Christ's Priest-hood in respect of the Constitution and now proceeds to prove his excellency in respect of the Ministration For if he be a Priest he must minister and officiate and his ministration is two-fold or there be two parts thereof The first whereof Which is his great Offering was performed on Earth The second Which is his Intercession is performed in Heaven He was a Priest elect when he offered on Earth He was a Priest constituted and confirmed before he did intercede in Heaven These things premised the Author doth 1. Sum up briefly the substance of his former Discourse Concerning the constitution of Christ's Priest-hood ver 1. 2. Proceed to set forth his excellency in respect of his Ministration 1. More generally in this Chapter 2. More particularly hereafter That he may do this the better he takes it for granted that the due ministration of a Priest requires 1. A Tabernacle or Temple 2. A Sacrifice or something to be offered 3. A Covenant whereof he must be Mediatour These things presupposed he proves the excellency of Christ's ministration in respect 1. Of the Tabernacle which is not made with hands but pitched by God ver 2. 2. Of the thing offered and the service both which are supernatural and divine not after the pattern of heavenly things ver 3 4 5. 3. Of the Covenant which he did confirm and make effectual as Mediatour which is better then that of Works whereof the Levitical High-Priest was Mediatour ver 6. That it was better he proves because it was established upon better Promises Where two things are observable 1. That the Promises of the Covenant were better 2. That it's stable and firm Ibid. To make both these evident he 1. Recites the words of the Prophet Jeremy concerning both the Covenants 2. In the words he 1. Informs us 1. Of the deficiency of the former ver 8 9. 2. Of the excellent Promises of the latter ver 10 11 12. 2. From the word Now he inferrs the abolition of the former to bring in the latter ver 13. CHAP. IX VVHerein the Apostle proceeds farther to evidence the excellency of Christ's ministration and this he doth more particularly by setting forth the excellency of his great Sacrifice and Offering That he may do this the better he singles out from all the other legal Services the anniversary Sacrifice of Expiation with the Blood whereof the High Priest alone once in the year only entred into the Holiest of all and proving Christ's Sacrifice upon the Cross to be far more excellent than this he doth clearly evince the excellency of Christ's Priest-hood The parts of the Chapter are two The first is concerning the Typical Tabernacle Priests Service The Tabernacle is described ver 1 2 3 4 5. The Priests ver 6 7. The Service Ibid. The imperfection of their Service ver 8 9 10. The principal part of the Tabernacle was the Holy of Holies The principal Priest the High Priest The principal Service the presenting of the Blood of the Expiatory Offering in the Holiest place Where the Apostle observes 1. That because none but the High Priest alone might enter within the 2d Veil therefore the way into the Holiest was not yet made manifest 2. That because the Services and so the Ministration were but carnal therefore they could not perfect the Performers The second part is concerning the Antitypical Tabernacle Priest Service and especially the Service of Christ's great Offering which he proves to be far more excellent then the legal great Sacrifice of expiation and so than all other legal Sacrifices from the Effects and Consequents thereof For by it Christ entring the Holy place 1. Obtained eternal Redemption ver 11 12. 2. Purgeth the Conscience from dead Works to serve the living God ver 13 14. 3. Confirms the new Covenant makes it effectual and unalterable ver 15. This Confirmation is illustrated 1. From the Testaments of Men confirmed by the Death of the Testator ver 16 17. 2. From the Sanction and Confirmation of the former Covenant by Blood ver 18 19 20. The former purifying and expiating Virtue of Christ's Sacrifice is illustrated from the Purification Expiation and Consecration of most things under the Law by Blood And hence inferrs That heavenly and spiritual things must be purified by better Sacrifices ver 21 22 23. 4. Entring Heaven he appears before God for us making Intercession and needs not come out of that Holy place again to re-iterate his Death and Sacrifice as the High Priest under the Law did but he stayes there pleading his One Offering of eternal Virtue untill he come to Judgment and give the actual possession of eternal life to all such as wait for him and this is the ultimate benefit of this Great Offering ver 24 25 26 27 28. CHAP. X. VVHetein 1. The Doctrine of Christ's Sacrifice is continued 2. The same Doctrine is applied Of this Doctrine there be two parts 1. Concerning the imperfection of the legal Offeringâ— 2. Concerning the perfection of Christ's The imperfection of the former was in this They could nor sanctify because 1. They were but shadows ver 1. 2. They were re-iterated and left a conscience of sin ver 2 3. 3. They were but carnal and the Blood of Bulls and Goats could not take away the spiritual stain and guilt of Sin to purge the immortal Soul 4. God did reject them as insufficient for that purpose and did accept Christ's one Offering This is proved out of Psal. 40. 7 8 c. and here 1. The words are cited ver 5 6 7. 2. The principal thing intended thence concluded that not by them but this Sacrifice of Christ we are sanctified ver 8 9 10. 3. They being many offered many times by many Priests could not take away sin but this one Sacrifice offered but once and by one Priest doth consecrate the Sanctified for ever ver 11 12 13 This he proves out of Jer. 31. 1. Citing the words ver 15 16 17. 2. Thence concluding the eternal Virtue of this Offering ver 18. Thus far the Doctrine now follows the Application continued from this place to the latter end of the last Chapter In this Application we may consider 1. The Duties exhorted unto which are many but the principal is Perseverance 2. The Motives 3. Sometime the Means The first Duty exhorted unto is To draw near with a sincere Heart in assurance of Faith 2. The Motives The holy place is open A new way is made We have an High Priest ver 19 20 21 22. The second Duty is To hold fast our Profession and persevere ver 23. The Means 1. To stir up one another ver 24. 2. Not to forsake the Assemblies ver 25. The Motives 1. God is faithful who hath promised ver 23. 2. The time is near at hand ver 25. 3. If we fall away after we have received the Truth the Sin will be very hainous the punishment very grievous and unavoidable ver 26 27 28 29 30
Rom. 8. 17. so may we likewise say If no Sons then no Heirs None can be Sons that are not justified none can be justified which believe not in the Death and Blood of Christ there can be no Belief in this Blood if not shed This Death and Blood of Christ 1. Expiates sin and makes it remissible 2. Merits the eternal Inheritance promised and the Promise too 3. It merits the Spirit to enable Man to keep the Covenant so as to obtain and receive the Inheritance 4. It merits a Power in Christ 1. To reveal the Gospel and give the Spirit to work Repentance and Faith in sinful Man's heart 2. Upon Repentance and Faith and his Intercession a Power to give Remission and the eternal Inheritance Take away this Death this Blood there is no Expiation of Sin no Inheritance no Covenant and suppose a Covenant and a Promise yet it 's ineffectual invalid without this Blood this Death For all the heavenly Promises are made for and in consideration of this Blood satisfying his Justice and meriting his Favour so that without it they are all nothing to purpose neither without it can the called though obedient to the heavenly Call ever have any Right unto or Possession of eternal Life So that the whole strength and efficacy of the Covenant doth depend upon this Blood for by it our Sins are expiated and our Consciences purged so as to be capable of the Inheritance This is a most clear Text to prove that the Saints even under the Law were called and saved and that not by the Ministry and Sacrifice of the Levitical Priests but by the Blood of Christ the vertue whereof extended to former times even the times of Adam Neither did they trust in their Sacrifices and their Priests and the Blood of Bulls and Goats and their Water of separation but in the Blood of Christ yet their Faith was very implicit The third Proposition is Christ is the Mediator of the new Covenant for this Reason and for this End An excellent Covenant must have an excellent Priest and Mediator and seeing this Covenant doth promise eternal Remission and an eternal Inheritance it requires such a Priest as shall be able by his Ministry and Service to obtain this Remission and Inheritance This no Priests by their Sacrifices or any other Service could do but Christ could and therefore not they but He and He alone was made the Mediator of this new Covenant For by his Death he expiates sin and purgeth the Conscience so that the called receive the Promise of eternal Inheritance and the vertue of this Death is universal in respect of time and persons called The Sum of all this is That Christ by reason of his Death and Blood expiating Sin and purging the Conscience is the Mediator of the new Testament or Covenant to confirm and make it effectual to the Heirs of the Promise § 15. This Confirmation of the new Covenant is illustrated from a two-fold Similitude the one is taken a Jure Naturali the other a Jure Ceremoniali The first is taken from the Law of Nature for to it the Civilians refer the Rules of Testaments and Wills and is delivered Ver. 16. For where a Testament is there must also of necessity be the death of the Testator Ver. 17. For a Testament is of force after men are dead otherwise it is of no strength at all whilest the Testator liveth THis is an imperfect and contract Similitude for the parts thereof as of all Comparisons are two 1. The Proposition 2. The Reddition And yet the Proposition is only expressed and the Reddition is only implyed and to be supplied from the antecedent Context In the Proposition we may observe two things 1. The necessity of the Death of the Testator barely asserted Ver. 16. 2. The Reason thereof rendred Ver. 17. The Argument in Form may be this That which is not of force whilest the Testator liveth that necessarily requireth the Death of the Testator to make it of force But a Testament is not of force whilest the Testator liveth Therefore it requireth to make it of force the Death of the Testator The Assumption is expressed 1. Affirmatively A Testament is of force after men who are Testators are dead 2. Negatively It 's of no strength whilest the Testator liveth The Comparison at large is this As the Death of the Testator is necessary to make the Testament of force so the Death of Christ is necessary for to make the new Covenant of force For though Christ might in some respect be a Mediator of the new Covenant yet he could not make it valid firm and effectual without his death neither we under the Gospel nor the Fathers under the Law could without this Death be saved by it And as the death of the Testator gives full force and efficacy to the Testament and this Confirmation is an Effect of his Death so the Death of Christ gives full force to the new Covenant and makes â—â— effectual and this validity and efficacy is an Effect of this Death of Christ and manifests the excellency of this Sacrifice and of Christ the Priest who offered it The things compared as like are the Death of Christ and the Death of a Testator The things wherein they agree are 1. The like Effect of both which is to confirm and make effectual some Instrument 2. The necessity of both for that end to confirm and make effectual § 16. The Propositions in the first part of the Comparison are these 1. There are Testaments of men 2. These are not of force whilest the Testators live 3. They are of force upon the Death of the Testators 4. The Death of the Testators is necessary to make them of force 1. The matter of all Testaments is a temporal estate of these earthly Goods which God hath given Man to preserve this temporal Life The Testator is one that hath a just Title unto these Goods so that he hath power to dispose of them The Testament it self is the manner of disposing these Goods so as to give the same Right which he had in them unto other Persons after his Death and therefore it must signify his Will concerning these Goods and nominate the Persons who must succeed him so as to have them And because it 's an Act of Reason so to do therefore the Testator when he makes his Will must be Compos mentis and have the Use of his Reason and also sui Juris and not under the power of another The end of it is to prevent future suits and dissensions and Injustice about his Estate The Light of Nature doth teach men thus to dispose of their temporal Goods and therefore they are of ancient and universal Use. 2. These are not in force whilest the Testators live and the Reason of this is not only because whilest they are living they have need of or do use their Goods and though they make their Will in their life-time yet they
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
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
of Ceremonies and Rites is carnal that is outward bodily fleshly For besides Circumcision which was in the Flesh their Sacrifices and Offerings were outward and bodily and they had their effect upon their Bodies and Flesh in freeing the People from legal guilt and impurities 3. There was a Law which did direct how these must be used and binding them to the observation of them and this Law had promises of some legal Blessings and Deliverances and Comminations of some temporal penalties That they were carnal it doth imply that they were not spiritual had no power upon the immortal Soul and could not any waies procure spiritual and eternal Blessings nor free from the eternal penalties due to Sin Neither could that Priest who was by such outward Rites and Ceremonies consecrated by his Ministration according to that Law expiate any sin nor make any spiritual reconciliation The Levitical Priest was made after this Law and to minister according to the same But here it 's said That Christ was not made a Priest after this Law which was a body of carnal precepts in respect of the Priest the Tabernacle the Service and Ministry and the effects thereof For if He had been made after the Law He could have done no more then they did and then both He and his Ministry had been defective frail and of a short continuance therefore it 's denied that he was made a Priest after that Law concerning the consecration ministration succession and operation of the Levitical Priest 2. The affirmative He was made a Priest after the power of an endless or indissoluble life Where we have 1. Life 2. An indissoluble life 3. The power of an endless indissoluble life 1. Life is either the bare continuance and duration of a living Beeing or the happiness and perfection of that Beeing in this latter sense most Expositors take it 2. This life whether it be the continuance of that more perfect Beeing which is living or the happiness thereof may be temporary or perpetual in respect of time to come so that though it may have beginning yet it never shall have end Such a life is here meant 3. The power here may be a Law which is powerful not only in binding but in promising so that the event thereof will be endless happiness as the Gospel is said to be the power of God unto Salvation Christ is said to be made according to this powerful Law and so is 1. Of eternal continuance himself in his person And 2. Hath power by this Law to give eternal life to such as are his People depend upon him and come to God by him For by his death he merited and by his life and intercession he procureth spiritual and eternal Expiation and Blessings Neither of these could the Levitical Priest by that carnal Ceremonial Law and his Ministration according to it effect That Christ must be made such a Priest he proves in the next words Ver. 17. For he testifieth Thou are a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedec VVHere two things 1. That Christ is made a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedec 2. That this is testified The force and Emphasis is in the words for ever and testified The first Proposition is concerning the Eternity of Christ's Priest-hood the second concerning the declaration of this Eternity or Perpetuity And we must 1. Consider the meaning of the words 2. Declare the end for which they are brought In the first part we have 1. The Order of Melchizedec 2. The perpetuity of the Priest constituted according to that Order 1. Melchizedec was formerly affirmed to have no end of dayes and so in some respect was of endless life and for this particular Reason these words so often taken up are repeated here the sixth time Christ is made a Priest after this Order as one who must continue for ever In the second part it 's said that this was testified where to testify is Solemnly by a formal and powerful Edict to declare and pronounce him not onely to be a Priest but a Priest for ever And it was God himself as Supream Lord who made this Declaration before all the Angels of Heaven and by it constituted and confirmed Christ an everlasting Priest The end why these words are alledged and here repeated is to prove that Christ was not made a temporary Priest according to a carnal and temporary Law but according to a Law and Power of endless life that is that he was made an everlasting Priest of everlasting power to save The words prove this effectually 1. Because the words of the Psalmist signify expresly that he was a Priest for ever 2. Because it was God as the Supream Lord who by his solemn Declaration made him such This is the Apostle's Discourse upon those words of the Psalm I have said Thou art a Priest for ever The Scope of the Apostle in all this is 1. To prove that the Priest-hood was changed 2. It was changed to bring in a better Priest 3. Christ is this Priest and more excellent than the Levitical Priest as being a Priest of perpetual continuance and of everlasting power and therefore was to be honoured far above Aaron or any Priest of that Order § 22. Hitherto the Apostle hath proved that the Priest-hood was changed and given the Reason which was because by it there was no perfection And by the Change of the Priest-hood the Change of the Law is inferred and in the words following he gives the Reason why the Law must be changed This is the coherence of this Text with the former So that this is his Method He proves 1. By the words of the Psalm That there must be another Priest besides and after the Levitical Priest 2. That if the other Priest be brought in the Levitical Priest-hood must be changed 3. That if the Priest-hood be changed the Law is changed 4. He infers the Change of the Priest-hood from the Change of the Tribe and of the Order 5. He infers from the words of the Psalm that this other Priest must be an everlasting Priest and of everlasting power 6. He gives the Reason of this Change and that was because there was no perfection by the former Priesthood as there is by the latter Now because the Priest-hood and the Law are alwayes so inseparably joyned that they live and dy stand and fall begin and end together therefore he take it for granted that having proved the change of the Priest-hood he had proved the Change of the Law For as the Priest-hood could do nothing but was useless without the Law so the Law could do nothing but was useless without the Priest-hood Therefore he thought it needless any farther to prove the Change of the Law for the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that it was changed was evident enough and proceeds to give the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of the Change thereof in this manner Ver. 18. For there is verily a disanulling of the
and he stood so strictly upon these terms that except these were performed he would neither promise not give Remission and Salvation but Man must lye under his eternal displeasure Christ's mediation by intreaties or interpretations and declarations of the will of both the partie could do no good to be hately a Prophet would not serve the turn Therefore to mediate in this place is to be a Surety 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as you heard in the former Chapter And as Sponsor and Surety he first undertake to satisfy God's Justice by his own purest Blood and so make an arâ—â—â—ment and way for God's metoy to make promises upon easy terms and for the performance of the terms and conditions he by this Blood merits the Grace of the Spirit to enable man to repent's believe reform and relye wholly upon God's mercy procured by Christ's Sacrificeâ— neither is this all but in the second place he undertakes to obtain the mercies promised by his intercessions and pleading his blood in Heaven for penitent and believing Sinners That he is Mediatoâ—â— by his Blood shed and offered is evident from Chap. 9. 16. where it 's said That for this cause is he the Mediator of the new Covenant that by means of Death for the Redemption or Remission of the Transgressions that were under the first Covenant they which are called might receive the Promise of eternal Inheritance Where we may observe 1. That he was the Mediator of the new Covenant 2. That he was Mediator for his Sacrifice and offering of himself without spot to God 3. That whereas there was no expiation of Sin by any Sacrifice of the Law the sins then committed were expiated and remitted by vertue of his Death and Sacrifice 4. That except this expiation and remission had been obtained by this death the called could not have received the Promise of eternal Inheritance That he is Mediator of this Covenant by his Intercession is evident from 1 Joh. 2. 1. and other places Now both these agree to Christ as a Priest and therefore he is the Mediator of this new Covenant of better Promises as a Priest The Levitical Priests were Mediators for the former Covenant by their Offerings and Prayers to obtain the Promises of that Covenant and this Mediation was but a shadow and an obscure Representation of this heavenly and far more excellent Service and Ministry For 5. He by reason of this Mediation obtained and so enjoyed a more excellent Ministry and Office of Priest-hood For he that could lay the foundation of such an excellent Covenant by satisfying divine Justice and as Surety make it so valid so effectual and of eternal continuance must needs be a more excellent Priest in respect of his Ministration which had far more glorious effects than the Ministration of the High-Priests under the Law Where by the way observe That Christ is an High-Priest in respect of his Office and a Minister in respect of his Officiation which was the work and end of his Office From all this the force of the Argument is clear and evident for every Cause is to be valued according to its causal activity and the effects produced by it For that cause which produceth more noble and excellent Effects Physical Moral or Divine is more noble and excellent And seeing Christ as Priest by his Ministration doth produce far more glorious supernatural and divine Effects tending most effectually to Man's spiritual and eternal happiness therefore he is far more excellent than the Levitical Priests which were Mediators only of a far inferior Covenant and yet could not by their Officiation make that effectual Yet the Apostle not contented with this that he obtained a better Ministry further adds that the Ministry was so much the more excellent as the Covenant whereof he was Mediator was more excellent But the Covenant was far better and more excellent by many degrees therefore the Ministry is such too The major Proposition would easily be granted That the more excellent the Covenant the more excellent the Ministry But the Assumption might be excepted against and that several wayes as 1. There was no other Covenant or 2. If there was it was not better or more excellent Both these he therefore proves and 1. That the Covenant was better for it was established upon better Promises In which words we may observe two Arguments one expressed the other implyed For 1. The more excellent the Promises and the Rewards and Duties promised are the more excellent the Covenant must needs be this is expressed 2. When he saith that it 's established upon better Promises he implies that it is stable firm and raâ—fied so as not to be altered such the former was not Both these he proves and that two wayes 1. By an Artificial Argument 2. By Testimony § 6. First By an Artificial Argument Ver. 7. For if the first Covenant had been faultless then there should have no place been sought for the second IN the handling of this Text I will 1. Consider it absolutely and explain it 2. Inquire into the Apostle's Argumentation 3. Examine what the Apostle intends to prove 1. Absolutely considered it presupposeth as a thing well-known to these Hebrews that there are two Covenants the first and the second Upon this presupposed we find two absolute Propositions 1. That the first Covenant was not faultless 2. There was place sought for a second And both these are presupposed here as a ground of the Apostle's Argumentation though both are proved afterwards By this first Covenant is meant as we shall understand anon the Covenant made with the Israelites in the Wilderness after they were come out of Aegypt of it we find it affirmed that it was faulty or not faultless Not to be faultless is to be imperfect and defective and so not able to sanctify and perfect any man though the Jew thought otherwise and through his Unbelief and erroneous Imagination sought perfection by it Yet God in giving it intended no such thing but aimed at other ends for which it was sufficient neither could it possibly perfect any man because it neither gave Man any sanctifying Power to enable him to perform spiritual Obedience neither could the Priests by their Ministration expiate any Sin Therefore to be faulty is not to be unjust or justly blamable or insufficient for those ends God intended it but to be unable to justify as the Jew falsly judged it to be 2. There was place sought for a second The second was the Covenant of Grace in the Gospel called the second because it came in after the first It 's true that the Promise was 430 years before the Law and was the same for Substance with the Gospel but differed in this that it held out Christ onely in Promise to be exhibited in time then to come and required Faith in him not yet incamate But this new Covenant of the Gospel required Faith in Christ already come Between these two the Promise and the new
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
People as a third part 1. In making the Covenant in signifying God's Will unto the People and returning the People's Answer unto God Exod. 19. 2. 2. In confirming it by Blood as an indifferent distinct person Exod. 24. To which place the Apostle doth allude as we shall understand hereafter in the illustration This is the meaning of the first Proposition The second may be divided for explication and made two 1. Christ by means of Death expiated Transgressions under the former Covenant 2. By means of this Death the Called receive the promise of eternal Inheritance The first implies 1. That there were Transgressions under the former Covenant 2. That there was a Redemption of these Transgressions 3. This Redemption was by the Death of Christ. The first is clear enough for Moses Aaron David and the Saints of God from the times of Moses till the exhibition of Christ had their sins much more others not sanctified The second cannot be doubted of for if there was no Redemption of those Sins and Transgressions then they could not be saved they must suffer eternal punishments as they did temporal By Redemption here is meant Expiation and Propitiation whereby their sins were made remissible and upon certain terms and conditions performed actually to be remitted The third will be granted in general that the Expiation was by Death and Blood but that they were expiated by the Blood of Christ many of the Jews denied Yet if they had understood the Books of Moses they might have known that the Blood of Bulls and Goats could not expiate the Sin of Man a rational and immortal Creature not free from the eternal Punishment Some Legal frailties and infirmities they might expiate and avert some temporal penalties Therefore there must of necessity be some other Death and Blood that must do it And this was the Blood of Christ which all their Ilastical Sacrifices and Lustrations did typify Yet this is not so to be understood as though their Sins were not remissible and remitted till Christ dyed and offered his Sacrifice for by vertue of this Death fore-seen and fore-accepted they were in their Life-time upon their Repentance Faith in Christ to come and their fervent Prayers pardoned They did not rely upon their Legal Sacrifices nor expected Remission from them but relyed upon this Death of Christ to come according to the Promise That in him all Nations should be blessed This Proposition is not to be understood exclusively as though Christ's Death did expiate no Sin but that which was committed under the first Covenant but emphatically to singnify 1. That there was no Expiation for Transgressions under the Law 2. That if Christ's Death expiate former Transgressions under the Law much more will it expiate such as are committed under the Gospel 3. That there was no reason as some observe why they should be offended with the Death of Christ seeing without his Death and Blood neither they nor their Fathers could be saved but must suffer eternal penalties The second part of this second Proposition informs us that 1. There is an eternal Inheritance 2. There is a Promise of it 3. The called receive this Promise 4. By means of Christ's Death they receive this Promise For in the words we have an Inheritance the Heirs the Conveyance the Purchase or rather the price whereby it 's purchased The Inheritance is eternal Happiness the Heirs are the called the Conveyance is by Promise and Covenant the price of the purchase is Christ's Death and Blood 1. The Inheritance is that blessed and glorious Estate which is to be enjoyed upon the Resurrection for the full possession and enjoyment is reserved for Heaven where it 's said to be laid up and reserved It 's said to be eternal in opposition to the Land of Canaan which was the temporal Inheritance of them and their Fathers and to be enjoyed with the Blessings thereof so long as they kept the Covenant of their God and this was the Inheritance promised in the former Covenant and to this which formerly was called God's Rest the Apostle seems to allude as a Type of this which was far more excellent and glorious of eternal continuance in respect of the Inheritance it self the parties enjoying it and the enjoyment thereof 2. This eternal Inheritance was promised there was a Promise of it It was God's and the disposal of it was at his Will Man for his sin was cast out of Paradise and forfeited Heaven with the eternal Bliss thereof yet it was in his mind to give it sinful Man who deserved it not so great was his mercy and bounty and Man must know this For this end he promised it and by his Promise bound himself to give it and in it did signify his Will The Effect of this Promise was Obligation on God's part and a Right unto it on Man's part an Hope to obtain it and a Comfort upon this Hope And here it 's to be observed that our Title to eternal life depends immediately upon the Promise and is derived from it for as the Israelites had the Land of Canaan and held it by Covenant and Promise so do all the Children of God expect the heavenly Canaan and hope to have it by Promise of the new Covenant Some do ' understand by the Promise of eternal Inheritance this Inheritance promised yet there must be a Promise received before we receive the thing promised 3. After the Inheritance and the Promise and Conveyance follows the Heirs which are here said to be the called Some are not called at all these have no Promise of the Inheritance Such were the Gentiles before the Gospel was preached unto them they were Strangers from the Covenants of Promise having no Hope and without God in the World Ephes. 2. 12. Some are called and have the means of Conversion but reject the terms of the Covenant and refuse to enter into it and engage themselvs such were the unbelieving Jews and many others Some are called enter the Covenant and solemnly bind themselvs to the observation of it yet do not observe it In respect of these two last it is that Christ saith Many are called but few are chosen Matth. 22. 14. None of these are Heirs Some are called and are obedient to the heavenly Call and keep the Covenant these receive the eternal Inheritance promised and first acquire the Title and after that the Possession Some were called before the Exhibition of Christ some after the former are here principally meant though the latter with them receive the Inheritance 4. These called Ones of former times with us receive this Promise by vertue of Christ's Death expiating their sins and of his Blood purging their Conscience To understand this you must consider that none but such whose Sins are expiated and their Consciences purged can be Heirs for they must be regenerated and acted by the Spirit and adopted Sons before they can be Heirs For as the Apostle argues If Sons then Heirs
and heavenly things principally intended are the Consciences and immortal Souls of men which being purged make up the Body of the Church which is Militant first on Earth and after that to be Triumphant in Heaven 2. The better Sacrifice above the former is the Sacrifice of Christ and the pure unsported Blood of him who offered himself by the eternal Spirit to God The purifying vertue of this Sacrifice was in this that Christ the Son of God innocent holy righteous as Surety and Hostage of Man-king appointed to be so by God did deny himself took up the Cross shed his Blood for to expiate the Sin of Man and was obedient unto death the death of the Cross For him so excellent to suffer death so willingly for so glorious an end and that at the Command of God was the highest and purest degree of Obedience that ever was performed unto God and was highly accepted and did fully satisfy divine Justice so far as was required In the offering of this Sacrifice he gave himself wholly to his heavenly Father and became as it were a whole Burnt-Offering being wholly consumed with the Zeal of his Father's Glory and the Love of Man-kind And here it is to be noted upon the By That though in the Text we read Sacrifices in the plural number yet this one Sacrifice of Christ is onely meant Estius thinks it's an Enallage of number the Plural for the Singular for the Sacrifice whereby heavenly things are purified is but only one once offered Yet it may be called Sacrifices because it had more vertue than all other purifying Sacrifices and also because it was one of those expiating Sacrifices which were offered unto God yet more excellent than all the rest It 's like that expression of Jâ—phtah's Butial for it 's said he was buried in the Cities of Gâ—lead that is one of the Cities of that Country which was Mizpeh as some think Judg. 12. 7. 3. For the heavenly things and the Consciences of men to be purified is to be freed from Sin that is from the Guilt and Dominion of Sin which is to be justified and sanctified as these words are usually taken This Purification is vertual or actual for when the Blood of Christ was shed offered and accepted for the Sins of men then they may be said to be purified virtually as upon the death of Christ we are said to be reconciled because made reconcilable And when by Faith this Blood is sprinkled upon our Consciences and pardon obtained by Christ's Intercession for peniâ—ent and believing Sinners then they are said to be actually purified and when they are wholly freed from all the Guilt and Power of Sin then they are perfectly purified 4. This Purification by this Sacrifice was necessary for supposing God's Will and Decree concerning the eternal Happiness of sinful Man in Communion with his God it was necessary Man should be purified for otherwise he could have no fellowship with God so as to derive eternal Happiness from him For as God is Light and just and holy so they must be Light just and holy who shall see and enjoy him And because no Sacrifice but this of Christ could thus qualify him therefore it was necessary both that he should be purified and purified with this Sacrifice § 22. Thus far you have heard of the necessity of the death of Christ for the Confirmation of the Covenant illustrated by Similitudes taken from the Law of Nature and the Ceremonial Law of Moses Therefore the Jews except they were very ignorant could have no cause to be offended with this death upon the Cross seeing it was so necessary to the purchasing of the eternal Inheritance and the purging of mens Consciences that they might be capable of the Possession and have a Title unto it for the ground of the Promise from whence the Title is immediately derived is this Sacrifice without which the Promise was never made neither if it had been made could it without this have been valid But let 's consider what follows for he saith Ver. 24. For Christ is not entred into the Holy places made with hands which are Figures of the true but into Heaven it self now to appear before God for us THese words considered absolutely in themselvs seem to be plain and easily understood but the coherence is doubtful Some and amongst the rest Esâ—ius takes little notice of it as not much material Many others finding the causal Conjunction For do agree that in these words the Apostle gives a Reason of something that went before but they differ much in the particular Explication of the Reason Dr. Gouge conceivs that the Apostle's intention is to prove that the Sacrifice of Christ is more excellent than the Sacrifices of the Law and this is true but yet imperfect Beza thinks that the Author in this Text begins another and a new Collation or Comparison to prove the excellency of this Offering and this cannot be denyed Dr. Lushington who is said to be the Translator of Crellius tells us that here is proved That the Heavenly places are purified by better Sacrifices and that because Christ entred not into the earthly Sanctuary but into Heaven it self This doth presuppose that Heaven it self is purified by the Blood of Christ and that Christ entred thereinto for that end But this is difficult to understand and supposeth that which few will grant him A Lapide differs from all these and saith that the Apostle gives in this Text a Reason why he called the Church heavenly or heavenly things and that is because Christ entred into Heaven to unlock the Gates and open the Doors thereof that the faithful might enter thereinto This is not so clear and satisfactory though it hath something of Truth To find out the Connexion we must observe 1. That the Conjunction for or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometimes expletive and redundant 2. Sometimes the same that but or moreover is 3. That though it be called by the Grammarians a Causal yet it doth not alwayes imply a Cause but it 's used to bring in any other Reason or Argument and therefore might be called a rational Conjunction Yet Whittington in his Grammar saith that a Causal Conjunction signifies the Cause or Order of that which goeâ— before where he implies that it doth not alwayes joyn the Cause and the Effect 4. Let it be taken for a Conjunction which joyns these words to the former so as to contain a Reason we must consider what was formerly â—ffiâ—med and how it 's here proved To this end let us remember that the Subject of the former discourse was Purification or Expiation of things by Blood of Sacrifices and these things are earthly and carnal or spiritual and heavenly Of these latter he affirmed that it was necessary they should be purified with better Sacrifices The manner how he proves this is this He presupposing that these heavenly things must be purified proves 1. That they were purified by
that he was miraculously delivered and restored unto them for their great Comfort and the benefit of the Church And it 's certain many Prayers were made for Paul's Liberty when a Prisoner at Rome For they thought it a great Prejudice to the Gospel a Dammage to the Church and an hinderance of the Conversion of many Souls that so vigilant laborious faithful zealous and eminent an Apostle should be imprisoned and consined And Paul himself knew that his Liberty and his Presence would be both a great Comfort and also a Benefit not only unto these Hebrews but to many other Christians and Disciples Therefore he requests them as they desired the Comfort and Benefit of his presence amongst them upon his speedy Release to pray for him frequently and servently § 18. The next part of the Conclusion is the Apostle's Prayer Ver. 20. Now the God of all Peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great Shepherd of the Sheep through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant Ver. 21. Make you perfect in every good Work to do his Will working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be Glory for ever and ever Amen THESE words are a perfect Prayer of which we have two principal parts 1. A Petition 2. A Doxology Yet these may be made four 1. The Compellation of the Party invocated 2. The Petition of the Party invocating 3. The Doxology 4. The Conclusion and Confirmation of the whole Yet the first and last of these four belong both to the Petition and Doxology To begin with the Petition which presupposing Adoration begins with the Compellation and goes on with the Petition In the Compellation we have a Description of God the Party prayed to and that is from his Titles 1. Of Peace and 2. Of Power He is first acknowledged the God of Peace as in another place the God of all Grace 1 Pet. 5. 10. The God of all Peace and Grace may be the same and that is a most gracious and loving God Yet if Peace be taken according to the Hebrew for perfect Happiness and the Enjoyment of all Blessings then the God of Peace is that God which is the Fountain of all Goodness and perfect full eternal Happiness yet such he is as a gracious God and loving Father reconciled and propitiated by the Blood of Christ. As he is a God of Peace so he is of Power and this Power is set forth by that glorious Work of raising Christ from the dead for therein was manifested the exceeding greatness of his Power according to the working of the sâ—â—e when he raised Christ Ephes. 1. 19 20. The Party whom he raised was Jesus Christ whom he describes from his Relation to the Church to be the great Shepherd of the Sheep through the Blood of the everlasting Covenant Where we may observe 1. That there is the Blood of the everlasting Covenant 2. By or through this Blood Christ became the great Shepherd of the Sheep 3. God raised this great Shepherd from the dead 1. The Covenant is the Law and Covenant of Grace wherein God binds himself to sinful Man by excellent Promise upon the Conditions of Repentance and Faith to give him remission of all his Sins and everlasting Life Of this you have heard Chap. 8. This Covenant is everlasting because though the Covenant made with Israel in the Wilderness was abolished yet this is unalterable and shall continue for ever and by it and it alone the Called attain both the title and possession of the eternal Inheritance The Blood of this Covenant so called by Christ Mark 13. 22. Luke 22. 20. is the Blood of Christ which was shed as for other ends so for the confirmation of this Covenant And the Blood Death and Sacrifice of Christ confirmed the Covenant because it made it effectual and able to reach the end which was the eternal Salvation of sinful man For by this Blood being shed he satisfied divine Justice and made Sin remissible and merited the mercies promised the promises themselves the terms and conditions and power to perform them and by this Blood pleaded in Heaven upon the performance of the conditions he obtains actual Remission and in the end actual fruition of their eternal Inheritance The former Covenant with Israel was indeed confirmed with Blood of Sacrifices yet because that Blood could not expiate Sin and the Levitical High-Priest could not enter Heaven to plead any such expiatory Blood therefore that Covenant was not everlasting In respect of this Blood purging mens Consciences from dead Works Christ was made the Mediatour of the New Covenant of which you may see Chap. 9. 15. By this Blood therefore it is said That Christ is the great Shepheard of the Sheep For because Christ took upon him the form of a Servant and became obedient unto Death the Death of the Cross and shed his Blood therefore God exalted him and gave him a Name above every Name And therefore did his Father love him and made him an eternal Shepheard of the Sheep because he had laid down his life for his Sheep Joh. 10. 17. For this very cause his Father gave him Poâ—er over all Flesh that he might give eternal Life to as many as he had given him Joh. 17. 2. So that by this Blood he became the Shepheard the Great Shepheard For all the Prophets and the Apostles and Ministers of the Gospel are Shepheards yet so that they are but Servants under him the Sheep are not theirs but Christ's who bought them by his Blood And God raised him and made him Lord and the great and chief Shepheard of the Flock that he might keep them raise them up at the last Day and then give them everlasting life This Shepheard was raised by the mighty power of God who not only raised him From the Dead but made him King and Priest for ever that is the great and chief Shepheard This is more at large described Eph. 1. 19 20 21. to the end for that place doth expound this for one part For if we consider Christ in this place as the Object of God's almighty Power We may observe 1. His Humiliation 2. His Exaltation His Humiliation is signified by his Blood and Death whereby the new and everlasting Covenant is confirmed Thus humbled thus Dead he is the subject of God's almighty Power which did manifest it self 1. By raising him from the Dead 2. By making him the great Shepheard Lord and King advancing him above the Angels the Principalities Powers and Dominions of Heaven and all Names and Powers on Earth and gave him to be Head and Shepheard of the Church-Universal And the reason why the Apostle gives God these titles of Peace and Power and instanceth in the Resurrection and Exaltation of Christ as glorious Effects of this Power is because the continued sanctification and perfection of man once regenerate which is the thing desired in the Petition following depends
unto is To consider Christ the Apostle and High Priest of our Profession and to presevere in his Doctrine ver 1. 2. The Reasons by which he presseth the performance of this Duty are 1. Christ was not only faithful in his Trust as Moses was but also far greater then Moses in two respects For 1. Moses was but part in the House builded Christ was the Builder of all things and especially of the Church ver 3 4. 2. Moses was but a Servant in that House Christ was the Lord and Owner ver 5 6. 2. If they persevere in his Doctrine and the Faith they shall be his House of Glory wherein God shall for ever dwell and make them fully blessed ver 7. 3. If they that disobeyed and hardned their hearts against Mose's Doctrine fell in the Wilderness and by a peremprory Oath were shut out of God's Rest much more shall they disobeying the Gospel and falling from the Faith be shut out of God's eternal Rest in Heaven In this Reason we must consider 1. That it 's taken out of Psal. 95. the words whereof are recired ver 7 8 9 10 11. 2. That from these words applied unto them he dehorts them from Unbelief and Apostacy and exhorts them to use all means of perseverance that so he might be partakers of that eternal Rest which Christ had merited for them ver 12 13 14 15. 3. He wisheth them to take special notice of such as did and such as did not enter into God's Rest and what was the cause of the exclusion of those whom God destroyed in the Wilderness and would not suffer to enter into Canaan and that was Unbelief ver 16 17 18 19. CHAP. IV. VVHerein the Discourse upon the words of the Psalm is continued and application made by way of Exhortation And 1. The Duty exhorted unto is To be obedient and mix the word with Faith ver 1. 2. The Reasons are 1. They are partakers of the heavenly Call and the Gospel was preached unto Them as well as to their Fathers 2. They not mixing the Word with Faith but being disobedient to the heavenly Call did not enter but came short ver 2. 3. They which do believe do enter into God's Rest ver 3. And here lest they should be ignorant what Rest of God is meant and to be expected he informs them of a three-fold Rest of God 1. His Rest of Creation 2. His Rest which he promised in the Land of Canaan to their Fathers 3. His spiritual and eternal Rest promised in the Gospel It was not the first ver 3 4. For after this he speaketh of another Rest ver 5. It was not the second into which many of their Fathers because of unbelief did not enter and after this he limitteth another Time and Rest which had never been mentioned if Joshua who brought their Fathers into the Land of Canaan had brought them into This ver 6 7 8. It 's a spiritual and eternal Rest in Heaven which remaineth for the People of God and is to be enjoyed when they cease from all their works of Obedience and Sufferings as God did from his when he had finished the work of Creation ver 9 10. 4. If they do not persevere they may fall after the example of their unbelieving Ancestors and lest they should presume or be secure he lets them know that Christ by the piercing Word of the Gospel will discover their inward and most secret sins and will be a severe and impartial Judg ver 11 12 13. 5. The same great Prophet who hath called us by the Word of the Gospel is our High Priest very sensible of our infirmities and entred into Heaven the eternal Rest of God in our behalf and if we wanting strength do come boldly by him before the Throne of Grace we shall obtain help in due season when we have greatest need ver 14 15 16. CHAP. V. VVHerein after the discourse of the excellency of Christ's prophetical Office he begins to speak of his Priest-hood And 1. Delivers the Doctrine thereof from this Chapter to ver 19 of the 10th 2. Applies the same and continues the Application from the 19th verse of the 10th Chapter unto the latter end of the last The scope of the Apostle in the Doctrine is To demonstrate the excellency of Christ's Priest-hood in respect of 1. The Constitution from the beginning of this Chapter to the 8th 2. The Ministration from the beginning of the 8th to the middle of the 10th In this Chapter we have 1. A Discourse of Priest-hood 2. A Digression begun in the latter end of this Chapter and continued in the 6th 1. The Discourse is 1. Concerning a Priest in general 2. Concerning Aaron 3. Concerning Christ. 1. An High Priest in general is described 1. From his Vocation He is taken from amongst men and ordained ver 1. 2. From his Ministration He must offer Gifts and Sacrifices for sins Ibid. 3. From his Qualification He must be merciful and compassionate ver 2 3. 2. Vocation which consists in Election and Ordination is not from Man but God for no Priest-hood can be efficiently conducing to Man's spiritual good except it be instituted from Heaven as Aaron's was ver 4. 3. Therefore Christ did not usurp his Sacerdotall Power but he had his Vocation Confirmation Consecration from God 1. His Vocation he finds Psal. 2. in these words Thou art my Son this day have I begotten thee by which upon his Resurrection he was made and constituted King and Priest ver 5. 2. His Confirmation he reads Psal. 110. 4. I have sworn and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedec ver 6. 3. His Consecration which tended to his fuller Constitution was finished in his Agony and Death upon the Cross by which he became the Author of eternal Life to as many as obey him ver 7 8 9. Thus far the Author's Discourse of Priest-hood which is closed up with the Repetition of the words of Confirmation 1. Because the Confirmation followed the Consecration 2. From the same the Apostle takes occasion to make the Digression which followeth And therein he reproves them of their Ignorance contracted by their negligence which was such that whereas for the time they might have been more and apt to able teach others yet were Babes had need to be taught again the first Principles and were uncaple of the Doctrine which he intended to deliver concerning the Priest-hood of Christ ver 11 12 13 14. CHAP. VI. VVHerein 1. The Digression is continued 2. The principal Subject resumed ver 20. In the Digression we have 1. His Resolution 2. An Exhortation In the Resolution 1. The Thing Resolved upon 2. The Reasons of his Resolution The thing resolved upon is expressed 1. Negatively Not to go back and lay the Foundation 2. Affirmatively To go on with his intended Discourse ver 1 2 3. The Reasons are 1. If any of them after a clear conviction and considerable
8. 17 18 verses where we have in the Septuagint the very words here used and alledged of the Apostle In that part of the Chapter we have a clear prophecy of Christ fulfilled in the time of his abode on Earth and before his ascent into Heaven There is a plain prediction of Christ's Incarnation and living amongst men and of his Disciples who did believe on him as also of the unbelief of the greatest part of the Jews of their rejection of Christ and of God's rejection of them and the destruction of Jerusalem And Christ is brought in saying And I will wait upon â—â— for the Lord that hideth or turneth his Face from the House of Jacob and I will trust in him as in the Septuagint Behold I and the Children which God hath given me These words are to be understood of him as one with his Disciples and man as they were men And in that Chapter we find some passages directly agreeing with the words of Simons which he spake after that he being in the Temple had received Christ being then Incarnate and an infant into his arms So that to understand the Apostle and the Prophet too we must not so must stand upon the words in themselves severed from the rest but joyntly with the context of the Chapter speaking of Immanuel that is Christ Incarnate § 16. In ver 11 he had said That both he that sanctifieth and they that are saâ—ctified are of one and in these words he assumes but the sanctified are parâ—akers of Flesh and Blood and so concludes that he must have Flesh and Blood and therefore saith He likewise took part with them And those which he called The sanctified by him ver 11. Here he names Children according to the words of the Prophet and these were Disciples and such as believed in him And it 's to be observed 1. That to be of one is to be Flesh and Blood and so man 2. That there is a two-fold union of Christ with Mâ—nsâ— The first by his Incarnation And the second by his actual Sanctification In the first respect he is one with all mankind as they are men and the Head of the whole body of them In the second respect he is one in a special manner with his Elect. By him â—â— man and dying for man all men receive this benefit to to be savable which Angels sinning do not By him as man dying and believed upon all such as do believe are actually sanctified and in the end saved And He and the Sanctified which are the Church are one in a special manner yet because to take part with the Children and be man was not sufficient except he dyed for them that by his Death he might be beneficial unto them therefore it 's added That he took part with them that he might destroy him that had the power of Death which is the Devil Where we may observe two things 1. That the Devil hath the power of Death 2. That Christ by Death destroyed him The first is implyed The second is expressed The word Devil is to be understood collectively for the Devils but in a special manner for the Prince of Devils who is said to be a Lyar and a Murderer Joh. 8. 44. because by his lyes he deceived our first Parents inducing them to Sin whereby they were made liable to Death For by his Temptations and false Suggestions he insinuateth into man and infuseth his poyson into their Soul Man yielding unto his Temptations falls into his hands and comes under his Power so that he hath dominion over him reigns in him blinds him perverts him inclines him effectually to sin and by sin stings him to Death And because he hath so great power to draw man into sin he may be said to have the Power of Death because by this means he makes man more and more obnoxious to Death which so unavoidably by the Law follows upon Sin yet he may be said to have the power of Death as a Jaylour Hangman or Executioner may be said to have such a power and God in his just Judgment may deliver disobedient man into his hand and by him execute his punishments as some understand the place and by divine permission he may have great strength to torment and destroy man Otherwise he can have no right unto Man to judg condemn him punish as being his Lord and Judg For that belongs only unto God who if man yield unto Satan may deliver him into his hand and he may detain him as his Captive The Scripture speaks much of the power of Satan over man till God deliver him out of his hand and this power can be no power of Life but of Death and Destruction This is the first thing implyed the second is That Christ by his Death destroyed him He destroyed him he destroyed him by his Death To destroy him is not to take away his immortal Life and Being but to take away his power or strength For the word is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For the power of an Enemy over a Captive is not a legal and regular power and authority This strength and force and also right unto man as his Captive Christ took away by his Death For by his Death he satisfied God's Justice and merited a power and right to him as having by a lutron or price payed to the supream Lord and Owner bought him So that upon this price and ransome paid and accepted man became his and the Devil had only the possession of him though Christ had the right unto him and the propriety in him Therefore Christ in his prayer doth acknowledg that his Father had given power over all Flesh that he should give eternal life to as many as he had given him Again by this Death Christ made Death removable because by it he made man's sin remissible Bacon Thorpe tells us that the Devil by putting Christ being innocent to Death lost all his power over man because he had no Commission from God to put any person innocent and free from all sin unto Death yet for this he brings no clear Scripture though this be certain that God gave all men to Christ because he dyed for them This Death aimed at a further end then the destruction of the Devil as having the power of Death Christ indeed came to destroy the works of the Devil 1 Joh. 3. 8. and though the Devil at the first as a strong man keeps peaceable possession yet Christ is that stronger man who takes away his power disarms him takes possession and all this is done to deliver man out of his hands For 1. Christ must be lower then the Angels and mortal Man that he may dy 2. He must dy that he may destroy the power of the Devil 3. He must destroy the power of the Devil that man may be delivered from the danger of Death Man cannot be delivered except the power of the Devil be destroyed this
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
in his prayers and most earnestly deprecare the Wrath of God as his Saviour did The sense of sin will break the stoniest heart and quicken our Prayers cause cryes and tears But we neither consider the grievousnesse of our sins nor the bitternesse of our Saviour's Passion therefore our Prayers are cold and weak and mercy stands afar off and pardon comes not near us 3. These Prayers were made and directed to God as One that was able to save him from Death All Petitions made to any Person either unable or unwilling to do that which is desired are in vain might and mercy power and goodness are necessarily required in him to whom Prayers which shall in the issue prove effectual are to be offered And because none but God is absolutely Powerfull and Good Almighty and Almerciful therefore to him alone as Supream Lord all Prayers are to be made as to the prime Authour and principal efficient of all Blessings and Mercies To addresse our selves in this manner to any other is flat Idolatry and a breach of the first and great Command None can deliver from Death but only He. Therefore Christ offered his Prayers and Supplications to Him as able to save from Death and this ability to save in greatest dangers was the ground of his confidence God was able to save from Death either by prevention and not suffering him to dy or if he suffered Death by raising him up again and restoring life once taken away and lost The latter he did the former he denied to do yet by Death in this place may be meant some other thing then loss of this mortal and temporal Life for in Scripture it signifies all kind of evils Man or Angel is subject unto and in this place something which he feared prayed against and was freed from by God his heavenly Father supporting him so that he did not sink under the heavy burden laid upon him He endured all with patience and willingness of mind and was not overcome or overwhelmed He suffered something far more terrible then all bodily pains and that Death which is only a separation of Soul and Body and this was violent temptation for he was tempted more violently then ever any was yet he never yielded the least but continued firm faithful obedient unto his heavenly Father in the midst of his greatest conflicts That which upheld him was the power of his Father and that which obtained the victory was his support obtained by his fervent Prayers For 4. His Prayers and Supplications were effectual he was heard in that he feared To be heard in the Hebrew is by a Metonymy sometimes to have our prayers granted and the thing requested done And to be heard when we pray for deliverance is to be delivered saved holpen This might be made manifest out of many places of the Old Testament translated by the Septuagint Two of them Heinsius observes as 2 Chron. 18. 31. where it 's written That Jehoshaphat cryed out and the Lord helped him so the Hebrew heard him so the Septuagint And Psal. 56. 16. As for me I will call upon God and the Lord will save me so the Hebrew hath heard me so the Greek So that for Christ to be heard was for Christ to be delivered But what was he delivered from certainly not from Death so as not to suffer it for he dyed but from something he seared For the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which properly signifyeth fear Metonymically in this place signifies the thing feared which was the object and cause of his fear This word is once used by the Septuagint for so they translate the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Josh. 22. 24. But what did Christ fear Death No not bodily Death but such a Death as he suffered wherein he was so fearfully tempted For if God had deserted him wholly as he did in part and not have supported him he as man might have been overcome have sunk under the burden in distrust or dispair or impatience This he feared more then ten thousand Deaths of his Body and so to do was his holiness and though he knew his Father would support him yet he must offer vehement Prayers and be put hard unto it before he did obtain it Thus though he knew he must dy yet he defired vehemently that the Cup of his Passion if it were possible might passe and be omitted God began to hear him when he sent an Angel from Heaven to comfort him but then he heard fully when he had supported him to the end of his Passion so that he commended his Soul unspotted and victorious into his Fathers hand and made haste unto that Paradise into which no unclean thing shall ever enter When all was done and suffered the Devil found nothing in him could not charge him with the least Sin This was the efficacy of his Prayers which he offered for himself as different from all others that ever were made in his extremity whereby he learned to pity others in their temptations and necessities For an High-Priest must offer for himself as well as for others because he is compassed with infirmities So Christ though he had no Sin yet had infirmities and was tempted and had need to pray for himself as well as for his People and Ver. 8. Though he were a Son yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered VVHere we may observe two things and two propositions Two things 1. His eminent Dignity he was a Son 2. His obedience Two propositions 1. He was a Son 2. Though a Son yet he learned obedience by the things â—he Suffered 1. He was a Son the Son of God and in a more excellent manner then any either Man or Angel was or could be He was as the Word the Son of God so as that he was God and as Flesh and Man he was assumed by the Word and conceived by the holy Spirit in the Virgin 's Womb yet so that there were not two Sons but one the Word made Flesh and as such a Son he was nearer God then any other Heir of all things Lord of Men and Angels and the only-begotten Son of God Yet 2. Though a Son yet learned he obedience For though as a Son he was very high yet he humbled himself very low and took upon him the form of a Servant and in that form became obedient unto Death the Death of the Cross which was the Death of a Servant as he was sold for thirty pence the ordinary price of a Servant and Slave His obedience presupposed his subjection as Flesh unto his heavenly Father as his Supream Lord and a Command not only to Do but to Suffer even the Death of the Crosse and this was the highest greatest and hardest command to dye such a Death for the Sin of Man This command above all others he learned to obey He learned this hard Lesson not only to know it but chiefly to do it not meerly by speculation but real
Hell to our best friends to the end they may hate the one and escape the other Thus God doth in the Scriptures thus Christ often doth in his heavenly Sermons and useth this as a means to prevent their Damnation and promote their Salvation So that his former discourse was consistent both with Christian Charity and his good perswasion of them I am perswaded better things of you and such as accompany Salvation These words imply 1. That there were good things in them 2. He was perswaded of this The good things which in comparison of the former barrenness or fruitfulness in bringing forth briars and thorns and cursing and burning were better were 1. Their Qualification 2. Their Condition And they were better not because the other was good for they were not but very evil but because they were very good as the other were very bad This is a special kind of Phrase and Expression yet in some Languages ordinary yet it 's improper though elegant Some would call it a Mâ—iosis which is when more is meant than is expressed and so it 's reducible to a Synâ—chdochs Their qualification was from some heavenly vertues which did manifest themselvs in their practice their Condition was that of Salvation They were in the state of Salvation for their vertues were such as that by divine Ordination and Promise there was an inseparable Connexion between Salvation and them For Salvation and divine Graces go together in one Company the Graces go before Salvation follows after yet so that the Graces take hold of Salvation as the word in the Original signifies For such Christians as these Hebrews were have a present Right by Faith evidenced by the Works of Charity unto eternal life and Hope takes hold of it But what these vertues were we shall know from the next Verse 2. That these better things were in them the Apostle was perswaded that is he did not deny them no nor doubt of them but was confident of their good Qualification and Disposition § 10. Yet if a man be confident of another man's sincere Christianity he must have some ground sufficient for his confidence otherwise it 's vain and irrational Therefore he gives us the ground Ver. 10. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of Love c. The ground of his confidence concerning 1. Their qualification was his Knowledge of their Divine and Christian virtues 2. Concerning their condition was his Knowledg of God's Righteousness In the first we may observe 1. Their virtues 2. The manifestation of them so as that he might know them The virtues were Faith and Love Faith in Christ Love of the Saints Their Love is expresly mentioned your labour of Love their Faith is implied in that it was toward his Name There were other virtues for these could not be alone as their Patience in suffering of Afflictions for Christ's sake and that with joy and their hope of Glory Chap. 10. 34. The manifestation of these was in their work and labour in continuing to minister unto the Saints whereof he had certain Knowledge Here we are informed that Love will be working and labouring and ever bringing forth fruit and that is not real and sincere Love which is not such Therefore another Apostle exhorts us not to love onely in tongue but in truth and in deed 1 John 3. 18. And what it is to love in truth and indeed is signified in the 16th and 17th Verses going before it 's to give the lives of our bodies for them and relieve them with our goods it's a dying and giving Love And happy they which find this heavenly fire burning in their Souls But in most men though professed Christians we either find no Love or if any it 's but cold it will neither take pains nor be at Charge much less hazard life for the Brethren as Christ gave his life for us This love was fixed upon the suffering Saints who were persecuted for Christ's sake they were the speciall Object of it and this did argue their Love to God and their Faith in Christ without which this love could not have been truly Christian Therefore the Apostle joyns Faith in Christ and Love to all the Saints together Col. 1. 4. By all which we may understand that there is a Connexion of divine vertues For where one is in sincerity there all the rest are they cannot be seperated This work and labour in particular was their Ministration to the Saints Where we must enquire 1. What this Ministration is 2. To whom they did minister 3. How long they did minister 1. This Ministration was a work of Faith and Love whereby they used all just and effectual means in their power to preserve maintain comfort deliver the Saints persecuted and suffering 2. These Saints were Christians which suffered banishment imprisonment loss of Goods and other earthly Comforts for the Profession of their Faith in Christ. And by this Suffering were they known to be Saints Therefore this Love was not meerly natural nor meerly Moral but truly Christian Love and so denominated from the parties that loved who are such as that we are bound to love them above others and this Love is that whereby we may know that we are passed from Death to Life 3. The continuance of this Love was that they had ministred formerly in time past and now for the time present they continued this Work of Love for Christian Love is an immortal fire it will still burn and never dy This Ministration was a great evidence of their good Qualification and a good and firm ground of the Apostle's perswasion The ground of his perswasion concerning their good condition was the Knowledge of God's Righteousness For God is not unrighteous to forget your Work and Labour of Love This Proposition is Negative and includes the Affirmative which is That God is fighteous and will remember their Christian Faith Love and good Works And it 's delivered Negatively to signify the infallible certain truth of the Affirmative for in this Case the Negative is more peremptory and emphatical The ground it self is thus expressed his Knowledge of it is implyed But let 's consider 1. What it is for God here to forget or remember 2. What it is for him to be righteous or not unrighteous 1. God can forget nothing at any time but alwayes remembers all things and the reason of this is the perfection of his Knowledge which is infinite as he himself is Therefore to forget in this place is not to take notice of their vertues and actions so as to recompense them To remember is so to regard them as to render a Reward To reward is an Act of God as a Supream Judge The Righteousness of God is his distributive Justice and faithfulness in performing his Promise in judging according to his Law And this rewarding of his loyal and obedient Subjects is a proper Act of his judicial Justice for God is the universal Judge and is
alwayes upon the Bench and in the end will pass final â—â—â—tence upon all Men and Angels This seems to be understood of that final Doom in which eternal Punishments and Rewards shall be determined This could be no ground of his perswasion except he knew it and he knew this Judgment in generall as he knew the Gospel that is infallibly and by divine Revelation But that they should be eternally rewarded in particular he understood so far as he was certain of their Works So that the ground of his perswasion was this that he knew God was not unrighteous to forget their vertues and good works § 11. In this part and passage of Scripture divers things are remarkable 1. Real Love to God's persecuted Saints is a great evidence of sincere Christianity Therefore saith the divine Apostle By this we know that we are passed from Death to Life because we love the Brethren 1 Joh. 3. 14. 2. Where there is sincere Christianity it will manifest it self by good Works for as a good tree manifests its Goodness by its fruits so doth Faith and inward sincere Christianity 3. To whomsoever this Christianity is thus manifested in any persons they ought to love them and be well perswaded of their happy condition and state of Salvation 4. They that are thus perswaded ought to signify their Love and good Opinion of them as occasion shall require For by this they may prevent suspicions quiet their minds encourage and comfort them 5. There are certain divine Vertues and good Works which have an inseparable connexion with Salvation and eternal Life and which God will not forget 6. This inseparable Connexion is not necessary as from the Vertues and the Works as though they did merit Salvation or necessitate God to reward them 7. It is from God's Righteousness and Promise with respect had to Christ's merit and the qualification of the parties 8. As there are some Persons hardned and delivered up unto a reprobate mind and some sins committed in this life and sometimes long before death which are irremissible so there are certain Vertues and good Works found in Christians that in this life whereupon they are put in a state of Confirmation 9. This state of Confirmation infallibly prevents though not all sins yet final and total Apostacy 10. This state of Confirmation doth depend upon God's Righteousness and faithfulness not upon the Excellency of the Vertues and good Works 11. If such as be endued with these Vertues have done these Works should fall away totally and finally then they should never be rewarded 12. If they should never be rewarded but forgotten God should be unrighteous and unfaithful which to imagine is a bominable 13. Therefore God hath made some Promise whereby he hath bound himself certainly to support such as attain to this Qualification that so they may be eternally rewarded God may be said to be righteous three wayes 1. In respect of strict Justice 2. Of bounty and free beneficence 3. Of Promise First He may be said to be strictly just when he rewardeth Man according to his perfect Obedience yet no Obedience though never so perfect can bind him to reward Man or Angel 2. He is just by way of bounty when he rewards Man capable of Reward and worthy though not in respect of his perfect Righteousness in himself yet because he is some wayes righteous in respect of others who are unrighteous Thus Righteousness is often taken in Scripture therefore it 's written that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble his persecuted Saints and to his Saints troubled Rest with the Apostles 2 Thes. 1. 6 7. And Righteousness for this reason somtimes signifies Metonymically the great Reward of eternal life as Seek ye the Kingdom of God and his Righteousnesse first of all Mat. 6. 33. So Psal. 24. 5. Isa. 51. 5. The third Righteousness is in the performance of his Promise for though his Promise be free yet if it be once made Justice doth require it and God is not free but bound to perform it and if he should not perform he should be unjust which he cannot be This is the Righteousness here meant If any reply against this Doctrine and alledge the words of God saying that when the righteous turneth away from his Righteousness his Righteousness shall not be mentioned unto him he shall dy Ezrk. 18. 24. The Answer is 1. That the place speaketh of Legal Righteousness and Legal Repentance and Legal Life and Death according to the Covenant maâ—â— with their fathers in the Wilderness 2. Yet there is a Righteousness and a certaindegree thereof and that under the Gospel from which Christians may fall finally and totally To understand both these we must observe 1. That no good Works can expiate Sins either antecedent or consequent to them for there is no expiating Power in them at all neither doth any Laws that require constant Obedience allow that latter vertuous Acts should satisfy for former Crimes nor former good Deeds though excellent take away the guilt of future Offences 2. There was a Legal Righteousness required in the Covenant made between God and Israel before Mount Sinai and it consisted in the Obedience of the Moral Judicial Ceremonial Laws of Moses which did prevent God's temporall Judgments and was a means whereby they obtained and enjoyed God's Protection Safety Peace Plenty and many a Blessing in the good Land of Canaan This is evident out of Levit. 26. and many places of Deuteronomy and in particular out of the 28th Chapter and so out of many Passages which we read in the Books of the Prophets As there is a Legal Obedience so there is a Legal Repentance upon which followed deliverance from temporal Judgments of Sword Famine Captivity and the Curses threatned in the Law So we find Levit. 26 40 41 42 c. and Deut. 30. 1,2,3 c. But that Righteousness whereby they obtained eternal Peace and that Repentance whereby they were freed from eternal Punishments did depend upon that Promise of the blessed Seed made to Abraham That there was such a Righteousness in them under the Law from which they might fall and though they did not fall yet by it they could not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven appears by that young Man who came to Christ to know what he should do to inherit eternal Life Matth. 19. 16 17 18 c. and by Paul who touching the Righteousness of the Law was blameless Phil. 3. 6. There is also a Righteousness and Repentance according to the Law and Light of Nature according to which men are blessed or delivered temporally But the Righteousness and the state thereof which is here intended is far higher It presupposeth both Moral and Legal Righteousness and Repentance for the Substance of it yet is more 3. Of this Righteousness under the Gospel is found in many such a degree as they may fall from it and that totally and finally
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
Supream Judge by him prove most effectual In that place it 's observable that he offers only the prayers of Saints and in another place he makes Intercession only for the Apostles and such as by their word should believe in him Joh. 17. 9 20. Saints and Believers are they who come to God by him And this is our Duty 1. To come to God and him alone for remission and eternal Salvation for they are found in him and in him alone and no where else 2. We must come to him by Christ as our only Propitiatour and Intercessour who alone can and will effectually plead our cause and make it good And as this is our Duty so upon the performance of it this will be the comfort of all penitent Sinners who groan under the heavy burden of their Sins and sigh and long and pray for Salvation 1. That Christ will certainly plead for them and by his Intercession obtain their everlasting Salvation And why should poor believing Sinners quake and tremble at the Bar of God seeing Christ doth plead their Cause which is more then if all Saints and Angels and the blessed Virgin the Mother of our Saviour should pray for him And why should be fear the Tryal or upon the Tryal Damnation or eternal Death For who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's Elect It is God that justifirth Who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is even at the right hand of God who also maketh Intercession for us Rom. 8. 33 34. It was expedient as he said to his Disciples That Christ should go away and that to his Father's House that as a Priest and Advocate he might be ever ready in that Court of Heaven to plead our Cause His presence and his perpetual Intercession there is far more beneficial to us then his bodily presence here on Earth it 's not only beneficial but necessary For when we have sinned what should we do if we had not him our righteous Advocate and Propitiatour with his Father we were redeemed indeed by his Death but we are saved and justified by his Life because he ever liveth to make Intercession for us and will fully and for ever save us For because he is a perpetual and effectual Intercessour therefore he is so able fully and for ever to save even all that come to God by him and this is a clear proof of his excellency above the Levitical Priest § 27. Now the Apostle seems to have finished his Discourse upon that excellent Text I have sworn and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedec Psal. 110. 4. and to conclude in these words following Ver. 26 27. For such an High-Priest became us who is holy harmless undefiled seperate from Sinners and made higher then the Heavens Who needeth not c. VVHich words may be handled 1. Absolutely in themselves 2. Considered in their connexion and reference to the former But I will begin with the coherence and connexion which is difficult to be known as appeareth by the different â—pinion of Expositors upon the place For some think it 's a Conclusion and as it is the last part and close of the Chapter it may be so called for in this sense the word is sometimes taken yet this is no proposition inferred from former premises Others conceive that the Apostle proceeds by other Arguments to prove the superexcellency of Christ and this is true for so he doth Others imagine that these words give a reason why there must be such a Priest as lives for ever to make Intercession for us for such a Priest became us and none other would serve our turn Others judge a reason to be given here why the Intercession of Christ was so powerful and that is from his excellent qualification and his pure unspotted Sacrifice And it 's very certain that his Intercession had not been so effectual without this qualification of the person and the excellency of his Sacrifice Though all these things may be true yet something is to be observed and upon serious condesiration we shall find that the Apostle hath not done with his Text in the Psalmist but hath something more to say upon it and that he doth in these words It was well observed by the Rhemists that the Apostle scanneth every word of Psalm 110. 4. And there was one word more to be further examined For we have heard 1. Of Melchizedec 2. Of another Priest after his Order to arise after the Levitical Priest 3. That he is a Priest for ever 4. That he is made by Oath a Priest immortal and living for ever Yet in all this here is no mention of the person who he is that is thus made not what his qualification was nor of the time when he was thus made and why he was so confirmed But in these words he satisfices us in all these particulars as is implyed and presupposed in that very Psalm 1. The party was David's Lord For the Lord said unto my Lord ver 1. Who was above David not only because of his union with the Word but because he was advanced to far higher dignity and invested with far greater power and was the Son of God who lives for ever 2. His qualification was excellent For he was holy harmless undesiled and separate from Sinners 3. The time when he was thus made High-Priest for ever and that by Oath was after that he had offered one Sacrifice not many for the People not for himself once not often of everlasting virtue not effectual for some petty expiation for a time and after he was risen ascended and set at the right hand of God 4. The reason why he was thus made such a Priest was not only his excellent qualification and his immortality upon his Resurrection but because he had offered up himself without spot unto God That this is the intention of the Apostle will appear by the last words of the Chapter But to enter upon the words Ver. 26. For such an High-Priest became us who is holy harmless undesiled separate from Sinners and made higher then the Heavens IT may be truly said with Junius That in these words with those in the verse following Christ is circumscribed or described 1. From his Person 2. From his Ministry For his Person he had all the perfections of a Priest for his Service he was entred the holy place of Heaven to plead his excellent Sacrifice for all his Saints For his Perfections He was holy harmless undefiled separate from Sinners These are perfections which were required in the Levitical High-Priest so far as humane frailty was capable But they agreed to Christ exactly and in a far higher degree then they did agree unto any even the best of them And though the words may signify several qualities different at lest in respect yet they make but one perfect qualification of this Priest who was holy as Man
in his Conception Birth Life Death as innocent and harmless as the new born Child never tainted or stained with the lest Sin and so separate from Sinners that though he did converse with them to convert them yet he was far from being drawn to sin by them or partaker of sin with them or any wayes guilty by his presence amongst them All these do signify that he was both habitually and actually more virtuous and righteous then ever any was and far more free from any vicious quality habit act then any Priest on Earth or Angel in Heaven ever was and therefore was the fittest of all others to be a Priest as being more like and nearer unto God then ever any other In this respect he was more fit then any to draw nearer unto God as one that had the greatest interest in him And therefore He was made higher then the Heavens For he ascended far above all Heavens where he ever liveth and keeps his Residence and being entred into that holy and glorious Sanctuary he was made King to Reign and by Oath confirmed an everlasting Priest to officiate there and make his great Sacrifice effectual and actually beneficial to all true Believers And God advanced him not only above the highest place but above all the Angels and Inhabitants of that glorious Palace His work in this Temple is to make Intercession not to Sacrifice for Ver. 27. He needed not daily as those High-Priests to offer Sacrifice first for his own sins and then for the People's for this he did once when he offered up himself THis Text though here brought in upon the By and handled of purpose and more at large Chap. 9. 10. is concerning one of his chiefest Services which was his great Sacrifice wherein he far excelled all the Levitical Priests in severall respects for in this 1. He offered Himself whereas they offered Bullocks and Goats 2. He offered not for his own but the Peoples sins but they offered first for their own then the Peoples sins 3. He offered but once they daily and often Therefore is it said That this man Christ after he had offered one Sacrifice for sins for ever sate down at the right hand of God From henceforth expecting till his Enemies be made his Foot-stool Chap. 10. 12 13. Where it 's observable That this Sacrifice was of that eternal efficacy as that he needed not to offer any more but only to enter into the Sacrary of Heaven and make Intercession and plead this Sacrifice for every penitent and believing Sinner And these words are added to the former That he was holy harmless undefiled and separate from Sinners made higher then the Heavens 1. To signifie that the reason why this Sacrifice was of so great virtue was because the Priest was so holy and devoid of sin that he had no need to offer for himself as not having any infirmity which the best of the former Priests had 2. To shew why upon this offered he was advanced above the Heavens 3. To manifest the time when he was by Oath confirmed a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchizedec and that was after he had offered this Sacrifice and was set at the right hand of God in the highest Heavens In these words we may note 1. His excellent qualification whereby he was free from all sin 2. His pure unspotted Sacrifice and offering of himself 3. His exaltation above the Heavens upon the same so that he had no need to offer any Sacrifice again And these things were so ordered of God that one should be subordinate to another the first to the second and that to the third For without this qualification he could not have offered so perfect a Sacrifice without this Sacrifice thus offered he could not have entred the Sanctuary of Heaven neither could his Intercession have been so powerful to save No God did not swear unto him and by Oath make him a Priest for ever but as so qualified and as by vertue of that qualification having offered so perfect a Sacrifice and as by virtue of this Sacrifice having entred Heaven This man and thus considered was he who by the Oath of the everlasting God was made an everlasting Priest And in the Text we might as formerly observe 1. The similitude 2. The dissimilitude and difference 3. The superexcellency 1. The similitude they were Priests Christ was a Priest they offered Sacrifice Christ offered Sacrifice 2. The dissimilitude they were many he but one they offered often he but once they offered Buls and Goats and other things he himself they offered for themselves and the People he offered not for himself as having no infirmity but only for the People 3. The superexcellency of Christ above them especially in two things 1. That he needed not offer for himself as being without sin 2. He needed not to offer often for the People but only once and by that one Sacrifice once offered he did infinitely far more then they did or could do by their daily offerings This superexcellency also did appear both in his perfect qualification and his exaltation above the Heavens These things are so plain in these Enthymatical words that there is no need to reduce them to the precise form of a Syllogism or Syllogisms according to the rules of Logick The first words of these two verses 26 27. which are handled last are these For such an High-Priest became us wherein we must consider 1. What such an High-Priest is 2. How and in what sense he is said to become us 1. Such an High-Priest is one who is described from 1. His Qualification 2. His one perfect Sacrifice 3. His being made higher then the Heavens For 1. He must be pure and holy without any sin or else he cannot offer a pure unspotted Sacrifice which being offered is able to purge the Conscience and expiate the sins of the People for ever 2. If he do not offer such a Sacrifice he cannot enter into the holy place of Heaven as the High-Priest without Blood could not enter the earthly Sanctuary 3. Except he enter Heaven he cannot be ready there to make Intercession for us 2. Such a Priest doth become us To become is 1. To be sit suitable convenient 2. To be useful and profitable 3. Sometimes to be necessary All these significations are here intended But to whom is he so convenient profitable necessary even to us To understand this we must consider what our condition is It 's sinful miserable for we are guilty polluted with sin liable to Death have no access to God and at a great distance from eternal Life and that which is worst of all we are sensless of this sad condition and if we once know it we are hopeless helpless We cannot propitiate God or sanctify our selves or come near the Throne of God's Justice and except we find one that is fit to mediate and deal with God in our behalf we perish utterly and for ever For our
in Christ which performed Remission which the Law did neither promise nor could give will certainly follow And before I conclude this part I will inform you 1. That Remission of Sins and Justification are the same 2. That there is no Justification but by the Blood of Christ. 3. That no man is justifiable by the Blood of Christ but upon his Faith 4. That this Remission and Justification takes away from the party justified all the sad and woful Consequents of Sin 5. That God never justifies any but in justifying he sanctifies him and doth not onely free him from the Guilt of Sin past but from the Power and Dominion of Sin so as to preserve Man from Sin for time to come The Imperfection and Corruption of Man which followed upon the first Sin is one of the greatest Punishments that Man can suffer and be liable to and to remove this Punishment is one part of our Justification 6. In this Remission is included Reconciliation Adoption and all those Blessings which tend to everlasting Salvation 7. Though upon our first Conversion and our first true and lively Faith we enter into the state of Justification which frees us from the eternal penalty yet we are not perfect in this state till all Sins even the last be pardoned and all Punishments fully and for ever prevented and removed which will not be before the Resurrection Thus you have heard the words of the Prophet alledged by the Apostle explained Now we must consider what they prove and being the words of God they must needs prove strongly and the thing proved is That the Covenant whereof Christ is Mediator is established upon far better Promises than the former Covenant with the Fathers was § 15. The Apostle by the words of the Prophet hath proved that the Covenant whereof Christ was Mediator was a better Covenant because established upon better Promises Yet though this was sufficient he proceeds further out of the same Text to prove the abrogation of the former Covenant whereof the Levitical Priest was Mediator and that in this manner Ver. 13. In that he saith a new Covenant he hath made the first old Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away THE Subject of these words is the Old Covenant made with the Fathers and they inform us of two things 1. The Abrogation 2. The total Abolition of it 1. The Abrogation It 's made old 2. The total Abolition It being made old is near vanishing and Abolition The Abrogation he proves from these words of the Lord by the Prophet I will make a new Covenant If God make a new Covenant then he abrogates the old But he makes a new Covenant Therefore he abrogates the old To understand the force of this Argument let 's enquire into the meaning of the words 1. To make old in this place must be to abrogate for as old things lose their Power Strength and Vigour so the Covenant being made old loseth it's binding force which is the very Essence of a Law from which the vigour and the vertue of it as a Law doth issue Hence that Phrase to antiquate a Law which is the same with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to take away the Authority of a Law And this is the genuine sense of the word in this place 2. It may be doubted whether the making a new Covenant or Law doth antiquate the former Law and Covenant for the making of a new doth not alwayes take away the old but sometimes confirm it Therefore you must know That for God to make a new Covenant is to make such a Covenant as is different from and inconsistent with the former â—ay to make it so as by it to take away the former as useless needless and imperfect Such and so made is this new Covenant and the former doth lose all force two wayes 1. By Expiration for it was intended to continue untill the latter was made and upon the making thereof it became out of Date 2. By another Law and Covenant which could not stand with it but must needs destroy it These words thus understood do necessarily infer the Antiquation of the former Covenant and the inference is evident in the light of Nature and needs no further Confirmation The Argument That God will make a new Covenant we find in the express words of the Prophet's Text. This is the Abrogation The total Abolition which follows upon this Abrogation is expressed in this Proposition That which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish Where to decay and wax old are but Synonymal and signify the utter Abrogation of a Law and Covenant in general of this Covenant with the Fathers in particular That which is thus antiquated is said to be nigh or ready to vanish or disappear and as it were to lose its Being The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 turned Vanishing is used oft by the Septâ—â—gint as a Verbal to signify destruction and desolation and the Verb whence it 's derived signifies to ruine destroy Persons Cities Countries so as to take away their Being and Existence And this Expression may intimate thus much that as things after they become old and have lost their strength and vigot may retain some kind of imperfect Being for a time and moulder away by little and little till they vanish and totally perish so the Law once abrogated may continue though in no force for a while and by little and little decay till it totally cease § 16. This is the Explication of the Text which may be further cleared and made more evident if we examine the time of the Abrogation and Abâ—lition It was not abrogated in the dayes of the Prophet Jâ—remiah by whom God revealed the making of the new Covenant and the tenour and substance of it for it continued in force for many years after even untill the exhibition of Christ. Neither was it abrogated upon his Birth or Baptism but upon his Death which unhinged the Law and so virtually nul'd this Covenant Yet it was not actually abrogated but upon the Promulgation of the Gospel for then the force of it was taken away and no baptized Christian was bound to observe it yet there were many attempts made that by some who professed Christianity to continue iâ— in power Hence that great Controversy raised in the famous Church of Antiocâ— in Syria which occasioned the great Synod at Jerusalem mentioned Act. 15. where it was unanimously determined that it was abrogated therefore they would not impose it upon the Gentiles And though after that they suffered some believing Jews to observe it in some particulars as a thing indifferent yet the Apostle in his Epistle to the Galatians doth clearly demonstrate that whosoever should observe it as necessary and so binding as that Christ could not save them without ' it they were fallen from Grace and went about to make void the Gospel By all which it 's evident that the new Covenant of the Gospel was
Oblatio the death of the thing Sacrificed and the offering of it to God and the blood must not only be shed but in the Law it must be sprinkled either upon the horns of the Altar without or upon and before the Mercy-seat within the second Vail The blood being shed was the death of the thing Sacrificed and the sprinkling of it upon the Altar or the Mercy-seat was the presenting it to God These both did signify that life must go for life and the blood wherein is the life must be presented to God as Supream Judge and accepted of him before the work of Sacrificing could be finished and made efficacious Therefore Christ's Sacrifice could not be compleated except he be not only slain on Earth but present himself as slain before the Mercy-seat of God in Heaven and both the suffering and offering must be with Incense and Prayer requesting eternal Redemption Whether he did miraculously take some or all his blood shed as some conceit into Heaven is not necessary to be believed except it be evident out of Scripture unto us that he did so Some Socinians affirm and inferr from hence that Christ was not a Priest till he entred Heaven because though his Suffering was on Earth yet his Offering was in Heaven But this is ridiculous and not worth the answering For though this work of Sacrificing was not finished before he entred Heaven yet it doth not follow that he was no Priest before that time because this great Sacrifice was not finished For Aarou must be a Priest before he can minister in the Tabernacle much more before he enter into the inner Sanctuary with the expiatory blood The Socinian doth not assert any entrance of Christ into Heaven but that only one by and upon his Ascension yet Christ was made a compleate Priest instantly upon his Resurrection For from these words This Day which was the day of Resurrection have I begotten thee the Apostle proves Christ to be made a Priest and that by those words This is point-black against his assertion Christ may be and was a Priest by Designation Consecration Constitution Confirmation He was designed from his Birth yet more solemnly upon his Baptism he was consecrated by his great Sacrifice he was fully constituted and made a compleate Priest upon his Resurrection he was confirmed Priest by Oath upon his Ascension and Session at the right hand of God He must needs therefore be very ignorant that shall think that he was no Priest before this confirmation in Heaven But 2. How was this propitiation made and this eternal Redemption obtained for us It 's said he gave himself a Ransome for all 1 Tim. 2. 6. That he gave his life a Ransonâ—â— for many Matth. 20. 28. That he was delivered for our Offences Rom. 4. 25. That he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole World 1 Joh. 2. 2. And more fully in the Prophet All we like Sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of us all Esay 53. 6. Out of all which places especially the last we may observe 1. That Christ suffered and by his blood entred Heaven for man 2. For man as sinful 3. To make God propitious to us for ever 4. God in this is to be considered as a Judge punishing us in him and by laying the iniquities that is the punishments of the iniquities of us all upon him 5. He did not suffer not offer for his own sins for God made him who knew no sin sin that is a suffering or propitiatory and redemptory Sacrifice for us so that the benefit redounds to us 6. Seeing he suffered for sin though not for his own his Death was a punishment in proper sense 7. The blood of Christ shed and offered to God as Supream Judge was the price of our Redemption and the immediate effect thereof was eternal propitiation 8. In this work Christ by God's appointment and his own voluntary submission became our Surety and Hostage and so liable to Death That God did punish sin in him was justice that he did punish our sins in him was mercy unto us It 's true that God considered as a private person and as the party offended was merciful and pityed Man but as supream Law-giver and Judg of Mankind he must be just and punish Sin that his Justice being satisfied he might have free and full power to pardon Sin and that without any breach of Justice The Intention of the Apostle in this Text is to prove and make it evident That this Service and Sacrifice was far more excellent than the greatest Service the Levitical High-Priest could or did perform This super-excellency is set forth in respect 1. Of the Blood which was not that of Goats or Calvs but his own Blood 2. In respect of the place into which he entred which was not an earthly Sanctuary but the Holy place of Heaven 3. And most of all in respect of the Effect which was not a yearly Expiation but an eternal Redemption In Form he argues thus That Service wherein by his own Blood he enters Heaven but once and obtains eternal Redemption is more excellent than the Service of that Priest who enters often with the Blood only of Calvs and Goats into an earthly Sacrary and obtains but a yearly Remission But Christ's is such and the Levitical High-Priest's Service but such as is formerly described Therefore Christ's Service is more excellent § 12. The Apostle goes on and proves by a second Argument that the Service and Ministry of Christ is far more excellent and that in respect of the Effect which it hath vertue to produce The former Effect was Propitiation or Expiation this latter and second is cleansing or Purification This as the former is delivered by way of Comparison and the Comparison is in Quantity yet presupposing another in Quality The whole may be reduced to Propositions in this manner 1. The Blood of Bulls and Goats and the Ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctify to the purifying of the Flesh. 2. The Blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without Spot to God purgeth the Conscience from deaÌ„d Works to serve the Living God 3. If the Blood of Buls and Goats and the Ashes of an Heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifieth to the purifying of the Flesh then much more doth the Blood of Christ who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot unto God to purge the Conscience to serve the Living God The Comparison in quality is between the Blood of Buls and Goats the thing wherein they are compared and do agree is purging and sanctifying The Comparison in quantity presupposing also a dissimilitude in this that one doth sanctify the Flesh the other the Conscience is this That if the one hath power to purge and cleanse the Flesh the other hath much more
power to purge the Conscience To proceed unto particulars the parts of the Comparison are two 1. The Proposition 2. The Reddition The first Ver. 13 the second Ver. 14. In the first we have the Cause the Blood of Bulls and Goats and the Ashes of an Heifer then the Effect sanctifying to the purifying of the Flesh. Of the Blood of Bulls and Goats which is the same with the Blood of Goats and Calvs Ver. 12. you have heard before for that was the Expiatory Blood wherewith the Priest entring the most Holy place did sprinkle the Mercy-Seat and the Effect of this was the Expiation of the Sins of the Priest and the People whereby they were freed from such penalties as the Law imposed upon persons for some Legal and Ceremonial Offences The second purifying was by the Ashes of a red Heifer mixed with running Water and sprinkled upon Persons or things polluted by touching or being near the dead Of this you may read at large Numb 19. The Effect of both was sanctifying by cleansing from some Legal pollution and Guilt but neither of these could free any person from the Obligation to eternal penalties nor spiritually purify and make holy the Spirit and Soul of Man Some think that the Blood did signify the Death and bloody Sacrifice of Christ the Water the sanctifying Spirit Yet both are here compared with the Blood of Christ as Shadows of it This is the Proposition § 13. The Reddition followeth Ver. 14. Where we have two absolute Propositions and part of the Comparison 1. That Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit without Spot unto God 2. That the Blood of Christ who thus offered himself doth purge the Conscience from dead Works to serve the Living God 3. The Comparative part is that it hath much more Power or doth much more purge the Conscience The first Proposition is Christ through the eternal Spirit offered himself without Spot unto God Where we may consider 1. The Priest 2. The thing offered 3. The manner how 4. The thing by which 5. The Person to whom the Offering was made 1. The Priest was Christ the Word made Flesh and the Son of God designed a Priest by God 2. The thing offered by this Priest was Himself that is his own Life his own Body and some add his own Soul This was spoken in opposition to such things as the Levitical High-Priests offered as Buls and Goats for none of them offered either other men or themselvs 3. The manner how this was offered is this that it was offered without Spot The thing offered and the Offering and the manner of offering were all pure 4. That by or through which he made this Offering was the eternal Spirit By Spirit some understand the Soul which is said to be eternal because it 's immortal And certainly in respect of his Body he may rather be said to be the thing offered and in respect of his Soul the Priest offering For this offering is said to be the doing of God's Will and an Act of Obedience unto death the death of the Cross and this is a proper Act of his immortal Soul and Spirit Yet this Soul and Body too were united to the Word which as God was an eternal Spirit in which respect some understand by eternal Spirit the Word and Divine Nature of Christ And both Soul and Body were in the highest degree sanctified and supported especially in suffering death by the Holy Ghost which some think is here meant It 's certain he did offer himself by his immortal Spirit sanctified and supported by the Holy Spirit and united to the Word which with the Father and the Holy Ghost are one God and eternal spiritual Substance 5. The party to whom he offered himself was God as supream Lord of Life and Death Law-giver and Judg of Man-kind For he alone had power to appoint him to be Priest to be Offering and to offer and also to accept this Offering in behalf of sinful Man and thereupon to justify him believing and reward him with eternal Life All these are expressed and joyned together to set forth the Excellency and the immanent and internal Vertue of Christ's Blood For How excellent and of what rare vertue and causality must that Blood Death Sacrifice be which was the Blood of Christ who was by God's own immediate Commission and Designment made the highest and the greatest Priest and offered Himself the best Sacrifice that ever was and that through the eternal Spirit purely spiritual and most holy and impolluted and that unto God the supream Lord and Judg and in that manner that the very Act of offering from first to last was most exactly conformable to his Will It had all the perfections of a Sacrifice and in the highest degree The Levitical High-Priest was a Priest but far inferiour to Christ he offered Goats and Calvs but not himself and if he had offered himself yet the thing offered had been nothing to this he offered indeed to God yet he had not that near Relation unto Agreement with and Interest in God as this Priest had He offered by or through his own Spirit which was very imperfect and the imperfections of his very Act of Offering were very many and great Therefore it was no wonder that it should not have the like rare efficiency with this The second Proposition in this Verse is That Christ's Blood doth purge the Conscience c. This is the outward Efficacy and Working of this Blood upon a certain Subject rightly disposed In the words we may observe 1. The Conscience which is the Subject 2. The pollution of the Conscience 3. The purging and cleansing of it 4. The â—ind and Consequent of this cleansing 1. The Conscience is the Spirit and immortal Soul of Man which is Intimum Hominis the in most and most excellent part yet this is not here considered meerly as a spiritual immortal intellective and free Substance created and preserved by God but as subject unto his Power bound by his Laws conscious to it 's own Disobedience and sensible of it For the Blood of Christ doth actually purge no other Soul nor any Soul but thus qualified neither without this Qualification is the Soul immediately capable of this Purgation 2. The Pollution of the Soul is from dead Works where by dead Works it 's generally granted are meant Sins and that not only of Commission but Omission All the Works of Man should be living Works and issue from a Soul endued with a spiritual and supernatural Life have a spiritual and supernatural Form which is Conformity to Divine Law and should tend unto a supernatural and spiritual end When they either issue from a Soul destitute of this heavenly Life or want this Conformity they are dead Works base and such as becomes not so excellent a Creature The ordinary Reasons given by Authors why Sins are called dead Works are because they are the Works of men dead in sin want the Life and
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
man yet willing upon certain terms to be merciful unto him And one condition which performed he will accept is that Christ as Surety for man should suffer Death for man to satisfie divine Justice In this respect is he said to give himself a Ransome or Price How far different this is from the offering here described is easy to understand The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used about sixteen times in this Epistle but never taken in his sense which is so absurd and unworthy that no rational man as rational much less a Christian and a Schollar can any wayes approve but reject with scorn The rest of his discourse upon this Text is like his description of Christ's offering and by it he seeks to cast a mist upon the divine Doctrine of the Apostle lest he should confound himself and suffer his Reader to see the truth Dr. Gouge upon this Text affirms Christ to be a Priest in both natures which cannot be true for though he that is Priest be God yet as God he is not he cannot be a Priest For a Priest is an Officer and all Officers as Officers are made such by Commission from the Supream Power from whom they derive their Office whom they represent and are Servants under them to serve them There are two prime and proper acts of Christ as a Priest to Sacrifice and offer himself to God as Supream Lord and to make Intercession to him To attribute either of these to God as God and affirm them of him in proper sense is plainly blasphemous and inexcusable it turns the Lord into the Servant and God into Man § 14. Hitherto the excellency of Christ's Sacrifice and Service hath been manifested by two glorious and excellent effects the one immediate which is Expiation the other mediate which is purging the Conscience from Dead Works The former made Sin pardonable and the Consequents thereof removable the latter actually takes away Sin and the Consequents thereof in him who believeth Besides these two there is a third effect shewing it to be yet more excellent and that is confirmation of the New Covenant for thus he writes Ver. 15. And for this cause is he the Mediatour of the New Covenant that by means of Death for the Redemption of Transgressions under the first Test ament they which are called might receive the promise of eternal Inheritance THe subject of this Verse is the confirmation of the New Covenant by the Death and Sacrifice of Christ which is affirmed here and illustrated from ver 16. to the 23. afterwards And here the Coherence is 1. To be examined 2. The Text in it self to be considered The coherence with the former is in these words And for this cause The Copulative and may be as in other places expletive or it may be used to signify that the Death and bloody Sacrifice of Christ as it was ordained for another end besides the two former of Propitiation and purging the Conscience so it hath another and a third effect which is The confirmation of the New Covenant For this is to observed that he speaks and still continues his discourse of the Death and Blood of Christ. The words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for this cause which are turned by some therefore may referr either to that which goes before or that which follows If to that which goes before then they inform us that because Christ by his Blood entring the holy place of Heaven obtained eternal Remission and by it offering himself through the eternal Spirit without spot doth purge the Conscience to serve the living God therefore and for this cause and in respect of these two effects is he the Mediatour of the New Covenant If they relate to that which follows they are to be understood in this manner That because by the Death of Christ the Called receive the promise of eternal Inheritance therefore he is the Mediatour of the New Covenant This is the Coherence The absolute consideration of the Text followeth wherein we have two principal express Axioms or Propositions 1. Christ is the Mediatour of the New Covenant 2. By means of Death for the Redemption of Transgressions under the first Covenant the Called might receive the promise of eternal Inheritance 3. Christ is a Mediatour of the New Covenant that by means of Death for Redemption c. the Called may receive the promise c. In the first we have 1. A New Covenant 2. A Mediatour of this New Covenant 3. Christ the Mediatour 1. The New Covenant is that of the Gospel whereof you have heard in the former Chapter where it was opposed unto and compared with the Old Covenant made with the Fathers in the Wilderness Exod. 19. as established upon better promises And that word which was there turned Covenant is turned Testament not that there is any necessity but a conceived congruity For because here is mention of an Inheritance which is usually conveyed by the Will and Testament of man which Will is then firm and unalterable when the Testatour dieth therefore it was conceived by some that in this place that which formerly was called a Covenant should be called here a Testament yet notwithstanding it agrees with a Testament and may by a Metaphor be so termed yet it is more properly a Covenant 2. We have a Mediatour of this Covenant and what a Mediatour is you have heard before as also the distinctions of Mediators Some tell us that a Mediatour is aut â—untius aut sequester pacis aut arbiter aut sponsor yet we need not insist upon these terms for the Mediatour of this Covenant is a Priest and a Minister of it as the High-Priest was of the former Covenant 3. This Mediatour is Christ who may be said to be Nuntius à Dâ—o Intercessor pro hâ—mine Arbiter inter utrumque Sponsor pro utroque and he is a Messenger declaring the Covenant as a Prophet an Arbitratour between God and Man as a King a Surety and Intercessour as a Priest Yet though all this said may be in some respect true yet it 's neither accurate nor pertinent in this place Christ as a Priest and as a Priest officiating and offering himself a Sacrifice to propitiate God and purge the conscience of sinful Man is the Mediatour of this Covenant For as such and in this respect he mediates between God and Man to propitiate God and to make man fit for the receiving of the eternal Reward promised and both these he doth by his Blood and Death without which offered and applyed the promise would be void and never take effect It 's true that Christ doth procure the Covenant declares it confirms it and makes it effectual and in all these respects he may be said to be a Mediatour Yet here he is made such principally and most properly as confirming and making it effectual Moses and not Aaron was the Mediatour in the making and confirming the Old Covenant For he dealt between God and the
that Blood was necessary not only for confirmation of the New Covenant but also for the purification of the Called Covenanteers And therefore there could be no reason why these Hebrews of the Jews should be offended with the Death of Christ seeing it was so useful and so necessary not only for Expiation but for purging the Conscience from dead Works and confirming the New Covenant and Testament And here two things are observable 1. That if this Blood should not expiate Sin and purge the Conscience the Covenant could not be firm to the Called so as to receive the eternal Inheritance For if the Inheritance be not purchased and meâ—ted and the Called justified from sin they can have no title or right unto it and if not sanctified and cleansed from the pollution of sin they cannot be capable of it so as to enjoy it 2. This Blood was necessary for the Expiation of the sins not only of them who live after it was shed but also of those who lived under the Law For under it there was no Blood of any Sacrifice that could expiate sin as polluting the Conscience and making the Sinners liable to eternal punishments and as it could not expiate so it could not purge the Conscience though sprinkled with it § 20. The Reddition or Application followeth Ver. 23. It was therefore necessary that the paterns of things in the Heavens should be purified with these but the heavenly things themselves with better Sacrifices then these THe sum of these words is this That as it was necessary that earthly and carnal things and shadows should be purified by the blood of these carnal Sacrifices for the confirmation of the first Covenant so it 's necessary that spiritual and heavenly things should be purified with the blood of better Sacrifices then these for the confirmation of the New Covenant This Reddition is made by a repetition in brief of the former proposition and protasis of the Comparison So that in these few words we have the full Similitude whereof there be two parts The first Is the necessity of purging the Types and Shadows The second Is the necessity of purging the Anti-types Both agree in this 1. That they must be purged 2. They must be purged with the blood of Sacrifices 3. There is a necessity of purging both with the blood of Sacrifices Yet they differ 1. In that the one are earthly and carnal Types 2. In the purging as well in the things purged For the first are purged with earthly carnal Sacrifices suitable to their nature the second with far better Sacrifices The whole may be reduced to two Axioms or Propositions 1. It 's necessary that the paterns of heavenly things should be purified with these 2. It 's necessary that the heavenly things should be purified with better Sacrifices then these Yet there is a third implyed and that is As it 's necessary for the one to be purged with these so it is necessary the other should be purged with better The disposition of the Text seems to be Dianoâ—tical and the argumentation in form to be this If it was necessary that the paterns of things in Heaven should be purified with these then it 's necessary that the heavenly things should be purified with better Sacrifices then these But the first was necessary Therefore the second is so too From all this we understand that the Apostle inferrs the necessity of purging heavenly things from the necessity of purging earthly and further that if the purification of the Types was necessary then the purification of the Anti-types with better Sacrifices was much more necessary This is the reason why the Apostle brings in this Text by the illanve Therefore which is to be understood to follow the proposition and to go before and bring in the Reddition In the first Proposition we have 1. Things in Heaven 2. Paterns of things in Heaven 3. The purifying of the Paterns 4. The purifying of them with these 5. The necessity of purifying them with these 1. By things in Heaven are meant heavenly things as appears in the latter part of the Text and by heavenly are meant spiritual and more excellent things We read of Jerusalem above Gal. 4. 26. and of the heavenly Jerusalem Chap. 12. 22. of this Epistle And this is the Church which is first Militant and then Triumphant which is first from Heaven then in Heaven 2. The patterns of the things in Heaven are such things as were Signs Images Shadows and imperfect Representations of things in Heaven For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word in the Original signifies Signs and Images which represent though but darkly other things These are not Patterns in proper sense but things that do sub-demonstrate or obscurely signify some other things They are called Examples and Shadows Examples and Shadows of heavenly things Chap. 8. 5. where it's observable that the very word which is there turned Example is here turned Pattern And Chap. 10. 1. it 's said The Law had a Shadow of good things to come These Shadows Signs and Figures were the Tabernacle the Vessels with many other things which under the Law were purified with Blood 3. What the purifying of these was you have heard before for it was Consecration Expiation Sanctification whereby the things purified of unholy were made holy 4. These were purified with these that is with Scarlet Wool Hyssop Water Blood Ashes and the principal of these was Blood and this Blood was the Blood usually of Bullocks and Goats which was ordained by God to be the Blood of Expiation and Sanctication So outward and carnal things were purged with outward and carnal Blood and both the things the Blood and the Purification were Mystical and did signify some spiritual and more excellent things Blood Purification 5. There was a necessity why these things should be so purified Where we may consider that not onely the Purification but this purification by these was necessary The necessity did arise from God's Institution and Command that these things and shadows should be purified and purified by these things And if these things must signify persons and things guilty and polluted by Sins which God would have purified then in this respect also there was a necessity because otherwise there had been no Agreement between the Types and Anti-Types § 21. The second Proposition is That it 's necessary the heavenly things themselvs be purified by better Sacrifices than these Where we must examine 1. What these heavenly things be 2. What these better Sacrifices are 3. What it 's to be purified by these 4. How this is necessary The heavenly things themselvs are some better and more excellent things for as Heaven is far above the Earth and more glorious so heavenly things must be some better and more glorious than earthly The one are bodily and corruptible and the other spiritual incorruptible and immortal in comparison whereof the best things under the Law were but Shadows These spiritual
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
fully enjoy it till his second appearance therefore they look and wait for his coming from Heaven that then their joy may be full Some think the Apostle doth here allude to the manner and order of the Levitical Service which was this The High-Priest enters the Sanctuary to pray and expiate Sin and the People stay without and wait for his coming out to bless them So Christ enters Heaven that glorious and eternal Sanctuary there appears before God and stayes a while and all his Saints do wait and look for his return and coming out from thence that they may by him be eternally Blessed These Lookers for him are they who shall be rewarded For though Christ came the first time to dye for all so far as to make their Sins remissible yet he comes the second time to conferr the ultimate benefit of his Redemption only upon them that look for him To look for Christ from Heaven doth presuppose the parties regenerate and renewed from Heaven justified and in the estate of justification and as having a title unto eternal Glory with a certain belief that Christ will come from Heaven and appear in Glory and that then they shall be glorified with him And this looking for Christ is their hope with a longing desire expressed sometimes by groans and yet a patient waiting God's leisure out of an assurance that he that shall come will come and will not tarry All this is signified by that of the Apostle And not only they but our selves also who have the first Fruits of the Spirit even we our selves groan within our selves waiting for the Adoption to wit the Redemption of our Bodie Rom. 8. 13. Where we have 1. The persons waiting or the expectants 2. The thing waited for 3. The act and manner of waiting 1. The persons waiting are such as have the first Fruits of the Spirit which is a certain measure of Sanctification and consolation for these are the beginnings of Heaven where our holiness and comfort shall be perfect and full and these being but a little which bear the like proportion with eternal Glory as the first Fruits do with the Harvest do assure us as an Earnest of the full possession 2. Adoption is said to be the Redemption of our Bodies that is the Resurrection when our Adoption shall be compleat for then our minority being past and the time appointed by our heavenly Father come we shall be put into full possession of the Inheritance and glorious eternal estate which God hath prepared for those that love him and this is that which is called Salvation in this place 3. The act of waiting is an act of hope which resting upon the promise is assured and fully perswaded of the fruition of Glory in God's time and looks often towards it as our own The manner of this waiting is with vehement desires and longings and gâ—oans and yet with patience For because this blessed estate is so full of happiness and yet to come and only present in the first Fruits therefore we earnestly desire and long for Christ's comming saying Come Lord Jesu come quickly And because for the present we are pressed with the remainders of sin and corruption within us and with temptations and persecutions without and the distance between Heaven and Us is great therefore we groan and sigh and say Oh when will that time come when I shall be rid and fully freed from Sin and sorrow for ever I see the place of mine eternal Rest afar off when shall I come near and enter and enjoy my God for ever Yet because we have God's Word to assure us of possession we therefore are patient and content our selves in God's Will For if it be his will and pleasure that we must stay a while longer and suffer more we desire his will may be done and we submit unto it and there is great reason we should so do For we are unworthy of the least mercy and he might require a thousand years tryal and suffering and to give us so great and glorious reward and that within so short a time after our first regeneration is an act of greatest love and bounty § 28. Thus far the words have been absolutely handled now it 's time to consider them comparatively The notes of Similitude for it 's a comparison in quality are As and So For as man dies so Christ dies As man dies once So Christ dies once and no more And as man is appointed by God to dye but once so Christ was appointed by God to dye but once And as man after Death comes to Judgment so Christ after he died once will not dye again but come to Judgment Yet as in all things that are like there is some dissimilitude and difference so there is in Man and Christ. Man dies for his own Sin Christ for the Sins of others Man's Death doth not satisfy for Sin Christ's Death satisfies divine Justicé and his Sacrifice doth expiate the Sins of many for ever Upon man's Death follows Judgment and he himself is judged but after once suffering and offering Christ appears and comes to Judge and not to be judged to reward such as believe in him but not to be rewarded And here it 's to be noted 1. That as Christ died to make man savable so he appears before God actually to save and comes to Judgment to make man fully happy As by his Death he merited Remission and Glorification inestimable Benefits so he appears before God for us now and in the end will come to Judgment that he may communicate these Benefits and make men actually partakers of them 2. That remission of Sins and the enjoyment of Salvation and full happiness do depend upon Christ's Sacrifice once offered as the effect depends upon the cause To sum up the Chapter we must observe 1. That the Subject of it is the Sacrifice of Christ. 2. That in it the scope of the Authour is to prove the excellency of the same above all Levitical Services 3. That his method is this 1. He describes the Tabernacle and the parts thereof and the Services performed therein and singles out the greatest Service performed by the greatest Priest in the most holy place which was the yearly Sacrifice of Expiation 2. He proves the Sacrifice of Christ to be far more excellent then this in many respects but chiefly in respect of the effects thereof The first effect is eternal Expiation ver 12. The second purification of the Conscience from dead Works to serve the living God in which respect it did excell all Legal purifications ver 14. The third is the confirmation of the New Covenant by virtue of this Expiation and Purification ver 15. The fourth lest they should think it strange that the Death and Blood-shed of their Messias should be any wayes conducing or necessary to these effects of Confirmation Expiation and Purification he lets them know First That for confirmation of the New Covenant it was very
anoy them and so he wrote by them From hence it follows that the Authority of this Tstimony is divine and infallibly true and acknowledged so to be by them and it 's of◠much the more force because it was written in the time of the Law whilst it was in force Yet before I enter upon the matter we must consider of their connexion and bringing the words in Where three things are observable 1. The connexion with the former by the particle illative therefore 2. A Prosopopaeia whereby he brings in Christ speaking and makes the words his 3. The time when he speaks them 1. The illative particle signifies thus much That because the former Sacrifices were so unfit and so insufficient therefore for that cause God did even then by the Prophet David signify That he would reject them and pitch upon a better and that he had no intention to make use of them for to perfect and purge but from the beginning designed Christ's Sacrifice to that end and for that purpose 2. They are brought in Rhetorically as the words of Christ directing his Speech to God his heavenly Father The praediction that Christ would use these words is David's but the words must be Christs 3. The time when Christ should use these words was the time of his coming into the World which was then to come and now is past But the controversy is What should be meant by his coming into the World which most understand of his Incarnation and more particularly his inauguration and entrance upon his publick Ministry It 's certain they must be the words of Christ Incarnate after that God had signified his Will and Pleasure that he should sacrifice himself unto him for the Sin of Man The Socinian will have it to be his coming into the future World and entrance into Heaven and the reason of this opinion is his false conceit of Christ's Offering which is contrary to express Scripture as hath been formerly shewed But to come unto the matter contained in the words first as we find them in the Psalm secondly as they are understood and explained and so applyed by him to the point in hand § 7. The words of the Psalmist may be considered Grammatically or Theologically In them Grammatically considered we find a difference between the Hebrew and the Translation of the Septuagint which the Apostle follows and it is in one Clause For the Hebrew words translated as they seem properly to signify Mine ears hast thou opened the Septuagaint turn A body hast thou fitted me or prepared for me Here the Hebrew Text and the Greek Translation seem so much to differ as though they were not reconcileable A Greek Scholiast tells us that Paul understood and knew the Hebrew well enough yet he makes use of the word body used in the Septuagint as most subservient to his purpose And here I will not mention either what Nobitius observes upon the words of the Psalm or how several Authours translate the words or how à Lapide and many others seek to reconcile the Hebrew and the Septuagint Genebrard upon the Psalm by a tropical Explication endeavours the reconciliation The Tropes are 1. A metaphor in the Hebrew Verb and a Synechdoche in the Nown For as by Digging Hewing Cutting Lapidaries shape and fashion stones into the form of a Body so God created and framed Christ a Body this is Metaphorical And as many times a part is taken for the whole so Ear which is a part is taken for the whole Body this is Synechdochical Yet this will not satisfie therefore it 's to be observed That the Septuagint's Translation being not wording as formerly hath been noted but many times paraphrastical doth often leave the words and give the sense which here they seem to do For 1. To bore or digg the Ear is to addict one that is willing to perpetual Service This was the Ceremony prescribed by God Exod. 21. 6. This was in the Servant a denying himself a renouncing of his Liberty and a free voluntary total submission of his own will unto the will of his Master In the Master it was a Solemn engagement of the person willing to his perpetual Service According to this Christ the Lord of all made himself of no Reputation took upon him the form of a Servant and addicted himself wholly to his heavenly Father's Will 2. Yet Christ as the Word whereby the World was made could not be a Servant therefore the Word was made Flesh and God prepared him a Body a Flesh that in that Flesh he might be his Servant 3. Because the chiefest piece of Service was in offering up his Body and his Life for the Sin of Man which to perform was the Will and Command of his Father therefore the Interpretation of the Septuagint was most excellent Further it 's observable That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes signifies a Servant and then the sense is That God made him his Servant and fitted him for the hardest Service that ever was even the Service of Sacrificing himself and of being obedient unto Death the Death of the Cross. Thus far the words have been Grammatically examined If we consider them Theologically we may observe in them two things 1. The Will of God concerning Christ. 2. The Coming of Christ to do the Will of God For God had determined that the Sin of Man should be expiated by some offering and this Will and Determination is expressed in the Text 1. Negatively 2. Affirmatively For thus it 's written Ver. 5. Wherefore when he cometh into the World he saith Sacrifice and Offering thou wouldest not but a body thou hast prepared me Ver. 6. In Burnt-Offering and Sacrifices for Sin thou hast had no pleasure VVHere we have 1. Sacrifices Offerings Burnt-Offerings Offerings for Sin by all which is signified all the Levitical Offerings for Expiation prescribed by God 2. The rejection of these for God would not have them he desired them not he took no pleasure in them This is the Negative Will of God in respect of these Offerings For he never intended them for to perfect and sanctify Worshippers because he knew them unfit for any such purpose Therefore all these were but shadows of a far better Offering 3. The Body of Christ different from and opposed to all the Legal Offerings as far more excellent 4. God's acceptance of this Body which God prepared for him that he might offer it for it was designed for that purpose and was far more fit for to expiate the Sin of Man This is God's Will Christ's will and readiness to perform God's Will follows For 1. Christ doth the Will of God 2. He came to do it 3. This was written in the Volume of God's Book 1. Christ's doing of God's Will is not that which we call his active Obedience unto the moral Law but his suffering Death willingly upon the Cross and offering his Body and Flesh for the life of the World For this was the
so far as was necessary for their deliverance and became liable to the penalty which was due to Man for his Sin That which moved God to send and give his Son was his meer mercy and free love to miserable Sinners That which moved God to punish him once substituted was his vindicative Justice looking upon our Sins It is not proper to say That our Sins were a cause either intrinsecally or extrinsecally impelling God to put Christ to Death and to lay upon him the iniquities of us all Though Sin is the formal object of punitive justice and doth deserve punishment yet God as Supream Lord and Judge and above his own Law had power to pardon Sin or punish it and punish it either in the party offending or in Christman's voluntary Hostage and in what measure he pleased and to accept this punishment willingly suffered for what ends and in what degree he pleased For to inflict the penalty upon the party delinquent or upon another or in this or that degree or for this or that end which shall be agreeable to Justice and pleasing to Mercy is accidental and not essential to it And because this Death of Christ was suffered for Sin and so intended by the Supream Judge it was not only an affliction but properly a punishment That which moved Christ to offer himself was his love unto his heavenly Father a resolution to obey his Command and a desire to be beneficial to mankind and the offering was an act of Charity Obedience and properly a Sacrifice which did so please God that he in consideration of the same was willing to grant unto Man many glorious and incomparable Blessings And to substitute Christ to Command him to offer himself to make him Sin for us to accept his Sacrifice for 〈◊〉 and in consideration of the same to promise Remission of Sins and eternal life to sinful man believing was not meerly or properly a dispensation but an abrogation of the Law of Works In this offering God did manifest his Wisdom his Power his Holiness and hatred of Sin his love of Righteousness his vindicative Justice his supream Dominion and his infinite Mercy In it Christ was a patern and lively mirrour of Humility Patience Fortitude Faith Hope Charity Self-denial and Obedience unto Death the Death of the Cross. The effects of this one offering are here said to be Sanctification and Consecration yet it was not an absolute and immediate cause of these Therefore we must observe That the effects of this cause may be said to be immediate or mediate though this is no formal distinction of a cause as a Cause The immediate effects which are antecedent to application are of three sorts 1. Such as respect God to whom the Sacrifice was offered or Christ who offered it or Man for whom it was offered Such as respect God respect him either as Lord or Law-giver or Judge As Lord by this Sacrifice redeeming man he acquired a new power over Man as he was Law-giver the Law of Works was made relâ—xible or repealable as he was Judge his vindicative power in respect of the sin of man was suspended or inhibited upon a satisfaction or compensation made so that his mercy might freely issue out to save man without any breach or violation of Justice or derogation from the Authority of his Law All these may be reduced to propitiation and reconciliation In respect of Christ the person offering by this he acquired power over all Flesh and all that happiness and glory which his Father promised to conferr upon him upon the performance of this Service In respect of man for whom Christ offered he by this became savable upon a new Covenant and new terms for the performance of which Covenant and attaining of which Salvation all means and power necessary were merited These effects followed immediately in respect of the offering the mediate effects are such as followed upon this offering applyed yet are the immediate effects of it as applyed For upon the same received by Faith followed Justification Reconciliation Adoption Resurrection and eternal Salvation and all these are reduced by the Apostle to Sanctification and Consecration So that the Salvation of Man from first to last is wholly from this offering yet this offering was not the first Spring and Fountain of our Happiness for that was the love of God giving Christ to offer himself It 's a vain and loose assertion of the Socinian to sâ—y or argue That because God loved Man so as to give Christ for him therefore there was no need of any Propitiation or Reconciliation or Aversion of his Wrath by Blood For he might easily distinguish between a general indefinite and a particular love and between a love of good will and of friendship The love of God is best known by the acts and effects thereof For we find three degrees and effects of his love to sinful man The first is the giving of Christ to offer himself for him and thus he loved him when he was an Enemy and ungodly for we may love Enemies though not as Friends The second is the giving the means of Conversion that he may believe and when God loves him thus and first calls him he finds him still an Enemy The third degree and effect of his love is to justify and glorify him and when God loves him thus he finds him converted and looks upon him as a Friend From these degrees of love the Apostle argues That if when we were Enemies we were reconciled to God by the Death of his Son how much more being reconciled shall we be saved by his life Rom. 5. 10. And though Christ hath offered himself for Sinners and this was an act of exceeding love yet he that believeth not on the Son offering himself hath no life in him but the Wrath of God abideth on him Joh. 3. 36. And no man can have peace with God by Jesus Christ before he be justified by Faith in Christ. For being justified by Faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Rom. 5. 16. Where to have peace with God and be the determinate object of God's special love doth presuppose and necessarily prerequire both Faith and Justification § 14. The Apostle having proved formerly out of Psalm 40. the excellency of Christ's Sacrifice and the virtue of it in the next words adds another proof out of Jeremy 31. 33 34. The same Text of the Prophet was alledged Chap. 8. and there handled and therefore here I need not enlarge but contract my Explication But let us hear the words of the Allegation Ver. 15. Whereof the Holy Ghost is a witness to us For after he had said before Ver. 16. This is the Covenant that I will make with them After those dayes saith the Lord I will put mâ— Laws in their hearts and in their minds will I write them Ver. 17. And their Sins and Iniquities will I remember no more Ver. 18. Now where Remission of these
the Apostle in this latter part of this Chapter is obvious For 1. He layes the ground of his Exhortation 2. Exhorts to several Duties 3. Urgeth the performance of these Duties by several Arguments to the end of the Chapter The ground is laid in these three Verses by Repetition or rather Recapitulation of something formerly delivered either explicitly or implicitly and in this ground we have severall particulars which may seem to be Motives to excite unto the performance of the several Duties exhorted unto and especially of the first In these words of the ground we have three things 1. A new and living way unto the Holiest made and consecrated by the Body and Blood of Christ. 2. A Liberty to enter by this way into the Holiest 3. An High-Priest set over the House of God And all these are expressed in Metaphorical terms alluding to the Legal dispensation wherein the High-Priest had a way to pass through the Veil with Blood into the Holiest to expiate the People's Sins and obtain Mercy for them That we may understand the words both in themselvs and in their several respects both to that which goes before and that which follows I will 1. Explain them 2. Enquire how they are a Recapitulation of the Doctrine antecedent 3. Examine how they are a ground of the Exhortation following For the way which is the first thing in the Text according to the Order of the matter though not of the words 1. It 's new and living these are the qualities of it 2. It 's consecrated or dedicated 3. It 's consecrated through the Veil This is the Sum of the 20th Verse the second part of the Text the Subject whereof is a Way which is nothing but a certain space through which we pass from one place to another and if that space be not passable it 's not properly or actually a Way The word in this place is Metaphorical for there is no distance of space through which we pass by bodily motion to our God Yet there may be a spiritual distance between him and us and such as that he may be inaccessible unto us and we cannot come near him so as to receive spiritual Comfort from him except a spiritual way be made So that a way in this place is something whereby we come near unto our God as to a gracious Father 1. This way is said to be new the word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is turned usually new and so we find it used by the Septuagint Eccles. 1. 9. There is nothing new under the Sun and Deut. 32. 17. New Gods newly come up In this sense they use the Adverb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Yet the word in this place may signify a known and manifest way So the Vulgar Latine turns it Viam notam And this may seem to be more probable by these words The Holy Ghost this signifying that the way into the Holiest of all was not yet made manifest whilest the first Tabernacle was yet standing Chap. 9. 8. Yet put both new and manifest together you have the full sense it was a Way newly made manifest From this quality we may observe that though from the first Promise of Christ there was alwayes a way for true Believers to come to God yet it was not so manifest as it was after Christ's Death Ascension and Revelation of the Gospel 1. This way as it is newly opened and made manifest so it 's said to be a living Way which some according to the Syriack Translator understand to be a way of Life which leads to Life And it 's so called in respect of the Terminus ad quem that Life wherein it ends And though it 's true that this way doth lead unto and ends in Life yet ◠way of Life may be nothing but a living Way as a man of same or name is a famous man an Expression usual in many Languages when the latter Substantive signifies the Adjunct as the former doth the Subject For this is a certain Rule not only in the Latine but in the Greek and Hebrew That Substantivum Adjuncti regit Genitivum Subjecti Substantivum Subjecti Genitivum Adjuncti Some therefore think it 's called a living that is a constant permanent and perpetual Way So the word which signifies living is used by the Septuagint and turned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 aternus Job 19. 25. He is eternal who shall dissolve me for so they translate the place And a living Fountain or Spring is such as continually springs This way may be thus called in opposition to the Typical way into the Holiest of all which was a dead way to all but the High-Priest none but he might enter into it not he himself but once a Year and then not without Blood and that 's a dead way through which no man passeth That way was but of short continuance for after Christ was once entred with his own Blood into Heaven it ceased and is now ceased for ever Again it 's a living Way in opposition not only unto this which led into the Sacrary and the most holy place but unto that into Paradise For this is a living safe way and one may pass through it and live both the other were dangerous and mortal That in the Tabernacle and Temple was so it was mortal to any but the High-Priest and to him too at all times but once in the Year and then too if he presumed to enter without Blood The other passage into Paradise was obstructed with a flaming Sword and no man could have access to the Tree of Life but must be slain and burnt to Ashes So that this is a way of Life permanent and safe 2. This way is consecrated or dedicated new made or newly made The word we had in the former Chapter it signifies to initiate to dedicate to consecrate and this is to give a kind of moral Being and Complement to a thing so as to make it differ from what it was and applicable to another and a better end and use For an House dedicated is fit to be used for habitation the Temple once dedicated fit for God's Service a Priest consecrated fit to minister and officiate in the Temple This way may be said to be initiated and consecrated when it was once made passable for sinful Man so that he might pass freely and safely to his God made accessible And this is an Act of God's Will separating and appointing it for that end and thereby giving Man access unto him 3. This way consecrated was through the Veil Where the Apostle informs us what is meant by the Veil that is the Flesh of Christ. Whereby we understand that the inner Veil did signify the Flesh of Christ. The High-Priest could not enter into the inner Sacrary to approach the Mercy-Seat which was the Throne of God but through the Veil divided or lift up or drawn aside Therefore when Christ dyed and his Soul was separated from
dear Affection to them who are enriched with them So that sinful Men may hope for this City yet upon condition that they will be Pilgrims and Strangers in this World and desire above all other things this better and heavenly Country For to clear this Doctrine more fully we must observe That the World morally and spiritually considered is divided into two Societies the one is of the Devil the other of God This distinction the learned Father took notice of when he wrote his excellent Treatise De Civitate Dei For all men either seek their Rest and Happiness on Earth or an eternal Peace in Heaven and by Nature till God transplant us we are not only in but of this earthly Society and in the Kingdom of Darkness and under the Power and Dominion of Satan and whilest we are in this Kingdom of Satan we are Strangers to the Common-wealth and City of God But when God out of his unspeakable Mercy hath called us made us meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light and delivered us from the Power of Darkness and hath translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son Colos. 1. 12. 13. Then we are no more Strangers and Forreigners but Fellow-Citizens with the Saints and of the Houshold of God Ephes. 2. 19. Being once naturalized and made Burgesses of Heaven we have our Conversation in Heaven and carry our selves as Children of a Celestial extraction and the Progeny of the eternal King This Doctrine doth not only inform us of our Duty but ministreth unspeakable Comfort if we do perform it For if our Goods and earthly Estates be sequestred plundred oâ— any wayes taken from us we have a better Estate in Heaven If we be disgraced and reproached in this World yet we shall be Kings and Priests and for ever honoured in Heaven If we be banished and persecuted from place to place so that we can find no Rest and Safety but are wearied out with Removals yet we have a place of Rest and Safety and eternal Abode in Heaven and of this no man can dispossess and diffeisin us If our Sufferings be grievous many and continue long yet we have a City where is no Suffering Pain Persecution Poverty Sorrow where God will wipe away all Tears In this City are eternal Riches Pleasures Honours Peace Safety and full Joy there is nothing wanting which the heart of Man can desire This is that City which as it is the expectation so it 's the universal Comfort of the Sons of God And though the time of our Pilgrimage seem long and tedious yet it will shortly expire and then begins our everlasting Rest for God hath prepared a City for us § 17. The Apostle proceeds in proposing Abraham unto us as a Pattern of Imitation and instanceth in a fourth Work or Effect of his Faith for thus we read Ver. 17. By Faith Abraham when he was tryed offered up Isaac and he that had received the Promises offered his only begotten Son Ver. 18. Of whom it was said That in Isaac shall thy Seed be called Ver. 19. Accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead from whence also he received him in a Figure IN these words we may observe 1. Abraham's Obedience 2. His Faith whereby he performed this Obedience In this Obedience we have A Description of the Party obeying Act of Obedience 1. The Party obedient who was Abraham is described in reference to this Act of Obedience 1. As tempted 2. As having received the Promises 3. As one to whom it was said That in Isaac shall thy Seed be called 1. He was tempted or tried The party tempting or trying him was God not that God tempts any Man to Sin but that he would try and manifest unto Abraham himself his Faith and Love to God that so he might be a rare Example in both to all future Generations who should be informed of it The means whereby he tryed him was by giving him this singular and extraordinary Command of sacrificing his Son Isaac This Command we read of in the Books of Moses and this it is Take now thy Son thine only Son Isaac whom thou lovest and go thou to the Land of Moriah and offer him there upon one of the Mountains which I will tell thee of Gen. 22. 2. The End of this Command was to try whether Abraham loved God or his Son Isaac more The Effect of it was an Obligation of Abraâ—â— to perform this Service and to offer his Son Neither in this was God's preceptive Will contrary to his decretive Will for the decretive Will binds God absolutely to do that which he hath decreed and is indispensable but the preceptive Will bound only Abraham to do this yet so that God reserved a Power to dispense with him and to hinder the Performance And this was fulfilled instantly upon the signifying of his Will unto Abraham who instantly upon the Knowledg thereof was bound whether he did or did it not There was no decretive Will of God or Intention that Isaac should be slain and offered This Command was just and no wayes contrary to that other Command of God Thou shalt not kill for though it 's true that it is unjust and contrary to that Law for any Man to take away the life of a party innocent not guilty of any Capital Crime which is the thing there forbidden yet it is just and God may justly command Man to take away the Life of such an innocent Person And the reason hereof is not only this that that Law did not bind God but only Man but because he is the Supream Lord and hath absolute Power of Life and Death which no Creature hath or can have Again he could restore Life taken away which Abraham could not do nay it was above all created Power So that the Reason whereby God in this Command is freed from all Injustice is taken à Potestate Potentia Dei for his Power was absolute and supream and his strength was Almighty 2. Abraham had received the Promises of the Land of Canaan of a numerous Posterity sufficient to inhabit it of Christ in whom all Nations should be blessed 3. He was fully assured by God that in Isaac who was the Son of Promise all these Promises should be fulfilled For God had excluded Ismael and that peremptorily and had several times expresly signified that in Isaac and his Posterity and in none else these Promises should be accomplished Neither need we here trouble our selves about the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for it may be turned to whom that is to Abraham or of whom that is of Isaac it was said c. This was the Description of the Party obeying The Act of Obedience was this that he offered up Isaac he offered up his only begotten Son that Son of whom it was said In Isaac shall thy Seed be called The Sacrifice commanded as commanded was bloody and required the Death and
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
the mercies obtained by Faith the second to the sufferings which are to be reduced to the Catalogue of Sufferings which follow In the first we may observe 1. What the mercy received was 2. Who received it 3. By what they received it 1. The mercy received was great and such as could not have been given but by God and also by his extraordinary power For it presupposeth the parties raised to be dead which is the last and greatest of all evils in this Life and puts an end to all our earthly Hopes and Comforts which it wholly taketh away And though men may strengthen the Weak heal the Sick relieve the oppressed and deliver out of many Troubles and Dangers yet Death they cannot prevent when the fatal hour approacheth nor restore life after it 's once lost Death is an invincible Enemy and neither can Man or Angel rescue any out of Death's power yet the parties dead which were Children were raised life restored to them and Soul and Body separated were re-united yet to be separated again for the life restored was not immortal 2. The parties who received this extraordinary Mercy were both Women and Mothers as the parties dead were their Children The one was the Widow of Zarepta 1 King 17. 19. and he that raised her son was Elijah The other was the Shunamite whose son being dead was restored to life by Elisha 2 King 4. 21. There was a third person raised from the dead when he was cast into the Grave of the Prophet We do not read of any other dead persons restored to life in the Old Testament by these or any other Prophets 3. By Faith they are said to have received their dead It 's not written that they raised them but that they received them being raised The Prophets did raise them restore them and deliver them to their Mothers Yet neither could these Prophets by their own power do any such thing for it was an effect of the almighty power of God who made them his Instruments and by them upon their instant prayers did this great Work yet their prayers without Faith could not have been so effectual The Women also did much desire this mercy and did believe that God by the Prophets could restore their Children which were raised by the Faith of Prophets and received alive by the Faith of the Mothers The second Effect here mentioned is Patience in such as suffered cruel Torments in their Bodies Here begins the Catalogue of the suffering of the Saints which did evidence their Faith without which we can neither do good nor suffer evil so as God requireth This example is not found in Canonical Scripture therefore the Apostle knew it either by Tradition or some historical Writing yet so that he some wayes knew infallibly the truth of the matter Some think the Apostle understood Eliazar mentioned 2 Mach. 6. 18 19 20 c. and the Woman and her seven Sons so cruelly tortured as we read in 2 Maccab. 7. Chapter following who are related to have suffered constantly in hope of the Resurrection In the words we may observe 1. Their Suffering 2. Their non-Acceptance of Deliverance 3. Their Faith 1. Their Suffering they were Tortured The Sufferings of God's People may be truly said to be either Trials or Chastifements or Punishments or some or all of these and if we consider the Evils which both good and bad are subject unto in this Life we must distinguish between the matter and the manner For the matter of Sufferings passively considered may be the same in all but the manner as also the Causes are very different For the Sufferings of God's Saints are so qualified by Faith that in them many divine vertues are manifested and they tend though not to the meriting yet to the attaining of eternal Glory For if we suffer with Christ we shall be glorified with him Rom. 8. 17. And our leight Affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory 2 Cor. 4. 17. These Persons here intended are said to be Tympanized which is to be tormented several wayes as by beating and fustigation by racking and extension by tearing and excoriation for the word it self doth not determine the manner of Torment Therefore it 's well turned by this general word Tortured that is they were put to bodily pain The Torturers were Anâ—â—ochus and his cursed Agents the Sufferers and Subjects of these Tortures were the Jews which refused to obey the Commands of that cruel Tyrant contrary to the Laws of God 2. The Non-Acceptance of Deliverance doth imply that they might upon certain Conditions have been freed from these cruel Pains and so have prevented Death and that they rather chose to suffer more and dy than accept of the Conditions If we consult the History we shall understand 1. That they were commanded to do some things contrary to the Laws of God 2. That though they were in the Power of a cursed cruel Prince and perswaded both by Promise and threatning to obey yet they refused 3. That upon the Refusal they were tortured 4. In some Intermission of the torture they were advised again to yield for their Persecutors thought the bitterness of the pain might prevail much with them 5. Yet it did not for they remained constant and were ready to suffer the worst and to dy rather than disobey their God This was the Cause of their Suffering and made it glorious For they suffered not as Malefactors for their Crimes but for Righteousness sake and did manifest that they loved God and Righteousness more than their lives 3. They did thus suffer thus refuse Deliverance to obtain a better Resurrection this was the End of both and did manifest both their Faith and Hope 1. Their Faith in that they did believe there was a Resurrection unto eternal Life and that God not only could but also would raise them up again restore an immortal glorious blessed Life for a miserable short and mortal Breath and abundantly recompence their cruel Pains suffered in Obedience to him with eternal Pleasures They were assured that God was a Rewarder of those who diligently seek him by doing Good and suffering Evil for his sake 2. Their Hope grounded upon this Faith was their constant expectation of this Resurrection according to God's Promise For he had promised it to all such as really love him and their Suffering was a great Evidence of their Title and did assure them of Possession in due time Here two things are to be noted 1. That Resurrection to Immortality is general and common to all both good and bad for all must rise again to Judgment Yet some shall rise to Condemnation and the Suffering of eternal Shame and Punishment and others unto everlasting Life and Glory This latter Resurrection is here meant which is said to be better because by it they should receive a better Life than could be enjoyed on Earth 2. That it 's better for
any Man to suffer the most cruel Punishments and the worst of Tortures Man can inflict than lye under extream and everlasting Pains and the loss of Heaven in the Life to come and this was a Principle and Ground of their Patience Constancy and Fidelity to their God Thus they became true Martyrs proved Victorious and were crowned in Heaven § 35. Besides the former there were others who suffered other kinds of Evils for it follows Ver. 36. And others had Trial of cruel Mockings and Scourgings yea moreover of Bonds and Imprisonment HEre are three different Evils suffered by the Saints 1. Mockings 2. Scourgings 3. Bonds and Imprisonments So that the parts of the Text are three 1. The Enumeration of these Evils 2. Their Suffering of them 3. Their Faith 1. The Evils were 1. Mockings The Parties mocked were God's Saints and Prophets the Parties mocking were their Enemies and Persecutors which proved to be sometimes their own Brethren of the same Nation Language Kindred Religion and amongst these sometimes the basest of the People sometimes the Priests Princes and Rulers who should have honoured and protected them These Mockings issue out of Contempt and tend unto the Disgrace and Dishonour of the Party mocked and makes it a Sport to abuse them so as to rejoyce in their misery These Mockings are sometimes in words sometimes in signs sometimes in both And because to a grave serious Person of eminent Worth some of these Mockings are very bitter cutting cruel not only in respect of the matter but also of the Circumstances this made the Sufferings more glorious But why our Translators should add the word Cruel I know not the Septuagint and other Authors do not use either the Verb or Noun in that sense Yet to proud men that stand upon their Honour Mocking is far more grievous than to the lowly humble 2. Scourgings This is a Punishment also of great disgrace somtimes of cruel pain when by Whips either of Cords or Wires not only the Skin is broken but the very Flesh torn And this was the more grievous because it was an usual Punishment of Slaves of vilest Persons and of such as were of worst behaviour and by it they were not only put to pain but to open shame 3. The third Punishment was of Bonds and Imprisonnsent Bonds were Shackles Feâ—â—ers Chains Manacles wherewith their feet or hands or some other parts were bound Prisons were usually strong places and many times nasfy and uncomfortable and the worst kind of them were deep dark and dirty Dungeons Both these were restraints of Liberty which is so precious and desirable The End of them was the Reservation of Malefactors or suspected Persons till the time of Trial and Judgment and close Imprisonment was so much the more grievous when they were deprived of all comfortable Society and no friends suffered to relieve them 2. These they suffered some endured one of them some more some all For they had Trial or Experience of these things so some understand it as though the sense were that they did not fear them threatned but feel them inflicted Others think that these were called Trials from God to manifest the sincerity of their Faith and their heavenly Vertues that they might certainly know the happiness of their Condition or from their Petsecutors to shake their Faith and cause them to renounce their Fidelity to God But the former sense is more plain and genuine as appears by the Septuagint using it so and also from the 29th Verse of this Chapter and it signifies that they were not onely in danger of but under the present pressure of these evils Though their Enemies did afflict and vex them unjustly and wickedly yet they suffered them patiently and resolved that though God should kill them yet they would trust in him 3. They thus suffered these things by Faith For they knew the way to Heaven was rough and troublesom and that these Sufferings could not separate them from the Love of God nor deprive them of the great Reward but prepare them for eternal Glory For they vetily believed that there was eternal Life that God had promised it and that Constancy in the Covenant and Perseverance in the way of Righteousness was the only means to attain Possession and they knew that though their Sufferings were grievous yet the Reward would infinitely recompence all § 36. The Catalogue of the Saints Sufferings is continued and enlarged For Ver. 37. They were stoned sawen asunder tempted slain with the Sword they wandred about in Sheep-skins and Goat-skins destitute afflicted tormented IN this Text we find several sorts of Sufferers for some were put to Death some banished or fled and wandred in great want and misery seeking to save their Lives and keep a good Conscience So that they are of two sorts 1. Such as were put to Death 2. Such as wandred and continued a miserable Life 1. Those that dyed were 1. Either stoned or 2. Sawen asunder or 3. Tempted or 4. Slain with the Sword These were the several wayes whereby they were put to Death And those capital Punishments which God and just Law-givers determined for capital Offendors were inflicted upon the most innocent and best Persons of the World The Power of punishing Offenders is good and from God but the abuse of it is most intolerable for Persecutors condemn those whom God doth justify 1. Some were stoned This was a Punishment determined by God in the Judicial Laws of Moses to be executed upon several Delinquents and Transgressors Yet no Judg had Warrant from God to condemn any innocent Person to this kind of Death yet Zacharias for charging the Jews with their Sins and denbuncing God's Judgments against them was stoned to Death 2. Some were sawen asunder Thus some say Isaiah was slain by Manasses this was a cruel kind of Execution 3. Some were tempted so many printed Books read yet few can make sense of it Others think it should be not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were buâ—â—t and this is more agreeable to the Place and Scope Others omit it as the Syriack the Aethiopick the first Greek Manu-script in New-Colledge Oxford Neither do Chrysostom or Theophylact read it as Grotius informs us yet a Lapide finds it in Chrysostom which seems to imply that either one of them was mistaken or that they followed several Editions If it should be read and in this place as it 's hardly probable then it signifies that several were tempted by some cruel kind of Death to forsake their God yet they did not 4. Some were slain by the Sword which is used as well by the Magistrate against offending Subjects as by the Souldier against Enemies Martyrs might be thus slain either judicially or extrajudicially without any formal Process of Judgment for many times they laid hainous Crimes to their Charge suborned Witnesses and so sentenced them to Death Sometimes they made Justice Injustice Obedience to God Disobedience to
Man and vertuous Acts hainous Crimes and so called Good Evil and Light Darkness Yet these were not all the kinds of capital Punishments which the Servants of God suffered but only some few for the Cruelty of Persecutors invented others and made use of them The whole signifies that the Lives of the Saints and Prophets were taken away cruelly and most unjustly by several kinds of tormenting Deaths 2. Some were not slain but lived a miserable Life For 1. They wandred They might be Wanderers either by constraint or voluntarily by Constraint as when they were banished or forcibly dispossessed of their Houses and dwelling places voluntarily as when for fear of Death or to enjoy the quiet of Conscience they fled out of their Country or from the places of their Habitation so that they had no certain safe place of Rest They were continually flitting and removing as not having where to lay their heads 1. In this wandring condition they were destitute of Rayment and Cloaths whereby they might cover their Shame and defend their Bodies from the Injuries of Heaven They wanted Stuff or if they had Stuff they could not have them made and in this Case they used Sheep-skins and Goat-skins which Expression implyes 1. That their Cloathing was very mean and coorse yea not so much as shapen sewed up and sitted for their Bodies but only wrapped about some principal paâ—â—s leaving others naked These did not deserve the name of Garments but were nothing else but Skin upon Skin the Skin of Beasts upon the Skin of Man We use Apparel for necessity conveniency decency and pomp These were far from pomp there was neither decency not conveniency in them they did hardly reach so far as necessity required Though great is the Pride Vanity and excess in Apparrel of many in these times who little think of this sad condition of God's Saints yet they know not how soon they may be stript of all 3. They were destitute that is in great want of other Necessaries and as the Word doth signify very poor and indigent for they had left all their Substance or it was taken from them or they could have no use of it in their Necessity And if they wandred amongst strangers little was to be expected from them for strangers are many times used strangely and few are sensible of their miseries Some think the word may be turned descerti deserted and forsaken for in such a case few dare own their own Flesh and Blood and nearest Relations Yet the former sense seems to be more genuine For their very Habit did signify that their Penury was very great 4. They were afflicted for in such a case their straits must be many and the pressures and perplexities of Body and Mind very great and such as none but some who have been in their case can truly apprehend 5. They were tormented The word may signify they were ill handled sorely vexed oppressed and brought very low § 37. Yet these were not all their miseries for though they were precious men of worth and the best in the World yet they were thrust out of the World For so it followeth Ver. 38. Of whom the World was not worthy they wandred in Deserts and in Mountains and in Dens and Caves of the Earth THe first words seem to be put in parenthetically and so the words following agree immediately with the 37 verse The Propositions are two 1. The World was not worthy of them 2. They wandred in Deserts Mountains Dens and Caves of the Earth The first stands of it self and is yet pertinenly interlined Their Persecutors did vilify them and thought them unworthy to live and converse amongst men not fit to be suffered in any civil or religious Society They counted them the dross râ—feuse and filth of the World Therefore they banished them expelled them and as it were forced them out of their Company to live amongst Beasts yet they were persons of excellent worth the honour and grace of the World more fit for Heaven then Earth the only persons who were able to avert God's wrath and for whose sake the World did stand and by whom the destruction and conslagration of the World was delayed They were of high esteem with God and the wicked World was not worthy of their Society 2. These put out of the World were put to wander Before it 's said in the former verse They went about for so the word signifies here it 's said They wandered Some think the former word intends that they went from place to place and conversed with men though strangers though they had no certain place of aboad amongst them and this latter denoted a more sad and desolate condition for they wandred out of all wayes and in places neither inhabited nor well habitable Yet both words signify they had no fixed place of habitation amongst men But then it might be said Where did they wander The answer in places inhabited by men or in places not so inhabited the latter is here meant For they wandred 1. In deserts and solitary places where were neither Cities nor Towns nor Villages nor Houses nor so much as any poor Cottages And though man by Nature be a sociable Creature and society with men be comfortable yet they could not enjoy any such comfort To converse with men was dangerous to be deprived of society was uncomfortable therefore to avoid the danger they willingly did forego the comfort 2. They wandered in Mountains which also are solitary places and remote from the company of men And 3. In these Mountains amongst the high and craggy Rocks there were dens and hollow places made by Nature or by Art 4. Where there were neither Deserts nor Mountains they made Caves and Holes under the Ground and by Art and Industry contrived Labyrinths and subterraneal Passages like unto Roma Soterana Here they hid themselves and laid up such Utensils and Necessaries as they had hither they did in time of danger retire themselves So abandoning the World they chose such desert and desolate places where they might be more safe amongst wild Beasts than amongst their Persecutors where they might enjoy peace and quiet of Conscience converse with God and have sweet communion with their Saviour whom they prized and preferred far above the contents of the World Thus David hid himself in the Wilderness of Maon and of Ziph in the Cave of Adullam and in divers other places for to save himself from the persecuting rage of Saul Thus an hundred of the Lord's Prophets were hid by Obadiah by fifty in a Cave and were fed with Bread and Water Thus Elijah fled from Jezabel into the Wilderness and stayed not till he came to Horeb. In all these Sufferings you must observe 1. That they were innocent and so persecuted without any just cause 2. They encured Death and all these miseries with patient and chearful minds 3. In all this they preferred Christ before the World and were willing to suffer loss
liveless and sonsless This is the deficiency of the Body from which the Metaphor is taken For the deficiency of the Soul in the profession of the Christian Faith is intended and signified by these words therefore is added the word mind that is lest you â—e â—â—ary and faint in your mind This implies that there is a divine spiritual or moral strength and fortitude of the mind whereby it 's enabled to endure Persecutions and Contradictions though many and long continued Yet as the Body so the Mind may be wearied faint yield ly under the burden and entertain thoughts of forsaking the Faith and at length forsake it indeed And this was the Devils design to tire and weary them out that so they might be willing to renounce Christianity the Profession whereof was so toublesom 2. The Remedy here mentioned whereby this sad Event might be prevented was to consider what Contradiction Christ suffered from Sinners and yet endured with Patience to the End This through the Sanctification of God's Spirit would refresh strengthen and revive them And here we must observe that some are of so poor a spirit as that they will yield before their Strength fail them some are lazy and love their Ease some are negligent and make no use of such Helps as God hath put in their power and this is a great Sin in any of us who profess the Faith of Christ and it tends to Apostacy For God requires whilst we have any strength to use it 3. Therefore they are exhorted to use the means and consider Christ's Patience and Constancy and following his Example not sink under a far leighter burden seeing he did not shrink under a far more heavy Temptation § 4. Besides the Example of Christ which they must consider there is another Reason Ver. 4. Ye have not yet resisted unto Blood striving against Sin THough this may seem to be another distinct Reason from the former yet it may be a Branch of the same For Christ had resisted to Blood which they had not done Yet there may be something more in the Text for not only Christ but also other Saints far inferiour to Christ had been faithful unto Death and had sealed their Profession with their Blood This was no more than Duty and God required it at their hands and to faint and fall off before that Period was agrievous Sin This therefore presupposeth that it was their Duty to resist unto Blood and to suffer far more than yet they had endured therefore they must go on In the words we have two Propositions 1. They did strive against Sin or they did suffer striving against Sin 2. In striving against Sin they had not yet resisted unto Blood 1. By Sin is not meant any kind of Sin but some one principal and far above the rest and its Apostacy called so Antonomastik 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 s by way of Eminency It 's true that it 's a general Duty of all Christians to strive against all Sin for we are no sooner regenerate and have renounced the Devil and the World and bid desiance and proclaimed eternal Feud and Hostility but we are fearfully assaulted and after that time our Life is a continued Warfare hence the many fearful Conflicts between Flesh and Spirit within us The Events of this War are many and various but the final Issue is a total final eternal Victory The great Design of Satan in this Battle is to shake our Faith in pieces for then if that be done the Conquest is compleat Therefore said our Saviour to Peter Simon Simon Behold Satan hath desired to have you that he might sift you as Wheat But I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not Luk. 22. 31 32. And if Christ should not strengthen and support no Man could stand Therefore we should remember and consider what our condition is it 's a state of War and not of Peace and we are environed continually with potent vigilant and cruel Enemies which seek our temporal and eternal Ruine in this respect we must alwayes sight and strive with all our Power and stand continually upon our Watch pray for help and humbly depend upon our God and of all other things let us keep our Faith If that be safe all is safe and all other Sins pardonable but if that be lost all is lost and our case is desperate 2. Yet in this War they had not resisted to Blood By Blood is meant Death and a violent taking away of Life and though they had resisted stoutly and suffered much yet their lives were safe Reproaches and loss of Goods were grievous yet Life is very precious and the best thing we have in this World it 's far more than Goods and these temporal Estates and Man will do much and give much to save it In this respect Death is said to be so terrible as the greatest of all temporal Evils Upon this he urgeth this Duty of Perseverance in Resistance because their Life was due to Christ and whosoever will not lay it down for Christ's sake cannot be his Disciple For if any man saith Christ come to me and hate not his Father and Mother and Wife and Children and Brethren and Sisters yea and his own Life also he cannot be my Disciple Seeing therefore their Duty was to do and suffer far more than yet they were put unto they should not faint under the loss when they were bound to beaâ— the greater burden And as this was their Duty so it 's ours and if we think it unreasonable to be put unto so hard Service to resist even unto Blood if God require it let us consider that Christ suffered cruel pains and laid down his Life for us that many of God's Saints did cheerfully suffer loss of all earthly Comforts and of life it self that if we lose our life which is but mortal and momentany we find a Life immortal glorious and for ever blessed that we resist and strive not for our temporal Estates Wives Children earthly Country but for our eternal Safety Peace and Happiness that our Sufferings though far greater than they are yet are but leight and for a moment but the Glory which will follow is exceeding and eternal and will make amends for all Lord encrease our Faith and strengthen our hearts in the hour of Temptation § 5. The next Argument is taken from the Nature of their Sufferings as they are Chastisements upon them from God as a Father chastning every Child according to his Wisdom for their Good and Happiness wherein they end for the end of them is Peace This Argument we find proposed first and then excellently polished It begins Ver. 5. And ye have forgotten the Exhortation which speaketh to you as to Children My Son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked ef him IN these words with those that follow unto Ver. 14 we may observe 1. Something presupposed 2. Something expressed 1. The thing presupposed is
uncloathed and divested of their Bodies Yet there were Millions upon Millions of separated Souls before their times and many of these the Souls of men dying in their Sins but these were the Souls and Spirits of just men who in their mortal Life upon Earth were upright walked with their God and endeavoured an universal Obedience yet they were not perfectly righteous in themselvs but were justified sanctified and cleansed from all Sin by their Faith in Christ before they departed this World For they were the Spirits of Patriarchs Prophets Martyrs and the Saints of God who lived in former times which were made perfect To be made perfect is to be washed in the Blood of Christ and consecrated as many in this Life are yet these had finished their time of Consecration and were made capable of a nearer Communion with God than we Mortals are Though these were removed out of the Church Militant yet they had not attained an Estate of full Perfection for they had not received their full Reward though they were secure of it as of the Resurrection of their Bodies and were nearer unto God and eternal Bliss than we on Earth can be These were the Spirits of just men made perfect and to these the believing Hebrews were come For wheresoever or howsoever God had disposed of them yet they were within the Verges of his Kingdom and not only in but of this society and fellow-Members of the same Body They were come unto them though not in the same place with them and must expect to be by Death removed and more nearly associated with them when the time of their Consecration should be finished and then they should be freed from all Sin and Temptation and their condition would be comfortable and most certain Our Converse with Saints departed is very little or none though some Communion there is between them and us living upon Earth We and they have the same God and Sovereign the same Head Jesus Christ the same Charity the same desire and hope of Resurrection § 22. They were also come Ver. 24. To Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant and to the Blood of Sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel THis Text informs us 1. That Jesus is the Mediatour of the New Covenant by his Blood 2. This Blood of Sprinkling speaks better things than that of Abel 3. They were come to this Mediatour and this Blood of Sprinkling 1. Christ is the Mediatour of the New Covenant by his Blood Of this Covenant and of Christ the Mediatour of it you have formerly heard Chap. 8. 6. Cap. 9. 15. It 's written that the Law was ordained by Angels in the hand of a Mediator Gal. 3. 19. This Mediatour was Moses who 1. Signifies the mind of God to Israel in his stipulation of Subjection and Obedience and his Promise to be their God and make them his peculiar People and return the Promise and Restipulation of that People unto God Exod. 19. 5. 6 7 8. 2. He confirms this Covenant by sprinkling of the Blood of the Sacrifice Exod. 24. 34 5 6 7 8. In this he was a Type of Christ who is the Mediatour of the new and better Covenant to procure it confirm it make it effectual Some inform us that he procure it by his Blood and Sacrifice satisfying God's Justice and meriting his Mercy for sinful Man He makes it effectual 1. By proposing it unto Man and pressing the keeping of it upon powerful Motives and this is done by the Word of the Gospel 2. He enables Man by the Spirit to keep it 3. Upon his keeping of it by his Repentance and Faith he makes Intercession for Man repenting and believing and obtains Pardon of his Sins and Defects and Acceptation of his endeavours and in the End he as a Judg gives Possession of eternal Life So that after once the Covenant is procured by his Blood as a Prophet he proposeth and declareth it as a Priest he makes Intercession as a King and Judg he gives Possession Yet according to the Scripture Christ is a Mediatour in proper and more strict sense as a Priest and his Blood and Death is the Foundation of this Covenant for all the Promises thereof are made for and in consideration of this Blood and Death without which there is no Expiation of Sin or hope of Pardon And though the Promises were made from the beginning and that upon condition of Faith in his Blood yet they had been vain and unprofitable to Man if Christ in fulness of time had not shed his Blood and by his Death made this Covenant firm and unalterable for ever And as this Blood satisfying divine Justice and meriting his favour and all Mercies necessary for our happiness is the Foundation of this Covenant so this Blood by Christ's Intercession sprinkled upon our Souls makes this Covenant effectual So that as this Blood being shed procures and confirms this Covenant in it self so this Blood pleades before the Throne of Grace in our behalf confirms this Covenant to us and makes it effectual to our Salvation Therefore though Christ as a Prophet and a King may do something about this Covenant yet it mainly depends upon Christ as a Priest and as a Priest he is a Mediatour Take away this Blood shed and there is no Covenant take away the pleading of this Blood before the Judgment-Seat of God and there is no efficacy of this Covenant to us in particular And here as we must distinguish of this Blood as shed as pleaded and as sprinkled so we must of this Covenant as procured as made as confirmed as likewise of it as kept and as made effectual unto us In all these respects it depends upon Christ as a Priest and upon his Blood and by and in respect of this Blood he is a Mediatour And it is further to be observed that a Mediatour is one that deals and acts between two Parties and is distinct from both at least so to be considered The Parties here are God and sinful Man Christ as a Priest is different from both for though he agrees with both yet in this business he is neither The End of this Mediation is Reconciliation of God and Man of the Sovereign offended and the Subject offending God offended will not hear of Reconciliation but upon certain terms as the satisfaction of his Justice by Blood the Repentance of Man offending casting himself wholly upon his Mercy and the Intercession of a just Party which had shed his Blood for Sins Christ therefore being the Word made Flesh offers his pure and unspotted Blood in behalf of Man to satisfy Justice and this Blood is accepted he makes Intercession for Man repenting and relying upon this Blood and God's Mercy and so the Reconciliation is made and the Covenant proves effectuall on both sides and that by vertue of a Mediatour coming between God angry and Man guilty and interposing between Man repenting and God sollicited by this
did see it To be Crowned with Glory and Honour is to be invested with great Glory Honour Dignity and Power and the words signify the exaltation of Christ at the right hand of God We need not here distinguish of Crowns which were of many sorts For if the Author did allude to any of these the sacerdotal Mitte and the imperial Diadem did most of all resemble the eminency and dignity of this Celestial Pontiff and this universal King But why may i◠not be an Hebraism 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Crown doth signify To compass about for God had circuminvested Christ with the highest and most eminent degree of Dignity and Power and this is the Word used by the Psalmist For the suffering of Death This passion was the meritorious cause his Glory and Honour the Reward according to another Scripture which informs us that because Christ was obedient unto Death the Death of the Cross Therefore God did highly exalt him Phil. 2. 8 9. Neither need we fear to say that Christ merited eternal Glory for Himself if we confess he merited it for Us. It 's true he could not merit the personal union and such things which necessarily followed upon the same but this is nothing to that Crown of Glory which was given him in consideration of that most excellent piece of Service which he performed in expiating the Sin of man and that by his own Blood which is plain Scripture Some referr this clause unto the former of Christ being made a little lower then the Angels yet understand it differently For some say He was made lower then the Angels by or in respect of his Death Others think that it denotes the final cause of his minoration as though the end why he was cast below the Angels was that he might suffer But neither of these are probable we see that is it was manifest both by the glorious Miracles done and excellent Gifts of the Spirit given in his Name and other ways and they did therefore see it The second Proposition He was made a little lower then the Angels It 's not material whether we understand by little a little measure of inferiority or a little time for both are true But the principal thing in these words is where in he was made lower then the Angels and that was in this that he was man and mortal Man is inferior to an Angel as man and much more as mortal because the Angels never dy Now Christ had the body of a man and a Soul separable from his body till the Resurrection and that was the little time here meant the time of his mortality Both might be joyned in one divine Axiome thus We see for the suffering of Death Crowned with Glory and Honour that Jesus who for a little time was made lower then the Angel The third Proposition That he by the Grace of God might taste of Death for 〈◊〉 man In these words we have the reason and the end why Christ was made lower then the Angels for a time For it was that through the Grace of God he might redeem us by his Death In the words we have 1. The Death of Christ. 2. The parties for whom he dyed 3. The inward motive which inclined God to give him to Death and the first Original of Redemption 1. It 's said He insted of Death we need not play the Critick in the explication of the word taste For the plain meaning is that he suffered Death and by this is signified all his Sufferings which were many and bitter the principal and consummation whereof was Death wherein they all ended and without which there had been no expiation 2. He suffered Death for every man not that every man should absolutely enjoy the ultimate benefit thereof for every one doth not yet every man as a sinner hath some benefit by it Because the immediate effect of this Death was that every man's sin in respect of this Death is remissible and every man savable because Christ by it made God propitious and placable in that he had punished man's sin in him and laid on him the iniquities of us all And the reason why every man is not actually justified and saved is not for want of sufficient Propitiation but upon another account 4. That which moved God to transferr the punishment due to our sins upon Christ his only begotten Son was his Grace and free love For he so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son to be the propitiation for our Sins The end therefore why Christ was made lower then the Angel was that he being man and mortal yet holy and innocent without sin might suffer Death that our sins might be expiated divine justice satisfied and a way made for mercy to save us Ver. 10. For it became him c. § 13. These words must be considered absolutely in themselves relatively in their connexion Absolutely considered they inform us and do affirm that it became God to bring us to Salvation by the Suffering of Christ. This is the substance In the words we may observe the end means conveniency of the means 1. The end is to bring many Sons unto Salvation 2. The means is to perfect their Captain by Sufferings 3. The convenience of these means in respect of this end it was such as that is became God to use them All these may be reduced to certain Propositions which are these 1. Christ is the Captain of Salvation 2. God made this Captain perfect by Suffering 3. This was the means to bring many Sons to Glory 4. Thus to do became him for whom and by whom are all things 1. Christ is the Captain of the Salvation of the Sons of God The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 turned Captain signifies a Prince of a multitude eminent for dignity and priority or one who besides his eminent Dignity is invested with Power to command direct and order the rest inferiour and subject to his Power or one who in any work is a principal cause and hath a great and eminent influx upon the Subject to produce the Effect In all these significations Christ may be here taken For he in respect of all Patriarchs Prophets Apostles Saints Martyrs and Believers is the most eminent for dignity and invested with supream and universal Power and in both respects he is called their Lord and King and Head for as the Head is in respect of the members so is Christ in respect of his Saints and many Sons of God He is also the Authour Beginner and principal cause of their Salvation both for the merit of it and the application of the merit and the actual consummation and collation He by his Death laid the foundation and by his Word and Spirit makes them capable of Salvation and gives them a right unto it He by his Intercession procures their actual Justification and Glorification He by his Power doth raise them up and gives
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
conducing and necessary 1. By a Similitude taken from a Testament and last Will For as the Death of the Testatour is necessary for to make his Testament of force and effectual so the Death of Christ was for the making effectual the Covenant of Grace ver 16 17. 2. From the manner of the Sanction and confirmation of the first Covenant which was solemnly confirmed by Blood God even then signifying That the better Covenant must be established by Blood yet by better blood ver 18 19 20. Secondly He manifests that it was as necessary for purification and expiation of the parties in Covenant and this also by a Similitude from the Law Ceremonial whereof we may observe two parts 1. The proposition concerning Expiation and Purification under the Law For then the Tabernacle and Vessels and almost all things were purified by Blood and without Blood there was no Legal Expiation and Remission ver 21 22 23. The Reddition follows and therein is signified That if it was necessary that these shadows should be purified with the blood of Sacrifice men certainly it was necessary that the heavenly things shadowed should be purified and that with the blood of some better Sacrifice and this Sacrifice was that of Christ himself by the blood whereof he enters Heaven and there appears before God for us ver 23 24. Yet lest they should think that as the High-Priest entred often and every time with blood therefore Christ must often suffer Death that he may often offer he informs them that though the High-Priest was a Type of Christ and was like unto him in many things yet in these two they did much differ 1. Then they entred often 2. They entred with the blood of Beasts But Christ 1. Offered but once and entred Heaven 2. He offered himself and by his own Blood entred Heaven and took away Sin for ever And in this God made him like to other men for whom he suffered For as he hath appointed that they shall dye once and after come to Judgment so he had ordained that Christ should dye but once and after that to come in Glory to reward his Saints with eternal Salvation § 29. Before I proceed unto the next Chapter it will not be amisse to take notice of the glosse of the Socinian Expositor upon the former proposition of this Text. For he would have us to believe that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to bear the Sins is to take away Sin by removing it and sanctifying his People To this end he 1. Observes that the word sometimes so signifies and argues that because the Offering of Christ was performed in Heaven therefore it cannot here signify to bear Punishment for Sin But 1. The word doth no where in the New Testament signify to take away but either to take or bear up unto an higher place or to offer and suppose it should signify in some few places of the Old Testament to take away yet in many and very many places it hath another signification and under one word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it 's used by the Septuagint 80 times for to offer Neither are any of the four places cited by him truly and sincerely but falsly alledged But suppose it should signify sometimes â—ay often to take away doth it follow from thence that therefore it must so signify here 2. Sin may be and is taken away 1. By suffering the Punishment to make it remissible 2. By pardon and Remission 3. By sanctifying and renewing the Sinner And To conclude that because it 's taken away by Sanctification therefore it 's not taken away by Suffering and Expiation is very inconsequent 3. For Christ's offering of himself in Heaven we know that in his sense it cannot be true For Christ's willing Suffering for the Sin of Man is the offering of himself and this was done on Earth as is evident from the Scriptures And though when he presenred himself in Heaven as having suffered and this before God yet this is seldom called offering Yet if it were it presupposeth another Act antecedent which is an offering in proper sense CHAP. X Concerning the Perfection of Christ's Sacrifice and certain Duties which we are bound to performs in respect of his Priest-hood § 1. THE Author continues his Discourse concerning Christ's Sacrifice which being finished he proceeds to apply the Doctrine of Christ's Priest-hood and Sacrifice and deduce some practical Conclusions from it The parts therefore of the Chapter are two 1. Concerning Christ's Sacrifice 2. Concerning certain Duties which he exhorts these Hebrews to perform This is so plain that there is a general agreement amongst Expositors concerning the same Christ's Sacrifice as in the former Chapter so here is considered and handled comparatively and with reference to the Levitical Sacrifices The intention of the Apostle is to set forth the Excellency of it as far above the other in respect of the Efficacy So that we have of this first part of the Chapter two Branches 1. Concerning the Imperfection and Impotency of the Legal Sacrifices 2. Concerning the Perfection and Efficacy of Christ's one Sacrifice This takes up the first part of the Chapter unto Ver. 20. where the Apostle begins the hortatory part grounded upon the excellency of Christ's Priest-hood and the Perfection and Efficacy of his Sacrifice The Duties exhorted unto principally are Faith Perseverance in Profession And both these are urged upon several strong and powerful Reasons The former briefly the latter largely unto the last Chapter The principal Arguments in this Chapter are taken 1. From the Punishment which must be suffered if we fall away where according to the Aggravations of the Sin the grievousness of the penalty is set forth 2. From their former Constancy and Patience whereof he doth remind them 3. From the glorious Reward which they shall shortly and certainly receive upon their perseverance This is the general Method and so clear and obvious to the intelligent and observant Reader that it 's generally agreed upon for the Substance of it The particulars shall be more distinctly delivered in the Explication To enter upon the words let 's begin with Ver. 1. For the Law having a Shadow of good things to come and not the very Image of the things can never with those Sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the Commers thereunto perfect THese words are in Effect the same with those of the former Chapter Ver. 9. and serve to infer the necessity of that better Sacrifice of Christ. For the Authour had said That it was necessary that the heavenly things themselves should be purified with better Sacrifices than these Ver. 23. These words therefore contain a Reason whereby is proved the Imperfection of the Levitical Sacrifices in respect of Sanctification The Argumentation in Form is this That which had but a Shadow of good things to come and not the very Image of the things themselves could not by the yearly Sacrifices continually offered perfect the commers
Will and great Command of God which can never be found in the Moral Law That Christ should suffer and offer himself to expiate the Sin of Man This Law is said to be in his heart and he delighted to do it For if he had not done it willingly it never had been accepted or effectual These words are left out in the Apostles allegation not only because he would have them understood but also because the Text of the Psalmist without them was sufficient for his purpose Though it 's very true that in the New Testament several times a few words of the Text cited out of the Old are expressed and the Reader referred to the Book where they are written at large 2. He came to do his Will that is to dye for the Sin of Man and to do this Will and offer himself a Sacrifice for the Expiation of our Sins was the end of his coming For as that was the great Command of his Father so it was the great Work he had to do Not long before his Death he said Now my Soul is troubled and what shall I say Father save me from this hour but for this cause came I unto this hour Joh. 12. 27. And in his Agony he prayes That the bitter Cup of his Passion if it were possible might passe from him yet concludes Thy will not mine be done Where it 's implyed That it was his Father's Will he should suffer and offer himself and he was resolved to do it and to deny his own Will and submit unto his heavenly Father And again The Cup which my Father hath giveâ— me shall I not drink it Joh. 18. 11. He could have prayed to his Father and have obtained twelve Legions of Angels a Power sufficient to have rescued him from all his Enemies yet would not do it For saith he How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be Matth. 26. 54. Where we must observe 1. That the Father had by the Prophets of Old signified That it was his Will that Christ should suffer 2. That he câ—me into the World to fulfil this Will and to present himself before his Father when the time came and said Lo I come 3. This was written in the Volume of God's Book This Book is the Book of the Old Testament and it 's called a Volume because it was not bound up as now Books are but rouled up into a Scroul or Volume as the Hebrew word doth signify and as some say The Jews do fold up the Book they read in their Synagogues Therefore is it said That when the Book of the Prophet Esay was delivered to Christ he unfolded it and when he had read a part of it he folded it up again as the word in the Original signifieth Luke 4. 17 20. The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is turned by Aquila 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Symmachus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by Hierom Pagnine Pratensis Tremelius and Junius Volumen by the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and by the Vulgar Caput and so in this place Tremelius and Beza translate it Schindler thinks the Septuagint took Megittah for Gilgoleth which signifies the Scul or the Head But this is not likely We need not much trouble our selves about the Word For as Genebrard observes the meaning is That it was written of him in the whole body of the Scriptures and the sum of them for the sum of Moses and the Prophets is Christ. And it 's certain That Christ was the principal Subject of all their Writings which Christ read and perfectly knew his Fathers Will revealed in them that men might believe in him and expect Salvation from him This Will so perfectly known to Christ was in his heart which he delighted to do and was resolved upon it Thus must we deny our own natural Desires to suffer loss of life and cruel pains to do the Will of God if we will be Christ's Disciples and receive benefit by him § 8. Thus far the words of the Psalmist the Apostle's Application followeth which will be the more perspicuous if we consider the Subject of his discourse and the scope whereat he aims His Subject is the sanctification and perfection of such aâ— Worship God by Sacrifices and Offerings and his scope is this to prove that the Legal Sacrifices and Offerings could not expiate Sin and perfect the Worshippers because that effect was reserved for an higher Cause and for a more excellent Sacrifice Thus much premised the Apostle having recited the words of the Psalm observes three things in them 1. The rejection of the Legal Offerings and that in these two words Thou wouldst not and thou hadst no pleasure therein 2. The acceptation of the Sacrifice of Christ the Offering whereof was the doing God's Will 3. The reason why he rejected and took away the former was that he might establish the latter And seeing these were the words of God spoken by the Prophet David and that in time of the Law and that they plainly signify the Will of God in the matter of Sacrifices therefore the argument was strong and evincing and did clearly prove that the Legal Offerings could not take away sin but Christ's could § 9. That Christ's Offering could do this he affirms saying Ver. 10. By which Will we are sanctified by the Offering of the Body of Jesus Christ once for all HEre the Apostle returns again unto the Sacrifice of Christ and proves it far more excellent then those of the Law and that especially in two things 1. In that it could sanctify which they could not 2. It did sanctify being but one and once offered whereas they were many and often offered This excellency virtue and efficacy is set forth two wayes 1. Absolutely ver 10. 2. Comparatively ver 11 12 13 14. In these words where we have the virtue of this Sacrifice asserted absolutely we have two things 1. An Effect our Sanctification 2. The Cause the Will of God through the once offering of the Body of Christ. Where 1. We must not understand by Sanctification only a communication of inherent Righteousness in renuing the Image of God in us but also Justification and a freedom from all Sin and all the consequents thereof so that we shall never Sin or be guilty of Sin any more This is a rare and noble Effect and such as upon the same we shall be fully and for ever blessed 2. The Cause of this is God's Will through Christ's Body once offered And here by Will is meant the Will and Command of God signifyed to Christ that he should offer his Body once with his promise to accept it Yet this Will may be considered 1. As a Law or Command given and signified to Christ. 2. As performed by Christ in which latter sense it is here taken principally For it 's not this Will or Command but this Will done that doth sanctify If God had given this Command and Christ had never