Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:1-16

The apostle enters on a discourse, in which he proposes to the Hebrews, illustrious examples of faith, which had appeared in holy men mentioned in their scriptures, and particularly in Abel, Enoch, Noah; and Abraham and Sarah. Heb. XI. 1—16.

HEBREWS XI. 1. NOW faith is the substance of I HAVE spoken of the faith by which the just shall live; and that I may excite you to cultivate that blessed principle more and more, let me now enter into a more distinct

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consideration of it, and set before your eyes, O ye believing Hebrews, some glorious examples of it, with which your sacred history abounds. To consider it then in its nature; faith is the confident expectationᵃ of things hoped for, upon the security of the Divine promise, and the powerful convictionᵇ of things which are not seen; but of whose certainty and importance there is such a full persuasion, that they act upon the mind, in a great measure, as if they were present. To this I would excite you, by considerations peculiarly suited to your own case, as the children of the patriarchs: for by it the illustrious elders obtained an [honourable] testimony to their character, and it lay at the root of many of the most glorious things they have ever done. By faith we understand that the worlds were adjusted by the word of God,ᶜ and the several revolutions of them directed by the operations of his secret providence, as the whole universe was at first created by his power, wisdom, and goodness, and the things which are seen, were not made of things which do appear:ᵈ it is ᵃ Confident expectation.] Compare 2 Cor. ix. 4; Heb. iii. 14; where the word οτισημία, is used in this sense; and Raphelius has confirmed it by some pertinent quotations from Polybius. ᵇ The powerful conviction of things not seen; εὐκέχει των ἐκτεταμένων.] Εὐκέχει, it hath been observed by many learned men, and particularly by Raphelius in loc. is a strict proof or demonstration, that is, saith Mr. Hallet, such a kind of reason and argument, as both convinces the understanding, and engages a man to act according to that conviction. Accordingly I have rendered it by the word conviction, which I think properly expresses the apostle’s meaning. ᶜ That the worlds were adjusted by the word of God.] As the original word is συμνε, I was once inclined to have rendered it, the various ages of the world were adjusted; and I have included this sense in the paraphrase. But it does not so evidently appear, that the consequence, relating to things not being made by those that appear, could be deduced from that principle; I therefore conclude upon the whole, that this is an instance where αὐεν signifies world; as it is often translated in the New Testament. Bishop Pearson would translate it, were made of things which do not appear, that is, made out of nothing, without any preexistent matter, before God created the worlds. Pearson on the Creed, p. 58. ᵈ As the things which are seen, were not made of things which do appear: εὐ το μὴ ἐκ φιλοξενικείν, κ. τ. λ.] Our translators have rendered this clause, So that the things which are seen, &c. But this does not seem to be sufficiently agreeable either to the original, or to the design of the apostle; which was not to deduce the sentiment contained in the latter clause as an inference from the former; but rather to establish the position in the first part of the verse, by the principle laid down in the latter. Accordingly, I have given it this turn in the paraphrase, and have taken the liberty to translate εὐ το, &c. as, which clearly expresses, I apprehend, the apostle’s intention. The construction of Rom. iv. 16, is somewhat similar to this; Therefore it is of faith, that it might be of grace, διὰ τοῖς ἐκ φιλοξενικείν καὶ κατὰ χάρι, that is, “that it might appear to be of

illustrated in the case of Abel and Enoch :

certain no visible cause could produce these things, which would be in effect to suppose them to have produced themselves; we therefore by faith refer them to a Divine invisible original.

And this happy and sublime principle hath wrought even from the beginning of the world, and animated good men to actions most pleasing to God, and honourable to themselves. It was, for instance, by faith that Abel offered to God a greater and more acceptable sacrifice than Cain; by means of which he obtained a testimony that he was righteous; God, by the visible tokens of his favour, bearing witness to his gifts, which he presented on the altar; and by it he being dead, yet speaketh; and recommends to us in all ages that regard to the great atonement, which he expressed by bringing an animal sacrifice, while Cain contented himself with the vegetable products of the ground. And though Abel became the early victim of Cain’s rage, yet that circumstance, in conjunction with the declaration he received of the Divine acceptance and favour, is very instructive, in that it affords so powerful an evidence of a future state.

By faith the celebrated patriarch Enoch was, in a miraculous manner, translated from among men; so that he should not see death; and he was not found any longer among the inhab-

grace, as we have already proved it is.” The apostle’s intention was, by the latter lause as an incontested principle to establish what he now wanted to prove, namely, that justification was by faith; and this he does from the consideration of its being by grace. It may be proper to consult Mr. Hallet on Heb. xi. 3, note 9, who refers to Eph. i. 12; and 1 Cor. x. 6, where the apostle’s words εἰς τὸ, &c. cannot signify any thing but to the intent that.

“A greater and more excellent sacrifice.] A late ingenious writer, Mr. Kennicott, (in his Two dissertations on the Tree of Life, and the Oblations of Cain and Abel, p. 197,) has inferred from the word ἀλλινοῦ Συνταγ, which may be rendered a greater or fuller sacrifice, that Cain contented himself with presenting only the mincha, or bread offering, without a victim; whereas Abel sacrificed both, and by presenting a lamb, shewed his faith in the great sacrifice of

the lamb of God. After all that has been offered to the contrary, I must think that the Divine original of sacrifices is strongly insinuated in this place.

“Dead, yet speaketh.] Some would render it, And for this they say he died, that is, there is a tradition that he was massacred by Cain, in a dispute about the recompense of a future life, which faith proposes. Saurin’s Sermons, Vol. IX. p. 54. I rather think it refers to the testimony borne, as it were, to a future state by his story, as he was so excellent a person, and visibly approve by God, yet left to suffer by the cruelty of his wicked brother. Some would render λαλοίαι, he is spoken of to this day, as a person of most eminent piety and goodness.

“Was not found.] The circumstances of his translation are not mentioned; but some have thought this intimates he was privately translated, and sought for, as Elijah afterwards was, 2 Kings ii. 17.

By faith Noah prepared an ark for saving his

itants of this lower world, because God had translated him to the celestial regions, in a manner before altogether unexampled, nor ever since equalled among mortals, but in the single instance of Elijah. And God thus translated him, not only because he had a regard for his character, but because he would by such an interposition, give a visible and very important lesson to others, to seek and secure his favour by the exercise of such a disposition. For before his translation, he obtained witness that he pleased God; preceding tokens were given of God’s favourable regards to him; and that character is expressed by the sacred historian, when it is said, (Gen. v. 24,) that Enoch walked with God; that is, he maintained a constant regard to him, and received the indication of his favour; so that there subsisted a holy intercourse and friendship between God and Enoch. But without a sincere faith, as the great principle fo action [it is] absolutely impossible to please [him;] for he who approacheth to God, and pretends to walk with him, must, as the foundation of that intercourse, firmly believe that he exists, and [that] he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him, and will bestow some peculiar and important blessings upon them. For where there are no such expectations as these, the soul cannot be animated to the labours and struggles of a truly religious life.

By faith the patriarch Noah, the second common ancestor of mankind, being admonished by a Divine oracle, concerning things which were not yet seen, and things of such a nature, that no one had ever seen or heard of any thing parallel to them, the dissolution of the world by a flood, and the destruction of all its inhabitants, believed and revered the awful threatening. And being impressed with a pious, and in that connection, most rational fear of the Divine

h Approacheth to God, and pretends to walk with him.] Raphelius hath shewn, that the original word ἀνεφυγενεσί is applied in the Greek classics, to coming to God by prayer; and it is used in chap. x. 1, 22; and xii. 22, 23; for approaching to God in any act of Divine worship. He therefore justly observes, that it may here be taken

in a larger sense, and refer to that steady course of piety and virtue, which is implied in pleasing God, or walking with him, as in the former verse Enoch is said to have done; and which in the preceding clause, it is declared to be impossible for any one to do without faith.

ith Abraham sojourned in a strange and ;

Judgments, with immense labour and cost, amidst all the insults of prophane and wicked men, prepared an ark, which God taught him to build, for the salvation of his house and family ; by means of which he condemned the unbelieving world, by bearing a public and convincing testimony against them. And thus he became heir of the righteousness which is obtained by faith: he was pronounced by God a righteous person, though his character was not absolutely free from imperfections, and became by divine grace entitled to the promise of eternal life, of which his temporal deliverance, though so amazing, was only an emblem.

By faith, that illustrious patriarch Abraham, from whom you justly esteem it a peculiar honour and happiness to be descended, being called by the God of glory, who appeared to him, to go out, from his Father’s house and native land, to a distant place, which God promised that he should afterwards receive for an inheritance, obeyed without disputing or murmuring, and went out, though he knew not at all whither he was going, or to which part of the world he was to steer his course, humbly resigning himself to Divine Providence to mark out his journey and his abode. By faith, he sojourned all the remainder of his days in the land of promise, when he knew it to be so, as [in] a strange country, without having any property there, unless it was that of a sepulchre towards the close of his life ; dwelling in tents, easily moved from one place to another, some part of the time with Isaac and Jacob ; who, in their succession, were heirs with him of the same promise, and depositaries of it, yet led the same kind of wandering life. But he passed from place to place with cheerfulness ; for he expected at length to be led on to a city, and

¹ Condemned the world.] It is plain that here, as in many other places, a person is said to condemn those against whom he furnishes out matter of accusation, in which view Titus iii. 11, may be understood. See the note there.

² Heir of the righteousness.] Bishop Cumberland observes, that Noah is the first to whom the name of righteous man is ap-

plied in scripture. Cumb. Orig. Gent. p 418.

³ With Isaac and Jacob.] It is plain, from the account of the lives of these patriarchs, that Jacob was born fifteen years before Abraham died ; and the oracle given to Isaac before the birth of his children, would sufficiently intimate to Abraham that he was the heir of the promise.

And Sarai was delivered of a child when past age.

that not such a one as he had left in his native land, or such as he saw in Canaan, or even in Egypt, grand and populous as some of their buildings were; the object of his joyful and confident expectation, was that city, which alone hath firm and immoveable foundations, in comparison with which they were but like a frail tabernacle; a city, of which God [is] the builder and former, who drew and executed the grand plan, and laid out upon it all the richest ornaments, which might raise it to a magnificence, worthy of his own abode, and the inheritance of his beloved children.

By faith Sarai herself, notwithstanding some mixture of suspicion, at length, as the worthy consort of such an husband, and worthy mother of such an offspring, received strength for the conception of seed, and brought forth a child beyond the due time of age for a such a purpose, when she was ninety years old, and in the course of nature absolutely incapable of being a mother; because she accounted him who had promised, to be the faithful and Almighty God, who could with infinite ease accomplish an event, which then seemed to be, and indeed was, unparalleled. Therefore by this mighty principle of faith in her, and in Abraham, there sprang even from one father, and he in this respect as it were, dead, [a posterity] in multitude as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand upon the sea shore innumerable, according to that Divine promise, which carried its efficacy into so many remoter ages, and retains it even to this day.

Now all these worthy and excellent persons, of whom I have here been speaking, died in faith, not having received the blessings exhibited in the promises; but having seen them afar off, and having been fully persuaded [of them,] and embraced [them] with the most cordial affection, and greatest ardour of mind, and having, through

In multitude as the stars of heaven, [&c.] Mr. Hallet observes here a great propriety in the apostle’s saying, that they should be in multitude as the stars of heaven, and as the sand of the sea shore innumerable; there being an impossibility of numbering the latter, whereas the former, since they have been reduced into constellations,

have been numbered with a considerable degree of exactness. See Hallet in loc. where he endeavours to account, consistently with this observation, for Psalm exlvii. 4, He telleth the number of the stars, and calleth them all by their names, as if this were the peculiar prerogative of God.

esired a better country, that is, an heavenly.

the whole course of their lives, confessed that they were strangers and sojourners on earth; as we know that these holy patriarchs, and some of their most eminent descendants did. (Gen. xxiii. 4; xlvii. 9; 1 Chron. xxix. 15; Psal. xxxix. 12; cxix. 19, 54.) For they who say such things as these, and speak of themselves as strangers and pilgrims, plainly express that they seek a country, different from that in which they dwell, when they use such language. And as for these excellent men, if indeed they had been mindful of that country from which they come out, they might sure have had an opportunity of returning to it; for they were a considerable body, and they might have marched back without the probability of meeting with any resistance, and might have expected a subsistence among the relations of their family, who were themselves in a prosperous state, and often expressed on proper occasions, their regard to these their illustrious kinsmen. Now therefore it appears, that they were desirous of a better, that is, an heavenly [country;] for there was no earthly country, which they seem to have been pursuing. And indeed this is the great excellence of their character, to be governed by such views; therefore God determined to bestow this happy land upon them, and he is not ashamed to be called their God, in such a peculiar manner, as he has assumed the title, because he hath prepared them such a city as they sought; whereas if he had done nothing more for them than he did here upon earth, it would have been beneath his dignity to have professed that relation; as the title naturally imports something great and excellent, far beyond what these patriarchs received, and indeed what any can possibly receive in this mortal and transitory life.

ᵃ Seek a country: [ἀνάμε]. The original word is very emphatical; it signifies, as it were, a native country, or a country in which their father dwelt, and is opposed to that in which they were strangers and pilgrims.

ᵇ Better country, that is, an heavenly. The argument, according to the turn I have given it, is much the same with that which our Lord urges, Mat xxii. 32.

Reflections on the foregoing instances of faith.

IMPROVEMENT.

LET the many glorious examples of faith, which are here set before us, animate our souls to imitation, and excite in us a generous desire of acting upon that noble and sublime principle, without which it is impossible to please God. And O, may what we call our faith be not merely a speculative and ineffectual assent to the truth, even of the most weighty propositions; but a firm persuasion of their certainty, and a deep conviction of their importance, that we also may obtain a good report.

May we believe in God, as the former and support of universal nature, as most assuredly existing, and as most bountifully rewarding all that seek him with sincerity and diligence. So shall our sacrifices be acceptable to him, as those of Abel were, while with him we look to that great Sacrifice and atonement, of which his victim was the appointed representation. Like Enoch we shall then be animated to walk with God, and favoured with Divine intercourse and communications. And though we cannot expect a translation like his, which should exempt us from the common lot of mortality, we shall be secure of admission into the paradise of God above, and in due time shall ascend to it in our complete persons. We shall then, like Noah, find our safety in the midst of a dissolving world, and while sinners are condemned, be found the heirs of righteousness.

While we wait for this happiness, let us endeavour to approve ourselves the genuine children of Abraham, the father of the faithful. Ever attentive to the Divine call, may we in obedience to it, be willing to go forth, though we do not particularly know whither; and with an intrepidity like his, may we even be ready to exchange worlds, at the command of God, ignorant as we are of what lies beyond the grave; thinking it enough, that we know it is a land which God hath promised as the inheritance of his children. It is indeed a city that hath foundations, in comparison of which all the most magnificent and established buildings of the children of men are but mean and moveable tents.

God boasts in the title of its builder and maker, having formed and fashioned it for the highest displays of his glory and his love; and in reference to it he is not ashamed to be called our God; for by bestowing it upon us, he answers all which that high and glorious title might import. May we ever desire this as our better country, and live as its citizens ought; confessing ourselves, in reference to it, to be pilgrims and strangers upon the earth. And though we here receive not the accomplishment of the promises, may we keep our eyes on the objects they exhibit, how distant soever they may seem; and being persuaded of them, may we embrace them; embrace them even

By faith Abraham offered up Isaac :

with our dying arms, and breathe out our prepared and sECT villing spirits, in full assurance that we are going to receive xvi. nd possess them.

Hebrews 11:17-29

The apostle further dilates upon examples and instances of faith in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. Heb. XI. 17—29.

HEBREWS XI. 17.

I HAVE already mentioned some glorious instances of the faith of Abraham, our illustrious progenitor; but I should be far from doing justice to my subject, if I were not to add another, the most celebrated of all. You will remember therefore, that it was by faith that Abraham was supported, when he was tried, in that most severe instance, and at the Divine command offered his son, his only son, Isaac, whom he loved; yea, he who had received the promises, which terminated not only in his seed, but in Isaac by name, offered his only begotten [son,] in whom they so centred, that they must necessarily have failed if he had perished without any offspring. So that nothing seemed more difficult, on principles of common reason, than the reconciliation of the promise with the command. Even when he was destined to the altar, concerning whom it was said, In Isaac shall thy seed be called, (Gen. xxi. 12,) yet his triumphant faith surmounted even such an obstacle, and it was as wise and rational as it was pious and heroic: Reasoning within himself as he did, that God was able, even to raise [him] from the dead;ᵃ and consequently that he could have brought Isaac to life again, if he had really expired under the sacrificial knife, and been reduced to ashes: from whence he received him even in a figure.ᵇ For as his

ᵃ Reasoning that God was able even to raise him.] Archbishop Tillotson justly observes, that his faith was in this respect the more admirable, as, so far as we can learn, there never had been one single instance of a resurrection from the dead, in, or before, the days of Abraham.

ᵇ In a figure: (or a sign of a sign.) Some think this implies, that his birth was a kind of

resurrection from the dead. But the learned Dr. Warburton contends earnestly for it that (or a sign of a sign) intimates, that the whole transaction was parabolical or typical of thmethod God would take for the salvatioof men. The learned Wolfus is of the same opinion, (Curæ Philolog. Vol. IV. p. 762,) an observes in support of it, that the Greeword (or a sign of a sign) answers to the Hebrew

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And Isaac essed acob and sau.

production was a miracle, raising him, as it were, from the dead bodies of those who in a course of nature had no hope of children; so he was in another sense raised from the dead, when God gave him back to Abraham in the mount, in that awful transaction, in which was so significant a representation of Christ’s day, (John viii. 56,) and of the method which God took for our redemption, in the sacrifice of his only begotten Son.

By faith, in a revelation which he then received from God, under that superior direction, Isaac, when advanced in age, blessed his two children, Jacob and Esau,ᶜ and uttered some remarkable oracles concerning things long to come, and of such a nature, that no human foresight could possibly reach them.

By faith, Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, in full dependence on the Divine promise of an inheritance in Canaan; appointing these his grand children, tribes in Israel: foretelling the superiority of Ephraim the younger, to Manasseh the elder; and in thankful acknowledgment of that Divine goodness, which he had so long experienced, at the same time worshipped,ᵈ bowing down upon the top of his staff, with which he supported himself as he sat on the side of his bed.ᵉ

and is so used by the Seventy; and that the Hebrews are wont to say בְּשִׁשָּׁה, in or by a parable or figure, when they would express a typical representation. He imagines this interpretation to be the more probable, because the apostle hath put a mark of emphasis upon or ἀρχέως, by prefixing και to it, even in a figure.

ᶜ Blessed Jacob.] He was persuaded that God would one way or another make good his promises to them, though he could not certainly tell how, and was mistaken in the person.

ᵈ Worshipped.] He thought it so great a privilege to be buried in the land of Canaan, that he bowed his head, in token of thankfulness for it; which was another demonstration of faith in God’s promise. Gen. xlvii. 30, 31.

ᵉ On the top of his staff, as he sat on the side of his bed.] In the passage referred to Gen. xlvii. 31. It is said according to our English version, Israel bowed himself upon his bed’s head. The apostle says, he

worshipped upon the top of his staff: and this agrees with the Greek and Syriac translation; and Wolfius adds, that the Seventy always render the Hebrew word בְּשִׁשָּׁה, a staff. Mr. Hallet, therefore, in learned note upon this place, is of opinion that the Hebrew word signifies either bed or a staff, and that our English translators too implicitly followed the modern Jews, and supposed it here to signify a bed, in opposition to the authority of the Seventy and of the apostle. The passages may possibly be reconciled, if there be any occasion for it, by the circumstance mentioned in the paraphrase, as it is not likely that Jacob was now in bed, (see Gen. xlvii. 29,) but he might very probably be sitting on the side of it. His leaning on the top of his staff shows that he was very old and feeble; and this circumstance, saith Mr Hallet, is very pertinently mentioned by the apostle, to intimate that feeble as he was, he would worship God in the best manner he was able.

The same faith manifested in Moses.

Again, it was by faith that Joseph, when dying, mentioned the departure of the children of Israel out of Egypt, as a fact which should certainly come to pass, though at a long distance of time; and then in token of his entire dependence upon it, and expectation of the inheritance they would then possess, he gave a charge concerning the carrying his bones with them, to be interred in the sepulchre of his fathers in Canaan.

The case of our illustrious law giver will also furnish us with farther glorious examples of that, which was in him a kind of hereditary virtue; for it was by faith that Moses, when he was just born, was hidden three months by his pious parents, in their own house; because they saw [he was] a graceful child, who seemed by his aspect to promise something uncommon. And they therefore determined, if possible, to preserve his life, and feared not the commandment of the king, requiring all Israelitish parents, on pain of death, to give up their male children, that they might be thrown into the river.

By faith this Moses, when he was grown up to maturity of age, and become great in the dignities and preferments of the Egyptian court, on full consideration of all that could be pleaded in favour of secular views, deliberately refused to be any longer called, as he had before been, the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but boldly professed himself an Israelite, and interposed to vindicate his brethren from their oppression: Choosing much rather to partake with the people of God in their affliction, than to enjoy the temporary and transient pleasures of

Grown up.] Some would more literally render it, grown great; that is, a great man in power and dignity. But the version I have preferred is justified by Erasmus Schmidius, and by the learned Bos, who, in support of it, cites a remarkable passage from Homer, (Exercit. Philolog. p. 252:) and it appears by the account of Stephen, Acts xii. 23, that Moses was now forty years old. I have given a hint of both interpretations in the paraphrase. Some are of opinion, that this passage refers to the story which Josephus tells us, of his tramplin on the

crown when a boy; and that it is as if the apostle had said, “He did not do it as a puerile action, and when he understood not the value of things; but when he knew all the worth it could be supposed to have.” See Tillotson’s Works, Vol. II. p. 20. If Josephus’s account be right, Pharaoh’s daughter had no son of her own, and adopted him, with some view to make him successor to the crown; but I do not apprehend the laws of Egypt would have permitted that, as he was of foreign birth.

Having respect to the recompense of reward.

sin, which he might have expected, had he continued in that magnificent, but corrupt court: Esteeming the reproach of Christ, the infamy that he might meet with in acknowledging himself one of the Israelites whom Christ had been pleased to take under his special protection, and whom God had acknowledged for his anointed people, greater riches than all the treasures in Egypt, though so opulent a kingdom: for he directed his regards to the recompense of reward, which he expected to receive in the invisible and eternal world, and to possess, when princes should have quitted their thrones, and all the pride of monarchs be laid low. It was also by faith, that he left Egypt in that resolute and heroic manner; not fearing the wrath of the king, when he charged him on pain of death to see his face no more; but before he went, boldly predicted the destruction of the first born, which was to follow all the dreadful judgments already executed: for he was inwardly strengthened to this dignity and steadiness of conduct, as seeing him who is the great invisible Being, ever present to the eye of the believing mind, and whose presence and friendship is of such infinite importance, that he who fixes his regards on him, will never by any consideration, be influenced to offend him, nor much impressed with the fear of any thing that would tempt him to do this.

¶ Reproach of Christ ] There are some who understand this of the reproach of Israel, God’s anointed people, and so would render it, the reproach of the anointed; but I rather apprehend, considering the sense in which this name is every where else used by the apostle, that it refers to the relation in which Christ stood to Israel, as his peculiar people; so that reproach borne on their account was borne for him. (Compare 1 Cor. x. 9;) and Mr. Fleming, (Christology, Vol. I. p. 169,) urges this as an argument for Christ’s existence before the time of Moses. Du Mont supposes that the Israelites expected deliverance by the Messiah, and that the Egyptians insulted them on that account; and it is certain, reproach borne on the account of Christ, may be, and is called the reproach of Christ. Compare Heb. viii. 13. Du Mont’s Serm. p. 151—155.

And for the illustration of this he quotes, and by this key explains, Psal. lxxxix. 50—52.

¶ Recompense of reward. ] That reward could not be temporal grandeur, which he might have had with much greater security and advantage in Egypt; nor the possession of Canaan, which he never saw. It must therefore be the eternal inheritance, which was discovered to him by the principle here so largely described and recommended.

¶ Fearing the wrath of the king. ] As it is so expressly said, (Exod. ii. 14, 15,) that when he first quitted Egypt, and went to sojourn in Midian, he was afraid; I apprehend the assertion of the apostle, that he did not fear the wrath of the king, refers to the instance mentioned in the paraphrase.

ctions on the foregoing instances of faith.

By faith that God would assuredly send his angel on the vindictive design foretold, and spare the houses properly distinguished, he celebrated the passover, and the pouring forth the blood of the lamb, which he sprinkled on the lintels, and the posts of the doors, as the mark of committing those who dwelt under such roofs to the Divine protection; that he who destroyed the first born might not touch them, under the security of that peaceful sign: an emblem of the safety we expect by means of the blood of Jesus, the true and great passover, who is sacrificed for us.

Again, by faith operating in Moses, and in its degree in them likewise, they passed over the Red sea, sedately, as if they had marched on dry land, while its waters by the Divine command divided, and left the channel bare to them, so that they completed their march through it, and arrived safely on the opposite shore; which the Egyptians making an insolent and rash attempt to do, were all drowned, and sunk like lead in the mighty waters, which returned upon them with irresistible violence.

IMPROVEMENT.

LET these glorious instances of faith be preserved in our memory, and have their due influence upon our hearts. When God calls us to resign our greatest comforts, let us think of that heroic act of faith by which Abraham offered up Isaac, and seemed in him to sacrifice all the promises, as well as his son. Yet he therein acted a part the most strictly rational; as rightly concluding, that God could with infinite ease call him back to life again, and make a person, who had poured forth all his blood on the altar, and been reduced to ashes there, the father of many nations. Let dying parents commit their children to the care of the ever living God, like Jacob; and worship him who hath fed them all their lives long, and who will never forsake those that put their trust in him. Let those who are called to glorify God, by opposing the unjust commands of great and powerful men; remember the parents of Moses, and remember their illustrious child.

k By faith they passed.] Mr. Saurin observes, with his usual delicacy, that since it very evidently appears, that of those who passed through the sea, there were some with whom God was not well pleased, Cor. x. 5, we cannot infer, that all the

persons afterwards mentioned by name, as instances of faith, were, on the whole, in such a state of acceptance with him as to be entitled to his everlasting favour. Saurin’s Serm. Vol. IX. p. 47.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down :

Does he now repent that wonderful choice that he made at an adult age ? does he now wish that he had been called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, rather than the servant of God, faithful in all his house ? does he wish that he had secured the treasures of Egypt, and the temporary pleasures of sin, and declined that reproach of Christ, which has ended in eternal glory ? Our hearts, our consciences will soon answer ; let us then, like him, have respect unto the recompense of reward. Let us endeavour more frequently to direct our regards to God, and live as seeing him who is invisible.

And while our faith is thus viewing him, let us look with pleasure to the blood of sprinkling, which places us under his protection ; which introduces us to his favour ; which secures us from the destroying angel. He will lead us on safely to his heavenly Canaan, if we fall not by unbelief. He will open our passage through seas of difficulty ; he will send down upon us every suitable supply, and would much sooner command the skies to rain down bread, or the flinty rock to melt into streams of water, than desert his people in the wilderness. Let all his wonders of power, and of love, to Israel of old, animate our faith ; and let them all quicken our obedience ; and under a sense of our own weakness, and the importance of this leading, this princely grace, let us daily pray, Lord, increase our faith.

Hebrews 11:30

The apostle concludes his discourse on faith, by hinting at many other glorious instances of it, and besides several recorded in scripture, refers also to the case of those who suffered under the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes. Heb. XI. 30.—XII. 2.

HEBREWS XI. 30.

I HAVE mentioned the faith which our forefathers exercised on the miraculous power of God to lead them out of Egypt, and through the Red sea ; and I must farther observe, that

HEBREWS XI. 30.

BY faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.

they continued under the influence of the same principle when they came into the promised land : for it was by faith in those who marched round the strongly fortified walls of Jericho, following the ark, and who at the appointed signal blew the trumpets of rams’ horns and shouted, that, contrary to all sensible appearances of possibility, they fell down, smitten by the hand of God, without any human force, having been only surrounded seven days in solemn silence, according to the Divine command ;

The faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephtha, David, &c.

how absurd a spectacle soever their procession might appear to the besieged. It was by faith, and in consequence of it, that Rahab the harlot did not perish with the infidels of that city among whom she dwelt; having received the spies hospitably and dismissed them in peace, when an alarm was taken by her fellow citizens, and they searched for them to destroy them. She therefore hazarded her own life to preserve theirs, believing them to be the servants of the Almighty Jehovah, and assuring herself that he could protect her in her efforts for their security, and could make them the means of delivering her and her family; which was accordingly the case.

And what shall I say farther upon this copious, this inexhaustible subject? for the time would fail me if I should attempt to discourse at large concerning Gideon, who with so small a band of men cut off so many thousands of the Midianites; and Barak, who freed Israel from the oppression of Jabin, and routed Siserah his general; and Samson, who slew so many thousands of the Philistines with the jaw bone of an ass; and performed so many other astonishing achievements: I might also speak of the victory of Jephtha over the Ammonites, and the heroic acts of David, in his combat with Goliah, and his other frequent encounters with the enemies of God, and his Israel; and even of Samuel, who though his character seemed more pacific, as a prophet and a judge, yet led on the armies of the Lord on a remarkable occasion, to an illustrious victory. I might also enlarge on the celebrated histories of Elijah, Elisha, and others of the prophets, particularly Daniel, and the three young worthies, whose magnanimous history he hath particularly recorded. I will not dwell on the history of those heroes who have transmitted their names to our age, and shall transmit them to all who are to come, with such distinguished honour; but shall content myself with observing, that it was by the exercise of this great principle, that they were raised to those sublime degrees of reputation and glory. It was by faith that some of them, after many a sinful struggle, subdued the kin doms of

Faith illustrated in the sufferings of ancient worthies :

those princes which had oppressed God’s Israel ; others of them wrought righteousness,ᵃ and carried their obedience to God, and their zeal for his law to the most extraordinary degrees ; others of them obtained promises of the most unexpected events in their favour, which were exactly and circumstantially performed ; others stopped the mouths of lions, which came roaring against them, as if they would have devoured them in a moment, or into whose dens they were thrown.

Nay as to some of them we are expressly told, that they quenched the violence of the fire, when they were actually thrown into the furnace ; others of them escaped the edge of the sword,ᵇ when it was just lifted up to destroy them ; they were strengthened in the midst of weakness,ᶜ and many of them became so valiant in battle, that they repelled the armies of the aliens, or foreign enemies, when they encamped against them. There are also recorded in the prophetic writings other instances, in which women received their dead [children] by a resurrection from the dead ; which till these examples, had never been known or heard of : (Compare 1 Kings xvii. 22, 23 ; 2 Kings iv. 36, 37.) And the credible records of succeeding ages inform us of the triumphs of faith in a still more glorious degree : in which several others, and particularly seven children, and one pious and holy mother, were torturedᵈ in the most inhuman manner, to compel them to renounce their religion, and commit idolatry ; but endured all with invincible fortitude, not accepting deliveranceᵉ when it was offered

ᵃ Wrought righteousness.] Some have interpreted this, not only of their leading lives exemplary for holiness, but administering justice to others. But I do not know that the phrase has ever that signification.

ᵇ Edge of the sword.] Probably this may refer to the deliverance of David from the sword of Saul, and of Elijah, and Micajah, from that of Ahab.

ᶜ Strengthened in weakness.] Some refer this to their being recovered from sickness, by faith and prayer, as Hezekiah, Job, and David were

ᵈ Were tortured.] The original word signifies a peculiar sort of torture, which was called that of the tympanum, or drum, when they were extended in the most violent manner, and then beaten with clubs which must give exquisite pain, when all the parts were on such a stretch. See Wolfus. Curæ Philolog. in loc.

ᵉ Not accepting deliverance.] Probably the apostle here refers to 2 Mac. viii. 11, 14, 25, 29, where there is an evident reference to a resurrection, which plainly shews it then to have been assuredly believed among the Jews. Dr. Scott thinks

Who had trials of cruel mockings a scourgings,

them, nor even riches and preferments added to the proposal, that they might obtain a better resurrectionᶠ than their persecutors could offer them, when they seemed more than half dead; even a resurrection to the enjoyment of an everlasting kingdom in the heavens. And others, in the same glorious cause, received the trial of cruel mockings and scourgings;ᵍ but neither the derision nor the pain, could prevail upon them to desert their profession. Tea, they proved also the utmost force of bonds and imprisonment, in which many of them languished for tedious months and years, under all the ill usage which commonly attends such confinements. And others were brought out from their bonds to the most infamous and painful executions; and they were some of them stoned, and others sawn asunder,ʰ they were temptedⁱ by unheard of cruelties on the one hand, as well as the offers of immediate deliverance

it was revealed to them by Daniel and Ezekiel, in order to prepare them for those severe trials which they were afterwards to undergo for the sake of their religion. Scott’s Christian Life, Vol. V. p. 208. But it may be justly debated, how far the passages referred to could afford certain proof of a resurrection. It is observable, that rosephus, being probably ashamed to allow a hope which the heathens had so much derided, suppressed this circumstance, and only hints at some expectations of a future state.

ᶠ Better resurrection.] Dr. Owen understands this, as if the apostle had meant, The better resurrection, that is, the resurrection which is better than the resurrection of the wicked. But it is observed by Jacobus Caellus, that most probably, in that case, the article would have been prefixed ἀνεφυγίους ἀναφανώς. The opinion of Cretius and Dr Hammond, is, that the word better, is to be understood as opposed to a present remission of their torments; and this sense I have adopted in the parahrase; supposing it bears a respect to the deliverance which they would not accept, mentioned in the words immediately preceding. Mr. Hallet is exceeding clear, that the opposition lies between the resurrection to eternal life, which these martyrs expected, and the resurrection of the dead children to life in this world, mentioned in the first clause of the verse.

ᵍ Scourgings.] Jeremiah was buffeted, Jer. xx. 2; and some think, scourged too, chap. xxxvii. 15. But scourging was so frequent a punishment, both alone, and before a capital execution, (compare Dr. Lardner’s Credibility of the Gospel history, Vol. I Book I. chap. viii. § 13, and Dr. Scott on Matthew xxvii. 26,) that it is probable it was inflicted on many other pious persons on account of their religion.

ʰ Sawn asunder.] Dr. Prideaux, (Connect. Vol. I. p. 29,) and many others, suppose the apostle might here refer to the tradition among the Jews, that the prophet Isaiah was sawn asunder at the command of Manasseh. Calmet understands by this expression, being torn in pieces, as it were, under a threshing instrument, consisting of wooden rollers, full of sharp iron teeth like a harrow. Compare Isa. xli. 15; xxviii. 27; 2 Sam. xii 31. Calmet’s Diss. Vol. II. No. 5, p. 134. 135.

ⁱ Tempted] Some suppose a mistake in the reading, and that it should be ἐκφράσθαν, they were seared with a red hot iron, or burnt alive, which undoubtedly would give a still stronger sense. The learned Albert, (Observ. Philolog. p 436,) supposes, that instead of ἐκφράσθαν, the apostle wrote ἐκφράσθαν, which expressed their being squeezed to death by ropes or cords twisted, and drawn tight about the body; or at least their being strangled.

VOL. 6.

Who wandered in deserts, and in mountains

on the other, and at length slain with the sword; they wandered about clothed in the meanest manner, and sometimes, when their former habits were worn out, only in sheep skins ᵏ and in goat skins, being destitute of the common accommodations of life, afflicted and even tormented, sometimes by the fury of their enemies, and at other times by the rigour of the seasons. And though these were persons of the most amiable and venerable characters, of whom the world was not worthy that they should inhabit it; they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens, and holes of the earth, that they might hide themselves, if possible, from the rage of their persecutors, who often, like dogs hunting for their prey, followed them even into these last retreats, solitary and inhospitable as they were.

And all these heroes in different ages, were supported under their respective trials, severe and extreme as they were, by the exercise of a firm and lively faith, in the fidelity of God, and the invisible rewards and glories of a future state; and it was by this, that having obtained a good report, they persevered to the end. But they did not receive the full accomplishment of the promise, made to their fathers, nor have they yet arrived to the full and complete enjoyment of that glory which faith taught them to expect: God having according to the counsels of his infinite wisdom, provided something still better for us, in the gospel revelation; that so the beauty of his conduct and administration might be so much the more apparent; and that they, without us, might not be made perfect; ¹ but all might end with the greatest dignity

ᵏ Sheep skins: μολύβιας.] The Seventy, in the case of Elijah, translate the word which we render mantle, by μολύβια, a sheep skin. That sheep skins and goat skins, or at least the skins of some animals, were frequently worn by the ancient prophets, seems to be intimated, Zech xiii. 4.

¹ That they, without us, might not be made perfect.] It is debated, whether this refers to the most perfect state of the church on earth, and so expresses a decorum in the conduct of Providence, in gradually improving the church of God; or to the glory of the future state. I have given in the

paraphrase what seemed to me the most noble and important sense. The learned Wolfus, (Cura Philolog. Vol. IV. p. 774,) mentions with approbation the exposition of Alexander More, to this effect, that the promise which these worthies did not receive, related to the first personal appearance of the Messiah: that the better thing which God hath provided for us, is the promise of Christ’s second appearance, that they might then be made perfect, but not without us, though we have received the accomplishment of the first promise without them.

We then are compassed with a great cloud of witnesses.

and propriety, in bringing all his children together, to the full consummation of their hopes in Christ Jesus his Son, at the time of his final and triumphant appearance.

In the mean time, we may consider this glorious and triumphant assembly, as looking down from the peaceful and blessed state at which many of them are already arrived, and observing the manner in which we endeavour to follow them. And let the thought animate us in a becoming manner. Being therefore, as we are, encompassed^m with so great a cloud of witnesses,^n who surround us on every side in a vast innumerable assembly, the spectators of our trial, let us lay aside every incumbering weight, and especially the sin which in present circumstances has the greatest advantage^p [against us,^o] I mean, a disposition to relinquish, or dissemble the gospel, for fear of sufferings; [and] let us run with patience and perseverance, the race which is set before us, resolutely persisting in it, how long and painful soever it may be. Looking off from every object which would interrupt us in our career, and fixing our eyes upon Jesus, the leader and finisher of [our] faith,^p who called us out to this

^m Being therefore encompassed, &c. let us.^q Our translators have rendered this, Wherefore seeing we also; connecting us with us, whereas it should be joined with us, and considered as a kind of expletive.

^n Cloud of witnesses.^p Capellus thinks this expression is an allusion to vast numbers of birds flying together like a cloud, Isa. lx. 8. The word witnesses certainly alludes to the Olympic race, where persons were appointed to stand at the mark, to observe who first came thither, and give evidence in favour of the conqueror; upon whom therefore a crown was bestowed according to their testimony. The illusion in laying aside every incumbrance, is too evident to need further illustration. See the next note.

^o In present circumstances has the greatest advantage: ἀμαρτίαν κυπριαῖον^p This (as some imagine) may signify a sin which sits easily about us; which is explained of the vanity of the world, that seems to be matter of comparatively little danger, yet may be a fatal entanglement to us; as light garments may to those who run a

race, when they are blown about by the wind. Others would render it, The well circumstanced sin, in opposition to what is ἀπρησέω, without any recommending circumstance, or bare of ornament. Thus it is illustrated by Dunlop, Vol. I. Serm. xiii. p. 309—316.

^p The Author and Finisher of our faith.^q It must be confessed the word [our] is not in the original; but the faith of which Christ is the Author and Finisher must be the faith of Christians; and when he is said to be the Author and Finisher of our faith, it must signify, not only that he was an illustrious example of it, but that, as our Leader, he brings us to it, and carries us on in the exercise of it, till we attain the complete felicity to which it was intended to introduce us. The word looking, ἀφοραῖς, properly signifies our taking of our regard from other things, that we may fix them upon Christ. Mr. Dunlop thinks Christ is called the Author and Finisher of faith, in allusion to the judges of the games, who set laws before the contenders whereby they were to govern themselves, and then adjudged the crowns

Reflections on

strenuous, yet glorious, enterprise; who animates us by his example, and supports us by his grace, till the season comes, in which he shall bestow upon us the promised crown. He in bed is the most illustrious example of all, who for the joy and glory that was set before him, in the view of honouring his heavenly Father, and procuring the salvation of men, and so passing to such exalted honour and felicity, endured all the agonies of the cross, despising the shame of so ignominious an execution. And accordingly, now the infamy, the pain, and the humiliation are ceased for ever, he is ascended to that world, where alone such consummate goodness could receive its proper reward. And there he is set down in conspicuous and peerless majesty, at the right hand of the glorious and exalted throne of God, there to live and reign in immortal felicity and dignity. And among all the illustrious examples of faith, by whom you may be animated and edified, there is none comparable to him.

IMPROVEMENT.

verse 31, 32 Is it possible we should read these animated periods without feeling our hearts glow with a sacred ambition of acting as becomes those who have heard such tidings and beheld such examples? If the triumphs of faith in Rahab, and Gideon, and Barak, and Samson, and Yephtha, cannot move us, nor even those of David, and of Samuel; if we are insensible of the martial prowess which they exerted in firm dependence on the Lord God of hosts; let us behold other combats, in which they who seemed weaker, became yet more gloriously victorious. Let us remember, not only the mouths of lions stopped, but the violence of fire quenched, when the faithful servants of God were

to the conquerors. Thus, says that excellent writer, he eases us of our burdens, animates our faintness, retards the progress of our enemies, and at length will with his own hands set upon our heads that beautiful diadem which he hath purchased with his own blood.

[For the joy that was set before him.] Some would render it, Instead of the joy that lay before him, meaning the honour and happiness he might have enjoyed in the present world. But ἀνεπιμύνην has so evident a reference to verse 1 that I

cannot by any means acquiesce in that interpretation. Besides, the word ἀνεπιμύνην may well signify, set against that joy, and then the meaning will be, that he despised the shame of the cross, in comparison of the joy set before him. Nor can we imagine any love more disinterested than that, which should make his recovering sinners to God and happiness, the great joy of his heart, and, in subserviency to the Divine glory, the grand motive of his actions and sufferings.

the foregoing examples of faith.

thrown into it. Yea, let us behold those who endured its unquenched violence, and turned all those painful and terrible sensations, into an heroic occasion of expressing the superior ardour of their love to God, and the steadfastness of their faith in him. Let us remember those youths, and children, and women, among the rest of these worthies, indeed among the worthiest of them, who were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

In vain were all the terrors of persecuting rage and cruelty opposed to these triumphs. They submitted to imprisonment, and banishment, how dear soever liberty, and their native country might be; they quitted their commodious habitations for rocks, and caves, and their comfortable apparel for sheep skins and goat skins. And when deserts and dens could no longer shelter their wretchedness, but they were seized by their blood-thirsty enemies, they beheld, and endured, undismayed, the most horrid instruments of death. When the piercing sword entered their vitals, when overwhelming stones dashed them in pieces, when the torturing saw was tearing out their very entrails, there was a principle within superior to all these, which nothing could pierce, which nothing could rend away, which nothing could overwhelm. God hath done an honour to our nature in raising up such illustrious persons, of whom the world was not worthy, and whose distinguished worth could never have been manifested in the eyes of their fellow creatures, had it not been called out to such rigorous trials. Well might they rejoice on any terms in their dismissal from a state of existence, so far beneath the elevation of their views. And though their names may be perished from among men, and the distinct history of each lost in the crowds of countless multitudes, yet are they all in remembrance before God; and the death of each of his saints, in such circumstances, peculiarly precious in his sight. They are now bathing in those rivers of delight, which flow through the celestial paradise, and waiting the full consummation of their hope in that better resurrection, in the views of which they suffered so bravely. In the mean time, they look down, as it were, from the battlements of heaven upon our combats, upon our race. O, let them not see us basely shrinking back, or loitering! Let us lay aside every weight; let us, especially, guard against the sin which most easily besets us. And to establish all our fortitude, and to awaken all our ardour, let us look to an object brighter and nobler than all these, even to the Son of God, the Sun of righteousness, shining in high preeminence above all this cloud, and as it were gilding it by the reflection of his effulgent rays. Let us look to Jesus, who leads us on; to Jesus, who will complete the triumph of our faith, and set the crown on the head of every one who overcometh! Let us daily think, what agony, what ignominy, he endured for us; and let every consideration of noble

They should further consider the example of

ambition, of duty, and of gratitude, fire our soul to our zeal : so shall we at length share in his victorious with him on his throne, as he hath a is set down with the Father on his throne.