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00:11Let us pray.
00:14Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ,
00:17who for our sake gave yourself up into the service of your parents
00:22and to teach us true humility,
00:26carried by your mother into the temple
00:28and there redeemed with the offerings of the poor
00:31when the righteous Simeon and the prophetess Anna,
00:34gladdened by your presence,
00:36gave glorious witness concerning you.
00:40May the slightest breath of vanity never affect my innermost soul.
00:45May all arrogance be ever cast down.
00:47May all longing for the praise of men be extinguished.
00:51May all wantonness of self-conceit be quenched within me.
00:55Give me grace, O Lord, to flee any honour,
00:58to hate distinction,
01:00and to submit myself with readiness to all men for your sake.
01:05Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ,
01:08who as a little child did with your tender mother suffer persecution
01:13and did not refuse to be carried as an exile fleeing into Egypt.
01:19Give me grace amidst the storms of adversity
01:22and the blasts of persecution and misfortune
01:25to fly for refuge to you alone,
01:28to seek you, to call upon you.
01:32Grant that I may receive all things with gladness at your hands,
01:36may endure all things in meekness of heart,
01:39and may cleave with thanksgiving without wavering to you.
01:44Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ,
01:47who, when you remained behind in the temple,
01:51your mother sought for sorrowing,
01:53and at length with joy found you sitting in the midst of the doctors,
01:57hearing and asking them questions.
02:00May you so give and communicate yourself to me
02:03that I may never be separated from you
02:06and never be without the comfort of your blessed friendship.
02:10Drive sloth from my heart,
02:13dispel any dullness that is displeasing in your sight.
02:18Grant me perfect devotion
02:19and such an ardent thirst after piety
02:22that my soul may be so affected and possessed by it
02:26as never to feel satisfied with worshipping you.
02:31Praise, honour and glory be to you,
02:33who gave yourself up to live in concealment for thirty years,
02:38to be reputed by the Jews the son of Joseph the carpenter,
02:42and be subject to the commands of your mother and the same Joseph.
02:47May your grace, I beg you,
02:50root out and thoroughly pluck up
02:52from the innermost recesses of my heart
02:55any ambition and seeking of glory,
02:58that I may become belittled in my own eyes
03:01and may love to be unknown and considered of no account,
03:06submitting myself to all
03:07and obeying them for your honour.
03:11Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ,
03:14who did not refuse to come to the River Jordan
03:17and be baptised there by your servant John.
03:22May you thoroughly cleanse me by your merits in this life,
03:27that freed from all vices and sins,
03:29I may be filled with the love of you
03:32and long for my heavenly country.
03:35Make me, I beg you,
03:38before my soul quits this body,
03:40pleasing to you in all things,
03:42that, departing from this life,
03:44I may be for ever in heaven with you,
03:48to see you,
03:49to enjoy you,
03:50and to praise your holy name for ever and ever.
03:54Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ,
03:57who for our sake dwelt in the wilderness
04:00amongst the wild beasts,
04:02and fasted and watched in prayer
04:05for forty days and forty nights,
04:07permitting yourself to be tempted by the devil,
04:10whom you overcame
04:11when angels came and ministered to you.
04:15Grant me grace
04:16to discipline, overcome,
04:18and bring into subjection
04:19my sinful flesh
04:20with its evil affections.
04:25Give me grace to be instant in prayer
04:27and all other spiritual exercises,
04:31and grant that with your continual help
04:33I may completely overcome
04:35sins of gluttony
04:36and may escape the snares and schemes
04:40of the devil.
04:42Let no temptations, I beg you,
04:44defile me,
04:45nor separate me from you,
04:47but may they rather purify me
04:50and unite and join me with you.
04:54Praise, honour and glory be to you, O Christ,
04:57who gave himself up
04:59to preach repentance,
05:01to call to you disciples,
05:03and from them choose the twelve apostles
05:05to be the special heralds of the faith,
05:08gathering together the children of God
05:10that were scattered abroad.
05:12Draw me after you
05:14and powerfully excite
05:16my heart to love you.
05:19Do not permit me to neglect the grace
05:21with which you called me,
05:23but make me ready to despise the world
05:25and all perishable things,
05:27following you,
05:28taking your humility and charity
05:30as my example.
05:32Give me grace
05:33grace to look for you alone
05:35and with earnest longing
05:37to sigh continually
05:38after you.
05:40Amen.
05:45O Lord, open our lips
05:46and our mouths shall sing your praise.
05:57O be joyful in the Lord,
06:01holy land,
06:03serve the Lord with gladness
06:07and come in wise prayers
06:11and thrillers home.
06:40CHOIR SINGS
06:58CHOIR SINGS
07:15Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost,
07:26as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
07:43Amen.
07:56Amen.
07:57Amen.
07:59Amen.
08:01Amen.
08:13Amen.
08:20Amen.
08:28Amen.
08:31Amen.
08:43Amen.
08:43Amen.
08:51Amen.
09:02Amen.
09:05Amen.
09:11Amen.
09:24Amen.
09:25Amen.
09:30Amen.
09:40Amen.
09:44Amen.
09:47Amen.
09:57Amen.
10:01Amen.
10:01Amen.
10:15Amen.
10:21Amen.
10:23Amen.
10:30Amen.
10:33O, even thereafter, as a man fear, so is thine his pleasure.
10:42So teach us to know our ways, that we may apply our hearts unto his hope.
10:55Turn thee again, O Lord, at the last, and be gracious unto thy servants.
11:05O, satisfy us with thy mercy and thy soul. Soldier, we'll rejoice and be glad all the days of our
11:17life.
11:18Come for us again now, after the time that does bring us, and for the years where we will stop
11:31the adversity.
11:32Show thy servants, my God, and thy children, my Lord.
11:43Let the glorious majesty of the Lord our God be oppressed.
11:50For us, cross the love of birth of our hands upon us. O, cross the love of our hands upon
12:01us.
12:05O, cross the love of our hands upon us.
12:15As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
12:43O, cross the love of our hands upon us.
12:50O, cross the love of our hands upon us.
12:56I will sail to the Lord, thou art my love and my strong love, my God will live me at
13:10last.
13:11O ye shall be a miracle in from the snare of the mountain, and from the noisome pestilence.
13:24Ye shall defend thee under his wings, and thou shalt be saved under his brows.
13:34Ye shall be thy shield, thou shalt not be afraid for any terror thy night, nor for the iron that
13:52lieth my ill,
13:53nor for the pestilence that bore them in darkness, nor for the sickness that is royal in thundering.
14:07One thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand that thy night and party shall not defy thee.
14:18Lay with thine eyes, shalt thou be wrong, and will see thou in all of the ungodly.
14:29For thou, thou art my love, thou hast sent thy rounds of defense very high.
14:40There shall no evil hand unto thee, neither shall any way come by thy friend.
14:52O ye shall give his angels joy unto thee, to keep him all thy ways.
15:07They shall bear thee in their hands, but thou art not thy foot against a stone.
15:17Thou shalt go upon the lion in heaven, for thou art not the dragon shall not dwell under thy feet.
15:33For thou art not the dragon shall not dwell under thy feet.
15:34Because he hath set his love upon thee, therefore will I deliver thee.
15:42I have set him up, because he hath known thy way.
15:49He shall call upon thee, and I will hear thee.
15:56May I deliver thee, and bring thee to the Lord.
16:00May I deliver thee, and bring thee to the Lord.
16:07With long life will I satisfy thee, and show thee my salvation.
16:20Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost
16:31As it was in the beginning, it now and ever shall be
16:39All without end. Amen.
17:15Amen.
17:46Amen.
18:19Amen.
18:50Amen.
19:18Amen.
19:47Amen.
20:11Amen.
20:51Amen.
21:09Amen.
21:12The Epistle to the Hebrews Chapter 7
21:18Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was
21:25returning from defeating the kings, and blessed him.
21:29To him also Abraham apportioned a tithe of everything.
21:35His name first means King of Righteousness
21:37then King of Salem, that is, King of Peace
21:41Without father, without mother, without genealogy
21:45he is neither beginning of days nor end of life
21:49but is like the Son of God
21:51remaining a priest for all time
21:55But see how great he must be
21:57if Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of his plunder
22:03Those of the sons of Levi who received the priestly office
22:06have authorisation according to the law
22:09to collect a tithe from the people
22:10that is, from their fellow countrymen
22:13although they too are descendants of Abraham
22:18But Melchizedek, who does not share their ancestry
22:21collected a tithe from Abraham
22:23are blessed the one who possessed the promise
22:27Now, without dispute, the inferior is blessed by the superior
22:32and in one case tithes are received by mortal men
22:35while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive
22:40And it could be said that Levi himself
22:43who received tithes paid a tithe through Abraham
22:47for he was still in his ancestors Abraham's loins
22:53when Melchizedek met him
22:56And so if perfection had in fact been possible
22:59through the Levitical priesthood
23:01for on that basis the people received the law
23:04what further need would there have been
23:06for another priest to arise
23:07said to be in the order of Melchizedek
23:10and not in Aaron's order
23:13For when the priesthood changes
23:15a change in the law must come as well
23:19Yet the one these things are spoken of
23:22belongs to a different tribe
23:23and no one from that tribe
23:25has ever officiated at the altar
23:29For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah
23:32and yet Moses said nothing
23:34about priests in connection with that tribe
23:37And this is even clearer
23:39if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek
23:43who has become a priest
23:44not by legal regulation
23:46but physical descent
23:48but by the power of an indestructible life
23:52For here is the testimony about him
23:55You are a priest
23:56for ever
23:58in the order of Melchizedek
24:01So on the one hand
24:02a former command is set aside
24:04because it is weak and useless
24:06for the law made nothing perfect
24:09On the other
24:09a better hope is introduced
24:11through which we draw near to God
24:15And since this was not done
24:16without a sworn affirmation
24:18for the others have become priests
24:20without a sworn affirmation
24:22But Jesus did so
24:24with a sworn affirmation
24:26by the one who said to him
24:27The Lord has sworn
24:28and will not change his mind
24:30You are a priest forever
24:33And accordingly
24:34Jesus became the guarantee
24:37of a better covenant
24:38And the others who become priests
24:41were numerous
24:42because death prevented them
24:44from continuing in office
24:46But he holds his priesthood
24:49permanently
24:49as he lives forever
24:53So he is able to save completely
24:55those who come to God
24:56through him
24:57because he always lives
24:59to intercede for them
25:02It is indeed fitting
25:04for us to have such a high priest
25:05holy
25:06innocent
25:07undefiled
25:08separate from sinners
25:09and exalted above the heavens
25:12He has no need to do
25:14every day what those priests do
25:15to offer sacrifices
25:17first for their own sin
25:18and then for the sins
25:20of the people
25:20since he did this
25:22in offering himself
25:23once for all
25:25For the law appoints
25:27as high priests
25:28men subject to weakness
25:29But the word of solemn affirmation
25:32that came after the law
25:33appoints a son
25:35made perfect for ever
25:38This is the word of the Lord
25:41Thanks be to God
25:51The words in today's epistle
25:53are remarkable
25:55because they imply
25:56that in the heart of Judaism
25:58they lurked a yearning
26:00for another
26:00and different kind of priesthood
26:02from that of Aaron's order
26:06It may be compared
26:07to the strange intrusion
26:09from time to time
26:10of other gods
26:10than the deities
26:12of Olympus
26:13into the religion
26:14of the Greeks
26:15either by the introduction
26:16of a new deity
26:17or by a return
26:19to a condition
26:20of things
26:20that existed
26:21before the young gods
26:23of the court of Zeus
26:24began to hold sway
26:28But to add to the mysterious
26:29character of the psalm
26:31it gives utterance
26:31to a desire
26:32for another king also
26:35who would be greater
26:36than a mere son of David
26:39The Lord said to my Lord
26:41Sit at my right hand
26:43until I make your enemies
26:46your footstool
26:48And yet the psalmist
26:50is David himself
26:50and Christ silenced
26:52the Pharisees
26:53by asking them
26:54to explain
26:55this paradox
26:56If David called him Lord
26:58how can he be his son
27:01It has been observed
27:03that in no other psalm
27:04does David distinguish
27:05between himself
27:06and the Messiah
27:07That is in all
27:09his other predictions
27:10Messiah is David
27:11himself idealised
27:14But in this psalm
27:15he is David's Lord
27:16as well as his son
27:18The psalmist indeed
27:20desires a better priesthood
27:22and a better kingship
27:26These hopes are alien
27:28to the nature of Judaism
27:30The Mosaic dispensation
27:32pointed indeed
27:33to a coming priest
27:34and the Jews
27:35might expect
27:36a Messiah to be a king
27:38But the priest
27:39would be an antitype
27:40of Aaron
27:41and the king
27:42would be only
27:43the son of David
27:45The psalm speaks
27:46of a priest
27:47after the order
27:48not of Aaron
27:49but of Melchizedek
27:51and a king
27:52who would be
27:53David's Lord
27:55To increase the difficulty
27:57priest and king
27:58would be one
27:59and the same person
28:02And yet the psalmist's
28:03mysterious conception
28:04comes to the surface
28:06from time to time
28:08In the book of Zechariah
28:10the Lord commands
28:10the prophet
28:11to set crowns
28:12on the head
28:13of Joshua the high priest
28:15and a proclamation
28:16is made
28:17that he shall be
28:19a priest
28:19upon his throne
28:23The Maccabean princes
28:24are invested
28:25with priestly garments
28:28It has actually
28:29been anticipated
28:31in the apostle
28:32in his reference
28:33to the union
28:34of the priesthood
28:35and kingship
28:35in the person
28:36of Melchizedek
28:40We do not need
28:41to hesitate
28:42to say
28:43that the apostle
28:44borrows this allegory
28:46from Philo
28:47and finds his concept
28:49of priest and king
28:50in the religious insight
28:52of the profounder men
28:53or at least
28:54in their earnest
28:55groping
28:55for better things
28:57All this notwithstanding
28:59his use of the allegory
29:01is original
29:02and felicitous
29:03He has an idea
29:05fraught
29:06with consequences
29:07to his argument
29:10For the central thought
29:11of the passage
29:12is the endless duration
29:13of the priesthood
29:14of Melchizedek
29:16The king
29:17and priest
29:18is priest
29:19forever
29:22We have spoken
29:23of Melchizedek's story
29:25as an allegory
29:25not to insinuate
29:27doubt
29:27as to its historical truth
29:29but because
29:30it cannot be intended
29:31by the apostle
29:32to have any direct
29:34inferential force
29:36It is an instance
29:38of the allegorical
29:39interpretation
29:40of Old Testament events
29:43found at least
29:44once in St Paul
29:46Allegorical use
29:47of history
29:47has just as much force
29:49as a parable
29:50drawn from nature
29:51and comes just as near
29:53a demonstration
29:53as the types
29:54if it is used
29:56by an inspired prophet
29:57in written scriptures
30:02This is precisely
30:03the difference
30:04between our author
30:05and other philosophers
30:09Philosophers invent
30:10allegories
30:11and let their fancy
30:12run wild
30:13in weaving coincidences
30:15which scripture
30:16does not even suggest
30:19But the writer
30:20of the epistle
30:20to the Hebrews
30:21keeps strictly
30:22within the lines
30:23of the psalm
30:25We must also
30:26bear in mind
30:27that the story
30:27of Melchizedek
30:28sets forth
30:29a feature
30:29of Christ's priesthood
30:31which cannot
30:32be figured out
30:33by a type
30:34of the ordinary form
30:37It was inferred
30:39by Philo
30:39from the history
30:40of Melchizedek
30:41that the sovereignty
30:42of God
30:44The psalmist
30:45and the apostles
30:46teach from it
30:47the eternal duration
30:48of Christ's priesthood
30:50But how can any type
30:52represent such a truth
30:53How can a fleeting shadow
30:56symbolise the notation
30:57of an abiding substance
31:01The type
31:02by its very nature
31:03is at best
31:04transitory
31:07The Christ is priest
31:09forever
31:09can be symbolically
31:10taught only
31:11by negation
31:12by the absence
31:13of a beginning
31:14and of an end
31:15in some such way
31:17as the hieroglyphics
31:18represent eternity
31:19by a line
31:20turning back
31:20upon itself
31:23In this negative fashion
31:24Melchizedek
31:25has been assimilated
31:26to the Son of God
31:30His history
31:31was intentionally
31:31so related
31:33by God's Spirit
31:34that the sacred
31:35writer's silence
31:36is significant
31:39For Melchizedek
31:40suddenly appears
31:41on the scene
31:42and every bit
31:43of suddenly
31:44vanishes
31:44never to be seen
31:46or heard of again
31:49Hitherto in the Bible
31:50story
31:50every man's descent
31:52is carefully noted
31:53from the sons of Adam
31:55to Noah
31:56from Noah
31:57to Abraham
31:58and on
31:59Now however
32:00for the first time
32:01a man stands
32:02before us
32:03whose genealogy
32:04and birth
32:05is unmentioned
32:07even his death
32:08is not mentioned
32:12what is known
32:12of him
32:13wonderfully helps
32:14the allegorical
32:15significance
32:16of the intentional
32:17silence
32:17of Scripture
32:19for he is both
32:20king and priest
32:21and the one act
32:22of his life
32:22is to bestow
32:23his priestly
32:24benediction
32:25on the heir
32:26of the promise
32:28no more appropriate
32:30or more striking
32:31symbol
32:32of Christ's
32:32priesthood
32:33can be imagined
32:36even his name
32:38is symbolical
32:39he is king
32:41of righteousness
32:43by a happy
32:44coincidence
32:45the name
32:45of his city
32:46is no less
32:47expressive
32:47of the truth
32:48to be representative
32:50he is king
32:51of Salem
32:52which means
32:52king of peace
32:55the two notions
32:56of righteousness
32:57and peace
32:57combine
32:58to make up
32:59the idea
33:00of priesthood
33:01righteousness
33:02without peace
33:03punishes
33:04the transgressor
33:05peace
33:06without righteousness
33:07condones
33:09transgression
33:11the kingship
33:12of Melchizedek
33:13therefore
33:14assumes
33:16that he is priest
33:19this priest
33:21and king
33:21is monotheist
33:22although he is
33:23not of the family
33:24of Abraham
33:24he is priest
33:26even of the
33:27most high
33:27God
33:28though he is
33:29outside the pale
33:30of the priesthood
33:31afterwards
33:31founded in the
33:32line of Aaron
33:35Judaism
33:36therefore
33:36enjoys no
33:37monopoly of
33:38truth
33:39as St Paul
33:40argues
33:41the promise
33:42is independent
33:43of the law
33:43because it was
33:44given 400
33:45years before
33:46the law
33:47so our author
33:48hints at the
33:49existence of a
33:50priesthood
33:50distinct from
33:51the Levitical
33:52what existed
33:54before Abraham
33:57and before
33:59Aaron
33:59may also
34:01survive
34:04furthermore
34:05both
34:06Melchizedek
34:06and Abraham
34:07were mutually
34:08drawn to
34:09each other
34:09by the force
34:11of their
34:11common
34:11piety
34:14we read
34:14that Melchizedek
34:15went out
34:15to meet
34:16Abraham
34:16on his
34:17return
34:17from the
34:17slaughter
34:18of the
34:18kings
34:19apparently
34:20not
34:20because
34:21he was
34:21indebted
34:22to him
34:22for his
34:22life
34:23and the
34:23safety
34:24of his
34:24city
34:25for the
34:26kings
34:26had gone
34:27their way
34:27as far
34:27as Dan
34:28after the
34:29pillaging
34:29of the
34:30cities
34:30of the
34:30plain
34:31but because
34:32he felt
34:33a strong
34:33impulse
34:34to bestow
34:35his blessing
34:35on this
34:36man of
34:36faith
34:38he met
34:38him not
34:39as king
34:39but as
34:40priest
34:42would it
34:43be too
34:43fanciful
34:44to conjecture
34:45that Abraham
34:46had that
34:46mysterious
34:47power
34:47which some
34:48men possess
34:49and some
34:50do not
34:50of attracting
34:51to himself
34:52and becoming
34:53a centre
34:53around which
34:55others
34:55almost
34:56unconsciously
34:57gather
34:58it is
34:59suggested
34:59through his
35:00entire history
35:02whether it
35:03be so
35:03or not
35:04Melchizedek
35:05blessed him
35:05Abraham
35:06accepted
35:07the blessing
35:08and acknowledged
35:09its priestly
35:10character
35:10by giving him
35:11the priest's
35:12portion
35:13the tenth
35:14of his
35:14spoil
35:16how great
35:17must this
35:17man have
35:18been who
35:18blessed
35:19even
35:19Abraham
35:19and to
35:20whom
35:21Abraham
35:21the patriarch
35:22paid
35:23even
35:23the tenth
35:25but the
35:26less is
35:27blessed
35:27of the
35:27greater
35:29in Abraham
35:30the
35:30Levitical
35:31priesthood
35:31itself
35:31may be
35:32said to
35:33acknowledge
35:33the superiority
35:34of
35:35Melchizedek
35:42so
35:43wherein
35:44lay
35:44his
35:44greatness
35:45for he
35:46was not
35:46in the
35:46priestly
35:47line
35:48neither
35:49do we
35:49read
35:49that he
35:50was
35:50appointed
35:50of
35:50God
35:52and yet
35:52no man
35:53takes
35:53this
35:53honour
35:53to
35:54himself
35:56God
35:56had
35:56made
35:57him
35:57king
35:57and
35:57priest
35:58by
35:58conferring
35:59upon
35:59him
35:59the
35:59gift
35:59of
36:00innate
36:00spiritual
36:01greatness
36:02he
36:03was
36:03one
36:03of
36:03nature's
36:04kings
36:05born
36:05to
36:05rule
36:06not
36:06because
36:07he
36:07was
36:07his
36:07father's
36:08son
36:08but
36:09because
36:09he
36:09had
36:09a
36:09great
36:10soul
36:12it
36:12is
36:12not
36:12in
36:13record
36:13that
36:13he
36:14bequeathed
36:14to
36:14his
36:14race
36:15a
36:15great
36:15idea
36:15he
36:16created
36:17no
36:17school
36:17he
36:18had
36:18no
36:18followers
36:19so
36:20seldom
36:20is
36:21mention
36:21made
36:22of
36:22him
36:22in
36:22the
36:22Old
36:22Testament
36:23that
36:23the
36:24psalmist
36:24passing
36:24reference
36:25to
36:25his
36:25name
36:26attracts
36:27our
36:27special
36:28notice
36:29he
36:29became
36:30a
36:30priest
36:30in
36:31virtue
36:31of
36:31what
36:31he
36:31was
36:32as
36:32man
36:33his
36:33authority
36:34as
36:34king
36:34sprang
36:35from
36:36his
36:36character
36:38such
36:39men
36:39appear
36:40on
36:40earth
36:40from
36:41time
36:41to
36:41time
36:41that
36:42they
36:42are
36:42never
36:42accounted
36:43for
36:45all
36:45we
36:45can
36:45say
36:46of
36:46them
36:46is
36:46that
36:46they
36:46have
36:47neither
36:47father
36:47nor
36:48mother
36:48nor
36:48genealogy
36:50they
36:50resemble
36:51those
36:51who
36:51are
36:51born
36:52of
36:52the
36:52spirit
36:52of
36:53whom
36:53we
36:53know
36:54nothing
36:54whence
36:55they
36:55came
36:56nor
36:56whither
36:56they
36:56go
36:58it
36:58is
36:58only
36:59from
36:59the
36:59greatest
36:59one
37:00amongst
37:00these
37:00kings
37:01and
37:01priests
37:01of
37:01men
37:02that
37:02the
37:02veil
37:03is
37:03lifted
37:03in
37:04him
37:05we
37:05see
37:05the
37:05son
37:05of
37:06God
37:07in
37:07Christ
37:08we
37:08recognize
37:09the
37:09ideal
37:09greatness
37:10of
37:10sheer
37:10personality
37:11and
37:12we
37:12at
37:13once
37:13say
37:13of
37:13all
37:14the
37:14others
37:14as
37:15the
37:15apostle
37:15says
37:16of
37:16Melchizedek
37:17that
37:18they
37:18have
37:18been
37:18made
37:19like
37:19not
37:20unto
37:20ancestors
37:21or
37:21predecessors
37:22but
37:22unto
37:23him
37:23who
37:24is
37:24himself
37:24like
37:25his
37:25divine
37:25father
37:26such
37:27priests
37:27remain
37:28priests
37:29forever
37:31they
37:32live on
37:32by the
37:33vitality
37:33of their
37:34priesthood
37:34they
37:35have no
37:35beginning
37:36of days
37:36or end
37:37of life
37:37they have
37:39never been
37:39set apart
37:39without
37:40ritual
37:41to an
37:41official
37:42distinction
37:42marked
37:43by days
37:44and years
37:46their
37:46acts
37:47are not
37:47ceremonial
37:49and they
37:49do not
37:50appear on
37:51the calendar
37:51they
37:52bless
37:52men
37:53and the
37:53blessing
37:53abides
37:54they
37:55pray
37:55and the
37:56prayer
37:56does
37:56not
37:56die
37:58if
37:58their
37:58prayer
37:59lives
37:59forever
37:59can we
38:00suppose
38:01that they
38:02themselves
38:03pass away
38:05the
38:06king
38:06and priest
38:07is heir
38:08of
38:08immortality
38:09whoever else
38:10may perish
38:11he at least
38:12has the
38:13power of an
38:13endless
38:13life
38:15if he dies
38:16in the
38:16flesh he
38:17lives on
38:17in the
38:18spirit
38:19an
38:19eternal
38:20heaven
38:20must be
38:21found
38:21or made
38:22for such
38:22men
38:23with
38:23God
38:25now this
38:26is the
38:26gist and
38:26the kernel
38:27of the
38:27apostle's
38:28beautiful
38:29allegory
38:29the
38:30argument
38:31points to
38:31the son
38:32of God
38:32and leads
38:33up to
38:33the
38:33concept
38:33of his
38:34eternal
38:35priesthood
38:35in the
38:35sanctuary
38:36of heaven
38:37let us
38:38see
38:38how he
38:39applies
38:40and
38:40interprets
38:41this
38:41parable
38:43that
38:44Jesus
38:44is a
38:45great
38:45high
38:45priest
38:45has
38:45been
38:46proved
38:46by
38:46argument
38:47after
38:47argument
38:47from the
38:48very
38:48beginning
38:49of the
38:50epistle
38:53however
38:54this is
38:54not
38:55enough
38:55to show
38:56that the
38:56priesthood
38:57after the
38:57order of
38:58Aaron
38:58has passed
38:59away
39:00the
39:01Hebrew
39:01Christians
39:02may still
39:02maintain
39:03that the
39:03Messiah
39:03perfected
39:04the
39:05Aaronic
39:05priesthood
39:06and added
39:07to it
39:07the glory
39:08of
39:08kingship
39:10transferring
39:11the
39:11priesthood
39:12must be
39:12proved
39:13and it
39:14was
39:14symbolised
39:15in the
39:15history
39:15of
39:15Melchizedek
39:17but
39:17this
39:17transfer
39:18of
39:18the
39:18priesthood
39:19involves
39:20much
39:20more
39:20than
39:20what
39:20has
39:21been
39:21said
39:21so
39:22far
39:23it
39:23implies
39:24not
39:24merely
39:24that
39:25the
39:25priesthood
39:25after
39:25the
39:26order
39:26of
39:26Aaron
39:27has
39:27come
39:27to
39:27an
39:27end
39:28but
39:28that
39:29an
39:29entirely
39:29new
39:30dispensation
39:30of
39:31the
39:31law
39:31the
39:32old
39:32covenant
39:33is
39:34replaced
39:34by a
39:35new
39:35covenant
39:35and a
39:36better
39:36one
39:36in
39:37as
39:37much
39:37as
39:38the
39:38law
39:38was
39:38erected
39:39on
39:39the
39:39foundation
39:40of
39:40the
39:40priesthood
39:41it was
39:42a
39:42religious
39:43economy
39:43the
39:44fundamental
39:44concept
39:45of
39:45the
39:45religion
39:46were
39:46guilt
39:47and
39:47forgiveness
39:47the
39:49essential
39:49fact
39:50of
39:50the
39:50dispensation
39:50was the
39:51sacrifice
39:52offered
39:52for the
39:53sinner
39:54to God
39:54by a
39:55priest
39:56priesthood
39:57was the
39:57article
39:58of a
39:59standing
39:59or
39:59failing
40:00church
40:00under
40:01the
40:01old
40:01testament
40:02change
40:03of
40:04priesthood
40:04itself
40:04abrogate
40:05the
40:06covenant
40:08so
40:09what
40:09then is
40:09the
40:09truth
40:10in this
40:10matter
40:10has
40:11the
40:11priesthood
40:11been
40:12transferred
40:12let
40:13the
40:13story
40:14of
40:14Melchizedek
40:15as
40:15interpreted
40:16by the
40:17psalmist
40:17supply
40:18our
40:19answer
40:20first
40:21Jesus
40:22sprang
40:22from
40:23the
40:23royal
40:23tribe
40:23of
40:23Judah
40:24not
40:25from
40:25the
40:25tribe
40:26of
40:26the
40:26priests
40:27of
40:27Levi
40:28the
40:29apostle
40:30intentionally
40:30uses
40:31a
40:31term
40:31that
40:32glances
40:33at
40:33the
40:33prophet
40:33Zechariah's
40:34prediction
40:35concerning
40:35him
40:37who
40:37shall
40:38arise
40:38as the
40:38dawn
40:39and be
40:39a
40:40priest
40:40upon
40:40his
40:40throne
40:41we
40:42shall
40:42therefore
40:42entitle
40:43him
40:43lord
40:44and
40:44say
40:44that
40:45our
40:45lord
40:45has
40:46risen
40:46out
40:46of
40:46Judah
40:48he
40:49is
40:49lord
40:50and
40:50king
40:50by
40:50right
40:51of
40:51birth
40:51but
40:52this
40:52circumstance
40:53that
40:53he
40:53belongs
40:53to the
40:54tribe
40:54of
40:54Judah
40:55hints
40:55to say
40:56the
40:56least
40:56of
40:57a
40:57transfer
40:57of
40:58the
40:58priesthood
40:59for
41:00Moses
41:00said
41:00nothing
41:01of
41:01this
41:01tribe
41:01in
41:02reference
41:02to
41:02priests
41:03however
41:03great
41:04it
41:04became
41:05in
41:05its
41:05kings
41:06the
41:07kingship
41:07of
41:07our
41:08lord
41:08is
41:08foreshadowed
41:09in
41:10Melchizedek
41:39secondly
41:40is, not by force of law, which could only create an external, carnal commandment, but
41:47by innate power, in virtue of which he will live on and his life will be indestructible.
41:54The commandment that constituted Aaron Priest has not indeed been violently abrogated, but
42:01has been thrust aside in consequence of its own weakness and uselessness. That it has
42:07been weak and unprofitable to men is evident from the inability of the law as a system
42:14erected upon that priesthood to satisfy conscience. And yet this carnal, decayed priesthood was
42:22permitted to linger on and work itself out. The better hope, through which we do actually
42:28come near to God, did not forcefully put an end to it, but was added. Christ had never
42:35formally abolished the old covenant. There is no date of its extinction. We cannot say
42:40that it ceased to exist when the Last Supper was instituted, or when the true Passover was
42:46slain, or when the Spirit descended. The epistle to the Hebrews is intended to awaken mankind
42:54to the fact that it is gone. They can hardly realise that it is dead. It has been lost,
43:01like the light of a star in the spreading dawn of a day. The sun of that eternal day is
43:07the
43:07infinitely great personality of Jesus Christ. Born a king, but with no crown, crowned on death,
43:16but with thorns. And yet what mighty power he has wielded. The Galilean has conquered. Since he passed
43:25through the heavens from the eyes of men, thousands in every age have been ready to die for him.
43:34Even today the Christianity of the greatest part of his followers consists more in profound loyalty to
43:40a personal king than in any intellectual understanding of the teacher's dogma. Such kingly power cannot perish,
43:50untouched, untouched by the downfall of kingdoms and the revolutions of thought. Such a throne
43:55will remain from age to age, today, yesterday and forever the same.
44:04The entire system or covenant is based on the Aaronic priesthood and has passed away and given place
44:13to a better one. Better in proportion to the firmer foundation on which the priesthood of Jesus rests.
44:21Beyond question the promises of God were steadfast, but man could not realise the glorious hope of their
44:27fulfilment. And there were two reasons for this. First, difficult conditions were imposed on fallible men.
44:34The worshipper might transgress in many points of ritual. His mediator, the priest, might err where error
44:42would be fatal to the result. Worshipper and priest, if they were thoughtful and pious men, would be haunted by
44:50the dread of having done wrong they knew not how or where, and be filled with dark foreboding.
44:58Confidence, especially full assurance, was unthinkable. Secondly, Christ found it necessary to urge his disciples to
45:07believe in God. The misery of distrusting God himself exists.
45:16Men think that he is such as they are, and as they do not believe in themselves their faith in
45:22God is
45:22a reed blowing in the wind. These wants are not adequately met by the old covenant. The conditions
45:31imposed perplexed men, and the revelation of God's moral character and fatherhood was not sufficiently
45:37clear to remove distrust. The apostle directs our attention to the strange absence of any swearing of
45:45an oath on the part of God when he instituted the Aaronic priesthood, or on the part of the priest
45:51at
45:52his consecration. And yet the kingship was confirmed by oath to David.
45:58In the new covenant, on the other hand, all such fears may be dismissed. For the only condition imposed is
46:06faith. In order to make faith easy and inspire men with courage, God appoints a surety for himself.
46:13He offers his son as hostage and therefore guarantees the fulfilment of his promise.
46:21As the man Jesus, the son of God, was delivered into the hands of men. Of the better covenant, Jesus
46:26is the security.
46:29This will explain a word in the sixth chapter, which we were compelled at the time to put aside,
46:35for it is there that God mediated with an oath. Now we understand that this means the appointment of Christ
46:43to be a guarantor of the fulfilment of God's promises.
46:56It is true that the old covenant was ordained in the hands of a mediator, but it was also true
47:06that the mediator was no guarantor,
47:08inasmuch as those priests were made without an oath. Christ was made a priest with an oath.
47:16And therefore he is, as Jesus, the guarantor of the better covenant.
47:21In what respects the covenant is better, the apostle will soon be telling us.
47:26For the present, we only know that the foundation is stronger in proportion, as the oath of God reveals more
47:33fully his sincerity and love,
47:35and renders it an easier thing for men laden with guilt to trust.
47:42But before we dismiss this subject, it may be well to remind everybody that this mention of a guarantor by
47:50the writer
47:53is the locus classicus of the Federalist School of Divines.
48:02Many theologians have explained the words,
48:08guarantor of a better covenant, to mean that Christ is appointed by God to be a surety on behalf of
48:15men,
48:15not on behalf of God.
48:18This course of thought in the passage is, I suggest, decisively against this interpretation.
48:26At the same time, it has to be admitted that their doctrine is a just theological inference from the passage.
48:34If God swears that his gracious purposes will be fulfilled and ordains Jesus to be his guarantor to men,
48:40and if also the fulfilment of the divine promise depends on the fulfilment of certain conditions on the part of
48:48men,
48:48the oath of God will involve his enabling men to fulfil these conditions,
48:55and the surety will become, in eventual fact, a guarantee on behalf of men.
49:02But this is only an inference.
49:06It is not the meaning of the Apostle's word,
49:10who only speaks of the surety or guarantee on the part of God.
49:16The validity of this inference now mentioned depends on other considerations outside this passage.
49:25Without those considerations, therefore, we have at present nothing to do.
49:32The climax of the argument is reached when the Apostle infers the endless duration of Christ's one priesthood.
49:40The number of men who had been successively high priests of the Old Covenant increased age by age.
49:48Dying one after another, they were prevented from continuing as high priests.
49:53But Melchizedek had no successor,
49:55and the Jews themselves admitted that the Christ would live forever.
50:01The ascending argument of the Apostle proves that he always lives and has, therefore, an immutable priesthood.
50:08For, first of all, he is of the royal tribe,
50:11and the oath of God to David guarantees that of his kingdom there shall be no end.
50:18Again, in the greatness of his personality,
50:20he is endured with the power of an endless life.
50:24As priest, he has been established in his office by oath.
50:28He is, therefore, priest for ever.
50:35But the question rears its head.
50:39Why is the endless life of one high priest more effective than a succession,
50:44conceivably an endless succession of high priests?
50:48The eternal priesthood involves two distinct but mutually dependent ideas.
50:57In the case of any man, to live forever means power.
51:02Even the body of our humiliation will be raised in power.
51:07Can the spirit, therefore, in the risen life, in its own native home, be subject to weakness?
51:14What, then, can we say of the risen and glorified Christ?
51:18The difference between him and the high priests of earth
51:21is like the difference between the body that is raised and the body that has died.
51:26In Aaron, the priesthood is sown in corruption, dishonour, and weakness.
51:31In Christ, priesthood is raised in incorruption, in glory, and in power.
51:37In Aaron, it is sown as a natural priesthood.
51:41In Christ, it is raised a spiritual priesthood.
51:45It must be that the high priest in heaven has power to save continually and completely.
51:51Whenever help is needed, he is alive.
51:54But he ever lives that he may ever intercede.
51:58Apart from interceding on behalf of men, his power is not moral.
52:03It has no greatness or joy or meaning.
52:07Whenever help is needed, he is alive and mighty to save from sin,
52:12to rescue from death, and to deliver from fear.
52:17To prove that Christ's eternal priesthood involves power and intercession
52:22is the purpose of the next verses.
52:25Such a high priest, powerful to save and ever-living to intercede,
52:30is the only one befitting us, who are at once both helpless and guilty.
52:36The apostle triumphantly unfolds the glory of this concept of a high priest.
52:42He means Christ, but he is too triumphant to name him.
52:47Such a high priest befits us, is all he can say.
52:52The power of his heavenly life implies the highest development of moral status.
52:57He will address God with holy reverence.
53:00He will succour men without a tinge of malice,
53:03which is but another way of saying that he wishes them well from the depth of his heart.
53:08He must not be sullied by any spot of moral defilement,
53:13for purity can only face God or love men.
53:16He must set apart for his lofty function from the sinners for whom he intercedes.
53:23He must trace the true holiest place and stand in awful solitariness
53:32above the heavens of the worlds and angels in the immediate presence of God.
53:37Further, he must not be under the necessity of leaving the holiest place
53:42to renew his sacrifice, as the high priests of the old covenant had need to offer.
53:48Through the priests, new sacrifices every day, every year,
53:54both for themselves and for the people.
53:56Indeed, for themselves first and then for the people,
53:59before they dared re-enter within the veil.
54:03For Christ himself offered himself.
54:06Such a sacrifice, once often, was sufficient for ever.
54:13And so let us conclude by saying that the law appreasts men as high priests.
54:19The word which God spoke unto us in his Son appoints the Son himself as high priest.
54:25The law appoints men high priests in their weakness.
54:29The word appoints the Son in his final and complete attainment of all perfection.
54:34And the law will yield to the word.
54:37For the word which had gone before the law in the promise made to Abraham
54:41was not superseded by the law,
54:44but came also after it in the stronger form of an oath,
54:49of which the old covenant knew nothing.
54:57Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
55:01as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
55:05world without end.
55:07Amen.
55:13Let us pray.
55:15O God, the King of glory,
55:17who has exalted your only Son, Jesus Christ,
55:20with great triumph unto your kingdom in heaven,
55:24we beseech you,
55:26leave us not comfortless,
55:28but send to us your Holy Spirit
55:31to comfort us and exalt us
55:33to the same place
55:35whither our Saviour Jesus Christ is gone before,
55:39who lives and reigns with you
55:41and the Holy Spirit,
55:43one God, world without end.
55:45Amen.
55:51May the Lord bless us and keep us from all evil,
55:55bringing us to everlasting life.
55:58Amen.
56:28Amen.
56:38Amen.
56:39Amen.
56:39Amen.
56:39Amen.
56:39Amen.
56:39Amen.
56:40Amen.
56:40Amen.
56:46Amen.
56:47You