246 YET ONCE MORE. [HEBREWS. 26 "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath u Exod. xix. 18. x Hag. ii. 6. 35. 2 Pet. iii. " Or, may be X promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that || are shaken, 26. "I shake." So D., K., L., P., most Cursives; but &, A., C., M., a few Cursives, Vulg., Syriac, Sah., Copt., Æth., read, “I will shake.” but we cannot. And it is not an equal case. It is a case of " much "If they escaped not... how much more shall we not more. escape." 26. "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying." It is said of Mount Sinai (Exod. xix. 18), " And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly." "But now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake." This is a prophecy out of Haggai, but in the pages of that prophet it seems to refer only to the first Advent, when the desire of all nations shall come. And God, in preparation for it, had marvellously shaken the kingdoms of the world. "The Persian Empire fell before Alexander's. Alexander's Empire was ended by his sudden death in youth; of his four successors two only continued, and they, too, fell before the Romans. Then came the Roman civil wars, and so the way of the Gospel of Christ was prepared by the whole world being under the sway of one monarch." (Pusey.) And yet, whatever preludes of fulfilment there were at our Lord's first coming, they were as nothing to the fulfilment which we look for in the second, when "the earth shall be utterly broken down, the earth shall be clean dissolved, the earth moved exceedingly, the earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, it shall fall and not rise again” (Isaiah xxiv. 19, 20). Whereon follows an announcement of the final judgment of men and angels, and the everlasting kingdom of the blessed in the presence of God. (Pusey on Haggai ii. 6, 7.) 27. "And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing,' &c. Does the Apostolic writer here allude to the shaking of the whole heaven and earth, that the new heaven and new earth may CHAP. XII.] LET US HAVE GRACE. 247 as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, || let us have grace, whereby we may Or, let us hold fast. serve God accceptably with reverence and godly fear: 28. "With reverence and godly fear." So K., L., most Cursives; but N, A., C., D., a few Cursives (17, 71, 73, 80, 137), Syriac, read, "with reverence and awe (εὐλαβείας xai déous). Revisers. be revealed, or does he refer to the removal of the old dispensation, that the new may take its place? Probably the latter, because he proceeds to say, "wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved." The things of the old state were "made," they were "of this building," whereas the things of the new state are 66 not of this building." "That those things which cannot be shaken," i.e., which are not made with hands, which cannot, like the things which they supersede, "grow old, and be ready to vanish away." 28. "Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, (or shaken)." It is immovable, because it is the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. "Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence," &c. This may be translated either "Let us hold fast grace," in which it implies, let us persevere in the grace of God ("but hold fast that which thou hast," is кpúтε ő exes); or, as in our translation, it may mean simply, "let us have (i.e., procure) grace,” that is, by diligently seeking it and praying for it; or it may mean "let us have thankfulness," "let us be thankful. So Chrysostom, "Let us give thanks to God. For we ought not only not to be vexed and desponding on account of our present condition, but even to feel very great gratitude to Him on account of the things to come." "Let us have grace," seems more in accordance with "whereby we may serve God acceptably." But Bishop Westcott remarks well, “It is the perception and acknowledgement of the Divine glory which is the strength of man. If God sees a man thankful He will give him more grace." 29. "For our God is a consuming fire." He is a consuming fire 248 Exod. xxiv. 17. Deut. iv. 24. & ix. 3. Ps. 1. 3. & xcvii. 3. lxvi. 15. 2 Thess. i. 8. ch. x. 27. Is. OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE. 29 For our God is a consuming fire. [HEBREWS. in two ways. He consumes His enemies (2 Thess. i. 8), and He consumes that in us which is inimical to Himself. He consumes the dross as he separates it from the precious metal. a Rom. xii. 10. 8. & iv. 8. 2 &c. & iv. 7, 20, 21. b Matt. xxv. 35. Rom. xii. 13. 1 Tim. iii. 2. 1 Pet. iv. 9. c Gen. xviii. 3. & xix. 2. L CHAP. XIII. ET a brotherly love continue. b 2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 66 c 1. Let brotherly love continue." They were brethren, as begotten of the same Father, and having the same mother. ("Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all.") Because the writer uses the word "continue," some suppose that there had been a temporary cessation or interruption of Christian fellowship. St. Paul commends this philadelphia under the figure of the sympathy of the members of the same mystical body one to another. (1 Cor. xii.) 2. "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for some," &c. Thus Abraham entertained angels, supposing, no doubt, at first, that they were only his fellow men. (Gen. xviii. 1-10.) It is true that it is said that he bowed himself toward the ground, but this might be because of the extraordinary majesty of the one to whom he spoke as Lord. Lot also entertained two of these angels, not knowing who they were (Gen. xix. 1-23), and also Manoah, in Judges xiii. 1-5. Chrysostom remarks: See how he enjoins them to preserve what they had: he does not add other things thereto. He did not say 'Be loving as brethren,' but 'Let brotherly love continue.' And again, he did not say, 'Be hospitable,' as though CHAP. XIII.] YOURSELVES ALSO IN THE BODY. 249 3 d d Matt. xxv. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body. 4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers Gode will judge. .. xii. 15. 1 Cor. xii. 26. Col. iv. 18. 1 Pet. iii. 8. 1 Cor. vi. 9. Gal. v. 19, 21. 5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; Rev. xxii. 15. they were not so, but 'Be not forgetful of hospitality,' for this was likely owing to their afflictions." 3. "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer," &c. "Remember," in your prayers, and in your distributions to the needy; them that are in bonds, as bound with them, not merely as if you were bound with them (this, though true, is much too cold), but as being one with them, according to the words of the Apostle: "If one member suffer all the members suffer with it." "As being yourselves also in the body." If you are yet in the natural body, as you are, you are liable at any time to suffer the same adversities, hunger, thirst, cold, penury, disease, pain, accidents, as those are subject to who are in the body. 4. "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled." The Greek is very condensed, for there is no substantive verb (orí or ἔστω). Marriage is honourable in all men, or in all respects (v Tãσɩ may be rendered in either way); or it may be "Let marriage be (or) honourable (or had in honour, or respected), in all things." "And the bed is (or let the bed be) undefiled." 66 "But whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Thus St. Paul heads his list of the sins of the flesh with adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness," and then he says, “They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. v. 19, 21). Fornicators are not commonly judged or punished by human tribunals, and very frequently not even adulterers, and on this account it is the more necessary to assert that such will not escape the judgment of God. 5. "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content," &c. "Conversation" (rpóños) has been translated "Let your character be free from the love of money" (Westcott). Or 250 Matt. vi. 25, 34. Phil. iv. 11, 12. 1 Tim. vi. 6, 8. 15. Deut. xxxi. 6, 8. Josh. i. 5. 1 Chron. xxviii. 20. Ps. xxxvii. 25. h Ps. xxvii. 1. & lvi. 4, 11, 12. & cxviii. 6. 1 ver. 17. | Or, are the guides. THE LORD IS MY HELPER. [HEBREWS. and 'be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. 7 1Remember them which || have the rule over 6. Revisers translate, "The Lord is my helper. I will not fear: what shall man do unto me?" simply, "Be ye free from the love of money" (Revisers). The Vulgate, "Sint mores sine avaritia." "Let it (your conversation) shew forth the philosophical character of your mind. And it will shew it if we do not seek superfluities, if we keep only to what is necessary." (Chrysostom.) "And be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." These words may be a reminiscence of God's words to Jacob in Gen. xxviii. 15, “I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of," or to Joshua (i. 5), "As I was with Moses, so I will be with thee; I will not fail thee nor forsake thee." 6. "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear," &c. They can say this who are perfectly contented with what God has allotted to them. The quotation is taken from Ps. cxviii. "The Lord is on my side, I will not fear what man can do unto me." They whose minds are full of covetous desires fear man, because he can hinder them so much in their prospects of gaining wealth or advancement. They who are contented, and leave all to God, have no fear of the world. They have a friend upon whom they cast all their care, knowing that He careth for them. (1 Pet. v. 7.) 7. "Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken," &c. This seems to be spoken of the leaders or rulers which have passed away, as verse 17, "Obey them which have the rule over you," is spoken of those then living. 66 They which have the rule over you" seems to refer to the leaders in their capacity as guides rather than of rulers, though it includes the latter. As referring to their former rulers or guides, |