Let it first be noted that the quotation is not directed to Jesus in Hebrews...

Let it first be noted that the quotation is not directed to Jesus in Hebrews, but is a continuation of the expression in Hebrews 1:8 pros or `in reference to' Jesus. This is in contrast to sentences spoken `to' someone, as in Hebrews 1:5. These phrases are not therefore spoken `to' Jesus, but are `in reference' to him. The second point is that the context clearly has as its purpose to exalt Jesus Christ above even the angels. All of the quotations serve that purpose.

They refer to aspects or events in the life of Jesus which show him to be in some way superior to the angels. Psalm 102 is the last of a series of martyrdom Psalms. The clear inference in this chapter is that after all of the glorious aspects and events in Jesus' life that show him to be superior to the angels, there is finally his martyrdom. This too shows his superiority and leads into the subject of the second chapter of Hebrews which is in fact that self-sacrifice.

To those of us not accustomed to the liturgical use of the Psalms, this explanation is not immediately clear. But to the Hebrews to whom these words were written, nothing could be more natural. The whole panorama of the martyr­dom liturgy immediately floods into the Hebrew mind when these words are encountered. No better introduction to chapter two could have been invented. It is not stated that Jesus is God. Superiority to the an­gels does not necessarily imply that Jesus is God Almighty.

The chapter deals in every possible superlative, but does not state Jesus to be God. Even verse three makes a clear distinction between the being which is Jesus and the being which is God, referred to here as `Majesty on high'. Romans 9:5. `Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.' The implication of McDowell is again that the word `God' is in opposition to the word `Christ'. The original Greek has no punctuation.

The word `amen' at the end makes the sentence more understandable as a formal benediction. In that case, it is perfectly possible to understand the divine blessing attached to the end without in the least implying that this God and the earlier Christ are one and the same being. It is not even absolutely clear whether the phrase `who is over all' should refer to Christ, which precedes it, or to God, which comes after it. There is no theological reason why it could not refer to Christ.