1._Wherefore, holy brethren, etc. _He concludes the preceding doctrine with a necessary exhortation, that the Jews should attentively consider what sort of being and how great Christ is. As he had before, by naming him a teacher and a priest, briefly compared him with Moses and Aaron, so he now incl... [ Continue Reading ]
2._Who was, _or _is faithful, etc. _This is a commendation of the apostleship of Christ, in order that the faithful may securely acquiesce in him; and he commends it on two grounds, because the Father has set him to be over us as our teacher, and because Christ himself has faithfully performed the o... [ Continue Reading ]
3._For this man _(or, _he_) _was counted worthy, etc. _Lest he might appear to make Moses equal to Christ, he reminds us of his superior excellency; and this he proves by two arguments, Moses so ruled the Church, that he was still a part and member of it; but Christ being the builder, is superior t... [ Continue Reading ]
4._He that built, etc. _Though these words may be extended to the creation of the whole world, yet I confine them to the present subject. We are then to understand that nothing is done in the Church which ought not to he ascribed to Gods power; for he alone has founded it by his own hand, (Psalms 87... [ Continue Reading ]
5._And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, etc. _The second difference is, that to Moses was committed a doctrine to which he, in common with others, was to submit; but Christ, though he put on the form of a servant, is yet Master and Lord, to whom all ought to be subject; for,... [ Continue Reading ]
6._Whose house are we, etc. _As Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, after having prefaced that he was appointed to be the Apostle of the Gentiles, adds, for the sake of gaining credit among them, that they were of that number; so now the author of this epistle exhorts the Jews who had already made a... [ Continue Reading ]
He proceeds in his exhortation, that they were to obey Christ speaking to them; and that he might add more weight to it, he confirms it by the testimony of David; for since they were to be sharply goaded, it was better, for the sake of avoiding offense, to bring forward another person. Had he simply... [ Continue Reading ]
8.Then follows, _Harden not your hearts _By which words is intimated that our rebellion against God flows from no other fountain than willful wickedness, by which we obstruct the entrance of his grace, We have indeed by nature a heart of stone, and there is in all an innate hardness from the womb, w... [ Continue Reading ]
9._Tempted, etc. _This word is to be taken in a bad sense; it means to provoke in a proud and insulting manner, which we express in French by saying, _defier comme en depitant _ For though God had often brought them help, yet they forgot all, and scornfully asked, where was his power. _Proved, etc.... [ Continue Reading ]
10._And I said, etc. _This was God’s sentence, by which he declared that they were destitute of a sound mind, and he adds the reason, _For they have not known my ways. _In short, he regarded them as past hope, for they were without sense and reason. And here he assumed the character of man, who at l... [ Continue Reading ]
11._So I sware, etc. _It was the punishment of their madness, that they were deprived of the rest promised them. Moreover, the Lord calls the land, where they might have had their dwelling_, his rest. _For they had been sojourners in Egypt and wanderers in the wilderness; but the land of Canaan was... [ Continue Reading ]
12._Take heed, _(or _See_,) _brethren, lest there be at any time in any of you a wicked heart of unbelief, etc. _I have preferred to retain literally what the Apostle states, rather than to give a paraphrase as to the wicked or depraved _heart of unbelief, _by which he intimates that unbelief would... [ Continue Reading ]
13.He also pointed out the remedy, so that they might not fall into this wickedness, and that was, to _exhort one another. _For as by nature we are inclined to evil, we have need of various helps to retain us in the fear of God. Unless our faith be now and then raised up, it will lie prostrate; unle... [ Continue Reading ]
14._For we are made partakers, etc. _He commends them for having begun well; but lest, under the pretext of the grace which they had obtained, they should indulge themselves in carnal security, he says that there was need of perseverance; for many having only tasted the Gospel, do not think of any p... [ Continue Reading ]
15._While it is said, etc. _He intimates that the reason for making progress never ceases as long as we live, because God calls us daily. For since faith responds to the preaching of the Gospel, as preaching continues through the whole course of our life, so we ought to continue growing in faith. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
16_For some, when they had heard, etc. _David spoke of the fathers as though that whole generation were unbelieving; but it appears that some who truly feared God mingled with the wicked. The apostle mentions this to modify what had been more severely said by David, in order that we may know that th... [ Continue Reading ]
17._But with whom was he grieved, _or _angry, etc. _He means that God had never been angry with his people except for just causes, as Paul also reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:5. Therefore as many chastisements of God as we read were inflicted on the ancient people, so many grievous sins shall we fin... [ Continue Reading ]