THE ADVENT AND THE PRESENCE
‘Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me,) to do Thy will, O God.’
Hebrews 10:7
The Greek word which we have translated ‘I come,’ is more than that; it is more than that, it is stronger. It is—‘I am come. I am come.’ The expression denotes two things: that He came, and that where He comes He stays. ‘I am come,’ implies the two facts—the Advent and His presence. ‘I am come.’ He came! He came to take our sins from us. He came to die, to be our Substitute. And now, having done that, He stays. ‘I am come.’ He is with us still—our Companion, our Brother, our Guide, our Friend. And this is the Father’s will.
I. The Son of God has come.—He has been actually born, as we were born, that He has grown up, as we have grown up—an infant, a child, a boy, a youth, a man—that He loved as we love—for He did—that He has gone through all the experiences—that His body was like ours, that His body has hungered, and thirsted, and fainted, and wearied; that it was tortured and died; that it was bruised and buried and rose again; how real! how full of sympathy! how comforting! how strengthening! how ennobling! how encouraging! what a dignity! what a fellowship! what a sweetness is this in every passage of life. How it elevates and consecrates our humanity. ‘I am come.’
II. He is here still.—The expression ‘I am come’ implies I am here still. ‘I am, at this moment, at your side. I stay. I shall not go. I never go. I am come. Invisible, but quite as true, I am here now. I am here now. One day you will see Me visibly, but I am here now. Then I shall be visible. You will see Me again with your bodily eyes quite plainly, quite plainly.’ Oh! how much is wrapped up in that word—‘I am come!’ What a different world—how cold, how empty, how hard it would be to every one who believes the doctrine, if that word were taken away, ‘I am come.’
—Rev. James Vaughan.

ATONEMENT THROUGH THE CROSS
‘In which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all.’
Hebrews 10:10 (R.V.m.)
There are three points in connection with the Scriptural representation of the doctrine of the Atonement which must be kept constantly in mind.
I. The Atonement is the work of the whole Trinity, and the sacrifice of the Cross is offered to the whole Trinity. ‘God,’ writes St. Paul to his Greek converts, ‘was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not reckoning unto them their trespasses.’ There can surely be no place in Christian theology for what really postulates division of sentiment in the mind of the Divine Unity. We dare not think of the Son as more compassionate than the Father, or of the Father as more moved by indignation than the Son.
II. He Who is ‘perfect God’ was manifested as ‘perfect Man.’—In Him all humanity was gathered together—a consummation possible through His birth of the Virgin Mary. Accordingly it may be said that in a sense humanity suffered in His sufferings and was crucified upon His Cross. Though we cannot exclude the vicarious element, yet the view which gives exclusive force to that element falls short even of that measure of the truth to which our intellectual and spiritual faculties may attain. It fails to take into sufficient account the dominant significance of the Incarnation. ‘Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; He Who was manifested in the flesh.’ The Divine Word took upon Himself our nature in its totality. His life was the summing up of all creation in one fitly prepared Body. He did not therefore merely occupy our position. The solidarity of life which had for a while been man’s curse was by the infinite love transfigured into an eternal blessing.
III. There is the power of Christ’s perfect obedience.—‘Lo! I am come to do Thy will.’ He offers a ministry of absolute righteousness. Throughout His life He was untainted with sin. Neither the ordinary temptations of weak and erring men, nor those special spiritual trials which His supreme calling brought with it—those trials which came to Him first of all during the forty days in the wilderness, but which we are told were suspended, not abandoned—were able to impair the infinite value of that oblation. ‘Which if you convicteth Me of sin?’ is His own challenge. ‘One that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin,’ is the witness of this Epistle. There is no denial implied of growth and development; neither does reverence require that we should weaken the power and meaning of those experiences which He endured.
—Rev. the Hon. W. E. Bowen.
Illustration
‘Some may remember the splendid lines of John Newton, one of the religious poets of the eighteenth century, who after being employed in the African slave trade and given over to profligacy, was in time brought to a sense of the depth of his sinfulness. In them he describes—the simplicity and sincerity of the lines bear witness to their autobiographical character—how the conception of the self-sacrifice of Christ as offered for him personally had sobered and changed him.’
In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.
I saw One hanging on a Tree
In agonies and blood
Who fix’d His languid eyes on Me
As near His Cross I stood.
Sure never till my latest breath
Can I forget that look;
It seem’d to charge me with his death,
Though not a word He spoke;
My conscience felt and own’d the guilt,
And plung’d me in despair;
I saw my sins His Blood had spilt,
And help’d to nail Him there.
Alas! I knew not what I did!
But now my tears are vain:
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain!
A second look He gave, which said,
‘I freely all forgive;
This Blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou may’st live.’
Thus while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief and mournful joy,
My spirit now is fill’d,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I kill’d.

ESSENTIALS OF TRUE PRAYER
‘Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.’
Hebrews 10:22
The text teaches us how to pray acceptably, and sets before us the three great essentials of acceptable and true prayer.
I. A true heart.—Lip-worship is an abomination unto the Lord. ‘This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.’
( a) A heart true towards God.
( b) A heart true towards ourselves.
( c) A heart true towards others.
II. A strong faith.—‘Without faith it is impossible to please God’; and the stronger our faith, the more pleasing to God.
( a) The mark of a strong faith is assurance.
( b) The faith God requires in our prayers is faith full to assurance.
( c) The faith most honoured by God is that which is full of assurance.
Not merely full up to the point of assurance, but full of assurance. We should seek to attain this degree of faith.
III. A consistent character.—‘Having our hearts sprinkled.’ The expression indicates a consistent character as essential to a devout life—internal purity and outward conformity ( Psalms 24:3-4). The praying man must be he on whom the Spirit of God must rest ( Ezekiel 36:25-26). These three essentials may seem difficult to realise, but Sincerity, Faith, and Consistency are within the reach of all.

THE BLESSING OF REMEMBRANCE
‘But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions.’
Hebrews 10:32
Remember the circumstances under which the temptation to fall away assailed the Hebrews. Christianity was no longer a new thing; there were long-continued hardships from unbelieving countrymen. The Lord had not yet come, as He had foretold, for the punishment of His enemies. The perilous times He had spoken of were upon them. Many of His followers were offended, many turned back and betrayed their brethren, iniquity abounded, and the love of many waxed cold. This Epistle was a trumpet blast to waverers, appealing to their reason, affection, fear, conscience.
The memory of early Christian life should encourage us to steadfastness. The writer of this Epistle reminds them—
I. Of their early spiritual enlightenment.
II. Of what after their enlightenment they were able to do.
III. Of the hope which accompanied this.

PATIENCE AND HOPE
‘Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.’
Hebrews 10:36
The hope of perfected Christian life should encourage us to steadfastness. The keynote of these words is hope.
I. Christian life will end in wonderful blessing.—‘Promise,’ equivalent to ‘promised blessing.’ There is a promised blessing to be enjoyed after the will of God is done. The writer of the Epistle has already reminded them of the recompense in doing God’s will, but beyond that there is another, which ‘eye hath not seen, nor ear heard.’
II. The temporary character of the trials which precede this blessing.—‘Yet a little while.’ The promised blessing is eternal, the painful interval is ‘a little while.’ The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared, etc.
III. The brave endurance of these temporary trials makes the blessing all the greater.—For there is a special ‘promise’ to him who, amid opposition, persists in doing the will of God. All the redeemed will have life; but how many will have the crown?