delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.' And what was this life of Jesus? The same spirit of faith,' says St Paul; and then quoting his Lord's words, I believed, and, therefore, have I spoken;' he adds, we also believe, and, therefore, speak. And if in this severe school they learned to trust in God as Christ did, they also learned in it to praise him. Assured that the faithfulness of God would make present sorrow to issue in eternal joy, they gloried in tribulations. And being caused in these tribulations, to experience God's merciful deliverances, they praised while they trusted, and trusted while they praised. Christ blessed the troubles of his people in this way, to form in them his own character; and they were known as his children on the earth. Now his way with his people is the same still. And when the character which he thus forms in them on earth, appears in perfection in the heavenly kingdom, they shall be known as his children for ever. Repine not, then, O believer, that thou art brought into trial, and made to experience sorrow; Christ brings thee into his own circumstances that he may teach thee to trust thy God, and give thee cause to praise him. He would also thus prepare thee for dwelling with him hereafter, known by thy family likeness to be one of those whom he has begotten to himself." Pp. 174–175.

But, losing sight of the author for a little, let us take up his subject. Instead of criticising himself, let us try what we ourselves can suggest in the way of criticism upon some occasional passages in the Epistle before us. Our object is merely to touch upon a few points of difficulty or interest here and there, according as they have struck ourselves in the course of our own studies. We pretend neither to the fulness of Tena, who, in his folio of Difficultates, has amassed store enough of discussion for the student, nor to the critical skill of Cameron, who, speaking Greek as his mother-tongue, has left us many exquisite specimens of terse criticism. But, in so fruitful a field, we may be able to pick up something of value.

I. Ch. i. 4. Being made so much better than angels, &c.-Some of the old versions translate yevoquevos as if it were w being (ine. in regard to his divinity) so much better.' And this, no doubt, brings out a striking enough meaning. Yet it does not seem the correct one, for these reasons, (1) Evoluevos is almost always used in the sense of being made or becoming, not simply of being. And this distinction is very distinctly brought out in the first chapter of the gospel of John. In ch. i. 1, we read, 'in the beginning was the word; not eyevero, but v. Whereas, in the same chapter, verse 14, we read, the Word was made, or became flesh. (yevero.) (2.) It does not suit the connection. The Apostle was stating, that, having purged our sins, he had sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; and then, in illustration of this exaltation, he adds, being made so much better than angels.' And

there may be a reference to this in the second chapter, when he speaks of Christ's humiliation, as that state in which he was 'lower than angels.' (3.) It does not suit so well the subsequent clause and argument, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.' For this is obviously stated in order to show the extent or height of the elevation, viz. it was an exaltation corresponding to his previously existing sonship, and worthy of his name of Son. And, accordingly, the Apostle proceeds to prove his title to the name of Son. If this view be the correct one, it sets at rest the question of the eternal Sonship of Christ. It is by the previously (i. e. eternally) existing Sonship that the exaltation of Christ is measured. And the words employed here help us to the same conclusion. For not only are we told of his title to the name of Son, but we are told also that this name is that which he has inherited, i. e. obtained in virtue of his eternal relationship to the Father. The name of Christ as the Son, and that name as being his own by legal right, not by purchase, or by gift, or by merits, the Apostle adduces as the standard by which we are to measure the greatness of his elevation as the Christ, the God-man, when he had finished his work of purging our sins.

II. Ch. i. 10. Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid, &c.—The difficulty here is not in regard to the language, but the application of the quotation to Christ. If the previous part of the psalm be a prayer of Messiah, how is this latter part of it an address to Him. Now, though in this, as in many other places, there is no intimation of a change in the speaker, a careful reader of the psalm in question will easily observe the change. In the first twenty-four verses it is the Son who is addressing the Father, with strong_crying and tears.' Then the Father answers; and it is the Father's answer which the apostle quotes. It may be understood as beginning either at the middle of the 24th verse, 'thy years are throughout all generations;' or at the 25th, 'Of old thou hast laid,' &c. From the apostle's quotation one would be disposed to adopt the latter view. But the difference is very slight.

III. Ch. i. 14. Who shall be heirs of salvation.'-This is scarcely correct. The original is, τους μελλοντας κληρονομεῖν σωτηρίαν, which evidently means, not those who shall be heirs, but who are already heirs, and shall inherit or enter on the possession of salvation. The inheritance of the saints is a future thing, but not their heirship; that is present, or rather, we may say, past, for they become joint heirs of Jesus Christ, in becoming one with Him, through faith in his name. Some may consider this an unimportant criticism. We do not think so. It is of no small

moment for the saints to remember, not that they shall be heirs, but that they are so already, however long the possession of the inheritance itself may be delayed.

IV. Ch. ii. 5. For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, την οικουμενην την μελλούσαν, the habitable earth when all things are made new. It is evident that the apostle is taking up a new argument, and answering a supposed objection. 'Moreover,' he says 'the superiority of Christ above angels, though a man, appears from this, that it is not angels but men that are God's kings." Who is to be the world's king? This is the implied question. Is it man? or is it angels? Not angels; they are but servants to us, even now in our humiliation,-beneath us even here, much more hereafter. God, then, has settled the matter as to Messiah's superiority, by proclaiming him king,king even though humbled for a little for the fulfilment of the Father's purpose in bringing many sons unto glory.

V. Ch. ii. 9. The order of the words in this verse is a little intricate; but connecting them together, and arranging them exactly, they would stand thus: 'We see Jesus crowned with glory and honour,―Jesus who, for the suffering of death, was made a little lower than the angels, that he, through the grace of God, might taste death for each.' As to the much disputed Teg Tavros, we may add a few words. It either carries us back to the heirs of salvation,' or forward to the many sons.' For obviously it must refer to some of whom the apostle was speaking. Now, he was only speaking of the angels and the many sons, and of no other. It cannot be meant of the former, and therefore it must be of the latter. They may be said to be the peculiar theme of the whole chapter, and any one following the apostle's reasoning would naturally understand this expression to refer to them. It is straining it to refer to any others. If it does refer to others, it might as well refer to angels; more naturally so than to the world, for he is speaking of them, but not of the world at all. The fifteenth chapter of first Corinthians is an illustration of this. The apostle is treating of the resurrection of the saints, and not of the wicked. It is only by keeping this in view that his statements there can be fully understood. So here the was must be the each of those he was speaking of. And very strikingly is the singular used here,—not simply as individualising the saints, but as doing so in connection with the whole work of Christ. All that Christ did, he did for each. His whole work, his whole propitiation, his whole tasting of death, belongs to each, just as much as if only one had been saved. The whole of what Christ did is the property of each saint. His work is not made up of so many parts, or extending to certain dimensions, greater

πας

or smaller, according to the number of the saved; so that each of them only gets a part of himself, and a part of his work. No. His work is such that each gets the whole of it, the whole of his glorious self, and the whole of his glorious work. Each gets the benefit of his tasting death, as if endured for himself singly and alone.

VI. Ch. ii. 10. It became him for whom are all things, &c.This is a text on which there has been considerable discussion. It is one in which we think Owen has been very unsuccessful, not being very consistent with himself, and missing, we think, the point of the apostle's statement. Nor do we remember at this moment any expositor that fully draws out the intended truth. The force of the passage rests on the first word, it 'became him,' gεTE, it was a becoming, a worthy thing, a thing worthy of the majesty of Him for whom and by whom are all things, &c. Now what was this which was worthy of Jehovah? To make his Son perfect through sufferings. To the Jew it might seem altogether unworthy of God to allow his Son to suffer. What, then, justified him in allowing this suffering? What was the end to be attained which justified him in making his Son pass through this suffering? Just this, the bringing of many sons to glory! This was Jehovah's object, his great original purpose. It could only be obtained by appointing a Captain of salvation, and that Captain his own Son. That Son could only be perfected as Captain by means of suffering. He could not otherwise be a fit or suitable Saviour. Was, then, the bringing of these many sons to glory an end of sufficient magnitude to justify the Father in bruising his own Son, and putting him to grief? It was, says the apostle! This was an object so glorious, an object so worthy of the God for whom and by whom are all things, that in order to accomplish it, he might put to death his own Son. "It was becoming in Jehovah, the God of all, as the bringer of those many sons to glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through suffering." This seems to be the apostle's statement. And it is a very marvellous one. What infinite importance does it attach to the salvation and glorification of the church!

VII. Ch. vi. 4-9. This has long been a passage hemmed in with serious difficulties. And every reader must feel it to be so. It demands, then, our most careful attention; and therefore we shall make no apology for the length of the following critical disquisition. It has been the result of much thought and research.

The apostle had been opening up to the Hebrews some of the deeper doctrines of revelation, especially respecting Melchisedec as the typical representative of Christ. But suddenly, as if recollecting the difficult nature of the truth which he was setting

before them, and their poor attainments in divine knowledge, he breaks off into a reproof of their ignorance and dulness. We have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing; for when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again,' &c. (Ch. v. 11, 12.) After briefly illustrating the concluding part of this statement, he proceeds to remark, that the only way of shaking off this feebleness and infancy of the Christian life, was by leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, and going on unto perfection, i. e. to a fuller and more perfect knowledge of the things of Christ. Lest, however, through the indolence of the flesh, they should be tempted to remain in this state, thinking themselves all the while safe enough, he goes on, in the verses which we are now to examine, to warn them most solemnly of the fearful danger of cherishing such fleshly indolence and indifference to the Christian progress; for it is impossible for those who were once enlightened,' &c. Such appears to be the connection of the passage; let us now inquire into the meaning of the words themselves.

Much has been written about the precise meaning of aduvarov, and many attempts have been made to abate its force, as if it only meant exceeding difficult,' but not impossible." Whether the impossibility here spoken of be absolute or relative, is a question on which we do not enter just now; but the word itself, both in classical and sacred usage, means simply impossible. Take the instances in this epistle: Ch. vi. 18, in which it was impossible (aduvarov) for God to lie;' x. 4, 'it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.' These instances are enough to show the apostle's use of the word. Other reasons will occur afterwards to establish this more fully.

Much also has been written concerning the exact meaning of pwrw. We merely remark, that it is sometimes used to denote the simple fact of light being transmitted, and sometimes to denote that the light so transmitted has produced its proper effects,-sometimes it means to shine upon and sometimes to shine into. Metaphorically, in Scripture, it signifies either the blessings of the gospel as made known to man, or those blessings as actually partaken of by them. There are only two senses in which we find it used in the New Testament: we can discover no midway sense between these two. Whenever this light is spoken of as doing more than shining upon its object-when it is spoken of as entering into the heart and producing in any degree its proper results, its influence is saving. Now, as there can be no question that the persons here addressed were something more than the mere passive objects on which the light was externally shin