“O Spdvos cov, 6 Ocdc, cis rev wiava rod aiavoc. Ps. xlv. 7 is the place from whence the words are taken, “>? pbty porios 7892, The LXX. render these words as the apostle. Aquila,“ O Spovoc cov Oc¢ cig wiave ual err Océ, for 6 Ozds-—* Thy throne, O God, for ever and yet.” Symmachus, ‘O Spevos cov 6 Osdg wiavios zal @rr—* Thy throne, O God, is everlasting and yet;” and that because it is not said, nbay’, but 2759, absolutely ; “O sds, Océ, as in the translation of Aquila.
802 is “a kingly throne,” nor is it ever used in Scripture for 22%, “a common seat.” Metonymically it is used for power and government, and that frequently. The LXX. almost constantly render it by Spevos, and Spovos is erevbepsos nocbedpee ad) drorodlm, Athens, lib. v.,—% a free open seat with a footstool.” And such a throne is here properly assigned unto the Lord Christ, mention of his footstool being immediately subjoined. So God says of himself, ‘‘ Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool;” as the heathen termed heaven, Ards Spevor, “ The throne of God.”
“ Thy throne, O God, 723 2°49,” in seculum et usque;” “in sempiternum et perpetuo;” “in seculum seculorum.” The duration denoted by the conjunction of both these words is mostly an absolute perpetuity, and a certain, uninterrupted
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178 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. I.
continuance, where the subject spoken of admits a limitation. Many of the Greek interpreters render 7? by ?xs, attending to the sound rather than the use and signification of the word; so is “yet” in our language. This we express by, “for ever and ever.”
“Pabdos evdururos f° paedos Booireias cov. ‘The variation of 4 peCdos in the first place, before mentioned, takes off from the elegancy of the expression, and darkens the sense; for the article prefixed to the last pé6do¢ declares that to be the subject of the proposition. J ¢
The words of the psalmist are, "m">2 vaw “Wi? D2 —« Shebet,” is “ virga,” and “ sceptrum,” and in this place is rendered by Aquila oxjxrpov, “a rod,” “a staff,” “a sceptre;” always a sceptre when referred to rule, as in this place it is called the sceptre of the kingdom.
A “sceptre,” "2, from “Y, “rectus fuit,” to be “right,” “ straight,” “ up. right,” principally in a moral sense. Evdvrnros, “ of uprightness.” Eddvrng is properly such a rectitude as we call straight, opposed to crooked; and me- taphorically only is it used for moral uprightness, that is, equity and righte- ousness, Syr,, SYYD 8Y3Y, Boderianus, “sceptrum erectum,” “a seeptre lifted up,” or “held upright.”” The Paris edition, “ sceptrum protensum,” “a seeptre — stretched out; and the stretching out of the sceptre was a sign and token of mercy, Hsth. y. 2. Tremellius, “ virga recta;” which answers “ mischor” in both its acceptations. Erpenius to the same purpose, “sceptrum rectum,” “a right sceptre,”
“Thou hast loved righteousness and hated 927,” dvowlev, ddinlev, “ iniquity,” “unrighteousness,” “ wickedness.” Aud rodro, 12°72, “ propterea,” “propter quod,” “quare,” “ideo,” “ idcirco,’’—“ wherefore,” “for which cause.” Some copies of the LXX. and Aquila read éxt rotre, so that da rodro seems to have been taken
—* God, thy God, hath anointed thee.” The words in Greek and Hebrew are those from whence the names of Christ and Messiah are taken, which are of the same importance and signification,—* The anointed one.” And the same by the Targumist; Aquila, 7renpe.
“Wath anointed thee saws &yarrrcoews,’’—the instrument in doing of the thing intended, expressed by the accusative case, whereof there are other instances | in that language. Of old the LXX. read éauly dyarniowod, “with the oil of delight,” or “ornament;” so that érwsov dyarrscoews came algo into the Greek version from this place of the apostle, and is more proper than the old reading, “the oil of rejoicing,” “joy” or “ gladness.”
Tlepe rovs weréyous aov* 7372,“ before,” or “ above,” * those that partake
with thee,” “thy fellows,” or “companions.” So Symmachus, rods érafpous
cou,"
Ver. 8, 9.—But unto the Son [he saith], Thy throne, O God, is for ever ; the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; wherefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
This testimony is produced by the apostle in answer unto that
* Various Reapinas.—Lachmann, on the authority of respectable manuscripts, gives the reading, Kal paSdos ris evdvrnros paldos, x. 7. A. Exposition.— O ©sés is the usual voc., and nearly the only form of it,
VER. 8, 9.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 179
foregoing concerning angels. ‘Those words,’ saith he, ‘were spoken by the Holy Ghost of the angels, wherein their office and employ- ment under the providence of God is described. ‘These are spoken, by the same Spirit of the Son, or spoken to him, denoting his pre- existence unto the prophecies themselves,’
There is little or no difficulty to prove that this testimony belongs properly unto him to whom it is applied by the apostle. The ancient Jews granted it, and the present doctors cannot deny it. One of them says, indeed, mwrn Sy ox ay Sy axa MIA AN; —“ This psalm is spoken of David, or the Messiah.” These are the words and this is the opinion of Aben Ezra; who accordingly endeavours to give a double sense of the chief passages in this psalm,—one as applied unto David, another as applied unto the Messiah, which he inclines unto. Jarchi turns it into an allegory, without any tole- rable sense throughout his discourse. But though it might respect them both, yet there is no pretence to make David the subject of it, the title and whole contexture of it excluding such an applica- tion.