Hebrews 13:7–16

My child, him that speaketh to thee the word of God remember night and day; and thou shalt honour him as the Lord; for in the place whence lordly rule is uttered, there is the Lord. And thou shalt seek out day by day the faces of the saints, in order that thou mayest rest upon their words. Thou shalt not long for division, but shalt bring those who contend to peace.

"Remember them which have the rule over you." This he was laboring to say above: therefore "Follow peace with all men." (c. xii. 14.) He gave this exhortation also to the Thessalonians, to "hold them in honor exceedingly." (1 Thess. v. 13.)

"Remember" (he says) "them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation." What kind of following is this? Truly the best: for he says, beholding their life, "follow their faith." For from a pure life cometh faith.

Or else by "faith," he means steadfastness. How so? Because they believe in the things to come. For they would not have shown forth a pure life, if they had questioned about the things to come, if they had doubted. So that here also he is applying a remedy to the same evil.

"Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God." In this place I think that he is speaking about assistance also. For this is implied in the words "who have spoken unto you the word of God."

"Whose faith follow considering the end of their conversation." What is "considering"? Continually revolving, examining it by yourselves, reasoning, investigating accurately, testing it as you choose. "The end of their conversation," that is, their conversation to the end: for "their conversation" had a good end.

"Remember your leaders." Of the teachers. This Paul also advised the Thessalonians, so that they hold them in honor exceedingly. (1 Thess. 5:13) And just as they share in the word, so if it is possible, to help them in their bodily needs. For this is hinted at by the phrase, "remember". It also encourages them to imitate them. "consider the outcome of their." Reflecting, examining. This can be said both about the deceased and the living; concerning the deceased: reflecting, Paul says, on how they exited life, what kind of conduct they had in the world, imitate their faith; for a pure life is based on faith. For if they had not believed in what was to come, but had hesitated, they would not have demonstrated the best way of life. Concerning their way of life: Reflecting, he says, on how they conduct themselves well in life, become imitators of their faith. "the outcome of their way of life." The community until the end. "Jesus Christ yesterday and today." Some among them were saying, The crucified one, the proclaimed and expected Christ does not exist. Another, they say, will come. Therefore, Paul says, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." By "yesterday," he indicates the past ages; by "today," the present; by "the same forever," the future. As if he said: Another Christ will not come. For this one who has come is the one who was before, and he is and will be forever.

Moreover, also, Elijah and Elisha, and many other holy men, we find to have lived a holy and spotless life. If, therefore, thou desirest to be like these, imitate them with all thy power. For the Scripture has said, "The elders who are among you, honour; and, seeing their manner of life and conduct, imitate their faith." [Hebrews 13:7] And again it saith, "Imitate me, my brethren, as I imitate Christ." [1 Corinthians 11:1]

"The leaders" are those who have proclaimed the word of godliness among them and were killed by the Jews on the spot. And there were many, not only Stephen and James who was killed by the sword, but also James, brother of our Lord, and very many others handed over in silence.

He referred to the saints long dead—Stephen the protomartyr, James the brother of John, James called Just; many others as well were done away with by the Jews' fury. By having an eye to them, he is saying, and acquainting yourselves with their praiseworthy lifestyle, emulate their faith.

He convinces the Thessalonians of this as well, to show them the greatest honor (1 Thess. 5:13). And just as those teachers made them partakers of the word of God, so they in turn ought to assist them as much as possible in material needs. Regarding this, he hints to them with the word "remember." Or he urges them to imitate them.

That is, more precisely, observe. And just as the pupils of a painter look at the original, so you too, always looking "at the outcome," that is, at the end of their life, at their way of life which had a good end, imitate their faith. For from faith comes a pure life. And if they had not believed in the future but had doubted, they would not have proven blameless in conduct. Again he heals their faintheartedness; or he speaks of faith in doctrines.

Then (v. 7) he shows they should do good to their prelates. In regard to this he does two things: first, he shows how they should act in regard to their dead prelates, namely, follow their example; secondly, in regard to those living, namely, obey them (v. 17). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he shows how they should follow the teachings of the good; secondly, how to avoid the doctrine of evil (v. 9).

He says, therefore: Remember your leaders [prelates], those who spoke to you the word of God, i.e., the apostles, who have preached to you: 'Look unto Abraham, your father, and to Sarah that bore you' (Is. 51:2). But they not only preached by word, but showed what to do by action: 'The Lord confirming the word with signs that followed' (Mk 16:20). Remember not only their words, but look to their end: 'Remember the works of the fathers which they have done in their generations: and you shall receive great glory and an everlasting name' (1 Macc. 2:51); 'Take, my brethren, for an example of suffering evil, of labor and patience, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord' (Jas. 5:10). But imitate not only the outcome of their life, so as to suffer patiently for Christ, but also their manner of life: for a good life leads to a good death: Whose faith follow and do not depart from it.

How, also, can He be changeable and mutable, who says indeed by Himself: "I am in the Father, and the Father in Me," and, "I and My Father are one;" and by the prophet, "I am the Lord, I change not?" For even though one saying may refer to the Father Himself, yet it would now be more aptly spoken of the Word, because when He became man, He changed not; but, as says the apostle, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and for ever."

For in general Scripture speaks of two days, yesterday and to-day, of which it is said, "Jesus Christ the same, yesterday to-day and for ever." On the first day the promise is made, on the second it is fulfilled.

The natural properties of the Word who came forth from the Father were maintained even when he became flesh. It is foolish therefore to dare to introduce a breach. For the Lord Jesus Christ is one and through him the Father created all things. He is composed of human properties and of others that are above the human, yielding a kind of middle term. He is, in fact, a mediator between God and humankind, according to the Scriptures, God by nature even when incarnate, truly, not purely man like us, remaining what he was even when he had become flesh. For it is written, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

How then could he be the same in the past when he had not yet assumed generation according to the flesh?… It is of Jesus Christ and not just of the Word that the text affirms that he is the same today, yesterday and forever, but how could the human nature possess immutability and unaltered identity when it is subject to movement and, above all, to that movement that made it pass from nothingness to being and to life?… In virtue of the union with flesh that is proper to him, it is still he himself who is described as existing yesterday and as preexistent.

The Son of God, assuming our likeness and becoming human, not taking up what he was but taking on what he was [i.e., the divine condition] effects our salvation. For he remains, as Paul put it, the same yesterday and today and forever, without undergoing any change in his divinity by reason of his incarnation, but remaining what he was and will always be.

These names—righteousness, sanctification, redemption, resurrection … are still common to the one who is above us and to the one who came for our sake. But others are peculiarly our own and belong to that nature which he assumed. So he is called man, not only that through his body he may be apprehended by embodied creatures, whereas otherwise this would be impossible because of his incomprehensible nature; but also that by himself he may sanctify humanity and be, as it were, a leaven to the whole lump. Then, by uniting to himself that which was condemned, he may release it from all condemnation, becoming for all people all things that we are, except sin—body, soul, mind, and all through which death reaches. Thus he became man, who is the combination of all these; God in visible form, because he retained that which is perceived by mind alone. He is son of man both on account of Adam and of the Virgin from whom he came, from the one as a forefather, from the other as his mother, both in accordance with the law of generation and apart from it. He is Christ because of his Godhead. For this is the anointing of his manhood and does not, as is the case with all other anointed ones, sanctify by its action but by the presence in his fullness of the anointing one; the effect of which is that that which anoints is called human and makes that which is anointed God. He is the way, because he leads us through himself; the door as letting us in; the shepherd, as making us dwell in a place of green pastures and bringing us up by waters of rest, and leading us there and protecting us from wild beasts, converting the erring, bringing back that which was lost, binding up that which was broken, guarding the strong, and bringing them together in the fold beyond, with words of pastoral knowledge. The sheep, as the victim; the lamb, as being perfect; the high priest as the offerer; Melchizedek, as without mother in that nature which is above us and without father in ours; and without genealogy above for who, it says, shall declare his generation? and, moreover, as king of Salem, which means peace, and king of righteousness, and as receiving tithes from patriarchs, when they prevail over powers of evil. They are the titles of the Son. Walk through them, those that are lofty in a godlike manner; those that belong to the body in a manner suitable to them; or rather, altogether in a godlike manner, that you may become a god, ascending from below, for his sake who came down from on high for ours. In all and above all keep to this, and you shall never err, either in the loftier or the lowlier names. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today in the incarnation, and in the Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

In these words, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday and to-day and for ever," "yesterday" means all the time that is past: "to-day," the present: "for ever," the endless which is to come. That is to say: Ye have heard of an High Priest, but not an High Priest who fails. He is always the same. As though there were some who said, "He is not, another will come," he says this, that He who was "yesterday and to-day," is "the same also for ever." For even now the Jews say, that another will come; and having deprived themselves of Him that is will fall into the hands of Antichrist.

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday and to-day and for ever." Do not think that then indeed He wrought wonders, but now works no wonders. He is the same. This is, "remember them that have the rule over you."

The "today" signifies this life; for it says, "Jesus Christ yesterday and today and forever" and again "while it is called today."

And if "today" means the whole present age, "yesterday" is probably the bygone age. This what I have understood to be the meaning in the psalm and in Paul's epistle to Hebrews. In the psalm it says: "A thousand years are in your eyes as a yesterday that has passed." Whatever the much talked of millennium means, it is likened to yesterday as opposed to today. And in the apostle writes, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." No wonder that the whole of an age counts with God as the space of a single day with us, and I think even less.

This, too, he does not simply put down, but he fits it to the argument that has been interrupted, teaching that he was crucified by the Jews. And he also demonstrates his eternal existence, for he calls the human nature "yesterday and today" and names the divinity "forever." And he says that the two are the same, since the only begotten and the firstborn are one and the same Son.

For, it seemed, some were distorting the faith and saying that another would come, whom the Jews even now await. So he says that Christ is the same "yesterday," that is, in all past time, "and today," that is, in the present, and "forever," that is, in future and endless times, and another will not come. So do not be led astray. Or: just as He did not abandon your teachers, but helped them in everything, so also will He render help to you. For He is one and the same.

He continues: Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today: and the same forever. According to a Gloss this is the way this section is introduced. For he had said before, I will not leave you or forsake you. But they could say: The one to whom this was said can well trust in God's help, but not we to whom it was not spoken. But the Apostle rejects this, saying that Christ remains forever; hence, he says, Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today: and the same forever. Or it can be referred to what he had just said, namely, that they should imitate the apostles. They could say that the case is not the same, because they were instructed by Christ and served Him, but we not so. Therefore, the Apostle says that Christ remains; hence, he says that we should serve Him. And so he says, Jesus Christ, yesterday, namely, in the time of the first apostles, and today, namely, in their time, and the same forever: 'I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world' (Mt. 28:20); 'Says the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty' (Rev. 1:8); 'But you are always the selfsame, and your years shall not fail' (Ps. 101:28). In these words he shows the eternity of Christ.

The use of grace ought to be manly in itself. Whence the Apostle to the Hebrews: "It is best to establish the heart with grace," he does not say the stomach. At other times you have labored to strengthen your bodies. He who wishes to have strong arms must exercise himself in works of strength. Similarly, he who wishes to have stabilizing grace must exercise himself in works of virtue.

From Christ, indeed, is the fruit of grace. This fruit of grace is fourfold: it consists in steadying the soul through faith, blessing it through divine love, lifting it up through hope, curbing it through divine fear. The Apostle speaks of the first: "It is good to make steadfast the heart by grace, not by foods." The Jews steadied themselves with foods.

That is, the doctrines of the [levitical] priests and their offerings. "It is well that the heart is strengthened by grace," that is, is made firm by the new gospel, not by the restrictions of the priests about food. Those who practiced this way of life obtained no profit in these rules; that is, those who observed them were not purified nor had eternal life in them.

It is the great peril of our society that all its mechanisms may grow more fixed while its spirit grows more fickle. A man's minor actions and arrangements ought to be free, flexible, creative; the things that should be unchangeable are his principles, his ideals. But with us the reverse is true; our views change constantly; but our lunch does not change. Now, I should like men to have strong and rooted conceptions, but as for their lunch, let them have it sometimes in the garden, sometimes in bed, sometimes on the roof, sometimes in the top of a tree. Let them argue from the same first principles, but let them do it in a bed, or a boat, or a balloon.

"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines." Not "with strange doctrines" only, but neither with "divers ones."

"For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meats which have not profited them that have been occupied therein." Here he gently hints at those who introduce the observance of "meats." For by Faith all things are pure. There is need then of Faith, not of "meats."

"Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines." "Strange," that is, different from those ye heard from us; "Divers" that is, of all sorts: for they have no stability, but are different one from another. For especially manifold is the doctrine of meats.

"For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats." These are the "divers," these the "strange" doctrines: especially as Christ has said, "not that which entereth into the mouth defileth the man, but that which cometh out." (Matt. xv. 11.) And observe that he does not make bold to say this openly, but as it were by a hint. "For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace, not with meats."

Faith is all. If that establishes it, the heart stands in security. It follows that Faith establishes: consequently reasonings shake. For Faith is contrary to reasoning.

"Which" (he says) "have not profited them that have been occupied therein." For what is the gain from the observance of them, tell me. Does it not rather destroy? Does it not make such an one to be under sin? If it be necessary to observe them, we must guard ourselves.

"Which" (he says) "have not profited them that have been occupied therein." That is, who have always diligently kept them.

There is one observance, abstaining from sin. For what profit is it, when some are so polluted, as not to be able to partake of the sacrifices? So that it did not save them at all; although they were zealous about the observances. But because they had not faith, even thus they profited nothing.

"diverse and strange teachings." Paul says, do not be led astray by teachings that go beyond doctrines, neither different nor strange ones. For the doctrine itself is also recognizable; but to be carried away, as from the metaphor of those who are mad, who are carried here and there, has been said. "for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace." For the heart established by the grace of God will not be led astray by diverse and strange teachings, but will keep to the truth. "not by foods." Therefore, by faith, which is active through the grace of God, the heart must be strengthened, not being strengthened in regard to the observance of foods; for those who walk in these observances, that is, those who keep them, have gained nothing from them.It is said that some among them observe the food according to Jewish customs.

According to the teaching of Paul, "Those who occupied themselves with meats were not benefited by them," and not only were they deprived of any benefits, but they gathered together for their own persons loss and injury. And although the lust of the belly is not these, yet it leadeth unto them, for when the heart hath become gross through meats, straightway it driveth out from itself the remembrance of God, and when the memory of God hath departed from a man, what wickedness will he not do? and what iniquity will he be not moved to do? Even as also the prophet Moses hath taught us that through this cause the people forgot their God, and that through the lust of the belly they went forth unto idolatry, and from eating meat they were led into blasphemies, and from dainty foods they arrived at all wickedness.

By "strange teachings" he referred to what was at variance with the evangelical teachings. So he bids them persevere in the teaching of grace and abandon the observances of the law: No one reaped any benefit from them.

"Various," meaning now some, now others, and from some and from others, but foreign to right doctrine. For teaching may be "various," yet not "foreign," and therefore not counterfeit. But when teachings are various, that is, from one person one thing and from another something different, then they are also "foreign," that is, foreign to the truth, and then one must be on guard. For the truth is simple and has one aim. Pay attention to the expression "do not be carried away" — he speaks as if about those frivolous people who are easily carried away here and there.

Here are strange doctrines. He hints at those who introduce the Jewish attachment to foods. So, he says that by "grace," that is, by faith, we must be strengthened and fully persuaded that nothing is unclean, but to the believer all things are clean. So what is needed is faith, not the observance of foods. For "those occupied with foods," that is, those who always followed the strict observance of rules about eating, brought no benefit to the soul, since they are alien to faith and slavishly serve a useless law. And in general, he says, what benefit did they receive from the observance of foods, when they were so defiled that they could not participate in the sacrifices?

After exhorting them to follow the example and manner of life of those who have departed, the Apostle now warns them to continue in their teaching. In regard to this he does two things: first, he gives the warning; secondly, the reason (v. 10). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he warns them in general; secondly, he explains the warning (v. 9b).

He says, therefore: Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings. As if to say: Thus we have said that you should imitate the faith of the apostles. Therefore, do not be led away from their teaching to any other doctrine. Here it should be noted that since truth consists in the mean, which is one, many false statements can be opposed to one truth, just as there are many extremes to one middle. Therefore, the doctrine of faith is one, because only one line can be drawn between two points. But all other doctrines are manifold, because there are many deviations from what is straight. Hence, he says, by diverse doctrines, i.e., divided: 'Their heart is divided: now they shall perish' (Hos 10:2). These are the doctrines about which he said (1 Tim. 4:1): 'Doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy.' Furthermore, they are strange, i.e., straying from the Catholic faith. But such doctrines must not be supported by us, because 'we are not strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens of the saints, and the domestics of God' (Eph. 2:19).

Then when he says, For it is well that the heart be strengthened by grace, he explains in detail which are various and strange doctrines. Here it should be noted that in the early Church there was one error rampant, namely, that it was necessary for salvation to observe the ceremonies of the Law, which consisted especially in partaking of certain foods, such as the paschal lamb (Ex. 12) and in abstaining from certain foods, as is clear from Leviticus (chap. 12) and from other passages. Another error was that of the Nicolaitans, that it was lawful to use bodily pleasures indiscriminately. These words can be applied to both these errors, but more properly to the first. He says, therefore, Be not led away from the truth by diverse and strange doctrines: 'Be not easily moved from your sense' (2 Th. 2:2); 'I wonder that you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ, unto another gospel' (Gal. 1:6). For God requires our heart of us: 'My son, give me your heart' (Pr. 23:26); therefore, it is well that the heart be strengthened with grace. For it should be firm and stable; against which Ps. 39 (v. 13) says: 'My heart has forsaken me.' But it is not strengthened with bodily foods, but with sanctifying grace: 'Justified freely by his grace' (Rom. 3:24) and with the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Therefore, he says, not by foods, which have not benefited their adherents: 'The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit' (Rom. 14:17). Therefore, the heart is not established with moderate or superfluous use of food, but rather with God's grace: 'His heart is ready to hope in the Lord, his heart is strengthened he shall not be moved until he look over his enemies' (Ps. 111:8). But hope is an anchor stabilizing the heart: 'We have fled for refuge to hold fast the hope set before us, which we have as an anchor of the soul, sure and firm' (Heb. 6:18). And he says, which have not benefited their adherents, i.e., hope in them, because those who use them for bodily needs profit with bodily health, but those who put their entire interest in them, walk in them. These are the ones whom they do not profit unto the salvation either of soul or body: 'Shall the holy flesh take away from you your crimes, in which you have boasted?' (Jer. 11:15).

That charity and brotherly affection are to be religiously and stedfastly practised. In Malachi: "Hath not one God created us? Is there not one Father of us all? Why have ye certainly deserted every one his brother? " Of this same thing according to John: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." Also in the same place: "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love than this has no man, than that one should lay down his life for his friends." Also in the same place: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God." Also in the same place: "Verily I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth concerning everything, whatever you shall ask it shall be given you from my Father which is in heaven. For wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, I am with them." Of this same thing in the first Epistle to the Corinthians: "And I indeed, brethren, could not speak unto you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I have given you milk for drink, not meat: for while ye were yet little ye were not able to bear it, neither now are ye able. For ye are still carnal: for where there are in you emulation, and strife, and dissensions, are ye not carnal, and walk after man? " Likewise in the same place: "And if I should have all faith, so that I can remove mountains, but have not charity, I am nothing. And if I should distribute all my goods for food, and if I should deliver up my body to be burned, but have not charity, I avail nothing. Charity is great-souled; charity is kind; charity envieth not; charity dealeth not falsely; is not puffed up; is not irritated; thinketh not evil; rejoiceth not in injustice, but rejoiceth in the truth. It loveth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, beareth all things. Charity shall never fail." Of this same thing to the Galatians: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and accuse one another, see that ye be not consumed one of another." Of this same thing in the Epistle of John: "In this appear the children of God and the children of the devil. Whosoever is not righteous is not of God, and he who loveth not his brother. For he who hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him." Also in the same place: "If any one shall say that he loves God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he who loveth not his brother whom he seeth, how can he love God whom he seeth not? " Of this same thing in the Acts of the Apostles: "But the multitude of them that had believed acted with one soul and mind: nor was there among them any distinction, neither did they esteem as their own anything of the possessions that they had; but all things were common to them." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: If thou wouldest offer thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave thou thy gift before the altar, and go; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift at the altar." Also in the Epistle of John: "God is love l and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." Also in the same place: "He who saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is a liar, and walketh in darkness even until now."

For "we have an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the Tabernacle." Not as the Jewish ordinances, are those among us, as it is not lawful even for the High Priest to partake of them. So that since he had said, "Do not observe," and this seemed to be the language of one who is throwing down his own building, he again turns it round. What, have not we then observances as well (he says)? Yea we have, and we observe them very earnestly too, not sharing them even with the priests themselves.

"We have an altar." Since Paul said that we should not observe foods, lest they think our offerings are shameful by being unobserved, he says: For do we not also have observances? But not of foods, rather of our altar, namely, of the unbloody sacrifice of the life-giving body. For even the very high priests of the Jews are not permitted to partake of this; for they who serve in the tabernacle, as it were, in the type and shadow, and not in truth. "from which those who serve the tabernacle have no authority to eat." Not such as the Jewish ones, Paul says, and ours; so that it is not even lawful for the high priest to partake of them.

But the one of them, begirt with scarlet, amid cursing and universal spitting, and tearing, and piercing, was cast away by the People outside the city into perdition, marked with manifest tokens of Christ's passion; who, after being begirt with scarlet garment, and subjected to universal spitting, and afflicted with all contumelies, was crucified outside the city. The other, however: offered for sins, and given as food to the priests merely of the temple, gave signal evidences of the second appearance; in so far as, after the expiation of all sins, the priests of the spiritual temple, that is, of the church, were to enjoy a spiritual public distribution (as it were) of the Lord's grace, while all others are fasting from salvation.

That we may not be as far from the ears of God as we are from His precepts, the memory of His precepts paves for our prayers a way unto heaven; of which precepts the chief is, that we go not up unto God's altar before we compose whatever of discord or offence we have contracted with our brethren.

Having said that there is no need to strictly observe dietary regulations, lest it seem that our way, free from such observance, is worthy of contempt, he says that we too have an observance, only not in regard to these foods, but to the altar, or the bloodless sacrifice of the Life-giving Body. For it is impossible for the high priests of the Old Testament law to partake of this sacrifice as long as they serve the tabernacle, that is, the shadows of the law, which are transient and subject to destruction, or as long as they serve this world, since even the people, as unworthy, did not participate in the sacrifices of the Old Testament law.

Then when he says, We have an altar, from which they have no power to eat who serve the tabernacle, he gives the reason, and it is quite subtle. For, as it is stated in Leviticus (chap. 16), on the tenth day of the seventh month the high priest entered with the blood of a heifer and a goat into the holies because of his own ignorance, and burned their bodies outside the camp. And because it was the priest's offering, the flesh was not eaten. For whatever they offered for the sin of the priests they did not eat, but burned outside the camp. From that figure the Apostle draws a mystery. For the blood of Christ was prefigured by the blood, as was explained in chapter 9. The heifer and the goat prefigured Christ, because the heifer was the priest's offering and the goat was immolated for sin. This prefigured that Christ would be immolated for sin: not for His own but for the people's. Therefore, the immolated heifer and goat is Christ, the Priest, offering Himself for our sins. Therefore, the blood of Christ was brought into the holies and the flesh burned outside the camp. Two things were thereby signified: one, that Christ was immolated in the city by the tongues of the Jews; hence Mark says that He was crucified at the third hour, although He was raised on the Cross at the sixth hour. The other is that by virtue of His Passion Christ brings us within the heavenly holies to the Father. But the fact that the bodies were burned outside the camp, as to our Head, signifies that Christ would suffer outside the gate; but as to us, who are the members, it signifies that Christ is immolated for those who are outside the camp of ceremonies of the Law and of the external senses. For those within the camp did not partake of that flesh. This, therefore, is the figure which the Apostle proposes: first, therefore, he shows what is signified; secondly, he presents the figure (v. 11); thirdly, he draws the conclusion (v. 13).

He says, therefore: Let us strengthen our hearts not with food, but with grace; for we cannot do otherwise, because we have an altar, from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. That altar is the Cross of Christ, on which He was immolated; or Christ Himself in Whom and by Whom we offer our prayers. This is the golden altar spoken of in Rev (chap. 8). Of that altar, therefore, they have no right to eat, i.e., to receive the fruit of Christ's passion and to be incorporated into Him as head, who serve the tabernacle of the ceremonies of the Law: 'If you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing' (Gal. 5:2). Or they serve the tabernacle of the body, who pursue carnal pleasures: 'Make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscences' (Rom. 13:14). For such persons received no profit: 'He that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgement to himself' (1 Cor. 11:29). But the body is called a tabernacle, because we dwell in it as in a war against enemies and it remains a short while: 'The laying away of my tabernacle is at hand' (2 Pt. 1:14). Therefore, it should not be served.

The body of the beasts was an example for our Lord, and our Lord is an example for us, so that "we may go forth outside the camp," that is, go out and become evangelists of his preaching, "and bear the abuse he endured."

"For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered" (he says) "without the gate." Seest thou the type shining forth? "For sin," he says, and "suffered without the gate."

In the next place he takes away the sacrifice from the type, and directs his discourse to the prototype, saying, "The bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the High Priest, are burned without the camp." Then those things were a type of these and thus Christ, suffering "without," fulfilled all.

Here he makes it plain too that He suffered voluntarily, showing that those things were not accidental, but even the Divine arrangement itself was of a suffering "without." He suffered without, but His Blood was borne up into Heaven. Thou seest then that we partake of Blood which has been carried into the Holy Place, the True Holy Place; of the Sacrifice of which the Priest alone had the privilege. We therefore partake of the Truth, the Reality. If then we partake not of "reproach" only but of sanctification, the "reproach" is the cause of the sanctification. For as He was reproached, so also are we. If we go forth "without" therefore, we have fellowship with Him.

"Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed," as the apostle says. Offering himself to the Father as a new and real sacrifice of reconciliation, he was crucified—not in the temple whose due worship is now completed, nor within the enclosure of the city which was to be destroyed because of its crime, but "outside the camp." That way, as the mystery of the ancient sacrifices was ceasing, a new victim would be put on a new altar, and the cross of Christ would be the altar not of the temple, but of the world.

"For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into." Then Paul shows the solemn things among the Jews, being types of our own, and he says that those sacrifices were nothing, of which the people were prevented from partaking; but neither do the high priests of our law partake of our sacrifice; for those were the ones that they typified. Just as in the sacrifices offered for sin, the blood was brought into the holy place by the high priest; the bodies were burned outside the camp; so also Christ, suffering for the sins of the world, brought his own blood into the holy place to the Father as high priest; but his body was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem, because the bodies of the sacrifices for sin were burned outside the camp. Therefore, this blood is brought in by our high priest to our altar. Thus, it is not permitted for the Jewish high priests to eat from that altar.

This is spoken to those who would still be at a loss, asking, "How do you say, 'you have an altar'? For what was offered on it?" It is Christ himself whom you neglect above and below and fail to see that he was sacrificed, since his sacrifice and offering took place for the world, although he himself has not been sacrificed on your altar. For it is manifest that "he suffered outside" the city of Jerusalem. Therefore he says to them, "Yes, he suffered outside, but through this very fact it has rather been accomplished that 'we have an altar.' For even among you 'the bodies' of the sacrificial victims 'are burned' not on the altars themselves, but 'outside the camp.' And still for this reason 'he suffered outside the gate,' so that he might sanctify all and not merely the priests. And if the sacrifice took place for all, how could it not have been an altar?" But the statement "in order to sanctify the people" gives a different interpretation. He says, "I said that 'those serving the temple do not have authority to eat' from our altar, not because this is impossible for them, but because in their opinion they reject themselves as unworthy, since—due to the mercy of Christ—not only is it not forbidden, but for this very reason he once suffered." He says, " 'He suffered outside the gate to sanctify the people,' not this people or that one but all the people and to grant them to have the authority to eat also from this altar."

Look at the type, compare it with the reality and perceive the similarity. The law required a red heifer to be sacrificed, and the high priest to take some of its blood and sprinkle the mercy seat seven times with his finger. Burning the heifer itself outside the camp, they took the ashes and with them purified those people called impure. This acted as a type of the saving passion. The word red here means the body from Adam in the Hebrew language. He was fixed to the cross outside the gate. His blood purifies our souls; in place of the dust we have the life giving body.

Having shown that what the Jews venerated served as a foreshadowing of our worship, he says that the sacrifices in which the people could not participate were nothing; but in our sacrifice, even the high priests of the Old Testament law have no share, for those sacrifices served as a foreshadowing of this one. For just as the high priest brought into the sanctuary the blood of the animals offered for the sins of the people, while the bodies were burned outside the camp, so also Christ, having suffered for the sins of the world, brought His Blood into the sanctuary to the Father as High Priest, while the body was crucified outside the gates. Therefore, performing the remembrance of that sacrifice, our high priests bring the Blood of the Lord into our sanctuary and upon the altar, as into heaven. For this reason, the high priests of the Old Testament law may not partake from this altar, as being foreigners and as not contemplating that which is above this world; but we are not such.

Then (v. 11) he continues the figure: first, the figure of the Old Testament; secondly, the figure of the New Testament (v. 12).

In regard to the first he says: For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest are burned outside the camp. This can be interpreted in two ways: one way thus: the bodies of those animals, namely, of the heifer and goat, are burned outside the camp, their blood being brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for the sin of the priest and of the multitude. In another way, so that by those beasts Christ or His saints are understood. For Christ and His members were prefigured by all the sacrifices of the Old Testament. Therefore, the body of Christ, Whose blood was brought into the heavenly holies for the sin of the whole world, suffered by fire on the altar of the Cross, and was burned outside the camp, i.e., outside the common society of men, with the fire of charity, with fasts, prayers, and other works of mercy. For these the blood of Christ was efficaciously brought into the holies. The first interpretation is literal.

"Therefore Jesus also." This is addressed to those who would wonder, How do you say you have an altar? For what was offered upon it? And indeed, Christ himself, whom you claim was offered above and below, that he became a sacrifice for the world and an offering, was not himself sacrificed upon your altar; for it is evident that he suffered outside the city of Jerusalem. Therefore, to these, Paul says, Yes, he suffered outside, but through this it is rather established that we have an altar. For even among them, the Jews, the bodies of those being sacrificed are not burned on their altars, but outside the camp. And again, for this reason he suffered outside the gate, so that he might sanctify all, and not only the priests. If he became a sacrifice for all, how is it not also an altar? The phrase, in order to sanctify the people, gives another meaning. Paul says that those who serve at the tabernacle have no authority to eat from our altar, not because it is impossible for them, but because they consider themselves unworthy in their own opinion; since from the love of Christ, they are not only not hindered, but also have suffered for this very reason. For he says, in order to sanctify the people, not this one, or that one, but the whole people, and make them have authority to eat from his altar, he suffered outside the gate.

Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered outside the gate. He adapts what was prefigured in the New Testament to the figure of the Old Testament, so that there might be agreement between them. Hence he says, Wherefore, Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered outside the gate. This is clear.

The Lord Redeemer very rightly commanded whoever would follow Him to strip himself and leave the world; for a man ought first to cast off from himself the causes of slackness, and then approach the work. When the Lord Himself began to wage war with the devil, He fought him in the arid desert. Paul also exhorts those who take up the cross of Christ to go forth from the city, saying: "Let us go forth unto Him without the city and take up His reproach, for He suffered without the city." For by setting himself apart from the world and what pertains to it, a man speedily forgets his former habits and his mode of life and he will not struggle long with these. But if he should draw near to the world and its possessions, he will speedily enfeeble the strength of his mind. Wherefore one must know that separation from the world greatly aids a man and guides him on the way of progress in the fierce and saving struggle. It is proper, then, and helpful in this struggle if a monk's cell be in a poor and mean condition, and if his cell be empty and devoid of everything that could incite in him the desire of ease. For when the causes of slackness are distant from a man, he is not endangered by the twofold warfare, that is, the one which is both inward and outward. See how much easier is the struggle when a man desires things that are afar off than when the very things themselves are close at hand and by their sight inflame the thoughts; for the struggle in the latter case is twofold.

"Let us go forth therefore to Him without the camp, bearing His reproach," that is, suffering the same things; having communion with Him in His sufferings. He was crucified without as a condemned person: neither let us then be ashamed to "go forth out" of the world.

But what is, "Let us go forth to Him"? Let us have fellowship with Him in His sufferings; let us bear His reproach. For He did not simply bid us dwell "outside the gate," but as He was reproached as a condemned person, so also we.

"Let us then go to him outside." Since Christ suffered outside the gate, let us go out to Him outside the camp, that is, outside the world, bearing nothing worldly, neither earthly nor carrying the filth of the earth. This, outside the gate, that is, outside the world, bearing His reproach, that is, suffering the same things as He did, if He should ask; for this indicates, bearing the reproach he endured, which He Himself endured through both the mockeries and the scorn.

It seems that the divine Paul, outside the camp, outside the world, speaks; for he takes us out of worldly life.

"Outside the camp" means, Let our way of life be beyond the law, and let us bear the reproaches for the one who saved us.

Since Jesus Christ suffered outside the gates, let us also go out to Him outside the gates, that is, let us be outside the world, "bearing His reproach," enduring the same sufferings. He, as one condemned and a robber, was crucified outside; let us also not be ashamed to withdraw from the world and from its luxury, even if this should seem dishonorable. Again he persuades them to endure the insults inflicted on them by the Jews, or the plundering.

Then when he says, Therefore let us go forth to him, he draws two conclusions. In regard to the first he says: Therefore, we have said that we have an altar outside the camp. Hence, we must do two things: namely, go to it and sacrifice upon it.

He tells how to go when he says that Jesus Christ suffered and bore the reproach of His passion outside the gate; therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, i.e., outside the general community of carnal things, or outside the observances of the Law, or outside the senses of the body, bearing abuse for him, i.e., for Christ, i.e., the signs of Christ's passion by which Christ became a disgrace among men and offscouring of people: 'My heart has expected reproach and misery' (Ps. 68:21). Or bearing abuse for him, i.e., let us reject the ceremonies of the Law, now that that truth has come, on account of which we are a reproach among the Jews, i.e., on account of the signs of penance, which are reproved by carnal men: 'Esteeming the reproach greater riches than the treasures of the Egyptians' (Heb. 11:26). For just as Christ was accused of undermining the Law, so the apostles were reproached for preaching that the ceremonies of the Law should not be observed: 'And I brethren, if I yet preach the circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution' (Gal. 5:11).

The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy, pleasure, and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun, and some ecstasy. It is not hard to see why. The security we crave would teach us to rest our hearts in this world and oppose an obstacle to our return to God: a few moments of happy love, a landscape, a symphony, a merry meeting with our friends, a bathe or a football match, have no such tendency. Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.

For we have here no abiding city, but we seek that which is to come, meaning: We seek that ever-abiding and eternal heavenly Jerusalem, which is free and the mother of all the faithful.

"Let us go forth therefore to Him without the camp, bearing His reproach," that is, suffering the same things; having communion with Him in His sufferings. He was crucified without as a condemned person: neither let us then be ashamed to "go forth out" of the world. "For we have here no continuing city" (he says) "but we seek one to come."

"for we have no lasting city here." Therefore, we must willingly choose the death for Christ; and especially because these cities are not ours, but we must seek another, the one that remains; for these are perishing. "Through him then." As for the high priest according to the flesh, let us offer up to the Father a sacrifice of praise, that is, thanksgiving. For we give thanks to the Father, as he has given his Son to sanctify us. This is for the weak. Since the grace of the Son, it is clear that the honor is equal; for he says, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. (Jn. 5:23) "that is, the fruit of lips." What then is the fruit of lips? Prayers, hymns, requests to God. For when he said, "sacrifice," let them not think that he is speaking of sacrifices made through animals, Paul explained himself. He says, I mean the sacrifices that are without blood, those made through lips, those in prayers and hymns and supplications. "that acknowledge his name." Acknowledge with the lipsHis name, that is, giving thanks knowing that He died for our sins. That is, confessing with our lips His name.

He says to me, "You know that you who are the servants of God dwell in a strange land; for your city is far away from this one. If, then," he continues, "you know your city in which you are to dwell, why do ye here provide lands, and make expensive preparations, and accumulate dwellings and useless buildings? He who makes such preparations for this city cannot return again to his own. Oh foolish, and unstable, and miserable man! Dost thou not understand that all these things belong to another, and are under the power of another? for the lord of this city will say, 'I do not wish thee to dwell in my city; but depart from this city, because thou obeyest not my laws.' Thou, therefore, although having fields and houses, and many other things, when cast out by him, what wilt thou do with thy land, and house, and other possessions which thou hast gathered to thyself? For the lord of this country justly says to thee, 'Either obey my laws or depart from my dominion.' What, then, dost thou intend to do, having a law in thine own city, on account of thy lands, and the rest of thy possessions? Thou shalt altogether deny thy law, and walk according to the law of this city. See lest it be to thy hurt to deny thy law; for if thou shalt desire to return to thy city, thou wilt not be received, because thou hast denied the law of thy city, but wilt be excluded from it. Have a care, therefore: as one living in a foreign land, make no further preparations for thyself than such merely as may be sufficient; and be ready, when the master of this city shall come to cast thee out for disobeying his law, to leave his city, and to depart to thine own, and to obey thine own law without being exposed to annoyance, but in great joy. Have a care, then, ye who serve the Lord, and have Him in your heart, that ye work the works of God, remembering His commandments and promises which He promised, and believe that He will bring them to pass if His commandments be observed. Instead of lands, therefore, buy afflicted souls, according as each one is able, and visit widows and orphans, and do not overlook them; and spend your wealth and all your preparations, which ye received from the Lord, upon such lands and houses. For to this end did the Master make you rich, that you might perform these services unto Him; and it is much better to purchase such lands, and possessions, and houses, as you will find in your own city, when you come to reside in it. This is a noble and sacred expenditure, attended neither with sorrow nor fear, but with joy. Do not practise the expenditure of the heathen, for it is injurious to you who are the servants of God; but practise an expenditure of your own, in which ye can rejoice; and do not corrupt nor touch what is another's nor covet it, for it is an evil thing to covet the goods of other men; but work thine own work, and thou wilt be saved."

So let us despise things of this life and look forward to those that are stable and permanent.

He proves the necessity of going outside the gate, that is, out of the world. For we have no part in this world, since it too will not exist forever. Therefore, we must flee from this world and strive toward the future city, that is, toward heaven.

He adds the reason when he says: For here we have no lasting city, but we seek one that is to come. For a man willingly remains in his own place. For our end is not in the things of the Law or in temporal things: 'Our end is Christ unto the salvation of all who believe' (Rom. 10:4). Therefore, we have not here a lasting city, but where Christ is. Therefore, let us go to Him: 'If you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God' (Col. 3:1); 'Look upon Sion, the city of our solemnity' (Is. 33:20); 'He looked for a city that has foundations; whose builder and maker is God' (supra 11:10). They also seek a better city, i.e., the heavenly one. For we strive to be transferred to it as to our place and altar. Therefore, let us go to it.

Those who have become acquainted with the secondary (i.e., under Christ) constitutions of' the apostles, are aware that the Lord instituted a new oblation in the new covenant, according to [the declaration of] Malachi the prophet. For, "from the rising of the sun even to the setting my name has been glorified among the Gentiles, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure sacrifice;" as John also declares in the Apocalypse: "The incense is the prayers of the saints." Then again, Paul exhorts us "to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." And again, "Let us offer the sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of the lips." Now those oblations are not according to the law, the handwriting of which the Lord took away from the midst by cancelling it; but they are according to the Spirit, for we must worship God "in spirit and in truth." And therefore the oblation of the Eucharist is not a carnal one, but a spiritual; and in this respect it is pure. For we make an oblation to God of the bread and the cup of blessing, giving Him thanks in that He has commanded the earth to bring forth these fruits for our nourishment. And then, when we have perfected the oblation, we invoke the Holy Spirit, that He may exhibit this sacrifice, both the bread the body of Christ, and the cup the blood of Christ, in order that the receivers of these antitypes may obtain remission of sins and life eternal. Those persons, then, who perform these oblations in remembrance of the Lord, do not fall in with Jewish views, but, performing the service after a spiritual manner, they shall be called sons of wisdom.

"By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His Name."

"By Him," as by an High Priest, according to the flesh. "Giving thanks" (he says) "to His Name." Let us utter nothing blasphemous, nothing hasty, nothing bold, nothing presumptuous, nothing desperate. This is "with reverence and godly fear." (c. xii. 28.) For a soul in tribulations becomes desponding, and reckless. But let not us be so. See here he again says the same thing which he said before, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together," for so shall we be able to do all things with reverence. For oftentimes even out of respect for men, we refrain from doing many evil things.

And "by Him let us offer a sacrifice to God." Of what kind of sacrifice does he speak? "The fruit of lips giving thanks to His Name." They, the Jews, brought sheep, and calves, and gave them to the Priest: let "us" bring none of these things, but thanksgiving. This "fruit" let "our lips" put forth.

"For with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Let us give such a sacrifice to Him, that He may offer it to The Father. For in no other way it is offered except through the Son, or rather also through a contrite mind. All these things are said for the weak. For that the thanks belong to the Son is evident: since otherwise, how is the honor equal? "That all men" (He says) "should honor the Son even as they honor the Father." (John v. 23.) Wherein is the honor equal? "The fruit of our lips giving thanks to His Name."

He calls it "doing good" in order to praise what takes place and "fellowship" because they are concerned about their fellow believers … and so with zeal they seek to meet their needs.

Hymn singing offered to God is of no benefit to us apart from faith in the Son. Since it was to the Hebrews he wrote, who were in the habit of honoring the Father alone, he felt he had to add "through him."

He brought out the sacrifice of praise that is pleasing to God. To it he linked also that of doing good, which he was right to refer to as sharing.… Elsewhere the divine apostle says, "Our abundance supplies for their need so that their abundance may be for your need for a balance to be achieved." Sharing, then, is also repayment: one person gives money, another returns a blessing, and the person in need is in the stronger position.

Through Him as through the High Priest according to the flesh, we offer to the Father the sacrifice of praise, that is, the Eucharist. For we thank the Father for having granted His Son for our sanctification. This too is for the sake of the weak. That the Son has grace is evident from the fact that He has equal honor with the Father. "That all," he says, "may honor the Son just as they honor the Father" (John 5:23). Thus, the Eucharist itself is "the fruit of lips that confess His name." Therefore the high priests of the Old Testament law cannot partake in this sacrifice. For those who were not at all sanctified by the Blood of Christ cannot give thanks for it, because they remain in the same unbelief. See then how he again urges them to thanksgiving, and not to murmur or to say anything bold and insolent out of faintheartedness.

Then when he says, By him then let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, he presents the second conclusion, namely, that we should sacrifice upon the altar and offer certain kinds of sacrifice. For there are two kinds of sacrifice that we should offer upon Christ's altar, namely, devotion to God and mercy towards our neighbor.

In regard to the first he says that the sacrifices of the Law are not to be offered: 'Sacrifice and oblation you did not desire' (Ps. 59:7); therefore, by him, i.e., by Christ, let us offer the sacrifice of praise: 'A sacrifice of praise will honor me' (Ps. 49:25). But that sacrifice of praise is called the fruit of our lips, i.e., confession with the mouth. For God is praised better by the mouth than by the killing of animals; hence he says, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name, for this is necessary: 'With the heart we believe unto justice; but with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation' (Rom. 10:10); 'We will render the calves of our lips' (Hos 14:3); 'I created the fruit of the lips' (Is. 57:19). But this sacrifice should be offered always, i.e., continually, as there was a continual sacrifice during the Law, as it says in Numbers (chap. 28): 'I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall be always in my mouth' (Ps. 33:2).

In the words of this prophet, these two things are distinguished and set forth with sufficient explicitness, that God does not require these sacrifices for their own sakes, and that He does require the sacrifices which they symbolize. In the epistle entitled "To the Hebrews" it is said, "To do good and to communicate, forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." And so, when it is written, "I desire mercy rather than sacrifice," nothing else is meant than that one sacrifice is preferred to another; for that which in common speech is called sacrifice is only the symbol of the true sacrifice. Now mercy is the true sacrifice, and therefore it is said, as I have just quoted, "with such sacrifices God is well pleased." All the divine ordinances, therefore, which we read concerning the sacrifices in the service of the tabernacle or the temple, we are to refer to the love of God and our neighbor. For "on these two commandments," as it is written, "hang all the law and the prophets."

"But to do good and to communicate forget not." I speak not merely with reference to the brethren present, but to those absent also. But if others have plundered your property, display your hospitality out of such things as ye have. What excuse then shall we have henceforward, when they, even after the spoiling of their goods, were thus admonished?

"Do not forget the good deeds and the fellowship." Paul speaks of good deeds and fellowship as the same. "God is pleased." That is, He is pleased; for the term "is pleased" [εὐαρεστεῖται] indicates to be well-pleased. Therefore, it is necessary not only to offer the fruit of the lips, but also such sacrifices, like those of thanksgiving and good deeds. For the grateful person, it is evident that he is also generous, knowing what he is worthy of.

Where are those who justify themselves by their poverty and therefore do not give alms? Let them hear that Paul persuades the poorest, those who have been plundered, not to forget almsgiving. He also calls it "fellowship," and for what reason — we have often spoken about this.

Sacrifices of thanksgiving and beneficence. For it is clear that one who is thankful is also generous, since he knows what blessings he will be deemed worthy of.

He mentions another sacrifice, when he says, Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have. As if to say: You formerly performed works of mercy; but now at least with the heart, if you cannot in deed. Therefore, he says, Do not neglect to do good, be liberal, in regard to the things you give: 'In doing good, let us not fail' (Gal. 6:9); 'Do good to the humble, and give not to the ungodly' (Sir. 12:6). Do not forget to share what you have, i.e., the things you have saved: 'All they that believed were together, and had all things in common' (Ac. 2:44); 'Communicating to the necessities of the saints' (Rom. 12:13). Or share, namely, by charity, through which all things are common.

But why should we share? That double benefit is shown when he says: for such sacrifices are pleasing to God, i.e., we can merit God by such sacrifices: 'I am your protector and your reward exceeding great' (Gen. 15:1); 'Then you shall accept the sacrifice of justice, oblations and whole burnt offerings' (Ps. 50:21); 'They shall worship him with sacrifices and offerings; and they shall make vows to the Lord and perform them' (Is. 19:21).