Heb 5:0-10:18 | Family | STEP | Having several times spoken of Christ as our High-priest, chap ; he now proceeds to unfold at large the idea of his priesthood, chap , introducing, however, a digression, chap , by way of warning and exhortation. He begins by considering the qualifications and office of the earthly high-priest. He must be taken from among his brethren, that he may be able to sympathize with them, being himself a sharer of their infirmities; and he must be called of God. His office, moreover, is to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. With this earthly priesthood the higher priesthood of Christ is then compared. For men ; for the benefit of men in their spiritual concerns.

Hebrews 5

Having several times spoken of Christ as our High-priest, chap Heb 2:17; 3:1; 4:14,15; he now proceeds to unfold at large the idea of his priesthood, chap Heb 5:1-10:18, introducing, however, a digression, chap Heb 5:11-6:19, by way of warning and exhortation. He begins by considering the qualifications and office of the earthly high-priest. He must be taken from among his brethren, that he may be able to sympathize with them, being himself a sharer of their infirmities; and he must be called of God. His office, moreover, is to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. With this earthly priesthood the higher priesthood of Christ is then compared.

For men; for the benefit of men in their spiritual concerns. A kind, compassionate, and forgiving spirit is of great importance to all in the sacred office; and the consideration of their own unworthiness and of the grace of God towards them, is well suited to increase in them this heavenly temper. By reason hereof; of infirmity, which, in the case of the earthly high-priest, is connected with sin. See Le 9:7. This honor; of being a priest under the law of Moses, and offering sacrifices. He that said; God the Father, who appointed his Son Jesus Christ to be our High-priest.

Thou art my son; Ps 2:7. The sonship of Christ is here considered as including his priesthood. Chap Heb 1:5. Another place; Ps 110:4. The Old Testament is so constructed that the fulness of its meaning is seen only in the light of the New; and both must be taken together in order to have the fullest understanding of the revealed will of God. Offered up prayers; Mt 26:39-56.

In that he feared; because he was reverently obedient and submissive to God, God heard his prayer and answered it, in bestowing upon him all that he needed to prepare him for what was before him. Lu 22:39-46. A Son; the divine Son of God.

Yet learned he obedience; he learned by experience what it is to obey God in the midst of manifold sufferings. Thus he was qualified to succor those who are in like circumstances of suffering. Chap Heb 2:18; 4:15. Being made perfect; having triumphantly gone through with the course of suffering appointed for him, and thus become perfect as our Saviour. Though Christ has opened a way of salvation and commands us to make it known to all, yet every man for himself must enter and continue to walk in it, or he cannot be saved. Called of God; verse Heb 5:6. Hard to be uttered; difficult to be so explained that you will understand them.

Seeing ye are dull of hearing; slow of apprehension, through your sluggishness in respect to divine truth. The time; the length of time since they were converted.

Milk; the simplest truths. Unskillful in the word of righteousness; inexperienced, having comparatively little knowledge of the character and work of Christ, and the way of salvation through him as revealed in the Scriptures. Strong meat ; the more difficult parts of divine truth. Of full age ; of greater experience and knowledge of divine things. To discern ; to distinguish between truth and error, good and evil. Even Christians at first, and often for a long time, are ignorant of many things clearly revealed in the word of God, known by those who have made greater advances in the divine life, and which, where God gives opportunity, ought to be known by all.

Hebrews 6

Principles; elements or first rudiments of religion.

Unto perfection; maturity in the knowledge and obedience of the gospel. The reference is especially to those deep doctrines concerning the priesthood of Christ which he is preparing to unfold.

The foundation of repentance; the foundation consisting in the doctrine of repentance, and what follows. Upon this foundation we must always build, but we ought not to be always laying it.

Dead works; outward forms without spiritual life. Divine grace in the hearts of God's people is progressive. It leads them to increase in knowledge and piety, till they at last become perfect in Christ Jesus. Eternal judgment; judgment eternal in its consequences, having for its result the endless retributions of eternity. This will we do; we will go on unto perfection, as he proceeds to do in the seventh and following chapters. Enlightened; in the knowledge of the gospel.

The heavenly gift; that which God bestows upon men in the gospel.

Of the Holy Ghost; of the gifts which he bestows. 1Co 12:4-11. Have tasted the good word of God; have had experience of its excellency and power.

And the powers of the world to come; the world to come is probably here, as in chap Heb 2:5, the gospel dispensation, and its powers are those specified in chap Heb 2:4. Fall away; renounce Christianity, turn against Christ, and openly apostatize from his religion. If they do this they will perish, because they renounce the only way of salvation, and treat Christ as an imposter, deserving of crucifixion. Receiveth blessing from God; he rewards its fruitfulness with his blessing, making it still further fruitful. Compare the Saviour's words, "He that hath, to him shall be given." Mr 4:25. Thorns and briars; only.

Rejected; as worthless.

Nigh unto cursing; being given up to perpetual barrenness; bearing that which is fit only to be burned. So those who renounce Christ, go back to the world, and continue in sin, the Holy Ghost will leave to perpetual barrenness and death. Persuaded better things; he was persuaded, from what he had known of them, that in view of the destruction which awaited them should they apostatize, they would, through the grace of God and the use of proper means, persevere in holiness to the end, and so obtain eternal life. God is not unrighteous; he would not fail to reward the acts of love which for his sake they had done to his people. Mt 10:41,42. The same diligence; in the discharge of duty and the manifestation of love to Christ and his people to the end of life.

To the full assurance of hope; these words express the object which our Christian diligence has in view and which it secures. As those who apostatize, and continue to renounce Christ, will perish with an awfully aggravated destruction, Christians should carefully guard against all approaches towards this sin. Of them; Heb 11:32-40. As a knowledge of the destruction which awaits men who renounce the Saviour and continue in sin, is one of the means of preventing Christians from so doing, they should be thankful to him for communicating this knowledge, and for rendering it, with other means, efficacious in leading them to avoid this destruction, and perseveringly to imitate those who through faith and patience and much tribulation are now inheriting the promises. Made promise to Abraham; Ge 22:16-18. Obtained the promise; Ge 12:1-3; 15:5-21; 17:1-16; 18:10; 21:1,2. For confirmation; to confirm treaties and agreements; the oath gives confidence and puts an end to contention. Wherein; in respect to which matter, namely, the ending of all doubt and dispute by an oath.

Heirs of promise; true believers, to whom God has promised eternal life. Joh 10:27-30. Two immutable things; his word and oath.

Impossible; for want not of natural power, but of disposition; on account of his unchangeable faithfulness, truth, and holiness.

Fled for refuge; to Jesus Christ, by believing on him.

The hope; of heaven set before us in the gospel. Which entereth; it is immaterial whether we understand the hope of the anchor as entering, since the one is a symbol of the other.

Into that within the veil; into the heavenly holy of holies within the veil, that is, into heaven itself. For here, as elsewhere in this epistle, the earthly tabernacle--in whose inner sanctuary God had his visible dwelling-place between the cherubim that overshadowed the ark, Ex 25:22; Nu 7:89; Ps 80:1; Ps 99:1--is considered as a type of the true heavenly tabernacle where God resides. Compare chap Heb 8:2; Heb 9:11,12; and especially chap Heb 9:24. Hope has great influence in the salvation of Christians, and the gospel is suited to inspire it. But in order to this, the gospel must be believed. And that hope which arises from true faith tends powerfully to make men holy, and lead them, notwithstanding all trials, to persevere in holiness to the end. Pr 10:28; 11:7; 1Jo 3:3. The forerunner is for us entered; he has entered into heaven itself as our high-priest, to present his own blood before the throne as the expiation for our sins; and he has entered as our forerunner also, who will in due time bring us into his Father's presence, and present us faultless before his throne.

Made a high-priest--after the order of Melchisedec; thus the writer returns to the theme which he had proposed, chap Heb 5:11.

Hebrews 7

The argument in the present chapter rests on the certain truth, that God appointed Melchisedec to be a type of Christ in his priestly office, and ordered every thing concerning his history in such a way as to make the type as perfect as it could be in the case of a mere earthly priest. By his wise providence it came to pass, first, that both his name and that of the place where he reigned should be typical of Christ's character and office, verse Heb 7:2; secondly, that the inspired record should give his priesthood without any such limitations in respect to descent as belonged to the Levitical priesthood, and also without any notice of either the beginning or end of his life and priesthood, verses Heb 7:3,6,8; thirdly, that he should bless Abraham, the father of all the faithful, and receive tithes from him, in both which things was made manifest Melchisedec's official superiority over him, and consequently over all his children, none of whom could pretend to be in dignity above him, verses Heb 7:4,6,7.

Melchisedec--met Abraham; Ge 14:18,19. King of righteousness; this is the meaning of the Hebrew word Melchisedec.

Salem; that is, peace; Melchisedec was therefore in his own name and that of his city a fit type of the righteous Prince of peace, Isa 9:6; 11:4,5; 32:1. Without father--end of life; the inspired record takes no notice of any of these things; and this was designed by the Holy Ghost, that his priesthood might thus typify the priesthood of Christ in a double way; first, as to our Lord's human nature, as being a priest of another order than the Levitical priests, who must always be able to show their descent from Aaron, verses Heb 7:13,14, compared with Nu 3:10; Ezr 2:62; secondly, as to his divine nature, as being in the highest sense without any of these limitations. The reader should carefully notice that the apostle describes Melchisedec, the type, in terms which, in the full meaning, hold good only of Christ the great antitype. Christ as a priest making a real and perfect atonement for sin, stands alone in divine majesty, grandeur, and glory. All other priests were only types, emblems, and shadows of him, which when he appeared vanished away. How great this man was; see verses Heb 7:6,7, and notes. Have a commandment to take tithes; Nu 18:21-32.

Though they come; though their brethren of whom they take tithes, come out of the loins of Abraham. Thus the Levitical priests are raised above their brethren in official dignity. But he; Melchisedec.

Received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises; being thus exalted, not as the Levitical priests were, above the rest of their brethren, but above Abraham himself, and thus, as the epistle goes on to show, above the Levitical priesthood also. The less--the better; in official dignity. Men that die--he liveth; he passes to another point in which Melchisedec's priesthood was typically superior to that of the Levitical priests: it had no limitation; all the testimony we have of him is as a living priest and king, no mention being made of his death or the end of his priesthood. The writer designedly applies to Melchisedec terms which have their full application to Christ alone. See note to verse Heb 7:3. However much one man may be elevated above another, or however sacred the employment to which he may be called, he is a sinner; he must die, and with his fellow-sinners stand at the bar of Christ, give account of the things done in the body, and be treated for eternity according to his works. Levi also; and in him the Levitical priests of whom he was the father.

Paid tithes in Abraham; paid tithes to Melchisedec, and thus acknowledged his superiority. 11-19. A new argument is now introduced. Since the Levitical priesthood and the law were given together, as parts of one whole, so that the annulling of the one is the annulling of the other, why should God have promised another priesthood, and with it another economy, except because the former priesthood with its economy was unable to give perfection?

Perfection; see note to verse Heb 7:19.

Under it the people received the law; it was the basis of the Mosaic law in such a way that when the law should be changed, that must be changed also, verse Heb 7:12. He; Christ, spoken of in Ps 110:4.

To another tribe; not that of Levi, from whom the priests under the law were to descend. It is yet far more evident; that there is a change of the priesthood, and with it, of the economy. Who is made; constituted a priest.

Not after the law of a carnal commandment; not with a temporary and inefficacious priesthood, corresponding with the carnal ordinances of the law under which he ministers. Compare, for the meaning of these words, chap Heb 9:9,10; Heb 10:4.

After the power of an endless life; with an efficacious priesthood, such as belongs to one who has endless life and is a priest for ever, verses Heb 7:17,25. As Christ has made a full and perfect atonement, and ever lives to make intercession, all should forsake their sins, trust in him, and come to him for grace to help in all times of need. A disannulling; setting aside and bringing to a close the ceremonial law and its priesthood.

Weakness and unprofitableness; as to the work of making a true expiation for sin, and thus opening a true way for salvation. See the following note, verse Heb 7:19. The law made nothing perfect; the ceremonial law was not designed for that. It answered the local and temporary purpose for which it was intended, but its sacrifices could not, like the sacrifice of Christ, purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living God, cleanse from sin, justify and sanctify the soul, give it access to God, and inspire that hope which purifies it as Christ is pure.

But the bringing in of a better hope; the gospel through the atonement, righteousness, and intercession of Christ, does all this. Of course the gospel must be immeasurably superior in its benefits to the ceremonial law. Verses Heb 7:18,19 may be more plainly and simply rendered thus: "For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before, for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof--for the law made nothing perfect--and there is in the bringing in of a better hope," etc. 20-22. Still another argument to show the superiority of Christ's priesthood to that of Aaron and his sons: He was made priest with an oath, they without an oath. The added solemnity of the oath shows the superior dignity of the priesthood. A surety; one who becomes responsible for the fulfilment of a covenant.

A better testament; or, a better covenant. The same Greek word is rendered now covenant, as in chap Heb 8:6, etc., and now testament, as in chap Heb 9:15, etc. The later is the appropriate rendering where there is a reference to the death of him who mediates the covenant, as in the latter of the above passages. The covenant which was ratified by the blood of Jesus secured for ever the highest and best of blessings to all who trust in him and devote their life to his service. The last argument for the superiority of Christ's priesthood over that of the Levitical priests, after which there is a summing up of the perfections of our great High-priest, Christ Jesus, verses Heb 7:25-28. By him; as their high-priest, not venturing before God in their own name. Became us; was needed by us.

Made higher than the heavens; where he ministers before God. See chap Heb 8:1,2,4; 9:24. This he did once; made a full and complete atonement, so that no further sacrifice for sin would ever be needed. Consecrated; or perfected as a High-priest. Compare chap Heb 2:10; 6:9. Christ is in all respects such a Deliverer as sinners need. None perish for want of an all-sufficient and willing Saviour, nor because a way of salvation is not opened, nor because God does not desire their salvation; but if any who know the gospel perish, it is because they willfully and perseveringly refuse to accept its gracious offers.

Hebrews 8

Consecrated; or perfected as a High-priest. Compare chap Heb 2:10; 6:9. Christ is in all respects such a Deliverer as sinners need. None perish for want of an all-sufficient and willing Saviour, nor because a way of salvation is not opened, nor because God does not desire their salvation; but if any who know the gospel perish, it is because they willfully and perseveringly refuse to accept its gracious offers. Of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle; of the true heavenly sanctuary and tabernacle, of which the earthly is only a type, verse Heb 8:5. As Jesus Christ is a High-priest and Mediator in all respects such as we need, it is wrong to trust in or acknowledge any other. That this man; Christ, if he would perform the office of a priest. Not be a priest; he could not on earth officiate as a priest according to the Jewish law, because he did not belong to the tribe from which alone priests could be taken. He therefore, after having offered himself a sacrifice, ascended for the further discharge of his priestly office to heaven, of which the holy of holies was a type. Chap Heb 9:12. Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things; that is, who minister to the earthly tabernacle, which is but a type and shadow of the true tabernacle above where Christ ministers.

As Moses was admonished; Ex 25:40.

According to the pattern showed to thee in the mount; apparently a representation made to Moses in vision of a glorious structure after which he was to model the earthly sanctuary with its furniture, the tabernacle seen in vision being itself a type of the true spiritual realities of heaven. Compare Ezekiel's vision of a city and temple, chapters Eze 40.1-48.35, and John's vision of the new Jerusalem, in Revelation, chapters 21, 22. He; Christ.

A more excellent ministry; than the Jewish priests.

Better covenant; than that formed with Israel at Sinai.

Better promises; securing greater blessings. As the gospel dispensation is the last that God will ever grant to men, those who live under it and yet are not by it led to repentance and salvation, will perish with an everlasting destruction. First covenant; that at Sinai.

The second; that of the gospel. With them; according to some, with the provisions of the covenant at Sinai, as not adapted to give perfection, chap Heb 7:11,18,19. But we may more naturally refer the words to those who lived under the covenant. It was in connection with severe rebukes that this promise was given of a new covenant which should accomplish what the old had failed to do.

He saith; Jer 31:31-34.

New covenant; the gospel dispensation, which is spiritual in its nature. Put my laws into their mind, and--their hearts; deeply and permanently impress them on their minds, and incline their hearts to obey them.

And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. In the gospel covenant, God not only makes known to his people his will, but secures their obedience to it. To his grace they are indebted for their disposition to choose him as their portion, and for all the blessings which come from his being their God and their being his people. All shall know me; he would by his word and Spirit impart to them such knowledge of himself as should incline them to walk in his ways. Merciful to their unrighteousness; pardon their sins, and not so remember as to punish them. Made the first old; declared it to be old, and as such approaching its end, as the writer immediately proceeds to show. Momentous truth is often conveyed in the Bible by a single word, a change of which would greatly alter the sense, and give a different meaning to what is revealed. Hence the Holy Ghost directed the writers of the Bible not only what to write, but how to write it in order to convey exactly his meaning; and they spoke and wrote not in words which man's wisdom taught them, but which the Holy Ghost taught them. 1Co 2:13.

Hebrews 9

A comparison is now introduced between the priestly services of the first covenant, and the perfect priesthood of Christ, the Mediator of the new covenant. A tabernacle; the reference is to the movable tabernacle built by God's direction in the wilderness of Sinai, which had two divisions separated from each other by a curtain--the holy place and the most holy. See Ex 26. 1-37. The second veil; the first, or outer veil, answered for a door to the tabernacle. Ex 26:36,37. The second, or inner veil, separated the holy from the most holy place. Ex 26:31-33. The golden censer; in which the high-priest burned incense within the veil on the great day of atonement. Le 16:12. It seems to have been kept in the holy of holies; but however this may have been, it belonged to its furniture, and is properly reckoned to it. Le 16:12.

The ark; Ex 25:10-16.

The golden pot; Ex 16:33,34.

Aaron's rod; Nu 17:5,8,10.

Tables of the covenant; the two tables of stone containing the ten commandments. Ex 25:21; Ex 40:20. When Solomon removed the ark into the temple which he had built, there was nothing in it but these two tables. 1Ki 8:9; 2Ch 5:10. But it would seem that it originally contained the pot of manna and Aaron's rod. Cherubim; Ex 25:18,22. Always; daily, habitually.

First tabernacle; the first apartment, called the holy place. The second; second apartment, called the most holy.

Once; that is, on one day. He entered the most holy place on that day several times. Le 16:12,15.

Blood; that of the victims offered in sacrifice. Le 16:2-19,34. Into the holiest of all; that is, into God's presence. It was in the most holy place between the cherubim that he had his earthly dwelling-place under the Mosaic economy. See not to chap Heb 6:19. It was not yet revealed how men could approach God with acceptance. As a sign of this, his earthly abode was concealed by a veil, and could be approached only once a year by the high-priest, and that not without blood. But when Christ died the veil was rent, Mt 27:51, and thenceforward all his disciples became "a royal priesthood," having admission, through his blood, into the true holy of holies.

The first tabernacle; that is, as in verses Heb 9:2, 6, the outer tabernacle, which represents the whole Mosaic dispensation.

Was standing; that is, standing as a valid ordinance of God's appointment, and thus barring the way to the holy of holies. This continued till the rending of the veil at Christ's death. The Jewish ritual was full of meaning. God designed by it to teach men their pollution by sin, their need of spiritual cleansing, and the way in which this would be obtained, through the shedding of the blood of Christ and the renewing influences of his Spirit. Many were led by it to depend on Christ and obtain salvation through him. Heb 11:13-16. A figure; a shadow of good things to come under the Christian dispensation.

Perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; it could remove uncleanness and guilt only in a typical way. It had no power to quiet the conscience by removing its sense of guilt. Stood--in; consisted of.

Reformation; the new and better order of things under the Christian dispensation. Of good things to come; of the substance of those good things of which the rites of the Mosaic economy were only the shadow. Compare chap Heb 10:1.

By a greater and more perfect tabernacle; to be connected immediately with the words, "he entered in once," verse Heb 9:12. The meaning is, that just as the Jewish high-priest entered by the way of the earthly tabernacle into the earthly holy of holies, so Christ, our great High-priest, has entered through the tabernacle of the heavens not made with hands, into the true holy of holies above, there to present before God not the blood of bulls and goats, but his own blood, as an expiation for the sins of his people. The ashes of a heifer; Nu 19.1-10.

To the purifying of the flesh; to the removal of outward and ceremonial defilement; the flesh here representing that which is outward in man, as distinguished from that which is inward and spiritual. The eternal Spirit; the Holy Spirit, given him without measure, and under whose influence he offered himself a sacrifice for the sin of men.

Purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God; cleanse your consciences from the guilt and pollution of sin; make you spiritually alive, and enable you to offer the spiritual living sacrifice of holy obedience to God. Though the Jewish ritual has ceased as a mode of worship, yet its usefulness will continue to the end of time. It shows the evil nature of sin, the way of salvation from it through faith in Jesus Christ, the object of his death as an atoning sacrifice for sin, and the safety and blessedness of all who trust in him. Ga 3:24. For this cause; in view of what has just been said of the superior efficacy of his priesthood.

The new testament; the words "covenant" and "testament" are, in the original, the same. The new covenant, of which Christ is the Mediator, is also a testament when considered as ratified and made valid by his expiatory death on the cross.

For the redemption of the transgressions; for their forgiveness through the payment of a ransom. The power of Christ's expiatory sacrifice extends backward to the beginning of the world, as it does forward to its end.

They which are called; the called of God of all ages, before and after Christ's advent. Whereupon; for which reason.

The first testament; or covenant; God's arrangement with his people at Sinai.

Dedicated without blood; it was ratified by the blood of the sacrifice, which typified Christ, who ratified the second covenant with his own blood. When Moses had spoken; Ex 24:4-11. Testament; covenant. See note to verse Heb 9:15. He sprinkled--all the vessels; Ex 29:12,20,36. Purged; purified. Le 4:20,26,35; 17:11. As there can be no remission of sin except through the shedding of the blood of Christ and the atonement he has made, those who continue to reject him must remain under the guilt of unpardoned sin for ever. Patterns of things in the heavens; the tabernacle and its furniture, typical of the true heavenly tabernacle. See note to verse Heb 9:11.

Better sacrifices; the blood of Christ, which cleanses the conscience of all who believe from sin, and thus prepares them to enter with Christ their forerunner into heaven, the true holy of holies. In the end of the world; in the end of the ages; in those "last days" by which the Hebrew prophets represented the then distant future of the Christian dispensation. See note to 1Co 10:11.

To put away sin; to expiate it, and thus open the way for deliverance from its punishment, pollution, and power. As it is appointed unto men; he points out in these words the agreement between the one death of men who are to be redeemed, and the one death of their Redeemer, the man Christ Jesus. To bear the sins of many; to die on account of them, in the room and stead of sinners; the just for the unjust. 2Co 5:21; 1Pe 3:18.

Them that look for him; his people, who expect his coming to judgment. Mt 25:31-46.

Without sin; not as before to suffer for sin, but to give his people free, full, and everlasting salvation. As Christ has borne the sins of his people, and is coming for their deliverance from all evil and their introduction to the eternal enjoyment of all good, they ought to be ever rejoicing; giving thanks to God through Jesus Christ, and adoring him who, though he was rich, for their sakes became poor, that they through his poverty might be for ever rich.

Hebrews 10:1-18

The law; the ceremonial law, or Jewish economy.

A shadow; an emblem of the blessings of the gospel, but not the blessings themselves, or even an exact likeness of them.

The comers thereunto; to the service prescribed by the law.

Perfect, that is, as elsewhere expressed, "perfect as pertaining to the conscience," chap Heb 9:9. See also below, verses Heb 10:2, 22. It could not cleanse the consciences of the worshippers from a sense of guilt. A remembrance again made of sins every year; showing that the sins of those who offered sacrifices have not yet received a true expiation. Should take away sins; by making an expiation for them. The sincere offerers of these victims under the law did indeed receive forgiveness; but it was by virtue of the atonement of Christ, which the Jewish sacrifices prefigured. The sacrifices under the Old Testament were not an atonement for sin, but typical of the atonement which was to be made, and pointed the believing offerer to the sacrifice of Christ. He; Christ.

Sacrifice and offering; such as were presented under the law God no longer desired, Ps 40:6-8; a psalm which had its fulfilment in David only in a lower and typical way, but was prefectly fulfilled in Christ the great antitype.

But a body has thou prepared me; the quotation is made from the Greek version of the Seventy. The Hebrew is, "Mine ears hast thou opened," that is, to hear and do thy will. How the difference has arisen is not known. But in both the essential idea is, that the Messiah makes a perfect devotion of himself to the Father to do his will. The volume of the book; the Scriptures, which foretold the coming of Christ. Above, when he said; that is, after he had first said, "Sacrifice and offering," etc.--"then said he," etc., verse Heb 10:9. The first; the sacrifice of the law.

The second; Christ, doing the will of God in his obedience, sacrifice, and death. By the which will; of God as done by Christ, especially in his suffering and death, believers are justified and sanctified. Christ crucified as an atonement for sin is the great subject of the Old Testament scriptures. Their principles and precepts, their rites and ceremonies, their sacrifices and offerings, their predictions, declarations, and promises have reference to him; and one who does not see them in this light will never apprehend the fulness, or duly appreciate the perfection of their meaning. Oftentimes; morning and evening daily. This man; Christ.

On the right hand of God; in an exalted state of glory, which is evidence that his atonement once for all is accepted, and is efficacious in securing the salvation of all who believe. The Holy Ghost--is a witness; to the above-mentioned truths, by what he has said in Jer 31:33-34. The testimony of the Holy Ghost in the Old Testament is in accordance with his testimony in the New. It is equally a part of God's revelation to men, and without understanding it, men cannot be skillful in the word of righteousness, or well fitted to communicate a knowledge of it. And their sins; supply before these words, Then said he. No more offering; no need of any further atonement.