this Resolution or Determination in the Point proposed was intimated before the whole strength of it relyes upon those places of Scripture wherein it is said He that continues unto the End shall be saved or We are partakers of Christ and his promises if we Continue the Beginning of our Confidence stedfast unto the End But though it be True that no man which falls off from the Spirit unto the Flesh before the End of his bodily Life can be partaker of the promises yet is it never said That no man is or can be so confirmed in Grace before the End of his life that he cannot Totally or finally fall As for that Speech frequent in Scripture He that continues unto the End c. it doth not so punctually point out the End of Life as it doth the End or just Measure of this Duty here enjoyned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Language of the Holy Ghost oftimes signifies as much as ad victoriam and denotes that point of time wherein we get the Victory or Conquest over the Flesh or other enemies of the Spirit And the Apostles words Hebr. 3. 14. may well beare this Interpretation if we hold the beginning of our Confidence stedfast unto the End That is unto the End or full Measure of our Confidence And all the glorious promises which are made unto such as continue unto the End are as often made and conceived in this Tenour To him that overcomes So it is Revel 3. 5. He that overcometh the same shall be cloathed in white raiment and I will not blot out his Name out of the Book of Life but I will confesse his Name before my Father and before his Angels And again ver 12. Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the Name of my God and the Name of the City of my God which is New Jerusalem which cometh down out of heaven from my God And the writing of this Name of Jerusalem which cometh down from heaven upon men imports it shall be thus written whilest they live here on earth or whilest it comes down to them not when they ascend in soul unto it And when S. Paul saith that the Names of Clement and other his Fellow-Labourers were written in the Book of Life Phil. 4. 3. Questionlesse his meaning is that they were so written in it that they should never be blotted out and yet were they so written long before they dyed I saw saith S. John the dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened and another Book was opened which is the Book of Life and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the Books according to their works Rev. 20. 12. But although men in this Life may attain unto an Immutable estate of Grace yet many finally misse of this Estate because they know not where to find themselves or in what Estate or Condition they should for the Present rank or esteem themselves 11 Some there be which either Expresly or by Inevitable Consequence of what they expresly affirme divide Mankind as formally into Reprobates and Elect The division of all mankind into Elect and Reprobates not right as Philosophers do Substances into Corporeal and Incorporeal By this kind of Division were it sound and Orthodoxal every man from his birth unto his death should be either a Reprobate or One Elect. Now were this Doctrine true We that are Christs Messengers should be at a Non-plus either for administring Comfort to our hearers in trouble of Conscience or for preventing and asswaging Presumption in such as are not conscious of any grosser Sin or not dejected by the Thundring Threats of Gods Law The Truth is There be Three Estates or Conditions of Men not only in Generall but of every man in particular which finally attains unto Salvation First The Estate or Condition of Man as he is the son of Adam For every man as he is the son of Adam is the son of wrath Second The Estate or Condition of Man as he is reconciled to God and admitted into the Priviledge of his Son by Baptisme or ingraftment into his Mystical Body the Church Third The Estate or Condition of Compleat Regeneration or of Election The First estate or condition is the Terminus à quo Eternal Salvation or admission into the Everlasting State of Bliss is the Terminus ad quem of every True Christians Progresse The Two Estates Intermediate that is the Estate of the Sons of God in General by Baptism and the Estate of Election which we have in this Life are the Two several Degrees or steps of our Progress in Christianity But in as much as all men be not at all times either in the Estate of Election or Reprobation and yet all in the end become either Sheep or Goats we must observe Foure Estates of men in General Four Estates of men in general The First The Estate of the Sons of Wrath. The Second The Estate of Reprobates The Third the estate of the Sons of God by Adoption or Baptism The Fourth The estate of the elect or compleatly Regenerate 12. That there is a Difference between the estate or Condition of the Sons of Wrath and the estate of absolute Reprobation A difference likewise between the Estate or Condition of the Sons of God the Estate of Condition of the Elect may be Demonstrated form the several Estates or Conditions of the First Man Adam in his First estate was the Son of God yet not then in the estate of election for so he could not have fallen so foully as he did After his Fall he was in the Sate or Condition of a Son of Wrath Yet not in the estate or condition of absolute Reprobation for so he could not have attained unto the estate of election or Salvation So then every Reprobate is the Son of Wrath but every Son of Wrath is not a Reprobate Every elect Person or every man after election is the Son of God but every Son of God is not in the number of the elect The Award allotted to every one of these estates is either an Act of Mercy or of Iustice Divine But unto the individual Nature or Persons of men no effect of Justice or Mercy can be awarded And therefore the Individual entity or Nature of Man cannot be the Immediate Object of the Divine Decree No part of misery can be determined upon any man or Decreed against him before he be the Son of wrath or a Reprobate For God doth never punish where he is not displeased and displeased he cannot be with our meer Natures Now to be the Son of Wrath in the lowest degree supposeth some work of Satan wrought in the party which is the Son of Wrath That only makes him the Son of Wrath. Adam could not have become the Son of Wrath unlesse he
AN EXACT COLLECTION OF THE WORKS OF Doctor Iackson P. of C. C. C. Oxon Such as were not Published before CHRIST EXERCISING HIS EVERLASTING PRIESTHOOD Mans Freedom from Servitude to Sin effected by Christ sitting at the Right Hand of God and there Officiating as a most Compassionate High-priest in behalf of Sinners OR A TREATISE OF THAT KNOWLEDGE of CHRIST which Consists in the true Estimate or Experimental Valuation of his Death Resurrection and Exercise of his Everlasting Sacerdotal Function in the Heavenly Sanctuarie where he now sitteth at the Right Hand of God the Father THIS ESTIMATE Cannot be rightly made without a Right Understanding of the Primaeval State of Adam Of the Nature of Sin How it first came How it still comes into the World Of Mans Servitude unto Sin Of Free-will How we are sett Free by Christ Of Mortification Election Reprobation All which with other Considerable particulars as of the Use of Reason and Arts in Controversies of Divinitie of Baptism the Lords Supper c. are As an Introduction to Christs Priesthood discoursed on in this Tenth Book of Comments on the Creed AND VSEFVLL TABLES ADDED Verily Verily He that committeth Sin is the Servant of Sin If the Son make you Free then ye shall be Free indeed LONDON Printed by R. Norton for Timothie Garthwait at the little North-Door of S. Pauls Church 1654. THE PREFACE To the Christian and Considerate Reader Grace Mercy c. AS to the Great Richness and Goodly Number of This Author's Writings I shall not here say much having spoken most of what I had to say anent Those two Points in The Account or Preface set before the First Volume of His Workes Printed in Folio the last year And yet Thus much I shall say That I am dayly more and more confirmed in my Judgement There passed upon them being likewise perswaded of This That though it be but the Addition of one Single Unitie to the former Number of his Bookes yet will it prove a Multiplyed Accession of Degrees to the weight and excellency of them I shall perhaps better gratifie The Reader if I can present unto his View any Observables worthy his Notice Concerning the Method and References both of This present and Those his other writings published in His Life-Time And such as I think may be usefull do here follow 1. Of this Great Author's Bookes of Commentaries upon the Creed with their Respective Appendices The Five First I Beleive in God viz. The 1 2 3. Of the Eternal Truth of Scripture c. The 4. Of Justifying Faith The 5. Of the Original of Unbeleif Misbeleif c. Relate unto or Explicate the first Words of the First Article of The Creed 2. His Sixt Book being A Treatise of the Divine Essence and Attributes to which append his Sermons upon 2. God The Father Almighty maker of Heaven and Earth Chron. 6. 39. upon Jeremie 26. 29. His Treatise of the Signes of The Times and his Sermon upon Luke 21. 1. Referres to the next words of The Creed Now if any shall Object That nigh the One Half of these Treatises and Sermons too are about Divine Providence of which there is no explicit mention in the Creed The Answer is readie and easie So they ought to be it was meet and right they should be so The Good God that made the world with all the comely Ornaments and rich Furniture thereof did neither leave it to it self so soon as it was made nor transmit the Tuition of it to a Guardian or Locum-Tenens but ever did and still doth keep the Government in That Hand which with so great wisdom made the same And His verie Title 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 His Son our Saviour's Words Pater meus adhuc operatur teach us to depend upon and trust unto his Constant Providence and support for Conservation And This as a Clew leads or as a Terminus Communis Couples our Faith to his Creative power 3. His Two Sermons the Former of them Call'd Bethlehem and Nazareth upon Jeremie 31. 22. The later upon Galat. 4. 4. enstyled Mankinds Comfort from the weaker sex His Treatise entituled Christ's Answer to Iohn's Question or An Introduction to the Knowledge of Christ His 7. Book of Commentaries upon the Creed Call'd The Knowledge of Christ Jesus Containing The Principles of Christian Theologie And in Jesus Christ his onely Son our Lord which was Conceived by the the Holy Ghost Born of the Virgin Mary qua Talis Christ's Eternal Sonship his Conception Birth and Circumcision in the Fulness of Time being if not the intire Subject yet the Main Scope of these last mentioned parcels respectively referre to that Portion of The Creed wherein we avouch our Faith in The Son of God our Lord Jesus Christ incarnate 4. The Subject of this Great Author's Eighth Book of Commentaries upon The Apostles Creed enstyled Suffered under Pontius Pilate was Crucified Dead and Buried The Humiliation of the Son of God is the same God and our Lord who was conceived by The Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Marie And The Scope of it is to shew That HEE according to the Scripture before Extant 5. His ninth Book Of the Consecration of the Son of God to his Everlasting Priesthood whereof His Agonie and Bloody Death His Rest in the Grave and in this Authors private opinion see Book 8. pag. 385 He descended into Hell the third day he rose again from the Dead He ascended into Heaven His descension into Hell His Resurrection and Ascension were Respectively the several Giests or Moments some as preparations others as Continuations some as Accomplishments others as Consequents Lookes back somewhat towards the former and forward somewhat toward these Later particulars of the Creed 6. All the Tracts or Books mentioned in the three last Paragraphs for those be They which Directly Destinately and Immediately treat of Christian Theologie qua Talis make but up The First and more Easie Part of The Knowledge of Christ And This to use the Author 's own words Consists in the display of that most admirable Harmonie which ariseth from the Concent of Prophetical with Evangelical Writings or from the Correspondencie of Parallels between Matters of Fact recorded in the Old Testament and the Events answering in proportion to them in the New 7 This Tenth Book not published till now is addressed to The Second part of The Knowledge of Christ which Consists in the True Experimental Valuation of His Vndertakings for mans Redemption viz. Of His taking upon Himself the Form of a Servant of His Death Resurrection and Ascension Of all which several steps or progresses of His O Economie as also of the whole Volume of His other whether Actings or Sufferings for us The most precious Beneficial Effects and saving Influences are Actually and only Derived unto us by the Continued Acts and Constant Exercise of His Everlasting Priesthood executed dayly in The Heavenly Sanctuarie by Him there Sitting
Quarto's in this Volume we must tell the Reader before hand that the sixt Book of Divine Essence Attributes Providence will not administer to him either the delight or the profit we intended unless God move the hearts of them that have the MS. Copie of the Treatise of Prodigies or Divine Forewarnings betokening Blood which certainly was perfected by the Authour lent or lost in his life time to produce it that it may be annexed to the sixt Book to which of due it appertaines The 4. Particular will give the Reader notice what Subject Matters he is to expect handled in the 11. Book But before we name them he must be reminded that the Authour had in the 9. Book come as farre as the Article of Christs Ascension reckoning Inclusivé in the 39. Chapter of that Book had tackt That Article to the next of His Session at the Right-Hand of God Now the respective Ends or Effects of Christs Ascension into heaven and of His Session at the Right-Hand of Majestie were some of them of Immediate and if I may so say of a Transient dispatch And such I take it were His prepareing a place for his Elect Ones His Consecrating the heavenly Sanctuarie and setting open the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers His sending the Holy Ghost in the Grace of comfort Gifts of tongues c. Some are of constant Vse and continue in Esse unto this day so shall unto the worlds end as the Providential Government of His Church and the rest of the world in order to the affaires of his Church which He administers as Lord the Exercise of His Sacerdotal Office which he executes as Christ some shall be manifested at the end of time of this sinfull world when He shall come in great power and Glory to Judge both quick dead What this Authour hath said upon any of these Heads in his Books already printed the Reader if he will take the paines to search may find Of the following Generals with their incident subordinate particulars doth the Eleventh Book treat Of Christs Session at the Right-Hand of God the Grammatical Sense of the words the Real Dignitie answering to them viz. The Exaltation of Christ And whether He was exalted as the Son of God or as the Son of David An excellent state of the question about Ubiquitie Of Christs Lordship or Dominion Of His Coming to Judgement Of the Final Sentence to be awarded by Him to All. Of the Resurrection of the Dead From thence He shall come to Judge the quick and the Dead Of Life Everlasting not the merit of man but the Gift of God and Death the wages of sin So that it is plain the Eleventh Book reflects upon The Resurrection of the Body and Life Everlasting or resumes the Article of Christs Sitting at the Right-Hand of God and withall proceeds to the Next and to the Two last 16. I Expect the Intelligent Reader will Ask where He may find handld the Articles concerning God the Holie Spirit the holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins I must referr the proposer of this rational question which deserves a better answer then I can give it to the Authors owne words Which he may find in the first page of His Treatise Of The Holy Catholick Faith and Church which in the Catalogues of his Works for orders sake is reckon'd the 12. Book of his Commentaries and whereof the first part of three intended was published 1627. In my Comments on the Creed Saith Hee I did Sequester Four points from the Body of the Work The First was the Doctrin Of the most Holie and most Blessed Trinitie So he did intend to Handle the Commandements by way of Catechism to be set down by way of Prayer Soliloquie not of Schoole-Dispute The Second The Holie Catholick Church The Third The Communion of Saints The Fourth The Remission of Sins Points which I cannot Handle in that order they be propounded in the Creed without Interruption of my Method intended So that I have out of Choice reserved these for peculiar Treatises THE AUTHORS Book then of the Holie Catholick Faith Church 't is more then plain The Holie Catholick Church referres to the Article of And for the rest of his Books or Tracts hereafter to be published when they come abroad they must bear some Tessera or Recognizance to signifie their Retainance or to which of the 12. Christian Predicaments they are to be reduced 17. I have yet Two things to recommend unto the Reader The One I humbly present to the Consideration of the Nobilitie Gentrie of the Land who have the Honour Blessing Longo Sanguine Censeri This Author as his manner all-a-long is to open the Earth shew the Out-Burst of the spring leave the Well to be digged by him that meanes to dwell upon the Plat hath page 19. 31. moved a Querie well worth their most exquisite indagation and pursuit 'T is This whether Parents of both sexes may not by frequent voluntarie Commission of some sinnes improve the Corruption of nature in their Children to an Height above the ordinarie Taint descending from Adam or coming from Sin meerely Original not intended by unnecessary affected actual or habitual Transgressing Would any of Them now in this their privacie or vacation please Philosophari to think upon it and Commend their meditations to the world they would be more acceptable and more imperative of practise Coming from themselves consequently be more Contributive to the Revival of virtue unto an Heroical Degree 18. The other is to those of the Clergie who teach the people Knowledge for that end do seek acceptable words out of writings upright and True as for the pretended Favorites of the Spirit it is in vain to speak to them He that has Compassion on the poor ignorant multitude even destroyed for lack of Knowledge of Principles contained in their Creed Catechism c. And a mind to tread in the Good Old way for Aedification of the poor of the Flock may find in this Authors Works matter proper for every Dominical Festival through the year especially for the special ones that is those that Commemorate the Great Benefits received by Christ As also for occasions of Administring Both Sacraments marriages Funerals Fasts c. But let me tell him The Gold he is to find beat out doth somtimes lie in so smal a Compass that unless he observe well he may over-run it For an Experiment he may see 1 grain taken by me beaten out into divers Leaves And for expounding Texts of Scripture this Author seems to have a felicitie not ordinary Oft-times when he pretends but to take One verse he illuminates the Reader in the Epicycle of the Context nay in the next Orbe I mean the Parallel be it in the old or new Testament But the Magisterium of his excellencie
against the moral Law of God So doth his Blood or operative Vertue of his Everlasting sacrifice consecrate or qualifie the Elements of Bread and Wine to purifie and cleanse our soules from such actual sinnes as after Baptism we have committed This perennal Efficacie or Operative Vertue of Christs Body and Blood consecrated once for all by the sacrifice of himself to be a perpetual purification for such as were to be consecrated Kings and Priests unto their God which was thus pictured by the former Legal or Mosaical Rites was more expressly foretold by the Prophet Zacharie For having in the twelfth Chap. ver 10. Prophesied of the piercing of the Son of Gods most pretious Body by the Jewes for which when God should open their eyes to see the truth they should lament and mourn he explicates the Use or End to which the Divine Providence had destinated this their malitious crueltie Chap. 13. 1. In that day there shall be a Fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness By this offering of himself Once for all by this opening of his pretious Side he hath consecrated all that are Sanctified and all that are sanctified are sanctified by it Yet not actually sanctified or actually consecrated by his Blood before it be sprinkled in our hearts by Faith And to instruct us that the Legal Water of separation or sprinkling did foreshadow the Blood of Christ the Apostle termes it The blood of sprinkling Heb. 12. 24. CHAP. LVI The Efficacie of Christs Sacrifice and the Use of his Priest-hood Two distinct several Things Wherein the Exercise of his Priest-hood doth consist How it was foreshaddowed Ordinaâ—ces effectual by vertue of Christs Presence Vertual Presence is a Real presence 1. SUch as deny the Everlasting Efficacie of Christs Sacrifice may be presumed likewise to deny the Vse of his Everlasting Priesthood Howbeit all such as grant the everlasting Efficacie of his Sacrifice cannot hence be concluded to admitt the everlasting use of his Priesthood For these be Two distinct Points of our Belief If Belief in Christs death or in the Everlasting Efficacie of his sacrifice were all that we are bound to believe we were not bound to acknowledge any other Act of his Priesthood besides the offering up of himself in Sacrifice But by this one Act of his Priesthood he was consecrated to be an Everlasting Priest And if he be an Everlasting Priest he still executes the Office or Function of an High Priest And it is our Dutie the Chief Point of our Religion to supplicate unto him as to The Onely High Priest of our Soules that he would make us partakers of his Everlasting Sacrifice as we say ex Officio by exercising the Office or Function of an High Priest The Question is Wherein the Function or exercise of his Priesthood doth consist To this we answer First Negatively That it doth not consist in the often offering up of himself by his Priests or Ministers here on Earth For if he were on Earth saith the Apostle Heb. 8. 4. he should not be a Priest This argues that he exerciseth his Priest-hood in the heavenly Sanctuary not in Temples made vvith hands So saith the Apostle more expresly Heb. 9. 24. Christ is not entred into the holy places made with hands which are the figures of the true but into heaven it self now to appear in the presence of God for us Nor yet that he should offer himself often as the High priest entreth into the holy place every year 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with bloud of others For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself The truth then is as you have heard before that Christ by his bloudy Sacrifice upon the Crosse was consecrated to be an Everlasting Priest And that this Consecration was not accomplished untill his Resurrection from the dead For it is not conceivable that he should be an Everlasting Priest before he became an Immortal man and by his rising c opened the Gate of Everlasting life After he was thus consecrated by death and by the resurrection from the dead to be an Everlasting Priest after the Order of Melchizedeck he was not to offer any sacrifice nor do we read that Melchizedeck offered any Wherein then did Melchizedecks Priesthood consist Only in the dignitie of Authoritative blessing See Book 9. Ch 9. and 11 He was saith Moses the Priest of the most high God and he blessed Abraham and said Blessed be Abraham of the most High God possessour of Heaven and Earth St. Cyril * See the note at the end of this Chapter in his Parallel betwixt Christ and Melchisedech speakes more expressly and reads the Text more punctually for the Opinion of Reformed Churches than we our selves for the most part doe 2. This exercise of Christs spiritual Priesthood in the heavenly Sanctuary was foreshaddowed by sundry services and sacrifices of the Law By that Solemn Attonement which the High Priest made in the most holy place and as we have often said by the sacrifice of the Red Heifer also Albeit that solemnitie did prefigure him likewise in the Act of his Consecration or designation to his heavenly Sanctuary This Heifer was slain by another without the Camp in Eleazars sight and yet Eleazar the Priest was to sprinkle the bloud of this sacrifice before the Tabernacle of the Congregation that is with his face towards the Sanctuary on which unless he did constantly look whilest he did sprinkle the bloud the service was frustrated as the Jews say This testifyed that the validity of this Act or the purification intended by it was to be expected from the Sanctuary Christ likewise was slain by the hands of sinful men without the City Heb. 9. 14. And yet though slain by them he offered himself by the eternal Spirit And whether by This eternal spirit or by his spirit as man or by both certain it is that by the Spirit he sprinkleth the bloud of the new Covenant upon us and prepareth a way for us to the heavenly Sanctuary As the people under the Law might not enter into the Congregation nor the Priests into the Sanctuary untill they had been purifyed from their uncleanness by the water of sprinkling so neither could we or any of Gods people have accesse unto the most holy Place or heavenly Sanctuary untill the way were prepared for us by the bloud of the Son of God nor untill we be sprinkled and purifyed with his Bloud Having therefore brethren boldnesse to enter into the holyest by the bloud of Jesus by a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vaile that is to say his flesh And having an high Priest over the house of God Let us draw neer with a true heart in full assurance of faith having our