Now the just shall live by faith:— Dr. Sykes is of opinion, that this sentence would stand better connected with the preceding words, if a full stop were not put after the word tarry, but the whole were read in one continued sentence: "He that shall come, will come at the time appointed; and those who are just, from and by theirfaith in Christ, shall live." St. Paul has, throughout the epistles to the Romans and Galatians, shewn that we are justified by faith: Romans 1:21. Galatians 3:11-23. Those then who perseveringly believe in Christ, are to receive the gift of God, which is eternal life. Romans 6:23. There is nothing for any man in the next clause; it should be, If he, namely, the just man, the person of whom he is speaking, draw back: "If, in times of difficulty, the just man by faith, apostatize from the faith whereby he was justified, my soul, saith God, shall have no pleasure in him; but I shall rather, as it were, hate him, and cast him off."—"But we are not (continues the apostle, Hebrews 10:39.) of those, who through fear and cowardice draw back, and renounce our profession,—a wickedness which must end in destruction; but we are men of faith, real believers in Christ, who are justified by that faith which terminates to the faithful in the gain of the soul." As the one was to lead to the destruction, the loss of the soul; the other was to lead to the acquisition, or gain of the soul. See 1 Thessalonians 5:3.
Inferences.—How defective were all legal sacrifices! They and all attending institutions were, at best, only a shadow of Christ's propitiatory sacrifice, and the blessings of the gospel introduced by him. The frequent repetition of those sacrifices was a plain proof of their imperfection; they could not prevent the returns of guilt upon the conscience; nor could they possibly take away sin, or be pleasing to God for that purpose. But how meritorious and effectual is the sacrifice of Christ, who freely came into an incarnate state, according to ancient prophesies and records, to fulfil his Father's will by offering up himself! This alone is sufficient for purging all that perseveringly believe in him, from every iniquity, and recommending them to God's acceptance, as a people dedicated to his service; and for perfecting all that concerns them: and our great Lord is now exalted, as a Priest on his throne, at the right hand of the eternal Father, where he must reign till all his enemies be subdued under his feet. And O what a blessed security have the faithful people of God in him, and in the covenant of grace, which the Holy Ghost has recorded, with a view to gospel times, in the writings of the Old Testament! It is now ratified, with all its blessings purchased by the death of Christ, on whose account God will write his law and his gospel in their hearts, and will so thoroughly forgive all their sins, as never more to remember any of them against them. What rich encouragement then have we to draw near to God in Christ, with humble boldness, and full assurance of faith! Jesus our High-priest has opened a new and living way to the throne of grace, through his crucified flesh, and now appears in heaven itself to recommend all believers and their prayers to divine acceptance, by the sprinklings of his Blood, and the sanctifying influences of his Spirit. But how watchful ought we to be against the beginnings of apostacy! If our love and zeal for every good work be in a declining state, and we grow cool and indifferent about attending on religious assemblies and gospel ordinances, we have reason to fear, lest we fall after the example of some other professors and possessors of Christ, that have revolted from him: and the thoughts of awful trials, and of death and judgment, as near approaching, should excite us to the greater care herein. Ah! how extremely dangerous is the case of apostates, who, after they have been experimentally converted to God, vilify the Son of God; depreciate the Blood of the covenant, whereby he was consecrated to his priestly office! and treat the Spirit of all grace with malignant contempt! As there is no other sacrifice for sin, than that which they reject and despise, they can have nothing to expect but judgment without mercy, and flaming wrath to consume them: and as their sin is more abundantly aggravated than any transgressions of Moses's law, for which offenders were put to death, we must suppose, from the reason of things, that they deserve a proportionally heavier vengeance; and we are assured from divine testimony, that the great God will assert his own prerogative, in calling them to a severe account for all their wilful abuses of gospel light and grace. Alas! how dreadful is it to fall into the hands of his provoked power and justice, who lives for ever to inflict the sorest punishment upon impenitent sinners! But whatever losses, troubles, or reproaches, true believers may suffer for Christ, they ought not to cast away their humble confidence and joy in him, and their holy profession of his name; as being satisfied in their own minds, that they have a more substantial and abiding inheritance in heaven. This is indeed a great recompence of reward, which the faithful God will give his saints according to his gracious promise; and the prospect of this, together with a remembrance of their former experience of divine light and support under their various tribulations for Christ, and compassionate regard to fellow-sufferers, should encourage their faith and hope, and animate their patience amid further difficulties which may befal them: for in a very little time the Lord Jesus will certainly come by death and judgment for their salvation.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, The weakness and unprofitableness of the Levitical institutions should engage the Hebrews to receive, with greater cordiality, the blessed gospel. For,
1. The law, having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, all being figurative and typical of Christ, who should, in the fulness of time, appear as the substance, can never with those sacrifices which they, who were high-priests, offered year by year continually, make the comers thereunto perfect, so as to satisfy God's justice, obtain reconciliation, pacify the guilty conscience, and sanctify the unholy heart. For then, if this great end had been fully answered for every faithful soul, would they not have ceased to be offered? What use would there have been for their repetition? because that the worshippers, once purged, should have had no more conscience of sins, but have enjoyed a clear sense of pardoning love. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year, which shews that the former sacrifices had not perfectly atoned for them. Nor indeed could they; for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins, making an adequate compensation to divine justice, or that the death of a beast should be a proper and effectual atonement for the sin of the soul. A better sacrifice than these was required, and all the use of these typical ones was to lead to Christ, whose blood alone could satisfy for sin. Wherefore,
2. When he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not, but a body hast thou prepared me, in which to make that atonement for which the legal sacrifices were utterly ineffectual. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo! I come (as in the volume of the book of prophesy it is written of me) to do thy will, O God; well pleased and content to suffer all that justice demands, to make satisfaction for the sins of the whole world, but especially of them who perseveringly believe. 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;) then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God, and to take away sin by the sacrifice of myself. He taketh away the first covenant, with all the legal sacrifices, because of their insufficiency, that he may establish the second, through his own atoning blood.
3. In virtue of his oblation, the most invaluable blessings are secured to us. By the which will of God, as fulfilled in Christ, we are sanctified, our sins expiated, our consciences purged from their defilement, and our hearts cleansed, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all: wherein may be observed another singular excellence of our High-priest and his sacrifice above all others; for every priest STANDETH, with awful distance, and continues DAILY ministering, and offering OFTENTIMES THE SAME SACRIFICES, all which things shewed the imperfection of that dispensation; and, after all, these can never take away sin, so as to satisfy God's justice, or relieve the guilty conscience; but this man, the glorious Jesus, after he had offered ONE sacrifice for sins, fully accomplished his work, and never needed to offer another, and for ever SAT DOWN, in a state of endless rest and most transcendent dignity, on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till all his enemies be made his footstool, and Satan, sin, the world, and death, shall at last be destroyed for ever. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified; by his blood and intercession he has expiated all their sins, made a complete atonement for them, and, through the powerful efficacy of divine faith, their hearts are renewed and dedicated to God, and shall, if faithful, continue so for ever through that complete atonement. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 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, he adds, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more; so that they shall be absolutely, fully, and for ever done away, for all his faithful people. Now where remission of these is, in so complete a manner, there is no more offering for sin, the one oblation of Christ's body on the cross having satisfied to the uttermost for all the faithful. Note; All the enemies of Christ and his people must sooner or later become his footstool: he is sat down on his throne, and shall reign till they are utterly destroyed.
2nd, The apostle having concluded the doctrinal part of the epistle, proceeds to make a practical improvement of the whole.
He reminds them of the inestimable privileges which through their great High-priest they enjoyed. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest, and freedom and confidence in approaching a reconciled God, by the blood of Jesus, sprinkled with which we are assured of acceptance before him, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated, who is himself the way, the truth, and the life; through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; (for, when his body was broken on the tree, the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom, to shew that every obstruction in the way of the faithful to a throne of grace and glory was now removed:) and having an High-priest, one so great and glorious, over the house of God, let us,
1. Draw near to God in every act of worship, and in the most endeared communion; with a true heart, in all simplicity and godly sincerity, and in full assurance of faith in the all-sufficiency of our Redeemer, and our reconciliation with God through him, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience with his atoning blood, which speaks peace from all guilt and condemnation; and our bodies washed with pure water, cleansed by the powerful operations of the Holy Ghost, which the Jewish washings prefigured.
2. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; not seduced by temptation, dismayed with opposition, or distrusting the grace engaged for our support: for he is faithful that promised, and the righteous may safely repose their everlasting all on his word.
And, 3. Let us consider one another, our respective trials, dangers, wants, and weakness, in order to provoke each other unto love towards Jesus and the brethren, and to good works, such as may adorn our high profession.
4. Let us be united in heart and worship, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, who on weak and frivolous pretences absent themselves from the congregation of the faithful and the communion of the Lord; a sad symptom of declension, and often the prelude to apostacy.
5. Let us never be slack and remiss in holy jealousy over ourselves and our brethren; but be exhorting one another to give all diligence to make our calling and election sure, in the use of every appointed means of grace: and so much the more as ye see the day approaching, when the whole Jewish polity and nation shall be destroyed; or when death and final judgment shall arrive. An awful consideration! which, the more deeply it dwells upon our minds, will excite our most awakened solicitude to be always ready for our great change.
3rdly, To awaken their most abundant concern, the apostle sets before them the dreadful evil and danger of apostacy.
For if we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, which does not mean every sin that through infirmity or temptation we may be drawn into, nor even deliberate or repeated acts of sin; but such a course of iniquity, embraced with full consent of the mind, as leads to an utter rejection of the gospel, and denial of Jesus Christ: in this case, the only remedy being rejected, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, nor any possibility of pardon, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries; such as must shortly seize the infidel Jews when they shall be buried in the ruins of their city, and awaits the finally impenitent in the great day of God's wrath, when the wicked shall be cast into hell, where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Even he that despised Moses' law, died without mercy, under two or three witnesses, and no sacrifice was appointed for presumptuous sins: of how much sorer punishment then, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, whose offence is so vastly aggravated, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, treating him with the direct insolence and contempt as an impostor, denying his Deity, despising his atonement, and mocking at his grace; and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, of less efficacy than the blood of bulls and goats, yea, as the Jews intimated at his crucifixion, viler than that of the greatest miscreants; and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace, imputing his miracles to diabolical power, and calling his operations upon the hearts of men delusion and enthusiasm. Such blasphemy is unpardonable, and must bring down the heaviest wrath of an offended God. For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord, and punish incorrigible offenders according to their wickedness. And again, The Lord shall judge his people, will detect hypocrites, and as surely destroy the apostate as he will save the faithful. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, whose wrath, if it be kindled, yea but a moment, who may abide it? Let us hear and tremble, and watch and pray, that we come not into this condemnation, and perish with these despisers.
4thly, To excite the children of God steadily to persevere, 50: He reminds them of the past sufferings which they had so nobly undergone. But call to remembrance the former days, in which after ye were illuminated, and brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, ye endured a great fight of afflictions, and acquitted yourselves manfully, as became those who were lifted under the banner of the cross; partly whilst ye were made a gazing-stock both by reproaches and afflictions, pointed at, and treated as despicable and ridiculous, and worried with the unrelenting malice and enmity of the wicked world; and partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used, nobly owning them in their sufferings for righteousness' sake, sympathizing with them, and affording them every assistance. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, tenderly affected for me, and supporting me to the utmost of your ability; and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, content, yea, glorying in your sufferings and losses, knowing in yourselves, from the assurance of God's promises and the experience of his grace, that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance, where the saints shall enjoy their God for ever. Note; (1.) Every Christian must expect, and welcome the cross. (2.) Though we may be screened by Divine Providence and human laws from grosser violations of our property, the lash of slander, the bitterness of reproach, and the trial of cruel mockings, these we shall assuredly, more or less, meet with, if we belong to Christ. (3.) God can make his people joyful under all their trials, and neither ashamed nor afraid to suffer for his sake. (4.) If we are of the body of Christ, we shall sympathize with his members, and shall own and honour them under their reproaches for his name's sake. (5.) If we gain heaven at last, we need be little concerned what we may lose by the way.
2. He exhorts them to stand fast in the prospect of the glory which was before them. Cast not away therefore your confidence, fortitude and holy resolution, which hath greater recompence of reward, and, if persevered in, will secure for you a crown of glory which fadeth not away, and will infinitely overbalance all your losses and sufferings: for ye have need of patience while the conflict continues, that ye may not be weary and faint in your mind; and that after ye have done the will of God, faithfully obedient to his word, and resigned to his providence, ye might receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For yet a little while, a very short moment, and he that shall come, will come, and will not tarry, to execute vengeance upon his enemies, to vindicate the injuries of his faithful people, and save them with his uttermost salvation. Note; (1.) Faith and patience, held fast, secure our perseverance. (2.) Whatever trials oppress us, it is our comfort that the Judge standeth at the door, and that death shall quickly release us from every burden.
3. He encourages and warns them alternately. Now the just shall live by faith, or the just by faith shall live, shall enjoy the life of God in their souls, and, if faithful unto death, shall live with God to all eternity: but if any man draw back from Christ and his gospel as an apostate, my soul, saith God, shall have no pleasure in him, but, contrary-wise, he will be the object of my abhorrence, and suffer all my furious indignation. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, such confidence have I toward you; but of them that truly believe to the saving of the soul, faithful unto death, that we may receive the crown of life. Note; (1.) Many go far in profession, and even possession of grace, who after all prove apostates. (2.) Past experience of God's keeping us, should encourage our increasing confidence in his grace.