there were some so fond of this old Yoke as that they would have imposed it upon those that had received the Christian Faith Now saith the Apostle Now therefore why tempt ye God to put a Yoke upon the neck of the Disciples which neither we nor our Fathers were able to bear Yet they were forced to bear it till God removed it And in Gal. 5. 1. Stand fast therefore in the Liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the Yoke of Bondage 'T was a Yoke of Bondage How a Yoke of Bondage The Rites and Ceremonies of the Law they were painful and burdensom chargeable and burdensom to all the people to have all their Male-children circumcised which was to have their Fore-skin pulled off which was painful To have the first of their Flocks given to the Priests for Sacrifices To go three times a year to Jerusalem to appear in the City of Jerusalem In a word the Ceremonial Law was so painful and burdensom that the carnal people of that Church did complain of it Mal. 1. 7 8. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine Altar and the blind and the lame and the sick And in v. 13. Ye said Behold what a weariness is it ye have snuffed at it saith the Lord and ye brought that which is torn and the lame and the sick Thus you see the Law was so burdensom as they snuffed at it They were called upon for Sacrifices and they would bring the lame and the torn and the weak They were loth to bring to best of their Flocks when God required it But our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by his coming the Priesthood and Law is abrogated And saith Christ My yoke is easie and my burden is light Why for he hath taken the burden upon himself Our dear Lord Jesus instead of calling for the best of our flocks to be offered for Sacrifice he offered himself a Sacrifice for sins for ever and he accepts of our lame and weak performances that are done with a humble sincere heart relying upon his perfect Righteousness He hath offered up himself his blessed self for a Sacrifice for sin My yoke is easie and my burden is light Yea our Lord Jesus Christ by the change of the Priesthood doth not impose upon us a going three times a year to a certain place at a great distance to worship but he left us to our liberty to worship him in spirit and truth in any place As Christ said to the woman of Samaria in John 4. 21. The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this Mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father This is the sum of Christs Law that you should come to him by Faith and receive the Gospel and repent of your sins and to be holy as he is holy The Law of Christ calls for Faith calls for Repentance It also gives power to believe A true Believer he knows that he doth not only command a duty but he gives power also to perform it in some measure to his people The Apostle here gives you the reasons of the change of the Priesthood and of the Law and we are bound to bless the Lord for his new Law and this his new Priesthood and therefore they do very ill that do mingle the Worship of God with the Jewish Ceremonies when the Lord Jesus Christ hath abrogated them SERMON V. Hebrews 7. 13 14 15 16. For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another Tribe of which no man gave attendance at the Altar For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Juda of which Tribe Moses spake nothing concerning Priest-hood And it is yet far more evident for that after the similitude of Melchisedeck there ariseth another Priest Who is made not after the Law of a carnal commandment but after the power of an endless life HAving undertaken through the Lords assistance briefly to go thorow this chapter Last day we concluded the 12th verse of this chapter The change of the Priest-hood and so of the Law Now in these words which I have read we have that great point proved namely That Jesus Christ and his Priesthood is of another kind differing from the Levitical Priesthood And the Apostle proves it thus The Priesthood under the Law was of the Tribe of Levi But Jesus Christ and his Priesthood sprang out of the Tribe of Judah Two different Tribes therefore two different Priesthoods The Priest-hood of Aaron was after the Law of a carnal commandment the Priesthood of Christ after the power of an endless life It is of great concern to all our Souls to have a right apprehension of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ for therein lies our Salvation To begin with the 13th verse For he of whom these things are spoken pertained to another Tribe These things are spoken That is the things spoken of before in this chapter Our Lord Jesus Christ who was prefigured by Melchisedeck who was the Priest of the most high God without beginning of days or end of life without Descent he of whom those great and excellent things are spoken This Jesus Christ he pertained to another Tribe not to the Tribe of Levi what is that A Tribe in Scripture signifies all those that spring out of one Stock Jacob had twelve Sons and the people that came of them were called twelve Tribes distinguishing one from another The Tribe of Levi and the Tribe of Judah c. Now Jesus Christ of whom these things are spoken pertained to another Tribe than that of Levi. Whence first observe The great condescention of our Lord Jesus Christ in associating himself with the Children of men That he that is the Eternal Son of God was willing to be reckoned among men amongst the Tribes of men For you read of him Prov. 8. That he was with the Father from Eternity Yet he rejoiced in the habitable parts of the Earth and his delight was with the Sons of men in v. 31. That the Eternal Son of God should so far abase himself to be reckoned among the Tribes of men This is great condescention But. saith the Apostle It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah i. e. that he took his Humanity out of that Family which did belong to the Tribe of Judah it is evident And how is it evident that Jesus Christ according to flesh came out of the Tribe of Judah It is evident in the Genealogy in Matth. 1. There you may read that Jesus Christ came out of the Tribe of Judah That chapter and other such chapters in the Scripture may seem to be unprofitable places of Scripture to them that do not understand the scope of them But such Scriptures are as necessary as any thing in the Bible to prove by the Genealogy that Jesus Christ the second person of the sacred Trinity did come out of the Tribe of Judah And for this he is called The Lion of the Tribe of Judah having power to
from the words That we must always keep close to Scripture-testimony to take up that which is the matter of our Faith We must take it up on Scripture-testimony and not by the will of man And so I come to the 18th verse For there is verily a disannulling of the Commandment going before A Disannulling And then he shews the reason of it and that is for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof First saith he Verily there is a Command going before What Command was that why the Command of the Levitical-way of Worship which did go before Christs coming in the flesh That is the meaning For the Law as to the Administration of it it was before the Gospel it was before Christ came to be our spiritual High-priest and Sacrifice tho' he was promised before yet it was before Christ came in the flesh and all those things were but types and shadows of heavenly things of things which were to come As the shadow sometimes goes before the body so did the Law come before Christ The Levitical Priesthood goes before the Evangelical Priesthood of Jesus Christ But saith the Apostle there is a disannulling of the Command going before disannulling what is that why it is an abrogating and making void so as no man is bound to this Command to that kind of Worship that was under the Law He is not bound to offer those Sacrifices the command of those Sacrifices is disannulled He is not bound to observe those Rites those manifold Ceremonies for the command is disannulled and made void by the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh Pray attend to those things for it may be of use to them that are studious to know the mind of God in the Scripture The Apostle gives the reason why there is a disannulling of the Command and Law of the old way of Worship What Reason Why saith he Because of the weakness and unprofitableness of it The weakness and unprofitableness of all the Levitical Priesthood and Service is the reason why God removed it Weakness and unprofitableness that is if a Man did spend all his days in that kind of Worship and Service without looking beyond it it profited nothing it was not able to effect the great things the Soul stood in need of and therefore in Gal. 4. 9. the Apostle calls them weak and beggarly Elements you see what he calls those things that were once the Ordinances of God But he so calls them in respect of Gospel dispensations so here they are weak and unprofitable There are several things in Scripture that are said not to profit us As First the knowledge of Christ after the Flesh see John 6. 13. It is the Spirit that quickeneth the Flesh profiteth nothing he spake it in reference to his Doctrin The Flesh that is the Fleshly knowledge of Christ As those people the Papists who count themselves the only wise people it profiteth nothing to know Christ after the Flesh tho if they were certain they could lie in the manger where Christ lay and Kiss the Cross and go to the Sepulchre of Christ it is only filthy knowledge and profiteth nothing So again the Scripture tells us that Bodily Exercise profiteth little 1 Tim. 4. 8. For Bodily Exercise profiteth little but Godliness is profitable unto all things having the promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come Bodily Exercise profiteth nothing Some have no other Religion but what lies in Bodily Exercise Thirdly The Scripture tells us that meats profit nothing see Heb. 13. 9. It is a good thing to have the Heart established with Grace and not with Meats which have not profited them that have been occupied therein The Jews of old made a great distinction about Meats so the Papists now hold it a great sin to eat Meat in Lent and to eat Flesh on Wednesdays and Fridays but saith the Apostle this profiteth nothing This distinction of Meats profiteth nothing to the Soul Now saith the Apostle here in the Text the Commandment is disannulled for the weakness and unprofitableness of it How is that Why if Men went no further in the Law than bringing a Lamb or a Bullock for a Sacrifice go up to Jerusalem to Worship and be very strict in observing all the Rites and Ceremonies of the Law of Moses these things profited nothing The Lord disannuled the Commandment concerning all the Jewish Rites and Ceremonies for the weakness and unprofitableness in them But then you will say Why did God appoint them seeing they were weak and unprofitable I Answer Though they were weak and unprofitable as to reach the main end of Mans Salvation yet God had other holy ends in appointing of them First of all to keep his Children and People under obedience until the fulness of time did come that Christ was to be manifested in the Flesh for this is to be observed that all Mankind are addicted to Worship a Deity some God or other or something that they made their God All the Heathen Worshippers are for Worshipping some God or other and if God had left this people without Divine Rites and Ceremonies they would have run into the Rites and Ceremonies of the Idolatrous Heathens which were worse God did by his Children in the time of the Law as Parents do with their Children they set them about things that are little worth or of little effect to keep them from doing worse So God left his People the Divine Rites and Ceremonies to keep them from running into Heathenish Idolatry Secondly God had still a further end and that is Tho they were not perfect of themselves yet by this they were directed to look unto Jesus Christ and his Priesthood and his Sacrifice and tho they were no more perfected by them than the body is by the shadow yet the shadow shews that there is a Body so those things were weak and unprofitable in themselves but they led to Christ the substance so they were of holy use to all the Faithful and Elect of God But to come to the application of this Point and so to pass on If this be so that all the Mosaical Rites and Ceremonies were weak and imperfect and God for that reason abolished them because they could not reach the main end of Mans happiness Then here you may see the folly of those Men that set up these Rites and Ceremonies and humane Inventions in part of their Worship If Gods own Institutions were weak and unprofitable what are Mens Inventions Are their Priestly Vestments profitable Their Crossings and Cringings profitable What profit is there in bowing the Knee at the word Jesus What profit is there in these things And yet many Men Glory in these things and magnifie them above the Gospel of Jesus Christ Some say these things are Edifying I remember a dispute between a Martyr and a Popish Priest the Martyr objected that he could not comply with that kind of Worship because of their many Ceremonies said
the Psalmist cry out Lord what is man that thou art so mindful of him But what is this work of Creation to the work of Redemption by our Lord Jesus Christ when he took the Son of his love that is higher than the Heavens and had Glory with him before the World began when there was no Heaven no Earth to take his Son and to call him to this work to appear in the presence of God that we might be accepted by him Oh what infinite goodness is this Oh how should we get our Hearts affected with this He did not so with the Angels let us therefore labour to admire the riches and goodness of God the Father who hath called his Son to this Office and hath given him an Oath that he should be a Priest for ever Secondly As this Doctrin shews the great Love and Mercy of God so also The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ For if he that had a Glory with the Father before the World began would not have become Man would not have taken this Office we had all perished but that he who is higher than the Heavens should condescend so low as to take up the cause of poor sinners wretched sinners Do we know what we are Have we any sense of what we are by Nature Do we not find our selves Proud sinners Carnal sinners Unbelieving sinners vain and empty Creatures And for him that is above the Heavens to undertake for these poor Creatures Oh what infinite free Grace is this You know how it is among Men if you have a bad Man and he hath a bad Cause you will say there is not a man will undertake his Cause Our Lord Jesus Christ he hath to deal with bad Men and bad Women he undertakes for them to justifie them before God Oh the riches of the Grace of Christ in undertaking for such poor wretched sinners You may apply that in Rom. 5. 7 8. Scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die But God commendeth his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us Thirdly This Doctrin is A special ground of comfort for finding acceptance with God to every believing Soul to every one that comes to God by Christ by a true and unfeigned Faith You may come to God having such an High-priest If you mind the Scripture you will find the Scripture doth not only commend Faith in the Children of God but confidence which is the highest degree of Faith in Heb. 3. the Apostle speaking of Christ being set as a Son over his own House in v. 6. But Christ as a Son over his own House whose House we are if we hold fast the confidence and rejoycing of the hope firm unto the end If we hold fast confidence What is this confidence Why confidence is when we go about a business without fear doubtings distrust jealousies when we go freely and boldly about so saith the Apostle Let us go bodly to the Throne of Grace Why For we have such an High-priest that interceeds for us You know that a Man will bear and rely with confidence upon his Friend at Court and shall not we bear upon Christ when we draw nigh to God by Jesus Christ We may then draw nigh to God with a holy confidence not doubting For it is a dishonour to our Lord Jesus to want confidence in him labour therefore to strengthen your Faith by these things that ye may serve the Lord with a holy yet a humble confidence Lastly If such an High-priest became us who was holy harmless undefiled and separate from sinners Then surely such a People doth become this great High-priest which are holy harmless and such do mortifie their sin and do cast off the pollutions of the World As it becomes us to have such an High-priest so it becomes us to be holy as he is holy to be pure as he is pure I shall give you but one or two instances and so conclude in Philip. 4. 8. Finally Brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any vertue and if there be any praise think on these things The Apostle gives this as a general rule if there be any thing that is good true and holy that to the Glory of God think on these things So in the Epistle to the Ephesians 4. 1. I beseech you therefore that you walk worthy of the Vocation wherewith ye are called that is that ye walk becomingly that you walk up to it I shall name but one Scripture more which the Apostle there writes for the instruction of Christian Women 1 Tim. 2. 9 10. In like manner also that Women adorn themselves in modest Apparel with shamefastness and sobriety not with Broidered Hair or Gold or Pearls or costly Aray but which becometh Women professing Godliness There is a Dress becoming Women professing Godliness and there is the Dress of a Harlot There is not a Woman in the Congregation but would be counted a Professor of Godliness Then look to your Attire wear those things that carry Sobriety Modesty and Shamefastness and such a Dress as becomes Godliness And since we have such an High-priest as becomes us who is holy harmless and undefiled how doth it become us to live to the glory of God and the honour of our Lord Jesus Christ FINIS A Catalogue of Books Printed for and are to be Sold by Edward Giles Bookseller in Norwich near the Market-Place SEveral Discourses concerning Actual Providence A word in Season Defensive Armour against four of Satans most fiery Darts Sermons upon the whole first and second Chapter of the Canticles Thirteen Sermons upon several useful Subjects All published by John Collins D. D. of Norwich The Way of the Spirit in bringing Souls to Christ The Glory of Christ set forth with the necessity of Faith in several Sermons both by Mâ— Thomas Allen late Pastor of a Church at Norwich Enoch's Walk with God and Christ a Christian's Gain by Mr. Timothy Armitage late Minister at Norwich A Discourse of the preciousness of Christ and of the preciousness of Faith Precious Promises the Portion of Overcomers Sermons on five several useful Subjects all by Mr. John Longher Minister in Norfolk The Saints Ebenezer by Mr. Francis English late Minister in Norwich Directions to spell English right The History of the Protestant Reformation as it was begun by Luther The Dead Saint speaking being a Sermon preached upon the Death of Mr. Newcomb of Dedham in Essex The English Presbyterian The Miracles of Christ The ordinary matter of Prayer drawn into Questions and Answers Two Treatises the first Rejoycing in the Lord Jesus in all Cases and Conditions The second Of a Christian's Hope in Heaven and Freedom from Condemnation by Christ both by Mr. Robert Asty late Minister of Jesus Christ in Norwich Obedience to Magistrates recommended in a Sermon preached September the 9th 1683. being the Thansgiving Day for his Majesties Deliverance by Jonathan Clapham Rector of Wramplingham in Norfolk A Present for Youth and an Example for the Aged Two Discourses one of Spiritual Blessings the other That God hath an high account of the least Grace in the Saints by Mr. John Cromwell late Pastor of a Church of Christ in Norwich Infant Baptism of Christ's Appointment by Mr. Samuel Petto Minister of the Gospel in Sudbury in Suffolk Of the Conversion of Sinners to God in Christ the necessity nature means and signs of it with a concluding Speech to the Unconverted by Martin Finch a Servant of Christ in the Work of the Gospel in the City of Norwich Sincerity or the upright Man's Walk to Heaven delivered in several Sermons in the Parish Church of St. Michael in Long-stratten in Norfolk by James Oldfield late Minister there Alexipharmacon Spirituale Being a Defensative against the Poison and Sting of Death Or The great expedient how to make the Bed of the Grave so easie that we may lye down in Peace and take our Rest By Samuel Snowden Minister of the Gospel at Newton in Norfolk Christ set forth in several Sermons upon the seventh Chapter of the Hebrews by Mr. Robert Ottee late Pastor to a Congregation in Beckles in Suffolk Sacramental Discourses on several Select Subjects to which is added a Discourse of the Life of Faith by Christopher Amiraell Minister of the Gospel in Norfolk