Levi but from God, accepted the tithes which
Abraham brought to him. Nor was this all. Though Abra
ham "had the promises," though out of his loms the
Messiah was to come, though m him as the father of God's
Christ aU the famUies of the earth were to be blessed, Mel
chizedec "blessed him," Now, "without all contradiction,"
according to the rules of every society, civd and sacred, "the
less is blessed of the better," The chUd is blessed by the
parent, the servant by the master, the flock of God by the
. jGenesis xiv. 18—20, 2 Numbers iv'. 3, 34—49 ; viii. 23—26.

368 PART III. LECTUEE VUI.
minister, the subject by his king; for blessing always de
scends from the greater, and never can ascend from the less.
Melchizedec must therefore have been Abraham's superior ;
if he had not been so, he could not have presumed to
bless him. In the case moreover of your priests, it greatly
abates from the dignity which the tithe acknowledges that
the receivers of tithes hold an office which ceases and deter
mines ; but in the case of Melchizedec, the receiver was one
to whom a perpetual priesthood belonged. And to use a
bold figure of speech, Levi also, who in the persons of his
sons receives tithes, and whose superiority is thus acknow
ledged by his brethen, himself acknowledged the superiority
of Melchizedec. For he paid tithes to him in Abraham, in
whose loins he was on the day "when Melchizedec met him,"
I beUeve that in this paraphrase of the text, I have
given the meaning and explained the argument of St, Paul,
The explanation however is attended with very great difficul
ties. The peculiar language here used conceming Melchi
zedec, viz. that he was without father, mother, or descent,
that he had neither beginning of days nor end of life, has
given rise to many questions ; and some have even supposed
from it, that this distinguished worthy of Old Testament
history was the Son of God in the appearance of a man.
But not to mention the prodigious difficulties which attend
this solution, the language of the text forbids it, for it tells
us expressly that this king and priest of old time was
" made like unto,'' i.e. was an appointed type of "the Son of
God," Melchizedec ranks therefore in this respect with
Aaron, Darid, Solomon and the other types of Messiah ; for
no one can be a type of himself Besides, St, Paul caimot
mean that Melchizedec was UteraUy without father, mother,
or descent ; that he had literaUy neither beginning of days
nor end of Ufe; such a statement, as we shaU see imme
diately, would have been of no serrice in his argument.
These expressions, to be of any service to it, must have a
figurative meaning ; and the expressions "die" and "liveth"
in the eighth verse have manifestly the same, I believe,
from what is stated conceming him in the book of Genesis,

CHAP. VI. 20; vn. 1— lo. 369
that Melchizedec was a Canaanite, that he was king of
Jerusalem, and priest, by immediate Divine appointment, "of
the most high God," We have no record when this priest
hood commenced, and he seems to have held the holy office
during the term of his natural life. He seems to have
known Abraham, and to have been aware of his true
character : and Abraham seems to have been equaUy ac
quainted with him. When these worthies met therefore
after the slaughter of the kings, the patriarch at once ac
knowledged himself to be the inferior: and Melchisedec,
accepting the acknowledgment, gave to Abraham the supe
rior's blessing. These things were arranged and ^ordered
in the wisdom of God, as types of things to come. The
Hebrews were weU acquamted with them as historical facts,
for they were written in thefr own Scriptures. But St. Paul
had been taught of God to know their spiritual meaning.
And he makes most signal use of such knowledge in his
present unanswerable argument.
In the Ught of these remarks I wUl now sum up this
argument. To the Hebrew objection that none could be
greater than Aaron, it opposed the scripture-doctrine that
Messiah was High-Priest after the order of Melchizedec,
combmed with the scripture-fact that Melchizedec was greater
than Abraham, the patriarch of Aaron's family. To the
kindred objection that this new priesthood was utterly
unlike God's former appointments, because it was not
derived by succession, as the old priesthood had been, it
opposed another scripture-fact, viz. that he whose priesthood
was a foreshewmg of Messiah's, had, as priest, neither father,
mother, nor descent. And finaUy, the objection that this
new priesthood did not observe the times of the old, was
silenced by tlu fact that the priesthood of Melchizedec had
" neither beginning of days nor end of life." No Hebrew
could meet tlds argument. Jealous as he was for the
honour of Aaron, he could not exalt 1dm above Abraham.
And however earnestly he desired the preservation of heaven-
appointed institutions, he could not gainsay these express
and positive declarations of the sacred Scripture.
E 3

370 PAET III. LECTURE VIII.
But we must not be satisfied vrith merely sketching an
argument : let us return upon the text, and give to aU its
inspired declarations the attention which they deserve.
Following faithfully the exposition of St. Paul, we meet
with Jesus, the true king of righteousness and peace, in
"Melchizedec, king of Salem." " There shall come forth
a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow outof
his roots ;" " the man whose name is the Branch, shall sit and
rale upon his throne." ' " With righteousness shaU he judge
the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth;"
"righteousness shaU be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness
the girdle of his reins." The prophet then describes the
righteousness and peace of his Idngdom. " The wolf" in that
day, in his magnificent language, " shall dweU with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the Idd ; and the calf and
the young lion and the fatUng together ; and a Uttle chUd shaU
lead them." " The cow and the bear shall" also "feed ; their
young ones shall Ue down together : and the Uon shall eat
straw like the ox." Yea, " the sucking chUd shaU play on the
hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on
the cockatrice's den." A voice from the oracle proclaims,
" they shall not hurt nor destroy in aU my holy mountain :
for the earth shaU be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as
the waters cover the sea."' From this amazmgly clear and
distinct prophecy we leam many things. We leam that the
earth shall be the seat of Messiah's kmgdom; the earth
inhabited, as now it is, by men, women and chddren, by beasts
and creeping things. But there shall be this blessed difference:
it shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and sin shall
be driven out of it. He who shall pass through it on that day
shall see the ground beneath him diversified in hiU and dale,
the skies above him, the afr surroimduig him, aU as now they
are ; he shall look also on the same human countenances,
the same forms of man and beast. But yet all shaU be
different. Every human heart, every human fandly, every
human society, shall then be the abode of righteousness and
peace, and even the instincts of the animals shall be changed ;
1 Zechariah vi. 12, 13. 2 Isaiah xi. 1—9.

CHAP. VI. 20 ; VII. 1—10. 371
harm and mischief from one creatme of God to another shaU
be a thing unheard, yea unconceived of from the rismg
of the sun to the going down of the same. The earth's
present history, if remembered at aU in that day, shaU be re
membered only as a frightful dream. The trae Melchizedec
shall then have taken his seat, and his omnipotent fiat shaU
have made "all things new."'
St. Paul tells , us fmther conceming Melchizedec that he
"met Abraham retuming from the slaughter of the kmgs
and blessed him." I feel assmed that when God, to use the
language of the prophet, gave these kings to the sword of
the patriarch, " and as driven stubble to his bow,"' it was
a foreshowing of things to come. For we read among the
promises to Abraham's believmg children "he that overr
cometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will
I give power over the nations : and he shall rule them with a
rod of fron ; as the vessels of a potter shaU they be broken to
shivers."' And we read again in the Psalms, " let the saints
be joyful in glory, . , ,let the high praises of God be in their
mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; to execute
vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the
people ; to bmd thefr kings -with chains, and their nobles with
fetters of fron: this honour have aU his saints,"* This
promise shaU beyond question be fulfilled ; Jesus, having
raised his people from their graves, shaU bring them with
him to the judgment of a guilty world. St. Jolm saw its
fulfilment in prophetic rision. " I saw heaven opened," he
teUs us, " and behold a white horse ; and he that sat upon him
was caUed Faithful and True,,, and he was clothed -with a
vesture dipped in blood : and his name is called The Word
of God... And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that
with it he shoidd smite the nations : and he shall rule them
with a rod of iron." This language declares with sufficient
plainness the nature of the dreadful errand on which Jesus
shall then come to the earth. And mark how he is accom
panied. " The armies which were in heaven followed him
upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean."
.1 Rev. xxi. 5. 2 Isaiah xH. 2. 3 Rev. ii. 26, 27. 4 Psalm cxlix. o— 9.

372 PART III. LECTUEE VIII.
These white-robed armies are Christs redeemed people, for
we readjust before, that the fine linen is the righteousness of
saints."' To them therefore, as to thefr father Abraham,
it shall be given to "tread down the wicked" as "ashes
under the soles of their feet."' Let us observe also the
blessing with which Melchizedec blessed the patriarch when
he returned from the slaughter of his enemies. He said,
" Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of
heaven and earth."' And in thus blessing "him... that had
the promises," he recognized him as lord of Canaan and
" heir of the world,"* by gift and grant of the Most High.
The true Melchizedec shaU m like manner bless the hefrs of
these promises in the coming day of vengeance and of glory.
" Come, ye blessed of my Father,'' he shaU say to them,
" inherit the kingdom prepared for you."-* To inherit the
kingdom is not merely to live for ever as Christ's subjects
and to serve him ; it is also to be exalted to reign beside
him. His beUering people, the armies in heaven which foUow
him, are at once kings and subjects ; and therefore, he their
Prince and Captain " hath a name written. King of Kings
and Lord of Lords. "^ He shaU exalt these beggars from the
dunghill ( oh amazing grace ! ) and seat them on his own
throne : he shall grant to them to sway along vrith him his
sceptre of righteousness and peace. His Father and thefr
Father, " the Lord of heaven and earth,"' has prepared this
kingdom for them from the foundation of the world : and
at the command of Jesus they shall take possession of its
dignities, governing for the glory of God and the blessedness
of his creatures, wherever his name is known and his vast
universe extends.
But we shall not dwell on this at present ; let us hasten
to a kindred subject. St. Paul tells us that this king of
Salem was also " priest of the most high God." And his
glorious antitype is in like manner, " made an High-Priest
for ever." But Christ monopoUzes no dignity ; he shares
every thing with his people. A crown therefore is not their
1 Rev, xix, 8, 11—15, 2 Mal, iv, 3, 3 Gen, Xiv, 19, .• Romans iv. 13.
'., Matthew XXV. 34, 6 Revelations xix, 16. » Matthew xi, 25.

CHAP. VI. 20; VII, 1—10 373
sole inheritance ; a mitre is in reserve for them besides.
" Unto him that loved us," says St. John, "and washed us
from our sms in his own blood, and hath made us kings and
priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory."' And
again, in the song of the redeemed above, the priesthood is
joined with the Idngdom. " Thou wast slain," is thefr ac
knowledgment, "and hast redeemed us to God. ..and hast
made us unto om God kings and priests ; and we shall reign
on the earth."' We have had many opportunities of con
sidering the kingdom of the saints ; but the kindred glorious
theme of thefr priesthood has never yet been brought under
our notice. Now however we cannot pass it by; for the
Scripture before us directly contains it. And I feel thankful
that it does so ; we cannot better bestow our attention than
on a subject so rich both in glory and in blessedness.
St. Peter writes to the beUevers of the dispersion, " Ye
are a royal priesthood,'' that ye shoidd " offer up spiritual
sacrffices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."' This, say
some, is the priesthood of the saints ; they serve God by his
grace given to them, and their works and pious labours are
" an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, weU-
pleasing" in his sight.* This statement, so far as it goes, is
doubtless true. To offer ourselves to God in the power of
his blessed Spfrit, is in one sense to act as priests, just as
when we keep our passions and appetites in subjection, we
in one sense, act as kings. For " he that is slow to anger
is better than the mighty ; and he that ruleth his spirit than
he that taketh a city."'' But such a priesthood and such a
kingdom are not surely the fulfilment of the magnificent
imagery of God's word : to say that they are so, is, I believe,
to expose that word to ridicule. Besides, in saying so, men
strain and wrest its meamng. Those Scriptures which have
now been cited, and many others like them, describe these
dignities of God's people in thefr- present embryo state ; they
are not designed to diform us what they shall be when the
glory of God is revealed. But these dignities derive thefr
1 Eevel. i, 5, 6, ¦' Eevel, v, 9, 10. 3 I Peter, ii. 5, 9.
4 Philip iv, 18. s Proverbs xvi. 32.

374 PART III. LECTURE VIII,
chief value from thefr connection 'with this day of glory ; at
present, in comparison, they are nothing. Every reference
in the Apocalypse to the priesthood of the saints, carries our
thoughts forward to the coming of Christ, and describes it
as a dignity which shall then be conferred on his people.
Let us reverently inqufre then into the nature of this
dignity, not trusting to our own imaginations but searching
God's infalUble word.
No Scriptme contains greater light on this matter of deep
and solemn interest than the Scripture which is now before
us. We are told that the true Melchizedec has entered as
God's High-Priest, into the hoUest of aU above. We are also
told that he has entered as our forerunner, implying that we
shall one day follow and minister beside him there. We
cannot fully understand these statements without referring
to the tabemacle of Moses, It had three apartments, viz.
the outer court into which any IsraeUte might enter, the
holy place in which the priests exercised their ministry, and
the holiest of aU which was for the high-priest alone. This
arrangement was made by God's express command; "See,"
he said to Moses, " that thou make aU things according to
the pattern shewed to thee in the mount." It is therefore
needless to say that it had an important spiritual meaning.
It was an " example and shadow of heavenly things," ' con
taining "the rudiments of the world,"' i.e. of the world to
come, the heavenly kmgdom. The revelation of this king
dom then shall introduce a threefold condition of things.
The new Jerusalem, the habitation of the risen saints, which
is lightened by the glory of God and of the Lamb,' manifestiy
answers to the hohest of all. But there is a condition
inferior to this, which yet is one of blessedness and of glory.
For haring described the new Jerusalem, the Apostle adds
immediately that " the nations of them which are saved shall
walk in the light of it," and that " the kings of the earth do
bring their glory and honour into it." And again he says
that "they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations
into it,'' and that " the leaves of the tree " of life which
^ Hebrews viii, .'>. 2 Colossians ii, 20. 3 Eevelations xxi. 22, 23.

CHAP. VI. 20; VII. 1—10. 375
grows within its sacred confines, shaU be " for the healing of
the nations."' To understand these prophecies of the New
Testament, we must turn back to those of the Old. For the
New Testamentseers are chiefly occupied in setting forth
the heavenly, ressurrection-glory which shall follow Messiah's
advent ; whilst those of the Old Testament, to whom such
fulness of Ught was not vouchsafed, describe more fuUy the
earthly glories of his reign. They tell us vrith one voice
that he shaU be King over aU the earth, that the seed of
Abraham in flesh and blood shaU be nearer to him than
any nation, and that in and through them all nations shall be
blessed. In referring to the words of these prophets the
only difficulty is selection. Let us listen to Isaiah.
" Strangers," he says to Israel, " shall stand and feed your
flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your ploughmen
and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of
the Lord : men shaU caU you the Mmisters of our God :
ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in thefr glory
shaU ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have
double." ' He says of Jerusalem, " the Gentiles shall see thy
righteousness, and aU kings thy glory... thou shalt also be a
crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem
in the'hand of thy God." ' He says again, " Rejoice ye with
Jerusalem, all ye that love her,... for I will extend peace to
her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a
flovring stream."* Not to mention Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
their feUows, let me only refer further to the words of
Zechariah. " Many people and strong nations," he tells us,
" shaU come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to
piay before the Lord." For " in those days it shall come to
pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the
nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew,
saying. We vrill go with you."' This nearness to God
enjoyed by Israel m that day as his priests and ministers
answers then, I conceive, to the nearness of the holy place.
While the outer court, the place of those to whom no ministry
1 Revel, xxi. 24, 26 ; xxii. 2. 2 Isaiah Ixi. 5 — 7. s Isaiah Ixii. 2, 3.
4 Isaiah Ixvi. 10, 12. s Zechariah viii. 22, 23.

376 PAET III. LECTURE Vlll.
teas entrusted, sets forth the condition of the other na
tions of the earth. They shall not be privUeged vrith
the nearness to God which is enjoyed by the Jew, but
they shall nevertheless be blessed in and through Israel;
leaming from Jewish teaching and example, to fear God and
keep his commandments. The Scriptures which we have
already quoted, declare this distinctly. Taking hold of the
skirt of a Jew, coming up to pray before the Lord in Jeru
salem, caUing the seed of Abraham the ministers of our
God; aU these are plain intimations of an obedient and
subject world. Besides, Isaiah teUs us expressly that Israel
shaU have the honom of declaring God's " glory among the
GentUes," ' that " the law shall go forth from Zion, and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem ;" ' and that as the fruit of
this Jevrish teaching, "aU flesh shaU eome and worship"
before him.' The Jews and GentUes then are the nations
who shaU walk in the age to come, in the Ught of the new
Jerusalem ; and the Jewish and GentUe monarchs are the
kings who shall bring thefr glory and honour into it. And
thus in the tabernacle of Moses, we discern the world to
come, and the distribution of its glories. We have first,
Jesus and his risen saints dweUmg with the invisible Father
in the holiest of all. We have second, Israel after the flesh,
acting as God's ministers m the holy place. And we have
third, the other nations of the earth blessed with Jewish
teaching and example, keepmg the commandments of God
and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
In the light of these glorious truths we may apprehend
the priesthood of the samts. The legal high-priest who
alone of aU the sons of Israel might enter into the holiest
of aU, was privUeged to bear mto God's presence the offer
ings and prayers of his people, and to return again from
that presence, to bless them m God's name. And this, as a
type of tldngs to come, instructs us what shall be hereafter.
The nations which shall walk in the light of the new Jeru
salem, and after them all the other creatmes of God, shall
be beyond question, in the day of glory, the subjects of
J Isaiah ixvi. 19. 2 Isaiah ii. 3. s Isaiah Ixvi. 23.

CHAP. VI, 20 ; VII. 1—10, 377
Jesus and his saints. And it is for the benefit of the same
nations and of the same creatmes that their priestly ministry
shall be exercised. Jesus is now exercising this ministry in
his own person. The bosom of the Father is the trae
holiest ; he came out of that bosom at the first, and has now
retumed into it again. And he abides in that sacred place,
the Mediator and High Priest, by whom prayer reaches
God and blessing reaches man. But in the age to come he
shaU associate his people with him. And abiding where he
abides, even in the bosom of God, they shall be privUeged
to bear for ever into the presence of the inrisible Father, the
thanksgirings, the adorations, the prayers of his whole
creation. They shall be privUeged also to bear forth the
answer to these prayers, to pour upon the obedient and
grateful creature, the fulness of his Creator's blessing. Oh
glorious ministry of love ! Well said the inspired seer,
" Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the ffrst resurrec
tion,,, they shall be priests of God and of Christ,"' Jesus
shaU fit them for its exercise. He shall give them his
ovm heart of love, that they may delight in this ministry of
love ; his own tongue of eloquence, that they may plead in
the courts above ; his own open-handed mutdficence, that
they may be good stewards of the manifold UberaUty of God.
Then shall the vision of Jacob's ladder be fulfilled. For in
that day of glory we shall " see heaven opened and the
angels of God," Christ's glorified saints, passing between
heaven and earth contumally on their errands of priestly
mercy, "ascending and descending on the Son of man."'
And then also, when om Divine High-Priest and his people
are thus " glorified together," shaU we see the meaning of
the word " heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ."'
Such is the blessedness and such the glory which our
Father has provided for his children ; such are the contenta
of the word " kings and priests unto God." Jesus hath ever
the pre-eminence, for the etemal throne belongs to him and
the blood of the sacrifice is his. But he has promised to us
1 Eevel. XX. 6. ' Genesis xxviii. 12; John i. 51 ; Eevel. xxii. 8, 9,
' Eomans viii. 17.

378 PART III. LECTUEE VIII.
who trust m that sacrffice and receive his holy Spirit, that
we shall bear rule m his name for ever, and be ministers of
blessing for ever to that creation which he has redeemed. Our
guarantee that it shall be so, that these honours indeed await
us, is that he has entered into the holiest and has taken pos
session of them ; for he has done this as our foeeeunneb.
Most blessed, most consohng word ! It tells us that though
om' elder brother has distanced us his younger brethren in
the race, and got first into the presence of our Father, he
has carried vrith him the intelligence that we are on the
road. He has also become security for us that we shaU arrive
in safety. For the Father has committed to his keeping
every beUeving soul. He said on earth "those that thou
gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost."' And he
says now in heaven, conceming every one who has made the
Father's mercy his confidence, "ff I bring him not unto thee,
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever." '
WeU then may we " run with patience the race that is set
before us ! " Let us run, " looking unto Jesus ;"' He ran it
first, and his strength shall never fail us.
And now let us ask m conclusion. What shall we render to
this Lord and Saviom for aU his benefits towards us ? The
text contains an answer to this question : Abraham rendered
to Melchizedec " the tenth part of all." This tenth was the
holy portion, and was an acknowledgement on the part of the
offerer, that the whole was at the disposal of him to whom it
was rendered. Let us deal then with the true Melchizedec
as Abraham dealt vrith his type ; let us render to him, in
acknowledgment of his boundless mercy, the " tenth part of
aU." I use these words, in the first place, in thefr Uteral
meaning. The ordinance of the tithe was "not of Moses but
of the fathers ; " Abraham Uved before the days of Moses and
knew nothing of his law. We who are Abraham's chUdren by
faith are therefore called upon to follow his example, render
ing to God the tenth of our yearly increase, in devout
acknowledgement that for aU our peace in this Ufe and
hopes for the Ufe to come, we are indebted to his etemal
1 John xvii. 12- 2 Genesis xliii, 9. 3 Hebrews xii. 1, 2.

CHAP. VI. 20; VII. 1—10. 379
mercy. Would to God, that the charities of Christian men
bore this proportion to their means ! Then should the Church
of God, the spuitual and temporal wants of our brethren at
home, and the wants of the heathen abroad, be otherwise pro
vided for than they are. But we must not be satisfied with
merely givmg this tenth of our increase ; let us remember in
the second place, the significant meaning of such an act. It
is a heartfelt acknowledgment that we who give it, are 'with
aU which we are and have, absolutely at God's disposal and
ready to be used by him, as he pleases, for his glory. God
graciously accepts this poor offering, because it is our aU,
And he has been pleased, on many occasions, to try the
sincerity of his people, calling on them to part with their
substance, with thefr reputation, with their hopes in this world,
yea vrith life itself, for his holy gospel and for the salvation of
men. The first confessors of the faith nobly stood this trial,
and many in every age have by God's grace foUowed their
example. He may not ask from us such a proof of sincerity,
but he asks the heart which would give it, if required. And
this heart wdl shew itself by our grudging no sacrifice for his
service, by our U'ving for one object only, viz., that his name
may be glorified and man's salvation advanced by all which
we think or do or say. Such a heart, let me observe, is not
only our meet return for the Saviour's mercy, it is our pre
paration also for those glories which that Sariour has prepared
for us. For the blessedness of being made kings and priests
is the blessedness of being exalted to do good ; exalted to glorify
God and to bless his creatures. And our preparation for such
dignity is our living for these objects now. Liring now that
we may hallow God's name, Uving that we may be a help, a
shield, and a blessing to each other, we are educated by the
holy disciphne of this world for the glories of the world to
come. May God give us to set our hearts on these glories^
and grant us this spiritual meetness for their endless enjoy
ment !

380

LECTURE IX.
Hebrews rii. 11 — 22,
" 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
Melchizedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron ?
For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a
change also of the law. For he of whom these things are
spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave
attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord
sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing
concerning priesthood. And it is yet far more evident : for
that after the similitude of Melchizedec there ariseth another
priest, who is made, not after the law of a carnal command
ment, but after the power of an endless life. For lie testifieth.
Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedec.
For there is verily a disannulling 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 dravj nigh unto God. And
inasmuch as not withaut an oath he was made priest : (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 e)}er after the order qf
Melchizedec :) by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better
testament."
The object of St. Paul, in the flrst twenty two verses of this
chapter, is to prove to the Hebrews that he who is " called
of God an High-Priest after the order of Melchizedec " is
better thau the legal high-priests of the order of Aaron.

CHAP, VII. 11—22. 381
They acknowledged that Aaron was inferior to Abraham :
this proof has therefore naturally commenced, as we saw in
the last lecture, with a demonstration out of thefr own
Scriptmes, that Abraham was inferior to Melchizedec, And
lest they should say that though Melchizedec might be
superior in personal dignity, Aaron was superior as priest,
the Apostie in the verses which we have just read, follows
up and concludes his argument; demonstrating by three
unanswerable reasons, that the priesthood "after the order of
Melchizedec" is immeasurably superior to that which was
entrusted to Aaron, He reminds them first, that God spake
of raising up this priesthood, whde that of Aaron yet existed.
He points out in the second place, that whUe the priesthood
of Aaron was thus shewn to be temporary, the other was
expressly declared to be etemal. And he draws their atten
tion in the third place, to the inspfred declaration that this
priesthood was established by an oath, contrasting it with the
acknowledged fact that the priests of Aaron's family had no
such solemn consecration. Let it not escape om- notice,
that this entire argument is based on a single verse of the
Old Testament-Scriptures, viz. the fourth verse of the
hundred and tenth Psalm. The statement of that verse is
uncorroborated by any other from Genesis to Malachi ; and
yet St. Paul rests on it the whole weight of this aU-important
demonstration. The argumentative theologians of the pre
sent day would have objected to the Apostle that he could
cite only one text. The Hebrews however were better
acquainted with the value of Scripture. And let us leam
from this argument to understand the principle vrith which
they were so famUiar, and which Ues at the bottom of all
sound scriptural interpretation, viz. that what God has said
only once is as true as if he had declared it a thousand
times. Let us now. enter on the detaUed exposition of the text.
St. Paul's first proof of the mferiority of Aaron to Christ, is
that God spake of raising up Christ's priesthood, while that
of Aaron yet existed.

382 PART HI. LECTURE IX.
If uORjEOVER perfection were by the Levitical priesthood,
(for in CONNECTION with it the people received the law,)
what further need was there that another ¦priest should rise
after the order of Melchizedec, and not be called after the
order of Aaron ? For the priesthood being changed, there is
¦made of necessity a change also of the law. For he of whom
these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which
no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that
our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake
nothing concerning priesthood.
The verses which have just been read, as we learn from the
word " moreover,'' are not a deduction from the preceding
argument, but that argument foUowed out. St. Paul would
also remind the Hebrews of the connection between the
priesthood and the law, that they might comprehend the
reasoning which foUows, viz. that they stood and feU together.
The passage may be thus paraphrased. I have proved to you
afready, he would say, that Melchizedec, Messiah's type, was
superior to Abraham, to Aaron, and to Levi, and I would speak
to you now concerning Leri's priesthood. You esteem that
priesthood perfect, you imagme that the law which established
it, and that the legal ordinances which were given to Israel
in connection with it, are immutable. But if it were indeed
so, ff that priesthood 'with its legal ordinances be really able
to wash away sin, to give to the worshipper peace vrith God,
solid assurance of his favom, and the weU-groimded hope of
eternal life, why did the Holy Ghost whdst that priesthood
was in fuU vigour, and its legal ordinances continued m aU
their force, speak of another priest arising? That priest also,
let me remind you, was to be after the order of Melchizedec,
and not after the order of Aaron. The priesthood then was
to be changed ; and if so, God of necessity contemplated a
change also of the law which established it, anij an abrogation
of those legal ordinances which were comiected with it. That
he did contemplate such a change is further evident from
anoth;r circumstance. Messiah, of whom in the Psalm
afready quoted ths Holy Ghost is speaking, pertains, not to

CHAP. VII, u— 22. 383
the tribe of Levi but to that of Judah ; for both from pro
phecy and fact "it is erident that our Lord sprang out of
Judah," Now the law of Moses says nothing about a
priesthood arising out of that tribe ; and from the days of
Moses untd now, no sou of Judah has ever given "attendance
at the altar." You see then, brethren, St, Paul would say,
that the Holy Ghost intimated even as early as the days of
Darid, that the law which you fancy immutable was to be
abrogated, that the legal ordinances we>-e to cease, and that
the priesthood which you imagine perfect, was to he super
seded by another.
It was impossible for the Hebrews to meet this argument.
They knew the law of Moses and the history of their nation
too weU not to perceive its unanswerable character. On the
matter of the priesthood, that law was particularly stringent.
The sacred text irfforms us that the censers in which Korah's
rebeUious company had presumed to bum incense before the
Lord, were made by his express command, " broad plates for
the covering of the altar, to be a memorial to the children of
Israel, that no stranger, who is not of the seed of Aaron, come
near to offer mcense." ' And as for those who offered it on
that "occasion, the earth swallowed and the fire devoured
them. Another cfrcumstance, in some respects more strikmg,
is mentioned in Scripture-history. Uzziah the king of the seed
royal of the house of Judah, presumed to go into the temple of
the Lord, " to bum mcense upon the altar of incense." Let us
listen to the remonstrance of Azariah the high-priest with his
sovereign. " It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, but to the
priests the sons of Aaron... Go out of the sanctuary, for thou
hast trespassed." And while the king contended the matter
with the faithful priest, God himseff settled it; the leprosy
rose in the monarch's forehead, and he "was a leper unto the
day of his death."' The Hebrews were well acquainted with
such Scripture-facts as these, and with the truth which they
inculcated. They also knew from the testimony of their
prophets that Messiah was to spring from Judah ; they had
seen that testimony accomplished in Jesus of Nazareth, " the
1 :: umbers xvi. 40. 2 II Chronicles x,\vi. 16 — 21.

384 PART III. LECTURE IX.
son of David;"' and they read in the Psalm to which the
apostle had referred them, that Messiah was God's chosen
High-Priest. They knew that his priesthood belonging, as
it was declared to do, to another order, could not possibly
co-exist vrith that of Aaron ; they knew also that it could not
be the mind of God to displace the better that he might make
way for the less. And putting all these considerations
together, they were shut up to the conclusion that the priest
hood of Aaron, with the law which established it and the
legal ordinances which were connected with it, had been
designed from the ffrst only for a temporary existence, to
make way in the fulness of time, for the perfect priesthood
of Jesus which alone was worthy of continuance. And it
was just to this conclusion that St. Paul desfred to biing
them. But this is only the first proof of the Apostle's position.
He reminds the Hebrews in the second place, that whUe the
priesthood of Aaron was thus shewn to be temporary, that of
Messiah was expressly declared to be eternal.
And ¦it 'is yet far more evident, if after tke similitude of Mel
chizedec there ariseth another priest, who is made, not after
the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of
an endless life. For he testifieth. Thou art a Priest for
ever after the order of !Melchizedec. For there is verily
a disannulling of the commandment going before for the
¦weahiess and unprofitableness thereof. (Fcr the law made
nothing perfect,) but a better hope is brought in, by
which we draw nigh unto God.
Let me remark, before paraphrasmg these verses, that the
whole point of the argument which they contain, rests on
the words " for ever." The word " carnal " has also pecu
liar force. It signifies, as we shaU see from St. Paul's own
explanation, something which is essentially inferior and
lifeless, and is tiierefore doomed to pass away. And the
" carnal commandment " wldch appointed the priesthood of
I Matthew i. 1.

chap. vii. 11—22. 385
Aaron, is m this way contrasted -with the etemal authority
which has estabUshed the Ufe-giving priesthood of Messiah.
I have afready made it evident to you my brethren, says
the Apostie, from the words of David, that your priesthood
and the law which appointed it are doomed to pass away.
And his words contain yet further and more frresistible
eridence of this truth, if as they declare, the new priest who
mustaiise, shall not exercise, Uke yom priests, an inferior
and temporai-y ministry, but shall be charged with a life-
giving ministry, and appointed to its exercise for ever. And
they declare this expressly: God testifies by Darid, "thou
art a priest for ever." Now if this be true of the priest
" after the similitude of Melchizedec," — if the word ofthe
Everlasting has mdeed constituted him priest for ever, what
becomes of your priests " after the order of Aaron?" What
becomes of the law which has appomted them ? Inasmuch
as two etemal priesthoods cannot co-exist, that of Aaron
must give way. Be not offended that I have called the law
which appointed it " a carnal commandment." God himself
has pronounced this sentence on it in these words of Darid,
for they virtually disannul it, by appointing another in its
room. They disannul it moreover as weak and unprofitable,
for that which is perfect abides. But "the law made nothing
perfect;" with all its priests and sacrffices it never gave peace
vrith God, and never could. Now however we have in its
stead, the perfect and abiding priesthood of Messiah, fiUing
us with a " better hope," and enabling us to " draw nigh unto
God." This argument was eridentiy designed' to force upon the
Hebrews the conclusion to which the former might have led
them. And they must have felt it, Uke the former, utterly
unanswerable. They could not deny the words of their own
inspired seer, that Messiah was a priest for ever ; and it was
impossible to beUeve this without acknowledging that the
sons of Aaron were priests for a time only. Neither could
they deny that the etemal duration of the one priesthood
and the temporary character of the other, were as plain mti-
mations as God could give, that the one was perfect and the
VOL. I. s

386 PART III. LECTURE IX.
other inferior. Unwelcome . moreover as these conclusions
were, the Hebrews could not be ignorant that they were no
new doctrines of St. Paul ; they had only to be honest with
themselves to find a confibrmation of them in every page
of their own Scriptures. The very law which they revered,
proclaimed its own insufficiency. It appointed no sacrffice
for presumptuous sins, or for breaches of the moral code, and
did not profess to give peace of conscience or to minister
grace whereby God might be served. When, the inspfred
writer of this psalm had himself fallen into the awful sins of
murder and adultery, they knew that he had not appUed to
Zadok and Abiathar that they should present an offering and
make intercession with God on his behaff. " Thou desfrest
not sacrifice, else would I give it," was his language on that
deeply affecting occasion; "thou delightest not in burnt-
offering : the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." He
sought earnestly for pardon and for grace. " DeUver me
from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation,"
was his prayer. And again, " Have mercy upon me, 0 God,
according to thy loving Idndness : according to the multitude
of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions," And
again, " Create in me a clean heart, O God ; and renew a
right spirit vrithin me. Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy holy Spirit from me."' But he did not
seek these blessings through the legal priesthood. Nor did the
gracious word "The Lord hath put away thy sin, thou shalt
not die," come to him through them. It came through the
lips of God's prophet,' direct from the invisible throne. It
was vouchsafed because of that sacrifice which was yet to be
offered, and from respect had to the intercession of him who,
in the fulness of time, was to be revealed as the etemal
High- Priest of his people. David, therefore, in testffying
to the etemal priesthood of Messiah, testified to that to
which he owed his own salvation. And his history, vrith
many facts of the same character, being weU known to
the Hebrews, they could not but feel that the apostle's
present teaching was only a fuUer explanation of Moses
' Psalm U. 1, 10, 11. 14, 16, 17. « II Sam. xii. J3.

CHAP. VII. 11—22. 387
and the prophets. And they could not be convmced of
this without thankfulness to God, that what had been
declared and also proved insufficient, had now passed away,
to make room for that which was able to save to the
uttermost. But St. Paul had yet another proof of his position to press
on the attention of the Hebrews. The sons of Aaron were
consecrated without an oath, but Messiah was sworn into
office. And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:
{for those priests were made without an oath ; but this with
an oath, by him that said to him. The Lord sware and ivill not
repent. Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Mel
chizedec:) by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better
Covenant. These words require no paraphrase ; their meanmg is
obvious. Swearing on the part of God to any thing, is the
strongest proof of its value and unchangeableness which
oven he can give. He swears in another Psalm, that
Christ's throne shall endure for ever ; ' and in the words
just quoted he swears to the perpetuity of his ' priesthood,
adding, to give emphasis to his oath, the assurance that he
" wUl not repent." It is no ordinary dignity then which
belongs to our royal High-Priest; nor are those ordinary
interests which depend on the continuance of his honours.
The text tells us in part what these interests are ; St. Paul
argues from the fact of his being thus sworn into office, that
he is " a surety of a better covenant." The inferior covenant
was that which guaranteed to Israel the possession of the land
of Canaan. The condition of that covenant was Israel's
obedience to God. And the priests of the house of Aaron
w-ere in one sense its sureties ; they were appointed to
instruct Israel in God's law, and their ministry of mediation
was a continual pledge of his love. But these sureties were
made " without an oath; " for they were sinful men, and God
' Psalm Ixxxix. 3, 4, 35, 36,
s 2

sua PART III. LECTURE IX.
could not depend on them. And they proved his judgment
to be just, for they led Israel away from him instead of
teaching them his law. The covenant was thus broken
which gave Israel a right to Canaan ; ten of the twelve
tribes long before this epistle was written, had been driven
from that good land, whilst those who remained were
languishing under a haughty oppressor's yoke. The pro
mise of the kingdom of glory to those who beUeve m God, is
the subject of the "better covenant." Jesus is the " surety"
of this covenant, for his obedience unto death is its fulfilled
condition. The sins and shortcomings of his people caimot
exclude them from this inheritance, for he has been exalted
as their High-Priest, and presents on their behalf for ever his
blood of unfaiUng efficacy. He is also surety to the Father
for them, that they shall be found meet to inherit. There
were many men of God among the legal high-priests, but
they were not able, with all their instructions and admoni
tions, to make froward Israel obedient to him. It is other-
vrise with our High-Priest above. There is m him a fulness
of aU grace to subdue the frowardness of his people ; he
works m them now both to 'wUl and to do of God's good
pleasure ; ' he shaU present them at last and preserve them
for ever, " unblameable and unreproveable."' He is a High-
Priest therefore of whose appointment God never vriU repent.
Etemity itseff shaU discover no flaw in the perfection of
his obedience, nor shaU there be anythmg in the condition of
those whom he has introduced into the inheritance of glory
to make God desfre their exclusion. And besides the greater
security which thus belongs to it, the new covenant is better
in itself. The office of instructing Israel and mediating
with God on thefr behaff, to which the sureties of the old
covenant were appointed, guaranteed after all only the pos
session of an earthly inheritance ; and for this reason also
they were made " without an oath." It is altogether different
vrith our Lord Jesus. On the exercise of his priestly ministry
the everlasting glory of the Father m his people and
thefr everlastmg blessedness at once depend. He is there-
' Phil, ii. 13. 2 Coloss. L 22.

CHAP. vn. 11—22, 389
fore made priest by the oath of the Everlasting, in token
both of the safety and the preciousness of the interests com
mitted to his care.
Jealous as the Hebrews were for the covenant of God with
their father Abraham, which guaranteed to their nation the
possession of the land of Canaan, they eould not but acknow
ledge the validity of this argument. For they had seen that
covenant made void before their eyes. And the slightest
retrospect of tbe his'cory and character of its sureties, their
priests of the house of Aaron, was more than sufficient to
prove that God had abmidaut cause to repent haring ever
appointed them to office, St. Paul therefore sought to lead
them from fhe earthly to the heavenly ; from sinful, erring
priests, with whom God's Spirit was vexed and disappointed,
to his immaculate Son, in whom he rests with etemal com
placency ; from the fields and vineyards of the earthly
Canaan, out of which their nation had been cast, to that
blessed laud of promise, that land of Immanuel, out of
which no adversary should cast them out for ever. Jehovah's
oath declared in what he rested ; ' and the apostle would lead
them away from what had no such guarantee, and bring them
to be of one mind with their God.
In reviewing tlds threefold argument, it is impossible not
to remark that " the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God," as wielded by the hand of this skilful master in
Israel, is made to cut two ways. The words of Darid declare
that a priest of another order must arise ; and the apostle
proves from them, not this only, but the abrogation of the
law which establislied the order of Aaron. These words
declare that tlds new priesthood is eternal ; and the apostle
proves from them, not this only, but that the priesthood of
Aaron was temporary. They declare finally that this priest
hood is established by an oath ; and the apostle demonstrates
from this, not merely the excellence of the covenant which it
secures, but the inferior character of that which preceded.
What a lesson this teaches of the value of holy Scripture !
Who could have imagined that three words in the mouth of
1 HeS>. iv. I.

390 PART Iir. LECTURE IX.
Darid could have contained such a fulness of gospel-truth,
truth fitted at once for the conriction of the Jew and the
instruction and consolation of the believmg Gentile !
To shew the trath of this last remark, let me draw some
practical lessons from the subject which we have just been
considering. The first part of St. Paul's argument goes to
prove that perfection was not "by the Levitical priest
hood, in connection with which" Israel " received the
law." We gather certainly from this statement that
perfection is by the priesthood of Christ, in connection
with which we receive the blessed gospel. It is perfec
tion "as pertaining to the conscience," which St, Paul
here means. That expression signifies peace of concience,
liberty of access to God, and holy ability to serve him.
These blessings therefore, according to the text, come to us
by the priesthood of Christ. There is very great instruction
in tlds apparently simple truth. There are many who tell
us that they are unfeignedly trusting m Christ, but that they
have no peace of conscience, no assurance of Di'rine mercy :
this privilege, they add, is the attainment of a favoured few.
Others profess to have attained it ; but ff we inqufre from
what it is derived, one speaks of his comfortable feelmgs ;
another, of some cheering text of Scripture borne home on
his mind ; and a thfrd, of the work of God's Spirit con
sciously proceeding in his heart. But all this is utterly
wrong. To speak of trusting in Christ unfeignedly, and yet
having no peace with God, is to say that his priesthood has
not brought in the perfection. To say that assmance of God's
mercy is the attainment of a few only, and that it is quite
possible to serve him without it, is to alter the whole character
of Christian obedience ; for the spfrit of adoption whereby
we cry Abba Father, is its root and spring. And it is
equally 'wrong to look to the things now referred to as the
ground of this most needful blessing. We ought to look
only to the priesthood of Christ. The devout worshippers on
the annual day of atonement, saw the legal high-priest slay
the sacrifice and carry its blood within the vail : and ff that
sacrifice had been availing, and that intercession prevalent.

CHAP. VIL 11—12, 391
what they were thus privileged to see would have given them
peace vrith God, Now the sacrifice of Christ is availing, and
his intercession is prevalent. And the blessed gospel declares
that this sacrffice has been slain, and that its blood is now
presented for us. To beUeve in the Lord Jesus is to put
our trust in this gracious declaration. And what more do we
need to assure us of the forgiveness of sin ? What more do
we need to give us peace with God ? We need nothing more :
to look to anything else will only mislead us ; but if we enter
etemity trusting in this word of God, we shall never be put
to shame. And abffity to serve him whom we thus know as
a Father, comes from the same Sariour from whom peace of
conscience comes. He mmisters the Holy Ghost to those
who unfeignedly trast in him for pardon, and in the power of
the grace thus ministered they serve and glorify God. Every
true beUever can therefore say with the evangeUcal prophet,
" in the Lord have I righteousness and strength." '
If the first part of St. Paul's argument is thus full of
instruction, the second which proves the etemal duration of
Christ's priesthood, is fuU of unspeakable consolation. We
are told that by this priesthood " a better hope is brought in,
by which we draw nigh unto God." This blessed access to
the Father through Jesus Christ, is conscious " Ufe and
peace,'' But who shaU assure us that this is " an endless
life," that the mercy m which we trust shaU endure for ever,
that the aspect of Deity shall never be changed towards
us ? We are sinners agamst God, and have eome short of
his glory ; and our only present secmity from wrath, is that
the blood of our sacrifice is presented in the hoUest of all.
The same intercession then, the same advocacy, if continued
for ever, is our eternal security. And so the text, by declaring
Christ's priesthood to be etemal, ministers the comfort and
the assmance which we need. Without such a blessed assur
ance, the prospect of eternal existence would be a prospect full
of terror. For peradventure, through the long roU of everlast
ing ages, some new purpose of God might be revealed, some
new manifestation of his character, some new dispensation
> Isaiah xiy. 24

393 PART III. LECTUEE IX.
towards the creatures of his hands ; peradventure something
might be evolved to bring up the remembrance of our offences;
some of these changes might alter our relation to God, and
we might find ourselves cast out of his sight. But in the
etemal priesthood of our Sariour we are secm-ed against this
danger. Dispensation may indeed succeed dispensation, and
change follow change, as the Infinite goes on to reveal him
seff throughout the boundless ages to come ; but no change
can alter our relation to him, or tum away his favour from
us ; for he who bore our sins in his own body, and has carried
his blood of memorial 'within the vail, abides for ever in the
bosom of invisible Deity. If he could die, if he could cease to
appear as our advocate, our hopes would die with him. But
his eristence and advocacy are alike etemal, and we have
therefore in him " everlasting consolation and good hope
through grace." ' It will not do to say that the loving and
mercifid character of God is in itself a sufficient ground of
confidence. We know nothmg of God except m Christ,
The incarnation reveals his love, the cross reveals his mercy ;
the etemal priesthood assures us of the unchangeable cha
racter of both. Take that cross and priesthood away, and
our confidence is necessarily gone ; the Divine character
ceases to be light,' nay, becomes thick darkness. But whde
this is true on the one hand, let us take heed on the other, of
the opposite mistake. Many speak as if Christ had procured
God's love, and as if he were now extorting mercy for us
from an unwilling Deity. This is a most serious error ; it is
ignorance at once of the Sariour and of him from whom the
Sariour came forth. It ma;kes the Son take glory from the
Father by being more gracious than he, instead of giving
glory to the Father,' by revealmg his etemal name. We
have repeatedly learned from Scripture, that the love and
mercy of God are uncaused by anything in us. Let us now
understand that even Christ himself has not caused them.
The incamation, the cross, the priesthood, have not taught the
Eternal to be gracious ; they have only revealed him who
from everlasting to everlasting is the same. Jesus would
1 II Thess, ii, 16, 2 I John i, ,5. a John xvii. 4.

CHAP. VII. 11—22. 393
teach us a lesson by them, and that lesson is, " the Father
himself loveth you." ' For he came out of that bosom in
which he had lain from everlasting, and having died for our
sins, returned mto it again as our advocate, that we might
have confldence to follow, and to make it our etei-nal home.
And we must not forget the third part of St. Paul's argu
ment. It also is full of consolation, for it presents Christ to
us as the "sm-etyof a better covenant." God has promised
an etemal mheritance of glory to those who believe in his
name. Do we inquire into the conditions of this promise ?
Its condi,tions, we are informed, have been fulfilled afready,
in the obedience of Christ unto death. Do we inquire with
anxiety, whether om- sins shall not hinder its fulfilment ?
Our attention is directed to Calvary, and we are told that in
the sacrifice offered there and now presented above, these
sins are put away. Are we afraid tliat the great God will
forget a promise made to such worthless worms as we are ?
We are told that he who died for us, appears in his presence
on our behalf putting him in mind of us and watching over
our interests continually. Finally, are we afraid that our
presence shall dishonour heaven, and do we inqufre how we
are to be made meet for that place of purest holiness ? We
are told that the same Saviour in whose blood, righteousness,
and intercession, our title to this inheritance stands and is
secured, has become surety to the Father that we shaU be
found meet to inherit. ,For, as we have seen already, he is
now with God as our forerunner, i, e. as the pledge that we
shaU surely follow. Moreover Clirist is responsible etemaUy
for those whom he introduces into the inheritance of glory.
They are brought in through his sacrifice and intercession ;
and if it could ever be that they dishonoured the holy pre
sence of God, the Father would repent that he had made him
High-Priest. But the te.xt declares that God never will
repent of having done so. And we have therefore the blessed
assurance that when we "eat and drink" at God's table, in
his kingdom,' we shaU be found meet and worthy guests, and
that no cloud shall to all etemity cross his countenance of
J John xvi. 27. 2 Luke xxii. 30.
S 3

394 PART III. LECTUEE IX.
love, to teU us that we are unwelcome there. It is impossible
to express the consolation with which these precious truths
are filled. They afford every security which faith can desfre,
that if we confide unfeignedly in Christ our Sariour, we shaU
be at last presented " faultless before the presence of his
glory with exceeding joy." '
How fuU then is this precious subject of the glory of
Christ ! Let us sum up its lessons in one word. We feel
our need of peace of conscience and holy abUity to serve God.
It directs us to him as our perfect High-.Priest, We look
beyond this 'world mto etemity, and ask an assurance that
God's mercy shaU endure for ever. It dfrects us to the same
Saviour as our etemal High-Priest. We ask a pledge that the
heavenly inheritance shaU be ours, and that we shaU be made
meet for its glories. And we are directed by this subject to
him through whose intercession we shaU be mtroduced into
this inheritance, whom Jehovah has made High-Priest vrith
an oath, and of whose appointment he never wdl repent.
None of these tldngs were found in Aaron. St. Paul then
has succeeded in his argument ; he has demonstrated the
immeasurable superiority of the Priest after the order of
Melchizedec. May it be given to us to know this High-
Priest's grace, and to tmst unfeig-nedly in his eternal
mercy ! We shall thus be privUeged to serve God now and
to abide in his presence for ever.
1 Jude 24.

395

LECTURE X.

Hebrews vd. 23—28.

" And they truly were many priests, because they were not
suffered to contin^ue by reason of death: but this man, because
lie continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Where
fore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever li^veth to make intercession for
them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher
than the heavens ; 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.
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!'
The Apostle, as we have just seen, having demonstrated the
superiority of the priesthood of Christ to that of Aaron, in
its perfection, its eternity, and its sacredness, proceeds in the
first part of the Scripture which we have now read, to shew
to the Hebrews that we sinners derive from such a priesthood
an advantage, of the most important kind. Having thus
exhausted the snbject of Christ's call, he retums to that of
his qualifications, shewing in the latter part of this Scrip
ture, that the Priest after the order of Melchizedec, is as
truly exalted above the sons of Aaron m spiritual character
as in the dignity and efficacy of his sacred office. Let us
consider this two-fold argument, 'with the attention and care
'which it deserves.

396 PART III. LECTUEE X.
And they truly were many priests, because they were not
suff'ered to continue by reason of death: but this One, beca'use
he continueth ever, hath a priesthood which passeth not
FROM HAND TO HAND. Wherefore he is able also to save
them WITHOUT end that come unto God by him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an
High Priest became us.
The Jewish high-priests were many, because death cut
short their dignity. No fewer than three and twenty persons
executed that holy office, from the days of Aaron to the
captivity.' But he of whom I am now speaking, says St.
Paul, is in this respect my brethren, utterly unlike our
priesthood. Inasmuch as " He continueth ever," his office
passes not from hand to hand, but always remains with him
self. Aud he is able on this account, to save to the end of
time, as long as sinners shall be found on the earth to need
salvation, "them that come unto God by him;" he Uves
from generation to generation, to present their cause to God;
yea, he lives for evermore to do so. When we therefore
have come to him with the burden of our guilt, when we
have made known to him our spiritual necessities, when we
have sought his mediation, our souls are safe for ever.
There is no fear of a stranger succeeding our friend in office.
And he is the faithful friend of those who trust in him ; he
'wUl never forget the cause which has been committed to his
care. God m his inflmte mercy, has provided for us such
an High-Priest; "for such an High-priest" alone suits the
necessities of the guilty.
The mere statement of this argument is sufficient to prove
its force. But I apprehend tha,t St. Paul had yet another
pm-pose in bringmg it forward than that which we have now
considered. He had shewed to the Hebrews that the priest
hood of Melchizedec had neither beginnmg nor end of
priestly days, and that in this respect it typified the priest
hood of Messiah. Whereas thefr priests, as he had pointed
out to them, condng into office at thirty years of age and
1 I Chronicles vi. 3 — 15.

CHAP. VII. 23—28, 397
going out of it at fifty years, belonged eridentiy to apother
order. But they might have objected that this was true of
thefr inferior priests only : om high-priest, they might have
said, once inaugurated, continues in office while he lives,
and in this respect is equal to Melchizedec. It may be so,
my brethren, ansvcers the Apostle ; but Melchizedec holding
office while he lived, was a type of Messiah holding office
while he lives. And though your high-priest may be in one
respect equal to the man Melchizedec, he still faUs infinitely
short of Melchizedec's antitype. For death comes in to
deprive him of his dignities, but Messiah lives for evermore.
I beUeve that without this the argument of the Apostle is
imperfect. His object is to prove that Christ is superior to
the whole Jewish priesthood. He has proved before, his
superiority to the ordinary priests, inasmuch as the office
which has been committed to him, is not limited to any term
of years ; and he now proves his superiority to the high-
priest, masmuch as death itseff cannot cut short his official
dignity. Having thus sketched the argument of these verses as it
appUed to Hebrews, let us consider what we Christians may
learn from it. It demonstrates in the clearest manner that
there is now no ministerial priesthood. The two dispensa
tions, the Mosaic and the Christian, are here contrasted.
The one is said to have possessed its many priests, not
suffered to continue by reason of death, and its transferable
priesthood. The other is distinguished by its one Priest,
who continueth ever, and its untransferable priesthood.
Now ff the bishops aud presbyters of Christ's church be
really priests, this argument is not true, nay, it is the reverse
of the truth. It is mere evasion to say that they are only his
delegates and representatives, and that the priesthood remains
inalienably his. If this name imports that they are really
priests, if moreover they transmit this priestly character by
the rite of ordination to those who come after them, the
Christian dispensation, I repeat, is distinguished by its
many priests, not suffered to continue by reason of death,
and its transferable priesthood. The argument of the text

398 PART III. LECTURE X.
is thus so completely stultified that it is inconceivable, with
Hebrew cavillers watching his every word, that the Apostle
should have ventmed to make use of it. They might have
pointed to Timothy and Titus, and many more besides,
on whom St. Paul himself had laid hands. They might
have put ths unanswerable question. Are not these many
priests ? shaU not their priesthood be cut short by death ?
shall it not pass from hand to hand? Where then is the
contrast, they might have said, which you dishonestly attempt
to draw between your Christian system and the heaven-
ordained customs of our fathers ?
But does not this argument destroy the priesthood of the
saints? By no means. The saints are not priests by dele
gation now, nor shall they be hereafter. Jesus and his
people are one in the sight of God, and whatever is his, is
therefore thefrs also. They are sons in his sonship, kings
in his royal dignity, and priests in his priesthood. And as
their sonship and kingdom are etemal, so is their priesthood;
it continues vrith them for ever ; it passes not from hand to
hand. , The priesthood thus estabUshed is another frrefragable argu
ment agamst ministerial priesthood. There cannot be two
priesthoods, A king over kings, a bishop over bishops, a
priest over priests, is an absurdity. What distmguished the
Aaronic priest from those to whom he ministered, was the
privdege of drawing near to God and presenting the blood of
the sacrifice. He might do both, the common Israelite might
do neither. If God's mimsters are priests, this is stiU thefr
distinctive privilege. They alone may draw nigh to God,
they alone may present to him in faith that sacrifice of his
Son, vrithout which no prayer is acceptable. But God forbid
that we should say so ! It were denying the Lord that
bought us ; these precious privileges belong to all God's
people. They are therefore all priests, and there can be only
ONE PRIESTHOOD.
There arc also other lessons to be leamed from this
Scriptme. In telling us that Christ is able to save them
that come unto God by him, the Apostle teaches us dis-

CHAP. -VII. 23—28, 399
tinctly that man in himself is lost. In his original condition
of innocence, man had the privdege of access to God. That
pri'rilege however was forfeited when our father Adam
smned; his offended Maker, we are told, "drove out the
man,"' not that man only, but all generations of his children.
But while man is thus lost in himself, there is hope for him
in Christ ; the language of the text implies that we may
come unto God by him. He has died for our sins, he has
also passed into the holiest and makes intercession on our
behaff. And God, having accepted his sacrifice, and listen
ing to his intercession, has reversed for his sake the sentence
of exclusion, and sends abroad instead of it, the word of
inritation and welcome, " I 'will receive you, and wUl be a
Father unto you."' And while Christ is thus the way to God,
we are warned in the text that he is the only way. For the
ability to save which it declares to belong to him, compre
hends those only who come to God by him : he is not able
to save others. Nor will God save them. Commg to him
in thefr own name, they shaU be eternally rejected. All
this is declared most emphatically by Jesus himseff. When
his disciples asked him the way to the Father, he answered,
"I am the way.,, no man cometh unto the Father, but by
me,"' But while the text thus declares our lost condition in
ourselves, and our lost condition without Christ, it declares
with equal distinctness, our certain salvation, if we come
to God by him. We know from the cross, that he is wU-
Img to save us ; and if he is also able, nothing can hinder
our salvation. What then is it, " to come unto God by
him ?" It is to come acknowledging that as the chUdren
of a sinning father, and as sinners in our own persons, we
have justly forfeited God's favom and exposed ourselves to
his etemal wrath. It is to confess heartily that between us
and eternal misery there is nothing but the blood of Christ ;
it is to accept thankfully the forgiveness which that precious
blood has procured. To come to God, implies, moreover,
that we desire to serve him. But the devU, with his " crafts
1 Genesis iM. 24. 2 II Corinthians vi. 1 7, 18. 3 John xiv. 6.

400 PART III. LECTURE X.
and assaults," the world with its temptations, and the sin
which is in our hearts, aU vrithstand us in doing so. And
to come by Christ is a hearty and unfeigned reliance on the
grace of his Spfrit alone, for victory over these enemies of
our souls. Self-renunciation therefore is the very essence
of this coming. But those who thus renounce themselves
and trust in Christ, shall, as has just been stated, find
Christ a Saviour. He shall save them from -wrath. " Be
hold.. .a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and
a covert from the tempest."' And the Apostle tells us
that this man is the Son of God " whom he raised from the
dead, even Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to
come."' He shall save them from the devil. " Simon,
Simon," said the Lord, " behold, Satan hath desired to have
you,. ..but I have prayed for thee."' He shall save them
from the seducing and corrupting influence of the world.
" I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the
world," is his recorded intercession, " but that thou shouldest
keep them from the evd."* Finally, he shall save them
from the sin which is in their own hearts. " Thou shalt
call his name Jesus," was the commandment of the angel,
"for he shall save his people from thefr sins."' Such is
the blessedness both here and hereafter of as many as
" come unto God by him." Accepted in the beloved, and
strengthened with might by his Spfrit in the inner man,
they serve God now, and shall abide m his presence for ever
as the dear children of his love.
The text declares besides how it is that Christ saves his
people ; he makes intercession for them, i.e. presents thefr
cause to God. As St, John also declares, " If any man sm,
we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous."'' Very unworthy ideas are entertained on the
subject of this advocacy. Many persons speak as if God
accepted the guilty because Christ asks' it, and God cannot
refuse his Son. This is indeed true m one sense, but it
I Isaiah xxxii. 1, 2. 2 i Thess. i. 10. Tyndale, Cranmer, Geneva.
3 Luke xxii. 31, 32. 4 John xvii. 15. 6 Matthew i. 21.
c I John ii. 1 .

CHAP. VII. 23—28. 401
ought never to be forgotten that there is no favouritism in
the deaUngs of God. The pleader in the court above is
"Jesus Christ the righteous," and what he asks is that
righteousness may be done. It is a righteous thing 'with
God then, to save Christ's people for his sake. Let us
consider this important truth in two distinct aspects. The
real, spiritual oneness of Christ and his people, lies at the
bottom of the whole doctrine of salvation. Every simiU
tude which nature and the ordinances of society furnish,
has been exhausted by holy Scripture to set tbds oneness
forth. We read in one place, " Behold I and the chddren
which God hath given me."' We read in another of being
"joined unto theLord,"as the wife is joined to her husband,'
And in another stUl we read that " we are members of his
body, of his flesh, and of his bones."' Tlds blessed oneness
is through faith and by the Holy Ghost, and in virtue of
it Christ the true Aaron has the names of God's Israel on
his breastplate, i. e. he appears on high, representing in his
person the whole company of those that trust in bim. The
Father sees them as contained in him, and deals with them
accordingly. The blood of his sacrifice is their atonement,
and obtains their pardon : his obedience to the law is their
obedience, and obtains their everlasting acceptance. Even
human laws recognize the righteousness of such procedure.
In very many instances they punish or reward the children
in the father, the 'wife in the husband. Aud in every
instance when they acquit a mau of crime, they acquit the
members of his body ; when they exalt a man to honour,
they ennoble his members along with him. The hands and
feet of a malefactor partake of his dishonour, but men kiss
the hand of a king. Let us look at Christ's advocacy in
another aspect. God has proclaimed his acceptance of the
sacrffice of his Son, and has commanded all the ends of
the earth to look to him on the ground of it, and be saved.*
And when we come to God in terms of this invitation, the
Dirine faithfulness is engaged on our behaff, for Jesus has
1 Heb. ii. 13. 2 I Corinthians vi. 16, 17. 3 Ephesians v. 30.
1 Isaiah xiv. 22.

402 PART III. LECTUEE X.
a plea to present for us, which that faithfulness cannot
disown. We come expecting pardon on the ground of that
sacrifice. And Jesus says for us to the Father, they have
thy warrant for expectmg it. We come seeking protection
from the devil ; and Jesus puts the Father in remembrance,
thy faithfulness is engaged to grant it. We come seeking
grace from above, that we may triumph over the world and
the flesh ; and again Jesus says on our behalf Thy word of
truth is passed, that they shall not be sent empty away.
Our advocate is therefore well called "Jesus Christ the
righteous ;" for the burden of his pleading may be expressed
in the inspired words of his servant, " Shall not the Judge
of aU the earth do right ?" ' The salvation of sinners then,
it may be said, is a matter not of mercy but of righteous
ness. Both mercy and righteousness appear m it. In the
depth of the riches of the wisdom and love of God, his
mercy and his truth have met together ; his righteousness
and our peace have also kissed each other. ' Mercy pro
rided the Sariour ; mercy gave the promise of Ufe ; mercy
leads us to the Saviour and to God by him. But when we
have been so led, it is righteousness, eternal righteousness,
which secures our everlastmg peace.
We learn finally, from this portion of the text, that
because Christ ever Uveth thus to intercede for his people,
he is able to save them " without end." It is eighteen
hundred years since St. Paul and his brethren found 1dm
60 ; and the lapse of ages which changes every human ordi
nance, alters not a -whit the salvation of God ; " Jesus, the
same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever,"' still remains the
only way to the Father. How precious is this thought!
It is om pririlege to trast ui him in whom aU the saved
ones of God in every age have trusted, in whom our
fathers and our fathers' fathers have hoped, in whom our
chUdren and our children's children shall place their con
fidence tdl the generations of the earth shall have an end.
And the words "ever liveth. ..to save without end," carry
our thoughts and hopes far beyond time into the illimitable
> Genesis xviii. 25. a Psalm Ixxxv. 10- s Heb. xiii. 8.

CHAP. VII. 23—28 403
ages that shaU follow it. We shaU ever be beheld by the
Father as those who are fri the Son, pardoned through his
sacrffice, accepted and adopted through his righteousness
and mtercession. We shaU also, as a part of this endless
salvation, be ffiled with the Spirit of Christ crying in us eter
nally Abba Father. His ever Uving is thus the pledge and
security, as we saw in the last lecture, of our etemal Iffe.
To this consoling truth we have the seal of his own most
gracious declaration, " Because I live, ye shaU Uve also."'
St. Paul would shew to the Hebrews, in the second part
of the text, the excellent qualifications of this ever-livmg
High-Priest For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, sepaeated /rom sinners, and made higher than the
heavens; who needeth not daily, as those high-priests, to offer
up saarifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's :
for this he did once, when he offered up himself. 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
peefected for evermore.
These words are contrast, not comparison. St. Paul has
already compared Christ with the Jewish high-priests : the
point of comparison was that both He and they were " com
passed vrith infirmity," He now contrasts Him with these
functionaries, and the contrast is that while they have in
firmity. He is without it, being " perfected for evermore."
The most superficial thinker must perceive the reason of this
apparent discrepancy. The Apostle in the former Scripture,
is speaking of Christ in mortal flesh ; here he is speaking of
Him m immortal glory. Christ in mortal flesh, -was com
passed with infirmity ; Christ in immortal glory has left it
for ever behind Him. It is not because He is now conscious
of them, but because He remembers Gethsemane and Calvary,
that He can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities.
Among the varied beauties of this epistle, this comparison
1 John xiv, 19.

404 part III. LECTURE X.
and contrast is not the least. And the apprehension of it
on our part is absolutely necessary, ff we would understand
the Apostle's argument. Our Lord was the predestinated
High-Priest during His sojourn on earth, and as such, inter
ceded for His people. But He was not the perfected High-
!Priest, nor did He enter on the fuU discharge of the func
tions of His everlasting ministry, tiU He was raised from the
dead and exalted to the right hand of God.
I have inserted again the words " for such an High-Priest
became us," because, standing as they do in the very middle
of the text, they apply, as is usual in the impassioned style
of St. Paul, at once to what has preceded and to that which
foUows them. I ha,ve also substituted separated for separate,
for besides being more faitlfful to the original, this change is
absolutely necessary, as we shall see, to the elucidation of the
Apostle's meaning.
The quaUfications of a Priest w-ere two-fold, andthe subject
of Christ's qualifications for that holy office, is not now intro-
for the ffi-st time. St. Paul, as we have seen, had afready
shewed to the Hebrews, that their great High-Priest had
passed through his people's circumstances, and that he had
been found in these circumstances, " without sin." The first
of these qualifications was necessary, that he might sympa
thize with his people, in their trials ; the second was neces
sary, that he might appear before God, on their behalf. In
his former reasoning on the subject the Apostle dwelt chiefly
on the first qualification of our exalted High-Priest ; in the
words before us he dwells chiefly on the second. I shaU
briefly sketch his argument in • its application to the
Hebrews, and then examine it minutely for our own instrac-
tion and comfort.
The Hebrews were well aware that hoUness was an essen
tial requisite of the priesthood. According to the ordinance
of God by Moses, a golden plate, with " holiness to the
Lord" engraven on it, was to be "always" on the high-
priest's forehead, that he might be accepted m his mimsfra-
trations for the people.' And Aaron was therefore caUed
1 Exodus xxviii. 30 — 38.

CHAP Vll. 23—28. 405
" the saint" or holy one " of the Lord."' But he of whom I
now speak, my brethren, says St. Paul, is in reality what
most of our high-priests are in type and name only ; he is
indeed " holy." His devotedness to God and tender love to
man were put to the severest trials, but out of these trials he
came " undefiled : " they only proved the reaUty of his holi
ness, the depth and tenderness of his love. He is therefore
"such an High-Priest " as "became us," for his unsullied
purity entitles him to minister in the holiest, on our behaff.
God himself, adds the apostle, has borne testimony to this.
For while our priests minister among sinners, and in an
earthly temple built by the hands of sinners, he of whom I
speak, has been " separated from smners" by the act of God's
glorious power manifested in his resurrection and ascension,
"and made higher than the heavens." And his ministra
tions in the temple above, i. e. in the immediate presence of
the Father, are of a kind which sufficiently marks how highly
in moral and spiritual character he is exalted above the sons
of Aaron. For they offer sacrifices, fibrst for their own sms
and then for the people's, and repeat these sacrifices daily
because they are inefficacious. But he, haring no sins of his
own, offered up once for all on his people's behaff, the effi
cacious sacrifice of himself, and has carried its precious
memorial into the heaven of heavens. Let us hear then,
my brethren, the conclusion of the whole matter. The
law of which you boast so highly, maketh creatures, yea
sinful, dymg creatures, high-priests ; but the word of the
oath which succeeded the law, has committed the perfect
priesthood into the hands of the immaculate and exalted
Son of God, and in his hands it shaU abide, untransferable,
etemaUy. Let us now consider for ourselves these qualifications
of our exalted High-Priest. He is "holy," perfectly holy ;
he is also harmless. Perfect holiness is perfect purity of
heart, perfect love to God and man. As it regards God,
this love shews itself in perfect devotedness to his glory,
in unceasing and delighted obedience to his will; His
1 Psalm evi. 16.

406 PART III. lecture X.
service is "perfect freedom," yea, it is "glorious Uberty."
As it regards man, it shews itself in harmlessness. Love
to others makes us unwilling to hurt them, teaches us
to shrink from giving pain, and unless we are compelled
by necessity, nevers allows us to be severe. I need not
remark that our blessed Sariour exhibited this holmess and
harmlessness both in his life and death. He was also tried
to the uttermost, that the genuine character of these gracious
qualities might appear. His love to the Father was tried :
poverty, suffering, and rejection were appointed as his earthly
lot ; and a life of almost unndngled sorrow was to have its
end in a death of shame. But it stood the trial: "he hum
bled himself and was obedient."' It was tried yet more
severely, when the Father forsook him in the hour of his
direst extremity. But it stood this trial also ; the Son loved
and trusted in him even through the darkness, calling to
him, "my God, my God."' at the very moment when he
complained of his desertion. And his love to man was tried ;
man repaid him for his Idndness -with hatred, contempt, and
scorn, and in the bitterness of that hatred became at last his
murderer. But he loved man through it aU with an affection
strong as death ; he gave his life for man's salvation, though
man was the shed der of his blood. The holy and harmless
one of God thus came out of trial "undefiled;" no stain
dishonoured his obedience, no imperfection was discovered
in his love. And what greatly enhances the value of this
demonstration of Christ's character is the voluntary natme
of his obedience, and the power which was committed to his
hands. He was not compelled to a life and death of shame ;
he embraced it of his own will. It was this which marked
his obedience as the fruit of love, and made it so precious in
the Father's sight. "No man taketh my Iffe from me,'' are
his own words, "but I lay it down of myself'and "there
fore doth my Father love me."' For love is repaid 'with
love, and filial affection was in this case repaid 'with patemal.
We have a kindred proof of his genuine love to man ; the
mighty power which was entrusted to Jesus was never used
1 PhUipp. ii. 8. 2 Psalm xxii. 1. ' John x. 17, 18.

CHAP. VII. 23—28. 407
for harm ! We are told by one who was never absent from
his side, that " when he suffered, he threatened not." ' One
word from him would have brought down fire from heaven
on the churlish Samaritan village, and his disciples petitioned
for such a word. But "ye know not what manner of spirit
ye are of" was his reply ; " the Son of man is not come to
destroy men's Uves."^ When his enemies came to take him
m the garden, the majesty of his awful presence constrained
them to fall to the ground ; ^ and one of the disciples, think
ing to please his Master, " smote the servant of the high
priest, and cut off his right ear.'* But " Suffer ye thus far,''
was the answer of that harmless one, " and he touched his
ear, and healed him."* Thus om blessed Saviour lived, and
thus he died. The Father looked upon him as he lay dead
in Joseph's sepulchre, and remembered on his behaff the pro
mise on which he had caused him to hope. He did not suffer
his Holy One to see corruption, but shewed to him, through
resurrection, the path of life, " separated "him "from sinners,"
"and made" him "higher than the heavens." "Who shaU
ascend into the hiU of the Lord ? or who shaU stand in his
holy place ? " — is the question of the mspired Psalmist.
"He that hath clean hands, and a pme heart..,, he shall
receive the blessing from the Lord," is the answer of Jeho
vah's oracle.' And in conformity vrith this, our Lord declares,
" blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.""
He himself has had the first experience of this blessedness.
For he has been exalted far above these risible heavens into
that truly holy place, that place of Ught inaccessible in
which the etemal Father dwells ; and there, reUeved from
the hated presence of sin and from aU possible approach
of sinners, our holy, harmless and undefiled High-Priest
exercises his perfect and etemal ministry. He appears there
before the Father, at once the High-Priest and the sacrffice
of his people, thefr mtercessor and propitiation ; and the
burden of his etemal prayer is that for his sake who died for
them, they may be pardoned and accepted and blessed. For
1 I Peter ii. 23. 2 Luie ix. 54 — 66. s John xviii, 6.
i Luke xxii. 50, 51. 6 Psalm xxiv. 3 — 5. g Matt. v. 8.

408 PART III, LECTUEE X,
"we have an advocate vrith the Father, and he is the pro
pitiation for our sins," '
These precious truths are full of unspeakable consolation.
We cannot ascend up to heaven to present our own prayers
to God, or to watch in person over our etemal mterests,
" No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came
down from heaven, even the Son of man,"' But blessed be
his name, he hath ascended, and is there on our behaff.
We need not be afraid therefore ; God is not too high above
us for om prayers to reach his ear. As long as the Son of
man is " higher than the heavens,'' nothing shall obstruct
the prayers of the sons of men in thefr passage to his ex
alted mercy-seat. And we may safely trust the interests
of our salvation to him to whom God has entrusted the
interest of his glory. The Father is glorified in the salva
tion of as many as come to him m his risen Son. And ff it
were possible that we could lose our souls in domg so, his
name would be dishonoured in our perdition. But the
perfect holmess of our High-Priest, his perfect love to the
Father and to us, is the sure guarantee that this is for ever
impossible. And in the Holy One of God there is no deceit
or guile; "we beheld his glory," says St, John, " f uU of
grace and truth." ' He hath said, " him that cometh to
me I vriU in no wise cast out ; " * "I give unto my sheep
etemal Iffe, and they shall never perish ; "' "he that believeth
on me hath everlasting life, and I vriU raise him up at the
last day."° And the unsullied purity of him who has made
these promises, is the etemal pledge of thefr accompUshment.
He is "harmless" too as well as holy. He wUl not seek
occasion against us, that he may reject us fromhis mercy and
visit us with his wrath. His harmless love " is not easdy pro
voked,'' "it beareth all things" and thinketh no evil. "'' AU
the "contradiction of sinners" which he encountered in the
days of his flesh, all the backwardness and stupidity of his
disciples, failed to ruffle the serenity of his bosom, to abate
his untfring and patient affection. And he is as forbearing
1 I John ii. 1, 2. -.. John iii. 13. » John i. 14. « John yi. 37.
• John X. 27,128. » John vi. 40, 47. ' I Corin. xiii, 6, 7,

CHAP. VII. 23—28. 409
with his enemies and as patient with his people now. The
singleness of his offering in the heaven of heavens, pro
claims all this, proclaims him thus sinless and immaculate.
He is therefore the worthy object of the sinner's confidence
and hope ; and we cannot apprehend his glorious character,
without being constrained to say with the Apostle m the
text, " such an High-Priest became us."
All this teaches another and a very solemn lesson. We
have leamed from former parts of this epistle, what is also
taught in the text, viz. that the sons of men may expect
under trial and temptation the sympathy of this Son of man.
But let us remember his character ; he is the holy and
undefUed one. We may not expect this sympathy then,
when we are excusing our wickedness by calling it our in
firmity, when we are encouraging ourselves in some evil
passion, and seeking to gratify some darling lust. Jesus
gave himseff a sacrifice for our sins, and intercedes for us
on high, and has promised to us m our distresses his gracious
sympathy and help, for the very end of redeeming us from
aU iniquity, and purifying us as a pecuUar people to himself.
And woe, woe be to those who tum this grace into wanton
ness, and seek to make the Father's undefiled One the minis
ter of sin ! If we are using God's mercy aright, it will bind
us more and more closely, in proportion as we apprehend its
greatness, to him and to his blessed service. If this is not the
hallowed fruit of om- knowledge of God's love, we are
abusing it to our destruction.
We leam finaUy from this whole subject, and especially
from the last verse of the text in which St. Paul sums up his
argument, how much more gracious God has been to us than
he was to his people of the former dispensation. They were
under a law which appointed men, sinful, mortal, dying
men to the office of the priesthood. This priesthood was
necessarUy inefficacious and imperfect; the sacrifices of the
sinful could not possibly pacify the conscience, the ministra
tions of the sinful could not cleanse the heart. But the
word of the oath which has succeeded the law, and under
which we are, has appointed as our High-Priest the immacu-
VOL. I. T

110 PAET III. LECTUEE X.
late Son of God. His priesthood at once pacifies the con
science and cleanses the heart of the believer; it also
endures for ever. Let us come then unto God by him ; let
us come with the burden of our guUt, and 'with our spiritual
wants and necessities. In him we shaU find forgiveness and
peace, grace also which is sufficient for us, and strength
which is made perfect in weakness. The faithfulness of the
Holy One wdl never deceive, the love of the Harmless One
wiU never become impatient 'with us. He who was himself
undefiled, wdl lead us by his Spfrit in the pure and holy
ways of God ; and separating us now m heart and affection
from a world that lieth in wickedness, he shall separate us
at last from sinners as he himself was separated, and exalt
us as he himself has been exalted. For "when Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear vrith him
in glory."' And this glory is not transient; its guarantee
is the word and oath of God, the same word and oath of the
same God and Father which has confirmed the honours of
his etemal Son. May he then of his infinite mercy incline
our hearts to such a choice !
1 Coloss. iii. 4.

411

LECTURE XL
Hebrews viii. 1 — 6.
" Noiv of the things which vie 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 ; a minister of the
sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched,
and not man. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts
and sacrifices : wherefore it is of necessity that this man have
somewhat also to offer. For if he were on earth, he should
not be a priest, seeing that ihere are priests that offer gifts
according to the law : who serve unto the example and
shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God
when he was about to make the tabernacle : for. See, saith he,
that thou inake all things according to the pattern shewed to
thee in the mount. But noio hath he obtained a more
excellent ministry, by how tnuch also he is the mediator of a
better covenant, which was estabUshed upon better promises."
St. Paul has now arrived in the natural progress of his
discourse, at the third subject of consideration proposed by
him in the fifth chapter, riz. the functions of Christ in
glory. We have afready repeatedly referred to them, but in
this we have anticipated the apostle, for except the incidental
aUusions which we considered in the last lecture, and which
were necessarily introduced to set forth the qualifications of
our High-Priest and the certain salvation of his believmg
people, the subject of his priestly functions has as yet been
left untouched. But St. Paul never loses sight for an
instant, in this or in any of his epistles, of the scope and
purpose of his argument ; he therefore now takes up these
functions as a separate subject. His words wUl be found to
T 2

412 PAET III. LECTUEE XT.
confirm every thmg which on this head of doctrme has been
already taught : they are also a fuller discovery of tbe
wonders of the invisible world.
Now of the things of which we aee speaking, this is
the ceowning point.
The apostle, in the verses which we are now to consider,
is not recapitulating former arguments, but introducing a
new subject. And this subject is indeed the " crowning point"
of the topics of his discourse, A priest caUed of God and
qualified to minister is a blessmg, but his ministration is
that on which our salvation depends. Professor Stewart
therefore renders the words before us, "among the subjects
now discussed, this is the principal:" while Tyndall and
Cranmer render them vrith smgular felicity of expression " of
the things which we have spoken, this is the pith."
What then is this crownmg point, this prmcipal thing,
the pith, the marrow of the whole doctrine of salvation?
Messiah's seat in glory, answers the Apostle, and His
ministration on our behaff, before God. Let us take these
in order.
We have such a High-Priest, who is seated on the right
hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. _
These words are the glorious openmg of the Apostle's
glorious subject, being designed to put the Hebrews in
remembrance of the excellent dignity of the trae Melchize
dec of whose functions he is about to speak. It is no easy
matter to expound them ; the thoughts which they suggest
are too vast for human utterance, I had almost said, for
human comprehension. They ascribe to Jesus equality
WITH Jehovah combined with peiestly ministration before
him. The ministration comes first: "we have such an
High-Priest," says St. Paul. He is a High-Priest called of,
God, perfect, eternal and consecrated with an oath ; he is
also holy, harmless and undefiled ; he has been separated

CHAP. 'VIII. 1—6. 413
from sinners and exalted on high, that in the holiest of aU
above he may minister on our behalf And in that holy
place to which he has been thus exalted, in what position
does he appear? Let us Usten and adore ! He is "seated
on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the
heavens." This epistle was doubtless read to the different
Hebrew churches, and we Gentiles cannot conceive how
these words must have thrilled a Hebrew audience. Jesus
is spoken of as sitting within the holiest above, and the seat
which he occupies is declared to be the Father's throne.
Now the legal High-Priest entered into the earthly hoUest,
and reverently stood while he mmistered 'with adoring awe
before the majesty of God throned between the Cherubim.'
To have seated ffimseff at all within these holy precincts
"would have been rashness unheard of;"' but to have
cUmbed upon the ark and mercy-seat and taken his place
between the cherubim would have been a direct assumption
of Divinity. The Hebrews required none to teU them this,
and the very thought and mention of such impious audacity
would have made a devout Hebrew shudder. And if this
was trae even of the earthly holiest and of God's earthly
throne, what must they have felt when they heard" the
Apostle declare, in the words which we are now considering,
that their High-Priest was sitting within the heavenly holiest,
and on God's heavenly throne ? They must have understood
him to mean that He of whom lie was 'writing was very and
eternal God, and that his sacerdotal character and ministry
derogated nothing from his perfect equality 'with the Father.
And this, I need not say, is just what he does mean. Many
who profess unbounded reverence for St. Paul and his brethren
the apostles, have yet ventured to deny that the Divinity of
Christ is apostolic doctrine. I am wffiing to rest the whole
question on this smgle text, provided that a Hebrew, well
skilled in the law of Moses, be allowed as the interpreter of
its meaning. And let him be an unbelieving Hebrew, that
his judgment may be impartial. I have no fear of that
judgment. This writer tells us, he would say at once, that
1 Heb. X. 11. 2 Horae Hebraica.

414 PART III. LECTURE X[.
the Crucified sits between the cherabim. His meaning
therefore is but too obrious ; it is that the Crucified is God.
Before leaving these precious words, however, let us go
deeper into their contents. We considered in the last lecture,
the intercession of Christ for his people. The legal high-
priest was in this respect a type of him ; but we leam from
the words before us, the vast, the inconceivable dUference
between the mtercession of the Son of God and that of the
trembling son of Aaron. Jesus sits whde he intercedes; the
communion between him and the Father is the converse
OF equals; and "Father, I will,"' is the authoritative
language of his intercession. How prevalent then, how
resistless must that intercession be ! Our attention was
drawn, in the last lecture, to the character of our High-
Priest. We found him, from apostolic testimony, to be
lovmg, mercfful and not easily provoked, ready to undertake
our cause, and too faithful and trae to neglect what is com
mitted to his trust. But oh, what additional consolation we
have in the words before us ! For they teU us tliat this
loving, merciful, and faithful One is sitting with the Father
on his throne.' Surely then there is no extremity in which
he is not able to help ! Surely there is no depth of guilt
and wretchedness on this side of heU, from which such inter
cession is not a,ble to deliver !
And he is willmg as well as able to help us in our exfre-
mities. For who is he who thus sits on the Father's throne?
Is he the Son of God only ? No, he is the Son at once
of God and man. When Moses and Aaron " saw the God
of Israel, there was under his feet as it were a paved work
of a sappldre stone."' And Ezekiel teUs us that when he
saw his glory, there was "above the firmament... the lUieness
of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone : and upon
the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance
of A man." He then describes the human form. "From
the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the
appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the
appearance of fire.'' And finally he declares, "This was the
1 John xvii. 24. 2 Rev. iii. 21. s Exodus xxiv. 10.

CHAP. VIII. 1—6. 415
appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord."'
Here is a plain testimony to the wondrous truth of incarna
tion. Manhood has been indeed, to use the language of the
Athanasian creed, taken "mto God; " for "the God of
Israel," "the Lord," and "a man," appear in these Scriptures
as one person. And they are one person : a Divine and
human high-priest is now sitting above the heavens. Could
the Ught inaccessible which shrouds unseen Deity abate
itself a Uttle, we should see, as the prophet saw, a man in
the midst of the throne; one vrith a human heart and
human feelings, yea one with human hands and feet, and a
human side. For he who sits on that throne is the same
who said of himself, after he rose to glory, " a spirit hath
not flesh and bones, as ye see me have."'
Our High- Priest is indeed a man, and has mdeed the
feelings of a man. I cannot resist ^ring an example ; it is
a most deeply touching one. We read once and once only
in the entfre New Testament, of Jesus standing in the pre
sence of God. " Behold " said St. Stephen, as they gnashed
on him with their teeth," I see the heavens opened, and the
Son of man standing on the right hand of God."' Whence
this incongruity with the text and with other scriptures ? Let
us not call it incongruity ; it is most beautiful and perfect
harmony. A mother cannot keep her seat and see her little
one faU into the flre ; nature constrains her to rise aud run
to the rescue of her child. Now Jesus says, "Can a woman
forget her sucking chdd, that she should not have compas
sion on the son of her womb ? Yea, they may forget, yet
wiU not I forget thee."* He could not keep his seat then
and see his servant murdered. He rose up when he
beheld his first martyr's extremity — our " faithful High-
Priest " eose up, that he might bend his eyes with mtentest
observation on what was passing below. We are told that
'" aU who sat in the council, looking steadfastly " on that
persecuted saint, " saw his face as it had been the face of
an angel."' WeU might it appear so, weU might it beam
¦ Ezet. i. 26—28. 2 Luke xxiy. 39. 3 Acts vii. 56,
4 Isaiah xlix. 15, < Acts vi, 15.

416 PART III. LECTURE XI.
seraphic peace and joy ; he knew that he was not forgotten.
And ff we had the faith of St. Stephen, if we lived in the
daily consciousness of being remembered by our Sariour on
high, our faces would shine as did the face of that noble
martyr. No difficulties would perplex, no dangers would
affright, no distresses would overwhelm us ; in the midst of
abounding calamity and sorrow we should still be at peace m
God. Alas, why is it not so -with us ? Why do we ever
complain that we are forsaken, friendless or desolate ?
"There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother,"' and
no son of man need be friendless as long as He lives on high.
St. Paul proceeds 'with his argument.
A minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched and not man.
The words " a ndnister " 'with which this verse com
mences, are, from their coimection, peculiarly strildng. The
Apostle has just shewed to the Hebrews that the ministerial
office of Jesus derogates nothing from his perfect equality
with the Father ; and now he shews that this equaUty with
Jehovah does not make him ashamed to minister. The
High-Priest sits on the throne ; and he who sits on the
throne is a minister. But St. Paul would also shew to them
what this ministry of Jesus is. He therefore adds, " of the
sanctuary, and of the true tabemacle, which the Lord
pitched and not man.'' They were perfectiy aware that the
sanctuary and tabemacle which had been pitched by Moses,
were figures and shadows of a reality in the heavens. They
were also most intimately acquainted vrith the varied duties
and ministrations of their priesthood in the sanctuary and
tabemacle on earth. The apostle therefore, in the few words
of this verse, taught more to a Hebrew conceming the
ministry of Jesus above, than volumes of exposition would
have done. But we need not dwell on tMs ministry at
present ; as we proceed with the text, it wfll come under om
notice in detail. 1 Pro. xviii, 24.

CHAP. VIII. 1 — 6. 417
I cannot leave this verse however, without dwelling for a
moment on the precious instruction which it contains,
Jesus is here caUed " a minister,'' because he has charged
himself vrith the concems of the glory of God and the
salvation of men. Language cannot express the honour
which he has thus stamped on the holy ministry. For every
one who assumes holy orders charges himseff, in assuming
them, 'with the very same concems. Well then may we
value ourselves on our sacred office : the Head of our order
is he who sits upon the throne ! But this example of Christ
stamps honour not on the holy ministry only, but on all
service done to God. We think that by serving God we
make him our debtor. It is not so ; by permitting us to
serve him he has made us his debtors for ever. It is a small
thing to say that the holy angels do his bidding ; He who
sits on the throne counts it his etemal privilege.
This leads us to another, truth to which the words before
us bear positive testimony, the blessed doctrine of the
Trinity. If Jesus is " a minister,'' there must be a God to
whom his ministry is rendered, for no one can minister to
himself And he who renders it is God, for he sits on the
throne of God. What can be said to this ? To maintain,
in defiance of it, unity of person m the Godhead, is plainly
to set aside the authority of holy Scripture.
But there is something else contained m the words before
us ; and it exhibits in a still stronger light both the points
which we have now considered. If we would contemplate
Jesus as the " consecrated " ' minister of the sanctuary and
true tabernacle, we must see him in Aaron his type. Aaron's
consecration as God's high-priest, was threefold. He was
first, brought " to the door of the tabemacle of the congrega
tion," and washed with water. The holy garments were
then put on him, and he was anointed with oil. And last
of all, he was sprinkled with blood, taken from the altar of
sacrifice.' Jesus, his glorious antitype, was in like manner,
before he performed a single act of ministry, baptized in the
Jordan. The Holy Ghost, the true anointing od, was next
' Heb. vii. 28.' ^ Exodus xxix. 4 — 21.
T 3

418 PAET III. LECTURE XI,
poured on his sacred head; and m the strength of that
heavenly unction he went forth to do his Father's work,'
But his consecration was not yet perfect; he stiU lacked the
blood. Let us follow him to Gethsemane and Calvary, and
we shall find that deficiency supplied. For m those homs of
suffermg and of agony he was sprinkled from head to foot
with his own blood, streaming from his own sacrffice. When
they wrapped him therefore m his bloody shroud, and laid
him in Joseph's sepulchre, he was the fully consecrated
High-Priest. And the Father, beholding him as such,
raised him from that lowly bed to minister above the heavens.
We see in all this, in the most striking manner, the distinct
ness of personality in the Godhead. The reason given by
our blessed Redeemer for desiring baptism, was that it
became him to fulfil the righteous wffi of God. It was the
- same God, even his etemal Father, who poured down the
Holy Ghost on his head. And he consented to his bitter
passion, saying " Father,.,, not as I 'wdl, but as thou wdt,"'
St. Paul has also testified expressly that his resurrection
from the dead and exaltation to glory was the act of the
Father's mighty power.' And this does indeed stamp
infinite honour on the holy mmistry and on the service of
God. See how the soul of the Redeemer longed after it !
He shrank not from this bitter consecration to its duties,
this consecration of agony, shame and death.
St. Paul enters in the three foUowing verses on a detailed
explanation of these duties.
For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices:
wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also
to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest,
seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the
law: who serve in the example and shadow of heavenly
things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to
make the tabernacle : for. See, saith he, that thou make all
things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
1 Matt. iii. 13—17, iv. 17—25. ' Matt, xjfvi. 39. s Ephes, i, 19, 20,

CHAP. VIII. 1—6. 419
A distinot chain of meaning connects these verses. The
Hebrews had beUeved on Jesus, but they were exceedingly
unwiUing to see the priesthood of the house of Aaron and
its ministrations done away. And in their eagerness to find
objections to an unwelcome tmth, they might now have asked
the Apostie, what proof do you give of your statement that
Jesus ministers in the temple above like our high-priest in
the temple below ? To this he repUes by reminding them
that every high-priest is ordained to a ministry, that the
ministry to which their ow-n priests were ordained was to
offer gifts and sacrifices in the sanctuary of God, and that
Jesus being as they knew, God's chosen and solemnly-conse
crated High-Priest, must " of necessity " have a ministry also.
But unbeUef is fertile pf excuses. Why then do we not see
him ministermg on earth, as we have been accustomed to see
our own priests doing, might be the next question of the
Hebrews. To this St. Paul replies, he cannot ndnister on
earth ; there is already a priesthood mimstering on earth
according to the law of Moses, and two divinely-appointed
priesthoods cannot interfere in their functions. But if there
is a Divinely-appointed priesthood now ministering on earth,
the Hebrews might again have said, Why is not such mimstry
sufficient? Because, answers the Apostle, it is only an
example and shadow. You know, he continues, that when
Moses made the tabemacle, God told him that it was the
copy of a heavenly original. And the Father's holy dwelling-
place above, in which the priestly ministrations of the Son
are continuaUy carried on, is, he concludes, oh ye Hebrews,
that Divine and heavenly original of which your tabemacle
and the ministrations of your priests, were designed from the
first, as "the example and the shadow."
Let us pause for a moment on these verses. They tell us
distuiotly what the ministry of the sons of Aaron was, — ^they
were "ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices." To offer a
sacrifice was to kdl the victim, and sprinkle its blood before
the Lord A gift, on the other hand, was a volmitary ex
pression on the part of any of the sons of Israel, of love and
gratitude to his Almighty benefactor ; and being brought to

420 PART III. LECTUEE XI.
the priest, it was by him presented to God. This ndmstry
of the sons of Aaron, as these verses further tell us, was
carried on " in the example and shadow of heavenly thmgs,''
i.e. in " the tabernacle" of Moses, made and fashioned in all
things, "according to the pattern in the Mount." That taber
nacle was a shadow of the dwelling place of God above ; its
services were a shadow of the services proceeding there ; its
High-Priest and Priests a shadow of the High-Priest min
istering there. He, as well as they, has " somewhat to offer ;"
and the efficacy of their ministry was a type and figure of
the efficacy of his. That ministry, vrithin its own border,
was full of efficacy. It was able to deliver from the wrath of
God iu this world ; it prevailed also to the discomfiture of
Israel's enemies on every side. When the congregation of
Israel were gathered against the Lord, after the dreadful
vengeance wldch had alighted on Korah and his company,
" Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and putffi-e therein
from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto
the congregation, and make an atonement for them : for there
is wrath gone out from the Lord ; the plague is begun. " There
was no time, be it observed, to offer sacrifice ; destruction
had afready commenced. But the sweetsmeUing incense
kindled 'with sacrificial fire, was eqmvalent to a sacrffice, for
it was a memorial of sacrfficial blood. Let us mark there
fore the efficacy of this act of ministry. " Aaron took as
Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congrega
tion, and put on incense." And as "he stood" 'with his
burning censer "between the dead and the Uving, the plague
WAS STAYED," The wrath which was thus averted would have
consumed the whole congregation, God had threatened to
do so ; and though the dreadful pestilence which he had sent,
had only begun among the people, it had destroyed fourteen
thousand and seven hundred, before the compassionate high-
priest, with his utmost speed, arrived to stay its ravages,'
We may take another example of the efficacy of priestly mi
nistration. When Samuel was judge in Israel, the whole
congregation was on one occasion, gathered together at
1 Numb. xvi. 44, — 50,

CHAP. VIII. 1 — 6. 421
Mizpeh, and the Phdistines hearing it, came up agamst them.
The people in this extremity, besought Samuel to pray
for them. " And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered
it for a burnt-offering wholly unto the Lord, and cried to
the Lord for Israel." "And as Samuel was offering up the
bm-nt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle:" but "the
Lord thundered with a great thunder upon the Philistines,
and discomfited them ; and they were smitten before Israel."
The might of the Gentile became weakness before the burnt
offering of the anointed priest. And this was not the only
occasion on which God owned the ministrations of his servant ;
" tiie hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the
days of Samuel."' In the eventful history of this man of
God, we have also another example of the efficacy of priestly
ministration. He was himself a, gift to the Lord, the gift
of his grateful parents. His mother had long waited for
offspring ; and when she dedicated him her first-bom to the
Lord, EU the high-priest who received him at her hand, said
"The Lord give thee seed... for the loan which is lent to
him.'' And God owned the blessing of his minister, for he
made "the barren woman to keep house, and to be a
joyful mother;" he bestowed on her "three sons and two
daughters."' Such were the ministrations of the Jewish
high-priests, and such was their efficacy. Let us now
consider Christ's better ministrations as they are set forth in
the last words of the text.
But now hath he obtained a ministry so much the more
EXCELLENT AS he is the mediator of a better covenant, which
was established upon better pi'omises.
The Apostle designs, not only to teU us that the mimstry
of Christ is more excellent than that of the sons of Aaron,
but to give a measure of the superiority ascribed to it. And
this measme is the superiority of his covenant and its
promises to the covenant and promises to which they were
sureties. We have afready had occasion to consider both
1 I Samuel vii. 6—13. 2 I Samuel i. 24—28. ii. 20, 21. Psalms cxiii. 9.

432 PAET III. LECTUEE XI.
covenants and the promises pertaining to both. The old
covenant secured Israel in the possession of the land of
Canaan, on condition of thefr contiauing obedient to God.
The new covenant has made over to Christ's people the
inheritance of eternal glory ; and it is established, as we
shaU see more fully m the next lecture, on the Father's
promises of everlasting absolution and of the Holy Ghost.
Christ is the Mediator of this covenant, and his ministry in
the -heavens is the guaeantee of the promises on which it
rests. What then is this ministry? what is the "somewhat"
which our High-Priest has to offer above ? He offers, as we
have already seen, on behalf of those who trust m it, the
blood of his own sacrifice. With the legal high-priest there
were two acts. While Aaron sprinkled the sacrfficial blood
within the holiest, the cloud of sweet-smelUng mcense
ascending from his bummg censer, enveloped the throne of
the Dirine majesty between the Cherubim.' With Christ
there is but one act : his blood presented in the true hoUest
is at once sacrffice and incense ; he " hath loved us, and given
himself for us " says St. Paul, "an offering and a sacrffice to
God for a sweet-smelling savour." ' Let us drop figures and
speak in plain language. The meaning of Christ having car
ried his blood mto heaven is that he makes continual men
tion there of his "cross and passion," of his "precious death
and burial." It were impiety to attempt to conceive how
grateful such mention is to the eternal Father ; it is indeed
sweetsmelUng incense, " a savour of rest."' Were every
individual of Adam's family God's obedient servant, were
the worlds that roll in space peopled, eveiy one of them,
with mtelligent beings waiting to do his wUl, were creation
multiplied a thousand fold and ffiled -with righteousness and
truth, God would not, he could not, even m this condition
of things, have any thing approaching to the glory which is
brought to him by the obedience of Christ unto death. For
Christ is his coequal Son, " the brightness of his glory " and
" express image of his person," by whom also he made the
1 Leviticus xvi. 12 — 14. 2 Ephesians v. 2, 3 Genesis viii, fil. Margin.

CHAP. VIII. 1—6. 423
worlds." When Christ therefore was subject to him, bow
ing his neck to his yoke and willingly bearing his burden,
then indeed, to use apostolic language,- God was "all in
ALL."' The dishonour which we have done and are daily
doing to him was more than wiped away by the glory then
rendered on our behalf. In Christ also our sin was
avenged and God's holiness and justice openly manifested
and declared. When Jesus therefore pleads for those who
trust in him on the ground of tlds work of righteousness,
he is at once heard and answered. Did the censer of burn
ing incense in the hand of Aaron, as he stood between the
dead and the living, avert God's wrath from the bodies of
the rebeUious Israelites ? In answer to the pleading of Jesus,
the wrath, wldch if unchecked woidd cause etemal death, is
averted from his beUeving people. Did the Philistines pre
sume to draw near to battle while Samuel was offering up
the burnt-offering, and did that accepted sacrifice discomfit
them before Israel ? In answer to the pleading of Jesus, the
devil, the world and all the spfritual enemies of his people
are driven back and discomfited in their malicious attempts
against them. And they shall be discomfited to the end.
The hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the
days of Samuel. And his hand shall be in like manner
agamst the enemies of his people, aU the days of the etemal
Ufe of him who intercedes for them above. And this is only
one part of Christ's mimstry : he has " somewhat " else to
offer, even his people's gifts. When we remember the
awful majesty of God and the miserable imperfection of our
best and holiest services, we may well be ashamed to offer
them for his acceptance. But Jesus is not ashamed. These,
he says, oh Father, are the services of my people, the ex
pression of their gratitude for that love which has provided
for them salvation in me. And a cup of cold water so given
and so presented is not disdained by the Everlasting. God
is often pleased to make this manifest, as he did in the case
of the mother of Samuel, by returning the services of devoted
love, in showers of blessing on the grateful offerer's head.
1 Corinthians xv. 28.

424 PART III. LECTURE XI.
Tffis twofold ministry of the Saviour for his people, let me
remark finally, is personal and particular ; "I know thee by
name " ' is his language to every one of them. He knows
the history and circumstances of each, their past guilt, their
present weakness, their dangers, their temptations, thefr
snares. And various and diversified as the cfrcumstances of
his people are, the Father's riches in glory treasured up in
him are more than sufficient to supply them all,' He is
also most intimately and perfectly acquainted with the several
difficulties and hindrances which each has to encounter in
doing the will of God. And he takes these into his gracious
account, when he presents their services before him.
But this ministry of Christ is not on behalf of his people
only ; it has an aspect of mercy also toward a thoughtless
and ungodly world. For Jesus is the sacrifice of the world,
and now appears as the slain Son of man on behalf of the
sons of men. It is because he does so that the way to God
is open, and that the word of inritation and promise, "I wiU
be a father to you" is heard from within the holiest. And
it is because his hands are held up in intercession that the
day of the world's merciful visitation is lengthened out
For he is the example of his own precept, he prays for them
who dispitefuUy use and persecute him.' Ah, little do his
enemies think of this ! Little do they think that to these
uplifted hands they owe every hour of refreshing sleep, every
crust of bread, and every comfort small and great which
renders life a boon ! He says indeed "I pray not for the
world," but we must not narrow by the letter the large
ness of the word of God. Our blessed Lord, when he
uttered the words referred to, was offering a prayer which
from its very nature, could be offered for his people only.
But the wicked world had not therefore gone out of his ndnd,
for in the close of that prayer he asks that the church may
be one, "that the world may believe that thou hast sent
me."* He also tells us in one of his parables, that the
dresser of a vineyard pleaded for a barren fig-tree, saying,
1 Exodus xxxiii 17, 2 Phillipians iv. 19. 3 Matthew v. 41.
* John xvii. 9, 21.

CHAP. VIII, 1—6, 425
"Lord, let it alone this year also, tUl I shall dig about it
and dung it."' The rineyard is the visible chmch, God's
covenant people; the barren fig-tree is the nominal professor ;
and he who thus pleads on his behaff, is our glorious advocate
on high. And let us follow our Redeemer to Calvary : we
shall find him there making intecession for the ungodly in
the very height of their ungodliness. " Father, forgive them "
was his prayer for those who mm-dered him, "for they know-
not what they do."' And this intercession was heard.
Forgiveness of this enormous sin and of all their other
trespasses was by the Saviom's e.xpress command, preached
first of all m Jerusalem.' And it was not tiU they had
added to their guilt in having murdered Mm the further
guilt of rejeotmg the amnesty published through his blood,
that the threatened vengeance descended on their gudty
heads. We leam however from this the deeply solemn
lesson that God's long-suffering has a limit. He spares to
lead us to repentance ; and if we are not led to repentance,
our judgment shall be more awful in the end. As it was
with the Jews in particular, so shall it be with the world in
general. Wrath shaU proceed from the Lamb,* i. e. from
the rejected sacrifice. His blood which is now "under the
altar " and pleads for mankind, shall cry with a loud voice on
the holy and true Jehovah, to judge and avenge.' Our
High-Priest -shaU take his censer and filling it with fire of
the altar, shall cast it to the earth, and there shall be voices
and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake.^ Oh, in
that fearful day of his awakened wrath, blessed are all they
that have put their trast in him !
Let us lay to heart then these solemn and glorious verities.
A holy, loring, and merciful High-Priest now sits on the
right hand of the throne, the consecrated minister of salva
tion. Love to us made him welcome that bloody consecration,
love to us makes him vriUing to be a minister. To ffim we
owe it that we are alive this day, and that freedom of access
to God, the fountain of life and peace 'and joy, is this day
1 Luke xiii, 6—9, ¦> Luke xxiii, 34, ' Luke xxiv, 47,
* Eevelation vi. 16. t Revelation vi. 9. 10. 6 Revelation viii. .5.

426 PART III, LECTURE XI.
preached to us. But we must deal vrith him personally if
we would be saved ; we must avail ourselves of his blessed
offices if we would be delivered from the vprath of God and
the rage of Satan, if we would be made meet for God's
etemal kingdom. May the Lord in his mercy mcUne our ,
hearts so to do ! Then shaU we know that these blessed
mysteries of the faith are not the mere articles of a creed,
but the words of eternal Ufe. For "God hath given to us
ETERNAL LIFE, and this Ufe is in his Son."

See Appendix, Note 3.

427

LECTURE XII.
Hebrews vUi. 7 — 13.
"For if that first covenant had been faultless, then 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 wiih 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 hy the
hand to lead them out ofthe land of Egypt; because they con
tinued not in my covenant, and Iregarded 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 neiv covenant, he hath
made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old
is ready to vanish away."
St. Paul has just stated to the Hebrews to whom the old
covenant with its promises belonged, that ^Clirist is "the
mediator of a better covenant, established on better pro
mises." No statement could be more offensive to Hebrew
ears. And the Apostle perfectly aware of this, proceeds in
the verses which we have now read, to prove it from their
own scriptures. The words which he cites, are taken from
the prophet Jeremiah, and having cited them, he reasons on
them. We shaU consider his citation and argument in its

428 PART III. LECTURE XII.
application to the Hebrews, and shaU then draw out of the
whole passage lessons of cathoUc truth.
Be not offended with me, my brethren, he would say, that
I have called God's covenant m Christ better than the
covenant which he made -with our fathers at Sinai. You
fondly imagine that covenant to be perfect, forgettmg that if
it were indeed so, there should have been neither place nor
occasion for a second. But your own prophet Jeremiah
expressly speaks of a second. When findmg fault -with our
fathers in God's name, he declares the Divine intention to
make " a new covenant with the house of Israel and the
house of Judah," He also shews the imperfection of the
Sinai covenant ; it contained, he says, no prorision for
obedience, and therefore had not prevented our nation from
being cast off by the Lord. And he contrasts 'with it m
these respects the new covenant of which he is speaking,
which shall contain, he tells you, on the one hand, a promise
of everlasting forgiveness, and shall provide on the other,
the Holy Ghost to write God's law on his people's hearts.
Now in thus speaking of a new covenant, your prophet
makes the ffrst old. And surely, concludes the Apostle,
what decays and waxes old, cannot be far from abrogation
and extmction.
Such is a brief sketch of St. Paul's argument. It suggests
to the mind two very important questions. We inqufre in
the first place. What was the original meanmg of Jeremiah
in his words here cited ? We inquire in the second place.
In what sense and for what purpose does St. Paul here cite
them? These are indeed "very important questions," for
they concern the most rital of all thmgs, i. e. the true and
sound interpretation of the holy Oracles of God.
I. I'he particular prophecy of Jeremiah which St. Paul
here cites, is a small portion of a lengthened Divme com
munication which occupies the thirtieth and thfrty-first
chapters of that inspired book. Let us just glance at the
substance of that communication. It is to tell the prophet
that God wiU bring again the captirity of his people Israel
and Judah ; that he will break the yoke of strangers off their

CHAP VIII, 7—13. 429
necks and burst their bonds ; that they shall serve the Lord
their God and David their kuig. It is to tell the house of
Jacob that he wdl save them from afar ; that though he
makes a full end of all the nations whither he has scattered
them, he will not make a full end of them ; that he will
multiply them that they shall not be few, and glorify them
that they shall not be small. It is to tell them that he wUl
be their God aud that they shall be his people ; that he hath
loved them with an everlasting love a.nd that he 'will there
fore bring them back to himself from all their wanderings
with weeping and with supplications. In that day, the
blessed vision continues, " shall the virgin rejoice in the
dance, both young men and old together, for I will turn
their mourning into joy : " in that day, as we are also
assured, they shall say of the land of Judah, " the Lord
bless thee, oh habitation of justice and mountain of holiness.''
These things were communicated to the prophet in a dream ;
and "I awaked" he tells us, "and my sleep was sweet to
me." But the Divine communication was continued. God
assured him of his purpose to sow the house of Israel and
the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of
beast, and to watch over them to build and to plant, as in
time past he had watched to throw down and to afflict them.
He assured him moreover that the days were commg when
he would make a new covenant with them, a covenant better
than the Smai covenant, a covenant wffich should bmd them
to ffimself for ever. And he concluded by declaring that as
surely as the sun, moon, and stars, the ordinances of heaven
remained, so surely shoidd his purpose remain, so surely
would he gather Israel, and build Jerusalem again. Now
what are we to understand by this revelation of the Divine
purposes ? Some expositors tell us that its language and the
language of every similar prophecy is altogether figurative.
Such prophecies, they say, relate entfrely to gospel-times.
The rebuilding of Jerusalem means the building of the
Christian churcli ; the bringing again Judah's captivdty
means the gathering of sinners to God ; the old man, the
virgin and the youth rejoicing in the dance, means that

430 PAET ni. LECTUEE XII.
God's believing people shaU be fiUed with the joy of his
salvation. Now I cannot but regard such interpretations
as most deeply dishonouring to the oracles of God. Let
them be allowed as sound and true, and these oracles may
signify anything or notffing accordmg to our pleasure. If
language has meaning, the prophet's intention in the scrip
ture which we have glanced at, is to tell us of God's purpose
to rebuild his holy city now for ages trodden down of the
Gentile, to gather again ffis people Israel now exiles m every
land, to forgive all their national provocations, and to make
them from thenceforth his obedient and devoted chUdren.
It was this merciful purpose of God toward his nation which
so comforted the heart of Jeremiah, The army of the king
of Babylon was then lying round Jerusalem, and the slain
with the sword and the sick with the famine met the afflicted
patriot's eye on every side.' Well therefore might he be
comforted ! WeU might he say, after bemg visited with so
gracious a vision, " I awaked and beheld, and my sleep was
sweet to me ! "
II. But St. Paul, it may be said, justifies this figurative
interpretation of the prophecies,' for he declares in the text
that this prophecy of Jeremiah has found its accomplishment
in the Gospel-church and m the Cliristian covenant. Those
who say so, misunderstand the scope and pm-pose of tiie
Apostle's argument. He does not declare that the prophecy
of Jeremiah has been accompUshed : ffis object is simply
to prove to the satisfaction of the Hebrews, from their
own scriptures, that there is a better covenant than that
established with their fathers at Sinai. He had stated this
m the immediate context and would confirm his words. And
let it not be said that this cannot be ffis purpose, because
he is speaking, in the context, of the Gospel-covenant and
not of the covenant with Israel. For these covenants aee
ONE. The covenant wffich shaU be established with Israel
in the day of glory, securing them m the possession of Divine
forgiveness and of the Holy Ghost, was established m the
days of St. Paul and is estabUshed now with the true Israel,
1 Jeremiah xiv. 18.

CHAP. vni. 7—13. 431
God's believing people. The blessed word of Isaiah con
cemmg Israel, "aU thy chddren shaU be taught of the
Lord,"' is in all respects parallel 'with the prophecy of Jere
miah now before us and awaits its fulfilment at the same
time. And yet our blessed Sariour declared it to have a
fuffilment in those IsraeUtes indeed, who m the days of
his personal ministry, were led to own him as the Christ.'
Whilst those therefore are to be blamed who say that the
promises of God to Israel relate entirely to Gospel-times,
those are to be blamed also who say that they have no rela
tion to them. Whatever respects the Jew and Jerusalem,
respects m a ffigher sense, though the prophets themselves
might not be aware of it,' the true Christian and the church
of God. The prophecies are both literal and figurative, for
all of them have a double reference.
The Apostle having thus proved, by appealing to an
authority wMch no Hebrew would question, that the covenant
of God in Christ was better than the covenant at Sinai,
concludes his argument, as we have already seen, by saying
"a new covenant maketh the first old," and that which
decayeth and waxeth old, is ready to vanish away." He
would tell them in other words, you may dislike my
doctrine and still cling to the legal covenant, but God will
soon settle the matter by remoring out of ffis vineyard
tffis decayed, worn out, and now fruitless tree. And it was so.
Withm a very few years after tffis epistle was written, the
Jewish state and poUty -with all the Mosaical institutions and
ordinances, were swept 'with the besom of destruction and
vaidshed from the face of the earth. What a signal attesta
tion was this to the doctrines and reasonings which we have
just been considering! Little did the imperial Vespasian
and lordly Titus" think, as they led their unconquered armies
to the desolation of the holy city, that they were accomplish
ing the word of a despised Jewish preacher who had been put
to death at Rome under the reign of Nero ! But it is always
so. God moves the hearts of the mightiest potentates and
tmns kingdoms upside down, that he may accompUsh his
1 Isaiah liv. 13. 2 John i, 47, 49, vi, 45, 3 I Peter i, 10—12.

433 PART III. LECTUEE XII.
word of truth in the mouth of the meanest of ffis servants.
The prophet Jeremiah of whom we have just been speaking,
had declared the Divine purpose to "accomplish seventy
years in the desolations of Jerusalem,"' and then to restore
her once more. And we read that "in the first year of
Cyrus Idng of Persia, thatthe word of the Lord by the mouth
of Jeremiah might be fulfiUed, the Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus... that he made a proclamation throughout all ffis
kingdom."' And the result of that proclamation was that
Judah retumed from her captirity and that Jerusalem was
rebudt. Small and great do the biddmg and accompUsh the
word of the Lord. The Roman soldier who contrary to the
commands of Titus, tffi-ew his flandng firebrand into the
temple on the night when Jerusalem was destroyed, thought
as little as his general did that he was doing what God's
"hand and counsel" had "determined before to be done."
For the earthly sanctuary had now done its part, and priestly
ministration was to be from henceforth confined to the
heavens. And oh with what feelings must the believing
Hebrews have contemplated that terrible desolation ! As
they looked from the shelter of Pella on their holy city in
her last extremity, with the Roman eagles clustering round
her, the words "ready to vanish away " must have rung
in their ears continuaUy. And when they saw her destruc
tion consummated, and salt sown where her palaces and the
temple of Zion had stood, these words of the then martyred
Apostle, and all ffis words m this epistle, must have been
like a voice issmng from the tomb. "He bemg dead, yet
speaketh" to us, must have been the language of every
tongue and the feeUug of every heart. They had asked ffim
why the Christian High-priest did not mmister in the sanc
tuary on earth. He had told them that tffis could not be,
because a Divinely-appointed priesthood was already mimster
ing there, and he had spoken of a ministration above. And
now that sanctuary was destroyed, and God secondmg the
words of his servant, bade them lift their eyes and hearts
from earth to heaven. 1 Daniel ix. 2, 2 Ezrai, 1,

CHAP. VIII. 7—13. 433
Let us now dfr-ect our attention from these verses, to what
is perhaps the most important subject in the whole range of
Christian theology, viz. the pecuUar, distmguishing character
of the new covenant, the blessed Gospel, I refer again to
the text.
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then 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 qf Israel and with
ihe 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.
We are informed in these words, what the law was, and
what the Gospel is not. The law, as a covenant, was faulty ;
the very existence of the Gospel proves it to have been so.
Had it been faultless, it is not conceivable that "the whole
house of Israel and the whole house of Judah'' should have
forsaken it.' Agam, had it been faultless, God would have
recalled them to its observance instead of proposing to
supersede it. Its faultiness consisted in its contammg no
prorision for obedience, and being in consequence, deficient
in security. God promised to be the God of Israel on
condition of their continumg obedient. But the obedience
ceased and the promise feU to the ground; "they contmued
not in my covenant, and I regarded them not." Like every
thmg which rests on the slippery base of man's free-vrill, the
legal covenant was proved to have its foundation on the sand.
No such faultiness belongs to the gospel, as the text goes on
to shew.
For ihis is the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, saith ihe Lord ; I will put my laws into
their mind, and write them in their hearts ; and I will he to
1 Jeremiah xiii, 11.
VOL. I. U

434 PART III. LECTURE XII.
them a God, and they shall be to me a people : and they
shall not teach evei-y man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying. Know the Lord : for all shall know me,frmn
the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their un
righteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember
no more.
From these words we leam what the Gospel is ; it contains,
we are told, a perfect prorision for obedience, and its security
is absolute and eternal. It differs then essentiaUy from the
Iiaw. This difference consists, say some expositors, m the
difference of their conditions. The law demanded perfect
obedience, but promised no grace for its performance; where
as the Gospel accepts sincere obedience, and promises grace
to all who ask it. It is truly amazing that men should
write in this way. It proves that human intellect and
reason are as unable now to behold the glory of God in the
face of Jesus Christ, as the children of Israel were unable
of old, to -' behold the face of Moses for the glory of his
countenance.'' Were this sentiment just, the Gospel would
be as faulty as the law. For all men are by natme utterly
mdisposed to render even sincere obedience to God, and
utterly indisposed to seek that grace whereby alone they can
be enabled to render it. If this then be the tenor of the
Gospel-covenant, where is its provision for obedience ? Where
is its security ? It stands like the law, on the slippery base
of man's free will, and notffing can prevent it from fading as
the law failed before it. But nothing can be more untrue
than this sentiment. If we look with the slightest degree
of attention into the text, we cannot fail to perceive that
the difference between the law and the gospel consists, not
in the difference of thefr conditions, but in the one having
CONDITIONS, whilst the other is without them. The tenor
of the law was, "if ye wUl obey my voice indeed, and keep
my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto
me.,, a Idngdom of priests, and an holy nation."' A con
ditional promise implies necessarUy a conditional threatening.
And we find God accordingly saying to Solomon, " if ye
1 Exodus xix. 5, 6,

CHAP. VIII. 7—13, 435
shall at all tum from following me, ye or yom children,
and will not keep my commandments,,, then will I cut off
Israel out of the land which I have given them.'" But we
shall search in vain for either conditional promise or threat-
effing in the statement of the gospel which the text contains.
It consists in the flrst place, of an unconditional promise
of sanctifjdng grace. " This is the covenant, saith the
Lord ; — ^I will put my laws into their mind and write
them m their hearts : I will be to them a God, and they
shall be to me a people : all shall know me from the
least to the greatest." Tffis promise is based in the second
place, on another as unconditional as itseff, — a promise of
forgiring mercy so absolute as to make threatening impos
sible. Having said that he will vmte his law on his people's
hearts, God adds as his reason, " foe I will be meeoiful
to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities
WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE.". No reasoii is assigiicd for
this goodness, no condition on the part of the creature is
even hinted at. We learn from other scriptures that the
reason is his own glory, and the context tells us that the
afready-accomplished condition is the work of his dear Son.
Here then is the perfection of the Gospel. Its security is
perfect. Its forgiveness endures as long as the glory of
God and the work of Christ endure ; and God can never
say concerning those who are interested in its benefits, " I
regarded them not." Its prorision for obedience is also
perfect. He who has promised to forgive, has pledged his
truth to write ffis law on his people's hearts, and to teach
them effectually to know Idm. He can never therefore have
cause to say conceming them, " They continued not in my
covenant.'' The new covenant makes m this way effectual
prorision for the salvation of those with whom it is estab
lished. For it does not rest like the old, on the base of
man's free will ; it rests on the determined counsel and nn-
alterable purpose of God,
But if this, it may be said, be mdeed the character of.
1 I Kings ix. 6, 7.
U 2

436 PAET III. LECTURE XII.
the new covenant, all men must be saved, No ; the new
covenant is not established with all men. Its blessings are
mdeed proclaimed wherever the gospel is deolared, and are
the heritage of the members of the baptized church. But
they must be received before, in the nature of tffings, they
can be enjoyed. God has no where promised to be mercfful
to the unrighteousness of all men, or even to the unrighte
ousness of aU baptized men. We leam from the express
words of the text that this covenant is established with the
true Israel, with those who have received the word of Iffe
into their hearts, and put their trust in the Saviour whom
that word reveals. This is evident from other scriptures
also. "Incline your ear and come unto me," says God,
speaking by Isaiah, " and I will make an everlasting cove
nant vrith you, even the sure mercies of David."' To
incline oui; ear when God speaks, is to receive ffis testimony
conceming ourselves as creatures rmned by transgression,
and conceming the sacrifice and intercession of the Saviour.
And to come to God through this believing reception of
his word, is to put our unfeigned trust in that sacri
fice and prevalent intercession. We receive in domg so,
in the Divine faithfulness, the plenary remission of sin.
"Hear and your soul shall live," is the assmance of the
prophet; "he that heareth my word. ..shall not come mto
condemnation, but is passed from death unto life,"' is the
kindred assurance of the Saviour. And besides being
plenary, this remission is everlastmg. The covenant which
is made with those who thus incline their ear, is expressly
declared by the prophet to be " an everlasting covenant ;"
and its tenor, as we may read in the text, is " thefr sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more." It is also
unconditional. No past services are taken into account by
God in grantmg it ; no future serrices are stipulated for
before it is vouchsafed. We must indeed keep God's com
mandments and walk ffi his ways after having received this
¦remission, but such obedience on our part is the promise
and not the condition of the covenant. For pardon of sin
> Isaiah Iv. 3. s John v. 24.

CHAP. VIII. 7—13. 437
is not the only mercy of Darid, i.e. of Christ the beloved
one ; sanctifying grace is also made " sure.'' God, in other
words, havmg granted to us a forgiveness which, from its
very nature, is irrevocable and everlasting, is far too jealous
of his own glory to permit us to be any longer the servants
of the devil. He therefore puts into our minds and writes
ffi our hearts his law of love, teaching and enabling us to
walk in love. Having bound himself to us as a God, he
binds us to himself as a people by the ties of gratitude,
affection, and confidence. And he does not leave us depen
dent for our grovrth in Divine knowledge on the uncertainty
of human tuition. We may indeed receive much tlirough
man, and ought to be receiving continually through the
holy mimstry as his appointed ordinance ; but still if we
are his people, he ffimself wUl be om- real teacher. The
Saviour deolared of the true Israel, " they shall be all
taught of God."' And it is so. "From the least to the
greatest," from the babe in Christ to the advanced and
experienced father, they are a Divinely-instructed people.
The glory of God requires it, for there is no holiness without
knowledge. And therefore, despite of the perverted human
teachffig to which some of them may be exposed, and despite
of the lack in the case of others of all opportunities of
human instruction, the promise of the text, " all shall know
me," is fuffiUed to every one of them. These two acts on
the part of God must not for an instant be separated ; they
are the ffidirisible parts of one great salvation. Justffication
is on this very account the pledge of glory ;' it contains the
Divme assurance that he will make us meet for glory. And
he will keep his word. " If we confess our sins," says St.
John, "he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."' And as these
things cannot be separated as acts of God, they cannot be
separated in the experience of his people. We receive the
inestimable boon of Divine forgiveness by makmg God in
Christ our confidence. But St. Paul teaches us expressly
in ffis epistle to the Romans, that the Spirit of God wffich
1 John vi. 45. ' Eomans yiii. 30. 3 I John 1—9.

438 PART III. lecture xii.
enables us to do so, crying in us -'Abba Father," makes us
also " spiritually minded," leads us in that Father's ways,
makes us subject to his law, and teaches us to " mortify the
deeds of the body."' To speak therefore of confidence ffi
God's mercy having place in any human heart, without the
spfrit of love and obedience being found beside it, is to
speak of an impossibility. It is the spirit of adoption which
confides ; and it loves also and is obedient, for these three
are one. And we cannot confide in Christ's salvation
without in the nature of thmgs recei'ring this Spirit into
our hearts. The glorified Saviour declares, " I stand at the
door, and knock : if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I 'will come in to him."' Now he knocks at the door
of our hearts in ffis preached word. And when we hear ffis
voice, and are taught by grace to put our trust in his mercy,
he comes into our opened hearts in the power and fffiness
of his Spirit, and takes up ffis abode in them for ever.
Holmess both of heart and Iffe follow this blessed indweffing.
"Abide in me," he says, "and I in you;..,I am the vffie,
ye are the branches : he that abideth in me, and I in ffim,
the same bringeth forth much frmt."' For as the sap of
the tree goes up into the adhering branch and makes it
fndtful, so the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Saviour, flows
continually into the heart which trusts in that Sariour's
mercy, producing both in heart and Ufe, the fruit of hoUness
to God. These are the provisions of the new covenant ; and
all who have tasted that the Lord is gracious can bear witness
that they have found them sufficient. And its security, I
must repeat, is equal to its sufficiency. According to the
terms of the old covenant, the mercy of God depended on
the obedience of the creatme. But these terms are now
reversed. Om obedience is now the result of the forgive
ness of God ; and that forgiveness is m its tum the result
of the work of Christ, The " mercies of David" are there
fore " sure " for ever.
We learned from the last lecture that Christ is the Media
tor of this "better covenant." For his ministry, as etemal
1 Eom. viii. 5—15. 2 Rev. iii. 20. 3 John xv. 4, 5,

CHAP. VIII. 7—13. 439
High-Priest in the heavens, is the guarantee of the promises
on which it rests. This leads me to refer again, in con
trast, to the last verse of the text.

In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old:
now that which decayeth and -waa-eth old is ready to vanish
away. The victorious armies of Rome, as we have been already
reminded, burst with violence into the earthly temple, mter-
rupted the ministering priest in the exercise of his functions,
mingling most probably his blood with his sacrifice, and
burnt the dwelling-place of God's name to the ground. But
we who trust in Christ have no such catastrophe to fear.
The heavenly sanctuary in which he ministers is beyond the
rage both of man and Satan. No enemy shall to ail etemity
set foot within its sacred precincts ; no rude spoiler's hand
shall interrupt the ministi-ations of our High-Priest at the
golden altar which is before the throne. And the interests
wffich depend on their contmuance are therefore safe for
ever. The legal covenant vanished away because it had
served its temporary purpose, and haring done so, had de
cayed and waxed old. The Christian covenant shall abide
for ever, because it is ordained for an eternal pm-pose and
has in it no principle of decay. We see this plainly ; the
blessed Gospel is as fresh at tlds moment as when it was
first announced from heaven. It is still able to mmister to
the believer's heart that heavenly peace which made the
apostles fearless of the frovms of the Jewish council ;' which
made the face of St. Stephen, as they went about to slay
ffim, shine like the face of an angel ; ' wffich made Paul
and Silas at midnight in the dark dungeon pray and smg
praises to God.' Moreover Christ is as able now to write
his law on his people's hearts, as when he transformed the
drunken, covetous, and adulterous Corinthians into a people
filled with faith and utterance, with knowledge, diligence
1 Acts y. 41, 42. 2 Acts vi. 15. 3 Acts xvi. 25,

440 PART III. LECTURE XII,
and love.' And, blessed be God, that grace is not waxed
feeble wffich constrained all that looked on them to bear
-witness of the Thessalonians that they had "tumed to God
from idols, to serve the liring and true God, and to wait for
his Son from heaven.''' Tffis undecaying energy of the
blessed Gospel announces its etemal character. And when
this world shall have given place to the world of glory, that
etemal character shall appear. For the Most High shall
then dwell as a Father in the midst of his saved cffildren ;
and they, transformed by his grace mto the very image of ffis
holiness, shall do ffis commandments and hearken to the
voice of ffis word. The new covenant shall thus bring,
through everlastmg ages, fresh and continual accessions of
glory to God and blessedness to his people ; and shall never
vanish away, or be superseded world vrithout end.
Are we then, ffiterested ffi the benefits of this covenant of
peace ? We have already seen that it is established with the
true Israel; that God, in the language of our Church,
"pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent and
unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel." Is this then our
character ? Let us not say that such a question makes
salvation conditional after all. If we know what faith and
repentance really are, we shaU never caU them conditions of
salvation; for a condition is somethmg to be done. But
though not conditions, they are necessary ; the very nature
of salvation makes them so. The father of the prodigal
sends to seek ffis wandering chUd. The messenger tells the
wanderer that his father's love remains the same, that ffis
mercy longs to forgive and forget the past, that he waits to
bestow on him once more the place, the provision, and the
honours of a son. And it surely does not alter the uncondi
tional character of these assurances of mercy, that return to
the p^itemal roof is declared to be necessary before even one
of them can be made good. Let us take another Ulustration.
Some poor, half-famished mendicant comes to us, imploring
relief It surely does not take from the unconditional
character of our bounty, that we bid ffim stretch forth ffis
' I Cor. vi. 9—11 i II Cor. viii. 7. ^ i Thess. i 9, 10.

CHAP. vni. 7'— 13. 441
hand to receive it. Now both these cases, though human
pride loves not to hear it, set forth the truth which we are
now considering. Repentance is return to God, and faith
stretches out the beggar's hand. The Gospel reveals a
mercy which longs to forgive the past, a love which all our
sins have not been able to quench, and which seeks to bless
us eternally. But we must arise and go to our father before
either of these tffings can be. Again, we must believe the
Gospel-testimony and thankfully accept the pardon which
it proclaims ; we must consent to be saved : God saves no
man against his -wUl. But this is all. There is nothing be
tween any man and salvation except unwillingness to return
to God, and unwdlingness to receive his mercy. " If we con
fess our sins " says the apostle, " he is faithful and just to
forgive : " "I said, I wiU confess my transgressions mito
the Lord," says the Psalmist, "and thou forgavest."'
Notffing is asked from us, save that we feel our necessity
and are -willing to be forgiven. This unconditional mercy
is ours in the blood of Jesus ; let us believe in it, and it is
ours in possession for ever. To receive it wiU indeed lay
us under the obligation of being henceforth the servants
of God, and for his holy service we have ui ourselves no
ability. But let us not hesitate on this account ; he will
provide us vrith ability. If we receive ffim for om God, he
will take care that we shall be to ffim a people ; he will put
his laws mto our minds and write them in our hearts. And
our knowledge of him shall not depend on human teaching ;
it shall be the fruit of personal, experimental acquamtance
with the Lord. Taught by himseff, and growing ffi the
knowledge of his character and gracious will, we shall be
enabled to the last day of our eartffiy pUgrimage to walk in
his blessed ways.
It is the peculiar glory of this salvation that it is entirely
the work of God. The forgiveness wldch it proclaims is the
frmt of the death of Christ ; the holiness to which it leads
is the work of the Spirit of Christ. As for us, we are only
.receivers, receivers of undeserved mercy aud of equally
1 Psalm xxxii. 5.
u3

442 PART III. LECTUEE XII.
undeserved grace. " We are the clay, and thou our
potter," says Isaiah ; ' " We are his workmansffip, created m
Christ Jesus to good works," is the kindred acknowledgment
of St. Paul.' May God of his infinite mercy teach us the
truth of all tffis ! And -whUe ffis good Spirit discovers
to us our gffilt and pollution, may He also incUne our
hearts to receive the salvation of our God!
1 Isaiah Ixiv. 8. 2 Ephesians iL 10,

443

LECTURE XIII,
Hebrews ix. 1 — 8.
" Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of
divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a
tabernacle made; the first, wherein was tlie candlestick, and the
table, and the shew-bread; which is called the sanctuary. And
after tlie second veil, the tabernacle which is called the
Holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark of
the covenant overlaid round about vjith gold, ivherein 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. Now when these things were thus ordained,
the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing
the service of God. But into the second went the high priest
alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered
for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy
Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was
not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet
standing." We have been considering the apostolic declaration that
the covenant made between God and Israel at Sinai, was
decaying and waxing old and ready to vanish away. Appa
rently afraid lest by this language he should seem to the
Hebrews to pour contempt on that covenant, St. Paul
proceeds in this chapter, and in the first half of the follow
ing, to explam more at large than he has yet done, that the
Sinai-covenant had indeed ordinances of Divine service, but
that these, though Divinely ordained, were not perfect

444 PAET in. LECTUEE XIII.
ordinances, bemg designed for no other purpose than as-
shadows of the reaUty now brought in by the Son of God,
This argument commences ffi the verses which we have
just read. I will endeavour to paraphrase it ffi its peculiar
application to the Hebrews, and then to gather from the
whole passage instruction and comfort for ourselves.
Before proceeding to this however, let me observe that I
am thoroughly satisfied, both from the best authorities and
also from the text itself, that an error has crept into the
passage before us as it stands in our translation. The
expression wffich is rendered "golden censer" might and
unquestionably ought to have been rendered golden fficense-
altar. Our translators have rendered it censer, because they
found it enumerated among the furmture of the holy of
holies, whereas the incense-altar was without the vail. But
the most ancient manuscript in eristence reUeves us from
tffis perplerity by readmg the second, third and fourth verses
as foUows : —
" For there was a tabernacle made ; the first, wherein was
the candlestick, and the table, and the shew-bread, and the
GOLDEN INCENSE ALTAE ; wMcli is Called the sanctuary.
And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the
Holiest of all; which had the ark of the covenant."'^
Do not suppose, my brethren, St. Paul would say, that
I seek to disparage the covenant of God with our fathers.
I know that it, as well as the new covenant, had ordinances
of Divine serrice, and a sanctuary, though a material one,
in which that service was performed. And bemg, as I am,
" an Hebrew of the Hebrews," I have not forgotten either
the construction of that sanctuary or the detaUs of these
ordinances. " There was a tabemacle made," consistffig of
two apartments. The first apartment contained the golden
candlestick with its seven branches, the golden table
whereon shew-bread was placed before the Lord continually,
and the golden incense-altar. Tffis apartment was called
1 Penn's New Covenant,

CHAP. IX. 1—8, 44.5
the holy place, and was separated from the outer comt by a
vaU. But at the further end of the holy place was a second
vaU, and behmd tffis vaU was the inner apartment of the
tabemacle, " called the hoUest of all," containing "theai'k
of the covenant overlaid round about with gold." Witffin
this ark were laid up the golden pot contaming the mamia
on which our fathers fed in the desert, " and Aaron's rod
that budded," in testimony that he was God's chosen high- ¦
priest, and the two tables of stone on which God's covenant
with Israel was engraved. And over it were " the cherubims
of glory,'' continually contemplating with their faces, and
shadowffig with their wings, the mercy-seat which was
between them. I cannot, continues the apostle, " speak
particffiarly" of these details at present. But let me
further remind you, that " when these things were thus
ordained,'' and wffile the priests went contmually mto the
holy place, "accomplishing the service of God," the Iligh-
priest alone was permitted to enter into the holiest of all.
And even he had tffis privilege only once a year, and never
vrithout can-yffig ffi his hand sacrificial blood, which he
presented " for himseff, and for the errors of the people."
" The Holy Ghost," concludes the Apostle, who shewed to
Moses in the mount the pattern of the tabernacle, appointed
these ordffiances of service. And by this last ordinance he
plainly shewed the imperfection, from the beginnmg, of that
covenant in wffich you boast. For the exclusion from (lod's
presence of all but the High-Priest, and the permission
even of his approach on certain conditions and at certain
seasons only, was a most significant attestation " that the
way into the hoUest of all was not yet made manifest, while
the first tabemacle kept its standing."
Let us now consider the text for our own edification. It
wiU remind us in the first place, that we have in reality
what the Jew had only in symbol :' it wiU shew to us in
the second place, that wffile the Jew was debarred from the
holy things of God, and from God himseff, we have by the
new covenant, unrestrained access to both.
I, Among the tffings which stood within the holy place

446 PAET III. LECTUEE XIII.
St. Paul mentions the candlestick first in order. The
candlestick was of pme gold, and had seven branches.
There was no light withm the holy place save what its seven
lamps afforded; and this Ught was fed contmually 'with
pure olive-oil. When Moses the mediator of the old cove
nant reared up the tabernacle, " he put the candlestick m
the tent of the congregation, and lighted the lamps before
the Lord."' Now a very moderate acquaintance vrith
Gospel-truth will enable us to understand the spiritual
meaning of all this. The true candlestick is the church.
" Being tumed," says St. John describffig ffis rision ffi
Patmos, " I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst
of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man.''
And the Son of man said to his servant, " Write the mystery
of the seven golden candlesticks.,, the seven candlesticks
are the seven chm-ches."' The number seven is always ffi
Holy Scripture, the symbol of completeness. The seven
candlesticks of the Apocalypse and the seven-branched can
dlestick of Moses set forth therefore one and the same
spiritual reality, viz,, the complete Church of God. More
over' the purpose of the candlestick of Moses was to give
Ught. And ffi tffis also it was an emblem of the church,
wffich has been raised up by God to give forth ffis heaveffiy
light in the midst of a dark world. Christ expressly declares
that his people "are the light of the world," and adds,
"neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel,
but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light to aU that are ffi
the house."' Again the pure oUve-oil with which the Ught
of the Jewish candlestick was fed continuaUy, symbolized
the Holy Ghost. This is evident from the words of Zecha
riah. He had a vision of " a candlestick aU of gold, with
a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon ;"
he saw also two olive-branches, emptyffig oU into this golden
candlestick. And when he asked for an explanation of tffis
vision, he received for answer " Not by might, nor by power,
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts."'' The Spirit
I Exodus xl. 24, 25. 2 Eev. i. 12, 13, 19, 20. 3 Matt. y. 14, 15.
¦• Zechariah iv. 2—6, 11—14.

CHAP. IX. 1—8. 447
of God then is the true oil ; and the meaning of the answer
wffich the prophet received was that God's work was to be
done in the world, not by human ndght or power, but by
ffis chmch fiUed with the Spirit. Tffis word of the Lord
was mdeed most strikingly verified. When Jesus the anti
type of Moses, rose from the dead and entered on the fulness
of his office as Mediator of the new covenant, he set up ffis
candlestick, poured in the oil, and lighted the lamps. In
other words, he gathered his church, filled it with his Spirit,
and endowed his ministries. Human might and power were
altogether lacking, for the chief of these ministries was
committed to despised and illiterate fishermen. Never
theless the work of God was done. His light shining forth
from ffis church, clear and strong, chased before it by its
dazzling brilliancy both Jewish superstition and Pagan
idolatry, triumphed over all the power of darkness, and
gathered to ffis name in every land. It was the command
ment of God concemffig the Jewish candlestick, that its
Ught should bum "always."' And this has been fulfilled
ffi the antitype. The lamps of the true candlestick wffich
the Mediator of the new covenant lighted on the 'day of
Pentecost, have never smce gone out. During the ages
wffich have intervened from that day to the present moment
their light has been shining forth, and, blessed be God, is
shining still. It shines in the life and conversation of
every true Christian ; ' it shines in the written testimony
wffich in her creeds and liturgies the chmch bears for God ;
it shmes especially in the ministered word of life. Let us
therefore mark weU the difference between the legal and
the Cffiistian covenant. The Jew had a seven-branched
candlestick of gold illumining the holy place ; we have the
Ught of etemal Ufe shining in the church of God.
After the candlestick, St. Paul mentions the table of
shew-bread. His words, ff taken literaUy, are "the table and
the setting forth of bread." Tffis table was of shittim-wood,
overlaid with gold. It stood northward in the holy place,
opposite the candlestick, whose sevenfold light feU full upon
I Exodus xxvii. 20. '¦• Matthew v. 16.

448 PAET III. LECTUEE XIH.
it. Twelve loaves of bread, accordffig to the number of the
tribes of Israel, were. Sabbath by Sabbath, placed on it
before the Lord, and were. Sabbath by Sabbath, removed.
And when removed they were given to the priests, who ate
of them in the holy place, by the light of the holy candle
stick. ' The name of this table, if the origmal Hebrew be
exactly rendered, is table of the presence. It stood before
the vaU which concealed the Dirine glory, and those who
ate of its bread, did so before God. Now the reality of aU
tffis under the Christian covenant, is, blessed be God,
abundantly plain. The sffittim-wood and gold of which this
table was composed, set forth the humanity and Diriffity of
Christ our Saviour. And the bread which was placed upon
it, sets forth the true bread wffich is ffis body ; visibly pre
sented on his table as the memorial of ffis one sacrffice ;
and as the one food of ffis royal priesthood, his beUevffig
cffildren throughout all the earth. It is ffideed his table,
the table of the presence. He ffimself was present at
the first celebration of this feast ; and though now absent
in body, he is still spiritually present at every faithfffi cele
bration of it. He said, when he first distributed tffis true
shew-bread, " this is my body," and he says so stUl, to the
believing recipient. We meet therefore with ffimseff at
tffis table, and eat bread before God. And it is no uffintel-
ligent eatffig, no eating " we know not what." The light
of etemal life shffiing in the chmch of God, falls full upon
tffis sacred table, making its provision to strengthen the
faith of his children, to animate their love, and to encourage
their hope to the end. It reveals to us what we eat and
drink, the flesh and blood of the Son of man ; ' that
"the cup of blessing which we bless is the commumon of
the blood of Christ;"' that "as often as we eat this bread,
and drink tffis cup, we do shew the Lord's death tiU he
come."* Let us behold, I say again, the difference between
the legal and the Cffiistian covenant. The Jew had a
1 Leviticus xxiv. I — 9. 2 John yi. 53, 3 i Corinthians x. 16.
¦* Ccrinthians xi. 26.

CHAP. IX. 1—8. 449
golden table with shew-bread on it, for the priests to eat :
Christ the Son of God and man invites us to eat of
himseff, "the bread of God which cometh down from
heaven, and giveth life unto the world."'
After the table of shew-bread, according to our amended
version of the text, comes the incense altar. It also was of
shittim-wood, overlaid with gold. "No strange incense"
nor "burnt-offering" might be offered on it; such thffigs
would have polluted it. Sweet incense was burnt on it
moming and evening, and once in every year the horns of
it were tipped with the blood of the great annual atone
ment. 'Now incense is the symbol of prayer. When he
had taken " the book," says St. John in the visions of the
apocalypse, " the four living creatmes and four and twenty
elders fell down before the Lamb, havdig every one of them
harps, and golden vials full of incense, wffich are the prayers
of saints."' The reaUty therefore of this golden incense-
altar is the permission given to us of holy worship, of draw
ing near to God and pouring out our hearts before him,
through Jesus Christ our Saviour, the Son of God and man.
But we must take heed that we do not make our prayers
our expiation, counting the number of them as the Romanist
counts his beads, and hoping by the multitude of our ser
rices, to avert the wrath and purchase the favour of God.
The sacrifices under the law were offered on the brazen
altar wffich stood in the outer court ; and if a Jewish priest
had presumed to offer even one of them on the golden
incense-altar, he would have been struck dead for his im
piety. But while this altar was for incense only, its homs
were tipped with blood to tell that atonement had been
made. And the case is the same with its antitype. Cal
vary is our brazen altar, sin was made an end of there.*
And now, as we pour out our hearts to God, nothing more
is required of us save that we tip the horns of the golden
altar with blood, i. e. that we draw nigh with confidence of
sin forgiven tffiough the finished sacrifice of Christ. To
I John yi. 33. ' Exodus xxx. I— 10. 3 Eev. v. 8, original,
1 Daniel ix. 24.

450 PAET III, LECTUEE XIII,
draw near -with a doubtful mind is to dishonour that finished
sacrifice ; to draw near that we may make our own expiation,
is to provoke God to reject us for ever. And we must take
heed that we offer no strange incense on tffis altar, i. e. that
we come not to God with a dirided heart, full of worldly
affections and unmortified sinful desires. " God is a Spirit,
and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and
in truth."' As Christ is the way to God ffi his blood,
righteousness and intercession, so we must receive ffis Spirit
that we may worship God aright. " For tffiough Him,"
says St. Paul, " we have access by one Spirit unto the
Father.'" Such then were the three thffigs wffich stood ffi the first
apartment of the Jevrish tabernacle, viz. the candlestick, the
table, and the altar, and such was thefr spiritual meanffig.
We have ffistead of them, in the Christian church, the light
of salvation, the bread of life, and the privilege of holy
worship through Jesus Christ our Lord. The light of
salvation wffich shffies there is designed by God to foUow
us through every step of our eartUy pilgrimage, to guide us
in our daily perplexities, to reveal every danger which lurks
in our path, and to shew the way of safety. Christ the
bread of life broken for us there, and especiaUy in the
Lord's supper, is that bread on wffich we ought always to
be feeding, that we may have strength for the serrice of
God. " Enter into thy closet," said the Lord Jesus, " and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father wffich is
in secret."' In all places, ffi all cfrcumstances, and ffi
every variety of condition, we are ffivited to send up our
cry to God through Jesus Christ ; and no prayer presented
in his name, shaU be despised or disregarded on high.
This is the glorious privUege wffich the Christian covenant
has bestowed on us; a privilege with which the golden
altar and ministerffig ffigh-priest of the Jew are not for an
instant to be compared.
But the tabernacle of Moses contamed sometffing more
sacred than even these holy things. Behffid the second vaU,
" John iv. 24. 2 Ephesians ii. 18. ' Matthew vi. 6.

CHAP. IX. 1—8. 451
within the holiest of all, was " the ark of the covenant over
laid round about with gold," containing within it the pot of
manna, the high-priest's rod and the tables of the covenant,
and havffig over it the mercy-seat, shadowed by the cherubims
of glory. The appointment of God that these things should
be witffin the holiest, teaches us plainly that there is some-
thfrig more sacred than even the holy gospel and the spiritual
presence of Chrst with us here, as the bread of life and the
way to the Father. For while the holy place is the type of
the Church, the holiest is the type of heaven. The spfritual
presence of Christ in the Church, and the Church itself
are indeed sacred thiugs ; but the bodily presence of Christ
and the manifested glory of God in heaven are more sacred
still, as heaven itself is a more sacred place. Let us not
forget however, that he who is spiritua,Uy present with ffis
people on earth, is the same Christ who is visibly present in
heaven. This is most beautifully set forth in the type.
The shewbread-table and incense-altar stood without the vad,
wffile the ark was within it ; but all three were made of one
material, viz., shittim-wood and gold, because all three
typified one person. For the same Christ, the Son of God
and man, is at once in the holy place and in the holiest ;
spfritually present with his suffering Church below, and
leadffig the praises of his triumphant Church above. The
ark of the covenant evidently sets forth the Saviour. It was
made, as has been already mentioned, of sffittim-wood
" overlaid round about " or entirely " with gold,'' so that no
part of the wood was visible.' And in this we discern him
who has taken " manhood into God," and arrayed it with the
majesty and glory of God. During his humiliation, the
sinless frailty and infirmity of that manhood did indeed
appear, but he had not then ascended into the holiest. He
is conscious of no infirmity, no frailty, no weakness now ;
the tender human heart appears in the holiest, and it alone.
The contents of the ark are a fmther proof that this was its
spiritual meaning. The first of them was " the golden pot
that had manna." God fed Lsrael with manna, as they jom-
J Exodus xxv. 10, II.

452 PAET III. LECTUEE XIII.
neyed through the barren desert on thefr way to the promised
land, that they ndght know " that man doth not Uve by
bread offiy, but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of the Lord."' And Moses by his command, laid up
a pot of this manna, that Israel m thefr successive genera
tions, might see the bread wherewith God had fed thefr
fathers.' All tffis is a most striking type of God's dealffigs
with the true Israel. They have been joumeymg ffi all
generations and are journeying stdl to the better, the
heavenly country, the land of thefr mheritance. Thefr
journey Ues tffiough an eril world, a place as barren of any
thmg wffich can sustain the soul, as the sandy desert wffich
lay between Egypt and Canaan was barren of com and wine.
But God prorides for them : ffis word 'with its mstructions,
its promises, and its consolations, has been thefr stay ffi every
age and 'wiU be their stay to the end. I beUeve that the pot
of manna is the type of Holy Scripture. In turmng over
the sacred pages of the book of God, we seethe bread where
with he has fed our fathers, the truth wffich, ffi its gradual
developement, has been the stay of the faithful from the
days of Abel tiU now. But aU tffis truth is contained in
Jesus. He is the Word of the Father, and " the Word was
made flesh"' that we ndght know the Father. We have
access to the true manna, because it is laid up in ffim the
true ark of the covenant of peace ; "Lord, to whom shall we
go ?" said St. Peter, "thou hast the words of etemal Ufe."*
The ark contamed besides, "Aaron's rod that budded."
When Israel murmured against the priesthood of Aaron,
God commanded the princes of the several tribes to lay up
their rods before the testimony, and the rod of Aaron was
among them. And ffi the morning, ffi token that he was
God's chosen ffigh-priest, his rod " was budded, and brought
forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds."'
We need not go far to find the spiritual meaning of tffis.
In token that he who had been disaUowed of men was indeed
God's chosen high-priest, his priestly rod, after he rose and
I Dent. viii. 3. 2 Exodus xyi. 33—34. » John i. 14.
4 John vi. 68, B Numbers xvii. 1—9,

chap. IX. 1—8. 453
ascended, began to bring forth buds and to bloom blossoms.
The Holy Ghost, in other words, vouchsafed ffi answer to ffis
priestiy intercession,' began on the day of Pentecost, to put
forth his life-giring energy. Thousands on thousands, first
of bigoted Jews and afterwards of idolatrous Gentiles, were
gathered to the faith of the Saviour ; and righteousness,
peace and truth began to appear where superstition, cruelty
and Ucentiousness had been. These were the buds and
blossoms on our High-Priest's frmt-bearing rod. And that
rod, blessed be God, has borne such fruit ever since and bears
it still ; a people walking ffi righteousness is stUl the testi
mony on earth that the High- Priest who has ascended to glory
has "received ofthe Father the prondse of the Holy Ghost."'
The ark contained besides, " the tables of the covenant," i.e.
the two tables of stone on which God's law was written.'
This type is plainer than either of the preceding. For
Jesus says, as if he meant to interpret it, "I delight to do
thy -will, O my God; yea, thy law is within my heart."* And
he fulfilled that law in both its tables, when he was obedient
unto death, even the death of the cross. It is moreover in
his heart still, for he teaches ffis people to fulfil it, And he
shall cause it to be fulfiUed universally, and God's wdl to be
done on earth as now it is done in heaven, when he comes iu
the glory of his kingdom. In the ark then with its sacred
contents, we meet with Jesus, Jesus who once for us fffifiUed
aU righteousness, Jesus who is now in glory our Prophet,
Priest, and righteous King. He has the word of salvation,
he has the sanctifying grace and blessed consolations of the
Comforter, he has the holy authority of God. How much
better is tffis glorious reaUty than the shadows of the Jew ;
how much better is the Christian covenant than the law
which went before it !
But our subject is not exhausted; we have yet to consider
the mercy-seat which was over the ark, and the cherubims of
glory which shadowed it. The upper Ud of the ark formed
the mercy-seat, and at either end of it was a cherubic figme
I John xiv. 16, 17 : xvi. 7-11. " Acts ii. 33. 3 Exod. xxv. 16.
4 Psalm xl. 8.

454 PAET III. LECTUEE XIII.
of gold. The faces of these figures were toward the mercy-
seat, and they shadowed it with their wings, whilst between
them appeared the glory of the entffioned God of Israel.'
The high-priest ministered before that mercy-seat, and the
pardon of the God of Israel was dispensed from it. Tffis was
evidently intended to set forth God ffi Christ, forgivmg miquity,
transgression and sin. And the cherubic figures set forth,
I believe, the gospel-ministry. Tffis is not indeed a general
explanation of their import, but there are strong reasons for
it. We find them in a livffig form, ffi the prophecy of Isaiah
who caUs them " seraphim ;"' and also in the Apocalypse,
where they are called " living creatures."' Thefr employ
ment, when Isaiah saw them, was decidedly miffisterial, for
one of them proclaimed to him the taking away of sin ; and
they speak of themselves in the Apocalypse, as redeemed
men.' Their faces moreover, as St. John saw them and as
Ezekiel saw them, were emblematic of the Christian miffistiy.
That ministry is fourfold. " He gave," it is written, " some,
apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evangeUsts ; and
some, pastors and teachers ; for the perfectffig of the saints,
for the work of the ministry."* And the faces of these
cherubims were fourfold. "They had the face of a man and
the face of a lion on the right side ; they had the face of an
ox on the left side; they had also the face of an eagle."'
The face of the Uon the king of beasts, sets forth the Apostie-
sffip, the ruling, guiduig ministry; and the face of the eagle,
the only bird which can gaze at the splendour of the merid
ian sun, sets forth the Prophet whose office it was to dwell in
spirit in the uncreated Ught of heaven, and to bring down
from thence the revelations of the mind of God. The face
of the man on the other hand, represents the Evangelist,
who went in the name of the Son of Man, proclaimffig to
the sons of men the love and mercy of thefr God, And the
face of the ox sets forth the Pastor. For the ox was em
ployed by the Jews in treading out the com, wffich is declared
' Exod. xxv. 17 — 22. 2 Isaiah vi. 1— S. s Revel, iy. 6, 7. y. 8, 9.
4 Fphesians iv. 11, 12. o Ezekiel i. .0. 10.

CHAP. IX. 1—8. 455
by St. Paul to be emblematic of the pastoral ministry.' Now,
though these four orders of ministry have not been continued
m the chmch, her mffiistry is stiU fomfold, i.e. apostolic,
prophetic, evangelical, and pastoral. And as such, it was, I
believe, represented by these cherubims. I do not say that
they represented men. Men indeed hold the ministry, but
the thing represented is the ministry itself, the ministry
OF eternal mercy, As if to point tffis out to us, the
mercy-seat and cherubims were beaten out of one piece of
gold, and the faces of the cherubims were toward the mercy-
seat. They are called in the text " cherubims of glory."
This is a strong confirmation of the view which has just been
given. For St. Paul, speaking of the gospel-ministry, says,
"if the ministration of death... was glorious... how shaU not
the ministration of the Spirit be rather glorious ? For if the
ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the
ndffistration of righteousness exceed in glory.'' He also
tells us wherein this glory consisted; "we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord."' This is most
instructive. There was no light within the holiest save the
effffigence of the Divffie Majesty, reflected from the burnish
ed gold of the cherubims and mercy-seat. If that effulgence
had been withdrawn, the holiest would have been a place of
tffick darkness, for the gold had no light of its own. The
glory of the cherubims then, was a reflected and not an
ffiherent glory. And it is the same with the Christian min
istry. Its glory consists in reflecting Christ : 1st it cease to
do so and its glory is gone, its Ught is tumed into darkness.
Let us mark then once more, the difference between the
legal and the Christian covenant. The Jew had God throned
on a material ark, between two golden figures, and ready to
pardon ceremonial guilt. But he is proclaimed to us in the
ministry of eternal mercy, as forgiving all iniquity, through
" the blood of Jesus Christ his Son," which " cleanseth from
all sin."' And we are taught by the position of the cheru
bims, that the word of that ministry is a word from the hoUest,
from the throne ; that Christ ffi their message, to use the
1 I Timothy v. 17, IS. 2 II Cor. iu. 7—9. iv. 5. 3 I John i. 7.

456 PART III. LECTURE XIII.
words of St. Paul ffi another place, is speaking to us " from
Heaven."' II. Though these sacred things of the tabernacle of Moses
were only shadows, Israel had no access to them. The
priests might enter into the holy place, and the ffigh-priest
once a year into the holiest of all ; but no other Israelite,
from infancy to grey hairs, crossed the threshold of that awful
sanctuary. Terror prevented such approach. " Behold,
we die," they said, " we perish, we all perish. Whosoever
cometh anythffig near unto the tabemacle of the Lord shall
die : shall we be consumed with dying ?"' Conceive the
feelings of an Israelite, if this edict of exclusion had been
repealed ; conceive ffis astonishment as he stood for the
first time within the holy place, and gazed upon its golden
beauties, as the blazing candlestick revealed them 1 Con
ceive ffis increased astonishment, if, as he stood there, an
ffirisible hand had rent the vail and disclosed the hoUest ;
conceive his bewildered extacy if a voice from between the
cherubims had invited ffim to enter in ! But this is just
what the Lord has done for us. The holy place is now
opened, with its candlestick, its table, and its altar. No
terror repels us from beholding the light of the gospel,
from taking and eatffig of Christ the bread of Ufe, from
pouring out our hearts to God through ffim. And when we
come into the holy place, we find that the holiest too is open.
This requires however a few words of explanation. The
hoUest in the Jewish tabemacle was, as has been afready
said, a type of heaven. Entrance into the holiest therefore
as a future thing, is the pririlege of dwelling with God in the
sanctuary above. And such entrance as a present thing, is
the privilege of approaching heaven's glorious Kffig, " crymg
Abba Father." His people under the former dispensation
had no such privilege ; they were little better than servants.
And this humbling truth was signified to them, as the last
verse of the text teaches, by their exclusion from the holiest
in the tabernacle. Let me refer for confirmation of this
view, to the words of St. Paul in another place. " The
1 Heb. xii. 25. 2 Numbers xvii. 12, 13.

CHAP. IX. 1—8. 457
hefr," he tells us, " as long as he is a child, differeth nothing
from a servant." " Even so we," he continues, speaking of
the saints of the former covenant, " when we were cffildren,
were in bondage." He next contrasts with this servde
bondage the Uberty of the new covenant, teUing us that
"when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his
Son.,, to redeem them that were under the law, that we
might receive the adoption of sons." And finally, he ad
dresses those to whom he was writing, " because ye are
sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into yom
hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefoi-e thou art no more a
servant, but a son."' This filial boldness then is entrance
mto the holiest, the privilege which was not, "wffile as the
first tabemacle kept its standing " as the dwellffig-place and
sanctuaiy of the Most High. These considerations explain
the statement wffich has just been made. The light which
shffies ffi the holy place reveals God's patemal love ; the
bread on the table confirms the testimony; and when we
draw nigh to the altar to worsffip, we have Christ's permis
sion and commandment to say "Our Father which art in
heaven."' We are overcome by tffis amazmg grace, and
send up that filial cry. And no sooner does it ascend than
it is answered. A voice from between the cherubims, visible
now through the rent vail, answers it. Draw nigh hither,
it proclaims, "I wUl be a Father unto you."' But we
have not yet seen aU the grace and tender mercy of the new
covenant, as contrasted with the old. We read that when
the ark of God retumed from its captivity ffi the land of the
Philistffies, the men of Bethshemesh were so rejoiced to see
it that they looked into it. But God rebuked this presump
tion by smiting fifty thousand of them. * We read agaffi,
that when Darid was bringing up the ark to Jerusalem in a
new cart, Uzza, who drove the cart, " put forth ffis hand
and took hold" of the ark, "for the oxen shook it." But
" the anger of the Lord was kffidled against him, and he smote
him there for his error, and there he died.'" No such
1 Galatians iv. 1—7, 2 Luke xi. I, 2. s II Corinthians vi. 18.
a I Samuel vi. 19. s II Samuel vi. 6, 7.
VOL. I. X

458 PART III. LECTURE XIII.
terror surrounded the true ark of the covenant ; " Behold
my hands and my feet," he said, "that it is I myseff:
handle me and see." ' " That wffich was from the begffi-
ing,'' says St. John, " wffich we have heard, wffich we have
seen ^rith our eyes, wffich we have looked upon, and our
hands have handled, of the Word of Ufe." ' We read also
that at the last supper "there was leaning on Jesus' bosom
one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved,"' And these tldngs
were written that we ndght be encomaged to press close to
the same Sariour, and to make the same bosom om resting-
place. For " that wffich we have seen and heard declare
we unto you," says St. John, "that ye also may have feUow-
sffip with us... that your joy may be full,"* Are we afraid
to accept tffis gracious ffiritation ? Let us look ffito the
heart of Jesus, and our fear shall cease. We need not
dread the vengeance wffich overtook the Bethshemites : God
ffimseff has now removed the covering of his ark; the bitter
cross has revealed that heart of love. Let us understand
then the fuffiess of new covenant grace. It is more than
entrance into the holiest ; it is the most endeared famUiarity
with ffim who fiUs the holiest; it is " feUowsffip with the
Father, and with ffis Son Jesus Christ." -* Let us express
in one word then every thing which this subject has taught
us. The Jew was debarred from ffis shadows ; but we are
invited to draw nigh to the life-giving, the perfect, the
all-glorious substance.
The language of the last verse of the text leads me, before
concludffig, to add one remark further. It is ffi vindication,
or rather ffi iUustration of the 'wisdom and mercy of the
Holy Ghost mamfested in holy Scripture. He has devoted
only one chapter to the account of the Creation; he has
devoted twelve chapters to the account of the tabemacle of
Moses. The scornful infidel asks. Is tffis worthy of God ?
I answer, as a Christian, that it is infimtely worthy of ffim.
The Bible was intended to teach us, not geology and natural
history, but the way of etemal salvation : and the history of
3 Luke xxiy. 39. ' I Johni. 1. 3 John xiii. 23.
1 I John i, 3, 4.

CHAP. IX. 1—8. 459
the Creation is therefore only glanced at, while the tabemacle
is dwelt upon. For the tabemacle contains in type^ and
figme, the blessed mysteries of salvation, Every one who
has deeply considered the subject, cannot fail to have per
ceived that all human Ulustrations of the gospel are essentiaUy
defective. But the tabemacle is the Dirine illustration of
it, and is vrithout defect. 'Wliat we have already learnt from
tffis precious epistle, may teach us the truth of tffis remark :
and we shall have increasing proof of it as we proceed. Let
us not listen then to those who tell us that we have nothing
to do 'with the Old Testament. In neglectffig the Old Tes
tament, we neglect a divinely-vouchsafed assistance toward
the understandffig of the New. Let us pray God that our
acquaintance with the Old Testament may daUy increase.
And may Jesus give us to see in ffis cross and resurrection,
the fufilment of all which is written "ffi the law of Moses,
and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concernffig him ! " '
1 Luke xxiv. 44.

X 2

460

LECTURE XIV,
Hebrews ix. 9 — 14.
" Which was a figure for the time then present, in which
were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him
that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience ;
ivliich stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings,
and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of
reformation. But Christ being come an highpriest 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 tlu blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained etm'nal
redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and
the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth 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
living God ? "
We considered, in the last lectm-e, the account given by St.
Paul of the worldly sanctuary and ordinances of Dirine
service, pertaining to the Jewish covenant. We have now
to consider what he goes on to shew to the Hebrews, viz.
that this worldly sanctuary was a figure of the true sanctu
ary above, and that these ordffiances of service, in themselves
imperfect and not avaUable for the salvation of the soul,
were figmes of the perfect ordffiances of salvation, now
brought in by the Son of God. To this deeply important
argument let us therefore tmn our attention.

CHAP. IX. 9-14. 461
The six verses wffich we have now read may be divided
into pairs. The first two set forth the figurative character of
the Jewish tabemacle, and the imperfection of its ordmances.
In the two wffich foUow, St. Paul poffits the Hebrews to the
true tabemacle and declares the real ordinances of salvation.
In the last two he reasons on his statements, pressffig on
thefr attention the perfect character of the new covenant of
peace. We have _/irst, the figurative character of the Jewish -
tabemacle, and the imperfection of its ordinances.
Which has been a figure down to the present
TIME, in which aee offered both gifts and sacrifices, that
cannot ¦make him that does the service perfect, as pertaining
to the conscience ; which have been imposed, together
WITH meals and d/rinks and divers washings — .carnal ordi
nances, only till the time of reformation.
It is of the tabemacle that St. Paul has been speaking in
the immediately-preceding context; he therefore means to
tell the Hebrews in these words that the tabemacle was a
figme. It was a figure of God's trae dweUing-place above,
of which he speaks in Isaiah, — " heaven is my throne, and
the earth is my footstool : where is the house that ye build
unto me?'" It "has been a figme," says the Apostle,
*' down to the present time," i. e. from the day that Moses
reared it until these days of the Christian dispensation,
when the reality has been revealed. In this figurative house
of God, he goes on to say, there "are offered both gifts and
sacrffices." For the temple was then standmg, and the
priests were stdl occupied ffi their miffistry, i. e. ffi presenting
to God the gifts of ffis people, and sacrificial blood for the
putting away of sin. But these gffts and sacrifices, adds
St. Paul " cannot make him that does the serrice perfect as
pertaining to the conscience," i. e. cannot afford to the wor-
sffipper the blessing of peace with God. A Jew had sinned
and brought his sacrifice; it was duly offered for ffim. He
next brought his gfft ; it was duly presented and accepted
1 Isaiah Ixvi, 1.

462 PAET III. LECTUEE XIV.
May I now believe, he said to the ndnistering priest, that I
am absolved by God from sin ? may I look -without fear to
the dreadful day of judgment? may I uffer from the ac
ceptance of my gift, that my person is eternally accepted?
You are cleansed from ceremonial guUt, would be the priest's
answer; you have no occasion to dread temporal judgment
at the hand of God. You may also infer from the accept
ance of your gift, that he regards you as one of the holy
people, and that you are entitled to all the benefits of the
covenant of God -with Israel. But of any tffing further,
the priest would say, I dare not speak ; my ministry reaches
not to the world to come. And so the worsffipper retumed
from the tabernacle or temple disappoffited and unreUeved.
This, says St. Paul to the Hebrews, is the imperfection of
your priestly mffiistry. Why then was such a miffisti-y
ordained, the Hebrews 'might have asked, — why were such
gffts and sacrifices appoffited by God to be offered? The
mffiistry was ordained, answers the Apostle, and the gifts
and sacrifices were appointed, "along vrith meats and drinks
and divers wasffings — carnal ordffiances, only till the time
of reformation." These words, besides bemg a satisfactory
answer to the question wffich we have supposed to be asked,
tffiow on this whole subject further light of the most import
ant kffid. A fallen creature ffi order to salvation, needs
something more than the forgiveness of sin ; he needs
deliverance from sin's moral power, he needs to be made
holy that he may be capable of fellowship with God. Let
us suppose for a moment that an IsraeUte feeling, as devout
Mng David did, the depravity of ffis nature, and desirous
like him, of avoiding sin and of attaining to holiness, had
repaired to the ministering priest. The priest would have
told him, that if he would avoid uncleanness, he must not
eat of the coney, the hare or the swine, of the eagle, the
ossifrage or the ospray.' He would have told him fmther,
that if he desired to be peculiarly holy, he was at liberty to
consecrate himself to God by taking the vow of the Nazarite.
And tlds vow required him, the priest would have said, to
¦ Leviticus xi. 2—8, 13.

CHAP. IX. 9—14. 463
drink no wine nor strong drink, and to eat notffing that came
" of the rine-tree, from the kernels even to the husk.'" He
would have instructed him finally that if he was unclean by
haring touched the dead body of a man, or by having come
ffi contact with a leper, or by haring carried the carcase of a
sm-offering, he ndght be cleansed again and mingle 'with his
bretiiren as before, by bathing his flesh in water.' But if
the ffiqufrer had answered, I am seeking the cleansing, not
of the flesh but of the heart; tell me how I may be delivered
from the real uncleanness of sin, and how I may attain to
feUowsffip 'with the Holy One of Israel, the priest must have
replied, my miffistry reaches not to the heart, the ordinances
'with which I am charged are ordinances for the flesh only.
And so, whether the devout worsffipper sought peace of con
science on the one hand, or purity of heart on the other, he
found the prorisions of the law of Moses utterly unsuited to
his need The beUeving Hebrews were perfectly aware of
tffis. And they were therefore able to estimate the argu
ment of the Apostle in the text, that God never designed to
put off his people with such miserable shadows ; that he
had appointed the sacrifice which could not pacify the con
science, and the washing which could not cleanse the heart,
" only till the time of reformation."
This time of reformation was at the first advent of Ghrist,
as the two foUowffig verses of tho text plaiffiy shew. For
they set forth to us, second, the true tabemacle, and the
real ordinances of salvation.
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to
come, THROUGH a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not
made with hands, that is to say, not of this building ; neither
by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
for us.
Tffis agrees exactly with the testimony of St. Paul in
another place. He tells the Galatians that God's people
1 Numbers vi. 1 — 4. ^ Leviticus xv. Numbers xix.

464 PAET III. LECTURE XIV.
under the former dispensation "were in bondage under the
elements ofthe world: but" that, "when the fulness of the
time was come, God sent forth his Son.. .to redeem them that
were under the law."' The Galatian, as well as the Hebrew
believers, were in danger of retuming to the law : St. Paul
woffid therefore tell both of them that God, when he insti
tuted the legal ordinances, had the time of reformation in
his eye, and that he designed these ordinances to continue
only till that time should arrive. Christ, who by his appear-
ffig introduced this time of reformation, came, as the text
declares, "an High-Priest of good thffigs to come." For by
his priestly ministry he has obtained for us peace of con
science, and grace that we may serve God. And both these
blessings were "good things to come" until ffis appearing;
the legal high-priests, as we have afready seen, could minister
neither the one nor the other. The saints who lived before his
appealing did indeed enjoy a measme of both; but this was
not because the shadows ministered it, it was because theirfaith
pierced the shadows and laid hold of the coming Substance.
How gTeat then must have been thefr joy when that glorious
Substance appeared ! We need not wonder that Simeon
should have said, as he took the infant-Sariour in his arms,
"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace. ..for
mffie eyes have seen thy salvation." Nor need we wonder
that Anna the prophetess, when she came at the same ffistant
into the temple, should have given thanks "likewise unto the
Lord, and spoken of ffim to aU them that looked for redemp
tion in Jerusalem."' We also observe, from these two
scriptures, that salvation and redemption are one. For the
essence of both is the same. Salvation consists ffi peace of
conscience, and grace that we may serve the living God.
And redemption in its larger and more comprehensive sense,
consists of the same blessffigs. Having told us that for these
blessings we are indebted to the HighPriest of the new
covenant, the Apostle goes on to tell us in what way he
has obtained them, viz. by entering in "once into the holy
place," " through a greater and more perfect tabemacle,"
I Galatians iv. 3—5. 2 Luke ii. 25— 30,'3G— 38,

CHAP. IX. 9—14. 465
not "by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own
blood." Two tldngs are here contrasted, The "greater and
more perfect tabemacle" is contrasted with the tabemacle of
Moses ; " the blood of goats and calves" is contrasted with
"ffis own blood." The tabernacle and the temple also were
types of many thffigs. Our Lord expressly caUs his body
"tffis temple;"' and St, Paul caUs the bodies of believers
" our earthly house of tffis tabemacle,"' The " greater and
more perfect tabemacle" of the words before us, ndght there
fore sigmfy the human body of Jesus Christ our Lord ; and
some persons understand it in tffis light. But an examina
tion of the context shews plainly that tffis is not its meaning,
St, Paul has just been speaking of the Jewish tabemacle as
the type of God's dwelling-place above in which Christ
officiates, and wffich he calls "the true tabernacle,"' It is
of this true tabemacle then that he is speaking in the words
before us, into which, as he goes on to declare, Christ has
entered as the High-Priest of His people. And when he
says, " tffiough a greater and more perfect tabemacle,'' ffis
meaning is the same as when he says ffi another place,
" Seeing then that we have a great High-Priest, that is passed
through the heavens."* The Jewish High-Priest on the
great day of atonement, passed tffiough the outer court and
tlirough the holy place, bearing sacrfficial blood into the
holiest of aU. This, I should say, was ffi St. Paul's mind
when he wrote the words before us. He meant to tell the
Hebrews that Jesus the Cffiistian High-Priest had passed,
in like manner, tffiough these risible heavens and through
the heavens beyond them, into what he elsewhere calls, "the
third heaven,"' the dwelling-place of the Divine Majesty.
How beautiful is tffis image ! It presents to us indeed " a
greater and more perfect tabernacle," with its outer court,
its holy place, and its presence-chamber the trae holiest of
all, — a tabemacle not, like that of Moses, made with hands,
but the work of Almighty God. The blood of goats and
calves would dishonour that place of purest holiness ; Jesus
1 John ii. 19 — 21 . 2 II Corinthians v. 1 . s Hebrews viii. 2.
1 Hebrews iv. 14, 6 II Corinihians xii. 2.
X 3

466 PART III, LECTURE XIV,
has passed into it " vrith ffis own blood," In these words
St, Paul asserts what ffis language in this epistle hitherto
has only implied. He has told us in the fifth chaper that
every high-priest is ordaffied to offer gifts and sacrifices, and
that Christ is a High-Priest. He has repeated this state
ment ffi the eighth chapter, and proved by it that, as a
matter of necessity, Christ must have somewhat to offer.
And now he tells us that tffis somewhat is " ffis own blood ; "
that he is at once priest and sacrifice. The effects wffich
follow tffis presenting of Cffi-ist's blood on ffigh are next
declared; he has obtained by it, says the Apostle, for us
who trust in ffim, the blessing of " etemal redemption."
Etemal redemption is the everlasting remission of sin. And
this blessing, as we have afready leamt, ffifallibly secures to
all who partake of it, the blessing of sanctifyffig grace. St.
Paul therefore in tffis' place is only declaring more distffictly
what he has set forth twice afready. He has told us in the
fifth chapter that Christ, as God's called High-Priest, is the
author of eternal salvation " to all them that obey ffim."
And he has told us in the eighth, that Cffiist's mimstry ffi
the heavens is the pledge and guarantee to his people of the
prondses of the new covenant; that sin shall be no more
remembered, and that God's law shaU be written in thefr
hearts. Let us also observe, that ffi each of these three
scriptures, whether it is called salvation or the forgetting of
sin, or redemption, God's mercy is declared to be eternal.
Those who are forgiven by ffim are forgiven for ever, and
shaU be sanctified because they are forgiven ; " the Strength
of Israel is not a man that he should repent." The expres
sion in the text, "entered ffi once into the holy place,"
marks tffis more strongly than either of the preceding
scriptm-es. The legal ffigh-priest, who entered into the
holiest on the great day of atonement to present sacrificial
blood on behalf of the congregation, was obliged to come
forth again, yea to be continually going out and in, because
fresh ceremonial guilt on the part of Israel was continuaUy
exhausting the efficacy of his sacrifices, and demanding fresh
atonements on the brazen altar of bm-ut-offering. With

CHAP. IX. 9—14. 467
Christ however it is far otherwise. When he offered his
perfect sacrifice on Calvary, he looked back with the eye of
Omniscience to the beginning of time and forward to the
end of it, and made provision in that one sacrifice, for the
forgiveness of all sffi. And having done this, he entered in
once for aU ffito the holiest above, to present that sacrifice
to God. I say once for all, for no fresh atonement is re
qufred : it is impossible that to the end of time any sffi can
be comndtted from which ffis blood is not able to cleanse.
And we ffis beUevffig people who have fled for refuge to the
hope which in ffim is set before us, are therefore called to
abide ffi confidence of tffis forgiveness, tUl he who has thus
gone ffi to God, come forth again to bless us. .For he shall
yet come forth without a sin-offering, for the destruction of
ffis enemies and the salvation of his friends. '
That the same Sariour should be at once priest and
victim, was a strange doctrine to Hebrew ears. Under the
law of Moses these things had been most carefully distin-
gmshed ; a senseless animal had been the victim, an inteffi-
gent man the priest. But even on this point, that law
which the Hebrews reverenced did not leave them without
light. Of all the typical ordinances of the Mosaic economy
there was none more remarkable than that relating to the
man-slayer. If an Israelite had killed ffis neighbour by
accident, the nearest relative of the slain had the legal right
of killing the slayer ffi return. But cities of refuge were
appointed, and the man-slayer was directed to flee to one of
them, and to " abide in it unto the death of the high-priest,
who was anointed vrith the holy oil." If during the life of the
high-priest he ventured to cross the border of his sanctuary,
the legal right of the nearest relative of the slain remained
in full force against him. But the death of that minister
canoeUed ffis offence; he might then retm-n in peace " into
the land of his possession."' I believe that St. Paul, when
he wrote the words of the text, had tffis ordinance of Moses
in his eye, For his language in the immediately-succeeding
context, "that by means of death they wldch are called
1 Hebrews ix. 28. 2 Numbers xxxv. 22—28.

468 PAET III. LECTUEE XIV.
might receive the promise of etemal inheritance," has a
most singular resemblance to that of the Mosaic enactment.
The Hebrews were of comse weU aware of this enactment.
They could not therefore, without rejecting the light of
their own law, regard it as a new doctrine, that by the death
,of a high-priest guilt was to be canceUed, and the guUty
restored to favour. Even unbelieving Hebrews felt this to
be the case. Philo the Jew, a leading adversary of Christi
anity and contemporary with St. Paffi, acknowledges ffi a
discourse concemffig the cities of refuge, that the enactment
of Moses with regard to them was typical, and that the
Logos or Word was the great High-Priest who was ultimately
signified. But he stumbles at the same time with all ffis
nation at the doctrine of a crucified Redeemer, and therefore
adds "this article conceming the death of the ffigh-priest
afforded me much difficulty and trouble." It affords, blessed
be God, neither difficulty nor trouble to us ; it is one of the
clearest foreshewings of the Lord Jesus to be met with in
the old economy. But how much better is the gospel than
the law ! The death of the legal high-priest cancelled only
unintentional offences ; the death of the Christian High-
Priest cancels intentional offences of the deepest dye. We
must consider too that the high-priest of that day ndght have
been the early preceptor and bosom-counsellor of some
unfortunate and eriled Israelite. His death restored indeed
the exUe to ffis possessions, but he returned disconsolate, for
he had lost his friend. With us however it is very
different. We have the benefit of our High-Priest's death,
and yet he is alive. The words of the text, "by his own
blood he entered in once ffito the holy place," point out most
beautifully this union of death and life ; his death on Calvary
to set us free, his life in the highest heavens to secure us
in the possession of that freedom. His mffiistry of inter
cession for tlds blessed end has been already explained at
large, and needs no further elucidation at present. Let me
however say one thing more conceming it, before I dismiss
the subject. St. Paul tells the Corinthians that he was
" caught up to the third heaven," and that he heard there

CHAP. IX. 9—14. 469
"unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man
to utter." ' They were " unspeakable," i.e, human language
was not able to convey their import. Neither was it " lawful "
to convey it, they were too sacred to be reported on earth.
May we venture to ffiquire ffito this mystery ? These un
speakable words coffid not be the songs of saffits and angels,
for it is both possible and lawful to render them into human
language, as the book of Revelation proves to us. The only
scripture which is parallel to that wffich I have cited, occurs
in the Epistle to the Romans : let St. Paul therefore explaffi
himself " We know not," he says, " what we should pray
for as we ought : but the Spirit itseff maketh intercession for
us with groanffigs wffich cannot be uttered." But though
human language cannot bear the burden of these groanings,
they are intelligible to Jesus who presents them to God above.
For St. Paul proceeds, " and he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spfrit, because he maketh
intercession for the saints according to the -will of God."'
Comparing these scriptures together, and considerffig also
that the " unspeakable words " to which St. Paul refers, were
uttered in " the third heaven ''¦ — an expression in the mouth
of a Jew precisely equivalent to the holiest of all, the place
of priestly intercession, I am strongly fficUned to believe that
what he heard was the oonveese of Deity, the inteecest
SION OF th£i Saviour foe his Chueoh. And it does indeed
impart a character of blessed reaUty to the trath set forth in
the text, that mortal eye beheld his glory in that place of
purity ; it does indeed refresh the heart with a livelier assur
ance of ffis loving remembrance, that mortal ear was
pririleged to listen to his gracious pleading on our behalf.
We have third the perfect character of this new covenant
of peace.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and tlu ashes of an
heifer sprinkUng the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of
the flesh : how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself ivithout spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living
God? 1 II Corinthians xii. 4. 2 Eomans viii, 26, 27.

470 PAET III. LECTUEE XIV.
Let us observe the connection of these verses with the
preceding, as indicated by the word "for."' The Apostle
has just declared that Christ by his entrance into the hoUest
above, has obtained for his people "etemal redemption," i.e.
etemal deliverance from the gffilt of sin, and by consequence,
as we have already seen, from its moral power. It is indeed
so, he continues, for if ceremoffial ordmances have power to
cleanse the flesh, how much more shaU the blood of Christ
impart to the conscience the assurance of God's pardon, and
miffister grace whereby we may do ffis wUl. Tffis reasonmg
is from the type to the antitype : let us therefore consider
the one that we may understand the other. The Hebrews
are reminded that the blood of buUs and goats and the ashes
of an heifer sprinkUng the unclean, sanctffied to the purify
ing of the flesh. I have afready explaffied many times that
the blood of buUs and goats sanctified by remoring cere
monial gmlt ; let me now explain the ordffiance of the ashes
of the heifer. A red heifer without spot or blemish was brought
to the priest and sacrificed. Her body was then whoUy
bmnt, and her ashes were preserved as a purification for sffi.
The manner of tffis purification was remarkable. " Running,"
or rather as the original signifies, "living water" was
mingled with these ashes in a vessel, and was sprinkled on
the unclean person. He might then approach the sanctuary of
the Lord, as clean ; but if he neglected tffis appodited means
of oleansffig, he was guilty of defiling that sanctuaiy, and was
adjudged to death.' Let us now observe the spiritual
meaning of all tffis. The blood of bulls and goats which
removed ceremonial guilt, was a type of the blood of Christ
wffich has obtauied for us the remission of sffi. And the
livffig water wldch was sprinkled on the unclean person, was
as evidently a type of the blessed Spirit of God. But that
living water was mingled with the ashes of a sacrifice ;
typical doubtless of that blessed Spirit cleansing us in heart
and conscience by shedding abroad in them the love and
mercy of God revealed in the great sacrifice. For as
sacrificial ashes with living water purified the unclean flesh,
1 Numbers xix.

CHAP. IX. 9—14. 471
we obtain tffiough the sacrifice and Spirit of Christ, at
once peace of conscience and ability to serve God. St. Paul,
as we have said, reasons from these types to prove to the
Hebrews the perfection of the antitype. You are aware,
my brethren, he would say, that when the blood of a buU or
of a goat is presented for you in the holiest, it removes
ceremonial gffilt. And if even that wortffiess blood is known
to possess such efficacy, surely your knowledge that the blood
of Christ, God's spotless sacrffice, is now presented for you
above, ought to minister to you peace of conscience, ought
to give all the assurance wffich you can ask, that sin is
indeed forgiven and that the liring God is your Father,
This blessed assurance, he continues, ought to alter the
whole character of your obedience. Instead of bemg the
spiritless and dead obedience of slaves, it ought to be the
spontaneous expression of joy and gratitude, it ought to be
that cheerful serrice which is rendered to a father by the
children of his love. God will not accept ffideed of any
other serrice, for he is " the living God." Moreover Christ
is your example ffi rendering it ; Cffiist who from the manger
to the tomb presented himself to God a spotless offering in
thought, word, and deed ; Christ who was " obedient unto
death, even the death of the cross,"' that the world ndght
know that he loved the Father, and that as the Father gave
ffim commandment, even so he did.' And he who has left
to you this example, has left to you also that you may follow
it, the promise of his own strength. It was " through the
eternal Spirit " that he offered himself to God. For he
informed our humanity wdth the Holy Ghost, and man in the
person of Jesus of Nazareth, was found for the first time
since the fall, the servant of him from whom he had departed,
without blemish and without rebuke. And having now gone
up on high, he has received of the Father for our sakes,
according to the provisions of the new covenant, " the pro
ndse of the Holy Ghost." If we suffer him therefore to
come and make his abode with us,' He will shed abroad in
our hearts by that blessed Spirit, the Divine love and mercy
I Philip, ii. 8. 2 John xiv. 31. 3 John xiv. 23.

473 PART III. LECTURE XIV.
revealed in his precious sacrffice, -will kffidle in us the sacred
fire of love, will raise our affections heavenward, and wUl thus
cleanse us both ffi heart and conscience, that "we may serve.
God without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him,
all the days of our Ufe."' The man who was ceremoffially
miclean, requfred only the livffig water mixed vrith the
heifer's ashes ; cleansed thereby he might approach the
sanctuary of God. Surely then, my brethren, the Apostle
adds, you require nothing more for real cleansffig than
what these ordinances of the new covenant provide ; ff you
have peace of conscience and are delivered in heart from
the moral power of sffi, you are surely in a condition to
serve God and to be accepted ffi your serrice. The legal
high-priest cannot minister to you either of these blessings ;
the fleshly cleansffig which the legal ordinances impart is
but a shadow. A shadow however indicates a substance.
And the abdity of the legal ffigh-priest to miffister the
shadow, proves, concludes the Apostle, the very truth which
I have now declared ; proves that what is miffistered by
Clirist his antitype, is indeed the perfect substance.
Having thus endeavoured to elucidate the argument of the
text, let me conclude tffis subject 'with two deeply solemn
and important lessons which may be learnt from it.
We learn from tffis subject in the ffist place, that God
has ffideed provided ffi Christ aU that is necessary for
our salvation. Jesus said when speaking of the gospel,
" all things are ready." ' And I know no part of Scripture
wffich is a more striking commentary on ffis words, than
that which we have just been considering. Do we long to
know that God is at peace 'with us, that we may have bold
ness to approach ffim? The Israelite who was ceremoniaUy
unclean, inquired with anxiety whether the cleansffig sacri
fice had been presented, and on being answered in the affir
mative his anxiety was removed, he approached without
dread the terrible sanctuary of the Lord. We are in like
manner, assured in the text that Jesus having offered him
self to God a spotless sacrifice for our sins, has goije into
1 Luke i. 74, 75. 2 Matthew xxii. 4.

CHAP. IX. 9—14. 473
the hoUest to present his blood on our behaff. And we need
notffing else to give us peace of conscience. Let us put our
trust ffi that blood, and our "etemal redemption" is secured.
Agaffi, we are hungering and tffirsting after righteousness :
do we desire to serve and glorify him who has forgiven us,
do we long to be delivered frqm the burden of an unclean
heart? The Israelite whose flesh was defiled, was sprinkled
with liring water mixed with sacrificial ashes, and was clean.
And we have the reaUty of wffich this was a shadow. For
he who died for us and left beffind ffim for" our imitation
the example of a holy and righteous Ufe, has gone up on
high, and is fiUed with the Holy Ghost. And if we receive
him as our Sariour, nothing can ffinder the fulfUment of the
prondse, " I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye
shall be clean : ...a new heart also wiU I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you : .,,and I will cause you to walk
in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do
them."' All things pertaining to salvation are therefore
indeed "ready;" nothing hmders, notffing can ffinder, but
our unvriUingness to be saved.
JVe are instructed by this subject ffi the second place, in
the nature of salvation. Some persons suppose salvation to
be deUverance from future punishment ; others suppose it to
be the reward which is laid up in the next world for those
who serve God ffi tffis. And looking at it in either of these
aspects, no one is un'wdUng to be saved. But let us tum to
the text that we may leam what salvation is. When cere
monial defilement was cleansed by blood, when the unclean
flesh was purified by living water, the Israelite was permitted
to wait on God in ffis sanctuary. And the glad tidings of
the gospel are that since Cffiist has died and risen again,
" the living God " permits us to wait on him and serve him.
Tlds blessed privilege is the very essence of salvation. We
may not so dishonour God as to make his service a means to
an end, and that end, our happiness hereafter. His blessed
service is itself the end, the end for which Jesus lived and
died, the end for which we must live. But let us not sup-
1 Ezekiel xxxvi, 25—27,

474 PART III, LECTUEE XIV.
pose that om happiness is overlooked. Jesus found ffis
happffiess in servffig; "my meat," he said, "is to do the
wiU of him that sent me."' And we must be of the same
mind, accounting with the holy Psalmist that " in keepffig "
God's commandments "there is great reward."' So shall
our experience on earth be a foretaste of the joy of heaven.
For the joy of heaven is the joy of servffig God ; " the
throne of God and of the Lamb shaU be ffi it ; and his ser
vants shaU serve ffim."' Ah this — this is the cause why
men are unwdUng to be saved. The prospect of escape from
punishment and of reward and happiness hereafter seems
desirable to aU, but the pririlege of serving God now, and
the prospect of servffig him for ever, has charms only for
those " whose hearts God has touched." May we be found
among that blessed number !
' John iy. 34. « Psalm xix. 1 1 . 3 Revelation xxii. 3.

END OF VOL, 1

JOHN STANFIELD, PEINTEE, WAKEFIELD.

APPENDIX.
VOL. I,

Note A. — Page 13,
I am anxious to prove the correctness of the interpretation of the
words " when he had by Himself purged our sins," giyen in this
lecture. Because the right understanding of this phrase and its
cognates " to put away sin," " to take away sin," &c., is the key to
the whole epistle. When St. Paul here says "our sins," is he speaking
of believers or of men % And is the purgation of which he speaks, a
definitive deliverance from condemnation, or simply the middle wall of
partition between God and man thrown down ? I am satisfied, as I
have stated in the lecture, that the latter is the meaning which St,
Paul intends to convey. For let us observe how he reasons on his
words. Haying declared in the opening of the epistle, that God is
speaking to us through him who has purged our sins and ascended on
high, he asks in the beginning of the sscond chapter, " How shall we
escape if we neglect so great salvation 1 " The purgation of sin then
to which he has jnst referred, is a blessing which may be neglected
and which does not necessarily infer salvation. It cannot therefore be
everlasting deliverance from condemnation ; those who are partakers
of that blessing shall never be sufliered to neglect Christ on the one
hand, and cannot possibly fall under his wrath on the other. It must
be what is stated in the lecture, viz. Sin put away in Christ that we
may come to God, This blessing may be neglected, and such neglect
thall bring down at last a more aggravated doom. See the very sime
train of thought in Hebrews xii. 24, 25.
Note B.—Page 36.
The phrase "above thy fellows," which comes under consideration in
this lecture, has occasioned more difScnlty to my mind than any other
expression in the epistle. Most expositors apply it to Christ's believing
neople. Professor Stuart applies it to the kings of the earth, of whom
"the King of kings " is the acknowledged superior. But whilst both
these things are true, and may be legitimately deduced from the apostle's
words they have no connection whatever, as must be manifest to every
with the argument which he has in hand, yiz. to prove to the
Hebrews out of their own Scriptures, that Christ ie superior both to
ronhets and angels. If the interpretation however which is given in
the lecture be adopted, everything is harmonious and plain. The He
brews revered prophets and angels as servants of the Most High; they
VOL, I, T

2
were aware also that Messiah was the messenger of Jehovah, And I
prove to you, says the Apostle, out of your own Scriptures, that thongh
they are hia " fellows " inasmuch as they have served along with him,
be takes precedence of them all.
Note C.—Page 94.
This note is subjoined to prevent misanderstanding. Some readers,
from tho statement in p, 88 of this lecture, may suppose me to mean
that miraculous gifts were an attestation from God to the real, living
Christianity of those who received them, I should be sorry indeed to
be so interpreted; the sentimeut would be in direct contradiction to
Matthew vii, 22, 23. Besides, it is not the way of the Lord to give
to his people au external assurance of their gracious state; such a
thing might be a temptation to forget the daily necessity of looking
for his mercy unto eternal life. But it is perfectly consistent with all
this, to say that by pouring down miraculous gifts on the Church, God
testified openly before an unbelieving world, to her high standing and
glorious dignity. Hypocrites mighTi indeed receive these gifts; but it
was through connection with that body to which it was God's purpose
to bear testimony. Note D.—Page 307,
There is one subject under consideration in this lecture, which has
given more trouble to Commentators than perhaps any other iu the
New Testament, Some interpretation must be given to the words
"to Him that was able to sstve Him from death;" and they giye the
best interpretation they can, glad to dismiss the passage as one of
"acknowledged difficulty," To my mind it certainly does not appear
in this light. And having given an interpretatiou which not only
removes eyery difficulty bnt presents ns instead with a fulness of
Instruction and consolation, 1 am anxious to state at length the
reasons which have satisfied my own mind that the reader may be
satisfied also.
Let us begin with the meaning of words. It will not, I suppose, be
denied that the natural meaning of the Greek proposition £b is rather
out of than from. " To save Him from death," is of ambiguous signi
fication, but almost all Commentators make these worda signify to
save Him hkom dying. And this certainly seems to me to give to the
preposition a strained and unnatural meaning. The late Professor
Stuart felt this so strongly that he represented the expression as a
periphrasis for " the Sovereign Lord of life and death," making it
express not the object for which the Redeemer prayed but the Person
to whom His prayer was offered. But why should this be resorted to,
if the preposition in its natural sense, gives an intelligible and instruc
tive meaning 2 And this, I will now attempt to shew, it actually does.
" These are the words " s-iid our Lord to His Apostles " which 1 spake
unto you while I was yet with you, that all tbings must be fulfilled
which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the
Psa&ns conceruing me," And haying spoken thus. He " opened theii

understandings that they might understand the Scriptures." (Luke xxiv.
44, 45.) St. Paul was not present indeed on that memorable occasion,
but he was privileged afterwards with the same celestial teaching. It
enabled him to dispera the Lord Jesus in the sacrifices of Moses, in the
smitten one of the prophets, in the broken-hearted suppliant of the
Psalms. He found him in these Psalms, we cannot doubt, as his brother
apostle had done, (Acts ii. 25,) setting the Lord always before Him, andas
wave after wave broke over Him, and billow after billow threatened
to engulph Him, rising still superior to grief and peril and temptation
by the power of perfect faith. And if the Holy One of God was thus
exercised with reference to minor trials and minor deliverances, it
surely requires no proof that He must have been specially thus exer
cised as He looked forward to Hia Master-trial aud anticipated Hia
Master-deliverance. He was to pass under the power of death, and
to be laid a dead man in the grave; He was to come forth from that
grave by the glorious power of the Father,, bursting death's bonds for
ever. And we have only to turn to the Psalm from which St. Peter
quotes, to find that He was thus exercised. What else can we
gather from the language, " My heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth;
my flesh also shall rest in hope. For Thou wilt not leave my soul iu
hell;neitherwiltThousufferthineHolyOneto see corruption. Thou wilt
shew me the path of life"? (Psalm xvi. 9—11.) The sixth, thirtieth,
and eigty-eighth Psalms which also contain the Redeemer's own worda,
are referred to in the lecture, in further proof of this. And their
testimony ia most emphatically confirmed by the twentieth and twenty-
first. In the former, the Chnrch prays for her suffering Lord, "Jehovah
hear thee in the day of trouble ;" in the latter, she declares to that
Jehovah concerning Him, " He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it
Him, even length of days for ever and ever." And these are by no
meana all the Psalms which might be cited. Let the reader consult
for himself Psalm ix. 9—14; xviii, 1—6; xxii; xxxv; ly; Ixix; eix.
Now St. Paul's object ia to shew that the Lord Jesus is qualified to be
a High-Priest for men, because He has proved to the uttermost, human
temptations and trials. He therefore selects the deepest of these trials,
and reverently presents the exercises in prospect of it, of His holy and
spotless aoul. Can anything be even imagined more natural, more
consoling, or more exquisitely apposite to the purpose in hand?
Two circumstances haye rendered this Scripture difficult of inter
pretation. The first ia that Commentators with one consent, have
referred it to the prayers of Gethsemane, Ebrard says " the reference
to Gethsemane is unmistakeable," And he adds "so Theodoret,
Calvin, Bengel, Carpzov, Paulus, Tholuck, Bleek, and the most of
Commentators," Barnes and Stuart adopt the same view. This is
the more remarkable in Professor Stuart, for he explains "the days
of His flesh" to mean "the days of His incarnation. His mortal
condition or state." And this might have shewn him that the Apostle
had not any special prayer of the Redeemer in his eye, bnt His
habitual and continual supplications. But what completely demon
strates to my mind that St. Paul iu this place is not referring to

4
Gethsemane, is that such an iterpretation violates the unity of the
epitlle. Though not written for unbelieving Hebrews, this epistle is
armed at all pointa againat every possible cavil ; every position taken
up in it being proved from Old Testament Scripture . It ia not posaible
therefore that to prove Chriat to be a thoroughly qualified High-Priest,
the writer should haye referred to His agony in Gethsemane, a
circumstance which rested solely ou New Testament authority. An
unbelieving Hebrew, or a Hebrew weak in the faith, would at once
haye questioned the position. But let us take the view presented in
the lect are, and how differently the case stands! Be not revolted, the
Apostle would say, at the deep humiliation of Jesus of Nazareth; it
only qualified him to be a perfect High-Priest, Your own Scriptures
tell you so. Your own Psalms present Messiah before you in the very
depths of human weakness, offering prayers and supplications with
strong crying and tears. And you have only to compare theae
prophetic announcements with the human experience of the Lord
Jesus, to be aware of their perfect harmony.
The other circumstance which has obscured this passage, ia the
unscriptural idea that Christ raised Himself from the dead. To it
chiefly must be attributed what would be otherwise unaccountable,
yiz. that the genuine meaning of a text which expresses so plainly
those prayers for the mercy of resurrection to which the twenty-first
Psalm refers, has never yet been discerned. The error to which I
have referred, is one of no common magnitude , If our Lord triumphed
over the greatest of His trials, and delivered Himself out of the
greatest of His extremities by His own Almighty power, thia must
necessarily haye been the case with trials and temptations of a lesser
and inferior order. And we are thus led directly to the view that Christ
sustained Himself in His extremities, — a sentiment the mischievoua
character of which it ia not possible to over-estimate ; which destroys
the whole force of the blessed Redeemer's example and robs Hia tempted
people of the whole consolation of His trials. It ia altogether beside the
point to refer on this subject, to His " immanent and inherent power,"
To say that that was exerted in resurrection from the dead, is simply
to deny humiliation. For humiliation essentially consisted in His
emptying Himself; (Philippians ii. 7;) i.e. in His Almighty power being
for a season altogether unexerted. And humiliation is only another
name for incarnation. For what was incarnation but the Son of God
humbling Himself Into the human condition? " Being found in fashion
as a man" He was compassed with human weakness, and capable of
human suffering. How beautifully Barnes has written " The Redeemer
prayed when he. felt that he must die!" And as part of the same
condition. He performed only human acts; i.e. acts competent to man;
necessarily Divine indeed because they were His, but still -w'lthin the
bounds oJ manhood. Thia must never be forgotten; it alone makes
His example a living reality, and rendera it possible that " the life of
Jesus should be made manifest in our mortal flesh." (11 Corinthians
iv. 11.) But self-resurrection is not a human act; it is an act with
which man can have no fellowship, even in his highest exercise of faith
in God, It could not then haye been Hia; for He is our example in

His victory over death, aa in His kindred triumphs oyer the world, the
flesh, and the devil. We must overcome as He overcame in that
strength of which faith lays hold, the strength of His Father and our
Father, His God and our God. (John xx. 17.) This is no speculation
of the intellect ; all Christian experience testifies to its truth. In all
things indeed the Saviour haa the pre-eminence; we have no promise
that our flesh shall not see corruption. But where can the dying
believer find language more suited to his circumstances than that of
His dying Lord 3 Blessed shall we be if in that hour of nature's
extremity we are able to say with him "I shall not be moved... my
flesh ahall rest in hope; Thou wilt not leave my soul. ..Thou wilt shew
me the path of life," Surely it is by enabling us to do so, that He
fulfils our constant prayer "In the hour of death, good Lord deliver us,"
I have entered thns fully into this subject from an overwhelming
sense of its importance. And the reasons now submitted entirely
satisfy me that the exposition of the passage given in the lecture,
expresses the mind of God, I am not insensible to the weight of
authority which is against me, and am very far indeed from seeking to
disparage it. But when I flnd such an expositor aa the late Professor
Stuart confessing himself very doubtful of its true meaning, and adding
that he will " most thankfully receive from any one, a more probable
interpretation " than his own, I cannot but feel it a solemn duty to
the Christian Church to rescue if possible, this glorious scripture from
the cloud of mystery in which it has been hitherto enveloped.
Note E.—Page 331.
The doctrine of Baptism stated in pp. 313, 314 of this lecture, may
be objected to as High-Church doctrine by one class of theologians,
and as Low-Church doctrine by another. I only seek not to separate
what God has joined together, viz.. His Sacraments as the seals of
His Gospel, and that faith unto salvation to which they are designed
to lead us.
1 would ask those who consider it High-Church doctrine, what they
understand by baptism. If it does not assure the baptized person of
the fatherly love of God, the remission of sin, the blessing of adoption,
and the promise of the eternal inheritance, it ceases to be the seal of
the Christian covenant. But we cannot be children of God, it ia
objected, both by baptism and by faith. This difficulty is easily
explained. Faith receives the blessing which baptism seals, and
unbelief rejects it ; the blessing conferred merely, is not salvation to
any man, A baptized person abiding in impenitence and unbelief, is
the prodigal son of Luke xv; a prodigal, but yet a son. To refer
that parable to backsliding believers, is, I am persuaded, quite unwar
rantable. Scripture no where recognizes such backsliding in a believer
as that which it describes. Besides, Christ spake it in explanation of
his conduct when he waa found fault with by the Scribes and Phari
sees, for eating with "publicans and sinners," And he evidently
therefore intended to teach that though these abandoned ones were
lost in 6in, they were dear to God as the children of his covenant,
Y S

I would remind those who revere the Church of England, that this
is exactly the doctrine of her catechism. " I waa made in my
baptism," the child is instructed to say, " a member of Christ, the
child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven ;" I also
vowed " by my godfathers and godmothers," to " renounce the devil
and all his works," to " believe all the articles of the Christian faith,"
and to " keep God's holy will and commandments," Nor is it pecu
liar to the Church of England ; it is held by all the orthodox Churches
in common. Let me refer as an example of the truth of this state
ment, to the catechism of the Prebysterian Church of Scotland,
" Baptism," the child is instructed to say, " doth signify and seal our
ingrafting into Christ, our partaking of the benefits of the covenant of
grace, and our engagement to be the Lord's," The one catechism
speaks of the membership of Christ, the other says that we are in
grafted into him ; the one speaks of adoption and heirship of God, the
other says that we partake of the benefits of the Christian covenant ;
the one speaks of our solemn obligation to keep God'a commandments,
the other says that we are engaged to be the Lord's. The doctrine of
the two catechisms is thus identical, and is the very doctrine which I
have endeavoured to lay down.
I would ask those on the other hand, who object to it as too low,
whether they really believe that all baptized persons shall be saved ?
If not, at what point do they stop ? It is impossible from the very
nature of salvation, that intelligent beings can be made partakers of
it without their hearty consent ; and faith is that consent. Whilst
therefore there is a sense in which we are children of God by baptism,
there is also a higher sense in which we are so by faith. " Blessed for
eyer and ever be that mother's child whose faith hath made him the
child of God," is the language of the illustrious Hooker ; and surely
no one will accuse him of holding low views of the sacraments.
Infants indeed are saved without faith ; but infants are not intelligent
beings. Note F.—Page 336.
After giving every possible conaideration to the very difficult
Scripture which forms the subject of this lecture, and weighing
maturely all the objections which haye i een urged against my former
intprpretation, I have felt myself constrained to abide by it. The
writer in the Presbyterian Review, in his notice of my work, adopts
the Calvinistic view mentioned in p. 823, and gives us iu detail, his
reasons for believing that the Apostle is here referring to real Chris-
t'ans and not to professors. These reasons are that the whole epistle
is addressed to real Christians, "holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling;" that it was no warning to real saints that pro
fessors might fall away; that professors could not in fact be said to
fall away or to be renewed again to repentance, since they had never
been in Christ and had never been brought to repentano-; that such
warnings to God's real people are of frequent use in Scripture, and
that we have no Scriptural authority for saying that mere professors

falling from their profession cannot afterwards be saved. Are we to
understand then fr jm the addresses of the Apostolic epistles being to
"saints," "elect," "faithful," " holy brethren," that the writers had
an infallible assurance of the real, living saintship of those to whom
they were writing ? The whole internal eyidenee of the epistles is
against this supposition. The Apostles employed these terms in the
judgment of charity, for they knew their fellow-men simply as profes
sors; (see pp. 163, 164; 189, 190;) God and He alone knew certainly
"them that were His," There was therefore no inconsistency in telling
those who were addressed as holy brethren, that the Apostle saw
something which made him stand in doubt whether this character
indeed belonged to them, and that if they made shipwreck of the faith
of which they had known so much, and abandoned the standing which
they seemed to have gained, it would be impossible to recover them, I
say " impossible to recover them," not "impossible that they should be
recovered ," The former, not the latter, is the Apostle's distinct state
ment; and it softens considerably the force of the word impossible;
presenting in fact the idea expressed in the lecture "I possess no
means of renewing you," " I shall find it impossible to touch your
hearts any more," The reason of this was obvious. After knowing
the truth, they had rejected it ; after proving the love of the Saviour,
they had put it away. For truth not subduing the heart to its obedi
ence , never fails to harden it against God,
What makes me still think that St, Paul in the Soripure before us,
had this case in his eye, that the stationary condition of the Hebrews
made him sometimes afraid that their hearts after all, were not gained
for the Saviour, is the reason stated in the lecture , In the case put
bythe Apostle, there is a striking omissici, — he does not speak of love
as marking those who may fall away. And when he tells them in the
immediately succeeding context, that he is persuaded better things
concerning them, love is aa emphatically mentioned as it has been
formerly omitted. In the interpretation of a passage so difficult,
confidence would b - unbecoming ; but I do think that this laat consider
ation should be well weighed before the view which I haye giyen is
rejected. Note G.—Page 364.
We have in this lecture another of the difficulties of the epistle.
No one can compare Hebrews yi, IS — 17, with Romans iv. 17 — 21,
without being satisfied that St. Paul ia referring to the same promise of
God to Abraham, viz. that of a son in his old age, believed by the
patriarch, and at last obtained through patient faith. But the words
referred to in this epistle, were spoken, beyond all question, when
Isaac the subject of the promise in question, waa twenty-five years
old. The reader has before him my explanation of this difficulty.
And if It seem far-fetched and unnatural, I shall be most thankful to
be furnished by any one, with a more probable solution.
Note H.—Page 426.
Let me invite the reader's especial attention to the words "seated
on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,"

and to their exposition in pp. 412— 414, of thia lecture. The subject
ia referred to in the Introduction, but I would refer to it now more
at large. We must either reject thia epistle altogether, or admit aa
most certain truth that the tabernacle of Moses waa expressly designed
as " the example aud shadow of heayenly thinga." The throne in that
tabernacle was therefore a shadow or figure of the eternal throne
above, the throne of "the true tabernacle." Now the throne in the
tabernacle of Moses was reserved for Deity alone. We haye only
to collate the passages in which mention is made of Him " that
dwelleth between the Cherubims " to be satisfied that in eyery instance
in which it occurs, that expression is synonimous for the living God.
" I will meet with thee " said God to Moses, " and I will commune
with thee from above the meroy-seat,/?'om between the two Cherubims."
(Exodus xxv. 22.) And in conformity with this, we read that " viheu
Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation. ..he heard the
voice of one speaking to him. ../rom between the two Cherubims; and
the lord spake unto Mosea, saying. (Numbers vii. 89; viii 1.) We
are told that in the days of Samuel, " the people sent from Shiloh, that
they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the Lord of
Hosts, which dwelleth between the Cherubims." (I Samuel iy. 4). And
again we are told that " David arose, and went with all the people...
to bring the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord
of Hosts that dwelleth between the Cherubims. (II Samuel yi.2.) " The
Lord reigneth," is the sublime announcement of the Psalmist ;" let tbe
people tremble: He siltelh between the Cherubims; let the earth be
moved. (Psalms xcix. 1.) " Giye ear, O Shepherd of Israel," is there
fore the prayer of the adoring Church; " thou that sitlest between the
CAeraJims, shine forth." (Psalms Ixxx.l,) That prayer was especially
addressed to him in the day of Judah's extremity when Sennacherib
came np against Jerusalem. "Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and
said, 0 Lord God of Israel, loho dwellest between the Cherubims, Thou
art the God, even Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth ; Thou
hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open,
Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which
hath sent him to reproach the living God." (II Kings xix. 15 —16.) Now
if the pattern-throne in the earthly tabernacle was thus the seat of the
living God alone, so that in the darkest days of Israel's apostacy none
dared to interfere with its inviolable sacredness, the same thing is
evidently and a fortiori true of the real throne in " the true tabernacle ;"
it is emphatically the seat of God. But St. Panl declares expressly iu
the scripture of which this lecture is an exposition, that Jesus is now
seated on that throne. He declares Him elsewhere (Hebrews xiii, 20,)
to be the "great Shepherd of the sheep," So that according to the
doctrine of this epistle, the language of the eightieth Psalm may be
applied to him, — He is the Shepherd of larael, sitting between the
Cherubims! What need we then any further witness? If the epistle
to the Hebrews be received in evidence, the question of Christ's
eternal Godhead may be regarded as settled for ever.
The ambiguity of the language employed haa prevented this argu-

ment from being felt in all its force. The phrase " the right hand of
the throne" may mean a seat beside the throne, and this is the idea
which it actually conveys to hasty and superficial readers. Bnt parallel
Scriptures demonstrate that this ia not ita meaning. " I am set down"
(seated) says the Lord Jesus Himself, "with my Father on His throne."
(ReveUtion iii. 21 .) What St. Paul therefore means to tell us here, is
that He ia sitting on the throne itself, ou the right hand of the Father.
And whether such a statement does not agree with his words elsewhere
that Jesus " thought it not robbery to be equal with God," (Philippians
ii. 6,) and with the language of Zschariah " the man that is my fellow,
eaith the Lord of Hosts," (xiii, 7,) let the reader judge.
This subject leads me to notice a most insidious argument for one
of the greatest abominations of Popery, the worship of the saints,
" Worship " says Dr, Newman, (Theory of Developement, p, 404,) " is
the necjssary correlative of glory; in the same sense in which created
natures can share in the Creator's incommunicable glory, do they also
share in that worship which is Hia property alone," Now had this
writer said that worship was the correlative of Divine glory, he would
have spokpn the truth. The glory which is attributed to Christ in this
epis le, is Divine glory; He sits upon the throne and therefore claims
the worship of God. Were His people now sitting on that throne, the
same worship might be claimed for them ; were they ever to sit upon
it, the claim might be advanced from the moment of such exalted
session. But Dr. Newman ought to know in the firat place, that the
glory (the enthronization, if he will) of the saints is not yet come,
that it tarries for resurrection. The claim which he advances for them,
is therefore, to say the least of it, premature.* And he ought to know
in the second place, that the claim is impious. It is His present
occupancy of the seat of God that declares Christ to be the Object
of worship; to make the saints Objects of worship they must be
exalted to the same seat. But this shall never be, even after resurrec
tion. The Saviour himself shall yet resign this seat, exchanging the
throne of God for "the throne of His father David," (Luke i. 32,)
the throne of " the Son of Man," (Matthew xxv, 31,) For the express
end and object of making His people partakers with Him, He shall
thus consent to receive a communicable glory, being " subject unto Him
that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all," (I Corin
thians xv. 28.) It is upon that throne that the saints shall sit beside
Him, according to Hia gracious word. He Himself shall receive worship
eternally, for the seat from which He has descended has proved him
already to be God's everlasting Son, But it is not necessarily the
throne of worship: it ia the throne of glorified manhood; manhood
glorified in the person of, and along with the Lord Jesua.
* This fallacy pervades all Eomish writers, though their arguments are
not so insidious as those of Dr. Newman. They all speak ofthe saints as now
reigning with Christ, and claim worship for them on that ground. The claim
rests in this way on a statement as false as itseif. There is none now reigning
with Christ save the etemal Father alone.

10
The subject of the two thrones of Christ is thus equally instructive
with that of tho two altars of Moses. If the latter condemns the
Popish Mass, by demonstrating that none may presume to cleanse
themselves in the presence of God, (see Introduction to this work and
to The Serpent in the Wilderness^ the former is equally condemnatory
of the worship of the saints. Christ most stoop to a human throne
BEFORE He can SEAT HiS PEOPLE BESIDE HiM; THE DlVINE THRONE
IMPLYING WORSHIP IS A HEIGHT UNAPPROACHABLE BT ANY CEEATtTRE.
It ia moat inatructive to compare the essay of the modern Divine
with the epistle of the ancient Apostle. St. Paul declares tbat
Christianity is not a system of Developement; that He who once
spake " in divers portions," (TroXu/itpwc) haa now spoken once for
all, by His Son. (i. 1, 2.) He declares that it is not a, system of
continued Priesthood; that the Sou of God, "because He continueth
ever, hath a priesthood which passeth not from hand to hand."
(vii. 24,) He declares finally, that it ia not a system of continued
sacrifice; that " where remission is, there is no more offering for
sin." (x. 18.) The modern Divine on the other hand, finds iu Chris
tianity all these three characteristics; he presents its developementa,
its priests, and its sacrifices. I admit that the developements are real,
but they are those of the predicted mystery of iniquity which this
gifted writer, alas, has mistaken for the mystery of godliness.

STANFIELD. PEINTEE, WAKEFIELD.

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