PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews
James Barmby [1822-1897] · 397,008 words · 427 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 361
Vers. 32-38.-A summary of the sufferings and trials of believers. Note- 1. How THIS WRITER SPEAKS FROM FULNESS OF KNOWLEDGE. As one might think, he bas already been tolerably copious, but he hints that there is really much more to tell. He has looked through all the records of God's people, and he finds faith every- w…
1,266 wordsSECTION 362The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 362
regnrded under the imo.ge of athletes in the plante.n~, ut p~orsus e. cursu impediatar vel pe.lwstro., contending for e. prize. It is e. m med10 subs1stat aut corruat" Horneius favourite ime.ge with St. Pa.ul, not only, we quoted by Delitzsch.) The application of mo.y suppose, beco.use of its o.pproprfotoness, the w…
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aha.me, and iB 1et down at the right hand of nature in geneml certllinly requires thia the throne of God. The idea is not, as further inr-entive, and Christian faith sup- implied in the A.V. and understood by plies it. Nor are those who thus work Chrysostom and other ancients, that Jesus with a view to future joy to…
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is in the LXX. We observe that the word has, were we justified in implying -i}µw,. "fo.int" (i,c>,_,Jov) is the some as was used in after '71"V<vµd.n,w (" our spirits," in opposition ver. 3. In the seventh and following verses to " our flesh," preceding). But Tw• this scriptural admonition is applied and ..-v,vµtf..,.…
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ment with :respect to all ohRStening though of pursuing a. stmight course with a view to the expression of it.s result at th~ end of others who are t.o follow on the snme truck. th_e . vel1!e is su_ggested by thti thought of "That which is laruo (Tb X"'"-Jv)" denotes Dl'rme ohRStenmg, to which alone it is the weak a…
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le not necessary; the verb l11ox>..ii (" trouble limit of his aims and interests: "Behold, I yo,,,") may he common both to the first µ.-,fT,. am at the point to die : and what profit and to µ.-,fTu pl(a., thus : "Lest any one shall this birthright do to me ? " Later in failing ... lest any root . . . trouble you." lif…
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change of mind in the bestower of the hleas• dispensations, founded on the phenomena ing],_ thoug:h he sollfi"ht it [ i.e. such ohange that e.ccompe.nied the giving of the Le.w. of mmd] with team; or, "When he desired To Mount S!nai, wf th its repelling terrors, ia to inherit the blel!l!ing, be WM rejected (for oppo…
1,051 wordsSECTION 368The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 368
Exod. xx. 18) : for they oould not endure passage before us, a. distinction is to be that whioh was oommanded (rather, en- me.de between "Mount Zion" a.nd "the joined), U even a bee.et touoh the mountain, heavenly Jeruenlom," it may be that the it shall be stoned (IJ:xod. xix. 13; '' or thrust former represents the …
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The Old Covenant. The N8111 Covenant. Sinni, a palpable earthly mountain, sur- Zion, radiant with light and crowned with rounded by gloom and storm. the city of God. The angels through whom the Law was Fest.al choirs of &818mbled angel.a. gi \·en (cf. eh. ii. 2 ; Gal iii. 19 ; Acts vii. 53 ; Dent. xxili. 2), unseen b…
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Ohurcb on earth does not come up to tbo and far-reaching sense of nil J\,Jessin.nk ideo. of thd'~ Ohurch of the First.born ; " but prophecy. "Ill11stro est tcstimonium Is. it is presented ncoording to Oocl's purpose N ~wtoni acl Dcm_. p. 91 : t•ix71t~ in omni V. 'J'. for his people, nnd it rests with us to make aliq…
1,052 wordsSECTION 371The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 371
HOMILETICS. Vere. 1--3.-The life of faith, and its supreme Exemplar. In these verse~ the R_po~tle gathers up the practical lesson to be derived from his historical demonstra- tion of t_he power of faith contained in eh. xi. The figure of the passage is that of a rnce which the believer is requireJ to run, the refer…
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M we hear their heavenly greetings, and realize the fellowship with us which they claim, 2. The example of Jesus, the Leader and Perfecter of faith. (Vers. 2, .'3.) While gratefully conscious of the presence of the men of faith, we are to <1aze fixedly only upon Jesus, The writer refers to the Saviour here in his human…
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J•o~sibly there arc certain sins of ours in regard to which correction is needed, that we may be led to repent of them; and, when affliction overtakes us, we should endeavour to tind out what these sins arc. Or, perhaps, a life of ease and prosperity mo.y have ,educed us into spiritual carelessness, and favoured the…
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how m~oh more submissively should we bear _the Divine corrections, seeing they proceed from him from whom alone we have received our spiritual and immortal nature! 3. Dealt with unerring wisdom. (Ver. 10.) We who are parents often chastise our children wrongly. Sometimes our motives are wrong, as when we punish under t…
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i;piritunl rulers or the Church, the expr<>ssion, "looking carefully," in ver, 15, reminds us that the ordinary members also ought to exercise the office of a bishop over one nnother. 'l'he communion of our Churches would be purer, were this duty of mutual ~piritual care more clearly understood and better practised …
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Its ritual was sensuous. Its precopts were Rustained by earthly sanctioM. 2. Obar,nre. When God came down upon Sinai, he maclo "blackneRs and darkness" his pavilion; ho revealed himself in flame and storm. This is an emblem of the clourlecl cbamcter of the Old Testament revelation. Under it the plan of redemption still…
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W!IE shut out from intercourse with the rest of the world; but our fellow-citizens under the new covenant e.re: (1) The holy angels: "myriads of angels, a festal assembly" (vers. 22, 23) ;-the cherubim e.nd ser11phim, all the princes, -potentates- and rulers of the celestial hierarchy. (2) The saints on earth: the "…
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and th~ se~, and the dry land, and all nations." It would do greatly moro than produce alternt1on m the outer form and state of the Church. It would arasp 0 its very heart 1md life-flooding it with the noonday light of spiritual truth, and with the abundant grace of the Holy Ghost. The movables of Judaism, which had b…
1,085 wordsSECTION 379The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 379
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1, 2.-TI~ Chri.,;tian race. "Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so," etc. The "wherefore" shows the connection of our text with the preced- ing chapter. There the writer has exhibited the power of faith in a host of illustrious examples. To the exercise of a like f…
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let us ench take heed that we are not hindered in the race by reason of it. There i~ some weak point in the moral defences of our nature where the tempter most easily obtains acoess; to this point, wherever it may be, ~pecial attention must be directer!. "':ith somo it is an ungovernable tempe_r; with others, _a s~rong…
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I. THE EVIL TO BE GUARDED AGAINST. "Lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." . 'l'he C~ristian is in danger of weariness in the course which he is called to run. This we1mness springs from faintness of soul. When the heart loses its faith and ho_pe and 1:nthusiasm, the step soon loses its elasticity and vigour a…
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Vere, 5, 6.-Divine discipline. "My Ron, despise not tho11 the chastenin"' 0 of the Lord," etc. Our subject is Divine discipline. Let us notice- I. 1TB O!IARACTER. 'l'hree words are used to express it--" rebuke" "chastenino-," "scourging." The Inst two seem to be used synonymously here. Ar~hbishop Tren~h points out th…
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his l1and is fel~ it is not felt humbly and submissively; Mt bowed to, but resisted. ( 4) When the design or end of correction is not laid to heact." 2. It should not be deemed intolerable. "Nor faint when thou art rebuked of him." We are not to sink under the reproofs and strokes of the Divine discipline, though th…
1,183 wordsSECTION 384The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 384
Vers. 12, 13.-The Ohristian treatment of the feeble. "Wherefore lift np the hands which hang down," etc. J. THE LIABILITY TO FAINTNESS AND INFIRMITY IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. Tbis condition is variously described in the text. "The hands which hang clown," relaxed, enervated, incapable of vigorous or healthy action. "The …
1,186 wordsSECTION 385The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 385
attribute which is the very crown of all the culture of humanity; for it carries the soul up nee.rest to the everlasting Fountain of wisdom, power, goodness, from which it came. It enters in only where repentance opens the way, and spiritual renewal puts the heart into wholesome relations with the Divine will. It is t…
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Ycrs. 1G,_li.-E.m11; or, the s=·i/ice of the spiritttalfor the sensuous. "Lest there he any formcator, or profane person," etc. There is much about this man, Esau, which is_nobl~ and attractive. "Esan, the shaggy, red-haired huntsman, the man of the field, w~th his arrows, his quiver, and his bow, coming in weary fr…
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or his father's God or of his father. And when he was defrnurlcd of that blessing l,y his brother, he sought for it with a most pathetic earnestness (Gen. xxvii. 30-40). 2. Deep distress because of the loss of the forfeited blessing. Our text mentions tho "tee.re" of his great sorrow. " He cried with a great and exceed…
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but by spiritual conditions only. "The hour cometh, when neither in thle mountnin nor in Jerusalem, shall yo worship the 1<'11.ther. . . . The hour cometh, and no,v is' :when the true worshipper shall worship the Father in spilit and in truth," etc. (Joh~ 1v. 21-24). 'Wherever there is a devout soul, there is the tr…
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how different are they from even the best of men in this world! Many an imperfection will be put off by us nt death; many an error will be corrected Roon as we see thin"'s in the clcn.r light of eternity, "We are come , , . to the spirits of just men made perfect." '£hey 111·0 not lost to us, Life and immortality are b…
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". ki?gdom whi_ch CRnnot be moved." Christi11n Chur?hcs_ may pass away; but Chris- tiamty ever abides and ever grows, Christian denommat10ns and sects may die• but the Cln~rch of C~rist ever lives and advances toward~ its position of supreme' and world-wide sorere1gnty. Again, "grace and truth," "righteousness and p…
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of its progress, and the certainty of its results. By its fruits we shall distincruish faith from credulity. Nor shall we think any the less of it because thoso who h;ve it lack othor elements of lifo which aro valued by the world. Those who come to,,.ether into eo great a cloud of witnesses because they have faith wil…
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II. Trrn Arn PROPOSED TO us. The struggle is the thing mentioned, but behind tho stru~g_le _stands that for which the struizgle is engaged in. Each man, looking at poss1lnht1cs through bis natural eyes, has his own ideal of how to reward the exercised faculties of life. :So many kinds of men, so many ideals. But God…
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does riso again. Jesus is at the right hand of God, for he does actually rule over many human hearts. He did not paes through suffering and shame into an obscurity which was only the laet stage of the suffering and shame. His present glory is a manifest thin"', manifest in the light of more tests than one. It is a glor…
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him? And even ~o, if an ee.rthly father disciplines his children, me.king them do nnd bear many ha.rd things the.t they ma.y grow into a. useful ma.nhood, how much more will the heavenly Fe.ther make his children to suffer he.rdness that they may be fit to run in the way of his commandments hereafter? r. How A BRIGH…
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Vera. 14, 15.-The worst perils of the <Jhristian life. It may be presumed that these people suffering persecution are somewhat discontented and murmuring under it. Thus persecution may become a temptation; it ma.y bulk so largely before the eye as to hide far worse perils. It would almost seem as if the writer had the …
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in such a maze as life is coniinun.lly tending to become, but the position of some makes thoughtfulness a special duty. So it was with Esn.u, He had the birthright. To him it specially belonged to continue and increase the prosperity and credit of the family, Yet for the sake of a single meal because in his hunger he …
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w_icked abides-he is angry with the wicked every day-but it would be clean against his character as a pitiful and long-suffering God to have Sinai continually involved in smoking flame and roaring tempest. Sinai is God's appointed halting-place for us somewhere in the solemn and arduous journey of life. Zion is the go…
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a~d tMl that far out of their reach is a. kingdom of eternal life, which the Lord fills with his hfe and love and power? Our citizenship must be in the heavenly Jerusalem.-Y. Ver. 28.-The ttnsltalren kingdom. I. THE CARNAL ROPES OF ISRAEL. We know well from the Gospels what notions the disciples had of a visible kin…
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+1J1.d,J1.tf,la does not mean general philan- warnings, as cognate sine, and a.like incom- thropy, but the peculiar love of Christiana patible with the kingdom of God (cf. to each other as brethren ; "a. narrower I Co:':·. v. 10, 11; _vi. 9, etc. ; Eph. v. 3, 5; sphere within the wider sphere of l,:yd.1r11 " Col. Il…
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" in all things," not "among 1111 persona" ,rpourr&µ.rvo, : aee Rom. xii. 8 : 1 Theaa. v. (of. infra., Ter. 18; also Col. i. 18 • Titus 12; l Tim. v. 17), who apake to yon the ii. 9; l Tim. iii. 2; 2 Tim. iv. 5): If eo Word of God; of whose oonverution (i.e. here, -rlµ.w, ~ -y&µ.os must be t11.ken r11.ther e.s oouTs…
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inge In Bt. Paul's Epietlee (cf. Rom. xiv. 2, beallta, whoae blood ill brought into the 14, 21; Col. ii. 8, 16-23; 1 Tim. iv. 3). aanotue.ry by the High Priellt for llin (i.e. 'l'heee paes11gee eeem to refer in the first as sin offerings; for this sense of w,pl a.µap• place to purely Jewish distinctions, still Tlar, cf…
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pe.rts of it e.re found to be fulfilled. In duals on occasions calling for speoie.l the.nka- se.ying, "we hnve e.n e.ltnr," e.nd implying gi'l"iug (Lev. vii. 12). In the psalms it is that we ent of it, the writer he.s surely the used to express generally praise o.nd thanks- Euche.rist in view, though it does not fol…
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Too, ,rpoEl1'Taµlvovs 6µw11 and o/ ,rpoEl1'TWTES ~men. It ie St_. Paul's way also to introduce, 11'f'E11'/J6TEpo, being the words there used.) m the. en_d of his Epistles, n. solemn prayer or The special injunction hero to obey and benecl10tion, couched in termB suita.ble to submit may have been ce.lled for by some th…
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Aut.l1o?"Hbip, it 1!Upports the conclusion th1tt Mqllftinted with, l011ds us to infer that there the writer, if not himself, wns one of his had been no such olose nssociation, nt any o.eeoc,iatRs, Timothy he.ving been peculie.rly rate recently, between the writer nnd the hie diPciple anrl companion. It seems that re…
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the trensnrcs of spiritual truth, and whose affections are devout anci pure his visit may prove a means of direct quickening to the religious life of the household. Samuel ~tuthe_rford experienced this privilege, when one ~atuyday evening he received a strnnger mto his pleasant manse at An worth; for after bemg impr…
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a fivefold assure.nee of the Divine enpport. God gave this same promise to 90 many of the ancient S11ints-to Jacob, Joshua, Solomon, etc.-that it possesses the force of a spiritual adage, nnd thus may be personally appropriated by every believer. In nil ages thousands of the people of God have rested on it, and have nc…
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spiritual guide in pnrticnfar whose influence over his heart and life must continue unaffected by change or time; viz. the pastor under whose ministry he was converted, or whose teaching helped most powerfully to mould his Christian thoue1ht and give direction to his spiritual energies. 2. Consider their con.~islen~ Ch…
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Lcvitical distinctions between clean and unclean "meats," and perhaps also to the traditional customs on the same subject, which had been elevated to equl\l authority with those. Tbe apostle reminds his readers that all such precepts are only " oarnal ordinances," which the coming of Jesus Christ has rendered no lon…
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He knows that the whole visible order of things in this world shall pass away, and jnst as completely 11s the Jewish polity has already done. And he anticipates for himself a permanent home in the New Jerusalem that shall "come down out of heaven from God." CoNOLUSION. Seeing we possess such transcendent privileges" o…
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Vers. 20, 21.-0oncluding prayer for the Hebrews. The apostle, having earnestly reqnested the prayers of the Christian Jews for himself, proceeds to plead for them at the throne of the heavenly grace. He virtually says, " Pray for me, brethren ; I pray for you." And what a wonderful prayer is this l How brief, yet ho…
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Vers. 22-25.-Last words. If the previous part of this chapter is of the nature of a postscript, these closing verses seem to be a. second and briefer postscript appended to the first. The apostle's loving heart lingers fondly over the close of the letter, and prolongs its last words. I. HE ORAVEB A KINDLY RECEPTION…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-3.-Brotlierly love. "Let brotherly love continue. Be net forcretful to," etc. 'l'he writer now proceeds to exhort hie readers to the practice of sundry Christian virtues. He begins by enjoining the maintenance and manifestation of brotherly love. I. THE MAINTENANCE OF DROTHERLY LO…
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Ver. 5.-Clwistian contentment enfoined and encouraged. "Let your conversation be without co,•etousness," etc. Our subject naturally falls into two main branches. I. T~E- DUTY TO wmcn WE ARE SUMMONED. This duty is here stated negatively and pos1t1vcly. l. Freedom from the love of money. "Let your conversation be ,vit…
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Polybius, "Never complain of thy bard fortune so long as Caisar is thy friend." How much more mny we say to every true Christian," Never complain of such things as you havo so long ns you havo God for your Portion" 1 "Tho riob m11a ia bis wealth confides, But in my God my trust abides. Laugh ns ye will, I hold This…
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Ver. S.-The unchangeableness of Jesus Olirist. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever." The Lord Jesus Christ is nnchangeabl11- I. IN HIS PERSON. "Our Lord's Godhead is the seat of his personality. The Son of Mary is not a distinct human person mysteriously linked with the Divine nature of the e…
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till 'the end come,' when he shall have accomplished all the ends for which his office ns Mediator hnd been nssumcd." "Ho who for man their Surety stood, Ancl poured on Parth his precious blood, Pursues in heaven his mighty plan; The Saviour and the Friend of m1tn." (Logan.) Many of the miracles which he wrought w…
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Vers. 15, 16.-.Acceptable sacrifices. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise," etc. I. THE NATURE OF THE SACRIFICES WHICH ABE REQUIRED OF CHRISTIANS. 1. Praise to God. "Let us offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which make confession to his Name." The sacrif…
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Vera. 20, 21.-0oncluding prayer and doxology. "Now the God of peace, who brought again from the dead," etc. (vers. 20, 21). Let us notice-- I. THE GREAT BEING WBO IS HEBE ADDRESSED. "The God of peace." This title is fitly applied to the Most High. •1. He is infinitely peaceful in himself. All those elements which dist…
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I he gr<'at sacrifice of himself which lie offered. Ebrard : "Christ is the great true chief, and superior She12herd, inasmuch as he has made an everlasting covenant by hi; Mood (cf. eh. x. 11, etc.). The best commentary on these words is found in John x. He is the good Shepherd because he has given his life for the…
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Ver. 2.-HoBpitality. Note the connection of vers. 1 and 2. First ,p,:>..a.o,:>..q,ia. is enjoined, then ,p,:>..o!•vla., The stranger as well as the brother must have a. proper place in our consideration. Brotherliness must not lead to exclusiveness. We must go by the golden rule. If we came to a strange place at nightf…
904 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.