vpon God they turned towards the Sanctuarie and it is a manner of speech common in the Scripture to say they presented themselues before the face of the Lord when they appeared in the Temple This is the blood of the Testament Vers 20 If it be the blood of the Testament the Testament then is not established and ratified without blood neither is blood sufficient for purgation without the Testament wherefore it is necessarily required that both of them be ioyned together And wee see also that the figure and outward signe was not giuen till the law was expounded For what Sacrament were it The word and the Sacrament must goe together if the word did not go before therfore the signe is but as a thing hanging and depending vpon the word And we must note withall that this word is not a mumbling of it like a charme vsed in some magicall arre but that which is distinctly pronounced with a lowd voyce and it must also be spoken to the people all which the words of the couenant which was appointed vnto you doe shew Therefore they abuse the Sacraments nay they wickedly corrupt them Exposition of the vvord the life and soule of the Sacrament when as there is no exposition of the commandement added which exposition is as you would say the life and soule of the Sacrament The Papists then who separate the vnderstanding of the things signified from the signes doe retaine the dead elements onely without any efficacie This place admonisheth vs that all the promises of God are then profitable vnto vs when they are established and confirmed by the blood of Christ For when S. Paul witnesseth 2. Cor. 1.2 that all the promises of God are Yea and Amen in Christ The promises profit vs nothing vnlesse faith see them written in our hearts with the blood of Christ it is then performed when his blood is ingrauen in our hearts as a seale or rather when we not only heare God speake but doe also therewithall see Christ presenting himselfe for a pledge of those things which the worde vttereth If so bee this thought possesse vs to wit that all that which wee reade is not only written with inck but with the blood of the Sonne of God and that when the Gospell is preached this blood distilleth with the voyce surely wee shall be so much the more attentiue and shall receiue the word with much greater reuerence than euer wee did before The sprinkling whereof Moses makes mention was once a figure of this Although there bee more to be vnderstood in these words than Moses expresseth For ye heare him not say that the booke was sprinkled but the people neither makes he any mention at all of goates or of wooll died in purple nor of hysope Now as touching the booke although it cannot bee plainly prooued that it was sprinkled yet there is some probable coniecture of it whereby wee may gather that it is so because it is said that Moses tooke the booke before all the people and read it in their hearing after the sacrifice was ended Exod. 24.5.6.7 to the end the people might enter into an obligation vnto God answering to the solemne couenant pronounced by the mouth of Moses As touching the rest it seemes to me the Apostle hath intermingled diuers purgations of which wee may giue the same reason And surely no inconuenience is in it seeing he handles a generall point touching the purgation of the olde Testament which was made by blood Now whereas they made a sprinkle of hysope and of purple wooll we neede not doubt but they represented the mysticall sprinkling which is made by the holy Spirit The vertue of Hysope We know that Hysope hath a singular vertue to purge and to digest superfluous humours so Christ vseth his spirit as a water-sprinkle to sprinkle vs with his blood when as hee giueth a liuely feeling of repentance when he consumes the peruerse affections of our flesh and when he dieth vs with the rich and noble colour of his righteousnes For we must not imagine that God ordained these things for nothing Dauid also in the 51. Psalme alludes to this when hee saith Purge me O Lord with hysope and I shall be cleane Those who will be sober in searching out the meaning of these things will content themselues with that which we haue touched vpon this place and will spare their labour to goe search out higher speculations And almost all things vnder the law Vers 22 c. When he saith almost it seemes his meaning is to shew that there are some other things which are purged after another manner And indeed they often vsed washings with water both to clense themselues withall as also other impure things Notwithstanding euen this water had no vertue to clense but as they had it from the sacrifices so as the Apostle saith true when for a conclusion he sets downe that without shedding of blood there was no remission Wherefore impuritie was imputed vntill such time as it was clensed by sacrifice And as out of Christ there is neither puritie nor saluatiō so without blood nothing could be pure nor healthfull for Christ must neuer be separated from the sacrifice of his death But the Apostles meaning was simply to say that this signe was added alwaies in a manner And if it fell out that the purgation were not sometimes so made yet notwithstanding it depended vpon the blood seeing all the ceremonies did as you would say borrow their vertue from this generall purgation Neither are we to imagine that euery particular man among the people was sprinkled for if it had bin so how could so little a portion of blood haue satisfied so great a multitude notwithstanding the purgation came to all So then this word almost is as much as if it had been said The vse of this ceremonie was very frequent so as it was very seldome left out in ordinarie purgations For whereas Chrysostome thinkes that by this word is signified an improprietie because all was there in figures onely it is nothing neere the Apostles meaning There is no remission By this meanes men were shut out from before the face of God for in as much as hee is iustly angrie with them all they could not promise themselues to finde any fauour with him till he were appeased There is but one meanes to procure reconciliation which is the blood of Christ Now there was but one meane whereby to appease him to wit by the satisfaction which was made by blood Wherefore we must looke for no pardon of sins if we bring not blood Which wee then doe when by faith we haue our recourse to the death of Christ It was then necessarie c. To the end none should obiect Vers 23 that the blood by which the old Testament was cōsecrated was not the blood of the Testator the Apostle preuents it and saith that wee are not to marueile if this Tabernacle then
are all these things and by whom are all these things seeing that he brought many children vnto glorie that he should consecrate the Prince of their saluation through afflictions 11 For he that sanctifieth and they which are sanctified are all of one wherefore he is not ashamed to call them brethren Psal 22.23 12 Saying I will declare thy name vnto my brethren Psal 18.3 in the midst of the Church will I sing praises vnto thee 13 And againe I will put my trust in him And againe Isai 8.18 Behold here am I and the children which God hath giuen me THe point whereunto the Apostle aimeth is to make the abiection of Christ glorious in the eyes of the faithfull For when he saith that he clothed himselfe with our flesh it seemes he meant to set Christ among the common order of men And then the crosse being added it abaseth him below all sorts of men Christ must not be the lesse esteemed because he willingly abased himselfe for our sakes Wherefore good heede must be taken that Christ bee not the lesse esteemed because that of his owne good will he made himselfe of none account for our sakes And this is the point which is now handled in this text For the Apostle shewes that euen for this cause the Sonne of God ought to be honourably esteemed in regard he was thus consecrated to bee the Prince of our saluation First of all he takes it for granted that Gods ordaining of it ought to bee rested in because that as all things are sustained by his power so ought they also to serue to his glorie Wherefore wee ought to seeke no better cause than this It so pleased God Hereunto appertaines that circumlocution of words which hee vseth By whom and for whom are all things hee might in one word haue named God but his meaning was to shew that wee must hold and esteeme that to be chiefly good which God hath ordained and appointed whose will and glory is the very right end of all things Yet notwithstanding it seemes that which hee would say is not yet fully prooued to wit that it was conuenient that Christ should be consecrated after this manner But this depends vpon the ordinarie course which God is wont to hold in his dealing with those that are his For his will is they should be exercised with diuers miseries and that their whole life should bee a continuall crosse It was necessarie then that Christ as hee was the first borne should be consecrated by the crosse thereby entring into his principalitie because it is the rule and common condition of all This is the conformitie of the head with the members whereof S. Paul entreateth Rom. 8.29 Now it is a singular consolation to asswage and sweeten the bitternes of the crosse when the faithfull doe heare that they are sanctified vnto glorie together with Christ by miseries and tribulations and that in very deed they doe perceiue there is good cause why they should embrace the crosse amiably rather than fearefully Which cannot bee brought to passe vnlesse this shame of the crosse bee by and by swallowed vp and the glorie that thereby comes vnto them doth also shine forth For who will despise that which is sacred yea that which euen God himselfe hath sanctified Who will esteeme that to bee reprochfull wherewith we are prepared vnto glorie Now both the one and the other is here affirmed of the death of Christ By whom are all things When it is spoken of the creation this is attributed to the Son as a thing which is proper vnto him to wit that all things were created by him but the Apostle signifies nothing els in this place but that all creatures are steadie and vpholden in their estate by the power of God Whereas we haue turned the word to consecrate others haue put to make But for as much as the Greeke word which the Apostle vseth hath diuers significations I thinke it is very cleere that mine exposition agrees best to the scope of the text For he notes here a solemne and lawfull consecration by which the children of God are brought in to obtaine their degree yea euen to bee separated from the rest of the world and mention also is by and by after made of sanctification For he which sanctifieth and they which are sanctified c. Verse 11 He proues that that which he hath said ought to be accomplished in the person of Christ by reason of the coniunction which is between him and his members And in the meane while hee shewes that it is a singular testimonie of Gods goodnes that Christ hath taken our flesh He saith then that the author of holines and wee which are partakers of the same are all of one that is to say of one nature as I for mine owne part doe interpret it It is commonly vnderstood of Adam Some doe referre it to God but altogether without reason For I thinke it rather to be meant of one nature as if he should say made and framed of one lumpe Now this serues greatly to augment our confidence and assurance to wit that we are ioyned to the Sonne of God by so streight a bond that wee may finde the very same holines in our nature whereof we stand in neede For he doth not onely sanctifie vs as he is God but the proprietie to sanctifie is also in his humane nature not that the humanitie hath this vertue of it selfe but because God hath shed into it a perfect fulnes of holines to the end we should all draw our holines from thence To which this sentence hath respect For their sakes I sanctifie my selfe Ioh. 17.19 Doe vve at any time see our selues vnclean we neede not seeke farre for the remedie for it is in our owne flesh Thus then if wee be prophane and vncleane we neede not seeke that remedie farre off which is offered vs in our owne flesh If any had rather take it of the vnity in the Spirit which is farre otherwise betweene the faithfull and the Sonne of God than it is commonly betweene men I doe not gainsay it Notwithstanding I willingly follow that which is the most receiued seeing it is not contrarie to reason For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren This place here alleaged is taken out of the two and twenty Psalme Now that Christ is there brought in speaking or Dauid in the person of Christ wee haue first of all the Euangelists for witnesses who doe alleage many verses of this Psalme as namely these They parted my garments among them They gaue me gall for my drinke Also My God my God why hast thou forsaken me Afterwards euen the thing it selfe sheweth it For in the historie of the passion we may see a liuely image of all things there mentioned And the conclusion of the Psalme which is the vocation of the Gentiles cannot be referred to any other than to Christ All the ends of
finely auoyde the absurditie of excusing the sacrifice of the Masse For when we tell them it is superfluous to reiterate the sacrifice seeing that which Christ hath once offered retaines his vertue for euer they by and by reply the sacrifice offered in the Masse is not another but the same This is their solution But how doth the Apostle here contradict it Thus the sacrifice which is offered and many times reiterated although it be the same is not effectuall nor sufficient for the purgation of sinnes An obiection of the Papists answered wherein they say they offer not an other sacrifice but the same vvhich Christ offered Let the Papists now crie a thousand times if they will that the sacrifice which they offer euery day is the same sacrifice which Christ hath once made vpon the Crosse and none other I will alwaies maintaine against them by the mouth of the Apostle that if the oblation of Christ had this vertue to appease God then this his sacrifice hath not onely put an end to other oblations but also that it is vnlawfull to reiterate the same whereby we see that it is an execrable sacriledge to offer Christ in the Masse But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance Vers 3 c. Seeing the Gospell is the ambassage of our reconciliation with God it is yet necessarie that the remembrance againe of sinnes should be made alwaies amongst vs euen at this day but the Apostle signifieth that when sinnes are remembred it is to the end the condemnation of them might be taken away by the remedie of the sacrifice presently offered he meanes not euery remembrance then but that which bringeth such a confession of faultes and of the condemnation which they deserue before God that it should be needfull to haue a sacrifice to procure a remedie Such is the sacrifice of the Masse amongst the Papists For they forge that the grace of the death of Christ is there applied vnto vs that our sins might be done away But if the Apostle rightly collecteth that the sacrifices of the law were weake because they were reiterated euery yeere to obtaine pardon truly then a man may gather by the same reason that the sacrifice of the death of Christ was weake if it must bee celebrated euery day to the end the vertue of it may be applied vnto vs. Let them paint out their Masse then with what colours soeuer they will yet shall they not bee able to auoide this fault to wit that in the same their sacrifice they blaspheme and offer wicked outrage vnto Christ For it is vnpossible that the blood of goates c. Vers 4 He confirmeth the former sentence by the same reason which he alleaged heretofore to wit that the blood of beasts did not purge mens soules True it is the Iewes had therein a signe and pledge of their true purgation but it was another way to wit because the blood of a calfe signified the blood of Christ But here the Apostle disputes of the value of the blood of beasts in it selfe and therfore he doth rightly take away from them the vertue of purging We are here then to vnderstand a close opposition which is not expressed as if hee had said It is no marueile if the ancient sacrifices were weake and feeble so as there was necessitie they should bee offered without ceasing for there was nothing in them but the blood of beasts which pearced not vnto the soule but the blood of Christ is a farre other thing We must not therfore measure the oblation which hee made according to those oblations which went before 5 Wherefore when he commeth into the world he saith Sacrifice and offring thou wouldest not Psal 40.9 but a body hast thou ordained me 6 In burnt offrings and sinne offrings thou hast had no pleasure 7 Then said I Lo I come in the beginning of the booke it is written of me that I should doe thy will O God God vnlesse it were as you would say couered with this forme It is necessarie then that we come to the kingdome of Christ before this be perfectly accomplished in al points to wit that God required no sacrifices There is such another place in the 16. Psalme vers 10. Thou wilt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption For albeit God should haue deliuered Dauid from corruption as touching himselfe yet this was truly and onely fulfilled in Christ There is great weight then in this speech when he promiseth that he will do the will of God for he leaues no place for the sacrifices From hence then we gather that he ceaseth not to obey God perfectly although hee vse no sacrifices which yet could not be true till after the abolishing of the law I denie not but Dauid as well in this place as in the 51. Psalme ver 18. doth not so lessen the estimation of the externall sacrifices but that he still preferred that which was principall and yet we must not doubt but he stretched his sight to the kingdome of Christ in both places The Apostle then witnesseth that Christ is rightly brought in speaking in this Psalme where amongst the Commandements of God the sacrifices which God so streightly required vnder the law are not set in the last place But a bodie hast thou ordained me The words of Dauid doe signifie another thing for in the Psalme it is Thou hast pearced mine eares Which manner of speech some thinke to bee drawne from an ancient custome of the law For if there were any which made none account of being set free at the Iubile but would subiect himselfe to perpetuall bondage his eare was to be pearced with an aâ—le Exod. 21.6 This is the sense then after their opinion Lord I am thy seruant for euer Notwithstanding I take it otherwise to wit that he yeelds himselfe teachable and obedient For we are deafe till God haue opened our eares that is to say till he hath corrected the dulnes and obstinacie which is rooted in vs. And yet there is a close antithesis betweene the rude and ignorant people to whom the sacrifices were as shadowes or remembrances without vertue and Dauid to whom God had more liuely reuealed the lawfull and spiritual vse of the same Now the Apostle following the Greekes saith A bodie hast thou ordained me For the Apostles were not so scrupulous to recite the very words prouided that they alwaies kept themselues from abusing the Scriptures falsely to their own aduantage We must alwaies weigh and consider to what end they alleaged testimonies For as touching the drift and scope of the place they were warie not to draw the Scriptures by violence to a wrong sense but as touching the words and other things which concerne not the matter they entreate of they giue themselues great libertie In the beginning of the booke c. Vers 7 The Hebrew word properly signifies a roule For we know that the bookes in olde time were folded vp after the manner