Hebrews 1
There seems to be a beautiful order in the quotations from the Old Testament that are given in Hebrews 1 concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. They are well-set gems, as we should expect them to be as we consider Him who is their theme. Verse 5 gives us two, and shows us by its twofold testimony that He is the Son. If we might say so, the first word that came forth from the Father's mouth when Jesus was born into this world was that He was the Father's Son. He was always the Son, and the fact that He became flesh did not annul this relationship of changeless and eternal affection. HE IS THE OBJECT OF THE FATHER'S LOVE.
The next quotation, in verse 6, shows the Father's determination that even though He had become man, He should not have less honour than He had before. The angels must worship Him. The second word from God's mouth, as His beloved Son lay in the manger, tended by His Virgin mother, declared His unchangeable Deity. He was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, yet He was and is always above them. HE IS THE OBJECT OF THE ANGELS' WORSHIP.
The third quotation (v. 8) declares Him to be supreme in God's far-stretching realm, and in this supremacy He shall uphold the righteousness of God, as once He maintained it in His own life in the flesh amid surging tides of iniquity. He is God upon an everlasting throne, and yet Man, anointed with the oil of gladness above His companions. These shall surround His throne, rejoice in His joy and bask in His favour; they shall hear His wisdom and see His glory. Once they were sinners, but saved by grace they are now His brethren, sanctified by Him and one with Him, but He is always above them, the Firstborn among His brethren, and their God, who will hold the sceptre of righteousness for their eternal good. HE IS THE OBJECT OF THE ADMIRATION AND WORSHIP OF ALL THE REDEEMED.
The next quotation (v. 10) declares Him to be the Creator who made the earth and the heavens, that in them He might bring into full manifestation what God is in His righteousness as opposed to all iniquity, and when these works of His hands have fulfilled their purpose, He will set them aside as one would a disused garment, and establish a new creation in which righteousness shall dwell, but in that new creation He will be the same; as He was and is, so shall He ever be, the pledge that His word shall stand and that every thought of the heart of God that has been expressed in blessing shall abide. He is the unchanging One, and so THE OBJECT OF THE UNWAVERING TRUST OF A UNIVERSE THAT SHALL BE BROUGHT INTO BLESSING BY HIM.
Then finally (v. 13) every foe that would resist Him — and how evil must all those be that would resist Him, who was God manifest in the flesh, full of grace and truth — will be silenced and crushed beneath His feet for ever, for no discordant voice must be heard in that world to come in which everything that has breath will praise the Lord. He must be supreme Ruler, but also the great Leader of the loud Hallelujahs, as He is the cause and the theme of them. HE WILL BE THE OBJECT OF UNIVERSAL AND HARMONIOUS PRAISE.