CHAPTER Twelve
ANALYSIS OF THE CHAPTER.
THE apostle, having illustrated the nature and power of faith in the
previous chapter, proceeds in this to exhort those to whom he wrote
to apply tile same principles to their own case, and to urge them
to manifest the same steady confidence in God and perseverance in
their holy walk. For this purpose he adverts to the following
arguments or considerations:--
I. He represents the ancient worthies who had so faithfully
persevered, and so gloriously triumphed, as witnesses of their strife
in the Christian race, and as cheering them on to victory,
Hebrews 12:1.
II. He appeals to the example of the Saviour, Hebrews 12:2-4. This
was a more illustrious instance than any of those which had been
adverted to, and is not referred to with theirs, but is adduced as
deserving a separate and a special specification. The circumstances in
his case which are all encouragement to perseverance in the Christian
conflict are these.
(1.) He endured the cross, and is now exalted to the right hand of God.
(2.) He bore the contradiction of sinners against himself, as those were
called to do to whom Paul wrote.
(3.) He went beyond them in his trials and temptations, beyond
anything which they could have reason to apprehend --for he had
"resisted unto blood, striving against sin."
III. He encourages them by showing that their trials would result in
their own good, and particularly that the hand of a Father was in
them, Hebrews 12:6-13. Particularly he urges
(1.) that God addressed those who suffered as his sons, and called on
them not to receive with improper feeling the chastening of the Lord,
Hebrews 12:5;
(2.) that it was a general principle that the Lord chastened those
whom he loved--and the fact that we received chastening was to be
regarded as evidence that we are under his paternal care, and that he
has not forsaken us, Hebrews 12:6-8;
(3.) that they had been subject to the correction of earthly fathers,
and had learned to be submissive, and that there was much higher
reason for submitting to God, Hebrews 12:9,10;
(4.) and that however painful chastisement might be at present, yet it
would ultimately produce important benefits, Hebrews 12:11. By these
considerations he encourages them to bear their trials with patience,
and to assume new courage in their efforts to live a Christian life,
Hebrews 12:12,13.
IV. He exhorts them to perseverance and fidelity, by the fact that if
they should become remiss, and renounce their confidence in God, it
would be impossible to retrieve what was lost, Hebrews 12:14-17. In
illustrating this, he appeals to the case of Esau. For a trifling
consideration, when in distress, he parted with an invaluable
blessing. When it was gone it was impossible to recover it. No
consideration could induce a change, though he sought it earnestly
with tears. So it would be with Christians, if, under the power of
temptation, they should renounce their religion, and go back to their
former state.
V. He urges them to perseverance by the nature of the dispensation
under which they were, as compared with the one under which they had
formerly been--the Jewish, Hebrews 12:18-29. Under the former
everything was fitted to alarm and terrify the soul, Hebrews 12:18-29.
The new dispensation was of a different character. It was
adapted to encourage and to win the heart. The real Mount Zion --the
city of the living God--the New Jerusalem--the company of the
angels--the church of the firstborn--the Judge of all--the great
Mediator--to which they had come under the new dispensation, all these
were fitted to encourage the fainting heart, and to win the affections
Of the soul, Hebrews 12:22-24. Yet, in proportion to the sacredness
and tenderness of these considerations, and to the light and
privileges which they now enjoyed, would be their guilt if they should
renounce their religion--for under this dispensation, as under the
old, God was a consuming fire, Hebrews 12:25-29.
Verse 1. Wherefore. In view of what has been said in the previous
chapter.
Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses. The apostle represents those to whom he had referred in
the previous chapter as looking on to witness the efforts which
Christians make, and the manner in which they live. There is allusion
here, doubtless, to the ancient games. A great multitude of spectators
usually occupied the circular seats in the amphitheatre, from which
they could easily behold the combatants. See Barnes "1 Corinthians 9:24",
seq. In like manner the apostle represents Christians as encompassed
with the multitude of worthies to whom he had referred in the previous
chapter. It cannot be fairly inferred from this that he means to say
that all those ancient worthies were actually looking at the
conduct of Christians, and saw their conflicts. It is a figurative
representation, such as is common, and means that we ought to act as
if they were in sight, and cheered us on. How far the spirits of the
just who are departed from this world are permitted to behold what is
done on earth--if at all--is not revealed in the Scriptures. The
phrase "a cloud of witnesses," means many witnesses, or a
number so great that they seem to be a cloud. The comparison of a
multitude of persons to a cloud is common in the classic writers. See
Homer's Il. iv. 274, xxiii. 133; Statius, i. 340, and other instances
adduced in Wetstein, in loc. Comp. See Barnes "1 Thessalonians 4:17".
Let us lay aside every weight. The word rendered weight --\~ogkon\~--
means that which is crooked or hooked, and thence anything that is
attached or suspended by a hook--that is, by its whole weight, and hence
means weight. See Passow. It does not occur elsewhere in the
New Testament. The word is often used in the classic writers in the
sense of swelling, tumour, pride. Its usual meaning is that of
weight or burden; and there is allusion here, doubtless, to the
runners in the games, who were careful not to encumber themselves with
anything that was heavy. Hence their clothes were so made as not to
impede their running, and hence they were careful in their training
not to overburden themselves with food, and in every way to remove
what would be an impediment or hindrance. As applied to the racers, it
does not mean that they began to run with anything like a burden, and
then threw it away--as persons sometimes aid their jumping by taking a
stone in their hands to acquire increased momentum--but that they were
careful not to allow anything that would be a weight or an
encumbrance. As applied to Christians, it means that they should
remove all which would obstruct their progress in the Christian
course. Thus it is fair to apply it to whatever would be an impediment
in our efforts to win the crown of life. It is not the same thing in
all persons. In one it may be pride; in another, vanity; in another,
worldliness; in another, a violent and almost ungovernable temper; in
another, a corrupt imagination; in another, a heavy, leaden,
insensible heart; in another, some improper and unholy attachment.
Whatever it may be, we are exhorted to lay it aside; and this general
direction may be applied to anything which prevents our making the
highest possible attainment in the divine life. Some persons would
make much more progress if they would throw away many of their
personal ornaments; some if they would disencumber themselves of the
heavy weight of gold which they are endeavouring to carry with them.
So some very light objects, in themselves considered, become material
encumbrances. Even a feather or a ring--such may be the fondness for
these toys--may become such a weight that they will never make much
progress towards the prize.
And the sin which doth so easily beset us. The word which is here
rendered "easily beset" --\~euperistaton\~--euperistaton--does not
elsewhere occur in the New Testament. It properly means, "standing
well around;" and hence denotes that which is near, or at hand, or
readily occurring. So Chrysostom explains it. Passow defines it as
meaning, "easy to encircle." Tindal renders it, "the sin that hangeth
on us." Theodoret and others explain the word as if derived from
\~peristasiv\~ --peristasis--a word which sometimes means affliction,
peril--and hence regard it as denoting that which is full of
peril, or the sin which so easily subjects one to calamity. Bloom,
field supposes, in accordance with the opinion of Grotius, Crellius,
Kypke, Kuinoel, and others, that it means "the sin which especially
winds around us and hinders our course," with allusion to the long
Oriental garments. According to this, the meaning would be, that as a
runner would be careful not to encumber himself with a garment which
would be apt to wind around his legs in running, and hinder him, so it
should be with the Christian, who especially ought to lay aside
everything which resembles this that is, all sin which must impede his
course. The former of these interpretations however, is most commonly
adopted, and best agrees with the established sense of the word. It
will then mean that we are to lay aside every encumbrance,
particularly or especially--for so the word Kai," and," should be
rendered here--the sins to which we are most exposed. Such sins are
appropriately called "easily-besetting sins." They are those to which
we are particularly liable. They are such sins as the following:
(1.) Those to which we are particularly exposed by our natural
temperament or disposition. In some this is pride, in others
indolence, or gaiety, or levity, or avarice, or ambition, or
sensuality.
(2.) Those in which we freely indulged before we became Christians.
They will be likely to return with power, and we are far more likely,
from the laws of association, to fall into them than into any other.
Thus a man who has been intemperate is in special danger from that
quarter; a man who has been an infidel is in special danger of
scepticism; one who has been avaricious, proud, gay, or ambitious, is
in special danger, even after conversion, of again committing these
sins.
(3.) Sins to which we are exposed by our profession, by our relations
to others, or by our situation in life. They whose condition will
entitle them to associate with what are regarded as the more elevated
classes of society, are in special danger of indulging in the methods
of living and of amusement that are common among them; they who are
prospered in the world are in danger of losing the simplicity and
spirituality of their religion; they who hold a civil office are in
danger of becoming mere politicians, and of losing the very form and
substance of piety.
(4.) Sins to which we are exposed from some peculiar weakness in our
character. On some points we may be in no danger. We may be
constitutionally so firm as not to be especially liable to certain
forms of sin. But; every man has one or more weak points, in his
character; and it is there that he is particularly exposed. A bow may
be in the main very strong. All along its length there may be no
danger of its giving way--save at one place where it has been made too
thin, or where the material was defective--and if it ever breaks, it
will of course be at that point. That is the point, therefore,
which needs to be guarded and strengthened. So in reference to
character. There is always some weak point which needs especially to
be guarded, and our principal danger is there. Self-knowledge, so
necessary in leading a holy life, consists much in searching out those
weak points of character where we are most exposed; and our progress
in the Christian course will be determined much by the fidelity with
which we guard and strengthen them.
And let us run with patience the race that is set before us. The
word rendered "patience" rather means in this place
perseverance. We are to run the race without allowing ourselves to
be hindered by any obstructions, and without giving out or fainting in
the way. Encouraged by the example of the multitudes who have run the
same race before us, and who are now looking out upon us from heaven
where they dwell, we are to persevere as they did to the end.
{1} "lay aside" 2 Corinthians 7:1
Verse 2. Looking unto Jesus, As a farther inducement to do this the
apostle exhorts us to look to the Saviour. We are to look to his holy
life; to his patience and perseverance in trials; to what he endured
in order to obtain the crown, and to his final success and triumph.
The author and finisher of our faith. The word "our" is not in
the original here, and obscures the sense. The meaning is, he is the
first and the last as an example of faith, or of confidence in
God--occupying in this, as in all other things, the preeminence, and
being the most complete model that can be placed before us. The
apostle had not enumerated him among those who had been distinguished
for their faith, but he now refers to him as above them all; as a case
that deserved to stand by itself. It is probable that there is a
continuance here of the allusion to the Grecian games which the
apostle had commenced in the previous verse. The word "author"
\~archgon\~-- (marg, beginner)-- means, properly, the source, or
cause of anything; or one who makes a beginning. It is rendered
in Acts 3:16, Acts 5:31, prince; in Hebrews 2:10,
captain; and in the place before us, author. It does not
elsewhere occur in the New Testament. The phrase, "the beginner of
faith," or the leader on of faith, would express the idea. He is at
the head of all those who have furnished an example of confidence in
God, for he was himself the most illustrious instance of it. The
expression, then, does not mean properly that he produces faith in us,
or that we believe because he causes us to believe --whatever may be
the truth about that--but that he stands at the head as the most
eminent example that can be referred to on the subject of faith. We
are exhorted to look to him, as if at the Grecian games there was one
who stood before the racer who had previously carried away every palm
of victory; who had always been triumphant, and with whom there was no
one who could be compared. The word finisher--
\~teleiwthn\~--corresponds in meaning with the word author. It means
that he is the completer as well as the beginner; the last
as well as the first. As there has been no one hitherto who could
be compared with him, so there will be no one hereafter. Comp.
Revelation 1:8,11 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the
first and the last." The word does not mean that he was the "finisher"
of faith, in the sense that he makes our faith complete, or perfects
it--whatever may be true about that--but that he occupies this
elevated position of being beyond comparison above all others. Alike
in the commencement and the close, in the beginning of faith and in
its ending, he stands pre-eminent. To this illustrious model we should
look--as a racer would on one who had been always so successful that
he surpassed all competitors and rivals. If this be the meaning, then
it is not properly explained, as it is commonly, (see Bloomfield and
Stuart, in loc.,) by saying that the word here is synonymous with
rewarder, and refers to the \~brabeuthv\~--brabeutes-or
the distributor of the prize. Comp. See Barnes "Colossians 3:15".
There is no instance where the word is used in this sense in the
New Testament, (comp. Passow,) nor would such an interpretation
present so beautiful and appropriate a thought as the one suggested
above.
Who for the joy that was set before him. That is, who in view of
all the honour which he would have at the right hand of God, and the
happiness which he would experience from the consciousness that he had
redeemed a world, was willing to bear the sorrows connected with the
atonement.
Endured the cross. Endured patiently the ignominy and pain
connected with the suffering of death on the cross.
Despising the shame. Disregarding the ignominy of such a mode of
death. It is difficult for us now to realize the force of the
expression, "enduring the shame of the cross," as it was understood in
the time of the Saviour and the apostles. The views of the world have
changed, and it is now difficult to divest the "cross" of the
associations of honour and glory which the word suggests, so as to
appreciate the ideas which encompassed it then. There is a degree of
dishonour which we attach to the guillotine, but the ignominy of a
death on the cross was greater than that; there is disgrace attached
to the block, but the ignominy of the cross was greater than that;
there is a much deeper infamy attached to the gallows, but the
ignominy of the cross was greater than that. And that word--the
cross--which when now proclaimed in the ears of the refined, the
intelligent, and even the gay, excites an idea of honour in the ears
of the people of Athens, of Corinth, and of Rome, excited deeper
disgust than the word gallows does with us, for it was regarded as
the appropriate punishment of the most infamous of mankind. We can now
scarcely appreciate these feelings, and of course the declaration that
Jesus "endured the cross, despising the shame," does not make the
impression on our minds in regard to the nature of his sufferings, and
the value of his example, which it should do. When we now think of the
"cross," it is not of the multitude of slaves, and robbers, and
thieves, and rebels, who have died on it, but of the one great victim
whose death has ennobled even this instrument of torture, and
encircled it with a halo of glory. We have been accustomed to read of
it as an imperial standard in war in the days of Constantine, and as
the banner under which armies have marched to conquest; it is
intermingled with the sweetest poetry; it is a sacred thing in the
most magnificent cathedrals; it adorns the altar, and is even an
object of adoration; it is in the most elegant engravings; it is worn
by beauty and piety as an ornament near the heart; it is associated
with all that is pure in love, great in self-sacrifice, and holy in
religion. To see the true force of the expression here, therefore, it
is necessary to divest ourselves of these ideas of glory which
encircle the "cross," and to place ourselves in the times and lands in
which, when the most infamous of mankind were stretched upon it, it
was regarded for such men as an appropriate mode of punishment. That
infamy Jesus was willing to bear; and the strength of his confidence
in God, his love for man, and the depth of his humiliation, was shown
in the readiness and firmness with which he went forward to such a
death.
And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Exalted to
the highest place of dignity and honour in the universe.
See Barnes "Mark 6:19"; See Barnes "Ephesians 1:20", seq. The sentiment
here is, "Imitate the example of the great Author of our religion. He,
in view of the honour and joy before him, endured the most severe
sufferings to which the human frame can be subjected, and the form of
death which is regarded as the most shameful. So, amidst all the
severe trials to which you are exposed on account of religion,
patiently endure all--for the glorious rewards, the happiness and the
triumph of heaven, are before you."
{1} "author" "beginner"
{a} "joy" Luke 24:26
Verse 3. For consider him. Attentively reflect on his example, that
you may be able to bear your trials in a proper manner.
That endured such contradiction of sinners. Such opposition. The
reference is to the Jews of the time of the Saviour, who opposed his
plans, perverted his sayings, and ridiculed his claims. Yet,
regardless of their opposition, he persevered in the course which he
had marked out, and went patiently forward in the execution of his
plans. The idea is, that we are to pursue the path of duty, and follow
the dictates of conscience, let the world say what they will about it.
In doing this, we cannot find a better example than the Saviour. No
opposition of sinners ever turned him from the way which he regarded
as right; no ridicule ever caused him to abandon any of his plans; no
argument, or expression of scorn, ever caused him for a moment to
deviate from his course.
Lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. The meaning is, that
there is great danger of being disheartened and wearied out by the
opposition which you meet with. But with the bright example of one who
was never disheartened, and who never became weary in doing the will
of God, you may persevere. The best means of leading a faithful
Christian life, amidst the opposition which we may encounter, is to
keep the eye steadily fixed on the Saviour.
{*} "of sinners" "From sinners"
Verse 4. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against
sin. The general sense of this passage is, "You have not yet been
called, in your Christian struggles, to the highest kind of sufferings
and sacrifices. Great as your trials may seem to have been, yet your
faith has not yet been put to the severest test. And since this is so,
you ought not to yield in the conflict with evil, but manfully resist
it." In the language here used, there is undoubtedly a continuance
of the allusion to the agonistic games--the strugglings and
wrestlings for mastery there. In those games, the boxers were
accustomed to arm themselves for the fight with the caestus. This, at
first, consisted of strong leathern thongs wound around the hands, and
extending only to the wrist, to give greater solidity to the fist.
Afterwards these were made to extend to the elbow, and then to the
shoulder; and, finally, they sowed pieces of lead or iron in them,
that they might strike a heavier and more destructive blow. The
consequence was, that those who were engaged in the fight were often
covered with blood, and that resistance "unto blood" showed a
determined courage, and a purpose not to yield. But though the
language here may be taken from this custom, the fact to which
the apostle alludes, it seems to me, is the struggling of the Saviour
in the garden of Gethsemane, when his conflict was so severe, that
great drops of blood fell down to the ground. See Barnes "Matthew 26:42",
seq. It is, indeed, commonly understood to mean that they
had not yet been called to shed their blood as martyrs in the cause of
religion. See Stuart, Bloomfield, Doddridge, Clarke, Whitby, Kuinoel,
etc. Indeed, I find in none of the commentators what seems to me to be
the true sense of this passage, and what gives an exquisite beauty to
it, the allusion to the sufferings of the Saviour in the garden. The
reasons which lead me to believe that there is such an allusion are
briefly these.
(1.) The connexion. The apostle is appealing to the example of the
Saviour, and urging Christians to persevere amidst their trials by
looking to him. Nothing would be more natural, in this connexion,
than to refer to that dark night when, in the severest conflict with
temptation which he ever encountered, he so signally showed his own
firmness of purpose, and the effects of resistance on his own bleeding
body, and his signal victory, in the garden of Gethsemane.
(2.) The expression, "striving against sin," seems to demand the same
interpretation. On the common interpretation, the allusion would be
merely to their resisting persecution; but here the allusion is to
some struggle in their minds against committing sin. The apostle
exhorts them to strive manfully and perseveringly against sin in every
form, and especially against the sin of apostasy. To encourage them,
he refers them to the highest instance on record where there was a
"striving against sin"--the struggle of the Redeemer in the garden
with the great enemy, who there made his most violent assault, and
where the resistance of the Redeemer was so great as to force the
blood through his pores. What was the exact form of the temptation
there, we are not informed. It may have been to induce him to
abandon his work even then, and to yield, in view of the severe
sufferings of his approaching death on the cross. If there ever was a
point where temptation would be powerful, it would be there. When a
man is about to be put to death, how strong is the inducement to
abandon his purpose, his plans, or his principles, if he may save his
life! How many, of feeble virtue, have yielded just there! If to this
consideration we add the thought that the Redeemer was engaged in a
work never before undertaken; that he designed to make an atonement
never before made; that he was about to endure sorrows never before
endured; and that on the decision of that moment depended the
ascendency of sin or holiness on the earth, the triumph or the fall of
Satan's kingdom, the success or the defeat of all the plans of the
great adversary of God and man; and that, on such an occasion as this,
the tempter would use all his power to crush the lonely and
unprotected Man of sorrows in the garden of Gethsemane, it is easy to
imagine what may have been the terror of that fearful conflict, and
what virtue it would require in him to resist the concentrated energy
of Satan's might, to induce him even then to abandon his work. The
apostle says of those to whom he wrote, that they had not yet
reached that point. Comp. See Barnes "Hebrews 5:7".
(3.) This view furnishes a proper climax to the argument of the
apostle for perseverance. It presents the Redeemer before the mind as
the great Example; directs the mind to him in various scenes of his
life--as looking to the joy before him--disregarding the ignominy of
his sufferings-- enduring the opposition of sinners--and then in the
garden as engaged in a conflict with his great foe, and so resisting
sin that, rather than yield, he endured that fearful mental struggle
which was attended with such remarkable consequences. This is the
highest consideration which could be presented to the mind of a
believer to keep him from yielding in the conflict with evil; and if
we could keep him in the eye, resisting even unto blood, rather than
yield in the least degree, it would do more than all other things to
restrain us from sin. How different his case from ours? How readily we
yield to sin! We offer a faint and feeble resistance, and then
surrender. We think it will be unknown; or that others do it; or that
we may repent of it; or that we have no power to resist it; or that it
is of little consequence, and our resolution gives way. Not so the
Redeemer. Rather than yield in any form to sin, he measured strength
with the great adversary when alone with him in the darkness of the
night, and gloriously triumphed! And so would we always triumph if we
had the same settled purpose to resist sin in every form, even unto
blood.
Verse 5. And ye have forgotten the exhortation. This exhortation
is found in Proverbs 3:11,12. The object of the apostle in introducing
it here is, to show that afflictions were designed, on the part of
God, to produce some happy effects in the lives of his people, and
that they ought, therefore, to bear them patiently. In the previous
verses, he directs them to the example of the Saviour. In this verse
and the following, for the same object, he directs their attention to
the design of trials, showing that they are necessary to our welfare,
and that they are, in fact, proof of the paternal care of God. This
verse might be rendered as a question, "And have ye forgotten?" etc.
This mode of rendering it will agree somewhat better with the design
of the apostle.
Which speaketh unto you. Which may be regarded as addressed to
you; or which invokes a principle as applicable to you as to others.
He does not mean that when Solomon used the words he had reference to
them particularly, but that he Used them with reference to the
children of God, and they might therefore be applied to them. In this
way we may regard the language of the Scriptures as addressed
to us.
As unto children. As if he were addressing children. The language
is such as a father uses.
My son. It is possible that in these words Solomon may have
intended to address a son literally, giving him paternal counsel; or
he may have spoken as the head of the Jewish people, designing to
address all the pious, to whom he sustained, as it were, the relation
of a father. Or it is possible, also, that it may be regarded as the
language of God himself addressing his children. Whichever supposition
is adopted, the sense is substantially the same.
Despise not thou the chastening of the Lord. Literally, "Do not
regard it as a small matter, or as a trivial thing"--\~oligwrei\~. The
Greek word here used does not elsewhere occur in the New Testament.
The word here rendered chastening \~paideia\~--and also in
Hebrews 12:6-8, and Hebrews 12:9, "corrected"-- \~paideutav\~--does not
refer to affliction in general, but that kind of affliction which is
designed to correct us for our faults, or which is of the nature of
discipline. The verb properly relates to the training up of a
child--including instruction, counsel, discipline, and correction,
(see this use of the verb in Acts 7:22; 2 Timothy 2:25; Titus 2:12,) and then
especially discipline, or correction for faults --to correct,
chastise, chasten, 1 Corinthians 11:32; 2 Corinthians 6:9; Revelation 3:19. This is the
meaning here; and the idea is, not that God will afflict his
people in general, but that if they wander away he will correct
them for their faults. He will bring calamity upon them as a
punishment for their offences, and in order to bring them back to
himself, he will not suffer them to wander away unrebuked and
unchecked, but will mercifully reclaim them, though by great
sufferings. Afflictions have many objects, or produce many happy
effects. That referred to here is, that they are means of reclaiming
the wandering and erring children of God, and are proofs of his
paternal care and love. Comp. 2 Samuel 7:14; 12:13,14; Psalms 89:31-34;
Proverbs 3:11,12. Afflictions, which are always sent by God, should not be
regarded as small matters, for these reasons:
(1.) The fact that they are sent by God. Whatever he does is of
importance, and is worthy the profound attention of men.
(2.) They are sent for some important purpose, and they should be
regarded, therefore, with attentive concern. Men despise them when
(1.) they treat them with affected or real unconcern;
(2.) when they fail to receive them as Divine admonitions, and regard
them as without any intelligent design; and
(3.) when they receive them with expressions of contempt, and
speak of them and of the government of God with scorn. It should be a
matter of deep concern, when we are afflicted in any manner, not to
treat the matter lightly, but to derive from our trials all the
lessons which they are adapted to produce on the mind.
Nor faint, etc. Bear up patiently under them. This is the second
duty. We are first to study their character and design; and, secondly,
to bear up under them, however severe they may be, and however long
they may be continued. "Avoid the extremes of proud insensibility and
entire dejection." Doddridge.
{a} "exhortation" Proverbs 3:11,12
{*} "of him" "by him"
Verse 6. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. This is also a
quotation from Prov. 3. It means that it is a universal rule that God
sends trials on those whom he truly loves. It does not, of course,
mean that he sends chastisement which is not deserved; or that he
sends it for the mere purpose of inflicting pain. That cannot
be. But it means that, by his chastisements, he shows that he has a
paternal care for us. He does not treat us with neglect and unconcern,
as a father often does his illegitimate child. The very fact that he
corrects us shows that he has towards us a father's feelings, and
exercises towards us a paternal care. If he did not, he would let us
go on without any attention, and leave us to pursue a course of sin
that would involve us in ruin. To restrain and govern a child; to
correct him when he errs, shows that there is a parental solicitude
for him, and that he is not an outcast. And as there is in the life of
every child of God something that deserves correction, it happens that
it is universally true that "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth."
And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Whom he receives or
acknowledges as his child. This is not quoted literally from the Hebrew,
but from the Septuagint. The Hebrew is, "even as a father the son in
whom he delighteth." The general sense of the passage is retained, as is
often the case in the quotations from the Old Testament. The meaning is
the same as in the former part of the verse, that every one who becomes
a child of God is treated by him with that watchful care which shows
that he sustains towards him the paternal relation.
{b} "whom" Revelation 3:19
Verse 7. If ye endure chastening. That is, if you undergo, or are
called to experience correction. It does not mean here, "if you endure
it patiently, or if you bear up under it," but if you are chastised or
corrected by God." The affirmation does not relate to the manner of
bearing it, but to the fact that we are disciplined.
God dealeth with you as with sons. He does not cast you off, and
regard you as if you were in no way related to him.
For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? That is, he
evinces towards his son the care which shows that he sustains the
relation of a father. If he deserves correction, he corrects him; and
he aims, by all proper means, to exhibit the appropriate care and
character of a father. And as we receive such attention from an
earthly parent, we ought to expect to receive similar notice from our
Father in heaven.
{c} "son" Proverbs 13:24
Verse 8. But if ye be without chastisement. If you never meet with
anything that is adapted to correct your faults, to subdue your
temper, to chide your wanderings, it would prove that you were in the
condition of illegitimate children--cast off and disregarded by their
father.
Whereof all are partakers. All who are the true children of God.
Then are ye bastards, and not sons. The reference here is to the
neglect with which such children are treated, and to the general want
of care and discipline over them:--
"Lost in the world's wide
range; enjoined no aim, Prescribed no duty. and assigned no name."
Savage.
In the English law, a bastard is termed nullius
filiua,. Illegitimate children are usually abandoned by their father.
The care of them is left to the mother, and the father endeavours to
avoid all responsibility, and usually to be concealed and unknown. His
own child he does not wish to recognize; he neither provides for him,
nor instructs him, nor governs him, nor disciplines him. A father
who is worthy of the name, will do all these things. So Paul says it
is with Christians. God has not cast them off. In every way he evinces
towards them the character of a father. And if it should be that they
passed along through life without any occurrence that would indicate
the paternal care and attention designed to correct their faults, it
would show that they never had been his children, but were cast off
and wholly disregarded. This is a beautiful argument; and we should
receive every affliction as full proof that we are not forgotten by
the High and Holy One who condescends to sustain the character, and to
evince towards us, in our wanderings, the watchful care of a Father.
Verse 9. Furthermore. As an additional consideration to induce us
to receive chastisement with submission. The argument in this verse is
derived from the difference in the spirit and design with which we are
corrected by God and by an earthly parent. In God everything is
without any intermingling of passion or any improper feeling. In an
earthly parent there is often much that is the result of hasty
emotion, of an irascible temper, perhaps of the mere love of power.
There is much that is inflicted without due reflection, and that
produces only pain in the bosom of the parent himself in the
recollection. Yet, with all this imperfection of parental government,
we were patient and unmurmuring. How much more should we submit to
one whose paternal discipline is caused by no excited feeling; by no
love of power; by no want of reflection, and which never furnishes
occasion for regret!
Fathers of our flesh. Earthly fathers; those from whom we have
derived our being here. They are contrasted here with God who is
called "the Father of spirits," not because the father does not
sustain the paternal relation to the soul as well as the body, but to
designate the nature of the dominion over us. The dominion of God is
that which pertains to a spiritual kingdom, having more direct
reference to the discipline of the soul, and being designed to prepare
us for the spiritual world; that of the earthly father pertains
primarily to our condition here, and the discipline is designed to
subdue our unruly passions, to teach us to restrain our appetites, to
inculcate maxims of health and prosperity, and to prevent those things
which would impede our happiness in the present world. See, however,
many curious instances of the manner in which these phrases were used
by the Jewish writers, collected by Wetstein.
We gave them reverence. We submitted to them; honoured them; loved
them. Painful at the time as correction may have been, yet when we
have fully understood the design of it, we have loved them the more.
The effect of such discipline, properly administered, is to produce
real veneration for a parent--for he who, in a timely and appropriate
manner restrains his child is the only one who will secure ultimate
reverence and respect.
Shall we not much rather be in subjection. Since God's government
is so much more perfect; since he has so much better right to control
us; and since his administration is free from all the defects which
attend parental discipline on earth, there is a much higher reason for
bowing with submission and reverence to him. The Father of spirits.
Thus in Numbers 16:22, God is called the God of the spirits of all
flesh." So also Numbers 27:16; comp. Job 33:4. The idea seems to
be, that as the soul is the most important part of man, this name is
given to God by way of eminence, or he is eminently and supremely our
Father. It was his to create the immortal part, and to that spirit
which is never to die he sustains the relation of Father. The earthly
father is parent to the man as mortal; God is the Father of man as
immortal. God is himself a Spirit. Angels and human souls, therefore,
may be represented as peculiarly his offspring. It is the highest
designation which could be given to God to say that he is at the head
of the universe of mind; not implying that he is not also at the head
of the material universe, but designing to bring into view this high
characteristic of the Almighty, that all created minds throughout the
universe sustain to him the relation of children. To this Great Being
we should, therefore, more cheerfully subject ourselves than to an
earthly parent.
And live. Meaning that his fatherly chastisements are adapted to
secure our spiritual life. He corrects us that he may promote our final
happiness, and his inflictions are the means of saving us from eternal
death.
{a} "Father of Spirits" Numbers 16:22; 27:16
Verse 10. For they verily for a few days. That is, with reference
to a few days, (\~prov\~;) or it was a chastisement that had
reference mainly to this short life. The apostle seems to bring in
this circumstance to contrast the dealings of earthly parents with
those of God. One of the circumstances is, that the corrections of
earthly parents had a muck less important object than those of God.
They related to this life--a life so brief that it may be said to
continue but a "few days." Yet, in order to secure the benefit to be
derived for so short a period from fatherly correction, we submitted
without murmuring. Much more cheerfully ought we to submit to that
discipline from the hand of our heavenly Father which is designed to
extend its benefits through eternity. This seems to me to afford a
better sense than that adopted by Professor Stuart and others, that it
means, "during our childhood or minority;" or than that proposed by
Doddridge, that it refers both to our earthly parents and to our
heavenly Father.
After their own pleasure. Marg. "as seemed good, or meet, to
them." Meaning that it was sometimes done arbitrarily, or from
caprice, or under the influence of passion. This is an additional
reason why we should submit to God, We submitted to our earthly
parents, though their correction was sometimes passionate, and was
designed to gratify their own pleasure, rather than to promote our
good. There is much of this kind of punishment in families; but there
is none of it under the administration of God.
But he for our profit. Never from passion, from caprice, from the
love of power or superiority, but always for our good. The exact
benefit which he designs to produce we may not be able always to
understand; but we may be assured that no other cause influences him
than a desire to promote our real welfare; and as he can never be
mistaken in regard to the proper means to secure that, we may be
assured that our trials are always adapted to that end.
That we might be partakers of his holiness. Become so holy that it
may be said that we are partakers of the very holiness of God. Comp.
2 Peter 1:4. This is the elevated object at which God aims by our
trials. It is not that he delights to produce pain; not that he envies
us, and would rob us of our little comforts; not that he needs what We
prize to increase his own enjoyment, and therefore rudely takes it
away; and not that he acts from caprice--now conferring a blessing,
and then withdrawing it without any reason: it is, that he may make us
more pure and holy, and thus promote our own best interest. To be holy
as God is holy; to be so holy that it may be said that we "are
partakers of his holiness," is a richer blessing than health, and
property, and friends, without it; and when by the exchange of the one
we acquire the other, we have secured infinitely more than we have
lost. To obtain the greater good, we should be willing to part with
the less; to secure the everlasting friendship and favour of God, we
should be willing, if necessary, to surrender the last farthing of our
property; the last friend that is left us; the last feeble and
fluttering pulsation of life in our veins.
{1} "after their own pleasure" "as seemed good or meet to them"
Verse 11. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous,
but grievous. It does not impart pleasure, nor is this its
design. All chastisement is intended to produce pain, and the
Christian is as sensitive to pain as others. His religion does not
blunt his sensibilities, and make him a stoic, but it rather increases
his susceptibility to suffering. The Lord Jesus, probably, felt pain,
reproach, and contempt, more keenly than any other human being ever
did; and the Christian feels the loss of a child, or bodily suffering,
as keenly as any one. But while religion does not render him
insensible to suffering, it does two things--
(1.) it enables him to bear the pain without murmuring, and
(2.) it turns the affliction into a blessing on his soul.
Nevertheless afterward. In future life. The effect is seen in a
pure life, and in a more entire devotedness to God. We are not to look
for the proper fruits of affliction while we are suffering, but
afterwards.
It yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness. It is a tree
that bears good fruit and we do not expect the fruit to form and ripen
at once. It may be long maturing, but it will be rich and mellow when
it is ripe. It frequently requires a long time before all the results
of affliction appear--as it requires months to form and ripen fruit.
Like fruit it may appear at first sour, crabbed, and unpalatable; but
it will be at last like the ruddy peach or the golden orange. When
those fruits are ripened they are
(1.) fruits "of righteousness." They make us more holy, more dead
to sin and the world, and more alive to God. And they are
(2.) "peaceable." They produce peace, calmness, submission in the
soul. They make the heart more tranquil in its confidence in God, and
more disposed to promote the religion of peace. The apostle speaks of
this as if it were a universal truth in regard to Christians who
are afflicted. And it is so, There is no Christian who is not
ultimately benefited by trials, and who is not able at some period
subsequently to say, "It was good for me that I was afflicted. Before
I was afflicted I went astray; but now have I kept thy word." When a
Christian comes to die, he does not feel that he has had one trial too
many, or one which he did not deserve. He can then look back and see
the effect of some early trial, so severe that he once thought he
could hardly endure it, spreading a hallowed influence over his future
years, and scattering its golden fruit all along the pathway of life.
I have never known a Christian who was not benefited by afflictions; I
have seen none who was not able to say that his trials produced some
happy effect on his religious character, and on his real happiness in
life. If this be so, then no matter how severe our trials, we should
submit to them without a murmur. The more severe they are, the more we
shall yet be blessed--on earth or in heaven.
{b} "fruit" Isaiah 32:17; James 3:18
Verse 12. Wherefore. In view of the facts which have been now
stated --that afflictions are sent from God, and are evidences of his
paternal watchfulness.
Lift up the hands which hang down. As if from weariness and
exhaustion. Renew your courage; make a new effort to bear them. The
hands fall by the side when we are exhausted with toil, or worn down
by disease. See Barnes "Isaiah 35:3", from which place this
exhortation is taken.
And the feeble knees. The knees also become enfeebled by long
effort, and tremble as if their strength were gone. Courage and
resolution may do much, however, to make them firm, and it is to this
that the apostle exhorts those to whom he wrote. They were to make
every effort to bear up under their trials. The hope of victory will
do much to strengthen one almost exhausted in battle; the desire to
reach home invigorates the frame of the weary traveller. So it is
with the Christian. In persecution and sickness and bereavement, he
may be ready to sink under his burdens. The hands fall, and the knees
tremble, and the heart sinks within us. But confidence in God, and the
hope of heaven, and the assurance that all this is for our good, will
reinvigorate the enfeebled frame, and enable us to bear what we once
supposed would crush us to the dust. A courageous mind braces a feeble
body, and hope makes it fresh for new conflicts.
{a} "hands" Isaiah 35:3
Verse 13. And make straight paths for your feet. Marg., even. The
word here used means, properly, straight, in the sense of
upright, erect, Acts 14:10; but it is here used in the sense of
straight horizontally, that is, level, plain, smooth. The meaning is,
that they were to remove all obstacles out of the way, so that they need
not stumble and fall. There is probably an allusion here to
Proverbs 4:25-27, "Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids
look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy
ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left;
remove thy foot from evil." The idea is, that by every proper
means they were to make the way to heaven as plain and easy as
possible. They were to allow no obstructions in the path over
which the lame and feeble might fall.
Lest that which is lame be turned out of the way. A lame man needs a
smooth path to walk in. The idea is here, that everything which would
prevent those in the church who were in any danger of falling--the
feeble, the unestablished, the weak--from walking in the path to heaven,
or which might be an occasion to, them of falling, should be removed.
Or it may mean, that in a road that was not level, those who were
lame would be in danger of spraining, distorting, or wrenching a
lame limb; and the counsel is, that whatever would have a tendency to
this should be removed. Divested of the figure, the passage means, that
everything should be removed which would hinder any one from walking in
the path to life.
But let it rather be healed. As in the case of lameness, pains should
be taken to heal it rather than to suffer it to be increased by careless
exposure to a new sprain or fracture, so it should be in our religious
and moral character. Whatever is defective we should endeavour to
restore to Soundness, rather than to suffer the defect to be increased.
Whatever is feeble in our faith or hope; whatever evil tendency
there is in our hearts, we should endeavour to strengthen and
amend, lest it should become worse, and we should entirely fall.
{1} "straight" "even"
{b} "paths" Proverbs 4:26,27
{c} "Let it" Galatians 6:1
Verse 14. Follow peace with all men. Do not give indulgence to those
passions which lead to litigations, strifes, wars.
See Barnes "Romans 14:19". The connexion here requires us to understand
this mainly of persecutors. The apostle is referring to the trials which
those whom he addressed were experiencing. Those trials seem
to have arisen mainly from persecution, and he exhorts them to
manifest a spirit of kindness towards all, even though they were
engaged in persecuting them. This is the temper of the gospel.
We are to make war with sin, but not with men; with bad passions
and corrupt desires, but not with our fellow-worms.
And holiness. Instead of yielding to contending passions and to a
spirit of war; instead of seeking revenge on your persecutors and foes,
make it rather your aim to be holy, Let that be the object of your
pursuit; the great purpose of your life. Men might in such cases
counsel them to seek revenge; the spirit of religion would counsel
them to strive to be holy. In such times they were in great danger
of giving indulgence to evil passions, and hence the special propriety
of the exhortation to endeavour to be holy.
Without which no man shall see the Lord. That is, shall see him in
peace; or shall so see him as to dwell with him. All will see him in the
day of judgment; but to "see" one is often used in the sense of being
with one, dwelling with one, enjoying one. See Barnes "Matthew 5:8". The
principle here stated is one which is never departed from, Revelation 21:27;
Isaiah 35:8; 52:1; 60:21; Joel 3:17; Matthew 13:41; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10. No one has
ever been admitted to heaven in his sins; nor is it desirable that any
one ever should be. Desirable as it is that lost men should be happy, yet
it is benevolence which excludes the profane, the impious, and the
unbelieving from heaven--just as it is benevolence to a family to
exclude profligates and seducers, and as it is benevolence to a community
to confine thieves and robbers in prison. This great principle in the
Divine administration will always be adhered to; and hence they who are
expecting to be saved without holiness or religion are destined to
certain disappointment. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God will not
admit one unrepenting and unpardoned sinner to heaven. It was the
importance and the certainty of this principle which made the apostle
insist on it here with so much earnestness. Amidst all their trials, when
exposed to persecution, and when everything might tempt them to the
indulgence of feelings which were the opposite of holiness, they
were to make it their great object to be like God. For this they
were to seek, to strive, to labour, to pray. This with us, in all
our trials, should also be the great aim of life. How deeply affecting,
then, is the inquiry, whether we have that holiness which is
indispensable to salvation! Let us not deceive ourselves. We may have
many things else--many things which are in themselves desirable, but
without this one thing we shall never see the Lord in peace. We may have
wealth, genius, learning, beauty, accomplishments, houses, lands, books,
friends--but without religion they will be all in vain. Never can we see
God in peace without a holy heart; never call we be admitted into heaven
without that religion which will identify us with the angels around the
throne!
{d} "peace" Psalms 34:14
{e} "without which" Matthew 5:8; Ephesians 5:5
Verse 15. Looking diligently. This phrase implies close attention. It
is implied that there are reasons why we should take special care.
Those reasons are found in the propensities of our hearts to evil;
in the temptations of the world; in the allurements to apostasy
presented by the great adversary of our souls.
Lest any man fail. As every man is in danger, it is his personal
duty to see to it that his salvation be secure.
Fail of the grace of God. Marg. fall from. The Greek is, "lest
any one be wanting or lacking"--\~usterwn\~. There is no intimation in the
words used here that they already had grace, and might fall
way--whatever might be true about that--but that there was danger
that they might be found at last to be deficient in that religion which
was necessary to save them. Whether this was to be by losing the
religion which they now had, or by the fact that they never had
any--however near they may have come to it--the apostle does not here
intimate, and this passage should not be used in the discussion of the
question about falling from grace. It is a proper exhortation to be
addressed to any man in the church, or out of it, to inquire
diligently whether there is not reason to apprehend that when he comes
to appear before God he will be found to be wholly destitute of
religion.
Lest any root of bitterness springing up. Any bitter root. There is,
doubtless, an allusion here to Deuteronomy 29:18: "Lest there should be among
you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this
day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations;
lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood."
The allusion there is to those who were idolaters, and who instead of
bearing the fruits of righteousness, and promoting the piety and
happiness of the nation, would bear the fruits of idolatry, and spread
abroad irreligion and sin. The allusion, in both cases, is to a bitter
plant springing up among those that were cultivated for ornament or use,
or to a tree bearing bitter and poisonous fruit, among those that
produced good fruit. The reference of the apostle is to some person who
should produce a similar effect in the church--to one who should
inculcate false doctrines; or who should apostatize; or who should lead
an unholy life, and thus be the means of corrupting and destroying
others. They were to be at especial pains that no such person should
start up from among themselves, or be tolerated by them.
Trouble you. By his doctrines and example.
And thereby many be defiled. Led away from the faith, and corrupted.
One wicked man, and especially one hypocrite in the church, may be the
means of destroying many others.
{f} "diligently" 2 Peter 1:10
{2} "fail" "fall from"
{g} "root" Deuteronomy 29:18
Verse 16. Lest there be any fornicator. The sin here referred to is
one of those which would spread corruption in the church, and against
which they ought to be especially on their guard. Allusion is made to
Esau as an example, who, himself a corrupt and profane man, for a trifle
threw away the highest honour which as a son he could have. Many have
regarded the word here used as referring to idolatry, or defection from
the true religion to a false one--as the word is often used in the Old
Testament--but it is more natural to understand it literally. The crime
here mentioned was one which abounded everywhere in ancient times, as it
does now, and it was important to guard the church against it.
See Barnes "Acts 15:20"; See Barnes "1 Corinthians 6:18".
Or profane person. The word profane here refers to one who, by
word or conduct, treats religion with contempt, or has no reverence for
that which is sacred. This may be shown by words; by the manner; by a
sneer; by neglect of religion; or by openly renouncing the privileges
which might be connected with our salvation. The allusion here is to one
who should openly cast off all the hopes of religion for indulgence in
temporary pleasure, as Esau gave up his birthright for a trifling
gratification. In a similar manner the young, for temporary
gratification, neglect or despise all the privileges and hopes resulting
from their being born in the bosom of the church; from being baptized and
consecrated to God; and from being trained up in the lap of piety.
As Esau. It is clearly implied here that Esau sustained the character
of a fornicator and a profane person, The former appellation is probably
given to him to denote his licentiousness, shown by his marrying many
wives, and particularly foreigners, or the daughters of Canaan. See
Genesis 36:2; comp. Genesis 26:34,35. The Jewish writers abundantly
declare that that was his character. See Wetstein, in loc. In proof
that the latter appellation--that of a profane person--belonged to him,
see Genesis 25:29-34. It is true that it is rather by inference, than
by direct assertion, that it is known that he sustained this character.
The birthright, in his circumstances, was a high honour. The promise
respecting the inheritance of the land of Canaan, the coming of the
Messiah, and the preservation of the true religion, had been given to
Abraham and Isaac, and was to be transmitted by them. As the eldest son,
all the honour connected with this, and which is now associated with the
name Jacob, would have properly appertained to Esau. But he
undervalued it. He lived a licentious life. He followed his corrupt
propensities, and gave the reins to indulgence. In a time of temporary
distress, also, he showed how little he really valued all this by
bartering it away for a single meal of victuals. Rather than bear the
evils of hunger for a short period, and evidently in a manner implying a
great undervaluing of the honour which he held as the firstborn son in
a pious line, he agreed to surrender all the privileges connected
with his birth. It was this which made the appellation appropriate
to him; and this will make the appellation appropriate in any similar
instance.
Who for one morsel of meat. The word meat here is used, as it is
commonly in the Scriptures, in its primitive sense in English to denote,
food, Genesis 25:34. The phrase here, "morsel of meat," would be
better rendered by "a single meal."
Sold his birthright. The birthright seems to have implied the
first place or rank in the family; the privilege of offering sacrifice
and conducting worship in the absence or death of the father; a
double share of the inheritance; and in this instance the honour of
being in the line of the patriarchs, and transmitting the promises
made to Abraham and Isaac. What Esau parted with we can easily
understand by reflecting on the honours which have clustered around the
name of Jacob.
{a} "fornicator" 1 Corinthians 6:13,18
{b} "for one morsel" Genesis 25:33
Verse 17. For ye know how that afterward, etc. When he came to his
father, and earnestly besought him to reverse the sentence which
he had pronounced. See Genesis 27:34-40. The "blessing" here referred to
was not that of the birthright, which he knew he could not regain, but
that pronounced by the father Isaac on him whom he regarded as his first
born son. This Jacob obtained by fraud, when Isaac really meant to bestow
it on Esau. Isaac appears to have been ignorant wholly of the bargain
which Jacob and Esau had made in regard to the birthright, and Jacob and
his mother contrived in this way to have that confirmed which Jacob had
obtained of Esau by contract. The sanction of the father, it seems, was
necessary, before it could be made sure; and Rebecca and Jacob
understood that the dying blessing of the aged patriarch would
establish it all. It was obtained by dishonesty on the part of Jacob,
but so far as Esau was concerned it was an act of righteous retribution
for the little regard he had shown for the honour of his birth.
For he found no place of repentance. Marg. "Way to change his
mind." That is, no place for repentance in the mind of Isaac, or
no way to change his mind. It does not mean that Esau earnestly
sought to repent and could not, but that when once the blessing
had passed the lips of his father he found it impossible to change
it. Isaac firmly declared that he had pronounced the blessing, and
though it had been obtained by fraud, yet, as it was of the nature
of a Divine prediction it could not now be changed. He had not
indeed intended that it should be thus. He had pronounced a
blessing on another which had been designed for him. But still the
benediction had been given. The prophetic words had been pronounced. By
Divine direction the truth had been spoken, and how could it be
changed? It was impossible now to reverse the Divine purposes in the
case, and hence the "blessing" must stand as it had been spoken. Isaac
did, however, all that could be done. He gave a benediction to
his son Esau, though of far inferior value to that which he had
pronounced on the fraudulent Jacob, Genesis 27:39,40.
Though he sought it carefully with tears. Genesis 27:34. He sought to
change the purpose of his father, but could not do it. The meaning and
bearing of this passage, as used by the apostle, may be easily
understood.
(1.) The decision of God, on the human character and destiny, will soon
be pronounced. That decision will be according to truth, and cannot
be changed.
(2.) If we should despise our privileges, as Esau did his birthright, and
renounce our religion, it would be impossible to recover what we had
lost. There would be no possibility of changing the Divine decision in
the case, for it would be determined for ever. This passage, therefore,
should not be alleged to show that a sinner cannot repent, or that he
cannot find "place for repentance," or assistance to enable him to
repent, or that tears and sorrow for sin would be of no avail, for it
teaches none of these things; but it should be used to keep us from
disregarding our privileges, from turning away from the true religion,
from slighting the favours of the gospel, and from neglecting religion
till death comes; because when God has once pronounced a sentence
excluding us from his favour, no tears, or pleading, or effort of our
own can change him. The sentence which he pronounces on the scoffer, the
impenitent, the hypocrite, and the apostate, is one that will abide for
ever without change. This passage, therefore, is in accordance with the
doctrine more than once stated before in this epistle, that if a
Christian should really apostatize, it would be impossible that he should
be saved. See Barnes "Hebrews 6:1", seq.
{c} "he would have" Genesis 27:34-38
{1} "place" "way to change his mind"
{*} "carefully" "earnestly"
Verse 18. For ye are not come. To enforce the considerations already
urged, the apostle introduces this sublime comparison between the old and
new dispensations, Hebrews 12:18-24. The object, in accordance with the
principal scope of the epistle, is to guard them against apostasy. To do
this, he shows that under the new dispensation there was much more to
bind them to fidelity, and to make apostasy dangerous, than there was
under the old. The main point of the comparison is, that under the Jewish
dispensation everything was adapted to awe the mind, and to restrain by
the exhibition of grandeur and of power; but that under the Christian
dispensation, while there was as much that was sublime, there was much
more that was adapted to win and hold the affections. There were
revelations of higher truths. There were more affecting motives to lead
to obedience. There was that of which the former was but the type and
emblem. There was the clear revelation of the glories of heaven, and of
the blessed society there, all adapted to prompt to the earnest desire
that they might be our own. The considerations presented in this passage,
constitute the climax of the argument so beautifully pursued through this
epistle, showing that the Christian system was far superior, in every
respect, to the Jewish. In presenting this closing argument, the
apostle first refers to some of the circumstances attending the former
dispensation, which were designed to keep the people of God from
apostasy, and then the considerations of superior weight existing
under the Christian economy.
The mount that might be touched. Mount Sinai. The meaning here is,
that that mountain was palpable, material, touchable--in
contradistinction from the Mount Zion to which the church had now come,
which is above the reach of the external senses, Hebrews 12:22. The
apostle does not mean that it was permitted to the Israelites to
touch Mount Sinai--for this was strictly forbidden, Exodus 19:12;
but he evidently alludes to that prohibition, and means to say that a
command forbidding them to "touch" the mountain, implied that it was a
material or palpable object. The sense of the passage is, that every
circumstance that occurred there was fitted to fill the soul with terror.
Everything accompanying the giving of the law, the setting of bounds
around the mountain which they might not pass, and the darkness and
tempest on the mountain itself, was adapted to overawe the soul.
The phrase, "the touchable mountain"--if such a phrase is proper
--would express the meaning of the apostle here. The "Mount Zion" to
which the church now has come, is of a different character. It is not
thus visible and palpable. It is not enveloped in smoke and flame, and
the thunders of the Almighty do not roll and re-echo among its lofty
peaks as at Horeb; yet it presents stronger motives to perseverance
in the service of God.
And that burned with fire. Exodus 19:18. Comp. Deuteronomy 4:11; 33:2.
Nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest. See Exodus 19:16.
{*} "voice" "sound"
{a} "which voice" Exodus 20:18,19
Verse 19. And the voice of a trumpet. Exodus 19:19. The sound of the
trumpet amidst the tempest was fitted to increase the terror of
the scene.
And the voice of words. Spoken by God, Exodus 19:19. It is easy to
conceive what must have been the awe produced by a voice uttered from the
midst of the tempest so distinct as to be heard by the hundreds of
thousands of Israel, when the speaker was invisible.
Which voice they that heard, etc. Exodus 20:18,19. It was so fearful
and overpowering, that the people earnestly prayed that if they must be
addressed it might be by the familiar voice of Moses, and not by the
awful voice of the Deity.
{*} "voice" "sound"
{a} "voice" Exodus 20:18,19
Verse 20. For they could not endure that which was commanded. They
could not sustain the awe produced by the fact that God uttered his
commands himself. The meaning is not that the commands themselves
were intolerable, but that the manner in which they were communicated
inspired a terror which they could not bear. They feared that they should
die. Exodus 20:19
And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned.
Exodus 19:13. The prohibition was, that neither beast nor man should
touch it on pain of death. The punishment was to be either by stoning,
or being "shot through."
Or thrust through with a dart. Exodus 19:13. "Or shot through."
This phrase, however, though it is found in the common editions of
the New Testament, is wanting in all the more valuable manuscripts;
in all the ancient versions; and it occurs in none of the Greek
ecclesiastical writers, with one exception. It is omitted now by
almost all editors of the New Testament. It is beyond all doubt
an addition of later times, taken from the Septuagint of Exodus 19:13.
Its omission does not injure the sense.
{b} "And if" Exodus 19:13,16
Verse 21. And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, etc.
This is not recorded in the account of the giving of the law in
Exodus, and it has been made a question on what authority the apostle
made this declaration respecting Moses. In Deuteronomy 9:19, Moses indeed
says of himself, after he had come down from the mountain, and had
broken the two tables of stone that were in his hand, that he was
greatly afraid of the anger of the Lord on account of the sin of the
people. "I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure wherewith the
Lord was wroth against you to destroy you;" and it has been supposed
by many that this is the passage to which the apostle here alludes.
But it is very evident that was spoken in a different occasion from
the one which is referred to in the passage before us. That was after
the law was promulgated, and Moses had descended from the mount; and
it was not said in view of the terrors of the scene when the law was
given, but of the apprehension of the wrath of God against the people
for their sin in making the golden calf. I know not how to explain
this, except by the supposition that the apostle here refers to some
tradition that the scene produced this effect on his mind. In itself,
it is not improbable that Moses thus trembled with alarm, (comp.
Exodus 19:16,) nor that the remembrance of it should have been handed
down among the numerous traditions which the Jews transmitted from age
to age. There must have been many things that occurred in their
journey through the wilderness which are not recorded in the Books of
Moses. Many of them would be preserved naturally in the memory of the
people, and transmitted to their posterity; and though those truths
might become intermingled with much that was fabulous, yet it is not
irrational to suppose that an inspired writer may have adduced
pertinent and true examples from these traditions of what actually
occurred. It was one method of preserving the truth, thus to select
such instances of what actually took place from the mass of
traditions, which were destined to perish, as would be useful in
future times. The circumstance here mentioned was greatly fitted to
increase the impression of the sublimity and fearfulness of the scene.
Moses was accustomed to commune with God. He had met him at the
"bush," and had been addressed by him face to face; and yet so awful
were the scenes at Horeb, that even he could not bear it with
composure. What may we, then, suppose to have been the alarm of the
body of the people, when the mind of the great leader himself was
thus overpowered!
{+} "quake" "tremble"
Verse 22. But ye are come unto mount Sion. You who are Christians;
all who are under the new dispensation. The design is to contrast the
Christian dispensation with the Jewish, and to show that its
excellences and soul; advantages were far superior to the religion
of their fathers. It had more to win the affections; more to elevate
the more to inspire with hope. It had less that was terrific and
alarming; it appealed less to the fears and more to the hopes of
mankind; but still apostasy from this religion could not be less
terrible in its consequences than apostasy from the religion of Moses.
In the passage before us, the apostle evidently contrasts Sinai with
Mount Zion;and means to say that there was more about the latter that
was adapted to win the heart, and to preserve allegiance, than there
was about the former. Mount Zion literally denoted the southern hill
in Jerusalem, on which a part of the city was built. That part of the
city was made by David and his successors the residence of the court,
and soon the name Zion was given familiarly to the whole city.
Jerusalem was the centre of religion in the land; the place where the
temple stood, and where the worship of God was celebrated, and where
God dwelt by a visible symbol, and it became the type and emblem of
the holy abode where He dwells in heaven. It cannot be literally meant
here that they had come to the Mount Sion in Jerusalem, for that was
as true of the whole Jewish people as of those whom the apostle
addressed; but it must mean that they had come to the Mount Zion of
which the holy city was an emblem; to the glorious mount which is
revealed as the dwelling-place of God, of angels, of saints. That is,
they had "come" to this by the revelations and hopes of the gospel.
They were not, indeed, literally in heaven, nor was that glorious city
literally on earth; but the dispensation to which they had been
brought was that which conducted them directly up to the city of the
living God, and to the holy mount where he dwelt above. The view was
not confined to an earthly mountain enveloped in smoke and flame, but
opened at once on the holy place where God abides. By the phrase, "ye
are come," the apostle means that this was the characteristic of the
new dispensation, that it conducted them there, and that they were
already, in fact, inhabitants of that glorious city. They were
citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, (comp. See Barnes "Philippians 3:20",)
and were entitled to its privileges.
And unto the city of the living God. The city where the living God
dwells--the heavenly Jerusalem. Comp. See Barnes "Hebrews 11:10". God
dwelt by a visible symbol in the temple at Jerusalem--and to that his
people came under the old dispensation. In a more literal and glorious
sense his abode is in heaven, and to that his people have now come.
The heavenly Jerusalem. Heaven is not unfrequently represented as
a magnificent city, where God and angels dwell; and the Christian
revelation discloses this to Christians as certainly their final home.
They should regard themselves already as dwellers in that city, and
live and act as if they saw its splendour, and partook of its joy. In
regard to this representation of heaven as a city where God dwells,
the following places may be consulted: Hebrews 11:10,14-16; 12:28; 13:14
Galatians 4:26; Revelation 3:12 Revelation 21:2,10-27. It is true that Christians
have not yet seen that city by the bodily eye, but they look to it
with the eye of faith. It is revealed to them; they are permitted by
anticipation to contemplate its glories, and to feel that it is to be
their eternal home. They are permitted to live and act as if they
saw the glorious God whose dwelling is there, and were already
surrounded by the angels and the redeemed. The apostle does not
represent them as if they were expecting that it would be visibly
set up on the earth, but as being now actually dwellers in that city,
and bound to live and act as if they were amidst its splendours.
And to an innumerable company of angels. The Greek here is, "to
myriads [or ten thousands] of angels in an assembly or joyful
convocation." The phrase, "tens of thousands," is often used to denote
a great and indefinite number. The word rendered "general
assembly," (Hebrews 12:23)-- \~panhguriv\~--refers, properly, to "an
assembly or convocation of the whole people in order to celebrate any
public festival or solemnity, as the public games or sacrifices."
Rob. Lex. It occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, and refers
here to the angels viewed as assembled around the throne of God, and
celebrating his praises. It should be regarded as connected with the
word angels, referring to their convocation in heaven, and not
to the church of the first-born. This construction is demanded by the
Greek. Our common translation renders it as if it were to be united
with the church-- "to the general assembly and church of the
firstborn;" but the Greek will not admit of this construction. The
interpretation which unites it with the angels is adopted now by
almost all critics, and in almost all the editions of the New
Testament. On the convocation of angels, See Barnes "Job 1:6". The
writer intends, doubtless, to contrast that joyful assemblage of the
angels in heaven with those who appeared in the giving of the law on
Mount Sinai. God is always represented as surrounded by hosts of
angels in heaven. See Deuteronomy 33:2; 1 Kings 22:19; Daniel 7:10; Psalms 68:17; comp.
See Barnes "Hebrews 12:1"; see also Revelation 5:2; Matthew 26:53; Luke 2:13. The
meaning is, that under the Christian dispensation Christians, in their
feelings and worship, become united to this vast host of holy angelic
beings. It is, of course, not meant that they are visible, but they
are seen by the eye of faith. The argument here is, that as, in virtue
of the Christian revelation, we become associated with those pure and
happy spirits, we should not apostatize from such a religion, for we
should regard it as honourable and glorious to be identified with
them.
{a} "city" Revelation 3:2
{b} "angels" Psalms 68:17
Verse 23. To the general assembly. See Barnes " :".
And church of the firstborn. That is, you are united with the
church of the firstborn. They who were firstborn among, the Hebrews
enjoyed peculiar privileges, and especially pre-eminence of rank.
See Barnes "Colossians 1:15". The reference here is, evidently, to those
saints who had been distinguished for their piety, and who may be
supposed to be exalted to peculiar honours in heaven--such as the
patriarchs, prophets, martyrs. The meaning is, that by becoming
Christians we have become, in fact, identified with that happy and
honoured church, and that this is a powerful motive to induce us to
persevere. It is a consideration which should make us adhere to our
religion amidst all temptations and persecutions, that we are
identified with the most eminently holy men who have lived, and that
we are to share their honours and their joys. The Christian is
united in feeling, in honour, and in destiny, with the excel. lent of
all the earth and of all times, lie should feel it, therefore, an
honour to be a Christian; he should yield to no temptation which would
induce him to part from so goodly a fellowship.
Which are written in heaven. Marg. enrolled. The word here
was employed by the Greeks to denote that one was enrolled as a
citizen, or entitled to the privileges of citizenship. Here it means.
that the names of the persons referred to were registered or enrolled
among the inhabitants of the heavenly world.
See Barnes "Luke 10:20".
And to God the Judge of all. God, who will pronounce the final
sentence on all mankind. The object of the reference here to God as
Judge does not appear to be to contrast the condition of Christians
with that of the Jews, as is the case in some of the circumstances
alluded to, but to bring impressively before their minds the fact that
they sustained a peculiarly near relation to him from whom all were to
receive their final allotment. As the destiny of all depended on
him, they should be careful not to provoke his wrath. The design of
the apostle seems to be to give a rapid glance of what there was in
heaven, as disclosed by the eye of faith to the Christian, which
should operate as a motive to induce him to persevere in his Christian
course. The thought that seems to have struck his mind in regard to
God was, that he would do right to all. They had, therefore,
everything to fear if they revolted from him; they had everything to
hope if they bore their trials with patience, and persevered to the
end. And to the spirits of just men made perfect. Not only to the
more eminent saints--the "church of the firstborn"--but to all who
were made perfect in heaven. They were not only united with the
imperfect Christians on earth, but with those who have become
completely delivered from sin, and admitted to the world of glory.
This is a consideration which ought to influence the minds of all
believers. They are even now united with all the redeemed in heaven.
They should so live as not to be separated from them in the final day.
Most Christians have among the redeemed already not a few of their
most tenderly beloved friends. A father may be there; a mother, a
sister, a smiling babe. It should be a powerful motive with us so to
live as to be prepared to be reunited with them in heaven.
Verse 24. And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant. This was
the crowning excellence of the new dispensation, in contradistinction
from the old. They had been made acquainted with the true Messiah; they
were united to him by faith; they had been sprinkled with his blood.
See Barnes "Hebrews 7:22", and See Barnes "Hebrews 8:6". The highest
consideration which can be urged to induce any one to persevere in a
life of piety is the fact that the, Son of God has come into the world
and died to save sinners. Comp. See Barnes "Hebrews 12:2", seq. of this
chapter.
And to the blood of sprinkling. The blood which Jesus shed, and
which is sprinkled upon us to ratify the covenant.
See Barnes "Hebrews 9:18", seq.
That speaketh better things than that of Abel. Or, "than Abel; "the
words "that of" being supplied by the translators. In the original there
is no reference to the blood of Abel shed by Cain, as our translators
seem to have supposed; but the allusion is to the faith of Abel, or to
the testimony which he bore to a great and vital truth of religion.
The meaning here is, that the blood of Jesus speaks better things
than Abel did; that is, that the blood of Jesus is the reality of
which the offering of Abel was a type. Abel proclaimed by the sacrifice
which he made the great truth, that salvation could be only by a bloody
offering--but he did this only in a typical and obscure manner; Jesus
proclaimed it in a more distinct and better manner by the reality. The
object here is to compare the Redeemer with Abel, not in the sense that
the blood shed in either case calls for vengeance, but that salvation by
blood is more clearly revealed in the Christian plan than in the ancient
history; and hence illustrating, in accordance with the design of this
epistle, the superior excellency of the Christian scheme over all which
had preceded it. There were other points of resemblance between Abel
and the Redeemer, but on them the apostle does not insist. Abel was a
martyr, and so was Christ; Abel was cruelly murdered, and so was Christ;
there was aggravated guilt in the murder of Abel by his brother, and so
there was in that of Jesus by his brethren--his own countrymen; the
blood of Abel called for vengeance, and was followed by a fearful
penalty on Cain, and so was the death of the Redeemer on his
murderers--for they said, "his blood be on us and on our children," and
are yet suffering under the fearful malediction then invoked;--but the
point of contrast here is, that the blood of Jesus makes a more full,
distinct, and clear proclamation of the truth, that salvation is by
blood, than the offering made by Abel did. The apostle alludes here to
what he had said in Hebrews 11:4. See Barnes "Hebrews 11:4". Such is
the contrast between the former and the latter dispensations; and such
the motives to perseverance presented by both. In the former, the
Jewish, all was imperfect, terrific, and alarming. In the latter,
everything was comparatively mild, winning, alluring, animating. Terror
was not the principal element; but heaven was opened to the eye of
faith, and the Christian was permitted to survey the Mount Zion--the
New Jerusalem--the angels--the redeemed--the blessed God-- the glorious
Mediator--and to feel that that blessed abode was to be his home. To
that happy world he was tending; and with all these pure and glorious
beings he was identified. Having stated and urged this argument, the
apostle, in the remainder of the chapter, warns those whom he addressed
in a most solemn manner against a renunciation of their Christian faith.
{g} "mediator" Hebrews 8:6
{2} "covenant" "testament"
{h} "blood" Exodus 24:8
{i} "of Abel" Genesis 4:10
Verse 25. See that ye refuse not. That you do not reject or
disregard.
Him that speaketh. That is, in the gospel. Do not turn away from him
who has addressed you in the new dispensation, and called you to obey
and serve him. The meaning is, that God had addressed them in the gospel
as really as he had done the Hebrews on Mount Sinai, and that there was
as much to be dreaded in disregarding his voice now as there was then.
He does not speak, indeed, amidst lightnings, and thunders, and clouds,
but he speaks by every message of mercy; by every invitation; by every
tender appeal He spake by his Son, (Hebrews 1:2;) he speaks by the Holy
Spirit, and by all his calls and warnings in the gospel.
For if they escaped not. If they who heard God under the old
dispensation, who refused to obey him, were cut off.
See Barnes "Hebrews 10:28".
Who refused him that spake on earth. That is, Moses. The contrast
here is between Moses and the Son of God, the head of the Jewish and the
head of the Christian dispensation. Moses was a mere man, and spake as
such, though in the name of God. The Son of God was from above, and
spake as an inhabitant from heaven.
Much more, etc. See Barnes "Hebrews 2:2", See Barnes "Hebrews 2:3";
See Barnes "Hebrews 9:28".
{*} "spake" "uttered the divine oracles"
Verse 26. Whose voice then shook the earth. When he spake at Mount
Sinai. The meaning is, that the mountain and the region around quaked,
Exodus 19:18. The "voice" here referred to is that of God speaking
from the holy mount.
But now hath he promised, saying. The words here quoted are taken
from Haggai 2:6, where they refer to the changes which would take
place under the Messiah. The meaning is, that there would be great
revolutions in his coming, as if the universe were shaken to its
centre. The apostle evidently applies this passage, as it is done in
Haggai, to the first advent of the Redeemer.
I shake not the earth only. This is not quoted literally from the
Hebrew, but the sense is retained. In Haggai it is, "Yet once, it is a
little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea,
and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, and the desire of all
nations shall come." The apostle lays emphasis on the fact that not only
the earth was to be shaken, but also heaven. The shaking of
the earth here evidently refers to the commotions among the nations that
would prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah.
But also heaven. This may refer either (1) to the extraordinary
phenomena in the heavens at the birth, the death, and the ascension of
Christ; or
(2) to the revolutions in morals and religion which would be caused by
the introduction of the gospel, as if everything were to be
changed--expressed by "a shaking of the heavens and the earth;" or
(3) it may be more literally taken as denoting that there was a
remarkable agitation in the heavens--in the bosoms of its
inhabitants--arising from a fact so wonderful as that the Son of God
should descend to earth, suffer, and die. I see no reason to doubt that
the latter idea may have been included here; and the meaning of the
whole then is, that while the giving of the law at Mount Sinai, fearful
and solemn as it was, was an event that merely shook the earth in the
vicinity of the holy Mount, the introduction of the gospel agitated the
universe. Great changes upon the earth were to precede it; one
revolution was to succeed another preparatory to it, and the whole
universe would be moved at an event so extraordinary. The meaning is,
that the introduction of the gospel was a much more solemn and
momentous thing than the giving of the law--and that therefore it
was much more fearful and dangerous to apostatize from it.
{a} "saying" Haggai 2:6
Verse 27. And this word, Yet once more. That is, this reference to a
great agitation or commotion in some future time. This is designed
as an explanation of the prophecy in Haggai; and the idea is, that
there would be such agitations that everything which was not fixed
on a permanent and immovable basis would be thrown down as in
an earthquake. Everything which was temporary in human institutions;
everything which was wrong in customs and morals; and everything in the
ancient system of religion which was merely of a preparatory and typical
character, would be removed. What was of permanent value would be
retained, and a kingdom would be established which nothing could move.
The effect of the gospel would be to overturn everything which was of a
temporary character in the previous system, and everything in morals
which was not founded on a solid basis, and to set up, in the place of
it, principles which no revolution and no time could change. The
coming of the Saviour, and the influence of his religion on mankind,
had this effect in such respects as the following.
(1.) All that was of a sound and permanent nature in the Jewish economy
was retained; all that was typical and temporary was removed. The whole
mass of sacrifices and ceremonies, that were designed to prefigure the
Messiah, of course then ceased; all that was of permanent value in
the law of God, and in the principles of religion, was incorporated
in the new system and perpetuated.
(2.) The same is true in regard to morals. There was much truth on the
earth before the time of the Saviour; but it was intermingled with much
that was false. The effect of his coming has been to distinguish what is
true and what is false; to give permanency to the one, and to cause the
other to vanish.
(3.) The same is true of religion. There are some views of religion
which men have by nature which are correct; there are many which are
false. The Christian religion gives permanence and stability to the one,
and causes the other to disappear. And in general it may be remarked,
that the effect of Christianity is to give stability to all that is
founded on truth, and to drive error from the world. Christ came that he
might destroy all the systems of error--that is, all that could be
shaken on earth, and to confirm all that is true. The result of all will
be, that he will preside over a permanent kingdom, and that his
people will inherit "a kingdom which cannot be moved,"
Hebrews 12:28.
The removing of those things that are shaken. Marg., more correctly,
"may be.". The meaning is, that those principles of religion and
morals which were not founded on truth, would be removed by his
coming.
As of things that are made. Much perplexity has been felt by
expositors in regard to this phrase, but the meaning seems to be plain.
The apostle is contrasting the things which are fixed and stable with
those which are temporary in their nature, or which are settled on no
firm foundation. The former he speaks of as if they were uncreated and
eternal principles of truth and righteousness. The latter he speaks of
as if they were created and therefore liable, like all things which
are "made," to decay, to change, to dissolution,
That those things which cannot be shaken may remain. The eternal
principles of truth, and law, and righteousness. These would enter into
the new kingdom which was to be set up, and of course that kingdom
would be permanent. These are not changed or modified by time,
circumstances, human opinions, or laws. They remain the same from
age to age, in every land, and in all worlds. They have been permanent
in all the fluctuations of opinion; in all the varied forms of
government on earth; in all the revolutions of states and empires. To
bring out these is the result of the events of Divine Providence, and
the object of the coming of the Redeemer; and on these principles that
great kingdom is to be reared which is to endure for ever and ever.
{1} "are shaken" "may be"
Verse 28. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved. We
who are Christians. We pertain to a kingdom that is permanent and
unchanging. The meaning is, that the kingdom of the Redeemer
is never to pass away. It is not, like the Jewish dispensation, to
give place to another, nor is there any power that can destroy it.
See Barnes "Matthew 16:18". It has now endured for eighteen hundred
years, amidst all the revolutions on earth, and in spite of all the
attempts which have been made to destroy it; and it is now as vigorous
and stable as it ever was. The past has shown that there is no power of
earth or hell that can destroy it, and that in the midst of all
revolutions this kingdom still survives. Its great principles and laws
will endure on earth till the end of time, and will be made permanent in
heaven. This is the only kingdom in which we can be certain that there
will be no revolution; the only empire which is destined never to fall.
Let us have grace whereby we may serve God. Marg. "let us hold
fast." The Greek is, literally, let us have grace; the meaning is,
"let us hold fast the grace or favour which we have received in being
admitted to the privileges of that kingdom." The object of the apostle
is to keep them in the reverent fear and service of God. The argument
which he presents is, that this kingdom is permanent. There is no danger
of its being overthrown. It is to continue on earth to the end of time;
it is to be established in heaven for ever. If it were temporary,
changeable, liable to be overthrown at any moment, there would be much
less encouragement to perseverance. But in a kingdom like this there
is every encouragement, for there is the assurance
(1.) that all our interests there are safe;
(2.) that all our exertions will be crowned with ultimate success;
(3.) that the efforts which we make to do good will have a permanent
influence on mankind, and will bless future ages; and
(4.) that the reward is certain. A man subject to a government about
whose continuance there would be the utmost uncertainty, would have
little encouragement to labour with a view to any permanent interest. In
a government where nothing is settled, where all policy is changing, and
where there are constantly vacillating plans, there is no inducement to
enter on any enterprize demanding time and risk. But where the policy is
settled; where the principles and the laws are firm; where there
is evidence of permanency, there is the highest encouragement.
The highest possible encouragement of this kind is in the permanent and
established kingdom of God. All other governments may be
revolutionized--this never will be; all others may have a changeful
policy--this has none; all others will be overthrown --this never will.
With reverence and godly fear. With true veneration for God, and
with pious devotedness.
{1} "have grace" "hold fast"
Verse 29. For our God is a consuming fire. This is a further reason
why we should serve God with profound reverence and unwavering
fidelity. The quotation is made from Deuteronomy 4:24: "For the Lord
thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." The object of the
apostle here seems to be, to show that there was the same reason
for fearing the displeasure of God under the new dispensation which
there was under the old. It was the same God who was served.
There had been no change in his attributes, or in the principles of
his government. He was.no more the friend of sin now than he
was then; and the same perfections of his nature which would
then lead him to punish transgression would also lead him to do
it now. His anger was really as terrible, and as much to be
dreaded, as it was at Mount Sinai; and the destruction which he
would inflict on his foes would be as terrible now as it was then.
The fearfulness with which he would come forth to destroy the
wicked might be compared to a fire that consumed all before it.
See Barnes "Mark 9:44-46". The image here is a most fearful one,
and is in accordance with all the representations of God in the
Bible, and with all that we see in the Divine dealings with
wicked men, that punishment, as inflicted by him, is awful and
overwhelming. So it was on the old world; on the cities of the
plain; on the hosts of Sennacherib; and on Jerusalem;--and so it
has been in the calamities of pestilence, war, flood, and famine, with
which God has visited guilty men. By all these tender and solemn
considerations, therefore, the apostle urges the friends of God to
perseverance and fidelity in his service. His goodness and mercy;
the gift of a Saviour to redeem us; the revelation of a glorious
world; the assurance that all may soon be united in fellowship
with the angels and the redeemed; the certainty that the kingdom
of the Saviour is established on a permanent basis, and the
apprehension of the dreadful wrath of God against the guilty, all should
lead us to persevere in the duties of our Christian calling, and to
avoid those things which would jeopard the eternal interests of
our souls.
{a} "our God" Deuteronomy 4:24
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