To day therefore they should hear his voice,

5 And Moses ver

23

him infinitely above the most excellent of SECT.

creatures.

And that Christ is incomparably more to be ily was faithful in honoured than Moses, appears even from this all his house as a consideration, though inferior to the former, mony of those things that Moses [was] indeed faithful in all his house, which were to be as a servant, who was appointed to act in an spoken of after:

servant, for a testi

iii.

Heb.

iii. 5

inferior economy, for a testimony of things afterwards to be mentioned; the evangelical design of which we shall in some measure discuss in the following parts of this epistle, ac6 But Christ as a cording to their relation and connection. But 6 Son over his own Christ was faithful in a far superior character, house: whose house even as a Son in his own house,f that is, over are we, if we hold fast the confidence, the church, in which as Heir of all things he and the rejoicing of hath not only a trust and office, but also a propthe hope firm unto erty, and which is appointed for him to inhabit

the end.

7 Wherefore, as

and preside over; whose house, his chosen and
delightful habitation, we Christians now are, if
we strenuously maintain [our] freedom of pro-
fession, and boasting of hope, steadfast unto the
end; if having so glorious an hope set before
us, in which we may justly boast as our great-
est honour and happiness, we resolutely adhere
to it, and permit nothing to wrest it out of our
hands.

And to this I am labouring to animate you, 7
the Holy Ghost by the representation I have given of the dig-
saith, To day, if ye
will hear his voice, nity and glory of our blessed Saviour. There-
fore, as the Holy Ghost saith, in a psalm which
he dictated to David, (Psal. xcv. 7,) To day if
8 Harden not ye will ever hear his voice at all, Harden not 8
your hearts, as in your hearts any longer; lest you bring destruc-
the provocation, in
the day of temptation upon yourselves, as your predecessors did,
tion in the wilder. in the bitter provocation which they presumed
to offer me in the day of temptation in the wil-
9 When your fa- derness; When your unbelieving fathers tempt- 9
thers tempted me, ed me, and proved me, as if they would have
proved me, and saw made an experiment how much it was possible
my works forty for me to bear; and this, though they saw my

ness:

years.

works in such a variety of wonders, as passed

In his own house.] Mr. Peirce brings many arguments to prove it should be in his house, that is, God's, in which sense the very words are used and translated before; but as Christ is appointed the Heir of all things, the paraphrase cannot I think be contested. Compare Heb. x. 21.

8 Our freedom of profession.] Some would render it, if we hold fast the confidence, even the rejoicing of our hope firm unto the end, supposing it to refer to that confession which they made at their baptism with solemnity and joy.

24

iii. 10

And not be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

my rest.

SECT. in the wilderness in the course of forty suciii. ceeding years, Therefore I was angry with that 10 Wherefore I perverse generation, and said they always do was grieved with Heb. and will err in [their] hearts, through their said, They do althat generation, and own obstinacy and folly, and they have not ways err in their known my ways, nor paid any regard to the hearts; and they have not known my clearest discoveries of my will and design; ways. 11 So that after repeated abuses of my patience 11 So I sware in and long suffering, Isware in my wrath, and my wrath, They shall not enter into solemnly declared by my own holy and majestic name, that they should never enter into my rest; but that the carcasses of all that came adult out of Egypt, shall fall in the wilderness, and that generation of men be totally consum12 ed. How awful a determination, after all the 12 Take heed, hopes which such signal deliverances had con- brethren, lest there curred to inspire! See to it therefore, brethren, evil heart of unbebe in any of you an lest there ever be in any of you a wicked heart lief, in departing of unbelief, in apostatizing from him who still from the living God. wears the same omnipotent terrors, and continues, and will ever continue, the living and true God, to whom you profess so great a regard, and from whom you will indeed revolt, if you give up the religion of Christ Jesus his 13 Son. You are surrounded with many temp tations to do this; but exhort one another daily, while you are under this dispensation of grace, lest any of you be whilst it is called to day, and the deserved judg- hardened through ments of God are suspended, that no one of you the deceitfulness of may by insensible degrees and artful insinua- sin. tions, be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and its fallacious advances on the mind; whereby if you are not resolutely on your guard, you may be seduced finally to forfeit the invaluable blessings, which are so freely offered, and which have so long been set before you.

verse

1

IMPROVEMENT.

13 But exhort one another daily while it is called, To day;

WE are partakers of this heavenly calling, and to us are the messages of mercy addressed: let us therefore hear with reverence and obedience, the admonitions of the word of God.

b My rest. Canaan is so called, as they there reposed themselves after the labours of a long war, as well as the fatigues of a tedious march; and perhaps as entering upon a course of stated worship, it might appear as a kind of sabbath keeping.

Whilst it is called to day.] L'Enfant thinks this refers to that patience which God still exercises towards a nation soon to be overwhelmed with his judgments.

Reflections on the superiority of Christ to Moses.

25

verse

Let us behold with veneration and delight, the Son of God be- SECT. coming the Messenger of his Father's love, and the High Priest iii. of our Christian profession. He is the great prophet too, whom God hath raised up unto us like Moses, in many respects; but O how far superior to him! More completely faithful to him, who 4 hath appointed him; faithful as a Son in his own house.

The world is an edifice raised by Christ: the church is the house in which he delights to reside. Let both be considered in this important view. The Divine perfections of the great Architect are indeed illustriously displayed in the construction and constitution of this visible world. Does the meanest house or cottage declare itself to be the work of some intelligent agent? And does it not much more evidently appear, that this commodious and magnificent structure must have been planned and reared by proportionable wisdom, grandeur and power?

It is the work of Christ; and let it often be devoutly surveyed and contemplated in this view; and from thence let us infer his Divine glories, and read in them his matchless condescensions. Let us learn with how much security and delight we may commit our immortal souls to him who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, and shall endure the same when they shall be dissolved and perish. Let us view him also as the Lord of the church; and consider the fabric of grace as raised to his honour; that in that as his temple, every one might speak of his glory; and let all the churches, and every member of each, make it their faithful care to honour him more 6 and more.

2,6

In this view may we hold fast the confidence, and rejoicing of our hope, steadfast unto the end, and never suffer any one to take our crown, or terrify, or allure us, from that faithful subjection of soul to Christ, which his perfections and our obligations to 12 him concur to demand. Who of us can say, he is beyond all 13 danger of being ensnared by an evil heart of unbelief, of being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin? Let us then, in compliance with so salutary and necessary an exhortation, redouble our guard; let us watch over ourselves and each other; exhorting one another daily, while it is called to day, and charging our souls by the awful authority of the living God, that after having approached so near him, that after having so solemnly professed to devote ourselves to him, nothing may ever prevail upon us deliberately and wickedly to depart from him.

26

They should hold their confidence steadfast unto the end:

SECT.

iv.

Heb.

SECT. IV.

The apostle goes on to repeat the caution he had given against un-
belief, as what would prevent their entering into rest: an ex-
pression which he shows to refer to something much nobler than
that rest which the Jews enjoyed in Canaan, even on their most
sacred days, and in their most prosperous ages.
Heb. III. 14.
IV. 11.

HEBREWS III. 14.

I the devotes au sin, to

GIVE you such cautions to guard against

Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast

of unbelief, because I know your highest interiii. 14 ests are concerned; for we are made partakers of the grace and mercy of Christ, and admitted unto the end. by him into the family of God, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence in him as our great Saviour, steadfast unto the end of our lives, whatever difficulties and oppositions may arise. 15 Let us therefore be strenuous and incessant in

15 While it is

this care; forasmuch as it is said, in the pas- said, To day, if yo sage I have quoted above, To day, if ye will will hear his voice, harden not your hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as they hearts, as in the did in the provocation which was offered to God provocation. 16 in the wilderness.

howbeit not all that came out

For some of them who 16 For some, when heard so many Divine messages solemnly de- they had heard, did clared, and the law spoken by the very mouth of provoke: God himself from mount Sinai, provoked [him] to indignation; but not all they who came out of Egypt by Moses: there was a remnant then,c

Forasmuch, as it is said.] The words By Two are something ambiguous, and may either signify, forasmuch as it is said, or while it is said; and if the latter version be preferred, perhaps this 15th verse may be connected with the 13th Exhort one another daily while it is called to day, while it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice: as if he had said, The matter is of so much importance, that it is not to be neglected so much as for a single day, lest the proper season should be slipt. But as axis, a different phrase, was used for while in the 13th verse, I judge the rendering I have given most probable, and ventured it, in order to avoid an inconvenient length, by dividing the section as I have here done.

of Egypt by Moses :

But not all they who came out of Egypt.] Mr. Pyle gives it a different and remarkable interpretation, making the former part of the verse an interrogation, Who were they that when they heard, that is, heard the report of the spies, (Numb. xiv.) did provoke him? Were they not all that came out of Egypt? And this he supposes is a distinct argument for perseverance, taken from the infectious nature, as well as pernicious consequences of infidelity and apostasy But had this been the sense, I think would have been used instead of ɑxx' 8, especially as by this means the correspondence with the 17t verse would have been more evident.

There was a remnant.] Joshua, Caleb, the women and children, and some

for unbelief would prevent their entering into rest.

27

as there now is, of believing and obedient souls, SECT. to whom the promise of God shall be accom

iv.

17 But with whom plished. And by whom was he provoked by along Heb. was he grieved forty succession of infidelity and folly for forty years? i. 17 with them that had [was it] not with those who well deserved that sinned, whose car displeasure?

years? was it not

derness ?

With those who sinned against casses fell in the wil- him by suspecting his presence with them, after so many amazing and unparalleled demonstrations of it; whose carcasses, according to his awful prediction, fell in the wilderness during those years of wandering to which they were 18 And to whom justly doomed? And was there any thing 18 sware he that they in this that looks like a breach of promise on his rest, but to them the part of the blessed God? Far from it. To

should not enter into

that believed not?

whom did he swear that they should not enter into his rest, but unto those who were so obstinate and disobedient, as entirely to forfeit all claim to his 19 So we see that promise and favour? And when we come to 19 they could not enter consider the cause of that disobedience, we see in because of unbelief. that it was owing to a secret infidelity with regard to the Divine power and goodness, either to preserve them in the wilderness, or conduct them into Canaan. So that I may say they could not possibly enter into the promised rest, because of unbelief: that was upon the IV.1 Let us there- whole the evil that destroyed them. fore fear, lest a promise being left therefore improve so awful a dispensation of us of entering into Providence to our own instruction, and fear,d his rest, any of you lest a promise being now left [unto us] of entering should seem to come into his most happy and glorious rest, any of use should even at any time, so much as seem like 2 For unto us was to come short [ofit.] For we are made partakers 2 the gospel preached, of the good tidings of the promised rest, as

short of it.

think, some of the Levites, were not included in the sentence. Bishop Fell men. tions this as an intimation, that all shall not apostatize in the worst times.

Let us IV. 1

Any of us.] Some copies read nuov, us, instead of upwr, you; and their authority is evidently confirmed by the connection. See Dr. Mills in loc.

Let us therefore fear.] This example, as has often been observed, is most suit- f Partakers of the good tidings.] So I able, being taken from their own ancestors, choose to render the word sunyiμevor. the evil being the same, namely, unbelief, For, that we have the gospel (taking it the time resembling it just after the estab- for the message by Christ) at least as well lishment of a new constitution, and the as these people had in the wilderness, and consequence the same, the exclusion from indeed a great deal more plainly, is so evirest. The superior dignity of Christ a- dent, that it may seem but a very low bove Moses, and the superior excellence sense of the words, and not worthy the of Heaven above Canaan, greatly confirm wisdom and gravity of the apostle to insert the force of the argument. Peirce on Hęb. it. iii. 12, note".