EPISTLE. Heb. i. 1-12.
God, Who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, last of all in these days, has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by Whom also He made the world: Who being the brightness of His glory, and the figure of His substance, and upholding all things by the word of His power, making purgation of sins, sitteth on the right hand of the Majesty on high: being made so much better than the angels, as He had inherited a more excellent name than they. For to which of the angels hath He said at any time: Thou art My Son, to-day have I begotten Thee? And again: I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son? And again, when He bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, He saith: And let all the angels of God adore Him. And to the angels indeed He saith: He that maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire. But to the Son: Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity: therefore God, Thy God hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows. And: Thou in the beginning, O Lord, didst found the earth: and the works of Thy hands are the heavens. They shall perish, but Thou shalt continue, and they shall all grow old as a garment. And as a vesture shalt Thou change them and they shall be changed: but Thou art the self -same, and Thy years shall not fail.
Meditation.
How magnificently does this epistle set forth the kindness and love of God the Father, Who, for a teacher, has given us, not a prophet, but His only Son! how beautifully does it prove the divinity of Christ, since God has begotten Him from all eternity, and created the heavens and earth through Him, Who is always the same, and His throne forever and ever! Learn, O Christian soul, from this epistle, how much thou art obliged to love God, to trust Him, and to follow Christ thy example, for without imitating Him thou canst neither belong to His elect, nor have part in His redemption.
