Hebrews Chapter 10:36-39 | |
36. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. | 36. Patientiae enim opus habetis, ut quum voluntatem Dei feceritis obtineatis promissionem. |
37. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. | 37. Adhuc enim pusillum temporis, quando qui venturus est veniet et non tardabit. |
38. Now the just shall live by faith: but if [any man] draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. | 38. Justus autem ex fide vivet, et si subductus fuerit non oblectabitur anima mea in eo. |
39. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. | 39. Nos autem non sumus subductionis in perditionem, sed fidei in acquisitionem animae. |
36.
37.
And in order that this consolation might have more assurance and authority, he adduces the testimony of the Prophet Habakkuk. (Habakkuk 2:4.) But as he follows the Greek version, he departs somewhat from the words of the Prophet. I will first briefly explain what the Prophet says, and then we shall compare it with what the Apostle relates here.
When the Prophet had spoken of the dreadful overthrow of his own nation, being terrified by his prophecy, he had nothing to do but to quit as it were the world, and to betake himself to his watchtower; and his watchtower was the Word of God, by which he was raised as it were into heaven. Being thus placed in this station, he was bidden to write a new prophecy, which brought to the godly the hope of salvation. Yet as men are naturally unreasonable, and are so hasty in their wishes that they always think God tardy, whatever haste he may make, he told them that the promise would come without delay; at the same time he added, "If it tarries, wait for it." By which he meant, that what God promises will never come so soon, but that it seems to us to tarry, according to an old proverb, "Even speed is delay to desire." Then follow these words, "Behold, his soul that is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." By these words he intimates that the ungodly, however they may be fortified by defenses, should not be able to stand, for there is no life of security but by faith. Let the unbelieving then fortify themselves as they please, they can find nothing in the whole world but what is fading, so that they must ever be subject to trembling; but their faith will never disappoint the godly, because it rests on God. This is the meaning of the Prophet.
Now the Apostle applies to God what Habakkuk said of the promise; but as God by fulfilling his promises in a manner shows what he is, as to the subject itself there is not much difference; nay, the Lord comes whenever he puts forth his hand to help us. The Apostle follows the Prophet in saying, That it would be shortly; because God defers not his help longer than it is expedient; for he does not by delaying time deceive us as men are wont to do; but he knows his own time which he suffers not to pass by without coming to our aid at the moment required. Now he says,
38.
The other clause, "He will not please my soul," or as I have rendered it more fully, "My soul shall not delight in him," is to be taken as the expression of the Apostle's feeling; for it was not his purpose to quote exactly the words of the Prophet, but only to refer to the passage to invite readers to a closer examination of it.4
39.
Now let it be noticed that this truth belongs also to us, for we, whom God has favored with the light of the Gospel, ought to acknowledge that we have been called in order that we may advance more and more in our obedience to God, and strive constantly to draw nearer to him. This is the real preservation of the soul, for by so doing we shall escape eternal perdition.
1 Or, "patient waiting," as rendered by Erasmus and Stuart, and not "perseverance," as rendered by Macknight. They were to suffer patiently their trials, looking forward to their termination; and in order to encourage them patiently to endure, he reminds them in the next verse that it will only be for a very short time. -- Ed.
2 It is evident from the manner in which the quotation is made, that the Apostle meant only to adapt to his own purpose the passage in Habakkuk; he does not quote it in the order in which it is found there, nor literally from the Hebrew, nor wholly so from the Sept. What is said in Habakkuk of the vision, he applies here to the Lord. Surely, such a use of a passage is legitimate.
The coming of Christ mentioned here, according to Mede, was his coming to destroy Jerusalem, and to put an end to the Jewish polity. If "the approaching day," in verse 25, be considered to be that event then the same event is most probably referred to here. Besides, he speaks here of the enmity of the unbelieving Jews; and as our Savior represented the destruction of Jerusalem as a blessing to his people, it becomes still more probable that Christ's coming to destroy that nation is intended. -- Ed.
4 This verse, with the exception of the two clauses being inverted, and of my being not added to "faith," is literally the same with the Sept. But the last clause here and the first in Habakkuk, differs in words materially from the Hebrew, according to the received text. There are two MSS. which give
Behold the fainting! Not right is his soul within him;
But the righteousness by his faith shall he live.
The fainting i.e., as to faith and he who "draws back," or withdraws through fear, as the verb means, are descriptive of the same character. To persevere in expecting the fulfillment of a promise, is the subject in Habakkuk and also in this passage. And then, that the soul of the fainting is not right, is the same as to say that such a soul is not what God approves.
A theological dispute has arisen, though unnecessarily, from the construction of the last clause in this verse. The introduction of "any one," or any man, has been objected to, and that it ought to be "but if he," i.e., "the righteousness" draw back, etc. The probability is, that as "anyone" should not be ascribed to Beza, for Pagininus and others had done so before him. However, the doctrine of perseverance is in no way imperiled by leaving out "any one." The Bible is full of this mode of addressing Christians, and yet the Bible assures us that the sheep of Christ shall never perish. Warnings and admonitions are the very means which God employs to secure the final salvation of his people; and to conclude from such warnings that they may finally fall away, is by no means a legitimate argument. -- Ed.
Back to BibleStudyGuide.org. These files are public domain. This electronic edition was downloaded from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. |