Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A69820
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The expiation of a sinner in a commentary vpon the Epistle to the Hebrevves.; Commentarius in Epistolam ad Hebraeos. English
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Crell, Johann, 1590-1633.; Lushington, Thomas, 1590-1661.
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1646
(1646)
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Wing C6877; ESTC R12070
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386,471
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374
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which the Apostle hath left written unto us Gal. 5.18 But if yee be lead by the Spirit yee are not under the Law Now the workds of the flesh are manifest which are these Adultery fornication uncleannesse tasciviousnesse Idolatry witchcraft hatred variance emulations wrath strife seditions heresies envyings murders drunkennesse revellings and such like of the which I tell you before as I have also told you in time past that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdome of God But the fruit of the Spirit is love joy peace long suffering gentlenesse goodnesse faith weeknesse temperance against such there is no Law And they that are Christs have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts If we live in the Spirit let us also walke in the Spirit Now what can bee more cleare then that these words doe openly teach that all they who after they have received the faith of Christ doe follow the workes of the flesh and are not lead by the Spirit of God shall not inherit the Kingdome of God nor avoid eternall damnation And therefore if they will aspire to salvation they must with all speed lay aside their vices and bee effectually adorned with Christian virtues For in this place here the Author seems not to teach that men sinning wilfully after knowledge of the truth should have no hope at all lest of pardon and salvatoin but only that they have none till they actually put off their sinnes and qualifie themselves with such virtues as become Christians For unlesse they doe this he saith plainly that the sacrifice and offering of Christ will no way doe them good Seeing besides that one only sacrifice and offering of Christ there remaines no other to be expected as his words fully declare in that he saith there remaineth no more sacrifice q. d. besides that one only offering of Christ whereof we have treated hitherto there remaineth no other for them Whence further it seems that by these words all hope of conversion is not cut off to such as sinne wilfully after their knowledge of the faith but only all hope of pardon and salvation is so long cut off as they forsake not their sinfull courses and doe not the workes of true piety worthy of Christian repentance Although it is most true that some sinnes are so foule among which is Apostacie and such as have neare affinity with it whereof we spake Chap. 6. that if we looke into the nature of the New Covenant wee may well say that there is no hope of coversion from them because without the speciall mercy of God not comprehended in the Covenant the yoke of such sinnes cannot be loosed and cut off Sacrifice for sinnes is sacrifice whereby sinnes are expiated as appeares by the following verse whereto this sacrifice for sinnes is opposed a certaine fearfull looking for of judgement and fiery indignation Wherefore as in these last words punishment is signified so in the former is pardon intimated 27. But a certaine fearefull looking for of judgement Here he illustrates his former negation by an affirmation of the contrary To them who after knowledge of the faith sin wilfully there remaines no more sacrifice for their sins but there remaines for them a fearfull looking for of judgement Judgement is here as in many other places taken by a metonymy for punishment because by judgement punishment is decreed It is not necessary wee should take expectation or looking for properly here seeing men given to sinne if wee respect their minds and thoughts do for the most part expect or looke for nothing lesse then punishment and damnation Therefore such men are said to looke for judgement metaphorically because for certaine a judgement remaines unto them or metonymically because they ought to looke for it This expectation or looking for is called fearfull in regard of the object because the judgement or punishment looked for or remaining to them is for the greatnesse of it horrible and fearefull And fiery indignation In these words he expresseth what the fearefull judgement or punishment shall be that remaines to such as sin wilfully after their knowledge of the faith namely they shall be caught and devoured by an extreame hot fire whereinto God will cast them in his indignation There is no doubt but by these words is signified that last judgement or punishment which in the last judgement must be inflicted upon all evill-doers For wee know they shall be tormented with mighty flames of fire and destroyed for ever although we exclude not other punishments of God in this life which use to be the fore-runners of that horrible vengeance to come For of all punishments that by fire is most fearefull and horrible and therefore is used to signifie the most grievous and wrathfull punishments In the Sermons of the Prophets when there is speech of some grievous judgements or punishments of God many times fire is mentioned See Deut. 32.22 and Job 15.34 and Job 20.26 and Psal 11.7 and Psal 21.9 and Psal 78.21 and Psal 97.3 and Psal 140.10 and Isaiah 10.16 Isaiah 26.11 and Isaiah 30.33 The anger also or wrath of God is in Scripture called a fire and among other passages in the 12. chapter following God himselfe by reason of the wrath wherewith he burnes against the ungodly is called a consuming fire And in this place by fiery indignation which shall devoure the adversaries of God is understood the wrath of God Which shall devoure the adversaries The adversaries of God are they that alwayes were his enemies and never submitted unto him or they that having once submitted doe afterward rebell against him Such are they who constantly reject the Religion of Christ or having once received it afterward forsake it or receiving and retaining it doe not submit their soules to the precepts of it 28. He that despised Moses Law He confirmes his former assertion by a comparison of this case with the like under the Law To despise a Law is to oppose the being power and execution of the Law that it may be void and of no force or so to disobey it that he may overthrow it And he was said to despise Moses Law who did presumptuously violate any commandement of that Law for which the punishment of death was ordained without mercy And this was framed especially against them who despised the first precept of the Decalogue and revolted to the worship of false gods For the first Commandement is the foundation of all the rest and he that despiseth or opposeth it doth seeme thereby to overthrow the whole Law of God and to revolt from it Hence we may gather that among wilfull sinners as appeares by their description added in the verse following they hold the first ranke who revolt from Christ For they who forsake Christ the Son of God do also forsake God himselfe and manifestly offend against the fundamentall Law of the Christian Religion Died without mercy under two or three witnesses i. must dye or be put to
immediatly to our high Priest himself For whether wee goe to God in the name of Christ or to Christ himselfe we shall either way finde the Throne of grace That we may obtain mercy and find grace The finall cause of our approach to this throne is here exprest to be two-fold whereof one is a meane to the other the former to the latter The former is to obtain mercy and finde grace the other is opportune help in time of need To obtaine mercy is nothing else then to get that another have compassion on thee which is easily got from a mercifull person such as this our high Priest To finde grace is to be gracious with another and to be favoured with a peculiar affection of love In this sence the Angell tells Mary that she had found grace with God Luke 1.30 And it is an easie matter to finde grace and favour with him who is most gracious and favourable To help in time of need In the originall it is for opportune help The last finall cause of our approaching this Throne and finding grace there is for opportune help That Christ may help us in our conflicts of godlinesse and patience that we sink not under our temptations and afflictions especially that at our last gaspe he may receive our spirits into his hands preserve them for us and restore them at his comming whereof see the following chapter v. 7. The Contents of this fourth Chapter are 1. An Exhortation Let us not forsake Gods promise of entering into his rest Reason 1. Because this promise is made to us as well as to the Israelites 2. Because they who doe beleeve have already a right to enter 2. Doctrine Gods Rest is his Cessation from workes after the Creation Reason 1. Because Gods rest hath reference to the seventh day wherein God rested from his workes as Scripture testifieth 2. Because God sware the Israelites should not enter into his rest which could not be the rest in Canaan 3. Doctrine There yet remaines a Sabbatisme or Rest from labours for the people of God Reason 1. Because some must enter his rest and they did not to whom it was first promised 2. Because God limits another day of enterance a long time after the former saying in David To day if ye will heare his voice 3. Because Joshua gave not the true heavenly rest which is Gods rest and therefore that still remaines to be given 4. Exhortation We must labour to enter Gods rest verse 11. Reason 1. Because if wee take example of their unbeliefe in the wildernesse we shall be made examples of their destruction 2. Because Gods penall Decree is very active and powerfull to take heavy vengeance upon unbeleevers verse 12. 3. Because Christ our high Priest is passed into that heavenly rest before us v. 14. 4. Because we have free accesse by prayer to his Throne which is a Throne of Grace and Mercy to help us thither vers ult CHAPTER V. 1. FOr every high Priest is taken from among men Here he expresseth some generall requisites of a high Priest which afterward hee applyes to Christ in a reverse order The first requisite of a high Priest is this that he is a Man singled out from among other men and that for this following reason because he is ordained for men i. for the benefit and good of men This first property of a high Priest he toucheth only by the way and by occasion of the following property and withall seems to reflect upon some former passages wherein he had proved that Christ must be a man and not some angel And therefore when afterward hee applies the following properties of a high Priest unto Christ hee makes no mention of this as having sufficiently discussed it already in the second chapter Is ordained for men The dignity and office of high Priesthood is created and constituted for the commodity and benefit of men In things pertaining to God Divine and holy things pertaining to God are the matter or object of his function or office that he may procure and administer all things belonging to the worship of God and to make him propitious to them that worship him That he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins These particularly are the things whereby God is worshipped and propitiated Gifts are free-will offerings such as the people were accustomed to offer of their owne accord for the Law did not command the act of these offerings but when they were freely offered then the Law prescribed the matter and manner of their offering Of this sort were those sacrifices which were called Peace-offerings whereof wee may reade in the three first chapters of Leviticus These were offered either to procure the favour of God and as it were to obliege him with a present or to testifie their mindfull and thankfull hearts for some benefit received Yet sometime the word Gifts are taken more largely for all sorts of sacrifices and then it includes the sin-offerings For Christ under the name of gifts seemes to comprise all things that were laid upon the Altar and offered unto God Mat. 23.18 Sacrifices for sins were living creatures which by prescript of the Law were offered to God to take away the guilt of sinne whereof we may reade Levit. 4. and elsewhere The words for sins may be so taken as to be construed onely with the sacrifices immediately fore-mentioned Yet there is no incongruity if we referre them also to the remoter word of gifts For although sins might be expiated and their guilt taken away without such gifts for otherwise they had not beene truly gifts but debts Yet there can be nothing said to the contrary but that besides the sacrifices ordained of God for the expiation of sins there might be offered for sins also voluntary gifts and free-will offerings For hence we reade that expiation of sinne was attributed to the Holocaust which was reckoned among the peace offerings Levit. 1.4 And hereto David had respect when speaking of the expiation of his sin he said he would have given Holocausts or whole burnt offerings if they had beene any thing availeable to expiates such sins Psal 51.16 This therefore is the chiefe property of a high Priest to negotiate the cause of men with God especially of such men as had sinned and to provide that God might be propitiated and pacified not left angry and offended And this is the second property required in an high Priest 2. Who can have compassion on the ignorant This is the third requisite A compassionate man as some Interpreters note is he that carrieth himselfe humanely moderately and gently Therefore he hath compassion on the ignorant who beares himselfe gently towards them not despising nor disdaining them for their falls but doth friendly and courteously raise them not unmindfull of his owne frailty The Ignorant are they who sin through ignorance and ignorance as it is vulgarly distinguished is either of the Law or of the fact and this latter is