Αἰωνίου.

for it, and saves us from the power of sin, quickening, enlightening, and sanctifying of us, through the administration of his Spirit and grace. 3. He preserves and secures it unto us, in the assistance, deliverance, and victory he gives us against all oppositions, temptations, dangers, and troubles. 4. He both gives an entrance into it and assurance of it, in our justification and peace with God. 5. He will actually, by his glorious power, bestow upon us immortal life and glory, or give us the full possession of this salvation. In all these respects, with those many other streams of grace which flow from them, is the Lord Christ said to be the "author of our salvation." This salvation is said to be "eternal;" whereof see our exposition on chap. ii. 3. So the redemption purchased by this offering of Christ is said to be "eternal," chap. ix. 12. And it is called so absolutely, comparatively, and emphatically. 1. Absolutely; it is eternal, endless, unchangeable, and permanent. We are made for an eternal duration. By sin we had made ourselves obnoxious to eternal damnation. If the salvation procured for us were not eternal, it would not be perfect, nor suited unto our condition. 2. It is also said to be eternal in comparison with and in opposition unto that or those temporal deliverances, or salvations, which the people under the law were made partakers of by the interposition of their legal priests and their sacrifices. For there were temporary punishments, and excisions by death, threatened unto divers transgressions of the law, as it was the administration of a temporal covenant unto that people. From these they might be freed by the ministry of their priests and carnal atonements. But those who were delivered from those penalties, and saved from the sentence of the law, were not thereby absolutely secured of deliverance from the curse annexed unto the moral law as a covenant of works. Their salvation, therefore, was not eternal. And perhaps, also, respect may be had unto the deliverance of the people of old out of bondage, with their introduction into the land of Canaan, which was a temporary salvation only. But this is so absolutely; and, 3. Emphatically. It takes off indeed all temporal punishments as effects of the curse of the law. It gives temporal deliverance from fear and bondage by reason thereof. It supplies us with mercy, grace, and peace with God in this world. But all these things issuing in eternal blessedness, that being the end of them, being all bestowed on us in a tendency thereunto, the whole is emphatically called "eternal."

Lastly, There is a limitation of the subject of this salvation, unto whom the Lord Christ is the cause and author of it; it is to "all them that obey him,”—τοῖς ὑπακούουσιν αὐτῷ πᾶσιν. The Τοῖς ὑπακούexpression is emphatical. To all and every one of them that obey him; not any one of them shall be excepted from a share and interest in this salvation; nor shall any one of

ουσιν αὐτῷ

πᾶσιν.

any other sort be admitted thereunto. He is "the author of eternal salvation" only unto "them that obey him;" whether there be any other author of salvation to those who neither know him nor obey him, they may do well to inquire who suppose that such may be saved. A certain number, then, they are, and not all men universally, unto whom he is the author of salvation. And as these elsewhere are described by the antecedent cause hereof, namely, their election, and being given unto Christ by the Father; so here they are so by the effects of it in themselves, they are such as "obey him.” 'Traxouw is "to obey upon hearing," "dicto obedire;" originally it signifies only "to hearken" or "hear," but with a readiness, or subjection of mind unto what is heard, to do accordingly. Hence it is faith in the first place that is intended in this obedience. For it is that which, in order unto our participation of Christ, first "cometh by hearing," Rom. x. 17; and that partly because the object of it, which is the promise, is proposed outwardly unto it in the word, where we hear of it and hear it; and partly because the preaching of the word, which we receive by hearing, is the only ordinary means of ingenerating faith in our souls. Hence to believe is expressed by igazoúsiv, "to hear" so as to answer the ends of what is proposed unto us. The ensuing subjecting our souls unto Christ, in the keeping of his commands, is "the obedience of faith." We may now draw some observations from the words, for our further instruction: as,

Obs. I. All that befell the Lord Christ, all that he did and suffered, was necessary to this end, that he might be the cause of eternal salvation to believers.

Being "consecrated," or "perfected," he became so; and what belonged unto that consecration we have declared. This was that which he was of God designed unto. And the disposal of all things concerning him to this end was the fruit of infinite wisdom, goodness, and righteousness. No more was required of him, that he might be the author of eternal salvation unto believers, but what was absolutely necessary thereunto; nor was there an abatement made of any thing that was so necessary. Some have said, that "one drop of the blood of Christ was sufficient for the salvation of the whole world." And some have made use of that saying, pretending that the overplus of his satisfaction and merit is committed to their disposal; which they manage to their advantage. But the truth is, every drop of his blood,—that is, all he did and all he suffered, for matter and manner, in substance and circumstance,-was indispensably necessary unto this end. For God did not afflict his only Son willingly, or without cause in any thing, and his whole obedience was afflictive. He did not die nor suffer dwpɛáv, Gal. ii. 21, without an antecedent cause and reason. And nothing was wanting that was requisite hereunto. Some suppose that Christ was and is the author of salvation unto

us only by showing, teaching, declaring the will of God, and the way of faith and obedience, whereby we may be saved. But why, then, was he consecrated in the way before described? why did it "become God to make him perfect through sufferings?" why was he "bruised and put to grief?" for what cause was he reduced unto the state and condition described in the verse foregoing? Certainly such men have low thoughts of sin and its guilt, of the law and its curse, of the holiness and righteousness of God, of his love to Jesus Christ, yea, and of his wisdom, who suppose that the salvation of sinners could be attained without the price and merit of all that he did and suffered, or that God would have so dealt with his only Son, might it any otherwise have been attained. I might show in particular from the Scripture, how every thing that Christ did and suffered was not only useful, but necessary also, to this purpose, allowing the wisdom and righteousness of God to give the standard and measure of what is so; but I must not too far digress. And hence it is evident,-1. How great a matter it is to have sinners made partakers of eternal redemption; 2. How great, how infinite was that wisdom, that love and grace, which contrived it and brought it about; 3. How great and terrible will be the ruin of them by whom this salvation is despised, when tendered according to the gospel, etc.

Obs. II. The Lord Christ was consecrated himself in and by the sacrifice that he offered for us, and what he suffered in so doing. This belonged to the perfection both of his office and his offering. He had none to offer for him but himself, and he had nothing to offer but himself.

Obs. III. The Lord Christ alone is the only principal cause of our eternal salvation, and that in every kind. There are many instrumental causes of it in sundry kinds. So is faith; so are the word and all the ordinances of the gospel; they are instrumental, helping, furthering causes of salvation,-but all in subordination unto Christ, who is the principal, and who alone gives use and efficacy unto all others. How he is so, by his oblation and intercession, by his Spirit and grace, in his ruling and teaching, offices and power, is the chief work of the ministry to declare. God hath appointed that in all things he should have the pre-eminence. There are both internal and external means of salvation that he hath appointed, whereby he communicates unto us the virtue and benefit of his mediation. These it is our duty to make use of according to his appointment; so that we expect no relief or help from them, but only by them. So much as they have of Christ in them, so much as they convey of Christ unto us, of so much use they are, and no more, Not only, therefore, to set up any thing in competition against him, as the works of the law, or in conjunction with him, as the Papists do their penances, and pilgrimages, and pardons, and purgatory, is pernicious and

ruinous unto the souls of men; but also, to expect any assistance by, or acceptance in, such acts of religion or worship as he hath not appointed, and therefore doth not fill up with his grace, nor communicate from his own fulness by it, is the highest folly imaginable. This, therefore, is the great wisdom of faith, to esteem of Christ and to rest upon him as that which he is indeed, namely, the only author of salvation unto them that believe. For,

Obs. IV. Salvation is confined to believers; and those who look for salvation by Christ, must secure it unto themselves by faith and obedience. It is Christ alone who is the cause of our salvation; but he will save none but those that obey him. He came to save sinners, but not such as choose to continue in their sins; though the gospel be full of love, of grace, of mercy, and pardon, yet herein the sentence of it is peremptory and decretory: "He that believeth not shall be damned."

VERSE 10.

In the 10th verse the apostle returns unto the improvement of the testimony given unto the priesthood of Christ taken from Ps. cx. And hereby he makes way unto another necessary digression, without which he could not profitably pursue the instruction which he intended [for] the Hebrews from that testimony, as we shall see in the following verses. He had drawn forth nothing out of that testimony of the psalmist, but only that the Lord Christ was a priest; and when he had done this in general, which was necessary for him to do, he declares his sacerdotal actings which he was enabled unto by virtue of that office: for a priest he must be who so "offered" unto God as he did. But he had yet a further and peculiar intention in the production of that testimony. And this was, not only to prove him to be a priest in general, and so to have right to perform all sacerdotal offices and duties in behalf of the people, which he did accordingly, verses 7-9, but withal to declare the especial nature and pre-eminence of his priesthood, as typed or shadowed out by the priesthood of Melchisedec. The demonstration and declaration whereof is that which he now designs. But so soon as he hath laid down his general assertion, in this verse, considering the greatness of the matter he had in hand, as also the difficulty of understanding it aright which he should find among the Hebrews, he diverts unto a preparatory digression, wherein he continues the remainder of this and the whole ensuing chapter, resuming his purpose here proposed in the beginning of the seventh chapter.

Ver. 10.—Προσαγορευθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀρχιερεὺς κατὰ τὴν τάξιν Μελ χισεδέκ.

1 TRANSLATIONS.-IIporay. Declared of God.-Craik. Having been named

Ver. 10.—Called of God an high priest after the order of

Melchisedec.

Προσαγορευ

Пporayoрsubsís, "called." He refers unto the testimony produced, Προσαγορευθείς, verse 6. And it is here manifest who it is that is intended in those words, "As he saith in another place, 9 Thou art a priest." That is, God said so; for he was рooαyopsuleis und rou sou,-dictus, cognominatus, ; " called," pronounced." "Salutatus," as "salutare aliquem regem," is to pronounce him so. And we may inquire into the reason of this peculiar expression. He had before declared that the Lord Christ, the Son of God, was "a priest after the order of Melchisedec." Now there may be more supposed herein than is indeed intended. When we say that Phinehas, and Eli, and Zadok, were high priests of the order of Aaron, we intend that they had the very same priesthood that Aaron had. But that is not the meaning of the expression in this place and matter. The priesthood of Christ and of Melchisedec were not the same; for that of Christ is such as no mere man could possibly sustain or exercise: only these two priesthoods, as expressed in the Scripture, had an especial agreement in sundry things, the particulars whereof the apostle enumerates and explains, chap vii. For on the account of sundry things that were singular in the person of Melchisedec (either absolutely, or as his story is related in the Scripture, which is the rule of our comprehension of sacred things), and suited to prefigure or shadow out the Lord Christ in his priesthood, above what was in Aaron or his office, he is said to be made "a priest after the order of Melchisedec," or according to the things spoken of, Melchisedec. He is not said to be a priest of the order, but y, xarà ráğı, according to the things spoken of Melchisedec, as he was a priest; after the manner of what is related concerning him. And this, in my judgment, is the reason of the use of this word porayopsudsis in this place; for it doth not signify a call to office, that is xλrós constantly, but it is the denomination of him who is so called, for some certain reason. 'Because,' saith the apostle, 'of the especial resemblance that was between what Melchisedec was and what Christ was to be, God called his priesthood Melchisedecian; whereon I must necessarily declare wherein that resemblance did consist:' which he doth afterwards. So was his priesthood surnamed from his type, and not Aaronical.

"

"Called of God ȧpxipsúç.” Verse 6, he renders the Hebrew by ispeús only, "a priest." And it signifies no more. For where the high priest in a note of distinction is intended, they call him, the "great" or "high priest;"

Αρχιερούς.

of God.-Conybeare and Howson. Genannt.-De Wette. Craik justly remarks, "The term ought to be distinguished from xahovμevos, verse 4. It literally signifies 'addressed,' and refers to the form of the declaration in Ps. cx."-ED.