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,

What our eyes do see is Jesus, who was made for a while lower than angels, now, because of his sufferings and death, crowned with glory and honour; so that his tasting the bitterness of death should, in God's loving-kindness, be on behalf of all mankind.

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says-- 'If to-day you hear God's voice,

To use the words of Scripture-- 'If to-day you hear God's voice, harden not your hearts, as when Israel provoked me.'

We must, therefore, be very careful, though there is a promise still standing that we shall enter upon God's Rest, that none of you even appear to have missed it.

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, then, a Sabbath-Rest still awaiting God's People.

For he who enters upon God's Rest does himself rest after his work, just as God did.

God's Message is a living and active power, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing its way till it penetrates soul and spirit--not the joints only but the very marrow--and detecting the inmost thoughts and purposes of the mind.

Yes and, with God's help, we will.

Then you will not show yourselves slow to learn, but you will copy those who, through faith and patience, are now entering upon the enjoyment of God's promises.

And so, after patiently waiting, Abraham obtained the fulfillment of God's promise.

But Melchizedek, although not of this lineage, received tithes from Abraham, and gave his blessing to the very man who had God's promises.

The Law appoints as High Priests men who are liable to infirmity, but the words of God's oath, which was later than the Law, name the Son as, for all time, the perfect Priest.

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,

You still have need of patient endurance, in order that, when you have done God's will, you may obtain the fulfillment of his promise.

Faith enables us to perceive that the universe was created at the bidding of God--so that we know that what we see was not made out of visible things.

He preferred sharing the hardships of God's People to enjoying the short-lived pleasures of sin.

By their faith they subdued kingdoms, ruled righteously, gained the fulfillment of God's promises, 'shut the mouths of lions,'

Yet, though they all won renown by their faith, they did not obtain the final fulfillment of God's promise;

and you have forgotten the encouraging words which are addressed to you as God's Children-- 'My child, think not lightly of the Lord's discipline, do not despond when he rebukes you;

to the festal gathering and assemblage of God's Eldest Sons whose names are enrolled in Heaven, to God the Judge of all men, to the spirits of the righteous who have attained perfection,

Do not forget your Leaders, the men who told you God's Message. Recall the close of their lives, and imitate their faith.

May God, the source of all peace, who brought back from the dead him who, 'by virtue of the blood that rendered valid the unchangeable Covenant, is the Great Shepherd of God's Sheep,' Jesus, our Lord--

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.