<p>4:16 - see on 2 Sam. 7:27.</p><p><i>Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace- </i>Coming boldly before the throne of grace in prayer is again judgment seat language (see on :13). Our attitude to God in prayer now will be our attitude to Him at the judgment; we are 'bold / confident' before Him now, and we can be 'bold' then (1 Jn. 2:28). Before the throne of grace we find grace to help; whereas we will &ldquo;find&rdquo; s.w. mercy in the day of judgment (2 Tim.1:18). Each time we receive grace to help before the throne, we are anticipating the judgment day scenario. The throne <i>of grace</i> suggests that it is prayers of confession and seeking of forgiveness and salvation which are in view. Hebrews so often uses the word &quot;therefore&quot;; <i>because of</i> the facts of the atonement, we can <i>therefore</i> come boldly before God's throne in prayer, with a true heart and clear conscience. This &quot;boldness&quot; which the atonement has enabled will be reflected in our being 'bold' in our witness (2 Cor. 3:12; 7:4); our experience of imputed righteousness will lead us to have a confidence exuding through our whole being. This is surely why 'boldness' was such a characteristic and watchword of the early church (Acts 4:13,29,31; Eph. 3:12; Phil. 1:20; 1 Tim. 3:13; Heb. 10:19; 1 Jn. 4:17).</p><p><i>That we may receive mercy and may find grace to help us in our time of need</i>- The throne of grace means the throne from whence grace is given. And if indeed it is prayers for forgiveness and strength against temptation which are in view, then the grace given is in forgiveness and the gift of the Spirit to withstand temptation; this is the 'succouring' spoken of in 2:18 (see note there). The allusion is to Lk. 1:30. When you ask for forgiveness, be like Mary in her spiritual ambition in asking to be the mother of Messiah.<br />The Lord Jesus is prophetically described as He &ldquo;that hath boldness to approach unto me&rdquo; (Jer. 30:21 RV). This is applied to us, who boldly approach the Father in prayer likewise. We are bidden to draw near to the Father in prayer just as the Son drew near (Heb. 4:15,16). He wishes us to share in the loving relationship which there was between Him and His Father, and prayer is crucial to this. Really appreciating that Christ is our personal High Priest to offer our prayers powerfully to God, should inspire us to regularly pray in faith. &quot;Time of need&quot; is literally 'at the right time'; hence GNB &quot;just when we need it&quot;. And it is in the moments of temptation and realization of failure that we need grace; and we are given it precisely then. Bear in mind that Paul often uses <i>charis</i>, &quot;grace&quot;, to refer to the gift of internal strengthening by the Spirit.</p>