Hebrews 12:1 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

OLBGrk; HEBREWS CHAPTER 13 Hebrews 12:1-4 An exhortation to patience and constancy enforced by the example of Christ. Hebrews 12:5-13 The benefit of God's chastisements. Hebrews 12:14-17 Exhortation to peace and holiness. Hebrews 12:18-24 The dispensation of the law compared with the privileges of the gospel. Hebrews 12:25-29 The danger of refusing the word from heaven. The Spirit proceeds in this chapter in his exhortation or counsel unto duties worthy of the former doctrine of Christ, and suitable to the foregoing examples, enumerated Hebrews 11:1-40. Wherefore seeing; he introduceth it with an illative particle, toigaroun seeing all those worthies finished their course through faith, and received not the promise since made good to us, therefore is there something to be inferred. We also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses; we, I Paul, and you Hebrews, having enjoyed the better things provided by God for us, we are so much the more obliged; as also having such a multitude of witnesses of so vast worth and dignity, as all the Old Testament believers were, distilling, like a cloud, abundant influences, from their example, in doing and suffering for God, through faith, on our souls, to make us persevering in the faith to the end, as they did; and so compassing us about, as we cannot want either direction or encouragement to it, whenever we look into their histories for it. Let us lay aside every weight; like the Grecian and Roman racers, who laid aside their cumbersome garments, so as they might more easily and lightly run their race; in allusion to which, it is the concern of every Christian to lay aside, or put away, all his worldly cumbrances, which would clog him in his race, his corrupt self, the world, &c., Matthew 16:24 Luke 21:34 1 Timothy 6:9-11 2 Timothy 2:4. And the sin which doth so easily beset us: the evil weight inward is the old man, the corrupt nature, which remaineth in every Christian, styled by Paul, the body of death, Romans 7:24; but especially each Christian's own personal iniquity, which sticks and cleaves nearer to him than his garments, and which made David so careful about it, in Psalms 18:23; that which is so compassing and clasping him about, that he is so far from running, he cannot move for it, 1 Corinthians 9:27 Colossians 3:5. This they are to mortify in them. And let us run with patience the race that is set before us; how distant soever the goal is, which finisheth the race of a Christian's life, yet the way passing to it, though it be troublesome and long, and being set to us by God himself, must be patiently, strenously, and constantly run, that they may obtain it, Psalms 119:32,33 Lu 13:24 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Galatians 5:7 Philippians 3:13,14 2 Timothy 4:7. The cloud of witnesses have so run it before them for their direction and encouragement.