THE EPISTLE OPENS in the most majestic manner. Hebrews is the only book in the Bible which begins with the word, GOD. We are at once brought face to face with the tremendous fact that God, who had spoken to the fathers of Israel by prophets in former days, had now spoken in divine fulness and with finality in His Son. Just notice in passing that this first verse witnesses that the epistle is to the Hebrews, for the expression, “the fathers,” would have no meaning for a Gentile.
God being the living God, it is only to be expected that He would speak. Before sin came in He spoke freely to Adam, and face to face; afterwards He only addressed Himself to chosen men, who became thereby His mouthpieces. The prophets had to speak just what He gave them, and often they uttered words, the full meaning of which was hidden from them, as we are told in 1Pe 1:10-12. When the Lord Jesus came to accomplish redemption God told out all His mind. He spoke not merely by Him as His mouthpiece, but in Him. The distinction, is not made in our Authorized version, but it should be, for the preposition in verse Heb 1:2 is not “by” but “in.” It is an important distinction, for it at once preserves the unique character of our Lord. When the Son spoke it was God speaking, for the simple reason that the Son was God.
Having mentioned the Son, the Holy Spirit proceeds to unfold His glory, not only that glory which is His essentially as God and Creator, but also that which is His by reason of His redemption work. This leads to a long but very necessary digression, which lasts until the end of the chapter; so much so that all these verses might be placed within brackets. We should then read straight from the word “Son” to the beginning of chapter 2 and find the sense complete. “God... hath... spoken unto us in His Son... therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed.” Indeed it is not until we arrive at verse Heb 1:3 of chapter 2 that we discover what is the main drift and theme of this Divine speaking. It was “so great salvation which first began to be spoken by the Lord.” When God formulated His demands upon men it was sufficient that angels should serve Him, and that a man such as Moses should be His mouthpiece. Now that His great salvation’ is the theme the Son Himself comes forth and speaks.
However the immediate theme before us in chapter 1 is the unique glory of the Son. Immediately He is mentioned our thoughts are swept forward to the moment when His glory shall be fully manifested, and then back to the moment when first it appeared, as far as all created beings are concerned. On the one hand He is the Heir not merely to David’s throne but of “all things,” and this expression covers things in the heavens and not only things on earth. On the other hand when the worlds were made He was the Maker of them. God created indeed, as we are told in Gen 1:1, but when the Persons are distinguished, as in this Scripture, creation is attributed not to the Father but to the Son. The Son-whom we know as our blessed Lord Jesus-was the mighty Actor in those creatorial scenes of inconceivable splendour.
Verse Heb 1:3 brings before us three great things concerning Him. First, we have what He is, as the outshining of the glory of God and the exact expression of all that God is. Secondly, we are told what He has done. By Himself He has done the work which purges sins away. How He did it we are not told for the moment, but we know it was by the death of the cross. Thirdly, where He is comes before us. He has taken His seat at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens; that is, He sits in the place of supreme power, from whence everything shall in due season be administrated. How wonderfully these three things go together! The efficacy of the work that He did was dependent upon the fact of who and what He was; whilst the proof and demonstration of the efficacy of His work is found in where He is, in the fact that He is seated in the place of supreme power. If any believer in Jesus is still plagued with doubts and misgivings as to whether his sins are really and effectively purged away, let him look by faith to that seat on high where Jesus sits, and doubt no more!
In verse Heb 1:3 we also find the wonderful fact that the Son is the Upholder of all things. The previous verse has set Him before us as the Creator of all, and as the One who shall inherit all things, now we discover that all things are upheld and hang together by the word of His power. We may talk sometimes about the laws of the universe. We may observe the working of the law of gravitation, though the real why and wherefore of it is unknown to us. We may even, before we are much older, have to listen to fickle “science” altering or overturning all that she had previously asserted as to these laws. Well, so be it! We know that THE LAW of the universe is the word of His power, and this is all that really matters. Any laws which we may observe, or think we observe, are very secondary, and should the leaders of scientific speculation suddenly reverse their pronouncements we shall not turn a hair.
Let us put this together then in brief fashion. The Son is the Creator, the Upholder and the Heir of all things. He is moreover the exact Expression of all that God is, being God Himself, and being that exact Expression He has come forth to be the Divine Spokesman on the one hand, and the Redeemer on the other. Had He spoken only we should all have been terrified; but as He has made purification for sins as well as speaking, we can receive with joy the revelation which He has made.
In verse Heb 1:4 He is contrasted with angles, and this contrast is not merely mentioned and then dismissed; the theme is elaborated at considerable length, and continues to the end of the chapter. It is very definitely CONTRAST. In saying this we are pointing out one of the characteristic features of this epistle. As we proceed we shall find continued references to the old order of things, established when the law was given by Moses. These old and material things bore a certain resemblance to the new and spiritual things established and introduced by the Lord Jesus, and hence they were designed to act as patterns or types. Yet when these types are put alongside the realities which they typified an immense contrast is seen. As the heavens are high above the earth so the antitype exceeds the type. In our epistle the resemblance is taken for granted, and it is the contrast which is stressed.
It may be asked however, Why is the contrast with angels so elaborated and even carried on into the next chapter? What is the point of it? Well every Jew knew that angels played a very large part in connection with the giving of the law by Moses, though but little is said of them in Exodus. The words of Stephen, recorded in Act 7:53 show this, as also the second verse of our second chapter. This display of angelic might gave a very powerful sanction to Moses and the law he brought them, in the minds of the people. And now there appears amongst men the Divine Spokesman, yet to them He is but Jesus of Nazareth, a humble and despised Man. There is no beauty about Him that they should desire Him or His words nor is there any display of angels to accredit Him. It became therefore of the utmost importance to insist on the true glory of His person as being immeasurably above all angels. Had He been visibly attended by ten thousand times ten thousand, it would have added nothing to Him!
Two things are said in verse Heb 1:4. First, He has a more excellent name than angels by inheritance; second, He has been made better than they. The words, “Being made,” may also be translated, “Having become,” or, “Taking a place.” The first refers to His superiority by reason of His Godhead glory; the second to the place He now occupies in Manhood, as the Accomplisher of redemption. And notice that His superiority is equally pronounced in both, as evidenced by these little words in the sentence, “SO... AS.” Read the verse again for yourself, and see.
These facts, as stated in verse Heb 1:4, are supported and proved by a remarkable series of quotations from the Old Testament, extending from verse Heb 1:5 to the end of the chapter. Let us just notice how the argument runs.
Verses Heb 1:5-6 contain three quotations giving the pronouncements of God when introducing the Lord Jesus to men. They very definitely support what is said in verse Heb 1:4, especially the statement as to His being better than angels by inheritance.
In verse Heb 1:7 we have a quotation which plainly states the nature of angels and the reason why they exist. They are spirits in their nature and they exist as ministers to serve the Divine will. This is in contrast to what goes before and also to that which follows.
In verses Heb 1:8-12 we get two quotations giving us utterances of God to Christ, in both of which He is addressed as Man and yet He is saluted as God and as the Creator.
In verse Heb 1:13 comes the quotation giving the decree which has exalted Him to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and this, we are assured, is something which never was said to angels. They are but spirits who are glad to serve, according to the Divine will, such humble creatures as those who once were fallen sinners, but who shall be heirs of salvation. All this, and particularly verses Heb 1:9; Heb 1:13, show us that He is better than angels, inasmuch as He has taken a place which is so much higher than theirs.
There are seven quotations in all from the Old Testament in these verses: one in regard to angels and six in regard to Christ. These latter come from Psa 2:7, 2Sa 7:14; Psa 97:7; Psa 45:6, Psa 45:7; Psa 102:25-27; Psa 110:1., and each deserves to be separately studied.
The first is deeply interesting for it shows that even as a Man born in time He is the Son of God. These words from Psa 2:1-12 anticipate the virgin birth, and their fulfilment is announced in Luk 1:35. We may say they give us God’s utterance to Christ at His incarnation.
The second is remarkable as showing how the Holy Ghost always has Christ in view. Reading Samuel we might think that the words only referred to Solomon. Immediately, Solomon was in view, as the words following those quoted show; but ultimately, Christ was in view.
The third gives us the decree concerning Christ at the moment of His reintroduction into the world in power and glory; not His first coming, but His second. We read the Psalm and the “Him” is clearly Jehovah. We read Hebrews and the “Him” is clearly Christ. What does that teach us? Notice also that the term “gods” may be used of any who represent God, whether angels as here, or men as in Psa 82:6,-the passage which the Lord Jesus quoted in Joh 10:34.
The fourth is what is said to the Son by God at the opening of the Millennial kingdom. He is a Man, for God is His God, yet He is addressed as God. As Man He has His fellows, or companions, yet He possesses a gladness which is above them-and how glad we are that He does!
The fifth gives us the divine word addressed to Him in the moments of His deepest humiliation and sorrow-we might almost say, in the garden of Gethsemane. He who is being cut off in the midst of His days is declared to be the mighty Creator, who shall ultimately consume or change all in creation which needs changing, and yet Himself remain eternally the same.
The sixth turns our thoughts to Christ as the risen One and gives us God’s utterance to Him as He ascended into the heavens. Thus we are conducted to the place where Christ is; and we are prepared to see Him there and to learn the meaning of His session in glory when we come to Heb 2:1-18.
All this wonderful unfolding of the excellence of our blessed Saviour is in order that we may be impressed with the greatness of the One in whom God has spoken to us. He is, as Heb 3:1 puts it, “the Apostle... of our profession.” An apostle is a “sent one,” one who comes forth from God to us, bringing the divine message. Our Lord Jesus has thus come forth, bringing us the complete divine revelation; only He is Himself God. This fact at once lifts all that He has said to us on to a plane far above all that went before. The prophets of old were fully inspired of God, and consequently all that they said was reliable and comes to pass, but they could never convey to us the revelation which we have in Christ.
Into the marvellous light of that revelation the Hebrews had been brought. And so have we, thanks be to God!
Heb 1:1.- The design of the author of this epistle being, as we have observed, to shew the excellence of the Christian dispensation above that of the Jews in every respect; and that the Jews had no advantage in or by their law, which Christians had not in a superior measure by the law of Christ-he begins by giving an account of the dignity of the person of Christ; and intending to shew how vastly he was to be preferred to anyof those messengers from God whom they most highly valued, he here looks back to hisoriginal and divine character, which was eternally antecedent to his incarnation; and then insensibly proceeds to consider his advancement in the human nature above the angels at his resurrection, Heb 1:1-14.
At sundry times, and in divers manners,- The word Πολυμερως, signifies in many parts, or parcels, and refers to the parcels by which God's will was delivered, in opposition to a complete revelation: and this was done in various manners; namely, by dreams, visions, urim, prophets, voices, signs.
Heb 1:2. Hath in these last days, &c.- This latter age of the world, or the days of the Messiah. By his Son, must here mean emphatically, "By his Son, as incarnate, and appearing in the human nature;" nor can any argument be gathered from hence, that God spoke not by the ministration of the Logos, or second Person, before; but only, that he spoke not in so clear and express a manner. The word heir signifies properly "one who hath a right to succeed to what another has in possession, after his death;" but this cannot be the meaning of the word in this place, as it is impossible for the God and Father of all to die; and therefore it is used in the sense of possessor or lord, as the ancient classics and lawyers use it: and thus it implies the same with what our Saviour says, Mat 28:18. All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. See Gal 4:1. Act 2:36. The apostle here lays down the assertion which he undertakes to prove, namely, that God had constituted his Son Jesus heir or Lord of all things. Having mentioned this, he just gives a hint or two of the greatness of his character, and then returns to his main assertion, pursuing it closely in the latter part of the chapter, and shewing that the angels themselves, the higher order of beings, are not only infinitely inferior to him, but subject to his jurisdiction.
By whom also he made the worlds- All the Greek fathers unanimously say, this shews the divinity of Christ. The Socinians by the worlds here understand the new creation, or the church begun by Christ's ministry upon earth, begotten and renewed by the evangelical dispensation. But this exposition cannot possibly stand; for, 1. Though Christ be stiled in some of the Greek versions, Isa 9:6. The Father of the age to come, yet the phrase οι αιωνες, absolutely put, does never signify the church or evangelical state; nor does the scripture ever speak of the world to come in the plural, but in the singular number only, preserving the phrase Holam Habba, as they received it from the Jews. 2. Were this the import of the words, the worlds might as well have been said to have been created or made by Christ's apostles, they being the great converters of the world; or at least, this being done by them assisted by the power of Christ, after he had been thus made heir of all things, it must have properly been said that Christ made the worlds by his apostles, which yet the Holy Ghost never thinks fit to intimate. Moreover, whereas this making of the world by Jesus Christ, is done by his prophetic office, that is to say, his speaking to us in the last days, the apostle had mentioned this already, and makes a plain gradation from it to his kingly office, in saying that he was constituted Lord of all things, not speaking of making the world by way of consequence, thus, and by whom; but by way of farther gradation, by whom also he made the worlds; as if he had said, Nor is it to be wondered that he should be constituted Lord of the whole world, seeing he made the whole. And that the apostle here speaks, not of the reforming of the new, but of the forming of the old world, he himself sufficiently instructs us, by saying in this same epistle, by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, Chap. Heb 11:3. For that by the phrase τους αιωνας, we are to understand the material world, the Socinian commentators grant. This was the doctrine of all the primitive fathers from the beginning, as well as of all the early commentators on this text. St. Barnabas declares, that he is the Lord of the world, the maker of the sun, the Person by whom, and to whom are all things. He is, says Justin Martyr, the word by which the heaven, the earth, and every creature was made, by whom God at the beginning made and ordained all things, viz. the heavens and the earth; and by whom he will renew them. This Irenaeus delivers as the rule of faith contained in the scripture, which they who hold to, may easily prove that the heretics had deviated from the truth. He adds, that the barbarians who held the ancient tradition, did believe in one God, the maker of heaven and earth, and of all things therein, by Jesus Christ the Son of God; and this doctrine he repeats almost a hundred times elsewhere. Our doctrine, says Athenagoras, celebrates one God the Creator of all things, who made all things by Jesus Christ, from whom, and by whom all things were made. God, says Theophilus, made all things by him, and he is called the beginning, because he is the principle, and ruler of all things made by him. He adds, that by this principle God made the heavens: that God said to him, Let us make man; he being his word, by which he made all things. We rational creatures, says Clemens of Alexandria; are the work of God the word; for he was and is the divine principle of all things, by whom all things were made, and who, as the Framer of all things, in the beginning, gave also life to us; by whom are all things; who made man, our God and Maker, the cause of the creation. In the third century we learn the same from Origen, Tertullian, Novatian, St. Cyprian, and others, cited by the learned Dr. Bull. So that in these two verses there are visibly these gradations; one from Christ's prophetic office, to his kingly office conferred on him as heir of all things; the other, from his kingly office to the foundation of it, laid in his divine nature, and in the work of the creation; it being, say Irenaeus and the ancient fathers, fit that he should reform and govern the world, by whom it was formed: that he should give new life to man, who gave him his being, and first breath.
Heb 1:3. Who, being the brightness, &c.- Who, being a beam of his glory, and the express image of his substance. The word Απαυγασμα, which we render brightness, signifies that splendor or ray which proceeds from a luminous body. The words therefore represent the Father as Light, which is agreeable to other places of scripture: see 1Jn 1:5. But to raise their thoughts of the matter, the apostle sets forth this Light, by which he describes the Father, under the title of Glory; the design of which is, to express the purity, perfection, and lustre of all his attributes. Suitably to this account of God the Father, he represents the Son, as a splendor or ray eternally and essentially derived or proceeding from the Father: and as the beams or rays cannot be separated from the sun, that great fund of light, so neither can the nature and the glory of the divine Son be separated from that of the Father: he is "Light of Light, very God of very God." The word χαρακτηρ, rendered express image, signifies an engraved or impressed mark,-an impress; and is a most emphatical word, since nothing can be more exactly and minutely represented, than byits impress on wax or metal. "Christ (says Leigh) answers to the divine perfections, as the impression of the wax does to the engraving of the seal." It is observable that Philo the Jew calls the Logos χαρακτηρ και εικων Θεου, "the character and image of God." The word 'Υποστασις, signifies subsistence, existence; or, as the Greek fathers, before the council of Nice, frequently applied the word, "a distinct person in the Godhead." Comp. Col 1:15. Upholding all things by the word of his power seems plainly to express, that as the Son gave being to all the creatures, so he maintains them all in being. The same thing seems designed, Col 1:17.-By him all things consist. In both places the same works are attributed to him. See Mat 11:27; Mat 28:18. Joh 3:35; Joh 13:3.-When he had by himself purged our sins, refers to the expiation of our sins by his death; nor can there be any question that the apostle refers to the death of Christ, considering what is here said to have followed immediately upon his purging our sins,-that he sat down at the right-hand of the
Majesty on high. The words by himself are very expressive: for as (Ch. Heb 9:12; Heb 9:26.) Christ is spoken of as making expiation by himself, and his ownblood, and not by the blood of bulls and of goats, so here it seems to be intended, that Christ alone, without any assistance or concurrence ofangels, or any other beings, made a perfect expiation of our sins. See Isa 63:3. 1Pe 3:22. Eph 1:20.
Heb 1:4. Being made so much better than the angels,- Being made so much superior to, or more excellent than the angels, by how much he hath obtained a more excellent name than they. The word Κεκληρονομηκεν, signifies to obtain, or be in possession of; without taking in the notion of inheritance. See on Heb 1:2. Christ is called the Son of God; a name, which implies peculiar love and affection in the parent, and superiority over the family in which he is. Christ, therefore, as being the only-begotten Son of God, is infinitely superior to angels, and is vested with an authority which they are of course destitute of; and has a right and title to dominion, to which they have no pretension; nor is any one of them ever dignified with that name. Some consider this as immediately referring to Christ's authority and dignity, as Mediator; with which he was invested, when he sat down on the right-hand of glory after his resurrection.
Heb 1:5. For unto which of the angels said he, &c.- The word for, shews that the sacred writer is here proceeding to his proofs. All the texts that are alleged by him, are to be considered as brought forward with this design; to shew that Christ at his resurrection was constituted, as man, infinitely superior to the angels. This amounted to a full proof, both according to the nature of things, and the notions which the Jews entertained of the angels: for, it being certainly true, and believed to be so by the Hebrews, that theangels, according to their original creation, had been made superior in their nature to other creatures; it must of necessity follow, that as he is superior to them, he must be superior to all below them: and since the highest order of creatures was made subject to him as Man, it might reasonably be supposed that the others were so too. Besides, as the Hebrews gloried in the revelations which had been made to them by angels, and were apt, upon that account, to see light by Christ; nothing could be more pertinent to the general design of the epistle, than the discourse here given upon this argument. We refer to the passages in the margin, and our notes upon them in the former part of this commentary; and also to Act 13:33.
Heb 1:6. And let all the angels of God worship him- In proof of the infinite superiority of Christ over the angels, the apostle shews, that he was not only the Son of God, while even the highest of them were but servants; but that he was the object of their adoration and worship. It is matter of doubt, whence the quotation in this verse is taken; some taking it from Deu 32:43 and others from Psa 97:7 which seems the most probable. See the notes on that Psalm. Instead of spirits, in the next verse, Doddridge, Waterland, and others, read winds. "He who rules the winds and the lightnings, has his angels under equal command; and employs them with the strength of winds, and the rapidity of lightning in his service." However noble and lofty this description of the angels is, it falls infinitely short of what was before said, and what is immediately added in the next verses, concerning the Son: and in this view, the quotation was very much to the apostle's purpose.
Heb 1:9. Thou hast loved righteousness, &c.- This refers to that unparalleled instance of the love of moral rectitude, which Christ has given in becoming a sacrifice for sin; by his atonement doing infinitely more, than has ever been done by any other intelligent and rational agent, towards displaying his love of righteousness, and his hatred of iniquity. See Php 2:8-9. Instead of fellows, some read associates. The correspondent Hebrew word to the word Μετοχοι, says Parkhurst, signifies associates; by whom are meant, "all men who believe on Christ." The word properly expresses "those who partake together;" brethren,-joint-heirs. See ch. Heb 2:11, &c. Rom 8:17. The force of this quotation lies in proving, that while the angels are but ministering spirits, (Heb 1:7; Heb 1:14.) the Son is invested with regal power, and sovereign authority. Hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness, &c. means, "Thou art exalted to superior honor and happiness; God the Father stiling thee here, God, and an eternal king, ascribing to thee a throne and kingdom, and a righteous government to reward thy righteous servants whom thou lovest, and to punish thine obdurate enemies whose iniquities render them odious to thee." So that these words again prove, both his Divine nature, and his exaltation to the government of the wor
Heb 1:11-12. They shall perish, &c.- "They, permanent as they seem, shall at length wear out; but thou endurest in undecaying glory; yea, all of them shall grow old as doth a garment; and thou shalt remove them out of their place, and introduce a new scene of things, with as much ease as a prince lays aside one robe, and puts on another; but thou art ever the same, and thy years shall not fail through everlasting ages, nor can thy perfections admit of any possible diminution." How strongly is the immutability of Jesus Christ declared in this passage!
Heb 1:13. But to which of the angels, &c.- "But, not to insist on the manner in which men have addressed their homage and their praises to him, even under the inspiration of an unerring Spirit; let me refer you to another passage, in which the Father himself speaks to him under the character of his Son, exalted to his mediatorial kingdom; that you may thence take an idea of his grandeur. For to which of the angels, &c."
Heb 1:14. Are they not all ministering spirits- "I asked, To which of the angels said God at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?"-And Iam well satisfied that no passage can be alleged wherein God is ever represented as using such language to, or concerning any of them. The description given of them is of a very different nature; and, instead of being set out as exalted to such a high state of dignity and authority, as sitting at God's right hand; they are represented as ministering spirits, whose proper posture is standing, and not sitting. See 1Ki 22:19. Zec 5:7; Zec 4:14; Zec 6:5. The verse may be thus paraphrased: "The spirits of heaven expect no such honour as this: the noblest of them all esteems himself happy in an opportunity of worshipping this triumphant Lord, and ministering even to the least of his servants. Is it not a known and delightful truth? are they not indeed all ministering spirits, who officiate before the throne of God, and are sent out to attend on all the faithful saints of God, who shall inherit salvation? and always willing to undertake the offices that he shall assign them for the safety and good of his faithful people? and therefore, far from thinking them in any view of comparison with him, let us humbly adore him, for the benefits which by his authority and favour we daily receive from these benevolent creatures." By the phrase, Who shall be heirs of salvation, several commentators suppose that the sacred writer has a particular reference to the Gentiles, who were to be made fellow-heirs with the Jews, and partakers of the promise in Christ by the Gospel. See Eph 3:6.
Inferences.-With what satisfaction may we depend upon the divine authority of both the Old and New Testament! God, who formerly spake to the fathers by the prophets, now speaks to us by his Son; he began and gradually carried on various revelations at different times, in distinct parcels, and by several ways and means, which we have an account of in the Old Testament, till he completed them in the New. How thankful should we be that our lot is cast under the gospel dispensation! This is the clearest, the fullest, the best, and last discovery of the mind and will of God, that is to be expected in our world. And how glorious is the representation that it gives us of Christ in his divine nature and mediatorial office! He is essentially the same God with the Father, and yet personally distinct from him, as the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and is his eternal only-begotten Son; he is the Creator of heaven and earth, and all things contained therein, and upholds them by the word of his power: and in his office-capacity he is the appointed Heir of all things, in and by whom the faithful inherit the blessings of grace and glory. He is now exalted on his throne, with the highest dignity and honour, at the Father's right hand; his throne is for ever and ever; he is infinitely pure and spotless in himself, and righteous in all the administrations of his kingdom; he is fully invested with all authority above whatever was or shall be conferred on any prophet, priest or king, saint or angel; and at the last day he, who is the unchangeable God, will put an end to the present frame of this world, and change it into another, that will be inexpressibly more excellent and glorious. How safe and happy then are the saints under his care! And what an honour has he put upon them, in assuming their nature, and exalting it in union with his own divine Person in heaven, and in ordering all the holy angels to minister to them! O, with what solemnity and joy should they join with these celestial spirits in paying all religious adorations to him! And how dead should their hearts be to this perishing world and all its concerns, which wax old, and shall be laid aside like an useless worn-out garment!
REFLECTIONS.-The excellence of the gospel dispensation above the Mosaical opens this beautiful epistle. The apostle shews:
1. The different way in which God has communicated his will to the church of old, and to his people at present. God, who at sundry times, by degrees, with increasing clearness, and in divers manners, by types, visions, dreams, and audible voices, and immediate inspiration, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days, at the close of the Jewish oeconomy, and in that dispensation of grace, which is the last that will be ever vouchsafed to the sons of men, and under this title of the last days has been foretold by the inspired penman,-God hath, I say, now spoken unto us by his Son, the most glorious messenger that was ever yet employed in communicating the revelation of his will to man; in nature one with the Father, in majesty co-eternal.
2. He enlarges on the surpassing excellence of this Son of God, who has appeared in the human nature. (1.) It is he whom he hath appointed heir of all things as Mediator, exalting him to the sovereign and universal dominion over the works of his hands, and especially giving him to be Head over all things to his church, in and through whom alone any member of it can be entitled to the eternal inheritance. (2.) By whom also he made the worlds, exerting his co-agency and co-operation with the Father, not as an instrument, but as the great Creator. (3.) Who being the brightness of his glory, Light of Light, and very God of very God, possessing the essential attributes of Deity; and the express image of his person, bearing his exact resemblance in every divine perfection, appears his visible representative. And, (4.) As he is the Creator, so he continues upholding all things by the word of his power, supporting and governing them by his divine energy and providence. (5.) When he had by himself purged our sins, Himself the great High-priest and Sacrifice, expiating the sins of the world, which the blood of bulls and goats, shed by the Levitical priests, could never take away, and having by one oblation of himself, once offered, obtained eternal redemption for all his faithful saints,-(6.) When he had thus made the all-atoning sacrifice on the cross, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, in virtue of his own blood entering into the holy place not made with hands, and, as a priest upon his throne, (Zec 6:13.) he is exalted to the highest dignity and glory in his human nature. (7.) He has the pre-eminence, not only above the greatest prophets, but over the highest of the heavenly hosts: being made so much better than the angels; in his character as Mediator, as well as in the transcendent excellence of his divine nature, he infinitely surpasses the most glorious of all created beings, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they, even the name of Son of God, in a sense peculiar to himself, and which appears evident from the transcendent exaltation which in virtue of his sufferings he has now by right obtained.
3. In support of his argument, to prove the infinite pre-eminence of the incarnate Son above the highest of the angelic hosts, he brings the strongest proofs from those scriptures which the Jews admitted as of divine authority. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, the same in essential Deity; this day have I begotten thee, even from eternity, which to God is one permanent unsuccessive day; or this refers to his resurrection from the dead, whereby his eternal Sonship was manifested, (Rom 1:4.) and again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son, treated with peculiar and distinguishing love, and raised to the eternal throne of glory. And again, when he bringeth in the First-begotten, the appointed Heir of all things, into the world, at his miraculous conception, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him, and pay him that divine honour which is due to their Creator alone, and is the unalienable right of Deity. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire; their highest honour and dignity is to be the servants of the great Jehovah, and as flames of fire, with such activity and powerful agency, to execute his will and pleasure. But unto the Son, as their eternal King, he saith, Thy throne, O God, who art the essential Jehovah, is for ever and ever, from everlasting unchangeably the same, and to eternity must endure; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom; thou hast the most undisputed title to reign; thy bosom is the seat of justice, and thy administration is marked with unsullied truth, holiness, and equity. Thou hast loved righteousness, fulfilling it in thy own person, and approving it in thy people, and hated iniquity, about to punish it with everlasting perdition; therefore God, even thy God, thy covenant God as the incarnate Mediator, hath anointed thee to the office of prophet, priest, and king, with the oil of gladness, with the most immeasurable fulness of spiritual gifts and graces, above thy fellows, whether angels or saints, kings, priests, or prophets. And thou, Lord, in the beginning, before any creature yet had a being, by thy omnipotent creative power, hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: all the creatures, spiritual or corporeal, animate or inanimate, from the highest to the lowest, own thee their great Creator. They shall perish, this visible creation of heaven and earth shall decay; but thou remainest, unchangeable, immortal; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment, the creatures of this lower world are mouldering daily, and nature's dissolution is at hand; and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou art the same, immutably, eternally; and thy years shall not fail, the same yesterday, to-day and for ever. But to which of the angels said he at any time; as he did to his incarnate Son, Sit thou on my right hand, enthroned in supreme majesty, until I make thine enemies thy footstool, and raise thee triumphant over every foe, when sin, Satan, death, and hell, shall be for ever put under thy feet? Such language belongs not to the highest of the angelic host: for are they not all ministering spirits, servants to the great Mediator, and sent forth, under his command, to minister for them, in every kind office, who shall be heirs of salvation? that is, by right of sonship; for if sons, then heirs, Rom 8:17 and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ, Gal 4:7 and heirs according to the promise, Gal 3:29 for to as many as believed, he gave power to become the sons of God, Joh 1:12. From the whole we may observe, (1.) The transcendent glory of the Lord Jesus: [1.] In his divine nature. [2.] In his mediatorial capacity.-The great Creator.-The self-existent Jehovah.-The eternal, immutable God.-The object of adoration to the highest beings, angels as well as men,-and reigning and to reign for ever and ever. (2.) The honour and office of the angelic hosts; to adore their King, to obey his mandates with delight and vigour, and to serve those highly distinguished sons of men, who are the faithful followers of Jesus Christ, their great Creator. (3.) The dignity of God's faithful children, standing in this high and holy relation to him as adopted by his grace, and designed for the enjoyment of his glory, attended by ministers of flame, and shortly to be conducted by them to their eternal home. (4.) Vast and amazing as this visible creation now appears, the day approaches, when, like the baseless fabric of a vision, all shall be dissolved; and by almighty power shall arise a new heaven and earth, to be the blessed abode of the faithful redeemed.
(5.) Jesus must reign on his mediatorial throne till all his enemies are finally subdued, and his triumphant people shall come to reign with him in glory everlasting.
