mh_parser/vol_split/58 - Hebrews/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="Heb.ii" n="ii" next="Heb.iii" prev="Heb.i" progress="74.99%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="Heb.ii-p0.1">H E B R E W S.</h2>
<h3 id="Heb.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Heb.ii-p1">In this chapter we have a twofold comparison
stated: I. Between the evangelical and legal dispensation; and the
excellency of the gospel above that of the law is asserted and
proved, <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.1-Heb.1.3" parsed="|Heb|1|1|1|3" passage="Heb 1:1-3">ver. 1-3</scripRef>. II.
Between the glory of Christ and that of the highest creatures, the
angels; where the pre-eminence is justly given to the Lord Jesus
Christ, and clearly demonstrated to belong to him, <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.4-Heb.1.14" parsed="|Heb|1|4|1|14" passage="Heb 1:4-14">ver. 4, to the end</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Heb.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1" parsed="|Heb|1|0|0|0" passage="Heb 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Heb.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.1-Heb.1.3" parsed="|Heb|1|1|1|3" passage="Heb 1:1-3" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Heb.1.1-Heb.1.3">
<h4 id="Heb.ii-p1.5">Law and Gospel Compared; Dignity and Glory
of Christ. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Heb.ii-p1.6">a.
d.</span> 62.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Heb.ii-p2">1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,   2 Hath
in these last days spoken unto us by <i>his</i> Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
  3 Who being the brightness of <i>his</i> glory, and the
express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word
of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the Majesty on high;</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p3">Here the apostle begins with a general
declaration of the excellency of the gospel dispensation above that
of the law, which he demonstrates from the different way and manner
of God's communicating himself and his mind and will to men in the
one and in the other: both these dispensations were of God, and
both of them very good, but there is a great difference in the way
of their coming from God. Observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p4">I. The way wherein God communicated himself
and his will to men under the Old Testament. We have here an
account, 1. Of the persons by whom God delivered his mind under the
Old Testament; they were <i>the prophets,</i> that is, persons
chosen of God, and qualified by him, for that office of revealing
the will of God to men. No man takes this honour to himself, unless
called; and whoever are called of God are qualified by him. 2. The
persons to whom God spoke by the prophets: <i>To the fathers,</i>
to all the Old-Testament saints who were under that dispensation.
God favoured and honoured them with much clearer light than that of
nature, under which the rest of the world were left. 3. The order
in which God spoke to men in those times that went before the
gospel, those past times: he spoke to his ancient people <i>at
sundry times and in divers manners.</i> (1.) <i>At sundry
times,</i> or <i>by several parts,</i> as the word signifies, which
may refer either to the several ages of the Old-Testament
dispensation—the patriarchal, the Mosaic, and the prophetic; or to
the several gradual openings of his mind concerning the Redeemer:
to Adam, that the Messiah should come of the seed of the woman,—to
Abraham, that he should spring from his loins,—to Jacob, that he
should be of the tribe of Judah,—to David, that he should be of
his house,—to Micah, that he should be born at Bethlehem,—to
Isaiah, that he should be born of a virgin. (2.) <i>In divers
manners,</i> according to the different ways in which God though
fit to communicate his mind to his prophets; sometimes by the
<i>illapses</i> of his Spirit, sometimes by <i>dreams,</i>
sometimes by visions, sometimes by an audible voice, sometimes by
legible characters under his own hand, as when he wrote the ten
commandments on tables of stone. Of some of these different ways
God himself gave an account in <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Num.12.6-Num.12.8" parsed="|Num|12|6|12|8" passage="Nu 12:6-8">Num.
xii. 6-8</scripRef>, <i>If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord
will make myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in
a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: with him I will speak mouth
to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p5">II. God's method of communicating his mind
and will under the New-Testament dispensation, these last days as
they are called, that is, either towards the end of the world, or
the end of the Jewish state. The times of the gospel are the last
times, the gospel revelation is the last we are to expect from God.
There was first the natural revelation; then the patriarchal, by
dreams, visions, and voices; then the Mosaic, in the law given
forth and written down; then the prophetic, in explaining the law,
and giving clearer discoveries of Christ: but now we must expect no
new revelation, but only more of the Spirit of Christ to help us
better to understand what is already revealed. Now the excellency
of the gospel revelation above the former consists in two
things:—</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p6">1. It is the final, the finishing
revelation, given forth in the last days of divine revelation, to
which nothing is to be added, but the canon of scripture is to be
settled and sealed: so that now the minds of men are no longer kept
in suspense by the expectation of new discoveries, but they rejoice
in a complete revelation of the will of God, both preceptive and
providential, so far as is necessary for them to know in order to
their direction and comfort. For the gospel includes a discovery of
the great events that shall befal the church of God to the end of
the world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p7">2. It is a revelation which God has made by
his Son, the most excellent messenger that was ever sent into the
world, far superior to all the ancient patriarchs and prophets, by
whom God communicated his will to his people in former times. And
here we have an excellent account of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p8">(1.) The glory of his office, and that in
three respects:—[1.] God hath appointed him to be heir of all
things. As God, he was equal to the Father; but, as God-man and
Mediator, he was appointed by the Father to be the heir of all
things, the sovereign Lord of all, the absolute disposer, director,
and governor of all persons and of all things, <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.6-Ps.2.7" parsed="|Ps|2|6|2|7" passage="Ps 2:6,7">Ps. ii. 6, 7</scripRef>. <i>All power in heaven and
earth is given to him; all judgment is committed to him,</i>
<scripRef id="Heb.ii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.28.18 Bible:John.5.22" parsed="|Matt|28|18|0|0;|John|5|22|0|0" passage="Mt 28:18;Joh 5:22">Matt. xxviii. 18; John v.
22</scripRef>. [2.] By him God made the worlds, both visible and
invisible, the heavens and the earth; not as an instrumental cause,
but as his essential word and wisdom. By him he made the old
creation, by him he makes the new creature, and by him he rules and
governs both. [3.] He upholds all things by the word of his power:
he keeps the world from dissolving. <i>By him all things
consist.</i> The weight of the whole creation is laid upon Christ:
he supports the whole and all the parts. When, upon the apostasy,
the world was breaking to pieces under the wrath and curse of God,
the Son of God, undertaking the work of redemption, bound it up
again, and established it by his almighty power and goodness. None
of the ancient prophets sustained such an office as this, none was
sufficient for it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p9">(2.) Hence the apostle passes to the glory
of the person of Christ, who was able to execute such an office:
<i>He was the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express
image of his person,</i> <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.3" parsed="|Heb|1|3|0|0" passage="Heb 1:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. This is a high and lofty description of the glorious
Redeemer, this is an account of his personal excellency. [1.] He
is, in person, the Son of God, the only-begotten Son of God, and as
such he must have the same nature. This personal distinction always
supposes one and the same nature. Every son of man is man; were not
the nature the same, the generation would be monstrous. [2.] The
person of the Son is the glory of the Father, shining forth with a
truly divine splendour. As the beams are effulgent emanations of
the sun, the father and fountain of light, Jesus Christ in his
person is God manifest in the flesh, he is light of light, the true
Shechinah. [3.] The person of the Son is the true image and
character of the person of the Father; being of the same nature, he
must bear the same image and likeness. In beholding the power,
wisdom, and goodness, of the Lord Jesus Christ, we behold the
power, wisdom, and goodness, of the Father; for he hath the nature
and perfections of God in him. <i>He that hath seen the Son hath
seen the Father;</i> that is, he hath seen the same Being. He that
hath known the Son hath known the Father, <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:John.14.7-John.14.9" parsed="|John|14|7|14|9" passage="Joh 14:7-9">John xiv. 7-9</scripRef>. For the Son is in the
Father, and the Father in the Son; the personal distinction is no
other than will consist with essential union. This is the glory of
the person of Christ; the fulness of the Godhead dwells, not
typically, but really, in him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p10">(3.) From the glory of the person of Christ
he proceeds to mention the glory of his grace; his condescension
itself was truly glorious. The sufferings of Christ had this great
honour in them, to be a full satisfaction for the sins of his
people: <i>By himself he purged away our sins,</i> that is, by the
proper innate merit of his death and bloodshed, by their infinite
intrinsic value; as they were the sufferings of himself, he has
made atonement for sin. Himself, the glory of his person and
nature, gave to his sufferings such merit as was a sufficient
reparation of honour to God, who had suffered an infinite injury
and affront by the sins of men.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p11">(4.) From the glory of his sufferings we
are at length led to consider the glory of his exaltation: <i>When
by himself he had purged away our sins, he sat down at the right
hand of the Majesty on high,</i> at his Father's right hand. As
Mediator and Redeemer, he is invested with the highest honour,
authority, and activity, for the good of his people; the Father now
does all things by him, and receives all the services of his people
from him. Having assumed our nature, and suffered in it on earth,
he has taken it up with him to heaven, and there it has the high
honour to be next to God, and this was the reward of his
humiliation.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p12">Now it was by no less a person than this
that God in these last days spoke to men; and, since the dignity of
the messenger gives authority and excellency to the message, the
dispensations of the gospel must therefore exceed, very far exceed,
the dispensation of the law.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Heb.ii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.4-Heb.1.14" parsed="|Heb|1|4|1|14" passage="Heb 1:4-14" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Heb.1.4-Heb.1.14">
<h4 id="Heb.ii-p12.2">The Dignity of Christ. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Heb.ii-p12.3">a.
d.</span> 62.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Heb.ii-p13">4 Being made so much better than the angels, as
he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
  5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art
my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him
a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?   6 And again, when he
bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let
all the angels of God worship him.   7 And of the angels he
saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of
fire.   8 But unto the Son <i>he saith,</i> Thy throne, O God,
<i>is</i> for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness <i>is</i>
the sceptre of thy kingdom.   9 Thou hast loved righteousness,
and hated iniquity; therefore God, <i>even</i> thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.   10
And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the
earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:   11 They
shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as
doth a garment;   12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,
and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years
shall not fail.   13 But to which of the angels said he at any
time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy
footstool?   14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent
forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p14">The apostle, having proved the pre-eminence
of the gospel above the law from the pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus
Christ above the prophets, now proceeds to show that he is much
superior not only to the prophets, but to the angels themselves. In
this he obviates an objection that the Jewish zealots would be
ready to make, that the law was not only delivered by men, <i>but
ordained by angels</i> (<scripRef id="Heb.ii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.3.19" parsed="|Gal|3|19|0|0" passage="Ga 3:19">Gal. iii.
19</scripRef>), who attended at the giving forth of the law, the
hosts of heaven being drawn forth to attend the Lord Jehovah on
that awful occasion. Now the angels are very glorious beings, far
more glorious and excellent than men; the scripture always
represents them as the most excellent of all creatures, and we know
of no being but God himself that is higher than the angels; and
therefore that law that was ordained by angels ought to be held in
great esteem. To take off the force of this argument, the penman of
this epistle proceeds to state the comparison between Jesus Christ
and the holy angels, both in nature and office, and to prove that
Christ is vastly superior to the angels themselves: <i>Being made
so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they.</i> Here observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p15">I. The superior nature of Christ is proved
from his superior name. The scripture does not give high and
glorious titles without a real foundation and reason in nature; nor
would such great things have been said of our Lord Jesus Christ if
he had not been as great and excellent as those words import. When
it is said that Christ was made so much better than the angels, we
are not to imagine that he was a mere creature, as the angels are;
the word <b><i>genomenos,</i></b> when joined with an adjective, is
nowhere to be rendered <i>created,</i> and here may very well be
read, <i>being more excellent,</i> as the <i>Syriac version</i>
hath it. We read <b><i>ginesthe ho Theos alethes</i></b>—<i>let
God be true,</i> not made so, but acknowledged to be so.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p16">II. The superiority of the name and nature
of Christ above the angels is declared in the holy scriptures, and
to be deduced thence. We should have known little or nothing either
of Christ or of the angels, without the scriptures; and we must
therefore be determined by them in our conceptions of the one and
the other. Now here are several passages of scripture cited, in
which those things are said of Christ that were never said of the
angels.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p17">1. It was said of Christ, <i>Thou art my
Son, this day have I begotten thee</i> (<scripRef id="Heb.ii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.2.7" parsed="|Ps|2|7|0|0" passage="Ps 2:7">Ps. ii. 7</scripRef>), which may refer to his eternal
generation, or to his resurrection, or to his solemn inauguration
into his glorious kingdom at his ascension and session at the right
hand of the Father. Now this was never said concerning the angels,
and therefore by inheritance he has a more excellent nature and
name than they.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p18">2. It was said concerning Christ, but never
concerning the angels, <i>I will be to him a Father, and he shall
be to me a Son;</i> taken from <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:2Sam.7.14" parsed="|2Sam|7|14|0|0" passage="2Sa 7:14">2 Sam.
vii. 14</scripRef>. Not only, "I am his Father, and he is my Son,
by nature and eternal promanation;" but, "I will be his Father, and
he shall be my Son, by wonderful conception, and this his son-ship
shall be the fountain and foundation of every gracious relation
between me and fallen man."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p19">3. It is said of Christ, <i>When God
bringeth his First-begotten into the world, let all the angels of
God worship him;</i> that is, when he is brought into this lower
world, at his nativity, let the angels attend and honour him; or
when he is brought into the world above, at his ascension, to enter
upon his mediatorial kingdom, or when he shall bring him again into
the world, to judge the world, then let the highest creatures
worship him. God will not suffer an angel to continue in heaven who
will not be in subjection to Christ, and pay adoration to him; and
he will at last make the fallen angels and wicked men to confess
his divine power and authority and to fall before him. Those who
would not have him to reign must then be brought forth and slain
before him. The proof of this is taken out of <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.97.7" parsed="|Ps|97|7|0|0" passage="Ps 97:7">Ps. xcvii. 7</scripRef>, <i>Worship him, all you
gods,</i> that is, "All you that are superior to men, own
yourselves to be inferior to Christ in nature and power."</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p20">4. God has said concerning Christ, <i>Thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever,</i> &amp;c., <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.8-Heb.1.12" parsed="|Heb|1|8|1|12" passage="Heb 1:8-12"><i>v.</i> 8-12</scripRef>. But of the angels he has
only said that <i>he hath made them spirits, and his ministers a
flame of fire,</i> <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.7" parsed="|Heb|1|7|0|0" passage="Heb 1:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>. Now, upon comparing what he here says of the angels
with what he says to Christ, the vast inferiority of the angels to
Christ will plainly appear.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p21">(1.) What does God say here of the angels?
<i>He maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of
fire.</i> This we have in <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p21.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.104.4" parsed="|Ps|104|4|0|0" passage="Ps 104:4">Ps. civ.
4</scripRef>, where it seems to be more immediately spoken of the
winds and lightning, but is here applied to the angels, whose
agency the divine Providences makes use of in the winds, and in
thunder and lightnings. Observe, [1.] The office of the angels:
they are God's ministers, or <i>servants, to do his pleasure.</i>
It is the glory of God that he has such servants; it is yet more so
that he does not need them. [2.] How the angels are qualified for
this service; he makes them spirits and a flame of fire, that is,
he endows them with light and zeal, with activity and ability,
readiness and resolution to do his pleasure: they are no more than
what God has made them to be, and they are servants to the Son as
well as to the Father. But observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p22">(2.) How much greater things are said of
Christ by the Father. Here two passages of scripture are
quoted.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p23">[1.] One of these is out of <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.45.6-Ps.45.7" parsed="|Ps|45|6|45|7" passage="Ps 45:6,7">Ps. xlv. 6, 7</scripRef>, where God declares of
Christ, <i>First,</i> His true and real divinity, and that with
much pleasure and affection, not grudging him that glory: <i>Thy
throne, O God.</i> Here one person calls another person God, <i>O
God.</i> And, if God the Father declares him to be so, he must be
really and truly so; for God calls persons and things as they are.
And now let who will deny him to be essentially God at their peril,
but let us own and honour him as God; for, if he had not been God,
he had never been fit to have done the Mediator's work nor to have
worn the Mediator's crown. <i>Secondly,</i> God declares his
dignity and dominion, as having a throne, a kingdom, and a sceptre
of that kingdom. He has all right, rule, authority, and power, both
as the God of nature, grace, and glory, and as Mediator; and so he
is fully adequate to all the intents and purposes of his
mediatorial kingdom. <i>Thirdly,</i> God declares the eternal
duration of the dominion and dignity of Christ, founded upon the
divinity of his person: <i>Thy throne, O God, is for ever and
ever,</i> from everlasting to everlasting, through all the ages of
time, maugre all the attempts of earth and hell to undermine and
overthrow it, and through all the endless ages of eternity, when
time shall be no more. This distinguishes Christ's throne from all
earthly thrones, which are tottering, and will at length tumble
down; but the throne of Christ shall be as the days of heaven.
<i>Fourthly,</i> God declares of Christ the perfect equity of his
administration, and of the execution of his power, through all the
parts of his government: <i>A sceptre of righteousness is the
sceptre of thy kingdom,</i> <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.8" parsed="|Heb|1|8|0|0" passage="Heb 1:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. He came righteously to the sceptre, and he uses it in
perfect righteousness; the righteousness of his government proceeds
from the righteousness of his person, from an essential eternal
love of righteousness and hatred of iniquity, not merely from
considerations of prudence or interest, but from an inward and
immovable principle: <i>Thou lovest righteousness and hatest
iniquity,</i> <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p23.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.9" parsed="|Heb|1|9|0|0" passage="Heb 1:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>.
Christ came to fulfil all righteousness, to bring in an everlasting
righteousness; and he was righteous in all his ways and holy in all
his works. He has recommended righteousness to men, and restored it
among them, as a most excellent and amiable thing. He came to
finish transgression, and to make an end of sin as a hateful as
well as hurtful thing. <i>Fifthly,</i> God declares of Christ how
he was qualified for the office of Mediator, and how he was
installed and confirmed in it (<scripRef id="Heb.ii-p23.4" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.9" parsed="|Heb|1|9|0|0" passage="Heb 1:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>Therefore God, even thy God,
hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.</i>
1. Christ has the name Messiah from his being anointed. God's
anointing of Christ signifies both his qualifying him for the
office of the Mediator with the Holy Spirit and all his graces, and
likewise his inauguration of him into the office, as prophets,
priests, and kings, were by anointing. <i>God, even thy God,</i>
imports the confirmation of Christ in the office of Mediator by the
covenant of redemption and peace, that was between the Father and
the Son. God is the God of Christ, as Christ is man and Mediator.
2. This anointing of Christ was <i>with the oil of gladness,</i>
which signifies both the gladness and cheerfulness with which
Christ undertook and went through the office of Mediator (finding
himself so absolutely sufficient for it), and also that joy which
was set before him as the reward of his service and sufferings,
that crown of glory and gladness which he should wear for ever
after the suffering of death. 3. This anointing of Christ was above
the anointing of his fellows: <i>God, even thy God, hath anointed
thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.</i> Who are
Christ's fellows? Has he any equals? Not as God, except the Father
and Spirit, but these are not here meant. As man, however, he has
his fellows, and as an anointed person; but his unction is beyond
all theirs. (1.) Above the angels, who may be said to be his
fellows, as they are the sons of God by creation, and God's
messengers, whom he employs in his service. (2.) Above all
prophets, priests, and kings, that ever were anointed with oil, to
be employed in the service of God on earth. (3.) Above all the
saints, who are his brethren, children of the same father, as he
was a partaker with them of flesh and blood. (4.) Above all those
who were related to him as man, above all the house of David, all
the tribe of Judah, all his brethren and kinsmen in the flesh. All
God's other anointed ones had only the Spirit in a certain measure;
Christ had the Spirit above measure, without any limitation. None
therefore goes through his work as Christ did, none takes so much
pleasure in it as Christ does; for he was anointed with the oil of
gladness above his fellows.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p24">[2.] The other passage of scripture in
which is the superior excellence of Christ to the angels is taken
out of <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.102.25-Ps.102.27" parsed="|Ps|102|25|102|27" passage="Ps 102:25-27">Ps. cii. 25-27</scripRef>,
and is recited in <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.10-Heb.1.12" parsed="|Heb|1|10|1|12" passage="Heb 1:10-12"><i>v.</i>
10-12</scripRef>, where the omnipotence of the Lord Jesus Christ is
declared as it appears both in creating the world and in changing
it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p25"><i>First,</i> In creating the world
(<scripRef id="Heb.ii-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.10" parsed="|Heb|1|10|0|0" passage="Heb 1:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>): <i>And
thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of thy hands.</i> The Lord Christ had
the original right to govern the world, because he made the world
in the beginning. His right, as Mediator, was by commission from
the Father. His right, as God with the Father, was absolute,
resulting from his creating power. This power he had before the
beginning of the world, and he exerted it in giving a beginning and
being to the world. He must therefore be no part of the world
himself, for then he must give himself a beginning. He was
<b><i>pro panton</i></b>—<i>before all things,</i> and <i>by him
all things consist,</i> <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Col.1.17" parsed="|Col|1|17|0|0" passage="Col 1:17">Col. i.
17</scripRef>. He was not only above all things in condition, but
before all things in existence; and therefore must be God, and
self-existent. He laid the foundations of the earth, did not only
introduce new forms into pre-existent matter, but made out of
nothing the foundations of the earth, the <i>primordia rerum—the
first principles of things;</i> he not only founded the earth, but
the heavens too are the work of his hands, both the habitation and
the inhabitants, the hosts of heaven, the angels themselves; and
therefore he must needs be infinitely superior to them.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p26"><i>Secondly,</i> In changing the world that
he has made; and here the mutability of this world is brought in to
illustrate the immutability of Christ. Observe, 1. This world is
mutable, all created nature is so; this world has passed through
many changes, and shall pass through more; all these changes are by
the permission and under the direction of Christ, who made the
world (<scripRef id="Heb.ii-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.11-Heb.1.12" parsed="|Heb|1|11|1|12" passage="Heb 1:11,12"><i>v.</i> 11,
12</scripRef>): <i>They shall perish, they shall all wax old as
doth a garment; as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they
shall be changed.</i> This our visible world (both the earth and
visible heavens) is growing old. Not only men and beasts and trees
grow old, but this world itself grows old, and is hastening to its
dissolution; it changes like a garment, has lost much of its beauty
and strength; it grew old betimes on the first apostasy, and it has
been waxing older and growing weaker ever since; it bears the
symptoms of a dying world. But then its dissolution will not be its
utter destruction, but its change. Christ will fold up this world
as a garment not to be abused any longer, not to be any longer so
used as it has been. Let us not then set our hearts upon that which
is not what we take it to be, and will not be what it now is. Sin
has made a great change in the world for the worse, and Christ will
make a great change in it for the better. <i>We look for new
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.</i> Let
the consideration of this wean us from the present world, and make
us watchful, diligent, and desirous of that better world, and let
us wait on Christ to change us into a meetness for that new world
that is approaching; we cannot enter into it till we be new
creatures. 2. Christ is immutable. Thus the Father testifies of
him, <i>Thou remainest, thy years shall not fail.</i> Christ is the
same in himself, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever, and
the same to his people in all the changes of time. This may well
support all who have an interest in Christ under all the changes
they meet with in the world, and under all they feel in themselves.
Christ is immutable and immortal: his years shall not fail. This
may comfort us under all decays of nature that we may observe in
ourselves or in our friends, though our flesh and heart fail and
our days are hastening to an end. Christ lives to take care of us
while we live, and of ours when we are gone, and this should
quicken us all to make our interest in him clear and sure, that our
spiritual and eternal life may be hid with Christ in God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p27">III. The superiority of Christ to the
angels appears in this that God never said to the angels what he
has said to Christ, <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p27.1" osisRef="Bible:Heb.1.13-Heb.1.14" parsed="|Heb|1|13|1|14" passage="Heb 1:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13,
14</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p28">1. What has God said to Christ? He has
said, "<i>Sit thou at my right hand, till I make thy enemies thy
footstool,</i> <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.1" parsed="|Ps|110|1|0|0" passage="Ps 110:1">Ps. cx. 1</scripRef>.
Receive thou glory, dominion, and rest; and remain in the
administration of thy mediatorial kingdom until all thy enemies
shall either be made thy friends by conversion or thy footstool."
Note, (1.) Christ Jesus has his enemies (would one think it?),
enemies even among men—enemies to his sovereignty, to his cause,
to his people; such as will not have him to reign over them. Let us
not think it strange then if we have our enemies. Christ never did
any thing to make men his enemies; he has done a great deal to make
them all his friends and his Father's friends, and yet he has his
enemies. (2.) All the enemies of Christ shall be made his
footstool, either by humble submission and entire subjection to his
will casting themselves down at his feet, or by utter destruction;
he shall trample upon those who continue obstinate, and shall
trample over them. (3.) God the Father has undertaken for this, and
he will see it done, yea, he will himself do it; and, though it be
not done presently, it shall certainly be done, and Christ waits
for it,; and so must Christians wait till God has wrought all their
works in them, for them, and by them. (4.) Christ shall go on to
rule and reign till this be done; he shall not leave any of his
great designs unfinished, he shall go on conquering and to conquer.
And it becomes his people to go on in their duty, being what he
would have them to be, doing what he would have them to do,
avoiding what he would have them to avoid, bearing what he would
have them to bear, till he make them conquerors and more than
conquerors over all their spiritual enemies.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Heb.ii-p29">2. What has God said to the angels? He
never said to them, as he said to Christ, <i>Sit you at my right
hand;</i> but he has said of them here that <i>they are ministering
spirits, sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of
salvation.</i> Note, (1.) What the angels are as to their nature:
they are spirits, without bodies or inclination to bodies, and yet
they can assume bodies, and appear in them, when God pleases. They
are spirits, incorporeal, intelligent, active, substances; they
excel in wisdom and strength. (2.) What the angels are as to their
office: they are ministering spirits. Christ, as Mediator, is the
great minister of God in the great work of redemption. The Holy
Spirit is the great minister of God and Christ in the application
of this redemption. Angels are ministering spirits under the
blessed Trinity, to execute the divine will and pleasure; they are
the ministers of divine Providence. (3.) The angels are sent forth
for this end—to minister to those who shall be the heirs of
salvation. Here observe, [1.] The description given of the
saints—they are <i>heirs of salvation;</i> at present they are
under age, heirs, not inheritors. They are heirs because they are
children of God; <i>if children, then heirs.</i> Let us make sure
that we are children by adoption and regeneration, having made a
covenant-resignation of ourselves to God, and walking before him in
a gospel-conversation, and then we are heirs of God, and
joint-heirs with Christ. [2.] The dignity and privilege of the
saints—the angels are sent forth to minister for them. Thus they
have done in attending and acting at the giving forth of the law,
in fighting the battles of the saints, in destroying their enemies.
They still minister for them in opposing the malice and power of
evil spirits, in protecting and keeping their bodies, pitching
their tents about theirs, instructing, quickening, and comforting
their souls under Christ and the Holy Ghost; and thus they shall do
in gathering all the saints together at the last day. Bless God for
the ministration of angels, keep in God's way, and take the comfort
of this promise, that he will <i>give his angels charge over you,
to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their
hands, lest you dash your feet against a stone,</i> <scripRef id="Heb.ii-p29.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.91.11-Ps.91.12" parsed="|Ps|91|11|91|12" passage="Ps 91:11,12">Ps. xci. 11, 12</scripRef>.</p>
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