up in the Psalme But in the mysticall sence the particle all must be left wholly to his absolute universality and full amplitude for all things both in heaven and earth namely all creatures whatsoever are put in subjection under Christ because from the universality of Christs dominion God onely is excepted who did put all things besides in subjection under Christ 1 Cor. 15.27 For in that he put all be left nothing not put under him In these and the words immediately following the Author discovers and teacheth us that this place of the Psalme must be understood of some other man then an earthly man For the words being absolutely uttered are a cleere argument that the holy Ghost would have them taken in some other sence altogether universally in which latitude S. Paul also takes them 1 Cor. 15.27 In so much that in them the world to come is also comprehended And taking the words universally who sees not that during this mortall life they cannot be verified and fulfilled of a mortall man And therefore the Author immediatly addes But now we see not yet all things put under him Now while man lives this present and mortall life not yet not from the beginning of the world to this present time we see not all things universally made subject to any mortall man when notwithstanding man was made lesse or lower then the Angels but for a little time as wee shewed before And therefore the fulfilling of these words that all things universally even the world to come should be subject to man cannot be meant of any mortall man but of some man translated to immortality Yet who that immortall man should be the Author hath not hitherto declared But in the following verse he shews that it is Jesus Christ translated to immortality Whence it appeares that if we respect the mysticall sence of the words in this Psalme they must be taken principally and properly of Christ but of Christians onely respectively and as it were proportionably For no one of the faithfull shall solely and singly possesse all things but all joyntly as coheires shall possesse all things yet not all the faithfull joyntly shall possesse all things universally though ye sever them from Christ their head for they shall not have dominion over the Angels but Christ onely shall possesse all things universally for he only shall rule over the Angels that hath dominion over the faithfull And yet againe there is one person excepted from the dominion of Christ and that is God the Father who hath given to Christ his universall dominion 9. But we see Iesus who was made a little lower then the Angels Here he declares who that man was in whom the words of the Psalme were to be fulfilled namely that Jesus Christ was the man to whom all things universally and therefore the world to come was to be subject and therewithall makes way to handle the Priesthood of Christ And hence now it appeares that in this there is no absurdity or repugnancy to truth that he who in respect of his mortall nature was a little lower for a little time then the Angels should be exalted to become much higher then they for ever after Yea seeing the Scripture testifies that the man who was lesse then the Angels must become Lord of all who sees not that the exaltation of the man Christ far above all the orders of Angels doth excellently agree with Scripture And hereby the Author removes the absurdity that seemes in this That Christ a man should become far greater then the Angels and be said to be their Lord. For the suffering of death The Reason or cause why Christ for a little time was made a little lower then the Angels was this that he might suffer death And this was not the formall cause of his lownesse for he was not made lower then Angels in this respect by his suffering death an evill which they suffer not though it be true that he was also lower therein But the formall cause of his lownesse was his mortall nature in respect whereof he was made for a little while a little lower then the Angels And the finall cause of his lownesse in that mortall nature was actuall death for he was made in a mortall nature to this end that he might suffer death under it for unlesse his nature had beene dyable he could not have dyed Christ was made a mortall man whereby for a little while he was a little lower then the Angels but why to what end was he not at first made immortall but mortall It was to this end that he might be passive to suffer death for had he beene at first made immortall he could not have dyed We see him crowned with glory and honour Christ hath now an universall dominion over all not onely over this visible and present world and all the creatures here but also over the invisible and future world and all the creatures there which is a crowne or highest degree of glory and honour to him whereto he was exalted after his suffering of death And though it be most true that his suffering of death was the cause or occasion of his exaltation to glory for Paul expresly so affirmes it Phil. 2.8,9 Yet in this place the Author here intends not to speake of Christs death as the cause of his glory as appeares by the words here following For in what sence can it be said that Christ because he suffered death he was crowned with glory and honour that he should taste death for every man as if after his crowning with glory he suffered or were to suffer death But here his intent is to shew Christs death for the order of it that for time it was antecedent to his glory and his glory for time was consequent after his death We see him crowned We see him so by faith with the eyes of our soule and not by sence or the eyes of our body for we beleeve it from the pregnant testimonies of the holy Ghost in the Scriptures That he by the grace of God should taste death for every man To taste death is to dye for a little time as for a day or two as Christ did for when we take but a little of a thing then we are said to taste of it The final cause why Christ in nature was for a little while a little lower then the Angels was this That he might suffer death And the super-finall cause why he suffered death was this That his death might be propitious and salutiferous to men For the glory of God and the salvation of men required it that the Prince of salvation should taste of death to bring men to salvation yea God had so decreed Now that he might bring men to salvation by this meanes i. By suffering of death he must by nature be a mortall man and not an Angel because by nature Angels are immortall and naturally cannot dye And the efficient cause of both these subordinate finals
of Christs dying and his dying for mens salvation was the grace of God the free love and favour of God did bestow this transcendent benefit upon men that Christ should taste death for them For the Author had no sooner made open mention of Christs death but presently he addes the great and weighty causes of it both finall and efficient lest any man should sleight it and think it not a matter of such moment that therefore the Lord of the faithfull should be lesse then the Angels for that end 10. For it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things These words are a circumlocution or a designation of God from his two great attributes of being the last end and the first cause of all things and are introduced as a ground whereby to answer this tacit objection Had it not beene farre more convenient and decent That Christ the Lord and King over Gods people though he were not an Angell but a man by nature mortall should not taste of death and other sufferings but alwaies remaine in his happinesse and glory as it became the worth of so great a King To this the Author answers That it wonderfully became God to proceed this way and not to doe otherwise then he did because this way did especially suite to his end and was a most convenient meanes to attaine the end by God intended For God himselfe is the last end of all things for whom all things are and he is also the first efficient of all things from and by whom all things are and therefore it became God who begins all things by himselfe and finisheth them for himselfe to apply such meanes as are most conducent to his end for it becomes the wisest agent to worke most wisely The particle by whom notes not God as an instrumentall or meane cause as if some higher agent did worke by him but supposeth him the principall and prime agent which is alwayes so when it is used of God as an efficient or agent of some thing For that particle referred to God carries with it this force in sence that the thing mentioned was not onely primely invented and decreed by God but by him also brought to issue by effectuall meanes proceeding from himselfe and not borrowed elsewhere This working of God as being sole Author and sole meanes is distinguished by Paul by these two phrases Of him and through him are all things Rom. 11.36 But by this Author both are comprised in this one by whom are all things And the universall particle all things must be restrained to his proper respective subject formerly mentioned namely all things concerning the salvation of the faithfull In bringing many sons unto glory Here is expressed the intention or end whereat God aymed which was to bring many sons unto glory The faithfull are the sons of God in a double spirituall respect 1. Of their spirituall birth because they are regenerate begotten and borne of God by the action of his holy Spirit upon them 2. Of their spirituall right because they are adopted or instituted to be the universall heires of all his estate by having the same right with Christ whereby they become and are called his brethren For in a rurall sence he that hath a right to anothers estate becomes his son And the estate whereto God brings them is glory whereby is meant all that future happinesse and heavenly inheritance which eminently for the honour of it is called glory and which was mystically understood Psal 8.5 and wherewith a little before Christ is said to be crowned And the sons brought to glory are many not as many is a parcell opposed to all but as it is a multitude opposed to few for God hath ordained to bring to glory not a few sons but a great many even many multitudes God is not as man who can have but a few sons and cannot bring each of them to all his estate but God hath many multitudes of sons and yet will bring each of them to glory even to all his whole estate And therefore no marvaile if for so many sons sake God would not spare their Captaine whom he might have spared partly though not wholly had their number beene but few To make the Captaine of their salvation perfect through sufferings Here is expressed the meane whereby God wrought his end in bringing a multitude of sons to glory namely by giving them a Captaine and perfecting him through sufferings For seeing God hath so many sons or rather so many multitudes therefore they being so great an army required a Captaine Now Christ is the Captaine or in moderne language the Generall over the army of the faithfull in two respects 1. By leading them in their journey going before them in all their troubles and afflictions 2. By governing them as their head and Lord to command over them for in an Army the Generall doth both lead and governe it And he is the Captaine of salvation to the faithfull because he leads and governes them in their journey to salvation that is to the eternall glory wherewith himselfe is crowned as before which to them is salvation because thereby they are safe not only from destruction but from all affliction and all other evils And because Christ is their captain by whom God brings them to salvation by whom God saves them from death therefore Christ is called and is their Saviour And Christ their captaine passed thorow sufferings whereby is meant death especially a violent death comprising also all the miseries and evils that do precede and accompany it through all which sufferings Christ passed which therefore are called and are his passion And by these sufferings Christ was made perfect His mortality was finished and ended and he being translated to immortality was crowned with eternall glory and honour as before which was his ultimate consummation and finall perfection wherein nothing was wanting to him that might accrue to his supreme happinesse Now seeing therefore that this journey to salvation leads for the most part through divers calamities and afflictions through death and a violent death did it not become the wisedome of God that the leader or captaine in this journey should passe through divers sufferings and death yea a violent death before he could penetrate and arrive at the mark of eternall salvation that by his example hee might teach us that this so rough and craggie way which seemes to precipate men into eternall destruction should lead to the highest tower of eternall salvation by finishing our mortality and perfecting us into immortalitie And did it not become the wisdome of God that he into whose hand God had put the salvation of all his sons and whom he would ordaine for their high Priest should in all things be made like unto his brethren and taste of the same cup of sufferings with them that being himselfe acquainted with sufferings he might learne to succour them in theirs 11 For both he
held to make the fact excusable and not the former But indeed there is also an ignorance of Law that deserves some excuse namely when the number of Laws are become so great that they can neither be comprehended in minde nor retained in memory and especially when the Laws are not grounded upon naturall honesty or the dictates of right reason but upon the sole will and pleasure of the Legifer For in such Laws the minde and memory doth easily faile especially seeing all mens capacities are not equall Now both these considerations tooke place in the Laws of Moses for their number was so great that it exceeded six hundred and the ground of them such that most of them depended not upon naturall honesty and right reason but upon the sole will and positive pleasure of God Therefore all sins committed through ignorance of Law if any way they were excusable were expiated under the Law by prescript of Law and without doubt are here by the Author called Ignorances And on them that are out of the way On the Errant The word Errant is either the same with the ignorant or if it differ the difference is this that the ignorant are such as mistake in the Law and the Errant such as mistake in the fact or the circumstances of it and the sin thence proceeding is called an Errour Or rather by Errour is noted not so much the errour of the minde as the errour in the action So that by errours are meant not onely those trespasses that proceed from some errour of the minde but also those which flow from humane frailty though there precede no errour in the minde and are committed in matters that in their owne nature are but of light importance And there is no doubt but the Author by these two words of Ignorances and Errours would comprehend all lighter trespasses not committed out of meere malice of minde or as the Scripture termes it by a high hand but were done either out of excusable ignorance or of humane frailty in things of lesse moment for which onely the benefit of expiation was granted under the Law This affection and compassion toward them that sin of ignorance or frailty and not of malice and contempt though it be no lesse in Christ our high Priest then anciently it was in the Legall high Priest yet in the reddition of this comparison wherein he speakes of Christ this compassion is concluded to be in Christ neither is the comparison brought for that purpose but onely it is to shew the compassion and pitty that Christ beares toward the afflicted and distressed And this appeares plainly from that which is here subjoyned touching the efficient cause of this compassion for it followeth For that he himselfe is compassed with infirmity He shews the cause and fountaine of this compassion which in the Legall high Priest was his infirmity in sin but in Christ it was his infirmity in sufferings i. the Legall high Priest was infirme because himselfe also might fall through ignorances and errours but Christ was infirme because he was subject to afflictions and trials no lesse then another man That infirmity in the Legall high Priest bred in them compassion and gentlenesse towards the ignorant and errant this in Christ our high Priest bred in him a compassion toward the afflicted and distressed Besides the Legall high Priest was encompassed with infirmities alwayes but Christ onely for some time and there was good cause for both For the Legall high Priest because he was yearely to renew his offering for the sinnes of the people but Christ because by one oblation he expiated for ever all the sins of the faithfull therefore he was compassed with infirmity but once onely and that before his owne oblation For that a man should be prone to pitty he need not be perpetually in misery for it is sufficient that once he made triall of misery but to the end he may help those that are in misery and having delivered them from their misery might actually make them happy for ever it is necessary that he himselfe be pressed with no further misery but that he be blessed to the end he may be able alwayes to help others And this ability is not a simple faculty to help or have compassion but a will and readinesse to doe it as was before explicated chap. 2. ver 4. 3. And by reason hereof The fourth property of a high Priest is taken from his owne infirmity for by reason thereof he must offer no lesse for his owne sinnes then for the sins of the people By reason hereof i. By reason of his infirmity for the high Priest through his infirmity might fall into ignorances and errours and therefore it is likely yea almost necessary that he did often fall into then Hee ought as for the people so also for himselfe to offer for sins His infirmity in falling into sinnes of ignorance and errour was a cause to make him offer for his owne sinnes not onely at particular times when he stood guilty in his conscience of some particular sin but yearely also at the solemne time though then his conscience were touched with no particular sin yet then he must offer for those sins whereof his conscience never tooke notice In like manner the infirmity of Christ i. not onely his passible nature from whence sufferings flow not necessarily but his state and condition of suffering whereinto he was put by Gods decree was a cause that he also should offer for himselfe while he was in his afflictions and miseries And these afflictions in Christ are in this comparison answerable to the finnes of the ancient high Priest and therefore by a little abusion of the word are tacitly comprehended with them under the sole name of sinnes That the Legall high Priest was to offer no lesse for his owne sinnes then for the peoples yea first for his owne sinnes before the peoples it plainly appeares Levit. 16.6,11,17 c. His offering for his owne sinnes was a young Bullock and for the peoples a Hee-Goate And therefore it is said afterward that he was to enter the Sanctuary by the bloud of Goates and Calves chap. 9.12 But how Christ offered for himselfe is explicated in this chap. ver 7. 4. And no man taketh this honour unto himselfe The fifth property of the high Priest that no man must arrogate the office to himselfe and usurpe upon the rights of it of his owne authority This office here is called an honour because of the dignity of it for offices are of diverse kindes some are meerely servile others profitable onely a third sort are honourable that draws dignities and precedency with it Now the office of the Priesthood is of this last sort and therefore is called an honour But he that is called of God He onely hath a right to administer in the honourable office of Priesthood that is designed and called by God to take it upon him This he illustrates by the
the New Testament as we shewed in the former Chapter to containe the remission of all our sinnes even the most heinous and consequently to be of force to purge our conscience And because it is a Testament therefore it was first to be confirmed by death which here neither can nor must be any other then the death of Christ Whence it is manifest that the death or bloud of Christ as it confirmes the New Testament doth purge our conscience from dead workes The particle and shews that a new argument is alledged and the words for this cause note the finall cause for which Christ died He is the Mediatour of the New Testament Wee now use the word Testament and not Covenant because the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 properly signifies a Testament and not a Covenant though sacred Writers use it to signifie also a Covenant And the ambiguity of the word did well serve the Author to draw his argument from that which must needs be done in a Testament And to speake a little yet more accurately Testament and Covenant differ but alternly as genus and species For every Testament is a Covenant though not è contra for though the heire doe not covenant with the Testator at the making of the Testament because that may be done altogether without his knowledge which is necessarily required in him that covenanteth Yet he covenants at the validity of the Testament for when the Covenant takes effect by his acceptance of the condition specified in the Testament and by his entrance upon the Inheritance then though before he were free he covenants ex Lege to performe the will of the Testatour So that every Testament at least when it is consummate and valid is a kinde of Covenant and it is the best kinde of Covenant 1. Because it is most solemnely testified by sealing and witnessing from whence it is called a Testament 2. Because it is most preciously confirmed even by death and the death of him that makes it who establisheth his owne deed by his owne death 3. Because it containes an extraordinary benefit in conveying the Testators inheritance and whole estate to the heire And lastly because it proceeds with the greatest freedome in leaving the heire to his liberity whether he will accept of the Inheritance or not Now this New Testament is the last will of God which must stand for ever because it is already confirmed and therefore cannot be revoked But how Christ is the Mediatour of it hath beene partly shewed before chap. 8.6 and is partly to be shewed afterward yet his Mediatorship consisteth chiefly in these two acts first in declaring or publishing it and then in confirming or establishing it by his death as a Testament ought to be That by meane of death for the transgressions that were under the first Testament they which are called might receive the promise of eternall inheritance Here is a file of finall causes linked one to another whereof the last end is the obtaining of an eternall inheritance the intermean is the redemption for the transgressions which were under the first Testament the prime Mean to these two former subordinate ends whereby they are successively atrained is death which in a Testament must necessarily intervene Hence we may see that the redemption of transgressions doth properly depend and flow from the New Testament and the death of Christ doth give force and strength to this Testament The word Redemption is put for Expiation as was shewed ver 12. For Expiation is one kinde or sort of Redemption both because the effect of expiation is a delivery and because also the meanes or it whereby it is wrought is an expence for it commonly costeth bloud Hence some Translators in this place render it Expiation But because the word Redemption carries the sense of Expiation therefore it both followes the construction of it and is simply called the redemption of transgressions either for their expiation as wee have said In which sense the Scripture speakes elswhere For Prov 16.6 where the vulgar Latine reads it By truth iniquity is redeemed there our English translation hath it By truth iniquity is purged i. expiated Or for redemption from transgressions For Cicero himselfe in a sense not unlike saith Liberationem culpa for à culpâ And he useth the word Transgressions whereby grievous sinnes are commonly signified to shew us what sinnes chiefly are remitted in the New Testament namely heynous and grievous sinnes for which in the Old Testament there was no expiation allowed but the punishment of death imposed Wherefore he addeth Which were under the first Testament He means which remained in force or could not be expiated or for which no remission was allowed under the Law But hee seems withall to intimate that those grievous sinnes had their being and were wont to bee committed under the Old Testament whereas the New Testament together with their guilt doth wholly take away their being in them who cordially beleeve the promises of it For that this is the force and effect of the New Testament and of the bloud of Christ we have already shewed partly in the eight Chapter and partly here And he mentions not the expiation of transgressions only or grievous sins therfore as if under the New Testament also all lighter sins were not expiated but it is as much as if he had said Yea even of those transgressions under c. For somtimes the Scripture speaketh simply not to exclude other things but to teach us that those other things wherof there might be greater doubt are included which being thoght included much more is it to be thought so of the rest So Psal 25.8 David saith of God That he is good and upright therefore wil he teach sinners in the way i. Yea even sinners and not righteous men only though he will teach them also and much rather for so he presently addes in the verse following The meeke will he guide in judgement and teach his way So Paul Rom. 4.5 saith That God justifieth the ungodly not that he justifieth him onely but that hee is so gracious as to justifie him also Or else the Authour mentions only transgressions or grievous sins to shew that they chiefly are expiated under the new Testament and that this is the proper fruit of the new Testament and of the oblation of Christ But if the guilt of grievous sins be taken away under the new Testament much more must it be true of lighter sinnes Besides grievous sins do much more grieve the conscience then lighter for to lighter sinnes there was some expiation granted in the law whereby men might imagine that God of his infinite goodnes would also release the penalty of eternall death but to the other no expiation was allowed Might receive the promise To receive the promise of eternall inheritance doth in this place signifie to enter the reall possession of the eternall inheritance which was before promised and not to receive the promise