For he is the radiance of the Glory of God and the very expression of his Being, upholding all creation by the power of his word; and, when he had made an expiation for the sins of men, he 'took his seat at the right hand' of God's Majesty on high,

And again, when God brought the First-born into the world, he said-- 'Let all the angels of God bow down before him.'

Speaking of the angels, he said-- 'He makes the winds his angels and the fiery flames his servants';

while of the Son he said-- 'God is thy throne for ever and ever; The scepter of his Kingdom is the scepter of Justice;

To which of the angels has God ever said-- 'Sit thou at my right hand until I put thy enemies as a stool for thy feet'?

Thou hast made him, for a while, lower than angels; With glory and honour thou hast crowned him; Thou hast set him over all that thy hands have made;

the faithfulness of Christ was that of a Son set over the House of God. And we are his House--if only we retain, unshaken to the end, the courage and confidence inspired by our hope.

Therefore I was sorely vexed with that generation, And I said-- "Their hearts are always straying; They have never learned my ways";

Upon that Rest we who have believed are now entering. As God has said-- 'In my wrath I swore--"They shall never enter upon my Rest;"' Although God's work was finished at the creation of the world;

again God fixed a day. 'To-day,' he said, speaking after a long interval through the mouth of David, in the passage already quoted-- 'If to-day you hear God's voice harden not your hearts.'

There is no created thing that can hide itself from the sight of God. Everything is exposed and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we have to give account.

In the same way, even the Christ did not take the honour of the High Priesthood upon himself, but he was appointed by him who said to him-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father';

For he intended us to find great encouragement in these two unchangeable things, which make it impossible for God to prove false--we, I mean, who fled for safety where we might lay hold on the hope set before us.

And he of whom all this is said belonged to quite a different tribe, no member of which has ever served at the altar.

For it is plain that our Lord ad sprung from the tribe of Judah, though of that tribe Moses said nothing about their being priests.

but his appointment was ratified by an oath, when God said to him-- 'The Lord has sworn, and will not change, "Thou art a priest for all time."'

To sum up what I have been saying:--Such is the High Priest that we have, one who 'has taken his seat at the right hand' of the throne of God's Majesty in Heaven,

where he ministers in the Sanctuary, in that true Tabernacle set up by the Lord and not by man.

So I said, "See, I have come' (as is written of me in the pages of the Book), "To do thy will, O God."'

and then there is added-- 'See, I have come to do thy will.' The former sacrifices are set aside to be replaced by the latter.

But, this priest, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, which should serve for all time, 'took his seat at the right hand of God,'

and, since we have in him 'a great priest set over the House of God,'

We know who it was that said-- 'It is for me to avenge, I will requite'; and again-- 'The Lord will judge his people.'

It was faith that enabled Abraham to obey the Call that he received, and to set out for the place which he was afterwards to obtain as his own; and he set out not knowing where he was going.

All these died sustained by faith. They did not obtain the promised blessings, but they saw them from a distance and welcomed the sight, and they acknowledged themselves to be only aliens and strangers on the earth.

of whom it had been said-- 'It is through Isaac that there shall be descendants to bear thy name.'

Seeing, therefore, that there is on every side of us such a throng of witnesses, let us also lay aside everything that hinders us, and the sin that clings about us, and run with patient endurance the race that lies before us,

our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the Leader and perfect Example of our faith, who, for the joy that lay before him, endured the cross, heedless of its shame, and now 'has taken his seat at the right hand' of the throne of God.

and so fearful was the sight that Moses said-- 'I tremble with fear.'

Do not let your conduct be ruled by the love of money. Be content with what you have, for God himself has said-- 'I will never forsake you, nor will I ever abandon you.'

may God make you perfect in everything that is good, so that you may be able to do his will. May he bring out in us all that is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be all glory for ever and ever. Amen.

You will be glad to hear that our Brother, Timothy, has been set free. If he comes here soon, we will visit you together.