c. but as saith Saint Ierome c Hierony in Psal 110. all Ecclesiasticall writers haue saied that he is saied to bee without father according to his manhood without mother and kinred according to his godhead and therein also without beginning of daies or end of life Therefore as Melchisedec for any thing we reade so Christ verily and indeed continueth a priest for euer seeing he euer liueth as was before saide to make intercession for vs. The honour of priesthood proper vnto Iesus Christ 21 Nowe of all that hath beene spoken this is the summe that the honour of priesthood for propitiation and attonement for sinne belongeth onely vnto Iesus Christ that hee alone it is who for the greatnesse of his person and for the woorthinesse of his sacrifice and for the power of his intercession is sufficient to be our mediatour vnto God that hee onely answereth that that was figured in Melchisedec being for vs both a king and a priest The sufficiencie of the priesthood of Christ is the condemnation of the popish priesthood in whom we haue righteousnes and peace and blisse who neuer ceaseth to stande and pleade for vs before the throne of God Seeing then hee is thus alsufficient in himselfe and abideth euer with God to performe in our behalfe the office of a priest wee learne heereby to looke to another priest or mediatour but onely to him therefore to cōdemne the popish priesthood togiher with all their strange intercessiōs of sacriledge blasphemie as tending to the derogation of the priesthood of Christ and to the impeachment of that sacrifice and attonement that he hath performed for vs. The popish priesthood of no order appointed by God and therefore not of God Of whom it may be demaunded by what order it is that they take vpon them to bee priests and to offer sacrifice for forgiuenesse of sinnes The Scriptures as before is saide name vnto vs onely two orders of priesthood of which theirs is neither The order of Aaron they will not chalenge vnto themselues the order of Melchisedec they dare not because it is noted to be the peculiar and soueraigne royaltie of the sonne of God Or if they dare as indeed what dare they not to serue their turne how or with what colour can they fitte themselues to that order for to be a priest after the order of Melchisedec is to be both king and priest and to be a priest a Heb. 7.3 continuing for euer without father without mother c. But these things cannot be applied to popish priests Therefore priests according to the order of Melchisedec they cannot be If neither according to Aaron nor according to Melchisedec then their priesthood is not of God but they are priests of their owne making and therefore hatefull vnto God The popish priesthood impeacheth and disgraceth the priesthood of Christ 22 And so much the rather for that by this their vsurped priesthood they vilifie and disgrace the priesthood which God by his oath hath established for euer in Iesus Christ For what doe they but mainely detract from the excellencie of his person when in offering sacrifice for sinne they match mate with him euery varlet and pesaunt to whom it pleaseth any Romish bishop to giue imposition of hands and make them priestes to appeere before God and to make attonement for sinne whom men woulde scant thinke woorthie enough for the wiping of their shooes or the keeping of their swine The sacrifice of his crosse that b Heb. 7.27 9.12.26 10.10.12.14 once offering of himselfe which onely and without any second offering the scripture commendeth vnto vs teaching vs that thereby we c Heb. 10.10.14 are sanctified and perfited vnto God so that wee haue no neede of any further offering what doe they but disgrace as vnsushcient when they make a necessitie of offring him vp in sacrifiec euery day to purchase thereby forgiuenesse of sinnes both for quicke and dead and when the holy Ghost most expressely saith that a Heb. 9.24.25 he is entred into heauen to appeere in the sight of God for vs not that hee shoulde offer himselfe often doe yet notwithstanding teach that being in heauen he often and euery day b Rhem. Tesia Annot. Heb. 7.23 concurreth with their priests as the Rhemists speake to offer vp himselfe His intercession they haue made in a manner frustrate and voide by putting in his place other intercessours and mediatours by whome they haue perswaded themselues to haue more ready accesse vnto God euen as many as there are saints to be found in heauen as if Christ were either vnwilling or vnable to procure them fauour with God or were asleepe and had forgotten either the office committed vnto him or this promise whereby as before was noted he hath assured vs in this sort c Ioh. 14 13. Whatsoeuer ye aske the father in my name I will doe it that the father may be glorified in the sonne teaching vs to vse no other but onely his owne name because God in this behalfe hath chosen to be glorified neither in Peter nor Paul nor in the virgin Mary but onely in his sonne To discourse these points at large would be too long and tedious but thus in a word they rob Christ so much as in them lieth of that honour which God the father by an irreuocable oath hath confirmed vnto him and make the word of God of none effect by communicating that to other which the father hath vowed shal be proper vnto him alone And horrible is the iniquitie and villanie that from time to time they haue committed vnder the pretence of this priesthood even d 2. Pet. 2.1.3 denying the Lord that hath bought them and through couetousnesse with famed words buying and selling and making merchandise of the e Renel 18.13 soules of men and whilest they fed them with an opinion of forgiuenesse of sinnes by their priesthood and sacrifice bereauing them of forgiuenesse of sinnes which they should haue found indeede in the bloud of Iesus Christ Let vs not be partakers of their error but refusing all other priesthood and mediation let vs cleaue vnto that onely which God hath ordeined in the person of Iesus Christ He hath f Heb. 1.3 by himselfe purged our sinnes and perfectly fulfilled the worke of reconciliation which was committed vnto him of the father he needeth no aslistants or helpers in this behalfe The comfort that we receiue by the priesthood of Christ 23 But of all this a singular comfort is ministred vnto vs. For seing we haue such an high priest so glorious and great in person so sufficient in woorth of sacrifice so gratious in intercession sitting also at the right hand of the maiesty in heauen so neere vnto God the very sonne of God what good thing is there that we may not hope for at the hands of God by his meanes How should we doubt but
that day when as the angell brought that gracious and blessed tidings from heauen e Luc. 2.10 Behold I bring you glad tidings of great ioy that shall be to all people that this day there is borne vnto you in the citie of Dauid a Sauiour which is Christ the Lorde This Psalme written of Christour Lord and not appliable to any other Of this Sauiour Christ the Lord was this Psalme written by way of Prophecie which for the performance of this solemnity I haue chosen to entreate of which although the Iewes of later times haue gone about to wrest to another meaning yet is so approoued and vndoubted a prophecie of Christ that the Pharisees durst not dense it when a Math. 22. â—â— 4â— being apposed and demaunded by our Samour how it should be seeing Christ is the sonne of Dauid that Dauid notwithstanding should call him Lord saying The Lord said vnto my Lord they could not answer him a word whereas the answere had been very easie and readie if they could haue denied this Psalme to be meant of Christ But they knew it could not be otherwise vnderstood and it was commonly taken amongst them to be a prophecie of their Messias according to the verie euidence of the text it selfe which cannot be fitted to any other but onely to Christ our Sauiour the sonne of God For whereas some of them sithence haue construed all these things as spoken in the name of the people of Iudah concerning Dauid their king the text it selfe refuseth that construction when in those words sit thou at my right hand it mentioneth an honour done to him of whom it speaketh greater then can be fitted to the angels and therefore much lesse to be applied vnto Dauid Againe that which is spoken in the fourth verse of the Priesthood cannot be vnderstood of Dauid who was indeed a king but neuer had any thing spoken as touching the Priesthood to appertaine vnto him and of whom it cannot be conceiued how it should be saied Thou art a priest for euer c. Yea there is nothing here spoken whereof we may see in Dauid anie more but some little shadow in comparison of that that hath come to passe in Iesus Christ The diuision and parts of this Psaâ—me 3 Vnderstanding it therefore of him to whom onely it can properly belong we may see many notable lessons conteined heerein of the kingdome and priesthood of Christ of his mightie power and successe in the gathering and gouerning of his Church of the condition and qualitie of his people of his dreadfull reuengement and wrath to be brought vpon all them that resist his kingdome and gouernment We may for orders sake diuide the whole Psalm into three parts the one concerning the kingdome of Christ in the three first verses the other concerning his priesthood in the fourth verse the third concerning his power and victorie and triumph ouer his enimies Three things to be obserued in the kingdome of Christ. from the fourth verse to the ende Againe in the first concerning the kingdome of Christ three points may obserued First the inuesting of him into his kingdome in the first verse In the second verse the meanes and maner how this kingdome is erected and established In the third verse the qualitie and continuall supply of the subiects of this kingdome 4. The inuesting of Christ into this glorious kingdome is by the word of his heauenly father The Lord saied vnto my Lord. Wherein is vttered the euerlasting decree and purpose of God for the exaltation of Iesus Christ to this excellent glorie to sit at the right hand of God Gods saying is the manifesting of his euerlasting purpose For whatsoeuer God doth or will do he hath before saied it with himselfe in his secret and vnsearchable counsell before the foundations of the worlde were laide Now we are heere to distinguish him that saieth from him to whom it is saied the one termed the Lord The Lord God the father my Lord God the sonne the other my Lord to import by the one that is the Lord God the father by the other that is my Lord the sonne Iesus Christ who according to the a Rom. 1.3 flesh was made of the seed of Dauid and in that respect was the sonne of Dauid but yet called by Dauid himselfe my Lord that we may vnderstand that he is somewhat more then that that he was borne of Dauid For by being Dauids sonne he was but onely man but somewhat there is further for which Dauid speaking of him calleth him Lord teaching vs thereby to acknowledge him to bee the sonne of God But when speaking of God the Father My Lord why in speciall maner spoken of Christ he calleth him the Lord and speaking of God the Sonne he calleth him my Lord as thereby to import some more speciall and neerer bond and respect betwixt the sonne and vs he doth it not to barre vs from calling God the father our Lord also but thereby giueth vs occasion to consider that all that communion and felowship which wee haue with God the father thereby we are his people and he is the Lord our God ariseth from the sonne and standeth in the sonne so that no otherwise can we call God our Lord and our God but as with Thomas we can first saie vnto Iesus Christ b Ioh. 20.28 Thou art my Lord and my God For whosoeuer is excluded from the sonne is excluded also from the father c 1. Ioh. 2.23 Whosoeuer denieth the sonne saieth Saint Iohn the same hath not the father And the sonne himselfe telleth vs d Ioh. 14.6 God no otherwise good and mercifull vnto vs but in his sonne Iesus Christ. I am the way the truth and the life No man commeth vnto the father but by me God is good gracious full of mercy and compassion full of bountie and kindenesse but the fountaine of all this goodnes is stopped and shut vp against vs but as it is opened vnto vs in the sonne of God Whereby we may conceiue how little good they haue reaped by their speculations concerning God that haue liued without the knowledge and faith of Iesus Christ They haue caried great credite and reputation of wisedome and learning in the world and haue beene accounted diuine men and indeed haue vttered many excellent and woorthie sentences concerning the diuine nature his wisedome and power his iustice and mercy and our dutie and deuotion towards him But they spake onely as it were by hearesay and those sentences were but onely weake and languishing imaginations the authors whereof sought rather to gaine glorie vnto themselues by speaking of God then to glorifie God of whom they spake Albeit howsoeuer they spake them and how farre soeuer they apprehended what they spake yet what comfort of conscience receiued they thereby what peace towards God what perswasion of Gods loue towards them what assurance of the forgiuenesse of sinnes what were
with you my peace I giue vnto you whose p Eph. 2 17. preaching was peace both to far and neere q Col 1.20 by whom the father hath reconciled all things to himselfe and set at peace both the things in heauen and the things in earth by the bloud of his crosse So that vnder the regiment of this king we may boldly say a Eth. 2.14 He is our peace b Râ—m 5.1 being iustified by faith we haue peace towards God through Iesus Christ our Lord. Furthermore as Melchisedec so Iesus Christ is the priest of the most highest God And this on the one part the holy ghost mentioneth indefinitely that Melchisedec was the priest of the most high God but what was the ceremonie of his priesthood or what sacrifice he offered he expresseth not and therefore for vs to determine any thing thereof is but rashnesse neither may we straine the comparison further then the word of God giueth vs way and warrant so to do The papists falsly resolue of the sacrifice of Melchisedec 18 The papists take vpon them to resolue out of the storie of Moses what the sacrifice of Melchisedec was and by a corrupt and false translation auouch that c Gen. 14.18 hee offered bread and wine which they say was a figure of their masse and woulde thereby prooue that in their masse is a verie reall and actuall sacrifice done of the verie body and bloud of Iesus Christ seruing to purchase forgiuenesse of sinnes both for quicke and dead But the premisses are to short to inferre a conclusion so large and it is no argument to say Melchisedec offered bread and wine therefore Christ hath appointed vs to offer a sacrifice of his very body and bloud in the likenesse and forme of bread and wine For to yeeld them their owne translation what gaine they thereby if wee say that Melchisedec offered these things to Abraham by way of curtesie not to God by way of mysterie And heereunto in part S. Ambrose leadeth vs saying that d Ambrose de sacram li. 4. c. 3. Abraham came from the sight a conquerour and Melchisedec the priest mette him and offered vnto him bread and wine To offer bread and wine to Abraham was no matter of sacrifice vnto God But indeed the translation is false and their collection woorse neither is the Hebrew worde anie where in the Scriptures founde to signifie the offering of a sacrifice The true reading is Melchisedec brought foorth bread and wine And so c Mieron in quest Hebraicis in Genesim epist. ad Fuagrium Saint Ierome translateth and giueth the reason of bringing foorth bread and wine namely for the refreshing both of Abraham himselfe and also of his men of warre So saith f Ambros in epistâ—ad Heb. cap. 7. Saint Ambrose also in the very same wordes So other of the fathers reade the wordes and the verie euident truth thereof made Pagnine and Arias Montanus to translate the place as we doe though they were papists and earnestlie deuoted vnto the Church of Rome yea they vary heerein from the vulgar Latine translation which by the Councell of Trent they haue decreed to be onely authenticall and of authoritie in the Church It appeereth therefore that this place yeeldeth little helpe or life to their sacrifice of the masse and weake is that building that hath no better a foundation to rest vpon And surely woonder it were that the Apostle to the Hebrewes professing to drawe them forward from the a Heb. 6.1 first principles of Christian doctrine to the perfection thereof to that purpose treating precisely of the priesthood of Melchisedec and applying the same vnto Christ shoulde omit this matter of sacrifice if there were any matter in it and not so much as intimate any thing thereof which the papists woulde make vs beleeue is the chiefest and most important matter of all other But the silence of the holie Ghost condemneth their sentence of wilfulnesse and presumption The fathers make Melchisedecs bread and wine an allusion to the Lords supper but no proofe of the popish masse 19 Neither are they any whit benefited by that which the auncient fathers haue spoken of this matter who from this story of Melchisedec gathered indeed an allusion vnto the sacrament of the Lords supper but to no other purpose saue onely to shew that Melchisedec bringing foorth bread and wine did betoken that Christ should institute a sacrament in bread wine for a signe and remembrance of his body and bloud This Saint Hierom declareth when handling Christes institution of the sacrament he saith b Hieron in Mat. cap. 6. Christ taketh bread and goeth to the true sacrament of the passeouer that as Melchisedec the priest of the high God in presiguring of him offering bread and wine had done so he himselfe also might represent the trueth of his body and bloud No more did they conceiue done either before by Melchisedec or afterward by Christ but onely by bread and wine to represent the veritie and truth of his body and bloud But of the turning of the bread and wine into the verie body and bloud of Christ and offering the same really and substantially in sacrifice vnto GOD neither did Melchisedec prefigure any thing neither haue they affirmed any thing neither doeth the Scripture teach vs any thing that wee shoulde beleeue the same To bee short let vs not bee wise beyond that that God hath taught vs let it suffice vs for this point to beleeue that Melchisedec king of Salem was also the priest of the most high God and so both king and priest and therein aboue all other a most Iiuely figure of Iesus Christ If we go further we go in the dark and it is not likely that we should keepe the way 20 It is further to be added that as Melchisedec to Abraham so Christ to his hath pronounced a Mat. 5.3 Iuâ— 6.20 c. bleshing and b Eph. 1.3 in him God the father hath blessed vs with all spirituall blessings in heauenly things As Abraham paied tithes of all to Melchisedec the priest so we must pay and yeeld all to the high priest of our profession Iesus the sonne of God Melchisedec and Christ how vnderstood to be without father without mother c. Melchisedec is described without father without mother without beginning of daies or end of life which is not simply to be vnderstood but according to that maner as the scripture setteth him foorth vnto vs which so dainly bringeth him in as the priest of the high God meeting Abraham and blessing him and neither before nor after mentioneth him any more as if he were a man sodainly come from heauen and sodainely returned thither againe and not to be counted in the genealogie of the fathers For if we vnderstand it simplie and barely as it soundeth we cannot fit it vnto Iesus Christ who is not altogither without father or mother