God, who at sundry times and in divers manners
The apostle begins the epistle with an account of the revelation
God has made of his mind and will in former times: the author of
this revelation is God, not essentially, but personally
considered, even God the Father, as distinguished from his Son in
the next verse; for the revelation under the Old Testament is
divine, as well as that under the New; in this they both agree,
in whatsoever else they differ: and this revelation was made at
several times, at different seasons, and to different persons;
and consisted of a variety of things relating to doctrine and
worship, and concerning the Messiah, his person and office; of
whom, at different times, there were gradual discoveries made,
both before and after the giving of the law, from the beginning
of the world, or the giving forth of the first promise, and in
the times of the patriarchs, of: Moses, David, Isaiah, and other
prophets: and this was delivered in various manners; sometimes by
angels; sometimes in a dream; at other times by a vision; and
sometimes by Urim and Thummim: and this he
spake in time past unto the fathers by the
prophets;
by Moses, and other succeeding prophets, as David, Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Micah, Zechariah, Malachi, and others; who were sent to
the Jewish fathers, the ancestors of the people of the Jews, to
whom they prophesied and declared the will of God, as they were
moved and inspired by the Holy Ghost: and the apostle suggests,
by this way of speaking, that it was a long time since God spake
to this people; for prophecy had ceased ever since the times of
Malachi, for the space of three hundred years; and this time past
includes the whole Old Testament dispensation, from the beginning
to the end of it, or of prophecy in it.