Thirdly, God’s rest after the creation of the world at first was on the first seventh day; which he therefore “blessed and sanctified,” that it might be a pledge and token both of his own acquiescency in his works and in the law of obedience that he had assigned unto them all; as also unto men of that eternal rest which was in him- self prepared for them, upon the observance of that law whose in- stitution he himself rested in, and also that they might have an especial time and season solemnly to express their faith and obe- dience. And this day he again, for the same ends, renewed unto
VER. 6.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 293
the people of Israel, and that without any change of it, both be- cause the time was not yet come wherein the great reformation of all things was to be wrought, and because the first covenant, where- unto that day’s rest was annexed, was materially revived and repre- sented anew unto that people. And this day of rest, or the insti- tution of the seventh-day Sabbath in the church of the Jews, is necessarily included in this verse: for without the consideration of it this rest doth not answer the rest of God before insisted on, and which is the rule and measure of all that follow; for therein there was a day of rest, which is mentioned synecdochically for the whole rest of God, in these words, “ For one speaking of the seventh day ;” and therefore our apostle, in his next review of this testimony, doth not say there was another rest, but only that “another day” was determined, which extends both to the general season wherein the rest of God is proposed to any, as also to the especial day, which was the visible pledge of the rest of God, and whereby the people might enter into it, as in the ensuing words will be made ma- nifest.
This, then, is that which the apostle hath proved, or entered upon the proof of, towards his main design in these verses,—namely, that there being a rest of God for men to enter into, and this not the rest of the land of Canaan, seeing they who had it proposed and offered first unto them did not enter into it, there must be yet that other rest remaining which he provokes the Hebrews to labour for an entrance into. And the ground of his argument lies herein, in that the rest of Canaan, although it was a distinct rest of itself, yet it was typical of that other rest which he is inquiring after, and the good things of this new rest were obscurely represented unto the people therein; so that by rejecting that rest they rejected the virtue and benefits of this also. And we may hence observe, that,—
Obs, I. The faithfulness of God in his promises is not to be mea- sured by the faith or obedience of men at any one season, in any one generation, or their sins whereby they come short of them, nor by any providential dispensations towards them.
The people in the wilderness having a promise proposed unto them of entering into the rest of God, when they all failed and came short of it, there was an appearance of the failure of the promise itself. So they seem themselves to have tacitly charged God, when he de- nounced the irrevocable sentence against their entering into the land of promise: for after the declaration of it he adds, “ And ye shall know my breach of promise,” Num. xiv. 34; which is a severe and ironical reproof of them. They seem to have argued, that if they entered not, God failed in his promise, and so reflected on his truth and veracity. ‘That, saith God, ‘shall be known when you are utterly destroyed; (for then it was that it should be accomplished.)
294 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. Iv.
‘Ye shall know that it is your sin, unbelief, and rebellion, and not any failure on my part.’
Our apostle manageth a great argument on this subject in another place. Upon the preaching of the gospel, it was seen that, the Gentiles being called, the generality of the Jews were rejected, and not taken into a participation of the benefits thereof. Hence there was an appearance that the promise of God unto the seed of Abraham, and the faithfulness of God therein, were failed. This objection he proposeth to himself by way of anticipation, Rom. ix. 6, “ Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect.” The “word of God” intended is the word of promise, as is declared, verse 8. This seemed to fail, in that the seed of Abraham were not universally, or at least generally, made partakers of it. ‘It is notso,’ saith he; ‘the promise is firm and stable, and hath its effect, notwithstanding this appear- ing failure.’ Thereon he proceeds at large in the removal of that objection, by manifesting that in the fleshly seed of Abraham the promise was effectual, according to the eternal counsel of God and his purpose of election.
And thus it frequently falls out among the people of God. Havy- ing, it may be, made some undue applications of promises unto them- selves; it may be, misinterpreted or misunderstood them; or, it may be, supposed that they were in a greater forwardness towards their accomplishment than indeed they were; upon their own personal trouble, or calamities of the whole church, they have been ready at least to expostulate with God about the truth and stability of his promises. See Ps. cxvi. 11; 1 Sam. xxvii. 1; Jer.xii. 1; Hab. i. 2-4, 13. The greatness of their troubles, and the urgency of their temp- tations, cast them on such expressions. The psalmist gives one corrective to all such failings, Ps. xxvii, 10, “I said, This is my in- firmity; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High ;’—‘All my troublesome apprehensions of God’s dispensa- tions, and the accomplishment of his promises, are fruits and effects of my own weakness. To relieve me against them for the future, I will consider the eternity, and power, and sovereignty of God; which will secure me from such weak apprehensions.’ And to help us in the discharge of our duty herein, we may take the help of the en- suing observations and rules:—