The Pulpit Commentary — Hebrews — Section 282

"Christ is my only Hend, My alone only Heart and Breast, My only Music, striking me ev'n dead: 'fhat to the old man I may rest, And be in him new drest." (George Herbert.) II. TIIE DUTIES wmCH BEST UPON THOSE PRIVILEGES. (Vera. 22-25.) These are three in number, each being introduced with the words," Let us." They deal with our conduct towards God, towards the world, and towards the Church. Observance of them calls into exercise respectively the three great graces of the Pauline theology, the duties being those of faith toward God, hope exhibited before the world, and love to our fellow-believers. 1. The duty of Divine worship. (Ver. 22.) Worship is the move- ment of the soul towards God. To "draw near" includes every form which it is possible for acceptable religious service to assume. The apostle, taking for granted that his readers appreciate the inestimable value of communion with God, indicates briefly the qualifications and features of acceptable worship. (1) Sincerity. "With a true heart." Our devotion must not be feigned. We must not be hypocrites, or formalists, or sacramentarians. We "must worship in spirit and in truth." (2) Confidence. "In fulness of faith." Onr faith in the way of access must be entire and absolute. The apostle does not speak here of assurance of one's own personal salvation. What he insists upon is, that true faith cannot admit of any doubt as to its object-that object being the atonement of Christ, and his priestly work within the opened sanctuary of heaven. (3) .A pacified conscience. "Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience," When the Aaronical priests were installed their garments were sprinkled with blood, in token of their acceptance as ministers of the sanctuary; so the blood of Christ, while it satisfies Divine justice, satisfies also the conscience to which it is applied, delivers the soul from the sting of sin, and qualifies for the service of God. (4) .A purified heart, "And our body washed with pure water." A brazen vessel, called tbe laver, which was used for the ablutions of the priests, stood in the outer court between the altar and the door of the tabernacle. So, hard by the entrance of life, stands the baptismal font; and the beginning of the Christian career is for the soul to be washed in the !aver of regeneration. It is the "pure in heart" who "shall see God." 2. The duty of public confession. (Ver. 23.) It is not enough that we cherish deep religious convictions, and that we maintain a constant commerce with God in acts of secret prayer. We must acknowledge our Christian hope before men-with our lips and by our lives, and in the observance of the public ordinances of grace. We must not be ashamed to manifest profound spiritual earnestness, even in the presence of a persecuting world. To confess our hope will strengthen it. To refuse to acknowledge Christ is to deny him. And our coufession ought to be a consistent" Yea." We are unfaithful if we allow it to sway to and fro, even although it should expose us to obloquy and danger, Seeing that our hope is grounded upon the sure promises of our Father God, why should not our acknowledgment of the truth be always explicit and consistent? 3. The duty of Christian fellowship. (Vers. 24, 25.) Brotherly love shouhl prevail among believers as brethren in Christ. Especially should those who are connected with the same conareaation cherish a kindly and affectionate interest in one another. Our Cburch-memb~rship is not maintained merely for one's own personal edification. We should "conRider one another" in the spirit of brotherly love, and so that we may be mutually helpful to each other in the Divine life. We are to take kiudly thought of each other's excellences and defects, needs and dangers, tria.ls and temptations, and to minister aid to one another accordingly. And in so far as we realize the bonds of lovCJ nod sympathy which u~ite llS to our Christian brethren, will we prize such UEIIREWII, T  274 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [OH, X. 1-39,