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foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; and as it is appointed unto men (priests under the law) once to die, (in the sacrifice as before explained) and after this the judgment: (in which the high priest was accepted, and himself and all the multitudes of the house of Israel were acquitted and obtained ceremonial justification :)—so (in like manner, as the priests under the first testament were appointed to die) Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many.' Now, as the judgment which decided the temporal destiny of the Israelites under the first testament took place when the high priest entered into the holy place, so the judgment which decided the spiritual and endless destiny of the human race, took place when Christ entered into heaven itself, with the blood or spirit of the everlasting covenant, and obtained eternal redemption for us.' Chap. ix. 12.

"The difference between these priesthoods appears to be this: The first was temporal, the second was spiritual. The high priest of the first covenant could not offer himself as a sacrifice, and was, therefore, necessitated to seek a substitute, which was in those beasts that were slain for the service of the temple. But in Christ we find both the offering and the Priest. It was he that entered through the veil, to appear in the presence of God for us; and was accepted in that he offered.

"Christ, therefore, being accepted with the Father, all the human family were accepted in him. That no doubt may be entertained that this offering was of universal application, the apostles assure us, that Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every man,

that he gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, that he is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. See chap. ii. 9; 1 Tim. ii. 6; 1 John ii. 2."

"After this the judgment." rative death of the high priest

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came the judgment.

Hence we read of Aaron, the first high priest, "and thou shalt put in the breast-place of JUDGMENT, the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the Lord; and Aaron shall bear THE JUDGMENT of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually." This judgment came after the figurative death of the high priest; and hence it is said, "As it is appointed unto men (the men, it should be translated,) once to die, and after this THE JUDGMENT, so Christ was once offered," &c.

See Ballou's "Select Sermons," No. I. and also an article in the "Universalist Expositor," Vol. II. pp. 58-65.

LXXIX. "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Heb. x. 26 – 31.

V. 26. For if we sin wilfully," &c. The sinning wilfully, here means, as we apprehend, renouncing the religion of Christ. The writer of the epistle had exhorted the Hebrèws, ver. 23, to "hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering," because God was faithful. He tells them not to forsake the assembling of themselves together, ver. 25, but to exhort one another, especially, as they saw the day approaching, that is, the day in which God was about to visit the Jews for their sins. He then, with the same subject in his mind, says, "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth," that is, if we abandon our profession after we have once been

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made acquainted with the doctrine of the Gospel, "there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin." The Jewish sacrifices were done away in Christ, as the apostle had argued in the former part of this epistle. Hence, in order to deter them who put a value on sacrifices from forsaking the sacrifice of Christ, he tells them there remained no other; and if they abandoned this, there remained no sacrifice at all. They might, indeed, again embrace the Christian sacrifice; but, when they rejected that, "there remained no more sacrifice for sins."

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V. 27. "But a certain fearful looking for of judgment.' As the Jews under the law, if they neglected the regular sacrifices, were exposed to the judgment of God, so in this case, if they rejected the Christian sacrifices, as there was no other, there remained to them nothing but a dreadful expectation of judgment, and frery indignation. This judgment and fiéry indignation fell upon them, in the destruction of their city and nation, shortly after. In order to show the justice of punishing those who rejected the Gospel, the apostle refers to the punishment inflicted on those who contemned the law of Moses. See next verse.

V. 28. "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy," &c. That is, judicial mercy, or extenuation or mitigation of punishment, on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Thus Korah, Dathan, and Abiram died. Num. xv. 30. See also Deut. xvii. 6.

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V. 29. Of how much sorer punishment shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God," &c. The argument here is, if men were punished with death for despising the law of Moses, how much more severe must be their punishment, who wilfully reject the doctrine of Christ. The punishment of those Jews who rejected the Gospel, in which apostates were also involved, was more dreadful by far than any thing that had ever been inflicted on that nation before. It seems to have been the punishment which was inflicted on the Jews at the time their city was de

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stroyed to which the apostle here referred. sorer punishment than any of the Jews had ever suffered, for despising the law of Moses? Jesus described it so. He said, in view of the approaching misery, "then shall be a time of trouble, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be." That it was more severe than mere death under the law of Moses, is apparent, because it was death connected with the most cruel torture, death by pestilence, death by starvation. The punishment of the Jews was so dreadful during the siege of the city by the Romans, that they sought death as a refuge. Josephus, speaking of the distress of the city, and of the multitudes who died by famine, says, "As for burying them, those that were sick themselves were not able to do it, and those that were hearty and well were deterred from doing it, by the great multitude of those dead bodies, and by the uncertainty there was how soon they should die themselves; for many died as they were burying others, and many went to their coffins before that fatal hour was come. Nor were there any lamentations made under these calamities, nor were heard any mournful complaints; but the famine confounded all natural passions; for those who were just going to die looked upon those that were gone to their rest before them, with dry eyes and open mouth. A deep silence also, and a kind of deadly night, had seized upon the city; while yet the robbers were still more terrible than the miseries were themselves; for they broke open those houses which were no other than graves of dead bodies, and plundered them of what they had, and, carrying off the coverings of their bodies, went out laughing, and tried the points of their swords in their dead bodies; and, in order to prove what mettle they were made of, they thrust some of those through that still lay alive upon the ground; but for those that entreated them to lend them their right hand and sword to despatch them, they were too proud to grant their requests, and left them to be consumed by

the famine."

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This, as every one will readily see, was a sorer punishment," than death inflicted by judicial authority, for despising the law of Moses.

V. 30. "For we know," &c. See Deut. xxxii. 35, 36. The apostates from Christianity need not persecute the steadfast Christians; vengeance belonged to God, he would render a recompense. The Lord shall judge, that is, avenge, his people. He will vindicate Christianity against the aspersions of its enemies, and cause the righteous to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He will pay back most fearfully on these apostates, their persecutions of the faithful disciples.

V. 31. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" To fall into the hands of God, in this instance, is an idiom signifying to fall under the severity of the divine judgments. In one sense we are all in the hands of God; we are the subjects of his power, and he can do by us as he will. This consideration, however, is by no means a fearful one, but is a source of consolation and joy to every believer of the Gospel. But to those who fell under the divine judgments by which Jerusalem was destroyed, it was a fearful thing. They found it so, and they confessed There was then a fearful looking for of judgment. The time was called "the great and dreadful day of the Lord." There was then, as we have shown, a time of trouble, such as had not been since the beginning of the world to that time, and never should be. To fall under the severity of these judgments was indeed a "fearful thing."

it so.

But we are also to remember, that it is more safe, and consequently less fearful, to fall into the hands of God than to fall into the hands of men. See 2 Sam. xxiv. 14. The reason is, the mercies of God are great, over all his works; while, compared with his, even the tender mercies of men are cruelty. We may be certain, that while God executes justice upon us, he will so execute it as to accomplish his merciful design

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