‘them all, that we might be his. If a king take a servant into his family, and thereby free and discharge him from being liable unto any other duty or service whatever, may he not justly expect that such a.one will be diligent in the observation of all his commands, especially considering also the honour and advantage that he hath by being taken near unto his person, and employed in his affairs? And shall not God much more expect the like from us, considering how exceedingly the privilege we have by this relation unto him surpass- eth all that men can attain by the favour of earthly princes? And
_-if we will choose other lords of our own to serve, if we are so regard- less of ourselves as that we will serve our lusts and the world, when God hath had such respect unto us as that he would not suffer us to be subject unto the angels of heaven, how inexcusable shall we be in our sin and folly! ‘You shall be for me,’ saith God, ‘and not for any other whatever.’ And are we not miserable if we like not this agreement ?
(2.) For the manner of our obedience, how ought we to endea- vour that it be performed with all holiness and reverence! Moses makes this his great argument with the people for holiness in all their worship and services,—because no people had God so nigh unto them as they had. And yet that nearness which he insisted on was but that of his institutions, and some visible pledges and representations therein of his presence among them. How much more cogent must the consideration of this real and spiritual near- ness which God hath taken us unto himself in by Jesus needs be to the same purpose! All that we do, we do it immediately unto this holy God; not only under his eye and in his presence,
334 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP, IT.
but in an especial and immediate relation unto him by Jesus Christ.
Ver. 6—The apostle hath showed that the world to come, which the Judaical church looked for, was not made subject unto angels, no mention of any such thing being made in the Scripture. That which he assumes to make good his assertion of the pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus above the angels, is, that unto him it was put in subjection. And this he doth not expressly affirm in words of his own, but insinuateth in a testimony out of the Scripture, which he citeth and urgeth unto that purpose. And in this way he proceedeth for these two ends:—1. To evidence that what he taught was suit- able unto the faith of the church of old, and contained in the oracles committed unto it; which was his especial way of dealing with these Hebrews. 2. That he might from the words of that testimony take occasion to obviate a great objection against the dignity of Christ and mysteries of the gospel, taken from his humiliation and death, and thereby make way to a further explication of many other parts or acts of his mediation. Many difficulties there are in the words and expressions of these verses, and more in the apostle’s ap- plication of the testimony by him produced unto the person and end by him intended; all which, God assisting, we shall endeavour to remove. And to that end shall consider,—
1. The way and manner of his introducing this testimony, which is peculiar; 2. The testimony itself produced, with an explication of the meaning and importance of the words in the place from whence it is taken; 3. The application of it unto the apostle’s purpose, both as to the person intended and as to the especial end aimed at; 4. Further unfold what the apostle adds about the death and sufferings of Christ, as included in this testimony, though not intended as to the first use and design of it; and, 5. Vindicate the apostle’s application of this testumony, with our explication of it accordingly, from the objections that some have made against it. All which we shall pass through as they present themselves unto us in the text itself.
1. The manner of his citing this testimony is somewhat peculiar, “ One testified in a certain place,” neither person nor place being specified; as though he had intended ‘28 ‘223, a certain person whom he would not name. But the reason of it is plain; both per- son and place were sufficiently known to them to whom he wrote. And the Syriac translation changeth the expression in the text into, “But as the Scripture witnesseth and saith,” without cause. The Hebrews were not ignorant whose words they were which he made use of, nor where they were recorded. The “one” there mentioned is David, and the “certain place” is the eighth psalm; whereof much need not to be added. A psalm it is 8 Ninpin NIDA, « of the high
VER. 5-9. ] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 8385
praises of God;” and such psalms do mostly, if not all of them, respect the Messiah and his kingdom, as the Jews themselves acknowledge. For the time of the composure of this psalm, they have a conjec- ture which is not altogether improbable, namely, that it was in the night, whilst he kept his father’s sheep. Hence, in his contempla- tion of the works of God, he insists on the moon and stars, then gloriously presenting themselves unto him; not mentioning the sun, which appeared not. So also, in the distribution that he makes of the things here below that, amongst others, are made subject unto man, he fixeth in the first place on 72%, flocks of “sheep,” which were then peculiarly under his care. So should all the works of God, and those especially about which we are conversant in our particular callings, excite us to the admiration of his glory and praise of his name; and none are usually more void of holy thoughts of God than those who set themselves in no way acceptable unto him. Thisis the place from whence this testimony is taken, whose espe- cial author the apostle omitteth, both because it was sufficiently known, and makes no difference at all whoever was the penman of this or that portion of Scripture, seeing it was all equally given by inspiration from God, whereon alone the authority of it doth depend.