Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1923-11-22


supreme mission Of the Holy Spirit is
to testify Of Christ and make Him
known, and here He summons us to
behold Him in His priestly Office, be-
cause "for us" He is thereon our be-
half-representing us in all the ac-
ceptableness of His own Person before
God. All, He cannot forget those for
whom He died and whom His grace
has made His own forever. The love
that led Him to the cross for us is
love that cannot change and 1t Will
never abandon those upon whom 1t
has once been bestowed, but will bear
them increasingly in the presence OF
God and thus maintain, in all its in
tegrity, the relationship in which by
death and resurrection He has estab-
lished them.
His presence there within the veil
is the believers security, and upon 1t
the Spirit of God bases our STRONG
consolation" saying in chapter 6:lS:
"That we might have a strong conso-
lation, who have fed for refuge to lay
hold upon the hope set before us:
which hope we have as an anchor OF
the soul, both sure and steadfast, and
which Aentereth into that within the
veil; whittier the forerunner is for us
entered, even Jesus, made an Higs
Priest forever"
"Fled for refuge The phrase is a
plain allusion to the manslayer In
Israel, for whom the six cities OF ref
uge were appointed, scattered at in
tervals throughout the land. When
unwittingly, without lying in wait,
one might kill a fellowman, he was
to fee to the nearest of these cities
of refuge and remain there, entirely
safe from the avenger Of blood, during
1.-THE life Of the high priest that should
be in those days" When the high
priest died, and another succeeded to
the priesthood, the manslayer returned
to his home unmolested.
How these cities of refuge preached
to Israel! How prophetic still of
coming day when that nation, guilty
Of great fratricide, shall flee from
the avenger and find refuge. "Unwit-
tingly' they did it, as the object OF
their wrath, in a prayer that must
| avail, declared: Father, forgive them
for they know not what they do.'
But see, o believer in Jesus The
Spirit of God is likening thee to the
manslayer, not in his inanslaughter,
but in his security. You are shut up
in the city of refuge and your safety
there depends upon the High Priest
of our profession, who said: Because
/ live, We shall live also,' and Of whom
| it is written in Romans $40: "FOr If,
when we were enemies, we were rec
onciled to God by the death of His
/ Son, much more, being reconciled, we
shall be saved by His life"
But those priests of Aaron's line
died. When will our High Priest die?
Once in death for sin, He is out Of it
forever KNOWING that Christ being
raised from the dead dieth no more !;
death hath no more dominion over
Him" (Rom.. 500. And we turn
again to our epistle Of the sanctuary
and read: "And they truly were many
priests, because they were not suf-
fered to continue by reason of death
Ia long, long line because death took
them one by one away-"but this
man." the text continues, because he
priesthood. Wherefore he is able also
to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him, seeing He
ever Iveth to make intercession for
Them
.Strong consolation" indeed! Based
upon no merit of ours or attachments
but upon the attachments and merit
OF our Lord Jesus Christ.
But stronger still is the consolation,
for Of this hope which we have laid
hold upon, it is added: "We have as
an anchor of the soul, both sure and
steadfast." The figure recalls the old
en-time seamanship, when the ships
anchor was carried up on the beach
and left there. He who has gone into
heaven for us has anchored our souls
there witn.a the veil.
And now. to make our consolation
complete and to free us from all mis-
giving as to our being in heaven al
last one word is added: "Whither the
foreunner is for us entered" If any
complain Of this mixing of metaphors
let him remember that it is the Spirit
OF God who employs them. Surely He
Knows how to use them to set the
Savior forth "Now to appear in the
presence OF God for Es," As our fore
runner He has gone into heaven, there
to make public proclamation Of oul
coming, pronouncing the name a
every forgiven sinner and thus herald
ing his arrival into the place which
He has gone to prepare.