The Holiest of All By Andrew Murray

ibolfest ot BU 219
XLVIII.
THE OATH OF GOD.
VI. 16. For men swear by the greater: and in every dispute of theirs the
oath is final for confirmation.
17. Wherein God, being minded to shew more abundantly unto the heirs
of the promise the immutability of his counsel, interposed 1 with an oath:
18. That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to
lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold
of the hope set before us.
FOR any serious man it is
always a solemn thing to take an
oath, and appeal to the omniscient God for the truth of what
He says. But there is
something more solemn even than taking
an oath before God, and that is, God s taking an oath before
man. And this is what our writer proceeds now to speak of.
He had already spoken of God s oath in His wrath, They shall
not enter into My rest.
He will in the next chapter point out the
deep significance of Christ s appointment as High Priest being
confirmed by an oath. Here he wishes to show believers what
strong encouragement they have in God s oath to expect most
confidently the fulfilment of the promise. It is this confidence
alone that will enable the Christian to endure and conquer.
Let us once more consider this. The oath of God plainly
proves that the thing He seeks above everything
is faith ;
He wishes to be trusted. Faith is
nothing but depending on
God to do for us what we cannot do what He has undertaken
1 Mediated.