Obs. I. Compassion and forbearance, with meekness, in those from whom we expect help and relief, are the great motive and encou- ragement unto faith, affiance, and expectation of them.
It is unto this end that the apostle makes mention of this quali- fication or endowment of a high priest, with respect unto its appli- cation to Jesus Christ. He would therehy encourage us to come
462 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. V.
unto him, and to expect all that assistance which is necessary to relieve us in all our spiritual distresses, and to give us acceptance with God. No man will expect any good or kindness from one whom he looks upon as severe, incompassionate, and ready to lay hold on occasions of anger or wrath. When God himself saw it necessary to exercise severity, and give frequent instances of his dis- pleasure, for the preservation of his worship in holiness and order among that stubborn generation in the wilderness, they spake unto Moses, saying, “Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish. Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LorD shall die: shall we be consumed with dying?” Num. xvii. 12, 13. “ Behold, the sword hath killed some of us; and behold, the earth hath swal- lowed some of us; and behold, some of us are dead with the pesti- lence,” as the Chaldee Targum expresseth it. Most apprehend this to be a sinful repining against the righteous judgments of God, wherewith they were consumed for their sins. I rather judge it an expression of that bondage, legal apprehension of the terror of the Lord and his holiness, which they were then kept under, finding “the commandment which was ordained to life” to become unto them, by reason of sin, “unto death,” Rom. vii. 9, 10, And there- fore that last expostulation, “Shall we be consumed with dying ?” is a deprecation of wrath: as Ps, lxxxv. 5, “ Wilt thou be angry with us for ever?” and Lam. v. 22, “ Wilt thou utterly reject us?” But evident it is, that want of a clear insight into God’s compassion and forbearance is full of terror and discouragement. And he who framed unto himself a false notion of Christ was thereby utterly discouraged from diligence in his service: “I knew thee, that thou art an hard man,” or an austere, severe man; “ and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth,” Matt. xxv. 24, 25; Luke xix. 22. His undue apprehensions of Christ (the proper effect of unbelief) ruined him for ever. Wherefore God himself doth not, in his dealings with us, more properly or more fully set out any pro- perty of his nature than he doth his compassion, long-suffering, and forbearance. And as he proposeth them unto us for our encourage- ment, so he declares his approbation of our faith in them. He de- lighteth in them that “hope in his mercy,” Ps, xxxiii. 18. Hence, when he solemnly declared his nature by his name to the full, that we might know and fear him, he doth it by an enumeration of those properties which may convince us of his compassionateness and for- bearance, and not till the close of all makes any mention of his severity, as that which he will not exercise towards any but such as by whom his compassion is despised, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. So he affirms that “fury is not in him,” Isa. xxvii. 4. Although we may apprehend that he is angry and furious, ready to lay hold of all occasions to punish and destroy, yet is it not so towards them who
VER, 2.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 463
desire sincerely to “lay hold of him strongly,” and to “make peace with him” by Jesus Christ, verse 5. Elihu supposed that Job had such apprehensions of God: “Thou hast said, Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for hisenemy. He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths,” Job xxxiii. 10, 11. And, indeed, in his agony he had said little less, chap. xiv. 16, 17. But it is not so; for if God should so mark iniquities, who could stand? Ps. exxx. 38. Wherefore the great recompense that God gives to sinners from first to last is from his compassion and: for- bearance. And as for our Lord Jesus Christ, as mediator, we have evinced that all things were so ordered about him as that he might be filled with tenderness, compassion, and forbearance towards sin- ners. And as this we stand in need of, so it is the greatest encou- ragement that we can be made partakers of. Consider us either as to our sins or sufferings, and it will appear that we cannot maintain a life of faith without a due apprehension of it.
Obs, Il. Wherefore, secondly, we live, the life of our souls is principally maintained, upon this compassionateness of our high priest; namely, that he is able to bear with us in our provocations, and to pity us in our weaknesses and distresses. To this purpose is the promise concerning him, Isa. xl. 11. There are three things that are apt to give great provocations unto them that are concerned in us:—l, Frequency in offending; 2. Greatness of offences; 3. In- stability in promises and engagements. These are things apt to give provocations beyond what ordinary moderation and meekness can bear withal, especially where they are accompanied with a disregard of the greatest love and kindness. And all these are found in be- lievers,—some in one, and some in another, and in some all. For, 1. There is in us alla frequency of provocation, as Ps. xix.12. They are beyond our numbering or understanding. What believer is there that doth not constantly admire how the Lord Christ hath patiently borne with him in the frequency of his daily failings? that he hath carried it towards him without such provocations unto anger as to lay him out of his care? 2. Some of them are over- taken with great offences, as was the case of Peter; and there is not one of them but, on one account or other, hath reason to make use of the prayer of the psalmist, “ Be merciful unto my sin, for it is great.” And great sins are attended with great provocations. That our souls have not died under them, that we have not been rejected of God utterly for them, it is from this holy qualification of our high priest, that he is able sufficiently to bear with all things that are required in the discharge of his office. Were it not so, he would, on one occasion or another wherein now we admire his lenity and forbearance, have “sworn in his wrath that we should not enter into his rest.” 3. Instability in promises and engage-