Hebrews 8:7.— Mr. Peirce is of opinion, that what follows, to the end of this chapter, is a digression, or an argument brought in by the apostle incidentally, upon his having said that Christ had obtained a more excellent ministry than the priests under the law. It was a natural inference, that if his ministry was more excellent than theirs, the covenant of which he was Mediator was more excellent than that under which they ministered. But the thing being of great importance to his subject, he does not content himself with the bare mention of the inference, but expatiates in the distinct proof and confirmation of it; shewing that God, during that covenant, spoke of it as very defective, and of another more perfect which was to succeed it.
For if that first covenant had been faultless,— "For if the former Sinai covenant had been free from all defects, as to its establishment, light, grace, and efficacy for perfecting the state of the church, which indeed it never was designed for, however good it was in itself, and however fit to answer its particular ends, to which undoubtedly it was well suited, as Godhimself was the author of it: if, I say, it had not been insufficient to answer all the ends of his grace towards his faithful people in their church-state upon earth, then there certainly would have been no occasion for the wisdom of God to have contrived, nor for his people to have desired, another more spiritual and complete administration of the covenant of grace upon earth; nor would there have been any room for introducing it under the gospel state, as it was plain there was." Instead of had been faultless, Dr. Heylin reads, had been imperfec