own personal actings, he is constantly called the holy Spirit, and not the eternal Spirit. Again:

2. The design of the apostle is to prove the superior efficacy of the offering of Christ, above those of the priests under the law. Now this arose, partly, that he offered himself, whereas they only offered the blood of bulls and goats; but principally, from the dignity of his person in his offering, in that he offered himself by his "own eternal Spirit," or divine nature. But I shall leave the reader to judge of the scope of the place, either sense being suitable to the analogy of faith.

This is the second thing wherein the apostle opposeth the offering of Christ to the offerings of the priests under the law. They offered bulls and goats; he offered himself. They offered by a material altar and fire, he by the eternal Spirit.

That Christ should thus offer himself to God, and that by the eternal Spirit, is the centre of the gospel mystery. And an attempt to corrupt, or to pervert this glorious truth, is a design against the glory of God, and the faith of the church. The depth of this mystery we cannot dive into it, the height of it we cannot comprehend; we cannot search out the greatness of its wisdom, love, and grace. And those who choose rather to reject, than to live by faith in an humble admiration of it, do so at the peril of their souls. To the reason of some men it may appear foolish, to faith it is full of glory. In the consideration of the divine actings of the eternal Spirit of Christ in the offering of himself; of the holy exercise of all grace in the human nature offered; of the nature, dignity and efficacy of this sac rifice, faith finds life, food, and refreshment. Herein doth it contemplate the wisdom, the righteousness, the holiness and grace of God; herein doth it view the

wonderful condescension and love of Christ, and from the whole is strengthened and encouraged.

§14. It is added-"without spot." This adjunct is descriptive, not of the priest, but of the sacrifice; it is not a qualification of his person, but of the offering.

The allusion to the legal institutions is evident. The Lamb that was to be slain and offered was antecedently without blemish; hence the apostle Peter affirms, that "we were redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot," 1 Pet. i, 18. And Christ is not only called "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world," John i, 29; that is, by being slain and offered; but is represented in the worship of the church as a lamb slain, Rev. v, 6.

Wherefore this expression, "without spot," respects, in the first place, the purity of his nature and the holiness of his life; for although this principally belonged to the necessary qualifications of his person, yet were they required in him as a sacrifice. There was nothing in him, nothing wanting to him, that should any way hinder his sacrifice from being divinely accepted and really expiatory of sin. And thus was the church instructed to expect by all those legal institutions.

$15. (III.) The effect of the blood of Christ through the offering of himself is the "purging of our conscien

ces from dead works."

The word is in the future tense (nutupii) "shall purge." The blood of Christ as offered hath a double respect and effect:-towards God in making atonement for sin; and towards the consciences of men, in the application of its virtue to them, which is here intended; and this is expressed us future to declare the certainty of the event, or the infallible connexion of these things, the blood of Christ, and the purging of

the conscience, in all that betake themselves to it; it shall do it effectually and infallibly. The apostle respects the generality of the Hebrews, whether already professing the gospel or now invited to it; and he proposeth this to them as the advantage they should be made partakers of by relinquishing the Mosaical ceremonies and betaking themselves to the faith of the gospel: for whereas before, by the best of legal ordinances, they attained no more than an outward sanctification as to the flesh, they shall now have their conscience infallibly purged from dead works.

By "dead works," sins, as to their guilt and defilement, are confessedly intended; so called, because they proceed from a principle of spiritual death,--because they are useless and fruitless, as all dead things areand because they deserve death, and tend to it. There seems to be a peculiar allusion to dead bodies, and legal defilement by them; for he hath respect to purification by the ashes of the heifer, and this respected principally uncleanness by the dead. As men were purified by the sprinkling of the ashes of an heifer mingled with living water, from defilements contracted from the dead, without which they were separated rom God and the church; so, unless men are really purged from their moral defilements by the blood of Christ, they must perish for ever. Now this defilement from the dead arose from hence, that death was the effect of the curse of the law; wherefore the guilt of sin, with respect to the curse of the law, is here prima rily intended, and consequently its pollution. "The conscience." He doth not say, your souls, your minds, or your persons, but your conscience. Under the law it was the body that was defiled, and it was the body that was purified; those ordinances sanctified only to "the purifying of the flesh;" but the defile

ments here intended are spiritual, relating to the conscience, and therefore such is the purification also.

of

He mentions the respect of these dead works to "conscience" in particular, because that is concerned in peace with God, and confidence of approach to him. Sin variously effects all the faculties of the soul, and there is in it a peculiar defilement of conscience, Tit. i, 15; whereby is introduced a sense of guilt. This brings along with it fear and dread, whence the sinner dares not approach the presence God. Wherefore the "purging of conscience from dead works" primarily respects the guilt of sin, and the virtue of the blood of Christ in its removal; but there is also an inherent defilement of conscience as of all other faculties of the soul. Yet we should remark conscience is here used synedochically for the whole soul and all its faculties; yea, for our whole souls and bodies, which are all to be cleansed and sanctified, 1 Thes. v, 23. To purge our "conscience" is to purge us in our whole persons.

§16. (IV.) The last thing is, the consequent advantage we hereby receive. "To serve the living God." The words should be rendered "that we may serve;" that is, have right and liberty to do so, being no longer excluded from the privilege, as persons were under the law whilst unclean. "The living God." Absolutely, he alone hath life in himself, and is the only author and cause of life to all others; comparatively, with respect to idols and false gods, which are dead things, such as have neither life nor operation. So called, to beget faith and trust in him, as the author of temporal, spiritual, and eternal life, 1 Tim. i, 10; to beget a due fear and reverence of him, as he who lives and sees, who hath all life in his power; so it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. And

this epistle being written principally to warn the Hebrews of the danger of unbelief and apostasy from the gospel, the apostle in several places makes mention of God, with whom they had to do, under this title, chap. iii, 12; x, 31; but there is something peculiar in the mention of it in this place; for the due consideration of God as the living God, will discover how necessa ry it is that we be purged from dead works to serve him in a due manner. The nature of gospel worship and service is intimated to be such as peculiarly be comes the living God."

What is it to serve the living God?" I doubt not but that the whole life of faith, in universal obedience, is consequentially required. Not any one duty can be performed as it ought without the antecedent purg ing of our consciences from dead works; but yet sa cred and solemn worship primarily is intended: for as we therein express and testify the subjection of our souls and consciences to him, and solemnly engage in universal obedience, (for of these things all acts of outward worship are the solemn pledges) so in that eminently doth God testify his acceptance of us, and delight in us, by Jesus Christ.

What is required on our part? It is included in the expression (εis to λalpeven) "that we may serve." And two things are implied-liberty and ability; the one includes right and boldness; the other respects all the supplies of the Holy Spirit in grace and gifts: both these we receive by the blood of Christ, that we may be meet and able in a due manner to serve the living God.

$17. And from the words thus explained we may observe:

1. There is such an evidence of wisdom and right eousness, to a spiritual eye, in the whole mystery of