Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:16 draws a conclusion. We have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens and knows human weakness from the inside. So God's throne is now open to us, and the verse tells us what we will find when we come.
Why the Throne Is Called Grace
Who sits on a throne gives that throne its character. One writer links the name to the High Priest, and adds one condition:
F. B. HoleOh, then, let us come boldly to the throne of grace! That throne is the third of the great helps which our chapter mentions. It is a "throne of grace" because graced by our great High Priest being seated there. From there God gives mercy and grace as help at just the right moment. But we must come to the throne to get it.
Other writers set this against Israel's past. The people knew of God's throne, and they knew of the mercy seat, the gold cover on the sacred chest in their place of worship. But they never knew it as a place they could walk up to:
Samuel RidoutThe Israelite knew about the throne of God. He also knew about the mercy seat, with the glorious winged figures spreading over it. But the idea that this mercy seat was a place he could freely come to was strange to him... He thought of God as being far off. Faith's thought is that through Christ we can draw near with boldness to a throne of grace.
What Boldness Is and Is Not
The confidence here is not a casual attitude toward God. It rests on Christ, not on the person coming:
Leslie M. GrantThis is not self-confidence. That would be "unauthorized fire" (Lev. 10:1, 2). It is the firmest confidence in the Lord Jesus. There is no dread and no cringing fear, but a calm and reverent sense of being truly welcome. For we find the majestic throne of God to be in truth a "throne of grace." He keeps His great glory there, and He gives His grace there in fullest measure. The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is why the throne of God has this character of grace.
The Destination: God Himself
Notice who the verse sends us to. One writer points out that the High Priest is the reason we can come, not the one we come to:
Hamilton SmithWe are exhorted therefore to draw near to the throne of grace, that is to God Himself. We are not told to draw near to the High Priest, but to God, and we can do so boldly because the High Priest represents us at the throne of grace. As we draw near we receive mercy. This is not because we have failed. It is so that we will not fail in the trial. Here the time of need is not the time of failure. It is the time when trials and temptations come, the kind that may lead to failure.
Mercy and Grace: Two Gifts, Not One
The verse names two things, and one writer keeps them apart:
Leslie M. GrantThe verse draws a distinction between receiving mercy and finding grace to help in time of need. Mercy is heartfelt compassion. It comes to us inside our sorrow or trial, and it sees us there. Grace is active favor. It is a power that lifts us above our circumstances... And that grace is always available in daily life here. What a real encouragement to keep praying, and to pray in a way that gets an answer!
Come to Receive, Not to Persuade
The verse says we receive and we find. One writer draws an observation from that:
C. E. StuartWe are to draw near with boldness to receive mercy, and to find grace to help in time of need (4:16). To receive. Let us pause for a moment. We are not told even to ask. We are told to come to receive and to find. Why such language? Why this direction? Because our High Priest has asked already for us, and has obtained all the grace and the mercy that we need. It is there already for us. If we had to ask first, we could fairly expect to wait for the answer. We are to go to receive what we need, and all that we need, and as often as we need.
After Failure Too
Commentators differ on whether this throne is for the moment after we have fallen. Some restrict it to help that prevents failure. Others read it more widely:
J. N. DarbyIf I go to the throne, rather than waiting for the throne to come to me, it is all grace: I get help. I never can go to the throne of grace without finding mercy. He may send discipline, but it is a throne of grace and all mercy — "grace to help in every time of need." If you have a will, He will break it; if a need, He will help you. Do you feel that you can always go with boldness, even when you have failed? You go humbled, of course. We should be humble at all times, but we are humbled in a special way when we have failed.
Summary
- Seated — the throne gets its name from who sits there. Our great High Priest is seated at God's right hand, and He gives the throne its character.
- Welcome — boldness is not self-confidence. It is firm confidence in the Lord Jesus, and a calm sense of being truly welcome.
- Direct — we are sent to God Himself, not to the Priest; He represents us there so that we can come.
- Twofold — mercy meets us inside our trouble; grace is the active power that lifts us above it.
- Timely — the help meets the time of need. Writers differ on its reach: some stress it keeps us from falling, others say it also meets us after we fall.