becoming that the
man who acknowledged the priesthood of Melchizedek and received its
blessing should have that blessing fulfilled to him in the confirmation
by oath of God's promise. Thus the promises that have been fulfilled
through the eternal priesthood of the true Melchizedek are confirmed to
us by an oath made to him who acknowledged that priesthood in the
typical Melchizedek.

Yet, notwithstanding these vital points of contact, Abraham and the
Hebrew Christians are in some respects very unlike. They have left his
serene and contemplative life far behind. The souls of men are stirred
with dread of the threatened end of all things. Abraham had no need to
flee for refuge from an impending wrath. His religion even was not a
fleeing from any wrath to come, but a yearning for a better fatherland.
He never heard the midnight cry of Maranatha, but longed to be gathered
to his fathers. If any similitude to the Christian's fleeing from the
wrath to come must be sought in ancient days, it will be found in the
history of Lot, not of Abraham. Whether the Apostle's thoughts rested
for a moment on Lot's flight from Sodom, it is impossible to say. His
mind is moving so rapidly that one illustration after another flits
before his eye. The notion of Abraham's strong faith, reaching out a
hand to the strong grasp of God's oath, reminds him of men fleeing for
refuge, perhaps into a sanctuary, and laying hold of the horns of the
altar, with a reminiscence of the Baptist's taunting question, "Who
warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" and a side glance at the
approaching destruction of the holy city, if indeed the catastrophe had
not already befallen the doomed people. The thought suggests another
illustration. Our hope is an anchor cast into the deep sea. The anchor
is sure and steadfast--"sure," for, like Abraham's faith, it will
neither break nor bend; "steadfast," for, like Abraham's faith again, it
bites the eternal rock of the oath. Still another metaphor lends itself.
The deep sea is above all heavens in the sanctuary within the veil, and
the rock is Jesus, Who has entered into the holiest place as our
High-priest. Yet another thought. Jesus is not only High-priest, but
also Captain, of the redeemed host, leading us on, and opening the way
for us to enter after Him into the sanctuary of the promised land.

Thus, with the help of metaphor heaped on metaphor in the fearless
confusion delightful to conscious strength and gl