[Table of Contents]
[Previous] [Next]
Ashley S. Johnson
The Self-Interpreting New Testament (1898)

 

THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE
HEBREWS.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

 

CHAPTER 1.

G OD, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,
      "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel (Gen., 3:15)."
      "Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
      And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
      And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed (Gen., 12:1-3)."
      "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
      With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses (Num., 12:7, 8)?"
      "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah (Isa., 1:1)."
      "The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
      To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign (Jer., 1:1, 2)."
      "Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God (Ezek., 1:1)."
      "The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel (Joel, 1:1)."
      2   Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
      "All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him (Matt., 11:27)."
      "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: [346]
      For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
      And he is before all things, and by him all things consist (Col., 1:15-17)."
      3   Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
      "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
      Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
      Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
      Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake (Jno., 14:8-11)."
      "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
      In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them (II. Cor., 4:3, 4)."
      "Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature (Col., 1:15)."
      4   Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
      "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
      Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come (Eph., 1:20, 21)."
      5   For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
      "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee (Ps., 2:7)."
      "He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.
      Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth (Ps., 89:26, 27)."
      6   And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
      "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him (I. Pet., 3:22)."
      7   And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
      "Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire (Ps., 104:4)."
      8   But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
      9   Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
      "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre.
      Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows (Ps., 45:6, 7)."
      10   And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:
      11   They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
      12   And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
      "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
      They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
      But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
      The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee (Ps., 102:25-28)."
      13   But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
      "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool (Ps., 110:1)."
      14   Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
      "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
      O taste and see that the Lord is good: [347] blessed is the man that trusteth in him (Ps., 34:7, 8)."
      "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
      They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone (Ps., 91:11, 12)."
      "Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
      Bless ye the Lord, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure (Ps., 103:20, 21)."

 

CHAPTER 2.

T HEREFORE we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.
      2   For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
      "And he said, The Lord came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them (Deut., 33:2)."
      "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place (Ps., 68:17)."
      "But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people (Num., 15:30)."
      "Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen (Deut., 27:26)."
      3   How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
      "That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judæa, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
      How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him (Acts, 10:37, 38)."
      4   God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
      "Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ (Rom., 15:19)."
      5   For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.
      6   But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?
      7   Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:
      "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
      For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet (Ps., 8:4-6)."
      8   Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.
      "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
      The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death (I. Cor., 15:25, 26)."
      9   But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
      "But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
      And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Phil., 2:7, 8)."
      "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matt., 26:28)."
      10   For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
      "And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected (Luke, 13:32)."
      "Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken:
      Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory (Luke, 24:25, 26)?" [348]
      11   For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
      "While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.
      Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
      But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
      And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
      For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother (Matt., 12:46-50)."
      12   Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
      13   And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.
      "Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion (Isa., 8:18)."
      14   Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
      "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth (Jno., 1:14)."
      "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory (I. Cor., 15:55)?"
      15   And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
      "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father (Rom., 8:15)."
      16   For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.
      "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ (Gal., 3:16)."
      17   Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.
      18   For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.
      "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Matt., 4:1)."

 

CHAPTER 3.

W HEREFORE, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
      "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
      And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
      She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world (Jno., 11:25-27)."
      2   Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
      3   For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
      4   For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
      5   And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
      6   But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
      "And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord:
      Even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both (Zech., 6:12, 13)."
      7   Wherefore (as the Holy Spirit saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
      8   Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
      9   When your fathers tempted me, [349] proved me, and saw my works forty years.
      10   Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
      "For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
      Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
      When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
      Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:
      Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest (Ps., 95:7-11)."
      11   So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
      12   Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
      13   But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
      14   For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
      "But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end (Heb., 3:6)."
      15   While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
      16   For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
      17   But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
      "Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
      Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it (Num., 14:22, 23)."
      18   And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
      19   So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

 

CHAPTER 4.

L ET us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
      2   For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
      "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom., 10:17)."
      3   For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
      "Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest (Ps., 95:11)."
      4   For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
      "And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made (Gen., 2:3)."
      5   And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
      6   Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
      7   Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
      8   For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day.
      9   There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
      10   For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
      11   Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
      "But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
      Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
      Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come (I. Cor., 10:5, 6, 11)." [350]
      12   For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
      "And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me (Isa., 49:2)."
      "Is not my word like as a fire? saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces (Jer., 23:29)?"
      "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.
      Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (II. Cor., 10:4, 5)."
      "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph., 6:17)."
      "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Gen., 2:7)."
      "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return (Gen., 3:19)."
      "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (Ecc., 12:7)."
      "Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezek., 18:4)."
      13   Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
      "The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.
      From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
      He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works (Ps., 33:13-15)."
      "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance (Ps., 90:8)."
      "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
      If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
      If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
      Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
      If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
      Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee (Ps., 139:7-12)."
      "Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering (Job, 26:6)."
      "For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings (Job, 34:21)."
      "Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men (Prov., 15:11)?"
      14   Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
      15   For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
      "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
      Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted (Isa., 53:3, 4)."
      16   Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

 

CHAPTER 5.

F OR every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
      2   Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
      3   And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins.
      "And Moses said unto Aaron, Go unto the altar, and offer thy sin offering, and thy burnt offering, and make an atonement for thyself, and for the people: and offer the offering of the people, and make an atonement for them; as the Lord commanded (Lev., 9:7)."
      4   And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
      "And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons (Ex., 28:1)."
      5   So also Christ glorified not himself [351] to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
      "Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee (Ps., 2:7)."
      6   As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
      "The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (Ps., 110:4)."
      7   Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
      "And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt (Matt., 26:39)."
      "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee (Jno., 17:1)."
      "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?
      O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent (Ps., 22:1, 2)."
      "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
      Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost (Matt., 27:46, 50)."
      "And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
      Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me (Matt., 26:27, 38)."
      "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour (Jno., 12:27)."
      8   Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
      9   And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
      "For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings (Heb., 2:10)."
      "Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:
      But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him (Acts, 10:34, 35)."
      10   Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
      11   Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
      "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now (Jno., 16:12)."
      "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them (Matt., 13:15)."
      12   For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
      "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
      I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able (I. Cor., 3:1, 2)."
      13   For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
      14   But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
      "But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man (I. Cor., 2:15)."

 

CHAPTER 6.

T HEREFORE leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
      "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
      Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
      I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil., 3:12-14)."
      "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Heb., 9:14)?" [352]
      "Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph., 2:9)."
      "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
      For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth (Rom., 10:3, 4)."
      "But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
      What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet (Rom., 7:6, 7)."
      2   Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
      "Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation (Heb., 9:10)."
      "And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar (Lev., 1:8)."
      "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
      For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (I. Cor., 15:21, 22)."
      "And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee (Acts, 24:25)."
      3   And this will we do, if God permit.
      4   For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
      5   And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
      6   If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
      "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins (Heb., 10:26)."
      "There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.
      All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death (I. Jno., 5:16, 17)."
      7   For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God:
      8   But that which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
      "If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned (Jno., 15:6)."
      9   But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
      10   For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
      "Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you (II. Thess., 1:6)."
      11   And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
      12   That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
      "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord (Rom., 12:11)."
      13   For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
      14   Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
      "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,
      And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
      That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
      And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice (Gen., 22:15-18)."
      15   And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
      16   For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
      17   Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
      "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise (Heb., 11:9)." [353]
      18   That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
      "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom., 11:29)."
      19   Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
      20   Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
      "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (Heb., 4:14)."

 

CHAPTER 7.

F OR this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
      "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
      And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
      And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all (Gen., 14:18-20)."
      2   To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
      3   Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
      4   Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
      5   And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:
      "And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation (Num., 18:21)."
      6   But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
      "And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood (Num., 18:1)."
      "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.
      So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.
      As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec (Heb., 5:4-6)."
      7   And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.
      8   And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
      9   And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.
      10   For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.
      11   If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron?
      "If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose;
      And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:
      And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:
      According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
      And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.
      And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously (Deut., 17:8-13)."
      12   For the priesthood being changed, [354] there is made of necessity a change also of the law.
      "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second (Heb., 10:9)."
      13   For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.
      14   For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood.
      "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be (Gen., 49:10)."
      15   And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest,
      16   Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.
      "For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore (Heb., 7:28)."
      17   For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
      "The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (Ps., 110:4)."
      18   For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
      "For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
      For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
      For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious (II. Cor., 3:9-11)."
      19   For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
      "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain (Gal., 2:21)."
      20   And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:
      21   (For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec:)
      "And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was upon the altar, and sprinkled it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon his sons' garments with him; and sanctified Aaron, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him (Lev., 8:30)."
      22   By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
      "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life (II. Cor., 3:6)."
      23   And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
      "And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.
      And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel (Num., 20:28, 29)."
      24   But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
      25   Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
      "And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Rom., 8:27)."
      26   For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
      27   Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
      28   For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
      "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
      For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
      Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need (Heb., 4:14-16)." [355]

 

CHAPTER 8.

N OW of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
      "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places (Eph., 1:20)."
      2   A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
      3   For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
      "For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins:
      Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity (Heb., 5:1, 2)."
      4   For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
      5   Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
      "Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ (Col., 2:17)."
      "And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shewed thee in the mount (Ex., 25:40)."
      6   But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
      "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life (II. Cor., 3:6)."
      "Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not (II. Cor., 4:1)."
      "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (II. Cor., 7:1)."
      7   For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
      "If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron (Heb., 7:11)?"
      8   For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
      9   Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
      "And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
      Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.
      Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
      And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
      And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord commanded him.
      And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord (Ex., 19:3-8)."
      10   For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
      11   And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
      12   For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
      "For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins (Rom., 11:27)."
      "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
      Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of [356] Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
      But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
      And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer., 31:31-34)."
      13   In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
      "Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
      For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
      But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all (Gal., 4:24-26)."

 

CHAPTER 9.

T HEN verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
      "Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar (Gal., 4:24)."
      2   For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
      "And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them (Ex., 25:8)."
      "And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.
      And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the Lord commanded Moses (Ex., 40:18, 19)."
      "And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle (Ex., 40:28)."
      "And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.
      And he set the bread in order upon it before the Lord; as the Lord had commanded Moses.
      And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.
      And he lighted the lamps before the Lord; as the Lord commanded Moses.
      And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:
      And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the Lord commanded Moses (Ex., 40:22-27)."
      3   And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
      4   Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant;
      5   And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.
      "And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:
      And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the Lord commanded Moses (Ex., 40:20, 21)."
      "And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the Lord, to be kept for your generations.
      As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept (Ex., 16:33, 34)."
      "And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not (Num., 17:10)."
      "And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee (Ex., 25:16)."
      "And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him (Ex., 34:29)."
      "And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
      That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying,
      Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee (Deut., 31:24-26)."
      "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
      And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
      And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. [357]
      And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
      And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel (Ex., 25:18-22)."
      6   Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
      "And the Lord said unto Aaron, Thou and thy sons and thy father's house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood (Num., 18:1)."
      7   But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
      "And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord (Ex., 30:10)."
      "And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.
      And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses (Lev., 16:2, 34)."
      "For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
      Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself (Heb., 7:26, 27)."
      8   The Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
      "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (Jno., 14:6)."
      "And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost.
      And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom (Mark, 15:37, 38)."
      9   Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
      "Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law (Gal., 3:21)."
      10   Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
      "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth (Lev., 11:2)."
      "Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even (Num., 19:7)."
      "Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace (Eph., 2:15)."
      "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
      And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
      Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
      Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ (Col., 2:14-17)."
      11   But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
      "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus (Heb., 3:1)."
      "We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
      A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man (Heb., 8:1, 2)."
      12   Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
      "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood (Acts, 20:28)."
      "Who hath delivered us from the power of [358] darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
      In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins (Col., 1:13, 14)."
      13   For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
      "And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
      Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat (Lev., 16:14, 15)."
      "And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin (Num., 19:9)."
      14   How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
      "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
      But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (I. Pet., 1:18, 19)."
      "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin (I. Jno., 1:7)."
      "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God (Heb., 7:19)."
      15   And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
      "Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life (II. Cor., 3:6)."
      "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises (Heb., 8:6)."
      16   For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
      17   For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
      "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
      Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time (I. Tim., 2:5, 6)."
      "Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
      Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one (Gal., 3:19, 20)."
      18   Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
      19   For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
      20   Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
      21   Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
      "And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
      And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.
      And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words (Ex., 24:6-8)."
      22   And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
      "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul (Lev., 17:1)."
      23   It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
      "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
      For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
      Who serve unto the example and shadow [359] of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount (Heb., 8:3-5)."
      24   For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
      "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building (Heb., 9:11)."
      25   Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
      "For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God (Rom., 6:10)."
      26   For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
      "Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
      And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God (Jno., 1:35, 36)!"
      "Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:
      But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
      To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Gal., 4:3-5)."
      27   And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
      "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (II. Cor., 5:10)."
      28   So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
      "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
      Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works (Titus, 2:13, 14)."

 

CHAPTER 10.

F OR the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
      "Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ (Col., 2:17)."
      2   For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
      3   But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
      "And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the Lord commanded Moses (Lev., 16:34)."
      4   For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
      5   Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
      6   In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
      7   Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
      "Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
      Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
      I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart (Ps., 40:6-8)."
      8   Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
      9   Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
      "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away (Heb., 8:13)."
      10   By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. [360]
      "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace (Rom., 6:14)."
      11   And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
      "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins (Heb., 10:4)."
      12   But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
      13   From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
      "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet (I. Cor., 15:25)."
      14   For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
      "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb., 10:10)."
      15   Whereof the Holy Spirit also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
      16   This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
      17   And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
      "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
      Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:
      But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
      And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jer., 31:31-34)."
      18   Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
      19   Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
      "The Holy Spirit this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing (Heb., 9:8)."
      20   By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
      "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (Jno., 10:10)."
      "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (Jno., 14:6)."
      21   And having an high priest over the house of God;
      22   Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
      "But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
      Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus, 3:4, 5)."
      23   Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
      24   And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
      25   Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
      "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
      And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him (Mal., 3:16, 17)."
      "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts, 2:42)."
      26   For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
      "But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
      Because he hath despised the word of the Lord, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him (Num., 15:30, 31)." [361]
      "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more (Heb., 10:17)."
      "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
      And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,
      If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame (Heb., 6:4-6)."
      27   But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
      "Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath (Zeph., 1:18)."
      28   He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
      "One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established (Deut., 19:15)."
      29   Of how much sorer punishment, 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?
      "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb., 10:10)."
      "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph., 4:30)."
      30   For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
      "To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
      For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left (Deut., 32:35, 36)."
      31   It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
      "But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him (Luke, 12:5)."
      32   But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;
      33   Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.
      34   For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.
      "Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace (Phil., 1:7)."
      "The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain (II. Tim., 1:16)."
      35   Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.
      36   For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.
      "In your patience possess ye your souls (Luke, 21:19)."
      37   For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.
      38   Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
      "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Rom., 1:17)."
      39   But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

 

CHAPTER 11.

N OW faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
      "Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
      (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
      Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, [362] according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
      And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
      He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
      And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
      And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness (Rom., 4:16-22)."
      "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
      And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
      And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
      And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matt., 16:15-18)."
      "She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world (Jno., 11:27)."
      "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (I. Cor., 1:18)."
      "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:
      That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God (I. Cor., 2:4, 5)."
      "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ (I. Cor., 3:11)."
      "And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
      But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name (Jno., 20:30, 31)."
      "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom., 10:17)."
      "And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith (Acts, 15:9)."
      "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom., 5:1)."
      "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
      Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect (Jas., 2:21, 22)?"
      "One Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph., 4:5)."
      "I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins (Jno., 8:24)."
      "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations (Rom., 14:1)."
      "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth (II. Thess., 1:3)."
      "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith (Rom., 1:17)."
      2   For by it the elders obtained a good report.
      3   Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
      "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (Gen., 1:1)."
      4   By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.
      "And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
      And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering (Gen., 4:3, 4)."
      5   By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.
      "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him (Gen., 5:24)."
      6   But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
      7   By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
      "And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
      Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch (Gen., 6:13, 14)."
      "And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
      And Noah did according unto all that the Lord commanded him (Gen., 7:1, 5)." [363]
      8   By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
      "And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran,
      And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
      Then came he out of the land of the Chaldæans, and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.
      And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child (Acts, 7:2-5)."
      9   By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
      "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ (Gal., 3:16)."
      10   For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
      11   Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
      "And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb (Rom., 4:19)."
      12   Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
      "That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies (Gen., 22:17)."
      13   These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
      "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad (Jno., 8:56)."
      "I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight (Gen., 23:4)."
      "For we are strangers before thee, and sojourners, as were all our fathers: our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding (I. Chron., 29:15)."
      "Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were (Ps., 39:12)."
      "I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me (Ps., 119:19)."
      "And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear (I. Pet., 1:17)."
      "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul (I. Pet., 2:11)."
      14   For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
      15   And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
      16   But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
      17   By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,
      18   Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:
      19   Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.
      "And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
      And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
      And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
      And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen (Gen., 22:11-14)."
      "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad (Jno., 8:56)." [364]
      20   By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.
      "And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.
      And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
      And Isaac his father answered and said unto him, Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above;
      And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck (Gen., 27:30, 38-40)."
      21   By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
      "And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
      And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance (Gen., 48:5, 6)."
      22   By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.
      "And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence (Gen., 50:25)."
      23   By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king's commandment.
      "And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months (Ex., 2:2)."
      24   By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
      "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren (Ex., 2:11)."
      25   Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
      26   Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
      27   By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
      "And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die (Ex., 10:28)."
      "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (II. Cor., 4:18)."
      28   Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
      "Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
      For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you (Ex., 12:21, 23)."
      29   By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
      "And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left (Ex., 14:22)."
      30   By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
      "So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city (Josh., 6:20)."
      31   By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.
      "And the young men that were spies went in, and brought out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel (Josh., 6:23)."
      32   And what shall I more say? for the [365] time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
      "And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you, and deliver the Midianites into thine hand: and let all the other people go every man unto his place (Judg., 7:7)."
      "But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left (Judg., 4:16)."
      "And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men (Judg., 15:16)."
      "Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour (Judg., 11:1)." "And Jephthah judged Israel six years (Judg., 12:7)."
      "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah (I. Sam., 16:13)."
      "And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.
      And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the Lord.
      And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. (I. Sam., 3:19-21)."
      33   Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
      "Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel (II. Sam., 7:8)." "Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him.
      And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done (Judg., 14:5, 6)."
      "Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
      My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt (Dan., 6:21, 22)."
      34   Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.
      "Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire (Dan., 3:26)."
      "Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
      And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
      And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
      And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha (II. Kings, 6:14-17)."
      "And Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, and he recovered.
      And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the Lord will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the Lord the third day?
      And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the Lord, that the Lord will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees (II. Kings, 20:7-9)?"
      "Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled (I. Sam., 17:51)."
      35   Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
      "And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.
      And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.
      And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth (I. Kings, 17:22-24)."
      36   And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
      "And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison (Gen., 39:20)." "Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high [366] gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord (Jer., 20:2)."
      "Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
      Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire (Jer., 38:6)."
      37   They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
      "And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died (I. Kings, 21:12)."
      "And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you.
      And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord (II. Chron., 24:20, 21)."
      "And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?
      And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite (II. Kings, 1:7, 8)."
      38   (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
      "For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water (I. Kings, 18:4)."
      39   And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
      "For by it the elders obtained a good report (Heb., 11:2)."
      40   God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
      "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament (Heb., 7:22)."
      "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises (Heb., 8:6)."

 

CHAPTER 12.

W HEREFORE seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
      "But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth (Col., 3:8)."
      "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief (Heb., 3:19)."
      "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain (I. Cor., 9:24)."
      "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise (Heb., 10:36)."
      2   Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
      "Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
      And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha (Jno., 19:16, 17)."
      3   For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
      "And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses (Acts, 3:15)."
      "It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household (Matt., 10:25)?"
      "Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also (Jno., 15:20)."
      4   Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
      "And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground (Luke, 22:44)."
      "Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
      And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, [367] and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
      And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands (Jno., 19:1-3)."
      5   And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
      "Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty (Job, 5:17)."
      6   For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
      "Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him out of thy law (Ps., 94:12)."
      7   If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
      "Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee (Deut., 8:5)."
      8   But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
      9   Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
      "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it (Ecc., 12:7)."
      10   For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.
      "Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy (Lev., 19:2)."
      11   Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
      "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (II. Cor., 4:17)."
      12   Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
      13   And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
      14   Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:
      15   Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
      "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace (Gal., 5:4)."
      16   Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
      "Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright (Gen., 25:34)."
      17   For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.
      "And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me?
      And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son?
      And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept (Gen., 27:36-38)."
      18   For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
      19   And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
      "There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
      And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled (Ex., 19:13, 16)."
      20   (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much [368] as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
      "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
      And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die (Ex., 20:18, 19)."
      21   And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
      "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled (Ex., 19:16)."
      22   But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
      "For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
      But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all (Gal., 4:25, 26)."
      "The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place (Ps., 68:17)."
      23   To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
      "These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb (Rev., 14:4)."
      "And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life (Phil., 4:3)."
      "Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud (Ps., 94:2)."
      "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus (Phil., 3:12)."
      24   And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
      "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (I. Tim., 2:5)."
      "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises (Heb., 8:6)."
      "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission (Heb., 9:22)."
      25   See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
      "He that despiseth Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
      Of how much sorer punishment, 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 (Heb., 10:28, 29)?"
      26   Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
      "And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
      And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly (Ex., 19:17, 18)."
      "For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land (Hag., 2:6)."
      27   And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
      "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
      They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
      But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end (Ps., 102:25-27)."
      "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away (Matt., 24:35)."
      28   Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
      "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall [369] never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever (Dan., 2:44)."
      29   For our God is a consuming fire.
      "And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel (Ex., 24:17)."
      "For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God (Deut., 4:24)."
      "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him (Ps., 50:3)."
      "The Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
      Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
      A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
      His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled.
      The hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth (Ps., 97:1-5)."
      "For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire (Isa., 66:15)."
      "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
      In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (II. Thess., 1:7, 8)."

 

CHAPTER 13.

L ET brotherly love continue.
      "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another (Rom., 12:10)."
      "But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another (I. Thess., 4:9)."
      2   Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
      "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
      For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
      Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me (Matt., 25:34-36)."
      "And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground;
      And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night.
      And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat (Gen., 19:1-3)."
      3   "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
      "Remember my bonds (Col., 4:18)."
      4   Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
      5   Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
      "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment (Matt., 6:25)?"
      "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread (Ps., 37:25)."
      6   So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
      "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid (Ps., 27:1)?"
      7   Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
      8   Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
      "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matt., 1:21)."
      "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us (Matt., 1:23)."
      "And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt., 3:17)."
      "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (Jno., 8:12)." [370]
      "In him was life; and the life was the light of men (Jno., 1:4)."
      "And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
      For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes (Matt., 7:28, 29)."
      "The officers answered, Never man spake like this man (Jno., 7:46)."
      "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (Jno., 10:10)."
      "And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses (Acts, 3:15)."
      "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus (Heb., 3:1)."
      "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
      Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isa., 9:6, 7)."
      9   Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.
      10   We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
      "Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
      Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel (I. Cor., 9:13, 14)."
      11   For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp.
      "Even the whole bullock shall he carry forth without the camp unto a clean place, where the ashes are poured out, and burn him on the wood with fire: where the ashes are poured out shall he be burnt (Lev., 4:12)."
      "And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
      Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst (Jno., 19:17, 18)."
      12   Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
      13   Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
      14   For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.
      15   By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
      "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph., 5:20)."
      16   But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
      "For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God (II. Cor., 9:12)."
      17   Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
      "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation (Heb., 13:7)."
      18   Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.
      19   But I beseech you the rather to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
      20   Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
      21   Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
      "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
      Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work (II. Thess., 2:16, 17)."
      22   And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words. [371]
      23   Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you.
      24   Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you.
      25   Grace be with you all. Amen.
      ¶ Written to the Hebrews from Italy, by Timothy.

 

[TSINT 346-372]


[Table of Contents]
[Previous] [Next]
Ashley S. Johnson
The Self-Interpreting New Testament (1898)

Send Addenda, Corrigenda, and Sententiae to the editor