Practical improvement of]

CHAP. XIII.

LET brotherly love continue.

2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

4 Marriage is honourable in all,

and the bed undefiled: but whore

mongers and adulterers God will judge. 5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

[the preceding doctrines.

7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation:

8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

9 Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.

11 For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanc tuary by the High Priest for sin, are burned without the camp.

in heaven; the spirits of just men made perfect; Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and God, the judge of all."This glorious church we shall have farther occasion to contemplate when we come to the Revelation of St. John; at present, we may remark the strong intimation here given of an intermediate state. "The spirits of just men made perfect," can intend only their separate spirits, and those in a glorified state; for on earth there is no absolute perfection-there is "no man that doeth good, and sinneth not."

This passage intimates, also, a mysterious intercommunity between earth and heaven-" We are come to (this) Mount Sion;" there is a communion between us

and angels, and departed spirits; but this subject is shrouded with inystery, and death only can withdraw the veil.

The concluding verse of this chapter is awfully sublime. We are exhorted to serve our God with awe and reverence, because he is "a consuming fire" to all who sp proach him, except in the way and mac ner of his own appointment. This alludes evidently to the appearance on Mount Sinai; there he was to be approached only through Moses, the mediator of that corenant now he reigns in Sion, and is to be approached only, and that "with reve rence and godly fear," through Jesus, the Mediator of the New and better Covenant.

CHAP. XIII. Ver. 2. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers.-Lardner, "Be not unmindful of hospitality." Some have entertained angels unawares. See Gen. xviii., Exposition and Notes. Ver. 3. Yourselves also in the body-i. e. liable to the same adversity.

Ver. 4. Marriage is honourable, &c.-Mackn. (Let) marriage (be) honourable among all, and the bed unpolluted.-For fornicators, &c.—See Vulgate, and two ancient MSS.

Ver. 5. Without covetousness.-Mackn." without the love of money." See 1 Tim. vi. 9, 10.—I will never leave thee, &c.-Mr. M'Lean remarks, that this sentence contains no less than five negatives; but not so the original passage, Joshua i.5.

Ver. 6. The Lord is my helper, &c.-Psa. Ivi. 4, 11; exviii. 6.

Ver. 7. Them which have the rule.-Margin,

"which are the guides;" but see Exposition.

Ver. 8. Jesus Christ the same, &c.-Dr. P. Smith, whose paraphrase is given in our Exposition, say, "There is nothing, then, in the argument to bar car understanding the passage, as referring primarily to the person of Christ; and in the phraseology there is a reason, which is, I think, of weight saticiest to be decisive. This is the adoption of the same phrase which, at the commencement of the Epistle, had been employed to express the absolute changeableness of God: Thou art the same,' &c. Heb. i. 12."--(Messiah, vol. ii. p. 621.) Dr. J. Owen (in loc.) considers the phrase, "yesterday, to-day, and for ever," as analogous to Rev. i. 4- He whe is, and was, and is to come."

Ver. 9. Be not carried-(Mackn. "tossed")about. The allusion seems to be to a vessel in a gale.

Jesus to be followed]

12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate, 13 Let us go forth therefore unto

[without the camp.

him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

14 For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. (S)

CHAP. XIII.

(S) Ver. 1-14. Practical admonitions, to conclude the Epistle.-At the head of practical duties of the second table, St. Paul places" the love of the brethren". that new commandment which our Lord gave to his disciples but just before his death: "This is my commandment, that ye love one another." (John xv. 12, 17, &c.) And this love should display itself particularly toward two classes of the brethren"-strangers, and the afflicted. Under the former class we include visitors, or messengers from other churches, and under the latter, all who are in adversity, and particularly those who are in bonds for the sake of the gospel.

The next maxim is levelled against licentious professors. "Marriage is honourable in all"—that is, in all classes of society, the clergy as well as laity; "but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge;" and will punish. Such, therefore, should not be tolerated in Christian churches or societies.

Christian contentment is the next duty inculcated, and that upon the ground of the divine promise here recited, which in the Greek is very emphatical, and thus literally rendered by Dr. Doddridge :-" I will not-I will not leave thee; I will never, never, never forsake thee." A promise originally given to Joshua on the death of Moses, and here applied to all the servants of the true God. An application (by the way) which may justify us in the appropriation of such promises to ourselves, when we can justify our characters and circumstances, as corresponding with those to whom they were originally given.

The following precept enjoins a grateful recollection of deceased pastors or rulers in the church: "Remember them who have presided (or had the rule) over you." So Dr. Doddridge: and Theodoret, in a note on this text, specifies the two apostles of the name of James, one of whom is generally considered as the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and President in all the Apostolic Councils.

But in what light are these deceased

rulers to be considered? Certainly not with any superstitious veneration, much less as the objects of devotion; but as examples"Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation;" or, as Dr. Macknight and Mr. M'Lean render the passage, "Of whose conversation attentively considering the ending (or close), imitate their faith :" the object of which immediately follows as here stated-"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." "This is a strong argument (says Mr. M'Lean), to imitate their faith; that though they were dead and gone, yet Jesus Christ, in whom these holy men believed, continues still the same to-day as he was then; and shall for ever continue the same all-sufficient Saviour, to the end of time; he being able to save unto the last, all them that come unto God by him. Seeing, therefore, the object of faith continued unchangeably the same, and [that he] was as able, faithful, and merciful, to succour, deliver, and reward them, as he was their faithful pastors who had gone before them, they ought to hold fast the same faith which they had set before them, both by their doctrine and example."

The immutability of Jesus Christ is thus used as an argument against vacillation (or wavering) in opinion. So Dr. P. Smith— "With our divine Saviour there is no changeableness: his perfections are always the same, infinite in their glory; therefore let your submission to his authority, and your adherence to his truth, be firm and unwavering." (See Note on verse 8.) The apostle adds, "Be not carried (or tossed) about with divers and strange doctrines," foreign to the Scriptures; for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace." "That the heart be established (says Mr. M'Lean), is a Jewish phrase for comforting, strengthening, or refreshing the heart, which is ascribed to food (Judg. xix. 5, 8; Ps. civ. 15) and as the Hebrews had a strong attachment to the distinction of meats, and the Jewish festivals and eucharistical oblations [or thank-offerings], he opposes this, by telling them, that it was "a good thing that

Ver. 12. Without the gate.-Calvary was certainly without the walls in our Lord's time, though it has

been long since included, unless there be a mistake as to its situation, which some travellers suspect.

15 ¶ By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to his name.

16 But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

[of access unto God.

18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.

19 But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.

20) Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you

the heart be established with grace; that is, the free love of God revealed in the gospel through the sacrifice of Christ; and not with meats and drinks, which.... did not profit iu a spiritual sense, those who had not been occupied therein."

To understand the following verses, it is necessary to recollect that this Epistle was written before the destruction of Jerusalem, while the temple was yet standing, and while the priests were still offering sacrifices daily, notwithstanding Christ had superseded them by his own infinitely meritorious sacrifice. To this he plainly alludes, when he says, "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle."-" Altar is here put for the sacrifice offered upon it, a figure of speech (says Mr. M'Lean) very common in Scripture." The meaning is, that Christians have a sacrifice whereon to feast, namely, that of Christ; and of this sacrifice those have no right to partake, who still adhere to the sacrifices of the Old Testament, and look to them for justification before God. "Christ (indeed) will profit them nothing." (Gal. v. 4.) This may be inferred from the sin-offerings, on the great day of atonement, being wholly burut without the camp (as directed in Levit. xvi. 27). Nothing was to be eaten of these propitiatory sacrifices, whose blood

was carried within the veil; but all the flesh and skin and offal of the atoning animals, was to be burnt without the camp "Hereby Paul offers a most_convincing proof to the Jews (says Mr. Perie), that they must abandon their old ritual, and adopt a sytem that has changed the law of the priesthood, before they can have any claim to eat of our altar or sacrifice." 1 is, therefore, as if he had said- If you would have any claim to participate with us of the peculiar privileges of the gospel, all resulting from the sufferings of Jesus, you must leave the old Jerusalem; you must go forth unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. Without the camp he suffered, and without the camp he must be enjoyed." (Pirie's works, vol, ii. 277.)

"For here (adds our apostle) we have no continuing city;" we are merely pilgrims and strangers, dwelling in tents and tabernacles; but still seeking " a city which bath foundations" in the heavens, and which God hath provided for all those who truly seek it. (Comp. chap. xi. ver. 10—16.) While, however, we remain on earth, and worship at this awful distance, the utmost reverence and godly fear be comes us, considering that our God is, to all who treat him with neglect or with contempt, a consuming fire."

Ver. 15. The fruit of our lips-Estius thinks that our praises may be justly called the fruit of our lips, even as the good works of a virtuous woman are called "the fruit of her hands." Prov. xxxi. 31. See Note on Hos. xiv. 2.-Giving thanks.-Marg. "confessing."

Ver. 17. That have the rule.-Marg. " that guide." Doddr. "who preside."

Ver. 18. We trust-Doddr and Mackn." We are confident that"-we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.-Doddr. "Determined in all things to behave bonourably." Greek,

"well." See 2 Cor. i. 12.

Ver. 19. Restored to you the sooner.-Doddridge, "quickly."

Ver. 20. Covenant.-Marg, " Testament;" but see Note on chap. xii. 24.

Ver. 21. Make you perfect.-"The same ward is translated prepared, chap. x. 5; framed, chap. 1.3; fitted, Rom. ix. 22; restored, Gal. vi. 1; perfectig joined, I Cor. i. 10. It signifies to set things to rights, and reduce them to their proper state." M'Lean. To whom be glory.-Compare & Peter iii. 18; Rev. v. 12, 13.

to the world, however, promised no such distinction. An exposed infant, discovered, as it were, by accident; adopted, out of charity, by a young princess, who was providentially led to its own mother as its nurse, and, by this unexpected patronage, introduced into Pharaoh's court. The beauty of his person was probably a principal mean, both of his preservation and his being adopted by Pharaoh's daughter as her own sou, and, as such, trained up in all the wisdom of Egypt; but when he came of age, and was to have been in that character introduced among the Egyptian nobles, he refused to renounce his country and his kindred, which was probably ne cessary to taking rank as an Egyptian, or as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Thus "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God," the persecuted Israelites, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin and of idolatry for a season. From what is here said of the reproach of Christ, it seems evident, 1. That the pious Hebrews had been taught to look for a deliverer, "the seed of the woman, and of Abraham," who should one day appear for their salvation, and bring with him a great reward; and 2. That the Egyptians were wont to reproach the poor oppressed Israclites with these expectations, which they considered as chimerical and ridiculous; and to ask, probably, "Where is the promise of his coming?" 3. That Moses and a few others (though probably but few) esteemed this reproach to them "greater riches," and far more permanent, than all the treasures and honours which Egypt could afford them.

It was probably about this time, that is, when he was forty years of age, that

Moses found it necessary, on account of an act of homicide committed by him in the rescue of an Israelite, to flee into the land of Midian (Exod. ii. 11, 12), where be abode the next forty years; for he was not sent to deliver Israel till he was four. score years of age. Then he returned to be their deliverer; and after a train of most astonishing miracles, by which his own faith, and that of his brethren, was established, "by faith he forsook (or left) Egypt; not fearing the wrath of the king," whom he boldly and resolutely withstood,

as seeing him who is invisible.” (Exod. x. 28, 29.) "By faith also he kept the passover," wherein, by "the sprinkling of blood," he fully expressed his dependence on that atonement, which, in the fulness of time, Messiah was to offer for the salvation of mankind. By faith, also, in God's protecting providence, and in obedi ence to his word, "they passed through the Red Sea as on dry laud;" which the Egyptians assaying (or attempting) to do, in pursuit of them, were therein drowned.

And when, after they had passed forty years in the wilderness, and had crossed the Jordan under the direction of Joshua, the successor of Moses, and besieged Jericho," by faith" in the promise of God, though they used no weapons more formidable than rams' horns, the walls fell down before them. And the harlot Rabab, who lived just within, or upon the wall, perished not with the rest, because she also believed on the God of Israel. So she told the spies-"I know that the Lord hath given you the land..... We have heard how the Lord hath dried up the water of the Red Sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt.... for the Lord your

Ver. 31. The harlot Rahab.-Our opinion of this woman's character may be seen in our Exposition of Joshua, chap. in. With them that believed not. -Marg. "Were disobedient:" but we prefer the text.

Ver.35. Others were tortured.-Mackn." beaten. The term probably refers to the cruel practice ef the bastinado, still practised in the East.

Ibid. A better resurrection—i, e, a resurrection to a better life.