Hebrews 11:40 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

God having provided some better thing for us Believers under the gospel, than any bestowed upon them, which better thing is Christ himself manifest in the flesh, with the various privileges and blessings of the gospel dispensation, far exceeding those of the two dispensations that preceded it. For, as the divine last quoted further observes, “It ought to be put out of question with all Christians, that it is the actual exhibition of the Son of God in the flesh, the coming of the promised seed, with his accomplishment of the work of redemption, and all the privileges of the church, in light, grace, liberty, spiritual worship, with the boldness of access to God that ensued thereon, which is intended. For were not these the things which they received not under the Old Testament? Were not these the things which were promised from the beginning; which were expected, longed for, and desired by all believers of old, who yet saw them only afar off, though through faith they were saved by virtue of them? And are not these the things whereby the church state of the gospel was perfected; the things alone wherein our state is better than theirs? For, as to outward appearances of things, they had more glory, costly ceremonies, and splendour in their worship, than is appointed in the Christian Church; and their worldly prosperity was, for a long season, very great, much exceeding any thing that the Christian Church enjoyed in the apostle's days. To deny, therefore, these to be the better things that God provided for us, is to overthrow the faith of the Old Testament and the New.” That they without us should not be made perfect The expression without us, is the same as without the things which are actually exhibited to us, the things provided for us, and our participation of them. They and we, that is, the believers under the old dispensations, and those under the new, though distributed by divine appointment into distinct states, yet, with respect to the first promise, and the renewal of it to Abraham, are but one church, built on the same foundation, and enlivened by the same Spirit of grace. Wherefore until we, that is, Christian believers, with our privileges and blessings, were added to the church, it could not be said to be made perfect, or to have attained that perfect state which God had designed and prepared for it in the fulness of times, and which the believers in those ages foresaw should be granted to others, but not to themselves. See 1 Peter 1:11-13. “I cannot but marvel,” says Dr. Owen, “that so many have stumbled in the exposition of these words, and involved themselves in difficulties of their own devising; for they are a plain epitome of the whole doctrinal part of the epistle; so as that no intelligent judicious person can avoid the sense which the words tender, unless he divert his mind from the whole scope and design of the apostle.”