unsocn, as something which out of the unseen is realized to us. It is as if when a ship is drifting towards e. dangerous shore, a beneficent hand should snd,lenly ;each oul of th_e waves and fling e. rope to be fastened to the ship. Our great confidence, hope, and Joy should be in this, that Jesus, vanished into the unseen, has still a livincr and active connection with a needy world. Note how full this whole passage is of strong words. Examino the passage in the original, and this will come out very clearly~ Strong words in ordinary speech are too often the resort of weak men; but here they have to be used at every tarn in order to set before us the stable anchoracre and the solid, well-forged anchor which have been furnished to us by God himself.-¥.
EXPOSITION. need to understand anything implied as to CHAPTER vn. Melchizedek himself beyoncl what we learn THE PRIEST AI!'TL:a THE OnnER 011' MEL- from Genesis. Some commentators,.on the CHIZEDEK. strength of what is here saicl of him, have The exposition of Christ's heavenly priest- snpposed him to have been some super- hood is now nt length to.ken up e.nd co.rried human being; and many theories have been out. It extends to eh. x. 19, forming the propounded as to who and what he was. All central part of the whole Epistle; and in such views have arisen from a misconception the conr~e of it is set forth also how the of our writer's drift; from regarding the re- whole Jewish economy did iu fact only presentation of the ideal which Melcbizedek prefigure and prepare for this one availing typified e.s po.rt of the o.cconnt of what he priesthood of the true High Priest of actually was, the actual e.nd the ideal being, mankind. The peculiar thesis of eh. vii. is in fact, somewhat blended in the exposition. "after the order of Melchizedek," the ques- That no more is implied a.bout the mo.n tion being-What is signified by this desig- himself than what is recorded in Genesis nation of the Messiah in the hundred and may be conclnded, not only from the purport tenth psalm? The remarkable import of (rightly understood) of the passage before that psalm, in that it assigns priesthood as us, but also from the analogy of the rest of well as royalty to the SoN, was noted under the Epistle, throughout which the Mgnments eh. v. 6. His being Priest at all implies a are based on the contents of the Old Testa- different order of royalty from that of the ment itself, e.s it was read and received theocro.tic kings. But what further is by the Hebrew Christia.us. For example, meant by his priesthood being after the neither David, nor Solomon, nor Isaiah are order, not of Aaron, bnt of Melchizedek? adduced as having been other them wh11t Is it that Mclchizedck, being King of Salem the so.cred record represents them to have as well as priest of the most high God, is been, though it is shown that what is said therefore selected as the most suitable type of them in tho spirit of prophecy points to of the great Priest-King to come? Yes; an ideal beyond them. but there is more in it than this, as the Vers.1-3.-Jl'or this Melohizedek, King of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met writer goes on to show, To get at the full Abraham returning from the slaughter of the import of the expression in the psalm, he kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abra- o.no.lyzes what we are told a.bout Melchizedek ham divided a tenth part of a.11 (this descrip- in Gen. xiv. (the only other po.ssage from tion belongs to the subject of the se11teuce, which anything ie known of him), e.nd being merely a recapitulation of the facts recorded in Genesis, the lauguage of the considers what could bo meant in the psalm LXX. being used; what follow~ belon~ by "e. priest e.fter his order," and that " for properly to the predict\te, being of tb.o ever." Both the actual history and the nature of e. comwent on the facts recorded); itleo.l of the psalm are in his .view together; :first, being by interpretation King of right- and from the two combined he deduces the eousness (whioh is the meaning of the name Mclchizedek), and then also King of Salem, intended idea of "e. priest for ever after whioh is, King of peaoe (the very names of the ordor of Melchizedek." himself and his kingdom are significant Dcal'iug this in mind, wo sl1all have no (cf. Ps._lxxxv, 10; lxx.ii. 3; Isa. xxxii. 17: THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [en. vn. 1-28,