         
- CLARKE'S COMMENTARY -
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE HEBREWS.
Chronological Notes relative to this Epistle.
- Year of the Constantinopolitan era of the world, or that
used by the Byzantine historians, and other eastern writers,
5571.
- Year of the Alexandrian era of the world, 5565.
- Year of the Antiochian era of the world, 5555.
- Year of the world, according to Archbishop Usher, 4067.
- Year of the world, according to Eusebius, in his
Chronicon, 4291.
- Year of the minor Jewish era of the world, or that in
common use, 3823.
- Year of the Greater Rabbinical era of the world, 4422
- Year from the Flood, according to Archbishop Usher, and
the English Bible, 2411.
- Year of the Cali yuga, or Indian era of the Deluge,
3165.
- Year of the era of Iphitus, or since the first
commencement of the Olympic games, 1003.
- Year of the era of Nabonassar, king of Babylon, 810.
- Year of the CCXth Olympiad, 3.
- Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius
Pictor, 810.
- Year from the building of Rome, according to Frontinus,
814.
- Year from the building of Rome, according to the Fasti
Capitolini, 815.
- Year from the building of Rome, according to Varro,
which was that most generally used, 816.
- Year of the era of the Seleucidae, 375.
- Year of the Caesarean era of Antioch, 111.
- Year of the Julian era, 108.
- Year of the Spanish era, 101.
- Year from the birth of Jesus Christ according to
Archbishop Usher, 67.
- Year of the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 63.
- Year of Albinus, governor of the Jews, 2.
- Year of Vologesus, king of the Parthians, 14.
- Year of Domitius Corbulo, governor of Syria, 4.
- Year of Matthias, high priest of the Jews, 1.
- Year of the Dionysian period, or Easter Cycle, 64.
- Year of the Grecian Cycle of nineteen years, or Common
Golden Number, 7; or the second after the second embolismic.
- Year of the Jewish Cycle of nineteen years, 4, or the
first after the first embolismic.
- Year of the Solar Cycle, 16.
- Dominical Letter, it being the third after the
Bissextile, or Leap Year, B.
- Day of the Jewish Passover, according to the Roman
computation of time, the IIId of the calends of April, or,
in our common mode of reckoning, the thirtieth of March,
which happened in this year on the fourth day after the
Jewish Sabbath.
- Easter Sunday, the IIId of the nones of April, named by
the Jews the 19th of Nisan or Abib; and by Europeans in
general, the 3d of April.
- Epact, or age of the moon on the 22d of March, (the day
of the earliest Easter Sunday possible,) 6.
- Epact, according to the present mode of computation, or
the moon's age on New Year's day, or the Calends of January,
13.
- Monthly Epacts, or age of the moon on the Calends of
each month respectively, (beginning with January,)
13,15,14,15,16,17,18, 19,20,20,22,22.
- Number of Direction, or the number of days from the
twenty- first of March to the Jewish Passover, 9.
- Year of the reign of Caius Tiberius Claudius Nero
Caesar, the fifth Roman monarch, computing from Octavianus,
or Augustus Caesar, properly the first Roman emperor, 10.
- Roman Consuls, C. Memmius Regulus and L. Verginius
Rufus.
Chapter 1
- Different discoveries made of the Divine will to the
ancient Israelites by the prophets, 1.
- The
discovery now perfected by the revelation of Jesus Christ,
of whose excellences and glories a large description is
given, 2-13.
- Angels are ministering spirits to the
heirs of salvation, 14.
Verse 1. God, who at sundry times
and in divers manners
We can scarcely
conceive any thing more dignified than the opening of this
epistle; the sentiments are exceedingly elevated, and the
language, harmony itself! The infinite God is at once produced
to view, not in any of those attributes which are essential to
the Divine nature, but in the manifestations of his love to
the world, by giving a revelation of his will relative to the
salvation of mankind, and thus preparing the way, through a
long train of years, for the introduction of that most
glorious Being, his own Son. This Son, in the fulness of time,
was manifested in the flesh that he might complete all vision
and prophecy, supply all that was wanting to perfect the great
scheme of revelation for the instruction of the world, and
then die to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The
description which he gives of this glorious personage is
elevated beyond all comparison. Even in his
humiliation, his suffering of death excepted, he is
infinitely exalted above all the angelic host, is the object
of their unceasing adoration, is permanent on his eternal
throne at the right hand of the Father, and from him they all
receive their commands to minister to those whom he has
redeemed by his blood. in short, this first chapter, which may
be considered the introduction to the whole epistle is, for
importance of subject, dignity of expression, harmony and
energy of language, compression and yet distinctness of ideas,
equal, if not superior, to any other part of the New
Testament.
Sundry times
Divers manners
Acts
10:43.
But it is better to consider, with Kypke, that the
words are rather intended to point out the imperfect
state of Divine revelation under the Old Testament; it was not
complete, nor can it without the New be considered a
sufficiently ample discovery of the Divine will. Under the Old
Testament, revelations were made at
various times, by various persons, in
various laws and forms of teaching, with various
degrees of clearness, under various shadows, types, and
figures, and with various modes of revelation, such as
by angels, visions, dreams, mental impressions, Numbers
12:6,8. But under the New Testament all is done
simply, by one person, i.e. JESUS, who has
fulfilled the prophets, and completed prophecy; who is the
way, the truth, and the life; and the founder, mediator, and
governor of his own kingdom.
One great object of the apostle is, to put the
simplicity of the Christian system in opposition to the
complex nature of the Mosaic economy; and also to show
that what the law could not do because it was weak through the
flesh, Jesus has accomplished by the merit of his death, and
the energy of his Spirit.
The excellence of the Gospel above the law is
here set down in three points: 1. God spake unto the faithful
under the Old Testament by Moses and the prophets, worthy
servants, yet servants; now the Son is much
better than a servant, Hebrews
1:4. 2. Whereas the body of the Old Testament was long in
compiling, being about a thousand years from Moses to Malachi;
and God spake unto the fathers by piecemeal, one while raising
up one prophet, another while another, now sending them one
parcel of prophecy or history, then another; but when Christ
came, all was brought to perfection in one age; the apostles
and evangelists were alive, some of them, when every part of
the New Testament was completely finished. 3. The Old
Testament was delivered by God in divers manners, both in
utterance and manifestation; but the delivery of the
Gospel was in a more simple manner; for, although there
are various penmen, yet the subject is the same, and treated
with nearly the same phraseology throughout; James, Jude, and
the Apocalypse excepted. See Leigh.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 2. Last days
The Gospel dispensation, called the last
days and the last time, because not to be
followed by any other dispensation; or the conclusion of the
Jewish Church and state now at their termination.
By his Son
It is very remarkable that the pronoun his,
is not found in the text; nor is it found in any MS. or
version. We should not therefore supply the pronoun as our
translators have done; but simply read, BY A SON, or IN
A SON, whom he hath appointed heir of all things. God
has many sons and daughters, for he is the Father of
the spirits of all flesh; and he has many heirs,
for if sons, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint
heirs with Jesus Christ; but he has no Son who is heir
of all things, none by whom he made the
worlds, none in whom he speaks, and
by whom he has delivered a complete revelation to
mankind, but Jesus the Christ.
The apostle begins with the lowest state in which Christ
has appeared: 1. His being a SON, born of a woman, and made
under the law. He then ascends, 2. So his being an
Heir, and an Heir of all things. 3. He
then describes him as the Creator of all worlds. 4. As
the Brightness of the Divine glory. 5. As the
express Image of his person, or character of the
Divine substance. 6. As sustaining the immense fabric of
the universe; and this by the word of his power. 7. As having
made an atonement for the sin of the world, which was
the most stupendous of all his works.
"'Twas great to speak a world from nought;. Twas greater to
redeem."
8. As being on the right hand of God, infinitely
exalted above all created beings; and the object of
adoration to all the angelic host. 9. As having an
eternal throne, neither his person nor his
dignity ever changing or decaying. 10. As
continuing to exercise dominion, when the earth
and the heavens are no more! It is only in God manifested in
the flesh that all these excellences can possibly appear,
therefore the apostle begins this astonishing climax
with the simple Sonship of Christ, or his
incarnation; for, on this, all that he is to
man, and all that he has done for man, is built.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 3. The brightness of his
glory
4. That Christ is eternal with the Father, as the
proceeding splendour must necessarily be coexistent with the
inherent splendour. If the one, therefore, be
uncreated, the other is uncreated; if the one be
eternal, the other is eternal.
Upholding all things by the word
of his power
This is an astonishing
description of the infinitely energetic and all pervading
power of God. He spake, and all things were created; he
speaks, and all things are sustained. The Jewish
writers frequently express the perfection of the Divine nature
by the phrases, He bears all things, both above and below;
He carries all his creatures; He bears his world; He
bears all worlds by his power. The Hebrews, to whom
this epistle was written, would, from this and other
circumstances, fully understand that the apostle believed
Jesus Christ to be truly and properly God.
Purged our sins
There may be here some reference to the great transactions
in the wilderness.
1. Moses, while in communion with God on the mount, was so
impressed with the Divine glories that his face shone, so that
the Israelites could not behold it. But Jesus is infinitely
greater than Moses, for he is the splendour of God's glory;
and,
2. Moses found the government of the Israelites such a
burden that he altogether sank under it. His words, Numbers
11:12, are very remarkable: Have I conceived all this
people? Have I begotten them, that thou
shouldest say unto me, CARRY them in thy
BOSOM-unto the land which thou swearest unto their
fathers? But Christ not only carried all the
Israelites, and all mankind; but he upholds ALL THINGS
by the word of his power.
3. The Israelites murmured against Moses and against God,
and provoked the heavy displeasure of the Most High; and would
have been consumed had not Aaron made an atonement for
them, by offering victims and incense. But Jesus
not only makes an atonement for Israel, but for the whole
world; not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with his own
blood: hence it is said that he purged our sins
by himself his own body and life being the victim. It
is very likely that the apostle had all these things in his
eye when he wrote this verse; and takes occasion from them to
show the infinite excellence of Jesus Christ when compared
with Moses; and of his Gospel when compared with the
law. And it is very likely that the Spirit of God, by
whom he spoke, kept in view those maxims of the ancient Jews,
concerning the Messiah, whom they represent as being
infinitely greater than Abraham, the patriarchs, Moses, and
the ministering angels. So Rabbi Tanchum, on Isaiah
52:13, Behold my servant shall deal prudently,
says, Zeh melek hammashiach, this is the King
Messiah; and shall be exalted, and be extolled, and
be very high. "He shall be exalted above Abraham,
and shall be extolled beyond Moses, and shall be more
sublime than the ministering angels-."See the preface.
The right hand of the Majesty on
high
As it were associated with the supreme
Majesty, in glory everlasting, and in the government of all
things in time and in eternity; for the right
hand is the place of the greatest eminence, 1 Kings
2:19. The king himself, in eastern countries, sits on the
throne; the next to him in the kingdom, and the highest
favourite, sits on his right hand; and the third
greatest personage, on his left.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 4. So much better than the
angels
Another argument in favour of the
Divinity of our Lord. The Jews had the highest opinion of the
transcendent excellence of angels, they even associate them
with God in the creation of the world, and suppose them to be
of the privy council of the Most High; and thus they
understand Genesis
1:26: Let us make man in our own image, in our own
likeness; "And the Lord said to the ministering angels
that stood before him, and who were created the second day,
Let us make man," of Jonathan ben Uzziel. And they even
allow them to be worshipped for the sake of their Creator, and
as his representatives; though they will not allow them to be
worshipped for their own sake. As, therefore, the Jews
considered them next to God, and none entitled to their
adoration but God; on their own ground the apostle proves
Jesus Christ to be God, because God commanded all the angels
of heaven to worship him. He, therefore, who is greater than
the angels, and is the object of their adoration, is God. But
Jesus Christ is greater than the angels, and the object of
their adoration; therefore Jesus Christ must be God.
By inheritance
obtained
Philippians
2:9.
Verse 5. Thou art my Son, this day
have I begotten thee
These words are quoted
from Psalms
2:7, a psalm that seems to refer only to the Messiah; and
they are quoted by St. Paul, Acts
13:33, as referring to the resurrection of Christ.
And this application of them is confirmed by the same apostle,
Romans
1:4, as by his resurrection from the dead he was
declared-manifestly proved, to be the Son of God
with power; God having put forth his miraculous energy in
raising that body from the grave which had truly died, and
died a violent death, for Christ was put to death as a
malefactor, but by his resurrection his innocence was
demonstrated, as God could not work a miracle to raise a
wicked man from the dead. As Adam was created by God,
and because no natural generation could have any operation in
this case, therefore he was called the son of God, Luke
3:38, and could never have seen corruption if he
had not sinned, so the human nature of Jesus Christ, formed by
the energy of the eternal Spirit in the womb of the virgin,
without any human intervention, was for this very reason
called the Son of God, Luke
1:35; and because it had not sinned, therefore it
could not see corruption, nor was it even mortal, but
through a miraculous display of God's infinite love, for the
purpose of making a sacrificial atonement for the sin of the
world and God, having raised this sacrificed human nature from
the dead, declared that same Jesus (who was, as above stated,
the Son of God) to be his Son, the promised
Messiah; and as coming by the Virgin Mary, the right heir to
the throne of David, according to the uniform declaration of
all the prophets.
The words, This day have I begotten thee, must refer
either to his incarnation, when he was miraculously
conceived in the womb of the virgin by the power of the Holy
Spirit; or to his resurrection from the dead, when God,
by this sovereign display of his almighty energy, declared him
to be his Son, vindicated his innocence, and also the purity
and innocence of the blessed virgin, who was the mother of
this son, and who declared him to be produced in her womb by
the power of God. The resurrection of Christ,
therefore, to which the words most properly refer, not only
gave the fullest proof that he was an innocent and
righteous man, but also that he had accomplished the
purpose for which he died, and that his conception was
miraculous, and his mother a pure and unspotted virgin.
This is a subject of infinite importance to the Christian
system, and of the last consequence in reference to the
conviction and conversion of the Jews, for whose use this
epistle was sent by God. Here is the rock on which they split;
they deny this Divine Sonship of Jesus Christ,
and their blasphemies against him and his virgin
mother are too shocking to be transcribed. The
certainty of the resurrection of Jesus refutes
their every calumny; proves his miraculous conception;
vindicates the blessed virgin; and, in a word, declares him
to be the Son of God with power.
This most important use of this saying has passed unnoticed
by almost every Christian writer which I have seen; and yet it
lies here at the foundation of all the apostle's proofs. If
Jesus was not thus the Son of God, the whole Christian system
is vain and baseless: but his resurrection demonstrates
him to have been the Son of God; therefore every thing built
on this foundation is more durable than the foundations of
heaven, and as inexpungable as the throne of the eternal King.
He shall be to me a
Son?
As the Jews have ever blasphemed
against the Sonship of Christ, it was necessary that
the apostle should adduce and make strong all his proofs, and
show that this was not a new revelation; that it was that
which was chiefly intended in several scriptures of the Old
Testament, which, without farther mentioning the places where
found, he immediately produces. This place, which is quoted
from 2 Samuel
7:14, shows us that the seed which God promised to
David, and who was to sit upon his throne, and
whose throne should be established for ever, was not
Solomon, but Jesus Christ; and indeed he quotes the words so
as to intimate that they were so understood by the Jews. See
among the observations at the end of the chapter.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 6. And again, when he bringeth
in the firstbegotten
Let all the angels of God worship
him.
The apostle recurs here to his former
assertion, that Jesus is higher than the angels, Hebrews
1:4, that he is none of those who can be called ordinary
angels or messengers, but one of the most extraordinary kind,
and the object of worship to all the angels of God. To worship
any creature is idolatry, and God resents idolatry more
than any other evil. Jesus Christ can be no creature, else the
angels who worship him must be guilty of idolatry, and God the
author of that idolatry, who commanded those angels to worship
Christ.
There has been some difficulty in ascertaining the place
from which the apostle quotes these words; some suppose Psalms
97:7: Worship him, all ye gods; which the
Septuagint translate thus: Worship him, all ye his angels; but it is not
clear that the Messiah is intended in this psalm, nor are the
words precisely those used here by the apostle. Our marginal
references send us with great propriety to the
Septuagint version of Deuteronomy
32:43, where the passage is found verbatim et
literatim; but there is nothing answering to the words in
the present Hebrew text. The apostle undoubtedly quoted the
Septuagint, which had then been for more than 300 years
a version of the highest repute among the Jews; and it is very
probable that the copy from which the Seventy translated had
the corresponding words. However this may be, they are now
sanctioned by Divine authority; and as the verse contains some
singular additions, I will set it down in a parallel
column with that of our own version, which was taken
immediately from the Hebrew text, premising simply this, that
it is the last verse of the famous prophetic song of Moses,
which seems to point out the advent of the
Messiah to discomfit his enemies, purify the land, and
redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
De 32:43, from the Hebrew. | De 32:43, from the Septuagint.
|............ | Rejoice, ye heaven, together
with............ | him; and let all the angels of
God...Rejoice, O ye nations, with | worship
him. Rejoice, ye his people;........ | Gentiles, with his
people; and let............ | the children of God be
strengthened.....for he will avenge. | in him; for
he will avenge the the blood of his servants;... | blood of
his children; he will avenge,... and will render vengeance |
and will repay judgment to his vengeance to his adversaries:..
| adversaries; and those who hate him. and..will be
merciful to his | will he recompense: and the
Lord.... land and to his people. | will purge the land of
his people.
This is a very important verse; and to it, as it stands in
the Septuagint, St. Paul has referred once before; see Romans
15:10. This very verse, as it stands now in the
Septuagint, thus referred to by an inspired writer, shows the
great importance of this ancient version; and proves the
necessity of its being studied and well understood by every
minister of Christ. In Rom. 3: there is a large quotation-from
Psalm 14:, where there are six whole verses in the apostle's
quotation which are not found in the present Hebrew text, but
are preserved in the Septuagint! How strange it is that this
venerable and important version, so often quoted by our Lord
and all his apostles, should be so generally neglected, and so
little known! That the common people should be ignorant of it,
is not to be wondered at, as it has never been put in an
English dress; but that the ministers of the Gospel should be
unacquainted with it may be spoken to their shame.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 7. Who maketh his angels
spirits
They are so far from being superior
to Christ, that they are not called God's sons in any
peculiar sense, but his servants, as
tempests and lightnings are. In many respects
they may have been made inferior even to man as he came
out of the hands of his Maker, for he was made in the
image and likeness of God; but of the
angels, even the highest order of them, this is never spoken.
It is very likely that the apostle refers here to the opinions
of the Jews relative to the angels. In Pirkey R.
Elieser, c. 4, it is said: "The angels which were created
the second day, when they minister before God, become
fire." In Shemoth Rabba, s. 25, fol. 123, it is
said: "God is named the Lord of hosts, because with his
angels he doth whatsoever he wills: when he pleases, he makes
them sit down; Judges
6:11: And the angel of the Lord came, and sat under a
tree. When he pleases, he causes them to stand; Isaiah
6:2: The seraphim stood. Sometimes he makes them
like women; Zechariah
5:9: Behold there came two women, and the wind was in
their wings. Sometimes he makes them like men; Genesis
18:2: And, lo, three men stood by him. Sometimes he
makes them spirits; Psalms
104:4: Who maketh his angels spirits. Sometimes he
makes them fire; ibid. His ministers a flame of
fire."
In Yalcut Simeoni, par. 2, fol. 11, it is said: "The
angel answered Manoah, I know not in whose image I am made,
for God changeth us every hour: sometimes he makes us
fire, sometimes spirit, sometimes men,
and at other times angels." It is very probable that
those who are termed angels are not confined to any
specific form or shape, but assume various forms and
appearances according to the nature of the work on which they
are employed and the will of their sovereign employer. This
seems to have been the ancient Jewish doctrine on this
subject.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 8. Thy throne, O God, is
for ever and ever
If this be said of the
Son of God, i.e. Jesus Christ, then Jesus Christ must be God;
and indeed the design of the apostle is to prove this. The
words here quoted are taken from Psalms
45:6,7, which the ancient Chaldee paraphrast, and the most
intelligent rabbins, refer to the Messiah. On the third verse
of this Psalm, Thou art fairer than the children of
men, the Targum says: "Thy beauty, malca
Meshicha, O King Messiah, is greater than the children of
men." Aben Ezra says: "This Psalm speaks of David, or
rather of his son, the Messiah, for this is his name,"
Ezekiel
34:24: And David my servant shall be a Prince over them
for ever. Other rabbins confirm this opinion.
This verse is very properly considered a proof, and indeed
a strong one, of the Divinity of Christ; but some late
versions of the New Testament have endeavoured to avoid the
evidence of this proof by translating the words thus: God
is thy throne for ever and ever; and if this
version be correct, it is certain the text can be no proof of
the doctrine. Mr. Wakefield vindicates this translation at
large in his History of Opinions; and being the
nominative case, is supposed to be a sufficient
justification of this version. In answer to this it may be
stated that the nominative case is often used for the
vocative, particularly by the Attics; and the whole
scope of the place requires it should be so used here; and,
with due deference to all of a contrary opinion, the original
Hebrew cannot be consistently translated any other way,
kisaca Elohim olam vaed, Thy throne, O God,
is for ever, and to eternity. It is in both worlds; and
extends over all time; and will exist through all endless
duration. To this our Lord seems to refer, Matthew
28:18: All power is given unto me, both in HEAVEN
and EARTH. My throne, i.e. my dominion,
extends from the creation to the consummation of all things.
These I have made, and these I uphold; and from the end of the
world, throughout eternity, I shall have the same
glory-sovereign, unlimited power and authority, which I had
with the Father before the world began; John
17:5. I may add that none of the ancient versions has
understood it in the way contended for by those who deny the
Godhead of Christ, either in the Psalm from which it is taken,
or in this place where it is quoted. Aquila translates
Elohim, by θεε, O God, in the vocative case; and
the Arabic adds the sign of the vocative [Arabic] ya,
reading the place thus: [Arabic] korsee yallaho ila
abadilabada, the same as in our version. And even allowing
that here is to be used as the nominative case,
it will not make the sense contended for, without adding
to it, a reading which is not countenanced by any
version, nor by any MS. yet discovered. Wiclif,
Coverdale, and others, understood it as the nominative, and
translated it so; and yet it is evident that this nominative
has the power of the vocative: forsothe to the sone God
thi troone into the world of world: a gerde of equite
the gerde of thi reume. I give this, pointing and
all, as it stands in my old MS. Bible. Wiclif is nearly
the same, but is evidently of a more modern cast: but to
the sone he seith, God thy trone is into the world of
world, a gherd of equyte is the gherd of thi rewme.
Coverdale translates it thus: But unto the sonne he
sayeth, God, thi seate endureth for ever and ever: the
cepter of thi kyngdome is a right cepter.
Tindal and others follow in the same way, all reading
it in the nominative case, with the force of the
vocative; for none of them has inserted the word
is, because not authorized by the original: a word
which the opposers of the Divinity of our Lord are obliged to
beg, in order to support their interpretation. See some
farther criticisms on this at the end of this chapter.
A sceptre of
righteousness
The sceptre, which was a sort
of staff or instrument of various forms, was the ensign of
government, and is here used for government itself. This the
ancient Jewish writers understand also of the Messiah.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 9. Thou hast loved
righteousness
This is the characteristic of
a just governor: he abhors and suppresses iniquity; he
countenances and supports righteousness and truth.
Therefore God, even thy
God
With the oil of
gladness
We have often had occasion to
remark that, anciently, kings, priests, and
prophets were consecrated to their several offices by
anointing; and that this signified the gifts and influences of
the Divine Spirit. Christ signifies The Anointed
One, the same as the Hebrew Messias; and he is here said
to be anointed with the oil of gladness above his
fellows. None was ever constituted prophet,
priest, and king, but himself; some were kings
only, prophets only, and priests only; others were kings and
priests, or priests and prophets, or kings and prophets; but
none had ever the three offices in his own person but
Jesus Christ, and none but himself can be a King over the
universe, a Prophet to all intelligent beings, and a Priest to
the whole human race. Thus he is infinitely exalted beyond
his fellows-all that had ever borne the regal,
prophetic, or sacerdotal offices.
Some think that the word fellows, refers
to believers who are made partakers of the same Spirit,
but cannot have its infinite plenitude. The first sense seems
the best. Gladness is used to express the
festivities which took place on the inauguration of
kings,
Verse 10. And, Thou,
Lord
This is an address to the Son
as the Creator, see Hebrews
1:2; for this is implied in laying the foundation
of the earth. The heavens, which are the work of his hands,
point out his infinite wisdom and skill.
Verse 11. They shall
perish
Permanently fixed as they seem to
be, a time shall come when they shall be dissolved, and
afterward new heavens and a new earth be formed,
in which righteousness alone shall dwell. See 2 Peter
3:10-13.
Shall wax old as doth a
garment
As a garment by long using becomes
unfit to be longer used, so shall all visible things; they
shall wear old, and wear out; and hence the
necessity of their being renewed. It is remarkable that
our word world is a contraction of wear old; a
term by which our ancestors expressed the sentiment contained
in this verse. That the word was thus compounded, and that it
had this sense in our language, may be proved from the most
competent and indisputable witnesses. It was formerly written
{Anglo-Saxon} weorold, and {Anglo-Saxon} wereld.
This etymology is finely alluded to by our excellent
poet, Spencer, when describing the primitive age of
innocence, succeeded by the age of depravity:-
"The lion there did with the lambe consort, And eke the
dove sat by the faulcon's side; Ne each of other feared fraude
or tort, But did in safe security abide, Withouten perill of
the stronger pride: But when the WORLD woxe old, it
woxe warre old, Whereof it hight, and having
shortly tride The trains of wit, in wickednesse woxe
bold, And dared of all sinnes, the secrets to unfold."
Even the heathen poets are full of such allusions. See
Horace, Carm. lib. iii., od. 6; Virgil, AEn.
viii., ver. 324.
Thou remainest
• CLARKE Top
Verse 12. And they shall be
changed
Not destroyed ultimately, or
annihilated. They shall be changed and
renewed.
But thou art the
same
These words can be said of no being
but God; all others are changeable or
perishable, because temporal; only that which is
eternal can continue essentially, and, speaking
after the manner of men, formally the same.
Thy years shall not
fail.
There is in the Divine duration no
circle to be run, no space to be measured, no time to be
reckoned.
All is eternity-infinite and onward.
Verse 13. But to which of the
angels
We have already seen, from the
opinions and concessions of the Jews, that, if Jesus Christ
could be proved to be greater than the angels, it would
necessarily follow that he was God: and this the apostle does
most amply prove by these various quotations from their own
Scriptures; for he shows that while he is the supreme and
absolute Sovereign, they are no more than his
messengers and servants, and servants
even to his servants, i.e. to mankind.
• CLARKE Top
Verse 14. Are they not all
ministering spirits
That is, They
are all ministering spirits; for the Hebrews often
express the strongest affirmative by an interrogation.
All the angels, even those of the highest order, are
employed by their Creator to serve those who believe in Christ
Jesus. What these services are, and how performed, it would be
impossible to state. Much has been written on the subject,
partly founded on Scripture, and partly on conjecture. They
are, no doubt, constantly employed in averting evil and
procuring good. If God help man by man,
we need not wonder that he helps man by angels. We know
that he needs none of those helps, for he can do all things
himself; yet it seems agreeable to his infinite wisdom and
goodness to use them. This is part of the economy of God in
the government of the world and of the Church; and a part, no
doubt, essential to the harmony and perfection of the whole.
The reader may see a very sensible discourse on this text in
vol. ii., page 133, of the Rev. John Wesley's works, American
edition. Dr. Owen treats the subject at large in his comment
on this verse, vol. iii., page 141, edit. 8vo., which is just
now brought to my hand, and which appears to be a very
learned, judicious, and important work, but by far too
diffuse. In it the words of God are drowned in the sayings of
man.
THE Godhead of Christ is a subject of such great
importance, both to the faith and hope of a Christian, that I
feel it necessary to bring it full into view, wherever it is
referred to in the sacred writings. It is a prominent article
in the apostle's creed, and should be so in ours. That this
doctrine cannot be established on Hebrews
1:8has been the assertion of many. To what I have already
said on this verse, I beg leave to subjoin the following
criticisms of a learned friend, who has made this subject his
particular study.
• CLARKE Top
It hath ever been the opinion of the most sound divines,
that these words, which are extracted from the 45th Psalm, are
addressed by God the Father unto God the Son. Our translators
have accordingly rendered the passage thus: "Thy throne, O
God, is for ever." Those who deny the Divinity of Christ,
being eager to get rid of such a testimony against themselves,
contend that is here the nominative, and that the
meaning is: "God is thy throne for ever." Now it is somewhat
strange, that none of them have had critical acumen enough to
discover that the words cannot possibly admit of this
signification. It is a rule in the Greek language, that when a
substantive noun is the subject of a sentence, and something
is predicated of it, the article, if used at all, is prefixed
to the subject, but omitted before the predicate. The Greek
translators of the Old, and the authors of the New Testament,
write agreeably to this rule. I shall first give some examples
from the latter:-
If we examine the Septuagint version of the Psalms, we
shall find, that in such instances the author sometimes places
the article before the subject, but that his usual mode is to
omit it altogether. A few examples will suffice:-
The preceding remarks are original, and will be duly
respected by every scholar.
Now, it does not appear that
this had been previously the doctrine of Arius, but that it
was the consequence which he logically drew from the
doctrine laid down by the bishop; and, although Socrates does
not tell us what the bishop stated, yet, from the
conclusions drawn, we may at once see what the
premises were; and these must have been some incautious
assertions concerning the Sonship of the Divine
nature of Christ: and I have shown elsewhere that these
are fair deductions from such premises. "But is not God called
Father; and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? "Most certainly.
That God graciously assumes the name of Father, and
acts in that character towards mankind, the whole Scripture
proves; and that the title is given to him as signifying
Author, Cause, Fountain, and Creator, is also
sufficiently manifest from the same Scriptures. In this sense
he is said to be the Father of the rain, Job
38:28; and hence also it is said, He is the Father of
spirits, Hebrews
12:9; and he is the Father of men because he created them;
and Adam, the first man, is particularly called his
son, Luke
3:38. But he is the Father of the human nature of
our blessed Lord in a peculiar sense, because by his energy
this was produced in the womb of the virgin. Luke
1:35, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the
power of the Highest shall overshadow thee;
THEREFORE also that HOLY THING WHICH SHALL BE BORN OF THEE
shall be called THE SON OF GOD. It is in consequence of
this that our blessed Lord is so frequently termed the Son
of God, and that God is called his Father.
But I know not any scripture, fairly interpreted, that states
the Divine nature of our Lord to be
begotten of God, or to be the Son of God. Nor
can I see it possible that he could be begotten of the
Father, in this sense, and be eternal; and if
not eternal, he is not God. But numberless scriptures
give him every attribute of Godhead; his own works demonstrate
it; and the whole scheme of salvation requires this. I hope I
may say that I have demonstrated his supreme, absolute, and
unoriginated Godhead, both in my note on Colossians
1:16,17, and in my Discourse on Salvation by Faith.
And having seen that the doctrine of the eternal
Sonship produced Arianism, and Arianism produced
Socinianism, and Socinianism produces a kind of general
infidelity, or disrespect to the sacred writings, so that
several parts of them are rejected as being uncanonical, and
the inspirations of a major part of the New Testament strongly
suspected; I find it necessary to be doubly on my watch to
avoid every thing that may, even in the remotest way, tend to
so deplorable a catastrophe.
It may be said: "Is not God called the eternal
Father? And if so, there can be no eternal Father if there
be no eternal Son." I answer: God is not called in any part of
Scripture, as far as I can recollect, either the
eternal or everlasting Father in reference to
our blessed Lord, nor indeed in reference to any thing else;
but this very title, strange to tell, is given to Jesus Christ
himself: His name shall be called the EVERLASTING
FATHER, Isaiah
9:6; and we may on this account, with more propriety, look
for an eternal filiation proceeding from him,
than from any other person of the most holy Trinity.
Should it be asked: "Was there no trinity of persons
in the Godhead before the incarnation!" I answer: That a
trinity of persons appears to me to belong
essentially to the eternal Godhead, neither of which
was before, after, or produced from another; and
of this the Old Testament is full: but the distinction was not
fully evident till the incarnation; and particularly till the
baptism in Jordan, when on him, in whom dwelt all the
fulness of the Godhead, the Holy Ghost descended in a
bodily shape, like a dove; and a voice from
heaven proclaimed that baptized person God's
beloved Son: in which transaction there were three
persons occupying distinct places; as the
person of Christ in the water, the
Holy Spirit in a bodily shape, and the
voice from heaven, sufficiently prove; and to
each of these persons various scriptures give all the
essential attributes of God.
On the doctrine of the eternal Sonship of the Divine
nature of Christ I once had the privilege of conversing with
the late reverend John Wesley, about three years before his
death; he read from a book in which I had written it, the
argument against this doctrine, which now stands in the note
on "Lu 1:35". He did not attempt to reply to it; but
allowed that, on the ground on which I had taken it,
the argument was conclusive. I observed, that the proper,
essential Divinity of Jesus Christ appeared to me to be so
absolutely necessary to the whole Christian scheme, and to the
faith both of penitent sinners and saints, that it was of the
utmost importance to set it in the clearest and strongest
point of view; and that, with my present light, I could not
credit it, if I must receive the common doctrine of the
Sonship of the Divine nature of our Lord. He
mentioned two eminent divines who were of the same opinion;
and added, that the eternal Sonship of Christ bad been a
doctrine very generally received in the Christian Church; and
he believed no one had ever expressed it better than his
brother Samuel had done in the following lines:-
"From whom, in one eternal now, The SON, thy
offspring, flow'd; An everlasting Father thou, An
everlasting God."
He added not one word more on the subject, nor ever after
mentioned it to me, though after that we had many
interviews. But it is necessary to mention his own note on the
text, that has given rise to these observations; which shows
that he held the doctrine as commonly received, when he wrote
that note; it is as follows:-
"Thou art my Son
God of God, Light of Light. This day have I
begotten Thee-I have begotten Thee from eternity,
which, by its unalterable permanency of duration, is one
continued unsuccessive day." Leaving the point in dispute out
of the question, this is most beautifully expressed; and I
know not that this great man ever altered his views on this
subject, though I am certain that he never professed the
opinion as many who quote his authority do; nor would he at
any time have defended what he did hold in their
way. I beg leave to quote a fact. In 1781, he published
in the fourth volume of the Arminian Magazine, p. 384, an
article, entitled "An Arian Antidote;" in this are the
following words: "Greater or lesser in infinity, is not;
inferior Godhead shocks our sense; Jesus was inferior to the
Father as touching his manhood, John
14:28; he was a son given, and slain intentionally from
the foundation of the world, Revelation
13:8, and the first-born from the dead of every creature,
Colossians
1:15,18. But, our Redeemer, from everlasting 63:16)
had not the inferior name of Son; in the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God from eternity, and the
Word, made flesh, was God," eternal Sonship of the
Divine nature. But why did Mr. W. insert this? and if
by haste, in the 13th vol. of the Magazine, eight tables of
errata to the eight first volumes of that work? Now, although
he had carefully noticed the slightest errors that might
affect the sense in those preceding volumes, yet no fault is
found with the reasoning in the Arian Antidote,
and the sentence, "But, our Redeemer, from everlasting, had
not the inferior name of Son," without the slightest notice!
However necessary this view of the subject may appear to me, I
do not presume to say that others, in order to be saved, must
view it in the same light: I leave both opinions to the
judgment of the reader; for on such a point it is necessary
that every man should be clear in his own mind, and satisfied
in his own conscience. Any opinion of mine my readers are at
perfect liberty to receive or reject. I never claimed
infallibility; I say, with St. Augustine, Errare
possum; haereticus esse nolo. Refined Arians, with
some of whom I am personally acquainted, are quite willing to
receive all that can be said of the dignity and glory of
Christ's nature, provided we admit the doctrine of the eternal
Sonship, and omit the word unoriginated, which I have
used in my demonstration of the Godhead of the Saviour of men;
but, as far as it respects myself, I can neither admit
the one, nor omit the other. The proper essential
Godhead of Christ lies deep at the foundation of my Christian
creed; and I must sacrifice ten thousand forms of
speech rather than sacrifice the thing. My opinion
has not been formed on slight examination.
• CLARKE Top
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Copyright Statement
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Bibliography
Information
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary
on Hebrews 1". "The Adam Clarke Commentary".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=heb&chapter=001>.
1832.
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