An Exposition of Pauls Epistles, Letter 14 · Chapter 4
CHAP. IV.
Vers. 1. LEt us therefore fear, lest a Promise being left us of entring into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.
Insisting upon the exposition and application of the place cited out of Psal. 95. hee exhorts them to hasten their entrance into the Rest of God, by Faith in Christ: By the Rest of God, hee means that spiritual and heavenly Rest, wherein wee cease from sin, and enjoy tranquillity of conscience from peace towards God, and safely dwell under his shadow, the beginning whereof is in this life, and the perfection of it in the life to come: Wee enter into this rest more and more by faith, till at length wee obtain a full refreshment at the coming of our Lord. The Arguments of the Exhortation are Eleven.
Being left] Arg. 1. In the midst of the threatning, Psal. 95. vers. ult. There is a promise left to us beleevers of entring into Gods rest: Therefore you ought to make haste, that by faith yee may enter into that Rest.
Let us fear] Arg. 2. Unless you make haste in the race of your faith, to enter into the promised rest, there is danger, lest by your delay, you bee shut out, or bee found excluded: For a sloathful and idle faith is justly suspected: Therefore with fear (which whets on diligence) you ought to hasten, that you may enter into Rest.
Vers. 2. For unto us was the Gospel preached, as well as unto them; but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Argum. 3. Confirming both the former, seeing the same Evangelical promise upon the same condition is preached as well to us as them, and the word heard did not profit them, who received it not mixed with faith, but onelyonly those that imbraced it by faith: It will follow, that this promise of entring into rest; will neither profit us, unless by faith imbracing the promises, wee endeavour to enter into rest, and on the other side, it will follow, that the promise will advantage us, if wee bee careful to enter in by faith: Therefore wee must endeavour to enter in.
Vers. 3. For wee which have beleeved do enter into rest, as hee said, as I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest; although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day, on this wife, and God did rest the seventh day from all his works.
5. And in this place again, if they shall enter into my rest.
Arg. 4. Wee that beleeve in Christ, have an entrance into rest, opened to us by faith: Therefore let us hasten to persevere by faith, till wee obtain a full rest.
I have sworn] Arg. 5. Confirming the former, The Lord swearing in his wrath that unbeleevers shall bee shut out of his rest, on the contrary swears that beleevers shall bee admitted into his rest: Therefore beleeving Gods Oath, let us hasten more and more to enter into his rest.
The works] Hee explains the force of this Argument, vers. 10. three wayes; First, by shewing that Gods rest expressed in his Oath, Psal. 95.11. is not the rest of the seventh day, wherin God rested from the works of Creation, because those works being finished from the beginning of the world, vers. 3. the rest of the seventh day was celebrated, as it appears, Gen. 2. and so that rest of God is past, vers. 4. But in Psal. 95.11. David makes mention of another rest; Therefore here is not meant that first rest of God, celebrated upon the Sabbatism of the seventh day, vers. 5.
Vers. 6. Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached, entred not in because of unbeleef.
Secondly, Hee explains the Argument by declaring the consequence, which follows from this, that unbeleevers are excluded because of unbeleef, from entring into rest: It remains necessarily to bee gathered (saith hee) that some, i. e. the faithful, enter into it: For either beleevers or unbeleevers shall enter into the Kingdome of God: But unbeleevers shall not enter, but are excluded by the Oath of God: It remains that some, i. e. the faithful enter in.
Vers. 7. Again, hee limiteth a certain day, saying in David, to day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if yee will hear his voyce, harden not your hearts.
Thirdly, By shewing that the rest of God expressed in his Oath, Psal. 95.11. is not that typical rest in the Land of Canaan, which hee proves, because David, Psal. 95.7, 8. defines a certain day, To day, so long a time after the rest of the seventh day, and after the peoples entrance into the Land of Canaan, viz. the day of Gods patience, so long, viz. as wee hear the voyce of God, so long as wee are admonished not to harden our hearts, so long as God offers to men that hear his voice, entrance into his rest, unless through unbeleef they harden their hearts: Therefore by Gods rest, the Prophet David doth not understand the typical rest of the Land of Canaan.
Vers. 8. For if Iesus had given them rest, then would hee not afterward have spoken of another day.
9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Whereof hee gives a reason, because if Ioshua, or typical Jesus had settled the people in Gods rest, which David promises, then David in no wise would have spoken in the Psalm of another day afterwards, but vers. 8. hee speaks of it: Therefore some rest remains to the people of God, promised by David, besides that typical rest of the Land of Canaan.
Vers. 10. For hee that is entred into this rest, hee also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
11. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbeleef.
Arg. 6. Gods rest is the ceasing from our labour, as God rested from his works, or it is a ceasing from sin, troubles, vexing cares, and all our miseries: Therefore let us make haste to enter by faith into that rest, lest any of us with the rebellious Israelites bee excluded from Gods rest.
Vers. 12. For the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, peircing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joynts and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Arg. 7. Confirming the former, after this manner, The word of God which calls us to his rest, with threatning of wrath except wee obey, hath now no less efficacy to save beleevers, and to destroy the unbeleevers, than it had long ago; let us therefore make haste, by faith to enter into that rest, lest wee perish, as heretofore the unbeleever. There are three Epithites of the word: (1) It is quick, because it doth not lose its efficacy with the Prophets that are mortal, who preach it, but retains its perpetual force and vertue to all ages, Zach. 1.5, 6. (2) It is powerful, because it is the Power and Arm of God to effect whatever it saith, whether for consolation, or terror. (3) More peircing than any two-edged sword, because as a two-edged sword peirceth into the most inward, hidden, and hardest parts of the body, so the word of God, by the perfect manifestation of light, pierceth into the most intimate secrets of the heart, which are meant by the marrow in the bones, and into all the most inward faculties of the soul, that it may discover the plottings of the sensitive soul, and of the intellective, what it intends, and what it pretends, what every one lusts after, and by what means it endeavours the attainment of what it intends. The word of God (I say) passes through all the faculties of the humane soul, that it may manifest to every one, if there bee any hypocrisie, or if there bee any root of bitterness or unbeleef lying hid, and that it may propose to every one according to the Rule, not only what is within in the thought of his heart, but also with what intention he thinks and wills; so that they who inwardly think of Apostatizing, or indulge the seeds of Apostacy within them, they cannot avoid the force of the Divine Word, or decline its stroak by any Arts o… Sophistry.
Vers. 13. Neither is there any Creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom wee have to do.
Argum. 8. Confirming the former, God with whom wee have to deal, when wee have to do with his Word, sees all things, and what infidelity lurks within us under the vizor of an outward profession, because all things, even the inward secrets of the heart, are naked and open in his sight, as when a beast is so divided by the neck and marrow of the back, that all its bowels appear: Therefore ought wee to endeavour to ente… into his rest by sincere Faith; no… think yee to avoid the power of his threatnings if you do otherwise.
Vers. 14. Seeing then that wee have a great High Priest that is passed into the Heavens, Iesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our Profession.
Argum. 9. Wee have Jesus Christ the Son of God, the great High Priest, who hath now peirced the Heavens, and is entred into his Kingdome, that hee may open a passage unto us: Therefore holding fast the Profession of our Faith, let us endeavour to enter in.
Vers. 15. For we have not an High Priest which can not be touched with the feeling of our infirmities: but was in all points tempted like as wee are, yet without sin.
Argum. 10. By way of prevention of an Objection, Although the Majesty of Christ may strike us with amazement, that wee unworthy sinners aspire not to that heavenly rest, where his holiness dwells, yet our High Priest is merciful, and sometime felt those temptations in his flesh which wee feel, yet without sin: Therefore wee may boldly press unto him, and wee ought to endeavour to enter into that rest.
Vers. 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that wee may obtain mercy, and finde Grace to help in time of need.
Argum. 11. God doth not sit in the Throne of Justice upon our approaches to him in Christ, but in the Throne of Grace, that hee may communicate help to us in time of need, under all our necessities: Therefore wee ought to come with boldness to the Throne of Grace, that wee may rest under the wings of the Propitiatory, which is the same with entring into Gods Rest by Faith.