Verse 4

Consider then how great this man was, to whom even the Patriarch Abraham gave the Tenth of the Spoils.

The duty of the Hebrews upon the proposition of the state of Melchisedec before insisted on, is here pressed on them. And the words contain both a respect to the preceding discourse, a duty prescribed, the object of that duty, and the reason of a qualification therein expressed, amplified by the title, state and condition of one person concerned.

1. The note of respect to the preceding discourse is in the particle [⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩], which we render now, consider now, then, or therefore; but do you consider. The things before laid down are as of importance in themselves, so of your especial concernment.

2. The especial duty which he prescribes to them with respect to the things proposed by him concerning the excellency of Melchisedec and his office, is that they would consider it.

He does four times in this Epistle call the Hebrews to this especial duty of an intense consideration of the things proposed to them, as we have translated his words, and that not unduly, Chap. 3:1, Chap. 10:24, Chap. 12:3, and in this place, Chap. 3:1, Chap. 10:24, we have the same word in the original, [⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩], whose importance has been declared on Chap. 3:1. Chap. 12:2, the word is [⟨ in non-Latin alphabet ⟩], which signifies to call things to a due reckoning and account, so as to conform our minds to them, which is our great duty with respect to the patient sufferings of Christ there intended. The word here used signifies diligently to behold, contemplate on, or to look into the things proposed to us. He had before warned them that what he had to discourse on this subject was difficult and hard to be understood, but withal such was its use and excellency that neither would he refrain from declaring of them, nor ought they to spare any pains in a diligent enquiry into them. Having therefore laid down the matter of fact, and stated the whole subject which he designed to treat upon, he adds their duty with respect thereunto. And this in the first place is that they would heedfully and diligently look into them.

1. It will be fruitless and to no advantage to propose or declare the most important truths of the Gospel, if those to whom they are proposed do not diligently enquire into them. And here those to whom the dispensation of the Gospel is committed, are pressed with no small difficulty, as our Apostle professes that he was in this very case. For whereas it is incumbent on them in that declaration of the whole counsel of God which is enjoined them, to insist upon sundry things that are deep, mysterious, and hard to be understood, when their hearers for want of a good foundation of knowledge in the principles of religion, or through carelessness in attending to what is delivered, do not come to a due perception and understanding of them, it is very grievous to see their own labors and others' profit disappointed. Therefore if men think they have nothing to do, but as it were to give the hearing to such as endeavour to carry them to perfection, they will lose all the advantage of their ministry. This duty therefore is here prescribed by the Apostle with respect to this truth, to obviate this slothful frame. And we may on this occasion briefly name the things that are required thereunto. As, (1.) Sense of a concernment in them. Unless this be well fixed on the mind, men will never diligently attend to them, nor duly consider them. If upon the proposal of sacred truths that appear hard to be understood, they begin to think that this belongs not to them, it is for others who are more exercised than they, it is not likely they should ever endeavour to apprehend them aright. And this very frame keeps many in a low form of knowledge all their days; possibly also this neglect is increased in many, by the spreading of a late foolish apprehension, that we are upon the matter to look after nothing but the doctrines and precepts of morality that are in the Scripture; but as for the more spiritual mysteries of grace we are not concerned in them. Where this principle is once imbibed, men will rest and satisfy themselves in the most profound ignorance; and not only so, but despise all such as endeavour to be wiser than themselves. But, (2.) To a due apprehension of these things there is not only required a sense of our concernment, but also a delight in them. If the light be not pleasant to us, as well as useful, we shall not value it nor seek after it. When such mysterious truths as that here insisted on by our Apostle, are proposed to men, if they have no delight in such things, they will never be at the cost and pains of enquiring into them with necessary diligence. Curiosity indeed, or a humor to pry into things we have not seen, and which we cannot see in a due manner because not revealed, is everywhere condemned by our Apostle, who warns us all to be wise to sobriety, and not above what is written. But there is a secret delight and complacency of mind in every beam of spiritual light shining in its proper divine revelation, when the soul is disposed aright to the reception of it. Without this in some measure we shall not follow on to know, nor thrive in knowledge. (3.) Study, meditation and prayer, with the diligent use of all other means appointed for the search and investigation of the truth, do close this duty. Without these things in hearers, ministers lose all their labor in the declaration of the most important mysteries of the Gospel. This the Apostle as to the present case designs to obviate in the frequent prescription of this duty.

That which the Apostle proposeth in the first place and in general as the object of this enquiry and consideration, is [in non-Latin alphabet], Quantus iste erat; the word respects greatness and excellency in any kind. Nunc quantus Achilles, Quantus erat Julius Caesar, and the like. And this greatness of Melchisedec respected neither the endowments of his person, nor the largeness of his dominion, nor his riches or wealth, in which sense some are said to be great in the Scripture, as Job, Barzillai, and others; but it regards alone his dignity with respect to his office, and his nearness to God on that account. That which these Hebrews insisted on as their chief and fundamental privilege in Judaism, and which they were most unwilling to forgo, was the greatness of their predecessors, with their nearness to God in favor and office. In the first way as to divine love and favor, they gloried in Abraham, and opposed the privilege of being his children on all occasions to the person and doctrine of Christ (John 8:33, 53). And in the latter they thought Aaron and his successors to be preferred above all the world. And while they were under the power and influence of these apprehensions, the Gospel could not but be ungrateful to them, as depriving them of their privileges, and rendering their condition worse than it was before. To undeceive them in this matter, and to demonstrate how unspeakably all those in whom they trusted, came short of the true High Priest of the Church, he calls them to consider the greatness of him, whose only eminence consisted in being a type or representative of him. Therefore the greatness of Melchisedec here proposed to earnest consideration, is that which he had in representing Jesus Christ, and his nearness to God on that account. And it were well that we were all really convinced, that all true greatness consists in the favor of God, and our nearness to him, on the account of our relation to Jesus Christ. We neither deny nor undervalue any man's wealth or power hereby. Let those who are rich and wealthy in the world be accounted and called great, as the Scripture sometimes calls them so. And let those who are high in power and authority be so esteemed, we would derogate nothing from them which is their due: but yet the greatness of them all is but particular, with respect to some certain things, and therefore fading and perishing. But this greatness and honor of the favor of God, and nearness to him, on the account of relation to Jesus Christ, is general, abiding, yes, eternal.

The proof of the Apostle's assertion, included in that interrogation, How great this man was, follows in an instance of what he had before observed and proposed to them; To whom even the Patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. [in non-Latin alphabet], that is, [in non-Latin alphabet]; the tenth part. The conjunction [in non-Latin alphabet] is emphatical; and although in the original it is joined with [in non-Latin alphabet], yet in construction it is to be understood with Abraham; not, to whom Abraham gave even the tenth; but to whom even Abraham gave the tenth, as it is in our translation.

The proof of the greatness of Melchisedec from hence consists in three things. (1.) In the nomination of the person that was subject to him, or Abraham. (2.) In the qualification of his person, He was the Patriarch. (3.) In what he did, He gave him the tenth part of the spoils.

As to the person himself he was the stock and root of the whole people, their common father in whom they were first separated from other nations to be a people of themselves. And herein they had a singular reverence for him, as generally all nations have for the first founders of their political state, who among the idolatrous heathens were commonly deified, and made the objects of their religious adoration. But moreover it was he who first received the promise and the covenant with the token of it, and by whom alone they put in their claim to all the privileges and advantages which they gloried in above all nations in the world. This Abraham therefore they esteemed next to God himself. And their posterity do now place him in heaven above the angels, hardly allowing that the Messiah himself should be exalted above him, and tell a foolish story how he took it ill, that the Messiah should be on the right hand, and he on the left hand of God. But it is sufficiently evident from the Gospel, how much in those days they boasted of him, and trusted in him. Hence it is that our Apostle expresseth it so emphatically, even Abraham.

The qualification of his person, and his title thereon is added in like manner: He was [in non-Latin alphabet]. A Patriarch is a father, that is, a prince or ruler of a family. A ruling father; and these Patriarchs were of three sorts among the Jews. Of the first sort was he alone who was the first separated progenitor of the whole nation. He was their [in non-Latin alphabet] — the first father of all that great family. Secondly, there were such as succeeded him, from whom the whole nation in like manner descended, as Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise (Hebrews 11:4). Thirdly, such as were the first heads of their twelve tribes into which the nation was divided, that is, the twelve sons of Jacob, are called Patriarchs (Acts 7:8, 9). Others that followed them, as David, who is also called a Patriarch (Acts 2:29), were termed so, in allusion to them, and being signally the progenitors of a most eminent family among them. Now it is evident that the first of these on all accounts is the principal, and has the preeminence over all the rest. And this was Abraham alone. Therefore if any one were greater than Abraham, and that in his own time, it must be acknowledged it was upon the account of some privilege that was above all that ever that whole nation as descendants from Abraham were made partakers of. But that this was so the Apostle proves by the instance ensuing, namely, that he gave to Melchisedec, &c.

He gave them; yet not arbitrarily, but in the way of a necessary duty, not as an honorary respect, but as a religious office. And he gave thus the tithe-portion, delivering it up to his use and disposal as the Priest of the Most High God. And this tenth was, as the Apostle interprets the passage in Moses, of the spoils of war. [illegible] is acervus, an heap of corn or any useful things; [illegible] is the top of the heap, the best of it, from where the first-fruits were taken for sacred services. And because it was the custom of all nations afterwards to dedicate or devote some portion of what they got in war to religious services, the word itself came to signify the spoils of war. At first it was the portion that was taken out of the whole, and afterwards the whole itself was signified by it. Now although Abraham had reserved nothing to himself of what belonged to the King of Sodom and his companions, yet the army and king which he had newly slain and destroyed having smitten sundry other nations (Genesis 14:5, 6, 7) and dealt with them as they did with Sodom and the other towns, took all their goods and provision (ver. 11) being now in their return home and laden with prey, it fell all into the hand of the conqueror. The tenth part of the spoils in every kind, might probably be a very great offering both for sacrifice and sacred dedication in the place where Melchisedec ministered in his office. What further concerns the greatness of this man, the Apostle further declares in the ensuing verses, where it will fall under consideration. From this one instance of Abraham's paying tithes to him, it is in a great measure already evinced.

But how came Melchisedec to be thus great? Is it because he was originally in himself, more wise and honorable than any of the sons of men? We read no such thing concerning him, which the Apostle declares to be the rule and measure of all our conceptions in this matter. Is it that he attained this dignity and greatness, by his own industry and endeavors? As the Prophet says of some, that their judgment and their dignity proceeds from themselves (Habakkuk 1:7). Neither do we find any thing of that nature ascribed to him. The sole reason and cause hereof, is, that God raised him up and disposed of him into that condition of his own good pleasure. And we may see in him, that

The sovereign will, pleasure, and grace of God is that alone which puts a difference among men, especially in the Church. He makes men great or small, high or low, eminent or obscure, as it seems good to him. He raises up the poor from the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory, for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he has set the world upon them (1 Samuel 2:8), which is plentifully elsewhere testified to. From where was it that the twelve poor fishermen were made Apostles to sit on twelve thrones judging the tribes of Israel, and becoming princes in all nations? Who made the most glorious Apostle of the first and fiercest persecutor? Was it not he who has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and is gracious to whom he will be gracious? And it is laid down as a universal rule, that no man has any thing in this kind but what he has freely received, nor does any man make himself to differ from others (1 Corinthians 4:7). For, (1.) God lays the foundation of all spiritual differences among men, in his sovereign decree of eternal election (Romans 9:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; Ephesians 1:4). And among them that are chosen he calls them when and how he pleases, both to grace and employment or work. And (2.) as to grace, gifts, and spiritual endowments, the Holy Spirit divides to every man as he will (1 Corinthians 12:11). Let every one then be contented with his lot and condition, every one endeavor to fill up the place and state wherein he is fixed, and as he is called to abide with God. Let God be owned in all his gifts and graces, and our souls be humbled in what we come short of others; and the sovereignty of grace admired in all the different effects of it which we behold.

Secondly, whereas even Abraham himself gave the tenth of all to Melchisedec, we may observe, that

The highest privilege exempts not any from the obligation to and performance of the meanest duty. Notwithstanding all these advantages and privileges which Abraham was possessed of, on the account whereof he was mighty in his own days and almost adored by his posterity, yet when the meanest duty was presented to him, he readily complied with it. Nor ought it to be otherwise with any. For, (1.) privilege is less than duty. A man may have the greatest privileges and yet be rejected, but the least sincere duty shall not be unrewarded. For duty indeed is our chiefest honor and advantage. And for men to pretend to such advancements in the Church of God, as that they should be exempted thereby from the ordinary labor of the ministry, is horrid pride and ingratitude. But when spiritual or ecclesiastical privileges are pretended to countenance men in a life or course of idleness, sloth, pleasure, sensuality, or worldliness in any kind, it is a crime that it may be we as yet want a name to express. Therefore, (2.) whatever is pretended, that is no privilege, which either exempts a man, or hinders him in and to the performance of any duty whatever. It is such a privilege as being well improved will send men to Hell. It will prove no otherwise let the pretense be what it will. For, (3.) there are indeed but two ends of any privileges whereof in this world we may be made partakers; whereof the first is to enable us to duty, and the other is to encourage us thereunto. Hereunto we may add, that when any are highly exalted in privileges, that they have an advantage thereby to give an eminent example to others in the performance of their duties, when these ends are not pursued, all privileges, promotions, dignities, exaltations, are snares and tend to the ruin of men's souls. There are things still of this nature both as to whole churches and as to particular persons. Some churches are like Capernaum as to the outward means of grace, as it were lifted up to Heaven; let them take heed of Capernaum's judgment in being brought down as low as Hell for their abuse of them, or negligence in their improvement. Some persons have eminent endowments, and if they are not eminent in service, they will prove their disadvantage. Yes, the highest privileges should make men ready to condescend to the meanest duties. This is that which our Lord Jesus Christ so signally instructed his disciples in, when he himself washed their feet, and taught them the same duty towards the meanest of his disciples (John 13:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17).

3. Opportunities for duty which render it beautiful, ought diligently to be embraced. So did Abraham as to this duty upon his meeting of Melchisedec. Hence the performance of this duty became so renowned, and was of the use whereunto it is here applied by our Apostle. It is season that gives every thing its beauty. And omission of seasons or tergiversations under them, are evidences of a heart much under the power of corrupt lusts or unbelief.

4. When the instituted use of consecrated things ceases, the things themselves cease to be sacred, or of esteem. For what became of all these dedicated things after the death of Melchisedec? They were no more sacred, the actual administration of his typical priesthood ceasing. Of what use was the brazen serpent after it was taken from the pole whereon it was lifted up by God's appointment; or of what use would the lifting of it up be, when it was not under an express command? We know it proved a snare, a means of idolatry, and that was all. God's institution is the foundation and warranty of all consecration. All the men in the world cannot really consecrate or dedicate any thing, but by virtue of divine appointment. And this appointment of God respected always a limited use, beyond which nothing was sacred. And every thing kept beyond its appointment is like manna so kept, it breeds worms and stinks. These things are manifest from the consideration of all things that God ever accepted or dedicated in the Church. But ignorance of them is that which has filled the world with horrid superstition. How many things have we had made sacred which never had warranty from any institution of God? Monasteries, abbeys, persons and lands, altars, bells, utensils, with other things of the like nature very many, which whatever use they are of, yet all the men in the world cannot make them sacred. And the extending of the sacredness of dedicated things beyond their use, has had no less pernicious event. Hence was the useless reservation of the consecrated bread after the Sacrament, and afterwards the idolatrous worship of it. But these things are here occasionally only mentioned. The Apostle adds in the confirmation of his argument.