VER. 15-19.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 169
themselves, nor endeavouring to lead their hearers into the secret and rich recesses of them. And secondly, which is worse, When men without the Scripture design their subjects, and project. the handling of them, and occasionally only take in the words of the Scripture, and that guided more by the sound than the sense of them. And thirdly, which is worst of all, When men by their own notions, opinions, curiosities, and allegories, rather draw men from the Scripture than endeavour to lead them unto it. The example of our great apostle will guide us unto other ways of proceeding in our work.
Ver. 16.—For some, when they heard [the word], pro- voked; howbeit not all who came out of Egypt by Moses.
The intention of the apostle in this and the ensuing verses, as hath been observed, is to confirm his preceding exhortation from the example proposed unto them, and that on the consideration of the various events that befell their forefathers in the wilderness, with respect, on the one hand, unto the promises and threatenings of God, and on the other, to their faith and disobedience. To this end, in this verse he makes a distribution of the persons who came forth of Egypt under the conduct of Moses, and heard the voice of God in the wilderness:—They all “came out of Egypt,” they all “heard” the voice of God; howbeit all did not “ provoke,” but only “some.” Two things, then, are affirmed of them all in general ;—First, That they “all came out of Egypt by Moses;” Secondly, That they all “heard” the voice of God. And the limitation respects one instance only,—some of these all “provoked,” and some did not. The first thing in general ascribed unto them is, that they “ came out of Egypt by Moses.” A few words, but comprehensive of a great story; a work wherein God was exceedingly glorified, and that people made partakers of greater mercies and privileges than ever any before them from the foundation of the world: the pressing whereof upon the minds and consciences of the people is one main end of the Book of Deuteronomy. Moses sums up much of it, chap. iv. 34: “Did ever God assay to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the Lorp your God hath done for you?”
“Tantz molis erat Judzam condere gentem.”’
And besides the other circumstances that the apostle expressly insists upon, this is mentioned here to intimate what obligation was on this people to attend unto the voice of God, in that he brought them up out of Egypt; and therefore it pleased God to preface the whole
170 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. III.
law of their obedience with the expression of it, “I am the Lorp thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,” Exod. xx. 2, Ase Mavotws, “ By Moses.” “ By the hand of Moses,” saith the Syriac. That is, either under his con- duct and guidance, or through the prevalency of the miraculous works which God wrought by him. Both these senses the prophet expresseth, Isa. lxiii. 11, 12: “Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his Holy Spirit within him? that led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name?” Both the conduct of Moses, and the miracles that God wrought by him, are comprised in their coming up “by Moses.” And, by the way, it may be observed, that in this preparation and consultation, as it were, about new mercies to be bestowed on that people, there are several persons in the Deity in- troduced treating about it, and calling to remembrance their former actings towards them. He that speaks is the person of the Father, whose love and compassion are celebrated, verses 7—9, as they are everywhere peculiarly ascribed unto that person. And he that is spoken of, and as it were inquired after to appear again in the work of their salvation, which peculiarly belongs unto him, he is called the “Angel of his presence,” verse 9, and the LorD himself, verse 14; that is, the person of the Son, unto whom the actual deliverance of the church in every strait doth belong, and he is therefore here, as it were, inquired after. And with reference unto this work by Moses it is said, “ And by a prophet the LorD brought Israel out of Egypt, and by a prophet was he preserved,” Hos. xii. 13. And this be- longeth unto the whole people, none excepted.
Secondly, This also is ascribed to them, that they “heard:” for whereas it is said, “Some, when they heard, provoked,” it is not meant that some only heard, and provoked; but of them that heard, some only provoked. What they heard was declared before, —the voice of God, as it is said, “ To-day, if ye will hear his voice.” And this may be taken either strictly, for the hearing of the voice of God at the giving of the law on mount Sinai, when the whole con- gregation heard nidip, those voices of God in thundering and dread- ful agitations of the mount wherewith it was accompanied, and the voice of God himself whereby the law was pronounced,—that is, an audible voice framed for that purpose by the ministry of angels; or it may be taken more largely, for a participation in all those instrue- tions which God granted unto them in the wilderness. There seems, indeed, to be an especial respect unto the giving of the law, though not merely the promulgation of the ten words on Sinai, but the whole system of precepts and ordinances of worship that attended;