The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 276

the Inward conecioueneB.!I of debo.rring sin together, as does the verb 1..-,uvv&-y"', both removed through the blood of Christ; the in the LXX. and the New Testo.ment (er. "full o.ssuro.nce of fo.ith " in the completed Matt. xxiii, 37 ; xxiv. 31 ; Mark :<iii. 27; atonement, and the "true bee.rt," being i. 33: Luke xii. 1). Hence, and in regard presupposed, The conjoined clause, 1«d to the context as well_ as the etymology of ll.<l\ovµlvo,, etc., is capo.hie o.lso of being the word, we may reJect the leas detinite flgurntively interpreted, in the sense that mea.?ii;ig, by some here aesigned to it, of "our Rinful bodies" ho.ve been" ma.de clean," Christian communi011 ( CFYrlj,UJatio fidelium ), so as to be offered through life o.cceptably as"o. o.nd the exolanation of Bengel: "Senaus living sacrifice,'' as well as "our souls we.shed est, non modo _debetia ~ynag_ogam frequen- through his most precious bloorl." And this tare, ut Judm1, quod hhentms facitis, sed may be ta.ken o.s implied. But the terms etiam episynagogarn, nt Christiani. Neque body o.nd water after hearts and blood cer- tamen innuitur prrecise aggregatio e.d unum tainly suggest e. direct reference to baptism. locum, aut aggregatio ad unamjidem • sed, And such definite allusion is in keeping medio sensn, congregat.io mntua. per ar:iMem with references elsewhere to the beginning et communico.tio pnblico. et private. offici- of the Christian life (see Acts ii. 38; xxii. orum Christia.norum." The seen approach 16; Rom. vi. 3, 4; 1 Cor. xii. 13; Ga.I. iii. of the second ad vent (T¾,v -1,µlpa.v : cf. l Cor 27; Col. ii. 12; 1 Pet. iii. 21). The passage iii. 13) is add need a.s o.n additional argnment last referred to is apposite to that before us age.inst remissness. The word fjll.frr•-r• in that with an undoubted mention of bap- seems to imply more than the general belief tism is conjoined "the a.newer of e. good in its imminence, founded on the la.ngaage conscience toward God." of Christ. It would seem as if the signs of Vere. 23-25.-Let 118 hold fast the oon- the times were interpreted l!.8 denotin; it~ fession (6µol\o-yliiv, see eh. iii. 1, and reif.; approach (cf. 1 John ii. 18). And it may also eh. iv. 14) of our hope without wavering be that they were rightly so interpreted in (ut<ll.wij, agreeing witll "confession"); for reference to the primary fulfilment of our he is faithful that promised : o.nd let 118 Saviour's words, though to that only, as the oonsider one another to provoke unto love event proved, The blending together in o.nd to good works; not forsaking the 881em- the discourses of Matt. xxiv., Mark xiii., bling of ourselves together, 0.1 the manner Luke xvii o.nd xxi., of the times of the fa.II of some is ; but exhorting one another ; and of Jerusalem and of the final day, would so muoh the more, as ye see the do.y ap- naturally lead Christians to regard the proaohing. The readers, having been ex- signs of tho first event as denoting the horted to confidence towards God, are other also. And indeed the imminence of further warned against remissness in con- the first, of which the signs were really fession before men, or in their duties within apparent, was in itself e. peculi~ reason the Churoh towards ea.eh other. They had why the Hebrew Christians should stick once, o.t their baptism, "confessed the good resolutely to Cbril!tianity, for its own sake confession" (-dw t<iil\¾,v 6µol\o-yliiv, I Tim, and apart from Judaism. Else might their vi. 12). Let not the recurrence of Jewish whole hold on Clirist be loosened in the prejudices, or either influence or persecution temple's fa.II. Thus, though the writer from their Jewish compatriots, or any delo.y might share in the misto.ken view then of the Parousia, induce them to wo.ver in prevulent of the imminence of the final day, maintaining it. Some among them did, his warning, founded on the supposed sig11s it could not be denied, show signs of such of it, hits well the peculiar needs of his wavering, noto.bly in their remiss attendance readers. o.t Christian worship; let the faithful give Vers. 26-32.- Solemn warning III lo the heed to keeping faith alive in themselves fearful conseq,,ences of apostasy. aud others, o.nd espeoia.lly through the Vers. 26, 27.-For if we Bin wilfully after means of the regular Church usemblies. that we have reosived the knowledge of the The.t by T¾/v imuvvii-yw-y¾,v '"VTwv is mee.nt truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice delinitely the actue.l ussembling together for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of Christians for reading, exhortation, and (et<6ox¾/, used here only; but e1<6exo,u.a, is worship (suoh o.s is referred to in 1 Cor. xi. : frequent in the New Testament in sense Jo.a. ii. 2, eto.; and described by Justin of"expeot;" e.g. ,upra, ver.13. Hence there Martyr, 'Apo!.,' o. 87), we hold confidontly seems no good ground for disputing, witll with the majority of commentatoxs and Alford, the usual rendering, "expecta- with Ohrysostc,m, The word i..-11T11vii-ya,-0, tion") of judgment, and fiery indignation occurs in the New Testo.ment only here and (',rvf,/,s {iill.os), which llho.ll devour the adver- 2 These. ii. 1, where it denotes the gathering lBl'iea. The warning passo.ge thus beg1m together at the Parousia. In 2 Me.oo. ii. 7, closely resembles the former interposed one, where o.lone it ooours in the LXX., it oh. vi. 4-9, Both have beeu similarly upreBSe11 the actue.l assembling of people 11W111,pplied (see notes on oh. vi. 4-9); but  268 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [ell. X. 1-39,