8. that which--rather as Greek (no article), "But if
it (the 'land,'
Heb 6:7)
bear"; not so favorable a word as "bringeth forth,"
Heb 6:7,
said of the good soil.
briers--Greek, "thistles."
rejected--after having been tested; so the Greek
implies. Reprobate . . . rejected by the Lord.
nigh unto cursing--on the verge of being given up to its own
barrenness by the just curse of God. This "nigh" softens the severity
of the previous "It is impossible," &c.
(Heb 6:4, 6).
The ground is not yet actually cursed.
whose--"of which (land) the end is unto burning," namely,
with the consuming fire of the last judgment; as the land of Sodom was
given to "brimstone, salt, and burning"
(De 29:23);
so as to the ungodly
(Mt 3:10, 12; 7:19; 13:30;
Joh 15:6;
2Pe 3:10).
Jerusalem, which had so resisted the grace of Christ, was then nigh
unto cursing, and in a few years was burned. Compare
Mt 22:7,
"burned up their city" an earnest of a like fate to all wilful
abusers of God's grace
(Heb 10:26, 27).
JFB.
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