this Resolution or Determination in the Point proposed was intimated before the whole strength of it relyes upon those places of Scripture wherein it is said He that continues unto the End shall be saved or We are partakers of Christ and his promises if we Continue the Beginning of our Confidence stedfast unto the End But though it be True that no man which falls off from the Spirit unto the Flesh before the End of his bodily Life can be partaker of the promises yet is it never said That no man is or can be so confirmed in Grace before the End of his life that he cannot Totally or finally fall As for that Speech frequent in Scripture He that continues unto the End c. it doth not so punctually point out the End of Life as it doth the End or just Measure of this Duty here enjoyned 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Language of the Holy Ghost oftimes signifies as much as ad victoriam and denotes that point of time wherein we get the Victory or Conquest over the Flesh or other enemies of the Spirit And the Apostles words Hebr. 3. 14. may well beare this Interpretation if we hold the beginning of our Confidence stedfast unto the End That is unto the End or full Measure of our Confidence And all the glorious promises which are made unto such as continue unto the End are as often made and conceived in this Tenour To him that overcomes So it is Revel 3. 5. He that overcometh the same shall be cloathed in white raiment and I will not blot out his Name out of the Book of Life but I will confesse his Name before my Father and before his Angels And again ver 12. Him that overcometh will I make a Pillar in the Temple of my God and he shall go no more out and I will write upon him the Name of my God and the Name of the City of my God which is New Jerusalem which cometh down out of heaven from my God And the writing of this Name of Jerusalem which cometh down from heaven upon men imports it shall be thus written whilest they live here on earth or whilest it comes down to them not when they ascend in soul unto it And when S. Paul saith that the Names of Clement and other his Fellow-Labourers were written in the Book of Life Phil. 4. 3. Questionlesse his meaning is that they were so written in it that they should never be blotted out and yet were they so written long before they dyed I saw saith S. John the dead small and great stand before God and the Books were opened and another Book was opened which is the Book of Life and the dead were judged out of those things that were written in the Books according to their works Rev. 20. 12. But although men in this Life may attain unto an Immutable estate of Grace yet many finally misse of this Estate because they know not where to find themselves or in what Estate or Condition they should for the Present rank or esteem themselves 11 Some there be which either Expresly or by Inevitable Consequence of what they expresly affirme divide Mankind as formally into Reprobates and Elect The division of all mankind into Elect and Reprobates not right as Philosophers do Substances into Corporeal and Incorporeal By this kind of Division were it sound and Orthodoxal every man from his birth unto his death should be either a Reprobate or One Elect. Now were this Doctrine true We that are Christs Messengers should be at a Non-plus either for administring Comfort to our hearers in trouble of Conscience or for preventing and asswaging Presumption in such as are not conscious of any grosser Sin or not dejected by the Thundring Threats of Gods Law The Truth is There be Three Estates or Conditions of Men not only in Generall but of every man in particular which finally attains unto Salvation First The Estate or Condition of Man as he is the son of Adam For every man as he is the son of Adam is the son of wrath Second The Estate or Condition of Man as he is reconciled to God and admitted into the Priviledge of his Son by Baptisme or ingraftment into his Mystical Body the Church Third The Estate or Condition of Compleat Regeneration or of Election The First estate or condition is the Terminus à quo Eternal Salvation or admission into the Everlasting State of Bliss is the Terminus ad quem of every True Christians Progresse The Two Estates Intermediate that is the Estate of the Sons of God in General by Baptism and the Estate of Election which we have in this Life are the Two several Degrees or steps of our Progress in Christianity But in as much as all men be not at all times either in the Estate of Election or Reprobation and yet all in the end become either Sheep or Goats we must observe Foure Estates of men in General Four Estates of men in general The First The Estate of the Sons of Wrath. The Second The Estate of Reprobates The Third the estate of the Sons of God by Adoption or Baptism The Fourth The estate of the elect or compleatly Regenerate 12. That there is a Difference between the estate or Condition of the Sons of Wrath and the estate of absolute Reprobation A difference likewise between the Estate or Condition of the Sons of God the Estate of Condition of the Elect may be Demonstrated form the several Estates or Conditions of the First Man Adam in his First estate was the Son of God yet not then in the estate of election for so he could not have fallen so foully as he did After his Fall he was in the Sate or Condition of a Son of Wrath Yet not in the estate or condition of absolute Reprobation for so he could not have attained unto the estate of election or Salvation So then every Reprobate is the Son of Wrath but every Son of Wrath is not a Reprobate Every elect Person or every man after election is the Son of God but every Son of God is not in the number of the elect The Award allotted to every one of these estates is either an Act of Mercy or of Iustice Divine But unto the individual Nature or Persons of men no effect of Justice or Mercy can be awarded And therefore the Individual entity or Nature of Man cannot be the Immediate Object of the Divine Decree No part of misery can be determined upon any man or Decreed against him before he be the Son of wrath or a Reprobate For God doth never punish where he is not displeased and displeased he cannot be with our meer Natures Now to be the Son of Wrath in the lowest degree supposeth some work of Satan wrought in the party which is the Son of Wrath That only makes him the Son of Wrath. Adam could not have become the Son of Wrath unlesse he
Quarto's in this Volume we must tell the Reader before hand that the sixt Book of Divine Essence Attributes Providence will not administer to him either the delight or the profit we intended unless God move the hearts of them that have the MS. Copie of the Treatise of Prodigies or Divine Forewarnings betokening Blood which certainly was perfected by the Authour lent or lost in his life time to produce it that it may be annexed to the sixt Book to which of due it appertaines The 4. Particular will give the Reader notice what Subject Matters he is to expect handled in the 11. Book But before we name them he must be reminded that the Authour had in the 9. Book come as farre as the Article of Christs Ascension reckoning Inclusivé in the 39. Chapter of that Book had tackt That Article to the next of His Session at the Right-Hand of God Now the respective Ends or Effects of Christs Ascension into heaven and of His Session at the Right-Hand of Majestie were some of them of Immediate and if I may so say of a Transient dispatch And such I take it were His prepareing a place for his Elect Ones His Consecrating the heavenly Sanctuarie and setting open the Kingdom of Heaven to all Believers His sending the Holy Ghost in the Grace of comfort Gifts of tongues c. Some are of constant Vse and continue in Esse unto this day so shall unto the worlds end as the Providential Government of His Church and the rest of the world in order to the affaires of his Church which He administers as Lord the Exercise of His Sacerdotal Office which he executes as Christ some shall be manifested at the end of time of this sinfull world when He shall come in great power and Glory to Judge both quick dead What this Authour hath said upon any of these Heads in his Books already printed the Reader if he will take the paines to search may find Of the following Generals with their incident subordinate particulars doth the Eleventh Book treat Of Christs Session at the Right-Hand of God the Grammatical Sense of the words the Real Dignitie answering to them viz. The Exaltation of Christ And whether He was exalted as the Son of God or as the Son of David An excellent state of the question about Ubiquitie Of Christs Lordship or Dominion Of His Coming to Judgement Of the Final Sentence to be awarded by Him to All. Of the Resurrection of the Dead From thence He shall come to Judge the quick and the Dead Of Life Everlasting not the merit of man but the Gift of God and Death the wages of sin So that it is plain the Eleventh Book reflects upon The Resurrection of the Body and Life Everlasting or resumes the Article of Christs Sitting at the Right-Hand of God and withall proceeds to the Next and to the Two last 16. I Expect the Intelligent Reader will Ask where He may find handld the Articles concerning God the Holie Spirit the holy Catholick Church the Communion of Saints the Forgiveness of Sins I must referr the proposer of this rational question which deserves a better answer then I can give it to the Authors owne words Which he may find in the first page of His Treatise Of The Holy Catholick Faith and Church which in the Catalogues of his Works for orders sake is reckon'd the 12. Book of his Commentaries and whereof the first part of three intended was published 1627. In my Comments on the Creed Saith Hee I did Sequester Four points from the Body of the Work The First was the Doctrin Of the most Holie and most Blessed Trinitie So he did intend to Handle the Commandements by way of Catechism to be set down by way of Prayer Soliloquie not of Schoole-Dispute The Second The Holie Catholick Church The Third The Communion of Saints The Fourth The Remission of Sins Points which I cannot Handle in that order they be propounded in the Creed without Interruption of my Method intended So that I have out of Choice reserved these for peculiar Treatises THE AUTHORS Book then of the Holie Catholick Faith Church 't is more then plain The Holie Catholick Church referres to the Article of And for the rest of his Books or Tracts hereafter to be published when they come abroad they must bear some Tessera or Recognizance to signifie their Retainance or to which of the 12. Christian Predicaments they are to be reduced 17. I have yet Two things to recommend unto the Reader The One I humbly present to the Consideration of the Nobilitie Gentrie of the Land who have the Honour Blessing Longo Sanguine Censeri This Author as his manner all-a-long is to open the Earth shew the Out-Burst of the spring leave the Well to be digged by him that meanes to dwell upon the Plat hath page 19. 31. moved a Querie well worth their most exquisite indagation and pursuit 'T is This whether Parents of both sexes may not by frequent voluntarie Commission of some sinnes improve the Corruption of nature in their Children to an Height above the ordinarie Taint descending from Adam or coming from Sin meerely Original not intended by unnecessary affected actual or habitual Transgressing Would any of Them now in this their privacie or vacation please Philosophari to think upon it and Commend their meditations to the world they would be more acceptable and more imperative of practise Coming from themselves consequently be more Contributive to the Revival of virtue unto an Heroical Degree 18. The other is to those of the Clergie who teach the people Knowledge for that end do seek acceptable words out of writings upright and True as for the pretended Favorites of the Spirit it is in vain to speak to them He that has Compassion on the poor ignorant multitude even destroyed for lack of Knowledge of Principles contained in their Creed Catechism c. And a mind to tread in the Good Old way for Aedification of the poor of the Flock may find in this Authors Works matter proper for every Dominical Festival through the year especially for the special ones that is those that Commemorate the Great Benefits received by Christ As also for occasions of Administring Both Sacraments marriages Funerals Fasts c. But let me tell him The Gold he is to find beat out doth somtimes lie in so smal a Compass that unless he observe well he may over-run it For an Experiment he may see 1 grain taken by me beaten out into divers Leaves And for expounding Texts of Scripture this Author seems to have a felicitie not ordinary Oft-times when he pretends but to take One verse he illuminates the Reader in the Epicycle of the Context nay in the next Orbe I mean the Parallel be it in the old or new Testament But the Magisterium of his excellencie
were overthrown and others erected in their place whose Erection or Ruine Jeremiah had foretold Now to inquire How Man or his Free-will doth cooperate with Gods spirit in the First Second or Third Act of his Conversion is to my Apprehension a Question not Inextricable onely but as Impertinent as to make a Philosophical or Political Search How Jeremiah did concur with God in the Destruction of the Babylonian Or Esay with the same God in the Erection of the Persian Empire Or more punctually to our present purpose how He that should open another mans mouth that were unable or unwilling to open it himself and yet so desperately sick that unlesse he took some Physical Receipt to remove the matter of his desease or to revive his spirits he should certainly dye might be truely said to save his Life yet not to save it Efficienter by way of efficiencie but by Consequence that is because the Physick which without opening his mouth could have no Operation did revive or restore his wonted health And in this sense Lydia may be said to have saved her own Soul by way of Consequence Act. 16. 14. because she opened her eares unto St. Pauls Doctrine and heard him with attention which being done the Lord opened her heart to feed upon the Word of Life the only Physick of her soul So that the word of Life or Christ who is the Eternal Word of God did Immediately and Formally open her heart and save her soul But unlesse she had opened her eares whilest Christ did knock at these doores of her outward sensea by St. Pauls voyce Christ had not come into her heart to have entertained her at his Spiritual Banquet as she did Paul and his Company with bodily Food CHAP. XXXII Whether Mortification and Conversion may be said to be Ex Praevisis Operibus though God Alone do Properly Mortifie and Convert us 1. BUt be it as we have said The maine Objection against the former Doctrine fully answered That we are said to Mortifie the Deeds of the Bodie in as much as we do that Morally which being so done God doth work Mortification Spiritual in us All is not so well as might be wished For this Resolution seemes to breed another Difficultie of greater Danger or rather to establish a rejected Error For hence it may seem to follow that Mortification Spiritual is Ex praevisis Operibus from the works which we do or which God foresees that we shall do And if the accomplishment of Spiritual Mortification be Ex praevisis Operibus then Life it self here promised should Likewise be Ex praevisis Operibus by our Works or from Gods Foresight of our Works And if either Mortification or Spiritual Life be Ex praevisis Operibus then our Election Likewise should be Ex praevisis Operibus by our Works or at Least from Gods Foresight of our Works especially if that be true which before hath been delivered That none of Yeares and discretion are in the Estate of the Elect but such as have truely Mortified the Deeds of the Body and that all such as have thus truely and throughly Mortified the Deeds of the Body are in the Estate of the Elect. What shall we say then that Election is Ex praevisis Operibus by our works or from Gods Foresight of our Works This is a Bug-beare Indeed by which many of Gods Children so I account them have been and are much affrighted but of which they shall not need to be afraid if they will give us leave to unmask it For being unmasked it will appear to be of the same Visage and Countenance that their own Doctrine is of and a great deal more Consonant to their own maine Principles then many other Principles or Conclusions unto which they seek to consort it And unmask it we may with This Distinction Mortification Vivification or Election may be said or conceived to be Ex praevisis Operibus by our works or from Gods Foresight of our works Two wayes Either tanquam ex Causa aâ—t Titulo as from the Efficient Cause or Moral Title unto these Graces or tanquam ex Termino aut Objecto non implicante Contradictionem as from the Term or Object unto which Gods Decree for producing the works of spiritual Mortification by which our Election is made sure is Terminated To say that Mortification or Election should be By or From our works in the Former Sense that is from our works as from any True Cause of their production or as from any Merit or Title that They may be produced in us is an Error indeed deservedly rejected by most Reformed Churches To say That Mortification or Election it self is By our works or From our works in the Second Sense that is tanquam ex Termino as from a Term or Object without whose Presence or Coexistence God doth not work or accomplish our Mortification by his Spirit nor admit us into the Estate of the Elect This is no Error but an Orthodoxal Doctrine voyd of all danger For it Being granted which is as much as can be demanded that Mortification Spiritual is a work of Creation and proper only unto God yet even Creation it self taken in the stricter Sense was ex Termino praeviso from some Term though not out of any Cause or matter praeexistent For when we say that God Created the heavens and earth of Nothing that is out of no Matter Praeexistent we necessarily include that this Nihilum or Nothing was the Negative Term of this Creation Logical Possibility that is whatsoever includes no Contradiction is the Object of Omnipotencie and Creation it self is the Reduction of such Possibilitie into Act or Real Effect If there had been any thing besides God praeexistent to this work of Creation or unlesse Nothing had been praecedent not praeexistent to all things that are or have Existence there could have been no such Creation as we beleive there was of the heaven and of the Earth or of the First Masse out of which all things were made 2. But Herbs and Grass were not made out of meere Nothing as the Heaven and Earth were For they were made of the Earth as it is Gen 1. 11. God said Let the Earth bring forth Grasse the herb yeilding seed and the fruit tree yeilding fruit after his kind He did not in this sort Say Let Nothing bring forth the heavens and the earth For so Nothing should have been Somthing Or if God had made herbs and grass after the same manner that he made the heavens and the Earth we could not say that they had been made of the Earth For so the Earth should have been Nothing And yet the making of grass and herbs out of the earth was a true and proper Creation because although God did make them of the Earth yet he made them not of the earth Tanquam ex materiali Causa Vid. Erastum Disput contrâ— Paracelsum as of their true material Cause but of the
of the Flesh which must be mortified The Affection whence this Loathsome stream doth spring is a desire of mirth or pleasure For no man directly desires to be Drunk All men naturally desire to be Merrie as having an internal spring of delight or mirth in themselves which naturally desires an issue or vent otherwise the Soul and Spirit becomes sodden in Melancholy Hence it is that many mens Affections detesting this Melancholy humour be drenched in this Filthy sink or puddle of Drunkenness which is but a Sinister or preposterous Issue of inbred Mirth The true Mortification of this monster is not to be sought by quelling or weakening the Affection whence it springs but rather by giving it another Issue or vent Thus much is implyed in our Apostles advice Eph. 5. 18. Be not Drunk with wine wherein is Excess but be filled with the spirit speaking to your selves in Psalmes and Hymns and spiritual songs singing and making Melody in your heart to the Lord. Our Apostle here supposeth that the spirit of God which alone worketh the mortification of this sin and other Lusts of the flesh although he detests all drunken ryotous mirth is not a dull spirit of melancholy It delighteth much in its own musick alwaies desirous to hear pleasant songs of its own setting And there is no meanes so Effectual for drowning drunken mirth as a full consort of the musick of this spirit Beatus populus quiscit Jubilationem hanc Blessed are the People That can rejoyce in Thee O Lord. 8. The perfect Cure of the Soul is wrought Per Simile Thus it is plain how this Cure must be wrought by Contraries and yet per simile by the Like too The Lusts of the Flesh must be Mortified by the Spirit and yet these are Contraries But if we descend unto Particulars Ambition or desire of honour must be mortified by desire of Honour Covetousness which is a desire of Riches must be mortified by the desire of Riches Drunkenness which is a Desire of Mirth must be mortified by a desire of Mirth Immoderate carnal Love must be mortified by excessive Love of Christ and of things Spiritual Between the Desires themselves there is as true Similitude as is between the several currents of water which issue from the same spring or fountain but as perfect a Contrarietie between the Objects and issues of the desires as there is between the several waters of the same fountain whilest the One runnes in a pure rock or conduit pipe and the other into a sink or puddle 9. To Conclude then The spirit of God doth first purifie the Fountain of our Desires that is the spirit or Conscience of man The spirit of man being thus quickened and purified doth by direction and assistance of the same Spirit of God divert the current of his Desires and give a new vent or issue to his Affections And the Desires or Affections by this diversion of their Current receive a further Degree of Purification from the Ocean or Sea into which they empty themselves that is from Heaven and the heavenly Lights on which they are sett Between the Current of our Desires or Affections thus purified by the spirit of God and the Coelestial Objects whereon they are sett there is such Reciprocation or mutual recourse as it were between a stream of pure water and a Sea of Nectar the stream or spring still falling into the sea and the sea still sweetning the stream by reflowing upon it The spirit of Christ which knowes no bounds or Limits which is more boundless then the Ocean delights in our Desires or Affections whilest they are sett upon heavenly things And the more his spirit is delighted in our Desires and Affections thus emptying and pouring out themselves the more he purifies and sweetens them by the influence of his Gratious Spirit Yet are not any mans Affections so throughly sweetned by the Spirit of Grace in this Life as not to retain some permanent Tincture or mixture of the Flesh Howbeit every man is Throughly mortified in whom the spirit of Christ hath gotten the Soveraigntie over the Flesh and won the better part of the natural Affections to its service But whether this Soveraigntie being Once gotten may not Finally or for a time at least be lost Heave it to the determination of the Schooles My application for the present shall be from the words of the Son of Syrach Ecclus. 38. 25 26. Though the book be Apocryphal yet his observation in this place is Canonical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The wisdome of a Learned man cometh by opportunity of Leasure or as some read by right imployment of his vacant time And he that hath little businesse shall become wise How can he get wisdome that holdeth the Plough and that glorieth in the Goad that driveth Oxen and is occupied in their Labours and whose * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 talk is of Bullocks Or of the breed of bullocks His verdict concerning Handy-Crafts-Men is for the most part true of Men full of that which we call Book-Learning or imployed in matters of Government of Sate Would to God it were not too true of many that have little Business In respect of this private Learning Every one of us Especially in these times have Bookes enough of our own so we would sequester some competent times or vacant seasons for serious perusing them Every mans course of life and dayly Actions are the best Bookes for this Learning And no man can so well read them as his own Spirit and Conscience Herein then consists the Wisdom of him that is in part and desires to be A â—etter Christian First in careful Observing the Touches of Gods punishing or chastising Hand Secondly in Reflecting upon the motions of his Spirit Thirdly in duly Examining Every day What advantage the Flesh hath gotten against the Spirit or the Spirit against the Flesh All this being done the best imployment of all these Talents which God commits unto our trust must be in acknowledgeing our whole strength to be from God and in Consecrating our best endeavours by continual Prayer for the assistance of his Spirit In this Last Point we are Active yet Active only to the End that we may be Towardly Passive that we grieve not the Good Spirit of God by which our Sanctification must be wrought He will not forsake Vs unless we forsake Him first But as water which hath been heated by the fire congeales the soonest after it be taken off and removed from it So they ☜ which have felt the Motions of Gods Spirit and have been in some measure Mortified by it freez the soonest in the dregs and Lusts of the flesh and have their hearts extraordinarily hardened if once they forsake him or so grieve him that he cease to renew or continue his former Motions But he that will give his heart to resort early to the Lord that made him and will pray before the most High and will open his
those whose doctrin they Follow My purpose is onely to request my Brethren of the Church of England however for the present they stand affected in these poynts to take it into more deep and Logical Consideration then hitherto it hath been taken by English Preachers or Writers Whether According to Forrain Rigid Tenets of Predestination or of Gods absolute irrespective Decree for Election and Reprobation which came to us English at the third hand as from Zwinglius c. which They had at the first from some antient Romish Schoolemen it be possible for us or them to maintain by any rational way That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ either now is or hath been a true Priest or Sacrificer rather then a meer Sacrifice predestinated from eternitie for takeing away the sinnes of the Elect onely Or whether such as They Term Elect from Eternitie needed any Priest at all besides God the Father who did destinate his Onely Son to be a Sacrifice or a mean necessary though subordinate for effecting the principal or utmost end of his Decree to wit his own Glory by the salvation of the Elect My poor Capacitie for these 34. yeares wherein I have lived a Minister or Priest of the Church of England could never nor yet can find any tolerable answer or Evasion to free such as maintaine the often-mentioned Rigid Decree from these Two Imputations The One That they cannot truely or by any rational way acknowledge Christ to be a Priest after the order of Melchisedec The Other That they cannot acknowledge him to be properly instyled such a Judge as in our Creed we profess him to be They will at length be enforced to borrow a more fit expression of his Office from our Sister-Nation and instyle him to be the Doomester or Doomesman of the Quick and of the Dead that is an Inferior Officer which hath no hand or Vote in the course of Justice for Life and Death but onely a power or delegated authoritie to read or pronounce the sentence which the Judge or Cheif Officer of State had written before though not so long before or in such indeleble Characters as the Doom which our Saviour Christ shall pronounce upon Every man at the Great day of his appearance was written in the life-Life-books of life and death everlasting My exhortation unto every man amongst us which beleive in his name shall be that of the Learned and pious Hemingius That we seek not our assurance of Faith or hope in Parcarum Tabulis which were irreversibly written before any part of the world was made if we may beleive some heathen poets or Stoicks but in Gods promises made to Abraham and to be performed by Jesus Christ as he is now our High-Priest and King and as the Supream Judge of Quick and Dead 3. Having thus farr endeavoured to sever the dross or wipe off the Aspersions or such meaner stuffe as have been cast upon or mingled themselves with that Golden Foundation layd by our Apostle Hebr. 9. My next Addressment must be to Dilate or Diduct the Precious Metal contained in it or in the Third Parallel proposed The Parallel was between the anniversarie Sacrifices of Attonement the Sacrifices of the Red Cow and the One Sacrifice offered Once for all by our Everlasting High-Priest His Sacrifice is truely instyled Everlasting not for this reason alone that it was of Infinite Value or a full price for purchasing the Everlasting Redemption of man-kind but in this respect also that it hath an Everlasting Efficacie for the dayly remission of actual sinnes for purifying the Hearts and Consciences of all such as in Faith dayly pray unto the Father in the name and mediation of his only Son who is likewise rightly instyled an Everlasting Priest not in regard onely that he is now altogether immortal but more especially in that he Perpetually executeth the Office of the High Priesthood by making Continual Intercession for us by accomplishing our Reconciliation unto the Godhead All things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ and hath given to us the Ministerie of reconciliation to wit that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself not imputing their trespasses unto them and hath commited unto Vs the word of reconciliation 2 Cor. 5. 18 19. This Reconciliation Quâ Deus nos sibi reconciliavit was wrought by Christ whilest he went about on earth doing good and by his sufferings upon the Cross c. The Other part of our Reconciliation or reconciliation taken in the Passive Sense Quâ nos Deo reconciliamur is dayly wrought in true Beleivers by this our High-Priest and so wrought by the continuated participation of his Spirit by the interposed renovations or nourishments of that Grace which immediatly descendes to us from the sweet influence of this Sun of righteousness now sitting more Glorious by much in his heavenly Tabernacle then the visible Sun in its Sphere And of This Part of Reconciliation or of Reconciliation in the Passive Sense must that of our Apostle be understood Now then we are Embassadors for Christ as though God did beseech you by us we pray you in Christs stead to be reconciled to God For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the Righteousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5. 20 21. 4. He that desires to guesse aright at the Eminencie of Christs Priest-hood and Sacrifice in respect of the Aaronical or Legal Services or to take such an indefinite Estimate of both as may advance his Meditations upon The knowledge of Christ crucified and ascended into the heaven of heavens may follow the Scale set by Astronomers betwixt the space of Local distances on earth and the space of the highest Coelestial Orbes or Spheres which answer in proportion to them alwaies allowing a greater Excesse of Proportion between the Excellencie of Christs Priesthood beyond Aarons or Melchisedecks then Astronomers allot betwixt the space of so many Degrees in the heavens and so many miles on earth 5. The Legal Priests or sacrificers were at the same time and by succession Many their Sacrifices or Services were both for their kinds or matter and for the solemn manner of their offerings More The several kinds of their sacrifices and Solemnities I leave unto the Readers search this being an Argument whereof many have written copiously enough in most modern Churches It will be enough for me to observe or call thus much to the Readers Remembrance that all the Offices or Services of Legal Priests were fully accomplished in the Consecration of the Son of God to be our Everlasting High Priest That all their Offerings and Sacrifices whether bloudy or unbloudy whether of Vegetables as of herbs or green Eares of Corn of meal of Loaves whether anniversary or upon special occasions were more then accomplished in his Own Once offering of himself The All-sufficiencie of this his Oblation of himself will best appear from