Hebrews 10

— but a body hast thou prepared me.] But Thou hast personally designed Me to Thy perfect and entire service, both in doing and suffering; and thereby set reconciled to the world. Bp. Hall. Seeing the Son of God, by being made flesh, took on Him the form of a slave, or obedient servant, Phil. ii. 7, the expression “Thou hast prepared Me a body,” is equivalent to “Mine ears hast Thou opened,” and both phrases signify, Thou hast made Me thine obedient servant. This reconciliation of the passages here, and in the Psalms, is founded on the ancient phraseology, in which slaves were both by Jews and heathens called ‘bodies,’ because they were implicitly directed by the will of their masters, as the body is directed by the mind. See Rev. xviii. 13. The Seventy therefore have given the true sense of the Psalmist, in what may be called a free translation, which the Apostle seems to have adopted for the sake of perspicuity. Drs. MacKnight and Whitby.

Ver. 1.—the substance.] And present being, as it were, “of things hoped for.” Bp. Fell. The firm assurance or expectation. Dr. Whitby, Pyle.

Hebrews 10:2

2.—the elders] The Patriarchs before and after the flood. Dr. Wells.

—obtained a good report.] Literally, ‘received a testimony,’ namely, of God’s approbation and regard, left on record in the Holy Scriptures. Drs. Hammond and Whitby.

Hebrews 10:3

3. — there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.] Upon the great annual day of expiation, the high priest commemorates and deplores the past sins, both of that, and the foregoing years; a plain demonstration that they were not perfectly atoned for by the former sacrifices. Pyle. See Lev. xvi. 21.

4. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed &c.] Whereas the wisest heathens have doubtfully disputed concerning the state of the world, whether it had any beginning, and how it came to have a being; we, through faith, do clearly apprehend the truth of this matter, and do certainly understand that the world was framed by the all-powerful word of God, and that it was made of nothing; so as, of that which was not at all, nor had any pre-existence in nature, was made this visible frame of heaven and earth. Bp. Hall.

—of things which do appear.] Rather, “which did” then “appear,” but of things not then visible, Gen. i. 2. Dr. Whitby.

Hebrews 10:4

4. For it is not possible &c.] There is no efficacy in the blood of a brute to cleanse away the spiritual sin of a man; see Heb. ix. 9; Rom. v. 12, 18: none, I say, in such sacrifices considered by themselves, but only typically in relation to the sacrifice of Christ; they being instituted chiefly for legal sins, as casual uncleannesses of the body, &c. Heb. ix. 13; not for sins, properly so called: or, if for more, extending especially to sins of ignorance and infirmity; see Numb. xv. 24, 27, compared with ver. 30. Bp. Fell.

5. By faith Abel offered unto God &c.] Abel offered the firstlings of his flock, typifying the death of Christ, “the Lamb slain from the beginning of the world.” He did this by faith; that is, by believing the promise which God had made to mankind in Christ; thus manifesting his faith by offering such a sacrifice as represented the death of Christ, by whom therefore his sacrifice was well pleasing and acceptable to God. Bp. Beveridge.

—that he was righteous.] In this character of Anno DOMINI 64. Or, in god opinion of.

Hebrews 10:5

5. Wherefore when he cometh into the world.] Namely, He who was to take away the sins thereof. The reference is to the 40th Psalm, ver. 6, 7; urged by the Apostle, as usual, according to the Septuagint version, in those times best known to the Jews. Bp. Fell.

volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Hebrews 10:8

8, 9. Above when he said, &c.] When he had said before, namely, in the fifth verse, “Sacrifice &c. Thou wouldest not;” “Then said He” afterwards, namely in the 7th verse, “Lo, I come” &c. Dr. Whitby.

The Apostle argues in these two verses, that these words are a plain declaration of the utter insufficiency of the Jewish sacrifices; when Christ puts His own suffering and sacrifice to supply their defects. And by doing the one, He abrogates all further use of the other. Pyle.

Hebrews 10:10

10. By the which will we are sanctified &c.] And by this gracious will of God, which Christ came to perform in the body, which God prepared for Him, by offering that body once for all, and not by those legal sacrifices which were often repeated, all our sins are expiated, and we received into God’s favour, as many of us as, by performing the condition of sincere obedience still required of us, are rendered capable of that great benefit purchased for us by the sufferings of Christ. Dr. Hammond.

Hebrews 10:11

11. And every priest] That is, every other priest. “Standeth” is opposed to “sitting down” in the next verse: the latter being spoken of One, who had finished His offering and His work. Bp. Fell. “Daily,” that is, on every day of expiation. It appears that the Apostle continues to discourse of the annual sacrifice, offered by the high priest in the holy of bodies; with which in the beginning of this chapter he had compared the offering of Christ. See chap. vii. 27. Veyse.

for ever hath taken away sins. Anno DOMINI 64. offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand of God;

Hebrews 10:12

12. — for ever sat down on the right hand of God.] Never more to stand and minister as He hath done, but answering the great character drawn in the Prophet Zechariah, chap. vi. 13, of a Priest on a throne, where royal dignity and certain conquest are added to His other glories. Dr. Doddridge. 14. — he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.] He hath completely expiated the sins of all obedient Christians; of all such as obey the Gospel, and so become entitled to the benefits of His death. Drs. Wells and Hammond. The Apostle hereby gives us to understand, that our High Priest, by the one oblation of Himself once offered, was a complete propitiation, or hath made sufficient satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; so that we need no other sacrifice but that, whereby to obtain the remission of our sins, and to make reconcilisation for us. Bp. Beveridge. 15. — 17. — for after that he had said before, This is the covenant &c.] For after He had premised, as the first thing promised in His covenant, the writing of His laws on their hearts and minds, &c.; He then adds, as a second part of His covenant, the free pardon of all the sins and transgressions of their former life. Dr. Hammond.

Hebrews 10:18

18. — there is no more offering for sin.] This being done once for all, there is no need of any further sacrifices or Judaical observances, for which the Jews, and some of the Jewish Christians, so zealously contend. Dr. Hammond, Pyle. From this and many other passages of this Epistle, the sacrifice of the mass, as it is called, declared by the council of Trent to be ‘a true and proper propitiatory sacrifice for sin,’ is utterly overthrown. Nay, it is an evident impiety, as it proceeds upon the supposition, that the offering of the body of Christ once is not sufficient to procure the pardon of sin, but must be frequently repeated. Drs. Whitby and Macknight. When we consider how full and strong the several passages of this Epistle are against the doctrines of the Romanists, it is hard to account for their receiving it as a part of Scripture, and their teaching so contrary to it as if it were no part of Scripture. And if St. Paul had foreseen what they have since taught concerning the sacrifice of the mass, this Epistle would have seemed not more written to the Hebrews, than written against the Romans. And if this doctrine of the sacrifice of Christ in the daily masses of the church of Rome be so opposite to Scripture, what must we think of what they further teach on this article, that Christ, when He first instituted this sacrament, did then offer up Himself, both His body and blood to God the Father, by way of sacrifice for sin. This is what the council of Trent, and other popish councils, assert. But is it possible for any serious man to think, that when Christ blessed the into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

Hebrews 10:19

19. — to enter] Now with our prayers, and hereafter with our persons, “into the holiest,” namely, the heavenly sanctuary, or the presence of God in heaven. Bp. Fell. — by the blood of Jesus.] Death, considered as the way which leadeth us into the presence of God infinitely holy, to whom we must give an account of all our actions, would be very terrible to us indeed, did we not know that Jesus, by shedding His blood, hath procured the pardon of our sins. For to use the words of Addison, ‘I must confess that I think there is no scheme of religion, besides that of Christianity, which can possibly support the most virtuous person under this thought (the thought of the judgment). Let a man’s innocence be what it will, let his virtues rise to the highest pitch of perfection attainable in this life, there will be still in him so many secret sins, so many human frailties, so many offences of ignorance, passion, and prejudice, so many unguarded words and thoughts, and in short so many defects in his best actions, that, without the advantage of such an expiation and atonement as Christianity has revealed to us, it is impossible that he should be cleared before his sovereign Judge, or that he should be able to stand in His sight. Our holy religion suggests to us the only means whereby our guilt may be taken away, and our imperfect obedience accepted.’ Dr. Macknight.

Hebrews 10:20

20. By a new and living way,] “New,” in respect of there having been no entrance into heaven, till our forerunner Christ first entered, and so prepared the way for us: “living,” inasmuch as our walking in that way consists in true spiritual holiness of life, not in the observance of the dead letter or external rites of the law, and also because it terminates in life eternal. Dr. Wells. — through the veil, that is to say, his flesh:] As under the law the high priest passed through the veil into the holy of holies; so now, under the Gospel, the veil, through which we must enter into the holy heavens, is the flesh of Christ. Bp. Hall. Exhortation to hold fast the faith, and to love and good works. Anno DOMINI 64.

Hebrews 10:22

22. — in full assurance of faith.] In full confidence and steadfast reliance upon the mercies of God. Bp. Hall. Fully assured that our service, if performed with a true heart or sincerity, shall now be accepted by God, and ourselves shall hereafter enter into the true holy of bodies. Dr. Wells.

— having our hearts sprinkled &c.] As now “having our hearts sprinkled,” namely, by His blood, “from” sin and “an evil conscience.” There is an allusion here to the purifying water, with which unclean persons were to be sprinkled, before they might have access to the sanctuary, Numb. xix. 17, 20; or to that washing, Lev. xvi. 4. Bp. Fell.

— and our bodies washed with pure water.] Namely, the laver of regeneration. Dr. Whitby, Burkitt. In holy baptism. Bp. Fell.

Hebrews 10:23

23. — the profession of our faith] Into which we have been baptized. Bp. Fell.

Hebrews 10:24

24. And let us consider one another] As members of the same body. Drs. Whitby and Wells. Let us have a charitable and tender respect one to another: instead of those strange and envious dispositions and carriages that are wont to be between Jews and Gentiles; let us so frame ourselves and our affections, as that we may draw on each other to mutual love and good works. Bp. Hall.

Hebrews 10:25

25. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,] This command was given at a time, when the utmost dangers attended the practice. For the service of these assemblies peculiarly the Christian ministry was instituted: in these the Christian sacraments were celebrated: good Christians were to be admitted into them, bad ones excluded from them. Indeed the whole New Testament considers the followers of Christ, not as single unconnected individuals, but as churches or societies, meeting together for the honour of God and their mutual edification. And this they did so constantly, even in the days of the bitterest persecution, that Pliny, a heathen magistrate, writing within a few years after the death of St. John, to the emperor Trajan, for directions how to proceed in punishing them, describes them by their custom of holding congregations on a stated day to worship Christ, and bind themselves by a sacrament or oath, to commit no wickedness. Abp. Secker.

— as the manner of some is.] Upon conceit of the peculiar rights and prerogatives, which God hath given to the Jews above the Gentiles. Bp. Hall. Or, for fear of persecution from the unbelieving Jews. Dr. Wells.

— as ye see the day approaching.] The day of God’s

judgment upon the unbelieving and apostatizing Jews. Dr. Whitby. That day the Hebrews saw approaching, by the appearing of those signs, which our Lord had mentioned in His prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem. Dr. Macknight.

Or, the day of God’s righteous judgment of all men. The uncertainty, in which God hath left the world concerning its end, and the general day of judgment, is made by the Apostle a motive to prepare for it as near. So our death and judgment are joined together, chap. ix. 27, 28; “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Because no action of the men intervenes between these two; and as the one leaves him, so the other finds him, at what distance never these happen to be: see Phil. i. 6; 1 Tim. vi. 14; Jan. v. 7, 8; 2 Thess. i. 7; 2 Tim. iv. 8; Heb. x. 35-37. Bp. Fell.

Hebrews 10:26

26, 27. For if we sin wilfully &c.] See the sin specified ver. 29; see also chap. vi. 4, and 2 Pet. ii. 30. The Apostle speaks of a revolt from, and despising of, the Gospel; as in ver. 26, of an Israelite’s despising Moses’ law: all ordinary breaches of which law were not punished with death. But here also may be meant some other sins, such as are not only deliberate, and done with full consent of the will, but obstinate and obdurate, against the known light of truth, admonitions of the church, &c. Bp. Fell.

The general purport of these two verses may be thus given: Let me again remind you of the fatal consequence of wilfully and deliberately renouncing a religion so clearly attested and confirmed to you. If you slight, and once neglect the means of salvation now offered you by Christ, you lose the last and only method God will ever purpose for your redemption; and must expect to perish by that Divine wrath and vengeance, that awaits the obstinate adversaries of true religion. Pyle.

From this passage some persons have imagined, that every deliberate transgression is unpardonable. But it appears very plainly, that not any wilful sin whatever is meant here, but that one only, which is mentioned immediately before and after; laying aside “the profession of the faith, treading under foot the Son of God, counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, doing despite unto the Spirit of grace:” that is, renouncing and reviling Christianity. And it by no means follows, that because they, who have rejected Christ, will so where find any other atonement for their sins, therefore they who believe in Him, but have criminally violated some of His precepts, cannot partake of His atonement, though they apply for it with penitent hearts. Abp. Secker.

Hebrews 10:28

28. He that despised Moses’ law] By wilfully and presumptuously sinning against it, particularly by apor-

The danger of forfeiting the reward for want of perseverance.

Amos DOMINI 64. ment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

b Deut. 22. 35. 30 For we know him that hath said, b Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.

Hebrews 10:29

29. — who hath trodden under foot the Son of God,] Despised Christ, as vile and nothing worth, yea as one that died as a malefactor. Dr. Hammond. This may be done, either by a corrupt judgment; or by an outward profession against judgment; or by a wicked life against our profession. Bp. Fell.

— and hath counted the blood of the covenant, — an unholy thing,] Profaning and treating the precious blood of the Son of God, which ratified the gracious covenant of his redemption, as the blood of an ordinary person, nay, of a malefactor. Pyle.

— wherewith he was sanctified,] Or purged from the guilt of his sins, chap. ii. 11; ix. 13; xiii. 12. Dr. Whitby.

— and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?] In rejecting the Gospel, and all other means of grace accompanying it, whether outward, as miracles and other gifts of the Holy Spirit; or inward, as His good motions and suggestions, &c. Dr. Wells.

Hebrews 10:30

30. — The Lord shall judge his people,] That is, His disobedient people. Pyle. But the context, in Deut. xxxii. 36, seems to require a different sense, namely, ’the Lord will avenge His people’ of their oppressors. Dr. Macknight. The Apostle’s argument appears to be this: If God professes Himself an avenger of all sin and injury done to His people, as He certainly doth in the passage of Deuteronomy referred to, much more will He shew Himself an avenger of so horrible an indignity offered to His Son and His Holy Spirit. Burkitt.

Hebrews 10:32

32. — after ye were illuminated,] Or enlightened with the knowledge of Christ. Bp. Hall.

— ye endured a great fight of afflictions;] There were various persecutions of the Christians in Judea, particularly the great persecution after the death of St. Stephen, Acts viii. 1; and Herod’s persecution, Acts xii. 1. Perhaps the Apostle here refers to that mentioned 1 Thess. ii. 14, in which the Hebrews shewed great love to their suffering brethren, Heb. vi. 10. Dr. Macknight.

Hebrews 10:37

37. — and he that shall come will come, &c.] Though the Apostle in this verse uses some words of the Prophet Habakkuk, chap. ii. 3, he does not introduce them as a

quotation from him, containing a prophecy of any coming of Christ. In the passage, where they are found, the Prophet exhorted the Jews to trust in God for deliverance from the Chaldeans, by putting them in mind of the faithfulness of God in performing His promises concerning the continuance of their nation, and of His power to preserve them during the Babylonian captivity, and to restore them to their own land. Wherefore, as the faithfulness and power of God are a source of consolation, to which good men at all times may have recourse in their distresses, the Apostle might with great propriety apply Habakkuk’s words by way of accommodation to Christ’s coming to destroy Jerusalem and the Jewish state. Christ had promised to come for that purpose before the generation then living should have passed away. Now as the believing Hebrews could entertain no doubt of His faithfulness and power to perform His promise, the Apostle, to encourage them to bear their afflictions with patience, very fitly put them in mind of that event in the words of the Prophet Habakkuk, because it assured them that the power of their persecutors would soon be at an end. Dr. Macknight.

Hebrews 10:38

38. — but if any man draw back, &c.] “But if he draw back,” saith the Lord, “My soul shall have no pleasure in him.” Bp. Fell. That is, Whosoever, after the entertainment of Divine truth, hypocritically conceals, or cowardly renounces, the profession of it, shall forfeit all the blessings, to which it entitled him. Pyle. These words plainly suppose, that “the just man, who liveth by” that “faith,” in which if he persisted, he would “save his soul,” may “draw back unto perdition.” And this is also evident from the expression, “My soul shall have no pleasure in him;” for they plainly intimate, that God took pleasure in him before his drawing back; for otherwise this threat would signify nothing, the Lord taking pleasure in none but “just” men only, and such as “live by faith.” Dr. Whitby.

That we may the more readily be induced to resist every effort of our adversaries to undermine our faith, let us weigh with attention the danger to which such are exposed as depart from it. The case of apostates is allowed to be desperate. “If any man draw back, My soul,” says God, “shall have no pleasure in him.” And it behoves us to consider well, whether, by rejecting the

What faith is. What faith is. Anno DOMINI 64.