many times comfort in it But we are not to live upon in-comings of promises but we are to go out to all the promises of God by Faith in Christ For mind what the Apostle saith in 2 Cor. 1. 20. all the promises of God are in him yea and in him Amen all the promises therefore thou mayst take up with any promise that is suitable to thy wants that is suitable to thy condition thou mayst plead it with the Lord As for example Dost thou want inward peace Thou mayst plead over the promise of peace The Lord hath promised to keep him in peace whose mind is set upon him Again Do you want outward supplies Are you streightened in Food and Rayment Be diligent in your Calling and plead that promise He will give Bread to them that fear him in the 34. Psal they that fear the Lord shall not want any good thing Plead this promise let hunger and wants drive you to the promise Again Do you want light and counsel and direction in your ways Plead that promise in Isaiah The Lord shall guide thee continually And that in the 25. Psal Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord him will the Lord direct in his ways Oh ye that have Abrahams Faith cleave to the promises hang upon the promises all the promises in Christ are yea and in him Amen They are ratified in Christ And that promise of our Lord Jesus Christ abideth Ask and ye shall have seek and ye shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you Ask according to the promise seek according to the promise Plead the promises of God when you fall into any Darkness and trouble of mind I say plead promises for God he gives you all the promises to live upon and let not any poor Christian be troubled or discouraged about receiving mercy for his own weakness or the meanness of his condition for you must know that every Believer is an Heir of the promise though a poor weak frail Creature yet an Heir of the Promise This we ought to live upon in times of trouble But then there is another thing concerning Melchisedecks blessing Abraham that had received the promise The Question here may be What need was there of Melchisedecks blessing of Abraham who had Gods promise for Abraham was happy enough in the promise if he had not met Melchisedeck to have blest him For Answer hereunto there are two Reasons given for it First of all It was Melchisedecks Place and Office for he was Priest of the most high God to bless them that did belong to God for you read of Three sorts of Persons in Scripture blessing others Parents blessing their Children Kings blessing their Subjects and Ministers blessing their People as you have it in Numb 6. 23. Speak unto Aaron and to his Sons saying On this wise shall you bless the Children of Israel saying unto them the Lord bless thee the Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee the Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace Now that this was not a Ceremony of the old Law that Ministers and Priests should bless the People appears by the New Testament because the Apostles of Jesus Christ in their Epistles did use to conclude their Epistles with Benedictions But this is not all here intended and therefore 2. This blessing of Abraham it was a blessing of Ratification to confirm Abrahams in the Promise That was the principal reason of Melchisedecks blessing of Abraham that he might be ratified and confirmed in his Faith concerning the Promise From whence we may observe That the strongest Faith had need of strengthning The Faith of the Saints doth need confirmation It is said of Abraham in Rom. 4. that being not weak in Faith he staggered not at the promise verse 20. yet if you look into another Scripture you will find Abraham sometimes staggering at the promise of God through unbelief For if you look into Gen. 15. 1. The Lord said unto him Fear not Abraham I am thy shield and exceeding great reward Then said Abraham Lord God what wilt thou give me seeing I go childless and the Steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus Abraham had the promise of a seed before in chap. 12. But he sometimes staggered at the promise Abraham was at first weak in Faith but after God had confirmed his Faith by this means then Abraham believed the Lord. So Abraham was once weak in Faith but now he was strong in Faith Again Abraham also grew strong in Faith by a higher confirming means and that was the Oath of God Heb. 6. 14. Surely in blessing I will bless thee So that Abraham that was commended for the strength of his Faith he was once weak in Faith till God had confirmed his Faith this way And this was the cause of Melchisedecks blessing him And also the Lord for the strengthning of his Faith carries him abroad and bid him look now towards the Heaven and tell the Stars if thou be able to number them And he said unto him so shall thy seed be And then he believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for Righteousness Now the Reasons of weakness in Faith are these 1. Here we know but in part and therefore believe but in part 2. The flesh is weak in all Believers Christ said The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak 3. Those that have most Faith are commonly most assaulted by Satan and therefore have need of the most confirming means When our Saviour saw Peter firm in his profession of Faith saith Christ Satan hath desired to winnow thee like Wheat but I have prayed for thee that thy Faith fail not Ahraham though he had the promise yet he wanted a Melchisedeck to bless him Now the third thing is Melchisedeck's being without beginning of days or end of life Aarons Sons and all the Priests of the Levitical Priesthood they die but Melchisedeck he liveth he liveth in his order in the order of his his Priesthood for Jesus Christ is a Priest for ever after Melchisedeck's order But here men receive their Priesthood that die saith the Apostle so leave their work But Christ Jesus he liveth for ever who was here prefigured by Melchisedeck But the Sons of Levi they must die for it is appointed for all men once to die and after that comes Judgment Your Prophets do they live for ever Many of the Fathers of the Old World lived a great while But Kings Priests and Prophets must die Great and holy men must die I should enlarge upon this but I shall improve it these three or four ways 1. This should teach us to walk humbly as poor mortal creatures such as death will strip of all our glory all our beauty Oh! what is it that makes men proud and haughty and lifts up their spirits It is because they think more of living than of dying You have a strange instance of this
by himself Now we may conceive Melchisedeck knew all this and he went forth to meet him and blessed him that had received the Promise for he knew by the Spirit of God that Abraham was the Father of the Faithful and that in his Seed all the Nations of the Earth should be blessed and therefore he went out to bless him Now this is useful to us to all the Faithful for their comfort that are of the Seed of Abraham that they are under the blessing of the Priest of the most high God who was a Type of our Lord Jesus Christ and they shall be blessed Melchisedeck he did but act the part of our Lord Jesus Christ in blessing of a Believer for they are blessed by Christ and blessed with all Spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus therefore in the 24. of Luke you read that when Christ was ready to Ascend to Heaven in the 50. ver He led them as far as Bethany and laid his hands upon them and blessed them Here you have the Lord Jesus Christ who was Typified by this Melchisedeck he is blessing his own Disciples before his Ascention and after his Ascention he sent down his blessing which you read of in the 4. of the Ephesians He gave gifts unto men and all for the perfecting and edifying of the body of Christ Now the blessing of Christ both in the Type and in the Anti-type is of great Use to all Believers against the Curse of prophane men for these whom our great Melchisedeck blesses shall never receive a curse It is the way of the World to Curse the People of God and to imprecate all evil upon them and no doubt but there will be found a sort of men at this day that Curse the people of God But our great high Priest will preserve them the blessing of our Lord Jesus is with them and goes along with them Numb 23. 23. There is no Inchantment against Jacob nor no Divination against Israel therefore Moses tells the Children of God in the 23. Duteronomy and the beginning You shall remember how Balak the King of Moab hired Balaam to Curse you nevertheless the Lord thy God would not hearken to Balaam When you hear of Idolaters and Prophane men Cursing the People of God and Cursing of them that keep close to God you may know this that those people are under the blessing of our great Melchisedeck This you may observe from Melchisedeck's blessing of Abraham Come we now to the Second verse to consider Melchisedecks Place and Office Now saith the Apostle in the 2d verse to whom also Abraham gave a Tenth of all First being by interpretation King of Righteousness and after that also King of Salem which is King of Peace 1. We have here what Abraham did for Melchisedeck And then we have the Mystery brought in i. e. in Melchisedecks Name and Title 1. What Abraham did He gave him a Tenth part of all the spoil of the Four Kings that had Plundred the Country round about and this he gave to him as he was the Priest of the most high God and as one that was in that Sacred Office And here I might take occasion to shew and observe That the Ministers of God ought to have maintainance allowed means For so Abraham did he allowed this great Minister a Tenth part Before the Law of Moses you shall find that Jacob Vowed a Vow to God that he would give the Tenths of all his increase to him Gen. 28. and the last verse How is that He would not give it to God himself no but the meaning is he would give it to those that belonged to God I know it hath been a long dispute whether Tenths or Tythes ought to be continued any longer or any more than Altars and Sacrifices in a Reformed Christian Church I shall not determine that but this we may all be assured of that if Tythes or Tenths be of the Ceremonial Law and so are abolished yet the moral equity is to abide to the end of the World That those that Minister at Gods Altar should have honourable and comfortable maintainance I confess I never delighted to insist upon such Doctrin as this is nor shall I at this time but because it lies in my way let me give you a few hints If you lay aside the Old Testament in this matter there is nothing more frequently urged in the New Testament the Epistle to the Galatians the 6 and the 6. Let him that is taught in the Word communicate to him that teacheth in all good things so did Abraham he gave Tythes of all i. e. of all sorts of things that he took from the Kings after his Conquest And the Apostle in the 1 to the Corinthians the 9. and the 13. ver saith Do you not know that they which Minister about Holy things live of the things of the Temple And they which wait at the Altar are partakers with the Altar And the Apostle gives a special charge to Timothy who was a Minister in the 1st Epistle to Timothy 4. 13. To give attendance to Reading to Exhortation to Doctrin meditate upon these things give thy self wholly to them not to Farming Buying Selling and Trading but give thy self to these things spend thy time in these things But some will say Paul wrought with his hand 'T is true but it was upon a particular occasion And saith he I have power to forbear working And he tells the people of Corinth I have taken Wages of other Churches He calls his Maintainance Wages because it was for Work done And tho' there be a sort of Men that are ready to call these men hirelings that take allowance for their Labour you may see what our Saviour saith to his Disciples in the 10th of Luke and the 7th ver saith he The Labourer is worthy of his Hire and if so they may call the Disciples of Christ Hirelings There is a sort of men that looks upon Ministers maintainance to be a matter of Liberty and Charity and if they be poor they should consider them because of their Poverty sake and not for their Work sake but this is to abase the Doctrin of the Gospel God is my Witness I speak not these things from a greedy covetous disposition to increase my own maintainance but I speak it for your profit But there is one thing to be Observed in Abrahams giving the Tenths to Melchisedeck which is of special Use to us all That is he gave the Tythes of all to Melchisedeck and took nothing for himself for if you read in the 14. of Gen. when the King of Sodom offered him to take of the spoil in the 22. ver said Abraham I will not take from a Thread even to a Shoe-latchet I will not take any thing that is thine lest thou shouldest say I have made Abraham rich Here you may observe Abrahams Piety and Justice he would give unto God his due but would take nothing for himself Why so Is
people that if they are able to give to the Ministers they think themselves as great as the Minister Whereas all those gifts are but as Tributes Prov. 3. 10. Honour the Lord with all thy Substance and with the first Fruits of all thy Increase so shall thy Barns be filled with plenty and thy Press burst forth with new Wine Thus Abraham he had got a great Spoil from the Enemies He honoured God with the substance he had got and he carried it to Melchisedeck and gives it him as Tribute due to God and expected a blessing thereupon Many people complain of their streights and losses when they come to render God his due But here is the promise Honour the Lord with thy Substance so shall thy Barns be filled with plenty and thy Press burst forth with new Wine The more you take from the heap the more you add to the blessing of of what you have I will but read that passage in Mal. 3. 8 9 10. Will a man rob God Yet ye have robbed me but ye say Wherein have we robbed thee In Tythes and Offerings Ye are Cursed with a Curse for ye have robbed me even this whole Nation Bring ye all the Tythes into the Store-house that there may be Meat in mine House and prove me now herewith saith the Lord of Hosts if I will not open to you the Windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it Commonly blessings fall upon such Families as make Conscience of these things Abraham the Patriarch gave unto Melchisedeck the Tenths of the Spoils This is the First thing to shew Mechisedeck's greatness that he received Gods Tribute In the next place the Apostle goes on and compares this Melchisedeck with the Tribe of Levi Now saith he in the 5. ver they that are of the Sons of Levi Who are they Why Levi was one of the Sons of Jacob and the third Son that he had by his Wife Leah Of this House God raised the Priesthood of Aaron God set that Tribe apart for his holy Service and appointed them their maintainance for though they had as good a right to the Land of Canaan as any of the other Tribes had yet when God comes to share the Land among the Twelve Tribes he would give no part of it to the Tribe of Levi But he would be their portion in the 18. Numb 20. And the Lord spake unto Aaron Thou shalt have no Inheritance in their Land neither shalt thou have any part among them I am thy part and thy Inheritance among the Children of Israel Why would not God give them a part of the Land Because God would have them to attend upon the Service of the Tabernacle and the Commandment was that they should have the Tenths They should not follow secular Callings and Imployments as other people did but they should spend their days in the Service of the Tabernacle The moral equity whereof still abideth though the Ceremonies be abolished But then it is said that this Melchisedeck that received Tythes from Abraham his descent was not to be accounted from them that is from Abraham or from the Tribe of Levi he was without descent We know not certainly what Parentage he was of Only God had a mind to set up another Priesthood than that of Levi which our Lord Jesus Christ shall keep up which shall not be in that Line that was to die but this shall live for ever He whose descent was not from them blessed him that had the promises and without all controversie the lesser is blessed of the greater who had the promises Why the Patriarch Abraham he is the Person here meant He is singled out to be the Father of the Church For Abraham was set up of God above all men then living in the World to be the Head and Father of the visible Church of the Jews that was to come that was a people separated from all the World besides for many Ages and Generations And Abraham was not only made the Father and Head of them the visible Church of the Jews but of the invisible of Believers to the end of the World they are all to be planted in and by the Faith that was in Abraham according to the promise Rom. 4. 11. He received the sign of Circumcision a Seal of the Righteousness of Faith which he had yet being Uncircumcised that he might be the Father of all them that Believe though they be not Circumcised that Righteousness might be imputed to them also Hence you have it that when the Saints die in Scripture they are said to go to Abrahams Bosom Lazarus died and was carried by Angels into Abrahams Bosom And saith our saviour They shall come from the East and from the West and shall sit down with Abraham Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven Abraham was the Father of all Believers all Believers take hold of that Covenant and are United with Abraham in that Glory that follows Faith Therefore Melchisedeck was a great man to receive Gods Tribute and to bless him that had the Promise It was a great dignity to Abraham and his Seed to have the promise If a man have not an interest in Gods promises he is nothing though he seems to have all Let Worldly men boast of their Honours Wealth and Dignities yet if they have not a right to Gods promises they are never the better This was Abrahams dignity that he had the blessing for himself and for his Posterity and for all that should Believe in Jesus Christ 'T is a great mercy to have Gods promises For this should teach Three things The First is To take up all our mercies in a way of promise Godliness hath the promise of this Life that now is and of that which is to come saith the Apostle Observe this he that takes up his mercies only in a way of common Providence hath a common Heart in the Use of them but he that takes up his mercies by Faith in the way of Gods promises hath a Spiritual Heart in the Use of them This was Abrahams blessing that what he received was in the way of promise It was this that made the Children of Isaac so blessed when the Son of Ishmael was not because the Son Isaac was the Son of the promise Secondly If Believers have the promise This teacheth them contentment under streights and present wants of Temporal things for the Grave will soon bury all those things but the promises for the Soul live for ever bless God therefore for promises And Thirdly This teacheth us to live upon Gods promises and to plead them as our afflictions and streights are upon us I say to live upon promises and to plead promises for we have no other hold upon the holy God but by his promises Some Christians do wait in their afflictions for the in-comings of a promise I speak not against the in-comings of a promise for there is
CHRIST Set forth in several Sermons UPON The 7th Chapter to the HEBREWS By Mr. Robert Ottee Late Pastor to a Congregation in Beckles in Suffolk LONDON Printed for Edward Giles Bookseller in Norwich near the Market-place 1690. To the READER THese Sermons are put out after the Authors death they were taken in Short-hand from the Preacher and every wise and candid Reader will easily think that every thing is not so Exact and Perfect as if the Author had Viewed and Corrected things himself but however it is much desired by those that had sat long under his Ministry that these Sermons might be Published because they treat of such an excellent Subject setting forth our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ our great High Priest and Mediator in a plain and Spiritual manner holding forth Christ as an object of Faith that those who are yet unbelievers may be incouraged to look to him and be saved that they may know the way of coming to God by him and that those that have believed thro Grace may learn to make more constant use of the Lord Jesus Christ for Sanctification and Consolation all their days seeing we do receive all Spiritual blessings thro him The chief design of these Sermons is to extol Christ of whose Person and of the Worth of our Redemption by him when Ministers have said all they can the half is not told of him yea it may be said How little a portion is known of him It seems those that heard these Sermons Preached were much affected with them and it is hoped the Lord will please to put in by his Spirit to bless them to those that shall read them Martin Finch To the Congregation lately pertaining unto the Care and Oversight of Mr. Robert Ottee Preacher of the Gospel at Beckles in Suffolk Dear Brethren YOu have here presented to your view those profitable Sermons which sounded sweetly in your Ears He Preached on this Chapter as for your Edification and Consolation so as he told me for his own for he had many Warnings of putting off his Tabernacle They were Preached on the former part of the Lords day for he Preached on the afternoon from other Scriptures more suitable to the greater part of his Auditors These were his last Sermons We read of the great Prophet Elijah that he left his Mantle when he was caught up to Heaven 2 King 2. 13. by which great Wonders were effected And by the blessing of God who giveth the increase great things may be wrought by a spiritual though not miraculous operation in the reading of these Sermons By these we may understand what a great blessing you enjoyed in such a Minister for above Thirty years who was abundant in Labours And likewise how great your Loss is under which you yet mourn He was as is well known an Interpreter one of a Thousand Job 33. 23. An Apollos mighty in the Scriptures Acts 18. 24. Though you are in want of a good Shepherd to feed the Flock yet you must say as Abraham of old to his Son Isaac God will provide I intend brevity and only add a word or two more to you that were his Flock Remember how you have received and heard and hold fast and repent Rev. 3. 3. Brethren farewel be perfect be of good comfort be of one mind live in peace and the God of Love and Peace shall be with you I remain Your willing Servant for Jesus sake WILL. BIDBACK Christ set forth SERMON I. Hebrews 7. and 1 2 3 verses For this Melchisedeck King of Salem Priest of the most high God who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the Kings and blessed him To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all First being by interpretation King of Righteousness and after that also King of Salem which is King of Peace Without Father without Mother without descent having neither beginning of days nor end of life but made like unto the Son of God abideth a Priest continually HAving lately spoken many things of drawing near to God as it is the duty of all men to do and of true Believers especially And that there is no drawing near to God but by our great High-Priest our Lord Jesus Christ And the Lord having sworn that this Christ is a Priest for ever after the Order of Melchisedeck It will be very necessary through Gods assistance to open and apply this Melchisedeck as he was a type of Jesus Christ I know that there are many in this Congregation that are but Babes in Christianity and have need of Milk rather than strong meat plain Preaching and that which is easie for them to understand But there are several other able Christians here amongst us that have had their sense of the things of God of many years standing that may be able to digest stronger meat and for their sakes I would according to my measure of ability open this Mystery of Christs Everlasting Priesthood under this type of Melchisedeck that so we may grow more perfect in our knowledge There are many great and profitable Mysteries couched in Melchisedeck's Name and Office And so great a Mystery it is as the Apostle spends a great part of this Chapter in opening of that Mystery How Christ is a Priest after the order of Melchisedeck and then makes application of the whole in the latter part of the Chapter and therefore I intend God willing to go through this Chapter briefly in the former part of the day For besides the Gospel Mysteries that are held out in this Melchisedeck here are divers practical Truths to be handled as we go along which are of daily use to us Now the Apostle having in the last words of the foregoing chapter said Christ is made a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck he comes now to describe Melchisedeck to them First by his Name and Office and then by his pious action in going out to meet Abraham As for his Name we shall not need to stand upon that because the Apostle interprets it in the following words His Offices were both King and Priest King of Salem and Priest of the most high God Secondly By the work that he did which was that he met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the Kings and blest him That is the sum of the first verse In the 2d verse we have set down what Abraham did for Melchisedeck Abraham gave the tenth part of all the spoil that he took from the four Kings after his Conquest And he did not give this unto Melchisedeck as to an ordinary man but to him who was by interpretation the King of Righteousness and King of Salem that is King of Peace In the 3d. verse the Apostle shews the resemblance between Melchisedeck and Jesus Christ Melchisedeck was without Father and without Mother without descent having neither beginning of days nor end of life but made like unto the Son of God abideth a Priest of God continually Here lies the Mystery
the Heathen How is that Why you know how dreadful it was to Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar My name is dreadful among the Heathen and shall my People serve me unworthily and irreverently And so much for Melchisedecks Name and Title King of Salem and Priest of the most high God Here are two Offices met in one Person by which he was a special Type of Christ There was never any Person in the World but this Melchisedeck that did hold these two Offices rightfully Indeed we read of two of the Kings of Judah and Israel that undertook the Priests Office and his Work but they did bear the dreadful mark of Gods Judgment for joyning the Priestly Office with that of the King in the 2 Chron. 26. 17 18 19. We read that Uzziah attempted to burn Incense upon the Altar He went into the Temple of the Lord to burn Incense upon the Altar of Incense but Azariah the Priest went in after him and with him Fourscore Priests of the Lord that were valiant men and they withstood Uzziah the King and said unto him it pertaineth not unto thee Uzziah to burn Incense to the Lord but to the Priests the Sons of Aaron that are Consecrated to burn Incense go out of the Sanctuary for thou hast transgressed neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God Then Uzziah was wroth and had a Censer in his hand to burn Incense and while he was wroth with the Priests the Leprosie even rose up in his Forehead before the Priests in the House of the Lord and Uzziah the King was a Leper unto the day of his death thus the Lord smote Uzziah with Leprosie for joyning the Priestly Office with his Kingly Office Another King you read of was Jeroboam 1 Kings 13. and the beginning the Lord sent a Prophet to him to Prophecy ruin to him and upon his Prophecying against the Altar in Bethel The King put forth his hand from the Altar saying Lay hold on him and his hand which he stretched forth against him dryed up so that he could not pull it in again to him God will never bear it to have these two Offices joyned together but in Melchisedeck and Jesus Christ and therein was Melchisedeck a Type of Christ who is all in all to his Church and People for he is our King our Priest and our Prophet This therefore by our Protestant Writers is looked upon to be one mark of Antichrist the Pope who makes himself a Temporal Lord and joyns the same to his Priesthood falsly applying that place to himself in Luke 22. 38. And they said unto him Lord here are two Swords and he said unto them It is enough But Melchisedeck was a type of Christ being both King and Priest Now from hence we may have this comfortable Observation for all Believers That the Lord Jesus Christ is both our King and Priest This is of great use for the comfort of Believers He is a King he is a mighty King to defend his Church and People He is the King that reigns in Righteousness He is a King that governs us by his own Righteous Laws he protects us There is no King on Earth can ever spiritually and eternally destroy Christs Subjects or wholly root out the remembrance of Christs name in the World for he is mighty to save according to that in Psal 72. 11. Kings shall fall down before him and all Nations shall serve him for he shall deliver the needy when he cryeth the poor also and him that hath no helper This is our King our great Melchisedeck King of Salem He is our Priest he offered up himself as a Sacrifice for our sins by him we have an Atonement There may be some good Kings in the World but where is he that can be a Priest for us but our Lord Jesus Christ And therefore look into Heb. 7. 25. He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him because he ever liveth to make Intercession for us Our Lord Jesus Christ being the true King and Priest oâ— the most high God this makes him an Object of our Faith and Love that we may go to him as our King and our Priest But now we come to the second Branch of the â—ext the action of this Melchisedeck 〈◊〉 and Priest of the most high God He went out and met Abraham when Abraham returned from the slaughter of the Kings of the Countrey and blessed him Now these words relate to what we read in Gen. 14. there you will see how Melchisedeck blessed Abraham at v. 18. and so on And Melchisedeck King of Salem brought forth Bread and Wine And he was the Priest of the most high God and he blessed him and said Blessed be Abraham of the most high God Possessor of Heaven and Earth And blessed be the most high God which hath delivered thine Enemies into thy hand And he gave him tythes of all You see here that Melchisedeck met him and blessed him and carried to him a Royal Entertainment for he carried Bread and Wine to Abraham to refresh him and his Army after he had been fighting with the Kings This Abrahams Warfare was thus Abraham hearing that Lot his Brothers Son was taken captive and the people and goods of Sodom carried away you read that Abraham Armed his trained Servants born in his house three hundred and eighteen and pursued them to Dan And he and his Servants by night and smote them and pursued them to Hobah And he brought all the goods and also brought again his Brother Lot and his goods and the women also and the people Thus did Abraham by a small force overcome four Kings four great Kings This is Abraham that righteous man whom God call'd to fight his Battel And he subdued Kings and made his Enemies as stubble to his Bow It was not Abrahams force that did it He was one that went out in Faith and returns in Faith and Melchisedeck the Priest of the most high God met him and blessed him Here are three things to be observed in Abrahams Warfare 1. Abraham returns from the slaughter of the Kings Hence you may observe That Wars are good and lawful when there is a just cause for it For Abraham he had not done well in going out to fight and make war with those Kings if there had been no just cause for it nor would Melchisedeck the Priest of the most high God come out to bless him I mention this to confute that error and mistake of those who say it is not lawful to fight with carnal weapons But 2. From this action of Abrahams we may learn this special duty That when our Brethren Kindred or Relations are in distress we ought to venture our selves for their relief as far as lawfully we may For the Apostle tells us we ought to lay down our lives for the Brethren So Abraham hearing that Lot his Brothers Son his person and family were taken and carried away captive
the Priest 't is true those Ceremonies are not necessary to Salvation but they may be used to Edification the Martyr replyed again Give me the Salvation and give me the Edification to be sure there is an unprofitableness in all these things But some will say these are Ornaments of the Church of God To that I Answer So is a painted Glass an Ornament to the House yet it shuts out the Light more than a plain Glass the Light doth not shine out so clear through a painted Glass These painted and carnal Ceremonies do shut out the Light of the Gospel for the Light of the Gospel shines out more pure and clear in the plain Administration of the Gospel and therefore all those things that carnal Men so magnifie are unprofitable Now I proceed to the 19. ver For the Law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did by which we draw nigh to God This is still to demonstrate the point in hand The weakness and unprofitableness of the Law The Law made nothing perfect i. e the Levitical and Ceremonial Law could not Cleanse the Conscience neither Justified the Person it never could reach the main end which is the happiness of Men. But God brings in another thing a higher thing for that see Heb. 10. 1. For the Law having a shadow of 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 comers thereto perfect They could never make the comers to them perfect and still they had dark apprehensions of God 'T is true the Elect could see Christ but they that went no further than these Ceremonies and Levitical Worship tho they were very strict in them yet these were very short in cleansing them from sin It made not the comers to them perfect When the People of God of old had offered a Sacrifice and performed all their Sacrifice according to the Law yet they were to look to a higher Priesthood and a higher Sacrifice for the cleansing of their sins Heb. 9. 9. Which was a figure for the time then present in which were offered both Gifts and Sacrifices that could not make him that did the service Perfect as pertaining to the Conscience It could not cleanse him from the guilt of sin which lay upon his Conscience This is done by the bringing in of a better hope by the which we draw nigh to God These are the Words which I shall spend the remaining part of my time in But the bringing in of a better hope by the which we draw nigh to God Here the Question is What is meant by this hope 1. For the word hope here it is to be taken for the thing hoped for That is the hope here the coming of the Messiah the Salvation by Christ the Priesthood of Christ and the blessings that attend it And this is called hope in a twofold respect 1. In respect of the time when David did testifie this of Christs coming So it was a blessing to come and a thing to be hoped for by the Fathers of old For this is to be observed that all the time the Church lived under the Levitical Priest-hood they lived in the hopes of the coming of Christ and of the Messiah which was the great thing hoped for and looked for And therefore when Jesus Christ was born and the Angels came to give intimation of his Birth see how Zechariah who was one of the Levitical Priesthood expresses himself in his Song Luk. 1. 72 73. To perform the mercy promised to our Fathers and to remember his holy Covenant the Oath which he sware to our Father Abraham This was the great promise The coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah that should do what the Law could not do The Law made nothing perfect but Jesus Christ the Messiah made all things perfect This was the hope the Father had therefore if you look into Luk. 2. you shall find that good and just man old Simeon who waited for the consolation of Israel which was the Lord Jesus Christ At ver 29. Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation Oh this was a joyful thing to him When he came into the Temple he took the Child in his arms and said Lord now lettest thou thy Servant depart in peace for mine eyes have seen thy salvation This was the hope of them of old 2. Christ in his Priesthood Death and Suffering is stiled our hope also For saith the Apostle we are saved by hope and where is our hope but in the Death and Intercession of our Lord Jesus Christ all our hope is in him But then he is stiled here a better hope How is it a better hope In two respects than all the Jewish Sacrifices and Levitical Priesthood could give for that Priesthood gave hope only of temporal blessings clearly but very darkly of spiritual blessings We can scarcely read one word of the Kingdom of Heaven under the Mosaical dispensation See I pray Lev. 26. 2. and so on Ye shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my Sanctuary I am the Lord If ye walk in my Statutes and keep my Commandments and do them then will I give you Rain in due season and the Land shall yield her increase and the Trees of the field shall yield their fruit And your threshing shall reach unto the Vintage and the Vintage shall reach unto the sowing-time and ye shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your Land safely These are all promises and blessings and encouragements to serve God according to the command of God But not a word of Heaven here This was the tenour of the first Covenant they had hopes of Legal Priviledges and Temporal Blessings These are the great things the Law of Moses runs upon But now we have a better hope Jesus Christ our High-priest If any man will follow me he shall have the light of life The New Testament runs all upon heavenly things But 2. Better hope in respect of the manner of revealing of it For this must not be denied but that all the true Saints and Believers under the Old Testament had their hope of Heaven as we have but very poorly and darkly They had their hopes of Grace and heavenly things and therefore it is said of Abraham in Heb. 11. 10. He looked for a City which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God They had all these things in sight but darkly And while Moses was read amongst them they had a Veil upon their face But we with open face behold the glory of God and are changed into the same Image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. But then the next is By which we draw nigh to God The bringing in of a better hope by which we draw nigh to God How is that You must know that God and sinful man are at a great distance
Oath The Lord sware and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck These words are taken out of Psal 110. 4. Now for an Oath we must consider there are two sorts of Oaths vain and prophane Oaths and sacred Oaths As for vain and prophane Oaths which men use in their common talk are especially forbidden in the third Commandment Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain To swear lightly and vainly by the name of God or by their Faith and Troth these are great provocations to the Lord. As you may see in Jer. 23. 10. For the Land is full of Adulterers for because of swearing the Land mourneth the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up Prophane swearing and false swearing which is a common thing among your bad people causeth the Land to mourn But then as there is a prophane and vain and common swearing which brings a Curse along with it so there is a sacred swearing and that is when men are lawfully called thereto to confirm a testimony An Oath for confirmation is the end of all strife saith the Apostle Now this holy and sacred swearing is here attributed to God the Father concerning the Priesthood of his Son Jesus Christ And you may observe in Scripture that God is said to swear two ways 1. Sometimes he swears in his wrath to confirm his threatnings and often in his mercy to confirm his promise 1. Sometimes God is said to swear in his wrath to confirm his threatnings As you may see Heb. 3. 11. In v. 10. saith he I was grieved with that generation they do always err in their hearts So I sware in my wrath they shall not enter into my rest Mind it The people were now in the wilderness and they were going into the Land of Canaan the Land of Rest the Land of Promise but they grew so bad and so provoking to God whilst they lived upon his mercy in the wilderness that at last God sware they should not enter into his Rest the Land of Canaan God confirmed by an Oath why by an Oath to drive them to the more terrour to take them off from their presumption God threatned they should not enter into his Rest and he confirms it by an Oath that they may have no hopes of entring into his Rest But 2. Often in Scripture God is said to swear in mercy for the confirming of his promise that his people might have stronger consolation Not but that Gods promise of it self is sure But he condescends to our weakness that we might have stronger consolation See Heb. 6. 17 18. Wherein God more abundantly to shew unto the Heirs of Promise the immutability of his counsel confirmed it by an Oath That by two immutable things in which it was impossible for God to lie we might have strong consolation You see here the Apostle declares the end of Gods adding an Oath to his Promise That Believers might have more comfort that their hearts might be strengthned and their patience might be strengthned till the promise was accomplished He sware by himself because he could swear by no greater he sware by himself Mind that When men swear to confirm a thing they swear by the Great God who knows their ways and thoughts And so they are said to swear by a greater But because God could not swear by a greater saith the Apostle he sware by himself For this was one of the titles of God the Great God When the poor Heathens that had not the Scriptures they by the light of Nature sware by God who made Heaven and Earth Under the title of Optimus Maximus that was the term they gave the great God the best of the great Gods Now because God could not swear by a greater he sware by himself that he would bless Abraham and all the faithful And here in the Text when he is setting up his Son the Lord Jesus Christ as our great High-priest that we might have greater consolation it 's said The Lord sware and will not repent We know God cannot repent both words are true for the Lord is not as man that he should repent Why doth David and the Apostle after him take up these words The Lord hath sworn and will not repent I answer there is a special Emphasis in it First of all God speaks thus of himself after the manner of men that we might be put out of all doubt of his truth and faithfulness For though he is most unchangeable in his words in his promises and in his purposes as the Apostle James hath it James 1. 17. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variableness nor shadow of turning God is immutable But he speaks thus after the manner of men that we might be put out of all doubt that he will not repent Secondly There is still a higher intendment of the Holy Ghost in these words The Lord hath sworn and he will not repent i. e. He will never abrogate or disannul the Priestly Office of Christ as he did that of Aaron For so you read in the words before which were spoken to the last day God did abrogate and did make void the Covenant concerning the Levitical Priesthood But now he will never revoke this or disannul this He hath sworn and will never repent Though God be unchangeable yet we find in Scripture that he sometimes revokes his threatnings and calls them back again As for example God threatned by Jonah that Nineveh should be destroyed in forty days But God revoked it because there was a tacit condition in the threatning therefore he revoked it So when God sent Hezekiah the Message concerning his death he sent his Prophet to him to bid him set his house in order For saith he in the name of the Lord thou shalt die and not live Yet upon Hezekiahs humbling himself by prayer the Lord called back that word again and added to Hezekiahs life fifteen years In this sense the Prophet Joel is to be understood You find in chap. 2. in the last part of it that the Lord threatens dreadful Judgments to the people Now in verse 12 13. saith the Prophet Wherefore also now thus saith the Lord Turn ye even to me with all your hearts with fasting and with weeping and with mourning rent your hearts and not your garments and turn unto the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful slow to anger and of great kindness and repenteth him of the evil Who knows if he will repent and return and leave a blessing behind As if he should say The threatning is gone forth for your destruction but if ye will return unto God who knows but that he will repent and leave a blessing behind That is he may call in his Threatnings and alter his Dispensation So that
and Man and therefore it was impossible for him to be holden of death Thirdly Christ's death was but to do the great part of his Priestly Office and so there was no intermission of his Priestly Office The Apostle tells us that he being a Priest he must offer something as other Priests had done Now he offered himself as the great Sacrifice for our sins to the Justice of God so that in his death his Priestly Office was so far accomplished and therefore he is said to abide for ever and to have an unchangeable Priesthood Fourthly and Lastly Jesus Christ is Risen again and Dies no more and therefore he is said to live for ever Rom. 6. 8 9. Now if we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him knowing that Christ being raised from the Dead Dieth no more Death hath no more dominion over him hence you read in Rev. 1. 18. I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore This he spake when he appeared to John walking in the midst of the Golden Candlesticks in his Priestly attire I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am alive for evermore Death hath no more dominion over Jesus Christ therefore he is said to continue for ever And saith the Apostle be continuing for ever he hath an unchangeable Priesthood i. e. he hath a Priesthood that can never be separated from his Person to pass from one to another so the word signifies and therefore our Translators put it so in your Margent He hath a Priesthood that passeth not from one person to another Our Lord Jesus Christ his great High-Priest-hood passeth not from one to another and there are these three Reasons for it First Because he is all-sufficient to finish the work of our Redemption He is Almighty and therefore in Psal 89. which is a Prophesie of Christ under David as his Type in the 19. ver Then thou spakest in Vision to the holy one and saidst I have laid help upon one that is mighty I have exalted one chosen out of the people So Isa 9. 6. For unto us a Child is born unto us a Son is given and his Name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor the Mighty God the Everlasting Father the Prince of Peace There is none ever able to take up the work of Christ if he should lay it down but our Redeemer he is mighty and alsufficient to finish the work of our Redemption And then Secondly As he is Mighty and All-sufficient in his Person as God-man so also his death hath a perpetual virtue in it and therefore it is said he offered up himself once for all Heb. 7. 27 the latter part of the Verse for This he did once when he offered up himself he took away sin when he offered up himself Thirdly Christ hath an Everlasting Priesthood an unexchangeable Priesthood For he is admitted to sit at the Lords right hand for ever Heb. 10. 12. So that you may see he hath an unexchangeable Priesthood And thus much for the opening and explanation of this Verse For application these things are divers ways useful First For the Comfort the unspeakable Comfort of them that truely believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Here we have an unexchangeable Priesthood to rest upon Christ for our hope The Apostle tells us that he is our hope of Glory And Oh what a mercy and blessing it is that our hope is not in Man whose Breath is in his Nostrils but in the Eternal Son of God! In him who continues for ever Look into the World and there you will find abundance that live in their Worldly hope but where are their hopes built but commonly upon Men whose Breath is in their Nostrils When their Friends die their hopes die But here we have an Immortal Saviour to build our hopes upon one that continues for ever And this was Jobs comfort in the midst of his affliction as you may see in Job 19. 25. He knew his Redeemer lived his Children were all dead and gone but his Redeemer lived and that was his comfort his estate was gone but still his Redeemer lived and that was his comfort his Friends had left him still his Redeemer lived and he knew himself must die and Worms consume his Body yet still his Redeemer lived Oh Soul rest thou in the Faith of our Lord Jesus Christ and take comfort of Gospel Truth That Jesus Christ liveth for ever As Jesus Christ liveth for ever So he liveth for the good of all Believers He liveth for our good if we Believe in him and therefore saith the Apostle he is able to save to the uttermost all those that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for us Our Lord Jesus Christ doth live everlastingly for our good our life is bound up in the Everlasting life of Christ saith the Apostle in Col. 3. and the beginning Our life is hid with Christ that is the life of our Souls And when he shall appear then shall we also appear with him in Glory I remember the words in 1 Sam. 25. when that wise Woman Abigail came to David to appease his wrath against her Husband and Family she used this expression in ver 29. But the Soul of my Lord shall be bound in the bundle of life with the Lord thy God I allude to it that the Lord Jesus Christ is the bundle of life for all the Saints the Eternal life of every Believer is bound up in him he is the great bundle of life for saith he because I live ye shall live also And again This is the Record which God hath given that he hath given Eternal life and this life is in his Son Oh make Faith of this or else all the Preaching of Christ will not be profitable to you if you cannot make Faith of it And as this doth speak comfort so it also speaks duty And what is that Why that we live to him that liveth for ever remember that Scripture 2 Cor. 5. 14. For the love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all then were all dead and that he died for all that they which live should not henceforth live to themselves but unto him which died for them and rose again As Christ did die for us for our Sins so he did rise again for our Justification Oh shall we not then live to him Many are apt to forget their dead Friends and Relations tho they have done much for them and they know it not as Solomon speaks in Eccles 9. 5. for the living know that they shall die but the dead know not any thing neither have they any more a reward for the memory of them is forgotten and they know it not and if their Sons come to honour they know it not and if they be brought low they perceive it not But our Living Redeemer he knoweth all he knows all the Souls that
you will object and say Did not God appoint Job to pray for his Friends and interceed for his Friends And did not Abraham pray for Sodom And they were sinners and yet they were injoined to pray for them For that we must distinguish between the Prayer of the Saints and the Intercession of a Mediator By the Intercession of Jesus Christ the Prayers of the Saints are accepted of God why Because they come to him as a reconciled God by Jesus Christ And their Prayers are made at the Throne of Grace But the Intercession of Jesus Christ is not to a reconciled God without Christ but to reconcile God by Christ by his Death and Suffering Christ he appears in the presence of God for us to present his Blood as the means of our reconciliation Jobs Prayer was not to make reconciliation between God and his Friends by his Merits But it was to draw out that Mercy he was willing to bestow upon them It became Jesus Christ to be Righteous to be our Advocate saith the Apostle If any Man sin we have an Advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the Righteous who is a Propitiation for our sins It was suteable to our condition that he that should appear in the presence of God for us should be perfectly Righteous But then here we have the purity of Christ set forth in four Branches 1. He is said to be Holy 2. Harmless 3. Undefiled And 4. Separate from Sinners And then we have his Exaltation follows in these words made higher than the Heavens These things we shall briefly explicate as God shall assist and then come to some Application First saith the Text He was Holy It became us to have such an High Priest who was Holy Now Holiness as it here stands in distinction from Undefilement it signifies that Holy Consecration which Christ was under in his Priestly Office For the Apostle hath reference in this word Holy unto the Holiness of the High Priest which was his dedication and consecration to God And therefore if you look into the 106. Psalm v. 16. You find there that Aaron is called the Saint of the Lord or the Holy one of God How is that Moses was as much the Saint of the Lord in respect of Spiritual Grace as Aaron was But this is not spoken in reference to their Graces but in reference to their Office Aaron was the Saint of the Lord the Holy one of God by Consecration For God took him out of Israel and set him apart for his Holy Service and as he was to approach to God he was to have Holiness written upon his Breast-plate as you may see Exod. 28. 36. Thou shalt make a Breast-plate of pure Gold and Grave upon it with the Engraveings of a Signet HOLINESS TO THE LORD This was to be Graven on the Breast-plate Holiness to the Lord because he was to go into the Holy of Holies where God manifested himself and God will be Sanctified by all those that draw near to him And therefore he must have a Breast-plate upon him with this Engraving upon it Holiness to the Lord. Why Because he was Consecrated to appear before the Holy God So when Christ is said to be Holy He is the person that is Sanctified and set apart to appear in the presence of God for us Therefore you have those words of our Saviour Joh. 17. 19. And for their sakes I Sanctifie my self that they also might be Sanctified through thy Truth What is the meaning of this Christ was Sanctified from the Womb by the Holy Spirit But saith he for their sakes I Sanctifie my self i. e. I do set my self apart for their service and do give up my self for their sakes to appear in the presence of God for them And such an High Priest became us who is Holy to appear in the presence of God for us Secondly The Text saith he is Harmless Every one of these four words have their particular signification All drives to this to set out the Lord Jesus Christ in his personal excellencies He is Harmless the word signifies one that never did any wrong and therefore in another place it is translated Innocent one that did no wrong either in thought word or deed And saith the Apostle He knew no sin 1 Cor. 5. and the latter end and saith the Apostle Peter there was no guile found in his Mouth 1 Pet. 2. 24. he was harmless He was one that could never be charged with wrong done to the Name of God or to the good of Man-kind he was Innocent and therefore when the Scribes that were his bitter Enemies and always Quarreling with him saith he in way of challenge he made against them which of you convinces me of Sin As if he should say you make great opposition against me of this and that but which of you convinces me of sin Joh. 8 46. and Joh. 14. 30. For the Prince of this World cometh and hath nothing in me If the Devil could have found any thing in Christ but Innocency he would have taken the advantage of him This is the second Branch of the purity of Christ He was Holy and Harmless Thirdly Vndefiled He was undefiled i. e. his Humane Nature was never polluted with Original Sin and Corruption never took hold on the Person of Jesus Christ so he is said to be undefiled We are unclean and we come into the World unclean But our Lord Jesus Christ tho' he took our Nature upon him yet he did not take the sinfulness of our Nature He was undefiled in respect of all Original Sin and Corruption there you read in the first of Luke when the Angel came to Mary to bring her the first Tidings of Christs conception and Birth he said to her in the 35 Verse The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the highest shall over-shadow thee Therefore the Holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God He was Holy Pure and Undefiled in his Conception David confessed in his Penitential Psalm That he was conceived in Sin and brought forth in Iniquity as all men are but our Lord Jesus Christ he was conceived by the power of the Holy Ghost And he is Holy and Undefiled He hath nothing of the Corruption of Mans Nature upon him And that is his third excellency And then Fourthly It is said he is separate from Sinners This is still to hint out to us that he came not of the sinful Race of Mankind He came of the Race of Mankind but not of the sinful Race For God separated him from the sinful Race of Mankind The Man Christ Jesus separated from sinners i. e. from all sinners that came out of Adams Loins That tho' he was a Man he was separated from Man as a sinner separated from sinners But here it may be objected How can it be said that Christ was separated from sinners when he converst so much with sinners when he was here