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1:1
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past
unto the fathers by the
prophets, 1:2 Hath in these last days spoken
unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom
also he made the worlds; 1:3 Who being the brightness of his 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: 1:4 Being made so much better
than the angels, as he hath by
inheritance obtained a more excellent
name than they.
1:5 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? 1:6 And again, when he bringeth in the
firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God
worship him.
1:7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his
ministers a flame of fire.
1:8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and
ever: a sceptre of
righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
1:9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God,
even thy God, hath
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy
fellows.
1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the
earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 1:11 They shall
perish; but thou
remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a
garment; 1:12 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.
1:13 But to which of the
angels said he at any time, Sit on my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 1:14 Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be
heirs of
salvation?
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
back to:
Hebrews
Book: Hebrews
Chapter: 1
Overview:
The surpassing dignity of the
Son of God in his Divine person,
and in his creating and mediatorial work.
(1-3) And in his
superiority to all the holy angels.
(4-14)
1-3 God spake to his ancient people at sundry times, through
successive generations, and in divers manners, as he thought
proper; sometimes
By personal directions, sometimes
By dreams,
sometimes
By visions, sometimes
By Divine influences
On the
minds of the prophets. The
Gospel Revelation is excellent above
the former; in that it is a
Revelation which
God has made
By his
Son. In beholding the power,
Wisdom, and
Goodness of the
Lord
Jesus Christ, we behold the power,
Wisdom, and
Goodness of the
Father, Joh 14:7; the
Fulness of the
Godhead dwells, not
typically, or in a figure, but really, in him. When,
On the fall
of
Man, the world was breaking to
Pieces under the wrath and
Curse of
God, the
Son of God, undertaking the work of
Redemption, sustained it
By his almighty power and
Goodness.
From the
Glory of the person and office of
Christ, we proceed to
the
Glory of his
Grace. The
Glory of His person and nature, gave
to his sufferings such merit as was a full satisfaction to the
honour of
God, who suffered an infinite injury and affront
By
the sins of men. We never can be thankful enough that
God has in
So many ways, and with such increasing clearness, spoken to us
fallen sinners concerning
Salvation. That he should
By himself
cleanse us from our sins is a wonder of
Love Beyond our utmost
powers of admiration, gratitude, and praise.
4-14 Many Jews had a superstitious or idolatrous respect for
angels, because they had received the
Law and other tidings of
the Divine will
By their ministry. They looked upon them as
mediators between
God and men, and some went
So far as to pay
them a kind of religious homage or
Worship. Thus it was
necessary that the
Apostle should insist, not only
On Christ's
being the Creator of all things, and therefore of angels
themselves, but as being the risen and exalted
Messiah in human
nature, to whom angels, authorities, and powers are made
subject. To prove this, several passages are brought from the
Old
Testament.
On comparing what
God there says of the angels,
with what he says to
Christ, the inferiority of the angels to
Christ plainly appears. Here is the office of the angels; they
are
God's ministers or servants, to do his pleasure. But, how
much greater things are said of
Christ By the
Father! And let us
own and honour him as
God; for if he had not been
God, he had
never done the
Mediator's work, and had never worn the
Mediator's
Crown. It is declared how
Christ was qualified for
the office of
Mediator, and how he was confirmed in it: he has
the name
Messiah from his being anointed. Only as
Man he has his
fellows, and as anointed with the Holy
Spirit; but he is above
all prophets, priests, and
Kings, that ever were employed in the
service of
God On Earth. Another
Passage of
Scripture, Ps
102:25-27, is recited, in which the Almighty power of the
Lord
Jesus Christ is declared, both in creating the world and in
changing it.
Christ will
Fold up this world as a garment, not to
be abused any longer, not to be used as it has been. As a
sovereign, when his garments of state are folded and
Put away,
is a sovereign still,
So our
Lord, when he has laid aside the
Earth and heavens like a vesture, shall be still the same. 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. Let the thoughts of this make us
watchful, diligent, and desirous of that better world. The
Saviour has done much to make all men his friends, yet he has
enemies. But they shall be made his
Footstool,
By humble
submission, or
By utter
Destruction.
Christ shall go
On
conquering and to conquer. The most exalted angels are but
ministering spirits, mere servants of
Christ, to execute his
commands. The saints, at present, are heirs, not yet come into
possession. The angels
Minister to them in opposing the malice
and power of evil spirits, in protecting and keeping their
bodies, instructing and comforting their souls, under
Christ and
the
Holy Ghost. Angels shall gather all the saints together at
the last
Day, when all whose hearts and hopes are set upon
perishing treasures and fading glories, will be driven from
Christ's presence into
Everlasting misery.