them such for Nature such for Office First For their Nature they are Spirits and a flame of sire for Office Angels and Ministers 1. They are Spirits that is spiritual and intellectual Creatures For whereas many think because Ruack in Hebrew and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek signify sometimes the Winds and that here the Angels are compared to the Winds for swiftness it 's poor For the word signifies the Soul of Man the Affections and Operations and the Mind it signifies also Angels both good and bad as they are spiritual and intellectual Substances 2. They are a flame of fire or flaming fire that is Seraphims bright glorious and excellent Creatures They are called Cherubims and Seraphims which are Spirits near unto the Throne of God ever in his presence like Princes tending upon his Majesty ready ever to do him Service and glorify him 1. God makes them and gives them an excellent Being and qualifies them and makes them fit to be his Servants 2. He makes them Servants and Officers to do him high and glorious Service 1. They must be Angels to know and declare his Will to those to whom he sends them 2. They must be Ministers to do and execute his Will He made them both their excellent Nature and their Office and both from him Here it might be noted that the Angels are not any kind of Servants but such as are in eminent place as Officers be yet Officers are but Servants and not Lords The Sum of all is that Angels though excellent Creatures are but Servants and Ministers and this the Apostle intended out of these words to prove § 16. Ver. 8 9. But unto the Son he saith Thy Throne O God c. Where we must consider 1. The Connexion 2. The Translation 3. The principal sense 4. The Scope of the Apostle 1. The Connexion is not copulative but discretive and implies an opposition and an eminency For Christ is here opposed to the Angels as Servants and Subjects are to Soveraigns as invested with a super-eminent Dignity and Power therefore the particle ω is well translated but. 2. The Translation is 1. Of the words of Allegation 2. Of the words alledged First Of the words of Allegation which may be translated either as they are here read To the Son he saith or as the former of the Son he saith or as for the Son he saith He that is God or the Psalmist or the Scripture or the Spirit by the Psalmist in the Scripture saith thus of the Son Secondly Of the words alledged the Translation is somewhat doubtful for they may be turned Thy Throne O God as they are commonly translated or Thy Throne is God as Genebrard ieforms us some Rabbins understand it or thy Throne of God and every one of these may be true 3. The genuine sense is this that the Power of Christ is from God a royal and divine Power for his Kingdom was not of this World but an heavenly Kingdom of universal and eternal continuance and of a perfect constitution and administration For because that he loved Righteousness and hated Iniquity so far as to be righteous and holy not only in life but death and by his death to expiate the sin of Man and to sanctify all that believe in him for ever therefore God even his God anointed him that is exalted him above all Kings and Prophets even above the Angels By Oyl of gladness is meant Oyl that maketh glad which here signifies not only the gifts but the power of the holy Spirit and to be anointed with this Oyl is not onely to receive gifts and ability but power and authority spiritual and divine and the same super-eminent above all power communicated to any other And this transcendent power was given him for his great and glorious Service in the work of Redemption by his Death and Sufferings 4. The Scope of the Apostle is to prove that Christ is more excellent than the Angels and the reason is strong they are but Messengers Ministers Servants God never made any of them an universal and eternal King but such he hath made Christ. The Apostle implies that the 45. Psalm speaks of Christ. § 17. Ver. 10 11 12. And thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the Foundation of the Earth c. How these words agree with the Scope of the Apostle so as to prove Christ to be more excellent than the Angels is difficult to understand They are taken out Psal. 102. The whole Psalm is a Prayer directed to God Redeemer by Christ the matter of the Petition is to hasten the coming of Christ and his glorious Kingdom the repair of the Church and the enlargement of it to all Nations that the People may be gathered together and the Kingdoms to serve the Lord that is the Lord Christ and that his Saints being mortal may be changed and inherit eternal life by that Lord Christ who shall destroy all Enemies consume the World with fire and eternally glorify the Saints The Propositions or divine Axioms contained in these words are 1. That Christ being Jehovah made the World 2. That Heaven and Earth created by him are mutable and shall be changed by him 3. That he is immutable and his Kingdom everlasting 4. That his Subjects and Servants though mortal shall enjoy eternal peace and happiness by him In all these things Christ is far above the Angels especially in this that he being Creator of the World shall be an everlasting King of an everlasting and unchangeable Kingdom Yet this is so to be understood that it doth not agree to Christ as the Word alone because as the Word alone he is not Redeemer nor to Christ as Flesh or Man alone for as such he could not create the World but it agrees unto him as the Word made Flesh and exalted at the right hand of God This may be considered either as a distinct proof from the former or a confirmation of the same in respect of his eternal Throne and Kingdom The Socinian upon this place 1. Denies Christ to be the Creator of the World and so to be God 2. Affirms that the intention of the Apostle is to prove Christ more excellent than the Angels onely by one thing in the words and that is by his secondary power to change Heaven and Earth which power God never gave unto the Angels And his design in all this was to cloud this place which so plainly affirms the Deity and immutable Being of Christ. 1. That Christ is the Creator of the World hath been clear from Joh. 1. 2 3. from the second Verse of this Chapter from Coloss. 1. 16. For Christ is not meerly Man as they affirm but the Word by which all things were made which in fulness of time was made flesh 2. That he that made the World is the same that shall change it and shall abide the same for ever For to create the World to change it to remain for ever are all affirmed of
them everlasting life Hee 's that Joshua who leads us and gives us possession of our spiritual and celestial Canaan 2. This Captain Prince and Authour was made perfect of God by Suffering or God made him perfect by Sufferings To be perfected in this place is to be consecrated and made a compleat Priest or at least to be put in an immediate capacity to act as a Priest Aaron and the Levitical Priests had their Consecration and it was not without Blood and the death of Sacrifices and the form was instituted and prescribed by God who alone could give them this Glory Power and Office That Christ was a Priest is expresse Scripture as we shall understand in this Epistle hereafter Yet such he could not be without Consecration neither could he be consecrated without Blood and suffering of Death and offering a bloody Sacrifice And the difference of the Consecration of other Priests and him was this that though both were consecrated by Blood yet they were consecrated by the blood of Beaâ—â—s sacrificed He by his own Blood when he sacrificed and offered himself without spot unto God The reason of this was Because he must be a Meditatour between God and sinful Man to reconcile them but no reconcilion without Blood and no Blood but his own Blood immaculate would be accepted For though God was merciful and willing to be reconciled yet his justice would admit of no reconciliation but upon satisfaction to be made by this Blood God did manifest his Justice and hatred of sin by punishing it in Christ before he would pardon it in Man It was God that did Consecrate him for no Man or Angel could conferr this Office upon him or make him an universal and eternal Priest to officiate and minister in Heaven only God could do this And he as supream Lord and Law-giveâ— could appoint and accept him to be Redeemer prescribe the manner of Consecration and as supream Judge accept of his Consecration once finished and invest him with this sacerdotal Power In these respects God is said to Consecrate him By him thus consecrated many Sons are brought to Glory There are many Sons brought to Glory he that brings them to Glory is God he doth this by Christ consecrated and made their Captain To bring to Glory is in the end to give possession of Glory and that everlasting and most excellent Estate prepared for the Sons of God These are many and are made his Sons by Regeneration and Adoption The one doth make them capable of the other gives them right to Glory which they shall fully enjoy when their heavenly Birth and gracious Adoption are perfected They derive their title from their Captain as consecrated by Suffering and received by Faith For as they are the Sons and Heirs of God so are they joynt-Heirs with Christ and in his right And if he never had been consecrated by Sufferings they never had been either Sons or Heirs or Glorified For he by his Sufferings merited all and laid the foundation of their eternal Happiness And for this Suffering he made him Captain and Head of all his Sons and gave him power to give eternal Life to as many as he had given him It 's God who brings these Sons to Glory by their Head and Captain He loved Man he gave his Son to Death he raised him up again made him King and Priest and gave him power to convert us and by him he adopts us and by him he gives us Glory The sum of all is this The glorification of sinful Man from first to last is from God it 's he and he alone that brings him to Glory yet though the persons glorified be many yet they are all Sons and none but Sons shall enjoy the Inheritance neither are they Sons by Nature or of themselves He makes them such by Christ and Christ was consecrated by Sufferings and made their Captain It became him for whom and by whom are all things in bringing many Sons to Glory thus to do God is here described from his efficiency where-by he is the cause of all things the universal Agent who produceth preserveth ordereth all things to their end especially his Sons unto Glory For though his works be many then some are more excellent then others and one of the chiefest is the Salvation of man Some do think that by these words for whom and by whom are meant that God is the final and efficient cause of all yet in strict sense God cannot in himself be said to be the end of any thing yet the manifestation of his glorious Perfection may be said to be intended by him in all his Works To consecrate the Captain of all his Sons by Sufferings did become him that is it seemed best to his divine Wisdom to use this means as most fit to manifest his justice and mercy in the Redemption and Salvation of man What Ways and means as conducing to this end he knew or his divine Wisdom did dictate unto him is hidden from us but this here mentioned he resolved upon as the best and most agreeable to his excellent perfection For God doth nothing but that which becomes him so glorious in himself and so excellent an Agent Men may do many things unbeseeming and no ways befitting them to do nay Angels have done many things which did not become so noble Spirits to do but God doth nothing but what God may do And this is the reason why Christ must taste of Death for every man Because it seemed good to God by that way and means to save sinful man And this is the relative consideration and connexion implyed in the causal conjunction For. They give a reason why Christ was lower then the Angels and suffered Death And why It became God so to do Ver. 11. For both he that Sanctifieth c. § 14. The Apostle in these and the following words doth manifest how it became God to cast Christ below the Angels and consecrate him by Sufferings and he doth so manifest it as that it may appear to be agreeable to Reason which is a spark or ray of divine Light To understand this the better you must remember 1. That Christ was lower then the Angels in suffering Death 2. That as God or Angel he could not suffer Death 3. If he could have suffered Death as a Spirit yet that Death was not so fit to redeem Man or expiate his sin and sanctify him 4. That seeing he must both dy and dy for man he must be Man and mortal Man to sanctify man These things premised the Apostle proves that it became God to make Christ a mortal Man and the reason is because he that sanctifyeth and they who are sanctifyed ought and must be of one and this is the coherence In the words themselves we have the unity and indentity of the Sanctifier and sanctified By the Sanctifier or the person sanctifying is meant Christ and by the sanctified sinful men by being of one that
power cannot be destroyed except Christ dy Christ cannot dy except he be lower then the Angels and made mortal Man This connexion and subordination of these things did become God and was agreeable to his heavenly wisdom whereas the Socinian saith That for Christ to take part with Men and be Flesh and Blood as they are doth not prove that the Incarnation is true if we consider it barely in it self as a participation of humane nature and mortality Yet if we consider the subject of this participation and the person taking part with man to be the Son of God by whom he made the Worlds the brightness of his Fathers Glory and the expresse Image of his Person and look upon him as that word which was in the beginning and was with God and was God then if this Son this Word be made Flesh as here the Apostle doth affirm and else-where then the Incarnation is plain and clear enough it cannot be denyed § 17. This farther end is expressed in these words Ver. 15. And deliver them who through the fear of Death were all their life-time subject to bondage This Text represents unto us two things 1. The sad condition of such as are under the power of Satan 2. A deliverance or freedom from it The sad condition is an estate of perpetual slavery and fear of Death For to be subject to bondage is to be a slave and to be thus subject all the time of his Life is to be a perpetual slave for time of Life And this is a grievous slavery and bondage not only because it 's perpetual but because of the great danger For by fear of Death may by a Metonymy be meant the danger of Death For the proper cause of fear is danger once apprehended for it 's true that men may be in danger and yet without fear because the danger is not seen apprehended known And the bondage of perpetual fear is woful if not intolerable This Death which is so dangerous and ever threatens to terrify and torment us is not only bodily but spiritual not only temporal but eternal and the greatest Evil of all others and if we be Satan's slaves and in his power he is a most cruel Tyrant and Enemy and seeks our extream and everlasting misery and we can expect nothing better from him who delights in our destruction Oh that man did but see his condition and were sensible of it For then he could take no rest Day or Night and he would seek and cast about for deliverance We see how sad it is by the terrours and torments of Judas and Cain and by the fears griefs troubles wounds sigh◠groans of such as were once sensible of their sins and apprehensive of the wrath of God Though this be a sad condition yet there is deliverance from this continual danger this perpetual fear which is the greatest slavery of all other The beginning of comfort is to know that there is a possibility of Freedom and that the Danger is avoidable or removable The first degree of this deliverance is in Christ's Death whereby divine justice was satisfied and freedome merited 2. That the power of the Devil was destroyed for whilst it continued this fear could not be removed 3. This freedome and liberty is more compleat when upon Faith in Christ's Death Sin is pardoned and the cause of this fear is taken away For the justified have peace with God are freed from condemnation and the Law of Sin and Death and they who feared eternal Punishments rejoyce in the hope of Glory Then this slavery is changed into a blessed liberty fear into hope and the sorrow of Death into the joy of Life § 18. It follows Ver. 16. For verily he took not upon him the Nature of Angels but he took on him the Seed of Abraham In these words it 's conceived a reason is given why Man and not Angels are delivered from the slavery of death and danger of eternal punishments and the reason is this because the Word was made Flesh and Man not a Spirit or an Angel And they more clearly explain these words Seeing the Children were partakers of Flesh and Blood he took part with them By Death to deliver them For if he 1. Took part with them 2. To deliver them 3. Deliver them by Death then he took not part with Angels but with the seed of Abraham as a fit means which it became God to use The Conjunction 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not always causal to inferr a reason of some thing from the cause or some other argument For it is sometimes expletive sometimes hath another signification and so it may be here But to let that pass let 's consider the Text in it self which logically considered is a discretive axiom denying the same thing of one subject and affirming it of a another Christ took upon him something But 1. That was not the Angels or nature of Angels 2. He took upon him or to him the seed of Abraham So that in the words we have two simple axiomes or propositions The first is negative For verily he took not upon him the nature of Angels The second is affirmative He took on him the seed of Abraham The negation in the former proposition is strong for it 's not barely said He took not but he no where or not at all For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may signify nusquam aut nequaquam no where or in no wise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies verily To understand the whole Text is difficult because of the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which some turn apprehend it he took hold on and think the expression is taken from such as pursue and follow hard after one that flyes from them to take hold on him and bring him back So Man runs from God and God became Man to follow after Man and take hold on him to save him Thus Chrysostome and from him Bishop Andrews Heinsius à Lapide with others Crellius and the Socinians turn the word another way and understand the place thus Christ succoured not the Angels but succoured the seed of Abraham This and also the former may be true but not pettinent The reason why Crellius likes the latter sense is because he likes not the Doctrine of the Incarnation he cannot digest it The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 translated and that rightly by Vatablus Beza the Turgurines and Tremelius out of the Syriack assumpsit he assumed and by our English took on him doth answer to the Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 turned by the Septuagint several times 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word here used And not to take the Angels that is nature of Angels is not to be made an Angel or Officer the individual substance of an Angel to redeem the Angels that sinned To assume or take the Seed of Abraham is 1. To be a man as Abraham and his Seed were men and partakers of Flesh and Blood
Slaughter of the Person to be sacrificed and he trust be offered as a burnt Offering upon the Altar This Offering once consummate would be the total Destruction of Isaac as to this mortal Life and that before he had any Issue Abraham is said to have offered him though he did not consummate and compleat the Oblation For 1. In his heart he had parted with him and given him wholly unto his God and was resolved to slay him and burn his Body upon the Altar So that this Oblation was finished in his heart 2. He proceeded further began really to do what he had resolved came to the place of Offering had prepared the Wood bound Isaac laid him upon the Altar and had lift up his hand to give the fatal blow and had done all the rest of his Work if God by the Voice of his Angel had not instantly staid his hand This was a difficult piece of Service and the more difficult the more excellent his Obedience for it was Isaac his only begotten of Sarah whom he was commanded to offer § 18. The next thing to be considered is his Faith for by Faith he offered Isaac This Faith was high and excellent because having so many difficultie to encounter yet conquered all and became finally victorious so that nothing could stand before it The difficulties may be reduced to two sorts 1. Such as seemed to be contrary to Reason 2. Such as were contrary to dear and tender Affection 1. Reason might doubt whether the Revelation was from God or a delusion of Satan and this was the first debate Yet upon serious consideration he knew assuredly that it was from God and as from him he by Faith receives it 2. But suppose it were from God and as from him he by Faith receivs it 2. But suppose it were from God yet he might scruple whether it was a Command and of absolute Obligation 3. Let it be so He might question the matter of the Command as contrary to an express Law against the Light of Nature and against all Justice and Equity to slay an innocent Person seemed so to be 4. Reason would most of all plead the Promise of God which was to be fulfilled in Isaac and would alledg that if Isaac be slain offered burnt then the Performance would be impossible and God would not prove faithful But Abraham in all these particulars wholly resigned up and sacrificed his reason to the Wisdom of God and by Faith was perswaded that the Commandment was from God was just did absolutely bind him and rested upon God's Almighty Power as able to raise him again out of the Ashes as he created the first man out of the Dust. And he had an Experiment of this Power which in his very Generation and Conception and Birth did above the Power of Nature as it were raise him from the dead according to those words From whence he received him in a Figure whereby is signified that his Generation was a kind of Resurrection from the dead and was very like unto it For his Body when he begot him and Sarah's Womb when she conceived him were in respect of generative Power both dead So that the Knowledg and Experience of God's Almighty Power and his full Assurance of God's fidelity in fulfilling his Promise did wholly silence and refuse the debates of Reason natural and not enlightned 2. As his Reason so his dear and tender Affection not only natural but moral was hardly and sorely put unto it For 1. God did not command him to offer his Bullocks Goats Rams or Lambs but his Son not his Son Ismael but Isaac the Son of his Joy the Son of his Love whom he loved as his own Son as his only Son by Sarah as a dutiful and pious Son as a Son given him extraordinarily from Heaven as the Son of Promise and which is more than all a Son from whom he expected Christ and in whom all the Promises were to be fulfilled To part with a Son with such a Son to have him slain to slay him himself and embrue his hands in the innocent Blood of so dearly beloved a Child whom he prized above any thing in the World for whose life he would have given his greatest Estate in whose Person so many of his Comforts were treasured up was grievous to Flesh and Blood and a Service and Work above the Power of Nature yet Faith was strong and overcame his Affection By this Act of Obedience we learn that Faith is a rare vertue and a great gift from Heaven that when God requires hard and difficult things from us as to forsake Father Mother all our dearest Relations Life it self and to bear the Cross we must deny our Reason and our Affections and resign our selvs wholly up to God's Wisdom and Will and the more we love our God the more we love our selvs in God This Isaac in this particular was a lively Type of Christ whom God gave for us For Christ was the only begotten and the dearly beloved Son of God better than all the World yet God to manifest his Love unto us sent him into the World and made Him a Burnt-Offering for us And he suffered most cruel pains was slain indeed and suffered a cruel and ignominious death In this Example which we are all bound to follow we may observe God's great Mercy unto Abraham in that he put him not to this hard Trial till his Faith was highly improved and was taught to love nothing above his God § 19. The Apostle observing the Order of time descends from Abraham to Isaac of whom it 's written thus Ver. 20. By Faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come BEfore I enter upon the Example I will put you in mind of some things only hinted and darkly implyed or not mentioned formerly As 1. Though God commanded Isaac to be sacrificed upon which Sacrifice and burnt-Offering once consummate the Performance of God's Promise seemed impossible yet God did fulfil in Isaac what he promised in that manner that the Command was no wayes contrary nor prejudicial to the Performance of the Promise 2. That though Abraham thought that the raising of Isaac from the dead might he a way for God to shew his faithfulness yet that was not God's way but another for when Abraham was ready to give the fatal and mortal blow God stayed his hand prevented his death and saved his Life Yet this was till that very moment concealed from Abraham that he might fully try him and manifest his total Resignation of himself to God 3. That though Abraham was willing yea resolved and ready to sacrifice his Son and for this was highly accepted of God yet this doth no wayes warrant or justify such as sacrificed their Children or were ready to offer the fruit of their Body for the Sin of their Soul For 1. They had no Commandment or Warrant from God as Abraham had 2. They offered their Children to Idols and
Hebrews THE parts of this Letter written and sent to the Hebrew Christians are The Substance and Body of the same The Conclusion The End whereat the Apostle aims is The confirmation of them in the belief and profession of the Gospel The Means he useth for the attainment of this end is Clearly to demonstrate the excellency of Christ as a Prophet and a Priest far above all former Prophets and Priests and thereupon to perswade them to rely upon Him who alone can effectually and eternally save them and make them fully blessed The Method observed by him is to deliver 1. The Doctrine of his Prophetical Office and to apply the same and this is done in the first four Chapters 2. The Doctrine of his Sacerdotal Office and to apply it this is begun Chap. 5. and continued to the 18 verse of the last Chapter CHAP. 1. VVHerein the Apostle taking for granted that the Doctrine of the Old Testament was revealed from God by Prophets and by Angels and the Doctrine of the Gospel by Christ he begins his Discourse concerning Christ as a Prophet and proves him 1. More excellent then all the Pen-men of the Old Testament For 1. He was the Son of God 2. He was the Heir of all things 3. God by him did make the Worlds 4. He was the Brightness of his Father's Glory and Character of his Person 5. He upholdeth all things by the Word of his Power 6. He expiated and purged Sin by his Blood 7. He is set down at the right hand of the Majesty on High In all these seven particulars he far excells the former Prophets ver 1. 2 3. 2. More excellent then the Angels because he hath inherited a far more excellent Name Power and Dignity ver 4. He hath obtained by inheritance a more excellent Name Because 1. He is his The Son and God his Father ver 5. 2. God commanded all the Angels to Worship him ver 6. 3. They being created are but Messengers and Servants but Christ the Son sits in a glorious Throne and is possessed of a Kingdom which is everlasting and when the Earth and the Heavens created by him shall wax old and be changed it shall abide unchangeable for ever ver 8 9 10 11 12. 4. He is set at the right hand of God and by the Word and Patent of God is made Supreme and Universal King and Prince a Place never granted to any of the Angels who all of them are but Ministring Spirits under Him for the Heirs of Salvation This Jesus Christ so excellent was a Prophet for God spake by him as more excellent and in a more excellent manner then by them so that his Doctrine is more full more powerful and more perfect then the Doctrine of Prophets and Angels CHAP. II. VVHerein 1. The former Doctrine of the excellency of Christ and the Gospel is applied by way of exhortation 2. The excellency of Christ above the Angels though he was lower then them for a time is further proved In the Exhortation we may observe 1. The Duty exhorted unto 2. The Reason or Motive to enforce performance 1. The Duty is diligently to attend unto the Doctrine of the Gospel and to take heed of falling from the belief and profession of the same ver 1. 2. The Reason is taken from the most grievous punishment which they cannot escape if they continue not in their Profession This Reason is delivered by way of comparison in quantity For if they who disobeyed the Law then much more they who disobey the Gospel shall be severely punished and shall not escape The Consequence is good and clear from the excellency of the Gospel above the Law For 1. The Law was delivered by Angels the Gospel by Christ. 2. The Law is a Doctrine of Death and Damnation the Gospel of Salvation 3. The Gospel preached by the Apostles commissioned by Christ was attested from Heaven and confirmed by Signs Wonders Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost but the Law was not And from the excellency of the Gospel in respect of the Authour the Matter and Confirmation the Sin is aggravated and the Punishment made more grievous ver 2 3 4. The Exhortation finished the Apostle doth not only enforce the former Reason but proceeds farther to demonstrate the excellency of Christ above the Angels The Argument is That God hath not subjected the World to come to Angels but to Christ who for a little time was lower then the Angels for so it is to be understood ver 5. This Argument is taken out of Psal. 8. 4 5. Where we may observe 1. The words of the Psalm cited ver 6 7. 2. The Apostle's Discourse upon them wherein he observes 1. That all things were put in subjection to him by the Patent and Edict of his heavenly Father yet not actually subdued and brought into subjection ver 8. 2. The Humiliation of Christ which went before his Exaltation For He was made lower then the Angels for a little time Of this Humiliation he delivers the Causes Efficient Final The efficient Cause was 1. The Grace and free Mercy of God which did decree it for the benefit of sinful man ver 9. 2. The Wisdom of God which contrived it as the fittest way in bringing many Sons to Glory to consecrate their Captain by Sufferings ver 10. The final Cause may best be understood if we consider what this Humiliation whereby he was lower then the Angels is It was 1. To be made a Mortal man 2. In this mortal humane Nature to suffer Death 1. The reason why he must be made Man and mortal was Because he that sanctisieth and they that are sanctified must be one and because the sanctified which were to be made Sons did partake of Flesh and Blood therefore he took part with them that in this respect they might be his Brethren And that they were so he proves ver 11 12 13. 2. The End and final Cause why he was made man and mortal was 1. That he might dye for his Brethren and by his Death destroy the Devil and deliver his People ver 14 15. And for this reason he took not the Nature of Angels to deliver them but the Seed of Abraham ver 16. 2. Another end was That he Suffering and being Tempted in their Nature might be a merciful and faithful High Priest and make atonement for the Sins of the People and succour them who were tempted ver 17 18. CHAP. III. VVHerein Christ is proved to be more excellent and a greater Prophet then Moses For the Jews did think it very unreasonable in any part to recede from that Doctrine which they had received from God by Prophets Angels Moses and to hearken unto Christ except he could be proved to be a Greater Prophet sent from God and his Doctrine more excellent and perfect And this was the cause of the Apostle's Undertaking This part of his Discourse is brought in by way of Exhortation Where 1. The Duty exhorted
Works because they 1. Signify God's Approbation of the Doctrine 2. Cause men to wonder 3. Are done by a divine and supernatural Power The same words are used 2. Cor. 12. 12. In Signs Wonders mighty Deeds They are said to be divers because they are not onely many of one kind but of several and different kinds as dispossessing of Devils raising the Dead and miraculously healing all kind of Diseases and as they are Works of extraordinary Power and Wisdom so they are of Mercy 2. By Gifts or Distributions of the Holy Ghost according to his own Will So that there were Gifts of the Holy Ghost Distributions of them These according to his Will Gifts of the Holy Ghost were extraordinary Qualities and Powers given such as heard the Apostles Doctrine and believed it as power to heal to speak in strange Languages to prophesy to do Miracles They are said to be Gifts and Effects of the Holy Ghost because they had them not by Nature or Industry or Instruction by Man but from the Power of God-Redeemer and the Spirit of Christ. They are called in the Original distributions or divisions because they were 1. Communicated to divers Persons 2. Were many of different kinds 3. Were given in several degrees They were distributed according to his own Will 1. Freely 2. To whom he will 3. What Gifts he will 4. In what measure he will For there are diversities of Gifts 1. Cor. 12. 4. But all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit dividing to every man severally as he will Ver. 11. The Effect of these Miracles and Gifts was the confirmation of the Doctrine of the Apostles which they did confirm by Word and Deed For 1. They did most certainly affirm and assert this Doctrine as having heard it immediately of Christ and as having received the immediate Knowledge there of from him 2. They did these Signs Wonders and mighty Deeds and upon the Imposition of their hands Believers received the extraordinary Gifts of the Holy Ghost yet they neither did these Miracles nor gave these Gifts by their own power or holiness But the Works were done and the Graces given by them as Instruments in the Name of Christ as risen and glorified and from God So that the Power of God the merit of Christ their Ministration did all concur to the production of these glorious Effects God was the principal Cause therefore is it said that by these God did bear them witness and attest their Doctrine to be true and from him so that this confirmation was a giving credibility to the Doctrine of the Gospel so far as it was new and delivered the positive truths concerning Jesus of Nazareth dying for our sins rising again sitting at the right hand of God and the dependence of Justification before the Tribunal of God and eternal Glory upon Faith in him making Intercession in Heaven For there was no need thus to confirm the Ceremonials of Moses and the Covenant of God with Israel before Mount Sinai to the Jew For these things he made no doubt of nor was this confirmation needful for to perswade the Gentile of the Equity and Justice of the Morals of the Scripture for the natural light of Reason did approve them These Miracles and Gifts were Proofs very strong and powerful for they were no jugling Impostures or Delusions but real demonstrations of the divine Will and clear to the senses § 7. The Transgression is a neglect of this divine Doctrine thus declared thus confirmed This neglect implies a contempt and is a disobedience to that Law of God-Redeemer by Christ exhibited in not believing and repenting or a positive deâ—ial of this excellent truth in such as never professed it or in Apostates who once received it The punishment is eternal death which can no ways be avoided by the Offenders neglecting this Salvation The force of the Argument is the last and chief thing to be considered To understand this we must observe the Form of the Apostles Argument which is this That sin which makes us liable to grievous and unavoidable punishment must with earnest heed be avoided But to let slip or recede from and neglect the Doctrine of the Gospel is such a Sin Therefore with all earnest heed to be avoided The Apostle in this Argument presupposeth 1. That sin makes liable to Punishment â—ainous sins to grievous punishments some sins to unavoidable punishments For the punishment of some sins are avoidable and the sins whereby we are made obnoxious though committed yet may be remitted Some are not by the tenor of God's Laws remissible 2. That we are made liable to punishment by the divine comminations 3. That the end of Comminations in God's Laws is by representing the penalty as certainly due upon Transgression to restrain us from Transgression and Disobedience For though the Love of God and Righteousness and hatred of Iniquity are the principal Motives to Obedience and Restraints from sin yet the hope of Rewards and fear of Punishments may have great force because we love our selves desire our own peace and happiness and abhor such things as tend to our misery and ruine These things taken for granted make the Proposition good But the doubt might be of the Assumption That neglect of the Doctrine of the Gospel will make us liable to such a grievous unavoidable punishment This he therefore proves thus If Disobedience unto the Law mucâ— more will the Disobedience to the Gospel make us liable to such a Punishment But Disobedience to the Law made the Offenders liable to such a Punishment This the Hebrew and Jew would grant for they knew it but the Proposition onely could be controverted by them Therefore he confirms it from this presupposed in general That greater sins make us obnoxious to greater Punishment but disobedience to the Gospel is the greater Sin And this he proves fully and that from many particulars For this end he proves the Doctrine of the Gospel more excellent than that of the Law more powerfully binding men to receive it and retain it And if it be so then to sin against it is more hainous than to sin against the Law That it is as excellent there could be no doubt for it hath all the excellencies of the Law But that it was more excellent he manifests by four things 1. It was the Doctrine of so great Salvation for such the Law was not It by it self without the Promise could not save eternally and suppose it could yet it was not so full so clear so powerfull and effectually conducing to eternal life 2. It was first spoken by the Lord Christ who is so far above the Angels by whom the Law was given 3. It was confirmed by Miracles far more in number and more glorious 4. Upon the hearing and receiving the Gospel the Believers received many different and extraordinary Gifts of the Spirit which the Hearers of the Law did not For the Apostle saith to the Galathians He therefore that
drink it and receive it into our bodies yet if we neither eat the one when it 's set before us nor drink the other when put into our hands we may perish for hunger and thirst So it is spiritually with our Souls in respect of the Word preached and heard only our with outward ears and not received and receiued in our hearts by a true and lively Faith So that the cause why the Word of God being so great a Blessing and so excellent a means of Salvation doth us no good is from our selves or in our selves who either refuse it at the first or reject it after we have professed it and promised to live according to it And this refusal and rejection as they are hainous sins not onely against God's just Laws but his merciful tender of eternal life so they will prove in the end the cause of our eternal misery which shall be greater and more intolerable than those to whom the Word of God was never preached 4. Therefore it concerns us all to fear this Sin of Apostacy as we fear loss of heavenly Rest God's eternal displeasure Hell Death and eternal Punishments The Apostle by this word fear implies there is danger of falling away and if we consider there is danger and the same very great For if we look upon our weakness and the remainders of corruption the deceipt and hypocrisy of our own hearts the imperfection of our Understanding in heavenly things the inconstancy of our Wills our little experience in the wayes of God and the violence and power of temptation from the Devil and the World we may easily see that it 's a wonder if not a matter of amazement that we stand one day one hour yet when we look up towards Heaven remember our Saviour Christ reigning and victorious the power of the blessed Spirit the helps God hath given us the Promises of assistance there is great cause of hope yet this hope doth not exclude but require our diligent Care continual Watching and instant Prayers without which we cannot by which we may hope to stand Oh how should we carefully and constantly attend unto God's Word lay it up in our hearts make it the Rule of our whole life so as to obey his Commands rely upon his Promises and fear his threats and every day call to mind the Profession we have made and the Promises whereby we have engaged our selves unto our God And seeing so few do fear it 's no wonder so many fall and come short of this blessed Rest. Most men presume upon the Promise and neglect the Duty The Israellres had a Promise yet did not enter because they did not believe § 3. There follows another distinct Reason from the former and that is the great benefit that follows upon the performance of the Duty Ver. 3. For we who have believed do enter into Rest as he said As I have sworn in my Wrath c. THere is some difficulty to know the coherence of these words with the former as also of those that follow with these and amongst themselves Some say they come in upon the words immediately antecedent and give a reason why the Word not mixed with Faith did not profit nor bring the hearers into God's Rest For onely we that believe do enter that is There is no entrance but by Faith but by Faith there is Others think they propose a reason why we should fear Apostacy and be careful to persevere and that from the happy consequent and the glorious reward which follows upon perseverance in belief and that is entrance and admittance into God's Rest yet they may referr to those words of the former Chapter For some when they had heard did provoke howbeit not all that came out of Aegypt by Moses For Caleb and Joshua heard and believed and persevered for it 's said of Caleb and it 's the Testimony of God That he had another Spirit with him and followed the Lord fully Numb 14. 24. This he applyes to himself and the Hebrews to this purpose That though some did not enter because of Unbelief yet some did believe and did not provoke and so entred so likewise shall we believing do As the former might cause fear so this latter might cause hope and prove a strong motive why we should fear to fall and be very careful to persevere So that if we will sum up that which went before it 's this in brief To day if we will hear God's voice we must not harden our hearts 1. Because if we do harden them we shall be shut out of God's Rest as our rebellious and Apostate Fathers were 2. If we do not harden our hearts but believe we shall enter into God's Rest as Caleb and Joshua did It follows As he said I have sworn in my wrath if they shall enter into my Rest c. These words serve to inform us of three things 1. That the Word not believed could not profit because by Unbelief they provoked God to wrath and in his Wrath he sware they should not enter into his Rest so likewise we should fear to be guilty of Unbelief because if we prove such God in his Wrath by the like Oath will exclude us 2. That as God by this Oath did exclude none but Unbelievers and brought the Believers into Canaan so he will exclude none out of the Rest promised in the Gospel but Unbelievers and will without all fail bring us believing into our spirituall Canaan 3. That as the Oath so the Exhortation used by the Prophet David implied that as there was a Rest in the dayes of Joshua so there is another Rest besides that of the promised Land Therefore because it might be doubted what Rest either David meant or the Gospel doth promise the Apostle proceeds to prove that there is yet a Rest prepared for God's People under the Gospel and determines what Rest that is This is done by distinction for he informs us of a three-fold Rest 1. Of the Sabbath 2. Of the Land of Canaan 3. Of the eternal Rest in Heaven That it was the intention of the Apostle to manifest that there was a Rest for the People of God under the Gospel and yet that Rest was neither the first of the Sabbath nor the second of the Land of Canaan is evident by that which follows especially Ver 19 10. That it was expedient if not necessary for him to do thus is as clear because he had alledged the words of the Psalm To day if ye will hear his Voice and also said in Ver. 1. That a Promise was left us of entring into his Rest. The first is the Rest of the Sabbath in these words Although the Works were finished from the Foundation of the World And Ver. 4. For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day in this wise And God did rest the seventh day from all his Works THE particle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is turned here although yet it may signify and
which they can neither be renewed or mortified and proceed in the wayes of Righteousness and Holiness unto the attaining of eternal life 5. Resurrection is the fifth part of this Doctrine and seems to signisy in this place immortality and eternal Glory as a Reward This presupposeth the exercise of all heavenly Virtues and the continuance of their Faith and Obedience Under this Head may be brought Justification Reconciliation Adoption with the continuance of the sanctifying and regenerating Spirit and also the joys and comforts of God's Saints in this Life and their security and bliss upon their departure out of this Life untill the Resurrection 6. The sixth Doctrine is that of eternal Judgment Both Resurrection and this Judgment presuppose men's Obedience or Disobedience to the Laws of God and by Judgment may be understood either Judgment in general which follows the Resurrection and determines finally the eternal Punishments and Rewards or by a Synecdoche for the eternal Punishments which that Judgment shall award to certain persons This latter seems to be the intended sense because the word is usually taken for Condemnation and Punishment and so much the rather because we never find Judgment taken properly said to be everlasting This presupposeth impenitence and unbelief both Negative and Positive and to this Head are reducible all the spiritual Penalties inflicted upon Man in this Life as fore-runners of this eternal Vengeance It was necessary in the first place to lay the foundation in teaching these Truths of Repentance Faith the sealing of the Covenant the sanctification of the Spirit and the retribution of eternal Rewards and Punishments according to men's observation or violation of the Covenant of Grace This Doctrine they had formerly learned and professed and it was the sum and substance of the antient Creeds And if they any wayes were fallen from this it was in vain to lay the foundation anew and initiate them again Therefore he was resolved to proceed and do that which he had proposed if God would permit and assist him for all resolutions of Men are in God's Power For he alone can so assist them as to make them effectual or hinder them so as to frustrate their designs This implies the Authour's dependance upon God for the carrying on and finishing his intended Discourse concerning the Priest-hood of Christ. § 4. Thus far the Apostle's Resolution the Reasons follow The first is because to lay the foundation anew would be in vain It would prove so because such as fall from these principles render themselves uncapable of any benefit to be received by Christ's Death and Passion neither can they be renewed again unto Repentance The argument in form is this The Apostle presupposing that no man ought and no wise man will do that which he knows to be in vain and to no purpose he proves that to lay the foundation again is in vain thus To attempt that which is impossible is in vain But to attempt by laying the foundation again to renew unto Repentance such as fall away is to attempt that which is impossible therefore it 's in vain To understand the force of this Reason let us reduce the Apostles words into these Propositions 1. They which have been enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly Gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted of the good Word of God and of the Powers of the World to come may fall away 2. If they fall away it is impossible for them to be renewed again unto Repentance 3. The reason why it is impossible is because they Crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame These may be reduced to one Syllogism thus It 's impossible that they which Crucify the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame should be again renewed to Repentance But such as fall away from Christianity once received do Crucify the Son of God afresh and put him to open shame Therefore it 's impossible again to renew them to Repentance The sum of all is this he would not lay again the foundation of Christianity because it was in vain It was in vain because the recovery of such as fall away and renounce Christ was impossible In the first Proposition I will consider 1. What it is to fall away 2. Who they are that may fall away 1. To fall away is here to be Apostates and forsake Christianity once received it 's not to fall into any kind of Sin but such as are contra integrum faedus contrary to the essence and substance of Christianity such are impenitency and unbelief after Repentance and Faith In this respect David's Murther and Adultery though very grievous Sins and against the Covenant yet they were not a violation of it essentially and formally considered This is falling away or Apostacy in this place 2. The subject of this Apostacy and parties which may fall away are such as have received Christianity and have been convinced of the Truth thereof For he that never was a Christian cannot be said to fall away from Christianity he must be a Christian before he can be an Apostate But to enter more particularly upon the Description of the Subject of Apostacy and persons that may fall away 2. They are described from sive things or adjuncts 1. They are enlightned 2. Have tasted of the heavenly Gift 3. Are partakers of the Holy Ghost 4. Have tasted of the good Word of God 5. Have tasted of the Powers of the World to come 2. The difference of several Writers in the Exposition of these five particulars is great For with some 1. To be enlightned is Repentance 2. To taste of the heavenly Gift is Faith in God 3. To be partakers of the Holy Ghost is to receive the Gifts of the Spirit 4. To taste of the good Word of God answers to Imposition of hands 5. To taste of the Powers of the World to come is to have some apprehensions of the Resurrection and eternal Judgment with affections suitable Others understand 1. By enlightning Baptism 2. By tasting of the heavenly Gift spiritual Peace and Joy 3. By the Holy Ghost Gifts of that blessed Spirit 4. By tasting the good Word of God The sinding how sweet and comfortable the Doctrine and especially the Promises of the Gospel be 5. By tasting of the Powers of the World to come The experience of the efficacy and moving Power of the Doctrine of everlasting Life and Death believed Others not differing much think that 1. Enlightning is the knowledg of saving-Truth 2. Tasting of the heavenly Gift is the receiving of Christ by Faith 3. Participation of the Holy Ghost is receiving of the Gifts of the Spirit 4. Tasting of the good Word of God and the Powers of the World to come is some experimental effects of the Gospel and Spirit 3. Yet upon examination the first three may be one And that is the illumination of the heart and mind by the heavenly Gift of
King of Righteousness and after that also King of Salem which is King of Peace MElech and so Melchi in Hebrew signifies King Prince or Governour and such is being one person is eminent in Power above the rest Zedeck is Righteousness in that Language This name agrees with Adonizedeck of Adon or Adoni Lord and Zedeck Righteousness as before This Name did truly agree unto this Person and he did answer to his Name He was a just King and did Order and Govern his People in Righteousness by just Judgment and according to just Laws and sought their weal and common good Such all Civil Governours should be for justice is essential to good Government and God never gave any power to any person but bound him to Righteousness nay further governing Power is no Power without wisdom and justice it may be potâ—ntia but not potestas Some Princes are more righteous then other yet this man was eminently righteous because he proved a Prince of Peace For the Fruit of Righteousness is Peace and the more wise and just the Government of any State shall be the greater the Peace and Happiness of the People But Righteousness must go before and after that Peace will follow and Kings must first be Kings of Zedeck before they can be Kings of Salem If the Kings of Sodom had been such they had not been invaded subdued and spoiled by a forraign Enemy The words seem to imply that Zedeck and Salem were two places from whence he had his Name and Title first from the one then from the other or that because he was so just first he was called the King of Righteousness and after that because by his just Government the People enjoyed so great Peace He was called King of Salem § 9. The fourth and last particular is the perpetuity of his Priest-hood For thus it 's written Ver. 3. Without Father without Mother without Descent having neither beginning of Dayes nor end of Life but made like unto the Son of God abideth continually a Priest FOR the better understanding of these words we must consider 1. That if Melchisedec was a man living in Abraham's Dayes he had both Father and Mother and Descent and beginning of Dayes and end too except he as Enoch was translated not to see Death otherwise these words properly understood and strictly taken might justly give occasion to think he was an Angel in humane shape which was the opinion of some 2. Therefore for the most part the words are understood Tropically to this purpose That as he is described Gen. 14. the first and only place of the Old Testament that speaks more largely of him Moses the Historian makes no mention of his Father or Mother or Descent or Birth or Death And he was directed thus to do by the Spirit of purpose either because he being ignorant of all these the Spirit did not reveal them unto him or if he did and he knew them yet he was ordered and moved by the Spirit to conceal them that according to that Description he might appear a more lively and perfect Type of Christ. 3. The words have special reference unto his Priest-hood and gives us a real difference between him and the Levitical Priest and makes him far more like unto the Son of God our everlasting Priest For the Levitical High-Priests had their Priest-hood by Descent and Birth and upon their Death their Successors For as born of a Father of the Tribe of Levi and the House of Aaron after he was once consecrated and as born of a Mother who was a woman married to one of that House so they derived the Priest-hood from the first Investiture after the first Institution And whosoever could not manifest his Genealogy and Descent from that Family could not minister and officiate as a Priest As they had beginning of Dayes and by their Birth and Descent derived their Priest-hood from their Predecessors so they were Mortal and had end of Dayes and so transmitted their Priest-hood to their Successors Thus did not Melchisedec who though he might have Father and Mother and Descent and so beginning and end of Dayes as a man yet as a Priest he had no Predecessor from whom by Birth he might receive his Sacerdotal Power nor Successor who derived his Priest-hood from him So Christ the Son of God derived his Priest-hood from no mortal Predecessor but immediately from his heavenly Father neither will he transmit it to any Successor but when all Enemies shall be subdued and he shall deliver up his Commission by vertue of which he doth now officiate and intercede in Heaven He shall resign the same together with his Kingdom to God who gave him both And thus perhaps Melchisedec this great Priest and lively Type of Christ did And if there be any Priest-hood according to the Law of Nature which is of perpetual continunuance then he seems to be an extraordinary Priest according to the Law For there is the Law of Nature the Law of Moses the Law of Grace and every one of these may have their ordinary Priests and their extraordinary supream Pontiffs immediately instituted of God and the extraordinary supream Pontiff according to the Law of Nature must be above Aaron who was a High-Priest according to that Law which was but for a time and to be abolished and so more fit to typifie Christ the Mediatour and Priest of the New Covenant which shall stand for ever And these things I referr and in them submit my Judgment to the wise and judicious who may take occasion to seek further whether Melchisedec's Sacerdotal Title did not continue to him in Heaven till Christ's Ascension and then was delivered up to Christ and so it continued in him for ever and in this respect he abideth a Priest continually The first three verses seem to be one Proposition and all the whole description till the last words the subject or antecedent and abiding continually the predicate yet so that there are many simple Propositions in the antecedent And it 's observable that Righteousness Peace and Blessing of Melchisedec are perpetual § 10. After the explication of this Description we must consider wherein Melchisedec and Christ agree for there must be an agreement between the Type and the Antitype They agree in Offices Acts and Continuance 1. Melchisedec was a Priest and a King so was Christ Melchisedec was a King first of Righteousness and after of Peace so is Christ for he is the most righteous and just Administratour of his universal and perpetual Spiritual Kingdom and by Righteousness procures an everlasting Peace for our eternal Righteousness is from Him and the Fruit of this Righteousnesse is the perpetuall Peace of all his Loyall and Obedient Subjects 2. Melchisedec as a Priest received Tythes of Abraham and blessed him so Christ doth bless all such as believe in him and makes them eternally happy and all our spiritual Blessings and our eternal Bliss we expect to receive by him and
shall never be destitute of a powerful and effectual Priest able for ever to save and this doth minister unto sinful man most sweet and heavenly comfort And this comfort is so much the greater because Ver. 22. By so much was Jesus made the Surety of a better Testament THat is by so much was Jesus a better and more excellent Priest The words with the 20th verse make up the Major proposition and these with those understood in general or of a Priest in general without mention of the Levitical Priest or Christ may make the proposition Categorical or a simple Axiom which otherwise must be Hypothetical and a compound Connex In a simple Syllogism the principal part of the Question is the Consequent or Predicate and is always disposed in the Proposition which for that reason is called the Major because of the principal and greater part of the Question But to return unto the Text which is the conclusion of the former Premises wherein we must consider two things or rather Axioms 1. That Christ is an excellent Priest 2. That He is a more excellent Priest To explicate the former you must know That to be the Surety of a Covenant in this place is to be a Priest and this may easily appear by the Context this in general In particular we must enquire 1. What the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 here used and translated by many in this place a Testament and in the eighth Chapter following Ver. 6. a Covenant doth signify 2. What it is to be a Surety of this Testament or Covenant 3. What Covenant or Testament is here meant 1. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a Law a Covenant a Testament To know this we need not consult Lexicons as Varinus who interprets it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Law or Budâ—us with whom it signifies a Testament and Covenant For the Scriptures of Moses and the Prophets translated into Greek will tell us that it alwayes signifies a Law or a Covenant and for the most part both So it doth in the Writings of the Apostles and Evangelists where it very seldom signifies the last Will and Testament of a Man The same thing is a Law in respect of the Precepts and a Covenant in respect of the Promises for Laws are nothing else but Pacts and Covenants between the Prince and People and the Laws of God alwayes have their precepts and their promises For in respect of God there is a two-fold Obligation one whereby he binds his People to Obedience another whereby he binds himself to reward upon Obedience performed On the People's part there is also a two-fold bond the first arising from the Law whereby they are bound to obey or suffer the second is from their voluntary Submission to God and promise of Obedience The former is passive this latter active yet these Laws of God can never properly be called a Testament tropically and metaphorically they may And because Covenants had their Sanction not by promises and comminations but by some solemn Rites and Sacrifices and Feasts therefore the Obligation was so much the stronger and the danger of them which should violate them the greater This was a Law and Covenant between God and Man and not only so but a Covenant between God Redeemer and sinful Man of which more anon 2. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 turned Surety signifies one that undertakes for another to see something paid or performed and though the word is not found in the New Testament except in this place yet we find it three times in the Apocryphal Books from whence several Expressions used by the Apostles are taken And we have the Verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifying to be Surety for another as Prov. 6. 1. 17. 18. 20. 16. And thus the Septuagint turn 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 thrice And they interpret it by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Gen. 43. 9. 44. 32. Psal. 119. 121. and this in the Canonical Books But Varinus tells us that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is Meâ—â—â—s a Mediator and so it 's taken here as it s expounded by the Apostle in the Chapter following and because a Priest doth undertake to procure from God both the confirmation and performance of the Promises unto the People and to that end mediates between both therefore he is a Surety and Mediator of the Covenant and in this respect a Surety and Mediator of the Covenant is a Priest But thirdly What Covenant is this 1. The Text faith it 's the better Covenant 2. If it be the better then there is another for a Comparison must be between two 3. In the following Chapter we learn that there were two Covenants the first of the Law made with the Fathers the second of the Gospel This is that of the Gospel which is described out of Jeremy 31. of which more at large when we come to that Text. 4. As the Levitical Priest-hood and the Law so the Priest-hood of Christ and the Gospel go together and cannot be separated Thus far the first Proposition which considers Christ absolutely in himself which was this That he is an excellent Priest because a Surety of an excellent Covenant What it is to be the Surety or Mediator of this Covenant you shall hear more at large Chap. 8. 6. The Comparative Proposition which is That Christ is a more excellent Priest is now to be considered This Comparison is implyed in the words By so much and better So much answers to as much Ver. 20. It 's between the Levitical Priest and Jesus who are compared in quantity Where we must note 1. That both are excellent because both were instituted of God 2. That the excess and advantage is on Christ's part he was the more excellent 3. The reason of the excellency is their manner of Constitution for the Levitical Priest was made without Christ with the Oath of God and is much as a Priest made by Oath doth excel him that is made without so much Christ is more excellent 4. The excellency was not onely in this that Christ was made a Priest by Oath but also and chiefly because by that Oath he was made personally an everlasting Priest of a better far more excellent and everlasting Covenant This is the fourth Argument taken out of the Psalm to prove comparatively the excellency of Christ's Priest-hood so that the believing Hebrews had no cause to repent of chusing Christ to be their Priest and depending upon him for Salvation As for the Socinian who makes Christ a Surety of this Covenant in respect of his holy Life miraculous Works and Death sealing it as a testimony by his Blood and not in respect of his satisfaction merit and intercession we shall say something hereafter and so proceed unto the Text following Ver. 23. And they truly were many Priests because they were not suffered to continue by reason of Death c. § 25. HItherto the Apostle had proved by several Arguments That Christ was more
excellent then the Levitical Priest and now he proceeds further and hath something more to say and prove his super-excellency He had indeed touched upon those words Thou art a Priest for ever and seems here to repeat them yet if we accurately consider it 's one thing to be a Priest for ever and another to receive an eternal Priest-hood by a solemn Oath which now he undertakes to manifest So that the Subject of three verses following the 23d 24th 25th is the eternal effectual unchangeable Priest-hood of Christ made such by Oath And in them we may observe the Perpetuity of Christ's Priest-hood Efficacy The Perpetuity and Immutability is affirmed ver 23 24. The Efficacy ver 25. In ver 23. we have the discontinuance of the one in the 24th the continuance of the other And both together manifest the difference and so dissimilitude between them and the excellency of the one above the other and this is done comparatively For by comparison both the dissimilitude and the imparity are made to appear He begins with the Levitical Priest in this manner They truly were many Priests c. Where we have 1. Their Multitude 2. Their Mortality And the Mortality was the cause of their Multitude Their Multitude was evident For they were many Priests and their Mortality They died And hence he inferrs that they could not continue for the cause why they could not continue was Death The intention of the Apostle is to inform us of an imperfection and defect in the Levitical Priests that they were all and every one of them mortal and died one after another and none could possesse and keep the Priest-hood long but must transmit it to another Aaron first unto his Son then his Son to a third and that to a fourth and so to the last High-Priest So that though they might all joyntly be considered as one person morally by fiction of Law yet they were many men and many Priests physically and so the Priest-hood was continued by Succession and though the Priest died yet the Priest-hood continued till it was abolished In this respect it might be said to be immortal as Corporations and Societies are yet this is no perfect immortality nor real perpetuity This was their imperfection Christ's perfection was that he continued ever Ver. 24. But this man because he conâ—inâ—uth ever hath an unchangeable Priest-hood THe Copulative And in the former verse did signify the Connexion and that of another new argument to the former and here the Discretive But implies the difference between Christ and the Levitical Priest in that they were Priests but he a Priest they were many he but one they continued not he continues for ever In the words we have three propositions 1. That Christ continueth ever 2. He hath an unchangeable Priest-hood 3. Because he continueth ever therefore he hath an unchangeable Priest-hood The Apostle may seem to reason and argue thus He that continueth ever hath an unchangeable Priest-hood But Christ continueth ever Therefore he hath an unchangeable Priest-hood 1. This man continueth ever Where 1. By this Man is meant Christ who was truly Man though this Man this individual Man was united unto the Word so as never any was He was so united unto the Word that he might truly be said to be God Yet as God he was not he could not be a Priest and this is evident if we consider either what a Priest is or what he must do Therefore is it said This Man continueth for ever and in another place There is one God and one Mediatour between God and Man the Man Christ Jesus 1 Tim. 2. 5. 2. He is said to continue ever that is liveth ever but this is to be understood of him as risen again from the Dead For before in the state of his Humiliation he was mortal and not only so but dyed Yet after the Resurrection he became immortal and shall never dye but continue for ever For Christ being raised from the Dead diâ—th no more Death hath no more dominion over him Rom. 6. 9. 2. This Man hath an unchangeable Priest-hood The word translated Unchangeable may be understood 1. So as though the Apostle did inferr from the words of the Psalam Will not repent or change that Christ's Priest-hood should never be abolished and changed to another Order Or 2. Because it may signify not passing from one another to conclude from this that Christ continueth ever that his Priest-hood doth not pass from him to any other his Successor as the Priest-hood of Aaron did And this latter seems to be the genuine sense because he opposeth the Priest-hood of Christ unto that of Levi which did pass from one to another so that his Priest-hood did continue in this one individual Man who lives for ever 3. Because he continueth ever therefore his Priest-hood is unchangeable and doth not pass from him to another This follows clearly For if he individually be made a Priest and a Priest for ever and this by Oath and he that was thus made was immortal then his Priest-hood is personal and to be continued in him one single person for ever Now we enter upon the Comparison and make it in this form He that liveth and continueth ever so that his Priest-hood is not transmitted to another is more excellent then they who not continuing by reason of Death transmit their Priest-hood to their Successors who are many But Christ doth thus continue and the Levitical Priests do not Therefore He is a more excellent Priest § 26. This excellency is yet more because of the efficacy of the Priest-hood and the ability of the Priest when perpetuity and efficacy meet in one the Priest-hood must needs be excellent indeed But let 's hear the Apostle proving this Efficacy Ver. 25. Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost or for ever that come to God by him seeing be ever liveth to make Intercession for them THE judgment of this Text is Dianoetical as is evident from the Illative Wherefore and in form he argueth thus He that ever liveth to make Intercession for them that come to God by him is able to save them for ever But Christ ever liveth to make Intercession for them that come to God by him Therefore he is able to save them for ever Where from his perpetual and effectual Intercession he inferrs his ability to save for ever and from both his super-excellency which is principally intended In the words we have 1. His ability to save them for ever that come to God by him 2. The reason of it because he ever liveth to make Intercession for them In the first we have 1. His active power 2. The subject upon which it works effectually 1. His active power that he is able to save to the uttermost 1. He is able that is he hath an active power to produce some excellent effect and reach some glorious end 2. This power is not physical but moral nay super-natural
so made as that it abrogated the Law of Moses and the Legal Covenant Yet because the Law was given and that Covenant made by God and not by Man and had continued in force about 1500 years many could not be satisfied in the matter of Abrogation and made scruple of rejecting and neglecting of it For that which is confirmed by Law and long Custom can hardly be made void The unbelieving Jew did reject the new Covenant and adhere to the old as instituted from Heaven and sufficient to justify and save those who observed it Some believing Jews feared to neglect it and judged Christ insufficient without it and thought Moses and Christ joyntly must bring them to Heaven and some of the Gentiles seduced by them were entangled with the same Errour So that it was observed by some as necessary by some as indifferent till the ruine of Jerusalem the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of the miserable and captive Jews into all Nations And then when there was no face either of a Civil or Ecclesiasticall Polity in that Nation then it vanished and did not appear It was abrogated therefore by the Promulgation of the Gospel decayed by little and little after that time and in the end was totally abolished The Apostle had in the former Chapter proved the Change of the Law and the Abrogation thereof from the Change and Abolition of the Priest-hood and gives the reason why it was to be abrogated to be this because it could justify and sanctify no Man And this he made good out of Psal. 110. 4. And here he implies that it must be abrogated because it was not faultless but defective and confirms the repeal of it from the words of the Lord by Jeremiah saying I will make a new Covenant and his chief Scope is to prove that Christ hath obtained a better Ministry because he was the Mediator of a better Covenant And that Covenant was better not onely because it was established upon better Promises but in that it was new and so made that it abrogated the former and it self was to continue for ever For God never promised to make another after this new one was once confirmed by the Blood of Christ. § 17. In all this Discourse he takes it for granted and presupposeth it as certain that Christ was the Mediator of this Covenant and in this he may seem to beg and not to make good the assirmative of the Question For the Jew might reply That suppose it were granted that there must be a new Covenant so made as to take away the old as God by the Prophet doth positively affirm it yet How doth it appear that Christ and not some Levitical High-Priest shall be the Mediator of it To remove this and the like Scruples it 's to be observed 1. That no Levitical Priest could be a Mediator of any Covenant but the former made with the Fathers as is evident from the Institution of that Priest-hood and the Rules of Legal Ministration Therefore he was clearly excluded from this Mediation of this new Covenant 2. That if Jesus of Nazareth was the Messias whom God promised the Fathers expected the Prophets fore-told then it will necessarily follow that he was the great Prophet above all former Prophets above Moses above Angels and he must be the great and eternal High-Priest according to the Order of Melchizedee a Minister of the heavenly Sanctuary and a Mediator of this far better Covenant But the reason why he takes it for granted and goes not about to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messias was because that was done unto his hands and made evident many wayes For the fulfilling of so many Prophecies of the Old Testament and that so fully even to particular Circumstances in him who was called Jesus of Nazareth the Angel's Testimony who certified his Mother of his Conception the Testimony of an Angel with a Multitude of the heavenly hoast at his Birth did signify this So did the words of his Father at his Baptism and Transfiguration his glorious Works his heavenly Wisdom Knowledg and Doctrine besides the Testimony of John the Baptist his prodigious and stupendious Death and Resurrection Ascension the coming down of the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles the Revelation of the Gospel the rare and excellent gifts of this heavenly Spirit received by such as believed on him and the wonderful works done in his Name did sufficiently and superabundantly prove him to be the Messias § 18. From all this the intelligent Reader may easily understand the Subject Scope and Method of the Apostle in this Chapter The Subject is the Ministry of Christ constituted a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedec The Scope is to manifest that Christ is a far more excellent Priest than that of Aaron's Order in respect of his Ministry The Method is to set forth his superexcellent Ministry in respect of the Tabernacle the Service and the Covenant whereof he was Minister for the more excellent the Sanctuary the Service the Covenant the more excellent the Priest The Sanctuary whereof Christ is Minister is heavenly his Service and Offering not â—arnal but supernatural and divine the Blessings promised in the Covenant whereof he is Minister and which by his Ministry he procures are spiritual and eternal and such as once obtained make sinful Man fully and for ever happy And because the Covenant is so excellent and so effectual by his Ministration it 's of eternal continuance The Application of all this to our selves is of Information Exhortation Consolation for by this Doctrine we 1. Understand how excellent and effectual Christ's Priest-hood is in respect of his Ministration in the best Sanctuary by his best Service making effectual the best Covenant that ever was made 2. It stirs us up to admire the wonderful Wisdom of God which contrived such an excellent Priest-hood and Ministry and his infinite Mercy in ordering both for our eternal Salvation For Who are we that the Son of God should be our eternal Priest offer up himself a Sacrifice to confirm his Covenant which he hath made with us and that God should appoint him to minister in the heavenly Sanctaary and by his Ministry there obtain for us the excellent Blessings which he hath merited and God hath promised That he should deal thus with us and do thus for us may be matter of amazement to the very Angels of Heaven How often should we think and seriously meditate on these things and magnify his Wisdom and be eternally thankful for his unspeakable Mercy and engage our selves to his Service for evermore 3. It 's matter of sweetest Comfort that there is so excellent an High-Priest that he is our High-Priest that after he had sacrificed himself on Earth he should minister for us in Heaven that God should make so excellent a Covenant with us promise Power to keep it and bind himself upon the keeping of it to be our God for ever and eternally
and seeing the punishment was Death Death must first be suffered This was thus appointed and done to signify his purest holiness his hatred and detestation of sin his love of Justice and his respect unto the Law which bound to obedience or upon disobedience to punishment By this he signified and all men must know it that it 's a dangerous thing to transgress his Laws and this must hear and fear But then 2. Why by his own blood The reason in general is the will of God which did determine upon this blood and the wisdom of God which knew that it was the fittest of all other But more particularly the blood of Goats and Calves was no wayes convenient For it is not possible that the blood of Bulls and of Goats should take away sins Hebr. 10. 4. Nor the blood of man of the best man though far above the blood of Bullocks and Goates was fit for all men are guilty and their blood is stained Neither was the life of Angels fit for though it might be precious yet God did not think it sufficiently satisfactory and meritorious for sinful man And suppose an High-Priest should offer his own blood yet that would not serve Therefore it must be Christ's blood his own blood which was pure and without spot and most precious not only because it was the blood of God that eternal Word made Flesh which was God but because it was shed with greatest pain and most willingly out of love to sinful man whose Flesh and Blood he had assumed and in obedience to his heavenly Father who had made him the great High-Priest appointed him to be the Head Surety and Hostage of sinful man and commanded him to lay down his life and do this great Service And without the blood of this Sacrifice he could not have entred into the holy place and obtained eternal Redemption This is the fourth thing observed in the Text and the Subject of the fourth Proposition concerning one immediate effect of his blood For he entring by his own blood once obtained eternal Redemption Where we must enquire 1. What Redemption is 2. Why this Redemption is said to be eternal 3. How it was obtained by the blood of Christ entring into Heaven or by Christ entring Heaven once with his own blood 1. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 comes of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Copher in Hebrew which signifies a price or gift offered to a Judge or an Enemy to deliver one from Death or some other evil or punishment and it 's called a Ransome in this respect Christ is said to give himself 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lytron a Ransome 1 Tim. 2. 6. and Matth. 20. 28. In that place it 's such a price as is given to a Judge who hath power of Life and Death for to save the life of one capitally guilty and by Law bound to suffer Death The effect of this price is 1. To propitiate the Judge 2. Upon this propitiation made to save the lise of the party guilty In this place 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the effect of this price and is turned Redemption Expiation Remission Propitiation It 's true that the word may signify many other things and any kind of deliverance from evil But in this place it 's evident that it signifies the deliverance of guilty persons from Death upon a price given and accepted The party to whom this price was given is God as Supream Judge before whose Tribunal man stands guilty and liable to Death The effect of it is propitiation which includes satisfaction of divine Justice and merit of his favour and love Upon this propitiation sin becomes remissible and pardonable therefore Redemption and Propitiation are sometimes by a Metonymy taken for Remission according to that of the Apostle In whom we have Redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins Ephes. 1. 7. Col. 1. 14. In both which places the latter word seems to explain the former Yet Redemption is not Remission properly and actually but efficienter as the effect is said to be in the cause before it exist because of the virtue and power which abiding in the cause is sufficient to produce the effect and Christ must make sin by this Redemption remissible before it can be actually remitted 2. This Redemption and Propitiation is said to be eternal not because Christ is always redeeming and propitiating for that work was performed speedily and in a short time But it 's such because the virtue of it is of perpetual continuance in respect of all Sinners capable of all sins according to the Laws of God-Redeemer remissible and of the remission it self which frees the Sinner from all his sins from the eternal guilt and all penalties for ever Upon this Redemption is grounded that comfortable promise of the New Covenant formerly mentioned Chap. 8. 12. where God binds himself to remember our iniquities no more that is to give eternal pardon This adjunct of perpetuity is added to difference this Redemption and Expiation from that of the Law which must be made atleast every year It did but extend backward to sins of one year and the force of it presently expires 3. This was found and obtained by Christ as by his own blood entring once into the holy place None could make this propitiation but Christ neither could he do it except he enter the holy place Neither by that except he enter with blood his own blood But if he enter with that blood but once then the work is done for ever Why this Expiation and Propitiation should be made by blood and Christ's blood you have heard already But why with his blood must he enter the holy place and how being entered by and with this blood propitiation should be made for us as Translators by adding these words understand and supply the place though more difficult yet is to be cleared 1. Some tell us that because 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Aorist tense consignifying time past eternal Redemption and Propitiation was found and obtained first and then afterward he entred the holy place And it 's true that when Christ had suffered Death the principal work was done and the foundation of eternal Remission was laid Yet if Death and shedding of his blood obtained eternal Redemption before he entred Heaven at lest in his Soul separated from his Body then the Type and Anti-type did not agree For the legal Redemption and Expiation was not made instantly upon the slaying of the Coates and Bullocks but before the work could be finished and sin expiated the High-Priest must take the Blood and Incense and enter the Holy of Holies and first burn the Incense and then sprinkle the blood upon and before the Mercy-seat without both which done neither his own sins nor the sins of the People could be expiated In all bloody and propitiatory Sacrifices were required Mactatio
Form of Holiness and merit death and Punishment or because men are dead and sensless of them and so continue in them Yet the Apostle seems to allude in this to the Pollutions by the dead whereof we read Num. 19. 18. For he that touched a Bone or one slain or one dead or a Grave was legally unclean and polluted In every sin we commit our Soul doth come too near unto or morally and spiritually doth touch something that is base vile and far below it self and so debaseth and defileth it self and makes it self not only guilty but unholy and unfit for having any Communion with God 3. To purge this Conscience is to free this Soul thus conscious of sin from the Guilt and the Impurity and other sad Consequents of Sin so that thereupon the Sinner is neither liable to Punishment or debarred from Communion with God This purging is not only Justification but that which is called Sanctification and inherent Holiness without which no Man shall see God the want whereof if we consider it as following upon a former demerit is the greatest Punishment of all other For if we could imagine a Man pardoned and freed from the Guilt of former sin and left inherently polluted and unsanctified he must needs remain in a sad condition But we cannot truly thus imagine if want of the sanctifying Spirit be a Punishment for former Sin If we be once thus purged there is no more Conscience of Sin once pardoned no fear of God's wrath nor of the eternal penalty for we being once purged have peace with God quiet of Conscience and hope of Glory 4. To serve the true and living God following upon the purging of the Conscience is a special priviledg To understand this more distinctly we must know that under the Law whosoever was polluted by the presence or touch of the dead could not enter into the Congregation with the rest of God's sanctified People for to worship or have any Communion with God If he should dare and presume to enter before he was purged or purified he defiled the Tabernacle and Sanctuary of God and that Soul must be cut off Numb 19. 13 20. That which answers unto this Priviledg is the liberty of free access with boldness and confidence unto the Throne of Grace to offer up our Prayers Thanks-giving and other Services unto God propitiated and reconciled so as to be accepted and receive Mercies and Blessings from him For being justified and sanctified we do not fear God as a severe Judg we do not stand at a distance or fly from him but come near unto him as Children to a loving Father This same Service of the true and living God who is Light most pure and holy doth presuppose us justified sanctified reconciled adopted There are degrees as of this cleansing so of this serving God for we are not cleansed fully from all Sin in this Life but we shall be in the Life to come and then we shall have full Communion with our God and serve him far more perfectly in the glorious Temple and Sacrary of Heaven This is the purging of the Conscience in it self Now we must consider it as an Effect predicated of the Blood of Christ the Cause for it being so noble and excellent an Effect must have some rare and noble Cause The Cause therefore must be Blood yet no Blood but this Blood of Christ with which he entred into the Holy place of Heaven after it was shed will serve the turn or reach this Effect yet this is not an immediate but a mediate Effect of this Blood thus shed and presented to God For one immediate effect antecedent to this is expiation and satisfaction of God's Justice whereby Sin became pardonable And if Christ had not obtained and found eternal Expiation by this blood he could never by it have purged the Conscience Yet this blood hath this power first and then doth exercise it when he finds a Subject rightly disposed which is a Conscience sensible of sin and appealing to the Throne of Grace where it pledges this blood of Christ. So that this purging actually considered presupposeth the blood of Christ shed offered accepted as a sufficient propitiation and the Sinner to be purged penitent and believing This seems to be signified by that Ceremony of purification described and prescribed Numb 19. For he that was once polluted and unclean must be willing desirous and careful to be cleansed with the ashes mixt with water sprinkled upon him The blood of some Sacrifice did expiate the ashes with water sprinkled did cleanse So the blood of Christ shed and offered doth expiate sin so far as to make it remissible and the sprinkling of that by the Spirit upon the penitent and believing doth purge The third Proposition in this verse is that much more doth the blood of Christ purge the conscience that is 1. It purgeth the conscience 2. It purgeth it effectually and fully But joyn this with the former and then we have the substance of the whole in one proposition which you heard before and the Apostle in the words argues to this purpose If the blood of Bulls and Goates c. had power of sanctifying the Flesh then much more the blood of Christ doth purge the Conscience But the blood of Bulls and Goates c. did sanctify the Flesh. Therefore much more the blood of Christ c. doth purge the Conscience c. This place implies that the expiations by Blood and purifications of the Law could neither satisfy God's Justice nor purge the Conscience from spiritual filth and guilt of sin yet the blood of Christ could do both And here we must seriously consider the excellency of the blood of Christ the wonderful purging efficacy thereof and the unspeakable mercy of God in providing this remedy and setting open this fountain to wash and cleanse away our sin O blessed blood O happy man O come to this Fountain wash and bathe thy self here every day Here the wrath of God is quenched the tormenting conscience quieted the filthy Soul washed and prepared for the communion with her God But we are ignorant of the virtue of this blood sensless of our sins careless of our purification and so presume to enter into God's presence and defile his Tabernacle and bring his wrath upon us But before I leave this Text something further must be said concerning the efficacy of the blood of Buls and Goates and the ashes of an Heifer also of the efficacy of the blood of Christ. For it must be enquired whether the efficacy of both depend meerly upon divine Institution oâ— upon the nature of the Causes 1. That neither is Physical will be granted 2. That the purifying efficacy of the blood of Goates and Bulls and the ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean did depend meerly upon the will and positive Institution of God will not be denyed For neither the blood nor ashes nor sprinkling had any moral spiritual intrinsecal virtue
They were all in themselves considered indifferent things and a fit matter and subject of some positive Law 3. The offering and also the shedding of the blood of Christ were in respect of Christ acting and officiating in both purely moral and divine in the highest degree of Service For his suffering of Death for the sin of man at the Command of his heavenly Father was the highest degree of obedience that ever was performed to God There was in it so much love to God so much love of Man so much self denial so much humility and patience and such a resignation of himself to God as never could be parallel'd It was so excellently qualified that it was in a moral sense most powerfull to move God to mercy who is so mightily inclined to mercy of his own accord It was most pleasing unto God and most highly accepted of God considered in it self But seeing it was the suffering of a party different from man guilty who was bound himself to make satisfaction or to suffer according to the Law transgressed that it should be so far accepted of God as to make the Sinner pardonable and that certain pardon should follow upon Repentance and Faith depended upon the free will of God who in strict justice might have refused any satisfaction offered him in behalf of man who deserved to dye and might justly have been condemned to eternal Death It was one thing to accept the service and obedience in it self and another thing to accept it so for sinful man as to determine such inestimable benefits should follow thereupon and accrue to the sinful guilty Wretch The Socinian upon the Text is very muddy and obscure And 1. Though he deny Christ's satisfaction and merit yet he confesseth that the shedding of the blood of Christ even of its own nature had force and power to procure unto Christ all power in Heaven and Earth and all judgment and arbitrament of our Salvation and to produce in us the cleansing of Conscience This is not only obscure but if well examined false For what is it of its own nature to procure For if he mean by the word procure merit upon satisfaction it 's true that by his blood he satisfied and merited but both these he denies If he understand that of it own nature it did so procure this power and this effect so as it did solely or principally depend upon the will of Christ as Man for he denies him to be God and not principally and solely upon the will of God it 's false Here I must demand What difference he makes between procuring and meriting and also take occasion to shew the nature of meriting which is a moral act upon which some good or reward doth follow not necessarily and exnaturá rei but voluntarily according to the will of him in whose power the reward is but of this else-where 2. He puts a difference between Christ's Priest-hood and his Mediatourship and makes his Mediatourship to end with his Death and his Priest-hood there to begin But the Apostle makes no such difference but in this Epistle he takes Mediatour and Priest for the same That his Mediatourship should end and his Priest-hood should begin with and upon his Death I will believe when he can prove it which he can never do for there is not the least ground for it in the Word of God and it must needs be false upon this account that both are the same 3. He affirms that the blood of Christ takes efficacy and force to purge fin from the subsequent oblation of Christ in offering himself in Heaven and this he not only here but else-where doth often assert But 1. It 's very clear and certain that the total resignation of himself unto the will of his heavenly Father and his willing suffering of Death the voluntary laying down of his life the making himself a whole Burnt-offering was properly the oblation of himself This was on Earth this was the great act of Obedience the great Service that was so acceptable to God wherein Christ shewed himself a mirrour of so many heavenly virtues The representing of himself slaln in Heaven was not this offering nor the appearing before his Fathers Throne upon his Ascension The Scripture no where affirms it he cannot instance in one place for this And though God did require it yet it was not the meritorious act therefore never let him or any of that party delude us with his false and groundless notion of offering himself in Heaven By his Death Christ did satisfy and merit by his Resurrection and Ascension he makes his Death effectual unto us both by revealing the Gospel and sending the Spirit to work Faith in us and make us capable of remission and eternal life and by his Intercession and pleading his blood he obtains actual pardon and in the end full fruition of eternal life This is the meaning of those words Who was delivered for our Offences and rose again for our Justification Rom. 4. 25. 4. He tells us that Christ was filled with the eternal Spirit that is with the power of God which clarified him from all mortality and made him eternal subject to no destruction This is a strange fancy of his own and invented because he is so great an Adversary to Satisfaction And 1. He saith that eternal Spirit is the power of God which he so understands as that he denies him to be God 2. The power is either God himself or some active power whether natural or supernatural created by God in some of his Creatures or an act of God extrinsecally supporting and preserving something creued Now that which made Christ's Sacrifice and Suffering so acceptable to God and so efficacions was the sanctifying power of the Spirit enduing him with such heavenly virtues and supporting him in this great Service of sacrificing himself For if he had not received a divine and supernatural active power of holiness and righteousness inherent in his Soul which so strongly inclined and moved him to obedience in greatest temptations and had been extrinsecally supported by him this Offering had never been so acceptable to God nor efficacious to purge the Conscience And this was a far more glorious effect of the Spirit then to make him immortal and bring him into Heaven For this immortality and entrance into Heaven were Rewards not Virtues and only made way for the exercise of his Regal and Sacerdotal Power in the Palace and Temple of Heaven 5. He saith that by the Offering of Christ is signified his singular and only care for the Expiation of our Sins and for our Salvation Where it is to be observed 1. That he understands this of Christ as entred by his Ascension into Heaven 2. That by Expiation he means Remission and Sanctification without any respect unto Propitiation and Satisfaction by blood antecedent 3. Christ's offering of himself is a religious Service performed unto God as Supream Lord and Judge offended with sinful
have power to change and alter them but chiefly because in a Will the Inheritance is so alienated and transmitted to others as that they can have no Right unto it but upon the Death of the Testators who signify in their Wills what their Heirs shall have not whilest themselves are living but only when they are dead If any alter these after they are dead the alteration is void because it signifies not the Will of him that is dead 3. They are in force only upon the death of the Testators This is that wherein the death of Christ and of a Testator do agree and for which the Author made this Comparison for Illustration of his former Doctrine To be of force is to be valid and firm so as to give an immediate Title unto the right Heirs upon whom the Testator's Right actually descends The Reason of this legal force and validity is not only because there is no possibility of Alteration but also because the Testator being by Death disseised of all Right and Possession of any temporal estate in this Life the time signified in the Testament is come wherein the Heir may challenge his Right and the Will may be put in execution 4. The necessity of this Death to make the Testament valid is evident from what hath formerly been said The Reddition of this Comparison hath been already made and from all this we learn that though a Testament and the new Covenant are like in this that as there must be the Death of the Testator for to make the Testament valid and the Death of Christ to make the new Covenant of force yet they are unlike and different in many other things For the Death of the Testator doth not purchase the Inheritance norexpiate the Offences of the Heir yet Christ's Death doth both Therefore the new Covenant is not a Testament in proper sense but is so called metaphorically A Lâ—pide and others labour to make it a Testament but all they can say is to little purpose Others again endeavour to prove a Testament to be a Covenant and from hence infer that the new Covenant is a Testament yet this is vain and needless For all that can be said in this Point if we will follow the Apostle and the Scriptures is that for matter of Confirmation the new Covenant and a Testament agree in this that both are confirmed by Death and Blood For as the Testator hath no intention to give his Inheritance and part with the Title or Possession before he dy so God did never intend to give Remission and eternal Life which he promiseth in the new Covenant but for and in the consideration of Christ's Death by which they were purchased and merited and if Christ had not dyed the Promises had been in vain and of no force Therefore the Death of Christ is the Foundation Life and Soul of the new Covenant not only unto those who were called after his Death but also unto those who believed before his Death and Exhibition Yet this Comparison may be made and so intended by the Author as to signify that Christ's Blood is of far greater force to confirm the new Covenant then the death of the Testator to confirm a Testament made by him for the former is of divine the latter but of humane constitution and the former can no wayes be violated the latter may be many wayes made void § 17. The second Illustration is a Jure Ceremoniali from the positive Ceremonial Law of Moses instituted by God and that for several Ends and amongst the rest for Confirmation of the Covenant Purification of things and persons The Apostle instanceth in both and first in the Blood of Confirmation Ver. 18 19 20. Where we must consider 1. The Conneion 2. The words themselvs The Connexion we have in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 turned unde itaque propterea in Latine and in English Whereupon The sense is this Seeing the best way of Confirmation and firmest Sanction of Laws Covenants Testaments is by Death and Blood and judged so to be by God himself therefore it seemed good to him to confirm the first Covenant by Blood and by that did even then intimate that the far better Covenant to succeed should be confirmed by far better Blood And therefore none should think it strange that the new Covenant should be confirmed by the Death and Blood of Christ seeing it was the usuall and onely way of confirming Testaments according to the Custom of the Eastern Nations and besides the first Covenant was so confirmed That it was so the Apostle 1. Affirms 2. Proves He affirms it Ver. 18. Whereupon neither was the first dedicated without Blood VVHere we have 1. The first 2. The Dedication of the first 3. The Dedication of it by Blood 2. By first we must understand the first Covenant which God made with Israel in Mount Horeb. 2. By Dedication is meant the Confirmation and the solemn Sanction of the same For it was 1. Made between God and Israel Exod. 19. 2. Then Laws given as certain Articles and Conditions to be observed by the Peeople were revealed and afterwards written 3. Both Laws and Promises were read and assented unto 4. The whole Covenant thus compleated was confirmed Exod. 24. That which is dedicated unto God by vertue of the Dedication becomes sacred and inviolable and so this Covenant upon the Confirmation was In this respect that which is Dedication in respect of persons or things is Confirmation in in respect of the Covenant 3. This Dedication was by Blood for that way of Dedication or Confirmation is the highest most solemn serious and firm for stronger cannot be For using of Blood for sanction of Leagues and Covenants seems to signify that the parties confederating engage Blood and Life for the observation of them Whereas it 's said That neither without Blood which may seem to be Negative It 's the same with this and with or by Blood which is Affirmative and the Copulative signifies that not only Testaments of Men but the first Covenant of God was thus confirmed § 18. That which he affirmed he proves Ver. 19. For when Moses had spoken every Precept to the People according to the Law he took the Blood of Bulls and Goats with Water and scarlet Wooll and Hysopâ— and sprinkled both the Book and all the People Ver. 20. Saying This is the Blood of the Covenant which God hath enjoyned you THe substance of this we find Exod. 24. And we need not trouble our selves either in the Omissions or Additions of the Apostle for the Omissions may be easily supplyed from the place of Moses and the Additions are there implyed and here expressed for explication In the words themselves we may observe 1. The action of Confirmation 2. The words 1. The Action is sprinkling of Blood The Sprinkler was of Scarlet Wooll and Hysope for the Sprinkler used in the Passover was a bunch of Hysope Exod. 12. 20. The blood
respect of the prohibition and commination of the Law is guilt and rendring of the Sinner obnoxiâ—us unto vindicative Justice of the Law-giver and Judge This guilt can no waye he taken away but either by suffering or pardon or both as here it 's put away by Christ's suffering and God's pardon for Christ suffers for Sin God pardons it so Christ's sake and in consideration of his suffering and offering The effect of Sin is to render the party sinning obnoxious and liable to punishment and God's vindicative Justice and by this virtue of the commination of the Law God to make way for pardon by a transâ—endent extraordinary power makes Christ man's Surety and Christ voluntarily submits himself out of love to his Brethren to God's will so far as to suffer Death for man's Sin and offers himself as being â—lain to the Supream Judge Upon his submission he becomes one person with sinful man as a Surety with the principal and so is liable to that punishment which sinful man should have suffered as a Surety becomes liable to pay the debt of the principal From all this it 's evident that Sin is an efficient moral cause of Christ's suffering and Christ's suffering is a punishment in proper sense though both these be denied without any reason by the Socinian By this Legal substitution of Christ and the offering of himself Sin is made remissible and the way is made open to pardon and upon the penitency and faith of the Sinner actual pardon follows That Sin is pardonable and pardoned is the end and effect of Christ's Suffering To put away Sin is first to make Sin pardonable and the consequents of Sin removable For this is the work and immediate effect of Christ's Sacrifice of himself and the same not often but once offered in the end of the World In all this we may observe the difference between Christ and the Levitical High-Priest Christ suffers and offers himself and enters Heaven with his own Blood but the Levitical High-Priest offers often and enters with the blood of Bulls and Goats The virtue of the High-Priest's offering was but for a little time but the virtue of Christ's extends to all time In these respects Christ's Sacrifice is far more excellent and more purifying § 25. This discourse of Christ's once offering and once suffering is continued and enlarged for the Apostle informs us that the reason why Christ suffered but once in the end of the World was the Decree of God which had determined of Christ as he had done of other men and this decree was regulated by Divine Wisdom which alwayes dictates that which shall be best and fittest This Decree is two-fold 1. Concerning other men 2. Concerning Christ. And because there is some agreement between the lot of Christ and other Men in respect of Death and that which followeth Death therefore the singularity of Christ's Death is set forth comparatively And of the comparison we have 1. The Proposition Verse 27. And as it was appointed unto Men once to dye but after that the Judgment IN which words we have 1. Something 's ordained 2. The ordination The things ordained are two 1. That men once dy 2. Come to Judgment The words absolutely considered may be reduced to two Propositions 1. That it 's appointed unto men once to dye 2. But after Death follows Judgment The first tells us 1. That men dye and this we certainly know 2. That they dye but once 3. That this is appointed yet though men must dye and it 's so certain and so evident and easily known yet men little consider it but their hearts are strangely taken up with the things of this life and they admire the vanities of this World and promise unto themselves long life and certain enjoyment of these earthly things They do not remember that they are mortal and that there is no assurance that they shall live one hour before Death arrest them and seise upon their estates and all earthly comforts in that day their thoughts perish and their pride and glory are laid in the dust Oh inconsiderate Wretches are ye able to conquer Death turn Mortality into Eternity and Earth into Heaven Be wise and never forget that you must dye 2. Men dye but once there is no return into this World again neither any recovery of what man once dead hath lost As no man can keep alive his Soul so no man can raise his Body and re-unite the Soul unto it This is a work proper to God who made us and far above the power of any Creature When it 's said That men must dye it 's to be understood of the generality of mankind that all must dye because all are obnoxious to Death and Mortal even Enoch and Elias and all those who shall be found alive when Christ shall come to Judge the World And though the two Prophets did not and they who remain till Christ's coming shall not dye as others do yet the former suffered and the latter shall suffer a change equivalent to Death though in both there seems to be some exception from the general rule So to dye but once is the general rule and the ordinary fate yet Lazarus and others may dye twice because God reserved an arbitrary power to himself to raise some unto a mortal life so that they became obnoxious to a double Death and he did exercise this power to manifest his Glory in some particular persons Yet this was an extraordinary case and this reservation did not take away the general and ordinary rule according to which the Apostle is to be understood 3. This is appointed for so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is understood and translated and it 's capable of that signification by a Trope The party who appointed decreed and ordained both that all men shall dye and dye once and but once is not expressed but it 's easily understood For the Supream Lord of Life and Death who hath an Universal Power over all Men is God and none else and therefore this must be a Decree of God as Supream Lord and a Sentence of him as Judge and the same irrevocable yet dispensable in some particular and extraordinary Cases as should seem good unto him Death is a punishment and therefore men being obnoxious unto it must be guilty of some Crime and condemned thereunto for some Offence against some Law threatening Death And that was the positive Law which God gave to Adam saying But of the Tree of Knowledg of Good and Evil thou shalt not eat of it for in the Day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely dye Gen. 2. 17. This Law was transgressed and the Sentence followed in these words Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return Gen. 3. 19. Whereas the Socinian saith That Death is natural and not from any Decree of God his Opinion is not reconcileable with that of the Apostle As by one man Sin entred into the World and by Sin Death
For unnecessary private Conventicles with the neglect of the publick Assemblies are usually the Seminaries of Errours and Schisms and very prejudicial to the publick good of the Church So that the Duty exhorted unto is to frequent constantly these Assemblies and make right use of them to edify confirm and encourage one another to perseverance in the Christian Faith and to Love and good Works I might here take occasion to enlarge and reckon up all the particular Duties to be performed in these religious Meetings and shew how subservient they are every one severally and all joyntly to that end whereat the Apostle chiefly aims but I proceed to the Reason § 24. For it might be said What Reason Suasive Motive may be given why we should be so careful to perform this Duty Yes there is a great and powerful Reason and that is Because the day approacheth Where 1. We must understand the words of the Reason considered in it self 2. The force of the Reason in respect of the performance of the Duty In the words of the Reason we have 1. A Day 2. The Approach of that Day 3. The nearer Approach 1. A Day is a part and the principal part of time as opposed to the Night and in this place it signifies some special and more than ordinary time as the day of death of the destruction of Jerusalem of the End of the World The day of death every Man must look for Nothing more certain than death though nothing more uncertain than the Hour of death Every man must dy and then be brought unto his last Account and as that shall be made so shall be the condition of every Man for ever for where the Tree falleth there it lyeth and as Death leavs us Judgment finds us There was a day of Jerusalem's destruction and of the ruine of that Nation appointed and made known by Christ and his Apostles and these Hebrews could not be altogether ignorant of it There is another greater day of the final and universal Judgment and this was part of their Creed All these and every one of these are special and great dayes And one or two or all these three may here be meant Some think the day of Jerusalem's râ—ine was most of all intended by the Apostle though that cannot be evidently evinced to be pointed at so as to exclude the other two 2. This day did approach and was near for first the day of every Man's death could not be far off the day of Jerusalem's destruction was near and so near as many then living might survive not only the Peace and Happiness of that Nation but the very Being and Existence of that City and of the Temple they might see the ruine and destruction of both and for ought they knew the end of the World 3. This day drew nearer and nearer For 1. We no sooner begin to live but we begin to dy for we are born mortal and ready we are to return to that dust from whence we were taken and raised at the first and the more of our Life is past the less is yet to come and every Day Hour Minute of our Life we approach nearer unto death and death unto us 2. As for Jerusalem's destruction there were many Signs of that approaching fore-told and then known to be past It was fatal and unavoidable even then when Christ wept over it lamenting her Sin and Punishment which he certainly did fore-know and when this Letter was written to these Hebrews that day of her Calamity was far nearer 3. For the day of Judgment the particular Year Month Day was hid yet the times of the Gospel were the last times and upon us the ends of the World are come And that which is alwayes unknown may alwayes be looked for seeing it will certainly come and that suddenly And though that day in those times was far off yet it 's nearer now and though now it may be many years before the Son of God shall come from Heaven and the time to Man may seem long yet a thousand years with God is but as one day Besides that day of final Judgment if we consider that the unchangeable condition of every Man begins immediately upon his death then the great day of Judgment may in some sense be said to be as near as death to every particular Person This is the meaning of the words considered in themselvs and now the force of them as containing a Reason remains to be considered For this end we must take notice of the thing here urged and it 's 1. The performance of a Duty 2. The performance of it the rather and the more for the more the day approacheth the more we should prepare for it Not to forsake the assembling of our selvs together and to exhort one another and to be careful very careful diligent and frequent in this Work of Association and Exhortation is a Duty commanded by God and pressed upon us by the Apostle to neglect this Duty is our Sin and Disobedience to do it constantly is our performance And this is that which is intended by this Reason The force thereof is great For seeing 1. The day of our great Account God's final Sentence to be passed upon us and the Execution thereof is so near it concerns us much not only to know our Duty but to bestir our selves and to perform it constantly with all our Power Our progress towards Heaven should be like a natural Motion which is slow or not so swift at the beginning and is swifter and swifter towards the end Upon this performance depends our final and eternal estate For if we neglect fail and fall away then we are undone for ever if we perform and be prepared we are eternally happy Seeing therefore that day is a day of eternal Rewards or Punishments and approacheth so near What should not we do to provide for our everlasting safety Yet men think little of these things If we under stand the Text of the day of Jerusalem's Calamities and desolation which was near at hand and was a day of death to many thousands yea to hundreds of thousands and a lively resemblance of the final Judgment this also might effectually work upon them and move them to performance and perseverance For then they should see and clearly behold the woful End of that unbelieving Nation and most of all of all Apostates from Christianity Then their seducing Brethren and their persecuting Enemies should be destroyed the Temple burnt and demolished all their Judaism and Legal Service wherein they trusted for ever abolished and those which out of fear complyed with them or of Christians turned Jews should suffer in the highest degree Therefore there was no Reason in the World they should forsake or deny Christ and turn from him to Moses from the Gospel to the Law for the day was approaching when they should see God's Judgment executed upon the unbelieving seducing persecuting Jew and the eternal Confusion of
Scripture The major That he that pleaseth God must have Faith is thus made clear and confirmed If it be impossible for any to please God who doth not believe that God is and a Rewarder of them who diligently seek him then he that pleaseth God must believe But without believing thus no man can please God Therefore he that pleaseth God must thus believe Where it 's to be noted That he infers Enoch's Faith from his pleasing God and the inseparable and necessary connexion of Faith and pleasing God For where there is an Effect there must necessarily be a Cause and no Effect can be without its proper Cause For Method's sake I will begin 1. With his Translation 2. Proceed to the demonstration of his Faith 1. This Translation was a Reward and therefore signifies the change was to the better 1. He was translated not to see Death so the Apostle understood the Text of Moses not to see Death is not to dye or suffer Death There was no separation of Soul and Body they remained united the Soul was not unclothed or divested of the Body yet it was changed and made immortal Of all the other Patriarchs before the Flood it 's said They even Methuselah dyed To this their Death this Translation is opposed for it 's not said that Enoch the great and most eminently pious Prophet dyed This was a dispensation with that general Law and Judgment past in Adam upon all mankind Dust thou art and to dust shalt thou return and it was an act of that power which God reserved to himself as above his Law In the Chaldee it 's said That God did not slay him that is he did not take away his Life this was a singular exception from the general rule of his Judgments 2. In the Hebrew it 's said He was not In the Chaldee He appeared not In the Greek He was not found These two latter expresse the meaning of the Hebrew Phrase For this followed upon his Translation that he did not appear nor was found upon Earth amongst mortal men for he ceased to be in that place with living mortal men he changed the place and company 3. Lest we should be ignorant either of the Place to which he removed or of the Person who removed him it 's said God took him so the Hebrew God took him to himself so the Arabick Because God had translated him so the Text. The place to which he was removed Physically considered is not expressed yet he after his Translation must be in some place this place was not this Earth for there he was not found It was some better place and seeing there is no place fit for man's Habitation better then the Earth but only Heaven the Habitation of Angels a glorious place of eternal peace holiness and security therefore most do positively affirm that as Elijah so he was taken into Heaven The Person translating him was God for none but he could make him immortal and invest him with Glory This signifies that he was brought nearer unto God and had more full and perfect Communion with him then he enjoyed on Earth So that this Translation was a change of place of company of condition for he was removed from Earth to Heaven from Men to God from the estate of Mortality and Misery to an estate of Immortality and Bliss This was an anticipation of the great Reward and it was like the change of all God's Saints who shall be found living when Christ shall come to Judge the World This God did to signify his great respect unto eminent Piety and to let men know his high and special reserved Power and that there is a Reward of Glory after this Life and such a Reward as shall make men fully happy in Soul and Body too and that for ever This doth further inform us that God can make the Body Immortal without any separation of it from the Soul and also that he can raise and re-unite the Body turned unto Dust and make it Immortal and eternally inseparable The second Proposition was that he obtained this Translation and glorious Reward by Faith For by Faith Enoch was translated But because it was not expressed in the Text of Moses that he was translated by Faith for there is no mention of his Faith he proves his Faith the Cause from the Effect He pleased God and his pleasing of God from the testimony of God For before he was translated he had this testimony that he pleased God And here we may observe 3. Propositions 1. That he pleased God 2. That he had this testimony 3. He had this testimony before he was translated 1. He pleased God He walked with God so the Hebrew He walked in the fear of God so the Chaldee He walked in the Obedience of God so the Arabick He pleased God so the Septuagint whom the Apostle followeth The meaning therefore is that he served God observed his Commands and was obedient unto them The word walked used by the Hebrew Chaldee Arabick Translatours signifies that this was the constant tenour of life it was a life of Righteousness and Holiness and the repetition of this walking in the Text of Moses may imply an eminent degree of Holiness in him more then in other men for his Conversation was so ordered that it was very pleasing and acceptable to God who delights in sincere and constant Obedience whereby men do resemble him as holy and righteous We must not think that he could have walked thus with God by the power of Nature the sanctifying Spirit of Grace was the principle of this Obedience 2. It was testified of him or he had this testimony That he pleased God This was a good Report and so much the more certain because God gave it by his Spirit in the Prophet Moses who hath recorded it to all Generations And this is reported of him not only once but twice Therefore there can be no doubt of it 3. This was testified of him before he was translated the sense is not that Moses testified this of him before he was translated but the thing testified was this that he had pleased God before he was translated For the Text doth testify that he was translated yet it testifies that he pleased God before this Translation This is brought to prove that by Faith he was translated § 9. It might be said that though Enoch pleased God yet it doth not appear how this pleasing of God will prove and infer his Faith neither is the Connexion of Faith and walking with God so evident Therefore to prevent all doubts in this Point he adds Ver. 6. But without Faith it is impossible to be please God for he that cometh unto God must believe that God is and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him IN these words he proves the impossibility of separation and the absolute necessity of the Connexion of Faith and pleasing God and they must be considered 1. In themselvs 2. As
ridiculous and a matter of laughter rather then of fears except they did suspect some magick Spells and diâ—belical power might be used in that formal procession 4. The Event was the fall of the Walls of Jericho and the ruine of that City and the Inhabitants Some think this fall to be the sinking of the Wall whole and entire into the ground so that the highest parts of them lay level with the surface of the Earth yet there is no certainty of this But this is certain that they so fell as that Israel might easily enter This was a work of almighty power and by this example we easily understand that when out of Faith we obey God's Commands that which God hath promised will be effected Therefore when any business is difficult to be done we must not so much look at the impotency of natural and secondary Causes as at the promise of God and the performance of our Duty And though it 's true that the principal if not the sole effective cause be the Power of God yet without the Faith and Obedience of man the fulfilling of the Promise cannot be expected This manner of giving Jericho into Israel's hand to humane reason not acquainted with the Counsel of God might seem strange Yet it was an excellent way to animate Israel and terrify the Canaanites For by this miraculous Event Israel might understand how easily without blow or blood of any man the strongest City might be taken and delivered into their hands and the Enemy might know that neither the strongest and highest Walls nor the power of the most warlike Souldiers could be able to stand out The principal thing here to be observed is the excellency of Faith grounded upon the Word and Promise of God § 30. In this strange and fearful destruction of Jericho God remembred mercy and saved Rahab and her Family so that they perished not with the rest For Ver. 31. By Faith the Harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the Spies with peace THis is the last Example of those whereupon the Apostle severally and more distinctly insists In it we may observe 1. The Party named and proposed for an Example which was Rahab the Harlot 2. The Work of her Faith She received the Spies in peace 3. Her Preservation in the general ruine of that City 4. Her Faith whereby she obtained that Reward 1. The Party was a Woman her Name Rahab a Gentile a Canaanite an Inhabitant and Native of Jericho an Inn-Keeper and an Harlot for she seems to be both Yet this is so far true that though she had formerly been guilty yet now she was a Penitent and upon her Faith if not before reformed God had prepared her for his own Design and made her a sit Instrument to save the Spies and the Spies fit Agents to inform Joshua of the Truth and to encourage all Israel to go on boldly in the Conquest of all Canaan 2. Her Work of Faith was that she received the Spies in peace These Spies were Agents sent by Joshua to discover the Country on the West-side of Jordan according to his Directions and his End in sending them was to receive Information from them of such things as were convenient to be known as Preparative for the future Conquest As Stratagems so Spies were useful as other Intelligencers are in a well-ordered State that hath to deal with Enemies and if the Cause be just and the Enemies unjust they are certainly lawful These she received though Enemies to her Country not only as Guests but Friends and as she received so she dismissed them in peace that is in safety and as Friends and not as Enemies This she did with so great Care Prudence and Fidelity that their best Friends in that Case could not have done more and better for them The manner how she entertained them the Conference she had with them the Contract made between them the Act how she concealed them the Counsel she gave them and the Contrivance of their safety you may read more at large in the Book of Joshua Her officious Lie which she made in their behalf cannot in strict Justice be excused though in mercy it may be pardoned And in this Act and Work of Charity towards them she was not guilty of persidious Treachery to her own Country which she knew to be wicked and destined by God himself unto Destruction and she was bound to love God more than her Country and his People more than his Enemies By her Faith she had renounced all to serve the true God and in her heart was become already one of God's Saints and Servants Treachery indeed is unjust and contrary to the Laws of God which require fidelity to God first and then to our Country so far as it shall be consistent with Fidelity to the Supream Lord and not one â—ote further 3. Her Reward followed upon this For she perished not with them that believed not Where we have 1. The Destruction of Unbelievers 2. Her Preservation The first implies that her Neighbours and Fellow-Citizens were grievous Sinners and so hardned in their Sins that they did not believe and so were Vessels of Wrath and fitted for Destruction These being such did perish and suffered Punishment due unto their Sins which was a total and final ruine But she perished not but was preserved and the manner of her Preservation we find related in the History For both the Spies and Joshua were faithful to her and performed the Promise and the Oath made unto her By this we learn how easily God can save us even in the midst of general Calamities 4. This her Preservation was a Reward of her Faith not that Faith did merit it but made her capable of God's Mercy This here Faith was wrought in her by the Fame of God's glorious Works and Counsels which she had heard and by the Power of the Holy Ghost and it was manifested much and very much both by her Words and Deeds when she received the Spies and preserved them from Death It was so much the more to be admited seeing she was an Alien a Gentile a Canaaâ—ute and dwelt amongst a cursed People amongst whom she had been a grievous Sinner Surely she will rise up in Judgment against the Unbelievers of our times § 31. The Apostle forbears to insist largely and particularly upon the Faith of any more of the ancient Worthies either Men or Women and draws towards a Conclusion by Contraction of his Discourse and in this manner Ver. 32. And what shall I more say For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and of Barac and of Samson and of Jeptha of David also and Samuel and of the Prophets IN these words and those that follow in this Chapter we must consider 1. The manner how the following Discourse is brought in 2. The matter of it 1. The manner is by a Rhetorical Paraleipsis signifying 1. There was no necessity of any more
High-Priest ascended into Heaven 2. This Blood of Sprinkling speaketh better things thau the Blood of Abel This Blood is the Blood of Christ and the End and so the principal Effect is to cleanse away Sin yet this it cannot do except it be first shed and then sprinkled Once shed it hath a cleansing Power and Vertue yet actually cleanseth and purifieth no man till it be sprinkled upon him The Blood of sprinkling is Blood to be sprinkled and it is to be sprinkled upon the unclean to make clean and therefore the Blood of Sprinkling is by a Metonymy cleansing and purifying Blood Yet there was a sprinkling of Blood in the Sanction and Confirmation of the Old Covenant and so Blood of Sprinkling here may be the Blood of Confirmation for as you heard Chap. 9. 16 17. a Testament is of force after men are dead so upon and by the death of Christ the new Covenant was made firm valid and in full force and power for that end God intended it If Christ had not dyed God might have abrogated or altered his Covenant but upon his death he was bound to stand to it for ever and the Title to the heavenly Inhâ—râ—tance is good to all such as observe the terms and conditions yet in this Expression it is very probable the Apostle alludes to the Legal Purifications by Water Ashes Blood which being sprinkled upon such as were Legally unclean or upon the Lepers did purify them The like Effect Christ's Blood hath upon all such as are capable of it therefore do we read that the Blood of Christ doth cleanse us from all Sin 1 Joh. 1. 7. and to cleanse is to forgive to be cleansed is to be pardoned as is implyed in that Text If we confess our Sins he is faithfull and just to forgive us our Sins and to cleanse us from all Unrighteousness Ver. 9. This Blood is sprinkled upon such as confess repent believe pray receive the Sacraments The means of sprinkling is the Word Sacraments and principally the Spirit or whatsoever worketh or increaseth and strengthneth Faith and then it 's sprinkled when it 's so applyed as that the Person receiveth the benefit of Christ's Passion one Effect and the principal is Remission of Sin and Sanctification whereby we are freed from Sin and the woful Consequents thereof for this Blood speaketh better things than that of Abel Abel's Blood was shed so was Christ's Abel's Blood shed speaketh so Christ's Blood shed speaketh Abel's Blood speaketh to God so Christ's speaketh to him likewise they both speak loud and cry so that God hears Abel's Blood was precious Christ's far more precious and the Cry of both is heard in Heaven Thus far they agree yet differ much for the one cryes for Mercy the other for Judgment the one cryes against Man that did shed it the other for Man though his Sins did cause it to be shed The meaning is that Cain's Murther of his Brother Abel did so much offend God that it moved him to revenge it Christ's death as caused by the cursed cruel impenitent Jews did so far provoke God that he fearfully punished them and their Children according to their own words Let his Blood be upon us and our Children yet as suffered for the Sin of Man and offered unto God it was so pleasing so precious and so highly accepted that for and in condsieration of it God was effectually moved both to reward him and pardon all penitent and believing Sinners and that for evermore This Blood spake when it was shed and speaks effectually when pleaded before the eternal Judg. 3. They were come to this Mediator to this Blood They were not come to the Mount of Fire Smoak Darkness Terrour Death where there was no Mediator to make their peace with God no blood to cry for Metcy and cleanse them from their Sin and free them from eternal Death But they were come into that Society where Christ was their Mediator and Priest where they were freed from the Law of Sin and Death and under the Covenant of Free Mercy Grace and Life where the Blood of Christ sprinkled upon their Souls did cry aloud to Heaven for Mercy and did cleanse them from all Sin for ever And now since they were received into an heavenly Society where Angels and the best of men both living and dead were their fellow-Subjects God Redeemer sitting in the Throne of Grace their Soveraign Christ the Son of God their Priest who shed his Blood to wash away their Sins and though they had many Offences yet upon their Repentance would make Reconciliation for them and though they had many failings yet he was a righteous Advocate with their Father and would plead their Cause with his own Blood procure their pardon according to the Covenant of Grace so that they should be justified and live for ever there was no Reason in the World to return to Sinai and the Law again and forsake the best and happiest Kingdom that ever was a Kingdom of eternal Righteousness and Peace If they did Heaven might be astonished and Earth amazed at their Folly In this with that which follows the Apostle seems to sum up briefly in a few words all the former Arguments taken from the excellency of the Prophetical Office of the Covenant of the Priest-hood of Christ and he doth this in that manner that he clearly takes away all colour of excuse from such as should incline to Apostacy § 23. Therefore he further argues thus Ver. 25. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh for if they escaped not who refused him that spake on Earth much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from Heaven THE words are a Dehortation wherein we have 1. The Sin dehorted from 2. The Reason why we should take heed of it 1. The Sin is to refuse him that speaketh 2. The Reason is taken from the greater Punishment to be suffered if they do refuse 1. To refuse him that speaketh implyes 1. That Christ doth speak and God by him To speak is not only to reveal the Doctrine of the Gospel which is the thing spoken but also to command Repentance and Faith in Christ with a Promise of Righteousness and eternal Life and a Commination of eternal Death unavoidable To refuse him that thus speaketh is either to reject this Doctrine and not receive it or if they have once received it to renounce it so that this Refusal includes both Unbelief and also Apostacy from the Christian Profession But they who had made Profession of this Doctrine must not refuse to continue in it nor renounce it to the dishonour and Contempt of God who out of greatest Mercy had tendred Salvation upon fairest terms 2. The Reason is taken from the hainousness of the Sin and the grievousness of the Punishment both which are set forth by a Comparison in Quantity And this Comparison presupposeth many things as 1. That God did speak in former times
in this manner Ver. 3. Remember them that are in Bonds ' as bound with them and them which suffer Adversity as being your selvs also in the Body IN this Exhortation we have as in the former 1. The Duty exhorted unto 2. The Reason why we should perform it In the Duty there be 1. Some Persons to be remembred 2. The Remembrance of them 1. The Persons are of two sorts and the Reasons applyed severally 1. There are Persons bound and here we must consider 1. Their Condition 2. The Cause 1. Their Condition in general is miserable in particular they are restrained of their Liberty which is a precious thing The misery of them that are bound may be greater or less according to the place of Imprisonment or their Usage or Absence from such as would relieve them or some other Accidents The Place may be a Dungeon or filthy and nasty or very grievous in respect of the wicked fellow-Prisoners Their Usage may be very bad because they may be denyed Food and other necessaries their friends not suffered to come to them or relieve them or they may be scourged and abused They may be so consined as that their Friends may be ignorant both of the Place where they are and also of their Condition 2. The Cause in this place may imply that they are Christians and God's Servants thus Paul and Silas and Peter and many other Disoiples were cast in Prison and that for the Profession or Preaching of the Gospel this was to suffer for Righteousness sake and for Christ's sake and in a good Cause This Imprisonment if just was a disgrace a securing of Malefactors not only to restrain them from mischief but to reserve them for Trial and Punishment and sometimes it was a Punishment in it self and was never intended for innocent but for criminous and guilty Persons These must be remembred and their Case and Cause considered that so they might be visited comforted encouraged relieved or released eased and delivered Thus to remember is an Act not only of the Understanding but the Will and also the Executive Power so that the word is taken both Metonymically and Synechdochically 2. They and so we must remember them as being bound or in Bonds This implies the Manner how they must and also a Reason why they must remember them We must love our Neighbour as our selves and this we cannot so well do except we make our selvs ohe with them and make their condition ours so as that we may do as we would be done unto In particular when we seriously suppose our selvs bound even then when we are free and at Liberty we are made far more sensible of their misery and are the more effectually moved to Compassion therefore some observe that Misericordia est miseria aliena in corde nostro For when the Misery of others is not only in our Memory but in our hearts we are affected with it sensible of it and moved to relieve and comfort them This is the manner of Remembrance The Reason implied is That seeing they are one Person with us and our Brethren if they be bound we are bound with them because one part of us is in Bonds and as we would be sensible of our misery and would use all means to release and relieve our selves so we should endeavour to help and deliver them They are part of our selves therefore we must remember them Again we are one with them so that we are in the same Condition with them so far that we are obnoxious to Bonds as well as they and we know not how soon it may be our Case and this should perswade us much to do our Duty For we being in Bonds will stand in need of the help of others and of them if they be set at Liberty when we are bound The second Duty is to remember those that are in Adversity This implies that there are many kinds of Afflictions besides Bonds for that is one kind of misery and that of Bonds is not alwayes single but joyned often with other Vexation and Adversities Therefore not only they that are in Bonds but others in other Adversities must be remembred and so relieved and comforted and we must use all our Power and Ability which God hath given us to remove their Afflictions and make their Condition more comfortable For the Providence of our heavenly Father doth so order it that the whole Body and all the Members of the Church should not be afflicted at one time but whilest some are afflicted others are free that they may relieve and comfort their Brethren and so exercise their Grace and manifest their Vertues And the Afflictions of our Brethren will discover either our sincerity or hypocrisy The Reason why we should remember these is because we are in the Body To be in the Body and to be in the Flesh are Scripture-Phrases and signify the same thing They imply that there are some in the Body and some out of the Body the one living the other dead For while we are living on Earth the Soul which is the principal part is in the Body which is said to be the Tabernacle and Mansion of the Soul But Death separates them and divests and dispossesseth the Soul This Soul in it solf is above the Power of Man and no mortal hand can reach it not touch it immediately yet because of the Body which is so nearly united unto it men may vex and torment it and that very much and whilest it 's in the Body it 's liable to these Vexations and the Body whilest it 's enlivened by the Soul is sensible of many miseries But when these are parted by Death both are free from all sense of these Afflictions Therefore said our Saviour That when men have killed the Body after that they have no more that they can do Luke 12. 4. All this being presupposed the Apostle to perswade them to Compassion towards their afflicted Brethren puts them in mind of their present condition They were yet in the Body that is they were obnoxious to the same Adversities and cannot promise to themselvs security from them for a day or an hour therefore they must pity them as themselves and use all means to comfort help and deliver them Thus to remember our Brethren in Bonds and Adversity is the Duty of all such as profess their Faith in Christ and own the Name of Christian yet few perform what by their Profession they are bound to do Where are our Bowels of Compassion Where is our Christian Charity We should remember that as Christ pitied us so we should pity our distressed Brethren and shew Mercy unto them as we desire God in the time of our distress to have Mercy upon us But many who are Christians in Name are devoid not only of Christian Compassion and Charity but of Humanity and Civility which have bin found in very Heathens and Mahometans § 4. These were Duties which we owe unto others especially
God to expiate Sin given unto man in the Word and Sacrament as Food to preserve both Body and Soul unto eternal Life And as the Jews only had right to eat of their Sacrifices so Christians and only Christians have right unto and by a true and lively Faith according to the Gospel may partake of the same and live for ever For this meat alone doth profit those alone whose hearts are established with or by Grace and the Doctrine of the Gospel 2. To eat of this Altar and Sacrifice they who serve the Tabernacle have no right They who served the Tabernacle were unbelieving Jews Priests and People who adhered to the Law of Moses rejected the Gospel and refused to receive Christ for their Saviour These could have no right unto the benefit of Christ's Sacrifice◠for it was ordained only for the Salvation of such as should believe on him But these Jews out of a perverse belief that they should be justified and saved by the Law would not believe the Doctrine of the Gospel and seek righteousness by Faith in Christ. So that Israel following after the Law of Righteousnes attained not to the Law of Righteousness And why they sought not Righteousness by Faith in Christ who was the end of the Law which was a School-master to Christ. They were so confident that the Law was given for Justification and Salvation that they thought Christ not only needless but an Enemy to Moses and all Christians to be Hereticks and worthy to be persecuted to Death The force of the Apostle's Argument is That if their heart was not established with Grave but carried about with divers and strange Doctrines they deprived themselves of the inestimable benefit of Christ's Sacrifice for there is no Faith without the Gospel and no benefit in the Sacrifice of Christ without Faith for all right unto and participation of this Sacrifice is by Faith grounded upon the Gospel § 11. That they that serve the Tabernacle have no right to eat of this Altar he proves thus Ver. 11. For the body of those Beasts whose Blood is brought into the Sanctuary by the High-Priest are burnt without the Camp Ver. 12. Wherefore Jesus also that he might sanctify the People with his own Blood suffered without the Gate IN these words we have 1. An Argument to prove the unbelieving Jew to have no right to eat of the Sacrifice of Christ And this is a Doctrine 2. A practical Conclusion and Application of this Doctrine unto our selves in the two verses following In the Argument we may observe 1. The Proposition and the Type 2. The Reddition and Anti-type 1. There were several Beasts Sacrificed whose Bodies were burnt without the Camp yet their Blood was not brought into the Sanctuary therefore it can hardly be thought the Apostle intended any Sacrifice so much as that of general Expiation whereof we read Lev. 16. For though this doth agree to other Sacrifices that their Blood was brought into the Sanctuary to be sprinkled upon the horns of the Altar of Incense and before the Veil and their Bodies were burnt without the Camp as we may understand from Exod. 29. Lev. 4. Yet of this Sacrifice it 's clearly written 1. That the Blood was brought into the inward Sanctuary within the second Veil and was sprinkled upon the Mercy-seat 2. This was done by the High-Priest alone and could be done by none else 3. This Blood was brought in and sprinkled for Expiation and Reconciliation 4. The Bodies of these Sacrifices were burnt without the Camp This Sacrifice as you have heard was a more lively resemblance of Christ who is the propitiation for the Sins of the whole World The principal thing the Apostle takes notice of is the burning of their Bodies out of the Camp for the Camp was that plot of Ground which was taken up with the Tents and Habitations of the Israelites in the Wilderness All this was counted holy and all unclean persons and things were to be removed out of the same And because the sins of the People were laid upon these Beasts therefore they were unclean accursed and God to signify that all Sinners are accursed and to be cast out of his presence and to be tormented with eternal fire and also to express his detestation of Sin he caused these Bodies 1. To be removed out of the Camp 2. To be burned 2. This was the Type the Anti-type was Christ of whom it is affirmed 1. That he Suffered without the Gate 2. That he Suffered there that he might sanctify the People by his Blood To Suffer here is to be Crucified and dye upon the Cross Without the Gate signifies the place where he Suffered and was Crucified and in particular it was Golgotha which was without the Gate of Jerusalem which was called the holy City because God chose that City to put his Name there and so did consecrate it this answered to the holy Camp The reason why God thus in his wise providence did order it was because Christ had taken upon him the Sins of the World and God had laid on him the Iniquities of us all One sad consequent of Sin not pardoned is a Curse and Excommunication out of God's presence so as that the person cursed is put at a distance and deprived of all communion with Saints and God Therefore it is written That Christ was made a Curse for us Gal. 3. 13. The end of this Suffering and that without the Gate was that by his Blood he might sanctify the People The People are all such as believe in him To sanctify them is to free them from the guilt and punishment of Sin For he was made a Curse for us that he might redeem us from the Curse due unto us for our Sins And this he doth immediately by his Blood being shed and his Death which virtually and efficiently took away Sin and procures actual Remission and Sanctification upon our Faith For his Suffering out of the Gate made Sin pardonable and the punishment endured by him and deserved by us removable But when by Faith it 's sprinkled upon our Souls we are actually pardoned and the punishment actually removed because God will not punish Sin both in him and us believing The comparison is in similitude and like quality The things wherein the Type and Anti-type agree are these In the Sacrifice of general Expiation 1. The Blood is brought into the holy Place so Christ by his own Blood entred the holy place of Heaven 2. That Blood did expiate Sin so this doth obtain eternal Expiation and the People are sanctified by it 3. The Bodies of those Sacrifices were burnt without the Camp so Christ suffered upon the Cross without the Gate of Jerusalem 4. As they who serve at the Tabernacle had no Right not Licence to eat of those Sacrifices whose Bodies were burned without the Camp so no Jews that will not leave Judaism nor any other that will not go out of the World to suffer
2. That whereas he became man in latter times he must needs be of some Nation and People with reference to the Head and first Father of that Nation and for Nation he was according to his humane Nature a Jew the first Father of which Nation was Abraham The reason hereof is this because God had made a special promise to Abraham That in his Seed all Nations should be blessed By which word Seed is meant Christ and Christ as descended from him according to the Flesh He is also called the Son of David because God promised That he should be born of his Family in Bethlehem the native place of David This sense 1. Is most agreeable to the Context antecedent where it 's said That Christ must be lower then the Angels must taste of Death must be consecrated by Suffering must be one with the sanctisied must be partaker of Flesh and Blood and deliver sinful man from the Devil But if he had assumed the nature of Angels none of these could be affirmed of him 2. The former two senses cannot be good because then he should have only apprenended and succoured the Seed of Abraham according to the Letter of this Text. Therefore seeing he took upon him the Seed of Abraham as he did the Seed of David therefore to take on him or assume the Seed of Abraham is to be of the Seed of Abraham as he was of David 2 Tim. 2 8. and to be made of the Seed of Abraham as he was made of the Seed of David according to the Flesh Rom. 1. 3. And it is the same with that of the Divine Evangelist The Word was made Flesh Joh. 1. 14. Crellius here trifles egregiously for he excepts against this sense 1. Because to apprehend or take hold of a thing is not to assume the nature of it 2. The word Angels which is plural should have been singular But 1. Who will grant him that which neither others do nor he can prove that the word must be turned apprehended in this place whereas it hath other senses both in the Septuagint and in the New Testament and is turned oftner and by more Translatours assume as was shewed before 2. If Christ had assumed the individual substance of an Angel he had assumed the Nature of Angels He did but assume one individual Flesh and Blood yet he is said to take part with the Children which were many He again objects that if it be said that he took the nature not of Angels but Men then these words cannot contain and render a reason That Christ was made lower then the Angels because it is the same But 1. How will he prove that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is causal if it should be denied 2. Who told him that it referrs only to those words of the 7th verse as a reason of them whereas it 's plain if the conjunction be causal it referrs to that which went immediately before 3. To be lower then the Angels and assume the nature of Man are not precisely the same For now he is Man and yet above the Angels These words thus explained and cleared inform us 1. Of some special love of God shewed unto Man and to Angels and of some benefit issuing from that love and given unto Man and denied to the Angels He so loved Man that he gave his only begotton Son to be the propitiation for his sin and not for the Angels Christ and the eternal Word must be Man and dy for him but he must not be an Angel to dy for Apostate Angels or redeem them The cause of this was the free will of God who might have neglected both the one as well as the other for both were sinful and deserved Death Yet there might be a reason why he passed by the Angels and not Man even because Angels were not tempred yet sinned but Man was deceived and so was a subject more capable of mercy though he deserved no mercy Yet if Man will be obstinate in his sin and refuse to acknowledg this love and receive Christ God will turn his love into hatred and send him a cursed wretch into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels and he shall lose eternally the benefit of Christ's Redemption which is remission and eternal life 2. They let us know the condescension and deep humiliation of the Son of God who vouchsafed not only to be Man but took upon him the form of a Servant and was obedient unto Death the Death of the Crosse. And this Incarnation is a deep mystery and this humiliation a matter of greatest wonder 3. They acquaint us with the excellent dignity and high advancement of the humane Nature in that it was assumed and inseparably united unto that eternal Word which is God The Angels in many things are above us and more excellent then we are yet in this we are above the Angels and nearer unto God and our nature in Christ is Lord of Angels 4. We learn from them that the Seed of Abraham and the People of the Jews have a priority and priviledg above all People For Christ took upon him their Flesh and Blood and they were his Brethren of whom according to the Flesh Christ came who is over all God blessed for ever Amen Rom. 9. 5. This is the reason why he said when he lived on Earth That he was sent to the lost Sheep of Israel and why he chose out of them the Apostles preached the Gospel unto them first for the tender of eternal life was first made to them and why he began and finished the work of Redemption amongst them 5. From them we understand something of the nature of the Incarnation For herein we have 1. One person the eternal Word and the Son of God 2. Two Natures Divine and Humane 3. The union of these two by assumption for the Word assumed the nature of Man and this Nature was thereby united to the Word in the unity of person 4. The distinction of these two Natures for the Word is God and not Man this humane Nature remains Man and is not God and the difference is very great and perpetual And thus God-Man is Christ our blessed Saviour and Redeemer and happy are they who know him and believe in him Ver. 17 18. Wherefore in all things it behâ—â—ved him to be made like unto his Brethren c. § 19. In these words we have another reason why Christ must be lower then the Angels Man and like his Brethren One end was that he might suffer and dy and this he could not do except he be partaker of Flesh and Blood and therefore he took upon him the Nature of Men and not of Angels The end why he must dy was 1. That he might destroy the Devil who had the power of Death and so deliver them that were in continual danger 2. That he might be a merciful and faithful High-Priest and so make reconciliation for the sins of his People and be
able to succour them So that the Apostle 1. Affirms that he must be Man and that being Man he must Suffer 2. Proves why he must be Man 3. Why being Man he must Suffer The Text is brought in by an illative wherefore and the conclusion inferred is That in all things it behooved Christ to be like unto his Brethren And the premisses do not go before but follow in the last words of this verse and is explained more fully in verse 18. The conclusion is concerning Christ and the thing affirmed of him is That he must be like his Brethren for it behooved him in all things to be like them Where 1. We must understand what the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 behooved doth import 2. What it is In all things it behooved him to be like them The Syriack word which signifies it was meet convenient right doth best expresse the meaning For it was most agreeable to God's wisdom and Mans condition That he should be like his Brethren Some make this conveniency to be a kind of duty to be performed or debt of money to be paid or of punishment to be suffered because the Word is so used in other places of the New Testament but none of these significations are here intended or can well be meant 2. For the words in all things 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they may be referred either to the Verb behooved and then the sense is It was altogether convenient and in every respect sitting or to the Adjective like that is He must be like us in all things there must be similitudo â—nmimods And whereas some tell us that this must be understood with a limitation and exception of sin it 's needless For if he must be a Saviour and expiate the sin of others he must needs be without sin This exception is made by the Apostle Chap. 4. 15. but upon another account The meaning therefore is That he must be like unto us in all things which are necessary or requisite to make him a compleat Redeemer and Saviour of sinful man But to this sin was neither necessary nor requisit but it was absolutely necessary he should be free from it This is the conlusion § 20. The premisses or Principle from whence it 's inferred is this Because he must be a merciful and faithful High-Priest If we bring the Apostles discourse into form it 's this onto this purpose If Christ must be a merciful and faithful High-Priest c. then in all things it behooved him to be like unto his Brethâ—ren But he must be a merciful and faithful High-Priest c. Wherefore or therefore In all things it behooved him to be like his Brethren In these words and those that follow we may observe that Christ 1. Is a merciful and faithful High-Priest c. 2. How he became such and that was by suffering and being tempted In the first part we have 1. Christ's Office 2. The Qualification for this Office 3. The Work of Function of his Office 1. His Office is to be an High-Priest in things pertaining to God A Priest is an Officer in things appertaining to God that is in matters of Religion wherein we have some Communion or Converse with God the Supream Lord upon whom we depend for all things especially such as tend to our spiritual and eternal happiness Therefore Priest-hood is an Office distinct from all Offices of a civil state Of this we shall hear more Chap. 5. Amongst Priests some are inferiour some are superiour and some above all the rest and the chief and highest Priests differed from the rest by some power proper to them and to none else as to enter into the Holy of holies and make the general Expiation Christ was a Priest and Mediatour between God and Man in matters of Religion and he was the highest supream and universal Priest and had a proper power far above all other Priests and could enter the Sacrary of Heaven and doth minister in that glorious Temple This is his Office 2. His Qualification which is alwayes requisite in a Priest is in two things He was 1. Merciful 2. Faithful 1. He must be merciful for he must deal with God for sinful and miserable Man for to help him and relieve him And he is then merciful when he doth not only know Man's misery but is inwardly sensible of it as his own so as to be moved and resolved and that effectually to succour him This mercifulness is opposed not onely to Ignorance of others misery and senslesness but also to harshness severity cruelty And Christ was more merciful than ever any Man or Angel was and there was great need he should be so for if every Offence nay if many and great offences should move him to Passion and enrage him so as to reject them and their Cause or proceed to plead against them or condemn them how many thousands should perish everlastingly 2. As he is merciful so he must be faithful and such as poor sinners may safely trust unto and depend upon when they commit their Cause concerning their eternal estate into his hands Christ may be said to be faithful either to God who hath given the Office of High-Priest and a Command to discharge it or unto Man who according to the Rules of God's Word believs in him trusts upon him and commits himself and all that he hath unto him And then he is actually faithful when he performs all things belonging to his Sacerdotal Office and goes thorough with his Work until he hath perfectly finished and sinful Man attains that for which he trusted him Man may be merciful and not faithful Christ is both and will be sensible of our Case and Cause will minde it and do it as his own In this respect our Hope is firm and our Comfort is unspeakable Blessed are all they who trust in him This is his Qualification the best that ever was or can be in any Priest 3. The Work the principal Work is to make Reconciliation for the Sins of his People 1. He hath his People and they are such as know him and trust in him 2. These have their Sins and are guilty 3. Reconciliation therefore is necessary otherwise they dy they perish everlastingly 4. There must be some one and the same a Priest both merciful and faithful to make this Reconciliation and this is Christ. The word that is translated to make Reconciliation is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which taken actively and transitively is to make God propitious and merciful to sinful Man so as to free him from Sin and the woful Consequents thereof And this must be done so as to deliver Man from sin fully and for ever before this Sacerdotal Work shall cease This Reconciliation is first made and the Foundation of it laid in his Suffering Death and offering himself a Sacrifice unto the supream and universal Judge for the sin of Man first to make it remissible But it 's actually made when Man