CHAPTER III: Privilege of believers under the New Testament to enter into the highest heavens b
temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.' And if on the times of the ordinary days of worship, much more on this day, the day of atonements, which was appointed also for the people for prayer; for they were to fast and afflict their souls for sin, Lev. 16:27, 28, which they then confessed, even of their whole lives; and was therefore joined with prayer, as that duty did require, for atonement.
So as everything falls in, that prayer bears the main of the apostle's intendment and exhortation. And those qualifications, ver. 22, of 'a true heart,' &c., do come in but as concomitants, to make the prayer acceptable.
CHAPTER III
That it is the privilege of believers under the New Testameat to enter into the highest heavens by faith, and with the apprehension of faith.
—An invitation to them so to do.—The dispositions which are required to make them meet for such a heavenly converse.
These things premised, I reduce the words to these four heads:
I. That all that are believers already, under the New Testament, their privilege is, that when they worship, especially in prayer, that they should by faith, and with the apprehension of faith, enter boldly into the very highest heavens; and placing themselves there, to seek communion and converse with God, through Christ; and with Christ himself as our high priest, themselves considered as they are in heaven; and we by faith present there, together with God and Christ; in brief, when we pray, we should in an immediate manner set ourselves to enjoy communion with God and Christ, as they are in heaven.
II. A free and open invitation here made, with an exhortation thereunto; which invitement you have amply pressed, and enforced
with the highest encouragements to persuade confidence in so doing; namely, thus to approach God and Christ in the highest heavens.
These two heads you have in the 19th, 20th, 21st verses, 'Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us, by the veil of his flesh; and having a high priest over the house of God; let us draw near,' &c.
III. The inward dispositions or qualifications that are required to make them meet for such a heavenly converse, and which are to make their prayers prevalent to have power with God; to obtain what we pray for:
1. With which therefore we should enter and approach; or, 2. Which we should put forth, and exercise in the time of performance of that duty of praying; and, as much as in us lies, to endeavour not to come off without them. Or,
3. At least, which we do in our prayers, should chiefly seek for at God's hands, and implore his grace and mercy to help our infirmities therein; these, above all things else that we pray for; without doing which, we shall much fall short in our obtaining those other things prayed for by us; and these you have in ver. 22, 'Let us draw nigh with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.'
I have proposed this third head under these three several branches, that it may take in and comprehend all sorts of believers; all of them either having or performing either the one or the other of these three.
For if we should understand and limit the scope of these qualifications, to be all and every of them absolutely necessary conditions; that is, such as without each of which, unless every believer brings with him before he prays, he is not, nor shall be accepted, nor his prayer regarded; we must exclude many of the
righteous. For it is certain that many do want 'full assurance of faith;' which speaks a higher degree of faith, and especially an assurance that their persons are accepted. Many also fall short of having their consciences* so fully sprinkled from an evil conscience; as to their own sense (as that phrase would import, even to the sense of their consciences, of which hereafter), that their own hearts should not condemn them; in the guiltiness of many sins that God is pleased to let lie bound, even upon them that are saints, for as long as his pleasure is, thereby to humble them. And to confirm this, if we take the scope of the apostle, I look upon the words to be an invitation, with an exhortation; and the scope of that exhortation to be, what dispositions those that would pray as in heaven, when they pray, and that would pray after such a heavenly rate, should labour to attain, and either bring such with them when they come, or at least are to seek after, to obtain them in praying, and by prayer. And so these things to be proposed here, as principal matters to be prayed for.
And so they serve as rules of direction to praying, as well as for qualifications requisite thereunto. I find but two interpreters that have touched upon any such scope; and they are in Flaccius Illyricus upon the words, of which afterwards. The other is worthy Mr Dixon, who hath well observed on that word—'in full assurance of faith'— that God's meaning is, that he likes it better to come with a full assurance of faith, though he despiseth not the weakest, nor quencheth faith in the smoke, not yet risen into victory in the flame.
To which I add, it being an exhortation, exhortations are usually made in the strain of highest attainments, not the lowest and weakest. The apostles did exhort to many things weak Christians might be long in attaining. For the copy or samples you set afore learners use to be with the perfectest, when yet they write or work very much short of them. And so here the meaning is, that God indeed would have you come in full assurance; and this he proposeth as that which you may obtain, and exhorteth unto it as what he most desires, and would have in you. Also, consider that yet the weakest believer hath a faith, so far as to cause him to perform the main thing exhorted to; and that is, to come to God and Christ, and also with a true heart in prayer. Again, it is certain that those, whoever they be,
that have these dispositions, he or they obtained them by prayer.
And therefore they cannot be all absolute conditions aforehand in all cases ere we come to pray. For themselves are obtained (I say) by prayer first, and much seeking of God too. And how many poor souls do bitterly complain of the want of these!
IV. And each and the whole of these, both duty, invitation, privileges, &c., are inferred from, and represented under, the analogy and similitude of that special solemn worship, and the rites thereof observed and performed by the high priest and the people upon the great and memorable day of atonement; once again celebrated with extraordinary sacrifices on purpose appointed for that day, besides the ordinary for every day, the high priest carrying the blood for those extraordinary ones, to make atonement, into the holy of holies, which he entered into but once a-year. All which was accompanied with confession of sins and prayer, the people also universally coming up to that assembly, and were present at that solemn worship, keeping that day with afflicting their souls for the sins of their whole lives past, which therefore must needs be joined with prayer on their part for the pardon of them; as Lev. 16:12, 17, where it is said the high priest carried incense within the veil, with which, if you compare the practice of the people, what it used to be whilst incense was offered; as in Luke 1:9, 10, 'according to the custom of the priest's office, his' (namely Zacharias) 'lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord: and the whole multitude of people were praying without at the time of incense;' it appears that the people prayed that day, incense on that day being offered in the holy of holies, by the high priest, for an atonement in the same, Lev.
16:29, 30, which day was called the day of atonements; and in like respect styled the fast, Act 27:9.
From the types of which the apostle deducts his exhortation here, in these four verses, and speaks to the Hebrews in the language thereof; carrying us up from that holiest to heaven, unto God, and Jesus our high priest there. And he presseth the substantials of our inward worshippings, in ver. 22, from the performances of that day,
especially in prayer. For, as this day's solemnities were the top of the Jewish worship, and spent in fasting, prayers, and confessions of sin by the people, so is prayer—these duties and qualifications of our person in prayer—the height of our Christian religion.
For the first. That it is our privilege, and the gospel dispensation calls for it, that when we pray we should set ourselves to enter in, by faith, immediately into heaven, and converse with them as they be in heaven, and we together with them.
Instead of more literal proofs, this text being evidence sufficient, requiring us thus to do, I shall give reasons and demonstrations of it.
1. A reason in general. The gospel (the doctrines of it being totally heavenly, and the blessings of it heavenly, Eph. 1:4) hath exalted, raised up, and enhanced all things thereof to an heavenly state, in their several proportions and kinds. Like the elixir, it hath turned all the legal alchemy, or carnal earthly ordinances (as Heb. 9:1 they are there called), into celestial; as in the same Heb. 9:22 they are styled, even all the things represented by those types. The gospel itself was styled, with difference from the old covenant, 'the kingdom of heaven,' and that by Christ himself, when he began to preach it. The very preaching of it is termed an exaltation of those that heard it unto heaven, Mat. 11:22; and a speaking from heaven, Heb. 12:25.
And that is spoken in comparison to Moses giving the law, whom he there oppositely terms, 'him that spake on earth.' Yea, and this speaking from heaven is attributed to the sermons of the apostles, and ordinary ministers, unto the Hebrews and other Christians, to the end of the world. And if their sermons, which are ordinances by the ministry of another speaking to us, are a speaking of Christ's from heaven; what then are our prayers, especially private prayers?
For they are purely mediate* effluxes of the soul to God himself, without the intervention of any outward medium, but what is in and from a man's own soul, elevated and assisted by the Holy Ghost, as Rom. 8. This may certainly be entitled, praying in heaven.