Vere. 11, 12.-Knowledge and mNcy in. the new covenant. "And they shall not teach every m,m his neighbour," etc. I. MAN'S KNOWI,ED0E oir Goo UNDER THE NEW COVENANT. "And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen, and every man his brother, saying, Know tbe Lord," etc. We have here: 1. The liighest subfect of knowledge. "The Lord: all shall know me.'' "This is life eternal, that they should know thee the only true God," etc. This knowledge is: (1) Sublimest in its character. There is no knowledge so exalted as this. Knowledge of astronomy is a high attainment; but it is not to be compared with lmowledge of him who made the stars and all worlds, and who sustains them and presides over them. (2) Widest in its extent. He is infinite, and can never he fully known by man: "The knowledge of God and of Christ," says Dr. Harris, "is the sum of all science; this is the only knowledge that can incorporate and mingle with our beinii:; and all other knowledge is real only so far as it is symbolical of this." (3~ Mightiest in its moral influence. It transforms the character of those who possess it (cf. 2 Cor. iii. 18). 2. The purest source of knowledge. '.fhe obligation of men under the old covenant to impart to each other the knowledge of God is implied in the text. 'l'his obligation is not abolished under the new covenant; but there is less need for such private instruction because of the frequent public services of qualified ministers of the gospel. Moreover, the text undoubtedly refers to the communication of knowledge by the Holy Spirit. "The agency of the Holy Ghost is assumed under this covenant as• the Spirit of truth,' the supreme and most vital Teacher of this true knowledge of God. For the covenant, taken in the large sense of a system of agencies, is definitely and certainly the gospel age as distinguished from the Mosaic ; and of this gospel age or dispensation, the gift of the Holy Ghost, to teach, impress, and enforce the true knowledge of God, is the centre and the soul, even as Jesus is the centre and sonl of the Christian economy considered as 'the Propitiation for our sins,' and our great High Priest before the throne of God. The results ns given here come of his teaching and ofno other" (H. Cowles, D.D.). 'l'his knowledge does not spring from mere human conjecture, or in:iaginalion, or investigation, or ratiocination; but from spiritual revelation. "All thy children shall be taught of the Lord." "Ye have an anomting from the Holy One, and ye know all things" (1 John ii. 20, 27). 3. The clear apprehension of knowledge. Proceeding from so crystalline a source, the stream will be clear. If our mind and heart be free from prejudice, then the instruction concernin~ God which we receive from the Word and the Spirit will be clear and correct; what we know of him we shall know truly. 4. The wide diffusion of knowledge. "All shall know rue, from tbe least to the greatest of them." Primarily the" all" refers to the "people" (rer. 10) of God: all of them shall know him. But eventually there shall be a universal di!Tusion of the knowledge of God. This the sacred Scriptures distinctly aflit-m (Matt. xxiv. 14; xxviii. 19; Luke xx.iv. 47; Rev. xiv. 6). II. GoD'B MERCY TO MAN UNDER THE NEW COVENANT. "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins,'' etc. Under the new covenant God manifests his rich grace in the way in which ho forgives sin. 'Ne have here: 1. The source of forgiveness. "I will be merciful." ~'orgiveness does not spring from man's repent- ance, but from God's mercy. Repentance is a condition of forgiveness, but the grace of God is its source. Apart from his grace repentance i11 impossible unto us. "By grace aro ye saved," etc. (cf. Eph. ii. 7-10). 2. 'l'he fulness of forgiveness. He 1iardons "their iniquities and their sins." He cleanses "from all unrighteousness." "'!'he blood of Jesus Christ hi11 Son cleanseth us from all sin." None are too numerous, none too aggravated, etc. (cf. Isn. i. 18; Iv. 7). 3. The irrevocableness of forgiveness. "Their sins will I remember no more." Strictly speaking, the Infinite Mind cannot forget anything. But God forgives so completely that the sins are as it were buried in 218 THE EPISTLE TO TUE HEBREWS, [oH, VIII, 1-13.
deep oblivlon. His forgiveness i~ irrevoc:ihle. This inspiring truth is repeatedly nml impressively expressed in the Bible (Ps. ciii. 12; Isa. xxxviii, 17; xliii. 26; xliv, 22; Micah vii. 19). This rich, abounding mercy is the reason of man's fuller, clear know- ledge of God. There was mercy in the old covenant, but in that it was not pre-eminent as in the new one. The chief feRture of that was Law; the chief feature of this is grace. Forgiveness leads to gmtitude and love to the Forgiver; and love lends to tbc clearer, wider knowledge of him. If you would know God truly, intimately, deeply, you must love him.-W. J,