And the apostle saith, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which is written in the book of the law to do them.' Gal. iii. 10. and Deut. xxvii. 26. But no man is justified by the works of the law in the sight of God, for the just shall live by faith; for as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse.' Gal. iii. 11.

- And Christ has redeemed us from under the curse of the law, so they are not under that curse that do not pay tythes now. And the apostle saith, that no man is justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ Jesus, even as we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law:' and the apostle saith, by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified in the sight of God' therefore you are not justified by the law of tythes and offerings, nor outward circumcision in the sight of God. Gal. ii. 3.

And Christ cried, woe unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, ye pay tythe of mint, anise, and cumin, and have omitted the weighty matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith, these things ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.' Mat. xxiii. 23. and Luke xi. 42.

And in Gen. xiv. 20. when Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, he was the priest of the most high God, and he blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him the tenths of all that he had taken in the spoil,' as also ye may see in Heb. vii. 4.

Now did ever Abraham pay tythes to Melchizedek after this time? or did he ever pay Melchizedek tythes before of his own yearly increase? but now of the spoil of the war?

And did ever any of the kings or judges pay the tenths of their spoil of the wars afterwards?

'And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on; so I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house, and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.'

Now where did ever Jacob pay tythes? or the children of Israel in Egypt? until they came out of Egypt and received his law, for this was only Jacob's condition and free vow, not a command from God, as you may see in Gen. xxviii. 20, 21, 22.

And in Heb. vii.' when Abraham returned from the slaughter of the kings, Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met him and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave the tenths of all the spoils, so this was not of the increase of his personal estate, neither did other kings or judges, (as I said before,) follow this example, to give the tenth of their spoils that they had gotten in war. Neither did Abraham lay VOL. V.-33

this as a command of God, upon his own family to pay tythes, either of their personal estates, or of the wars to Melchizedek afterwards. Neither do we read that Jacob, or his children, did pay tythes, till after they came out of Egypt, as before it is said, by the law of God: but the apostle saith, as I may so say, 'Levi, also, who received tythes, paid tythes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him who received the tythes: and as for Melchizedek, his descent is not counted from them;' so here the apostle goes to cut off Levi who received tythes, and his priesthood, and place it upon Levi, as paying tythes, (in Abraham.) For the apostle saith, verily they that were of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tythes of the people according to the law, that is of their brethren, though they came out of the loins of Abraham,' so here is the law and commandment to take tythes of their brethren, and not of them that was not their brethren.

And the apostle saith, 'if perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need was there that another priest should arise, (to wit, Christ,) after the order of Melchizedek, and not after the order of Aaron, who had a law and a commandment to take tythes.' For the apostle saith, the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law, for there is a disannulling of the commandment going before, and so the priesthood changed, and the law changed by which he was made, and the commandment disannulled that gave him his tythes; for it is evident, that our Lord Jesus Christ sprang out of Judah, of which tribe, Moses speaks nothing concerning the priesthood, and Christ is made a priest, not after the order of Aaron: and yet it is far more evident, for that after the similitude of Melchizedek, there arises another priest, (to wit, Christ,) who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, (as the other priests were that took tythes,) but after the power of an endless life, for this law of the carnal commandment, commanded all these carnal things, tythes, offerings, to be given to Levi's priesthood: and therefore the apostle saith, the law is changed by which the priesthood was made, and the priesthood is changed:' and the apostle saith, there is a disannulling the commandment going before, for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof;' so here the apostle notes both the weakness and unprofitableness of that law of tythes. Moreover, he saith, the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did, (to wit, Christ,) by the which we draw nigh unto God, now Christ our high priest was made with an oath, but the priesthood under the law was made without an oath,' and so Christ performs God's oath and fulfils it, and so ends oaths and swearing, and forbids them.

For the Lord sware, and will not repent, thou art a priest forever

after the order of Melchizedek, to wit, Christ, by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament than the Old Testament, because Christ continueth ever, he hath an unchangeable priesthood, and the Levites' priesthood is changed, and their law and command: so the apostle did not intend here that people should hold up Aaron's priesthood and tythes, but he shews a change of the law by which the priesthood was made, and a change of the priesthood, and a disannulling the command, and setting up Christ and his priesthood that is unchangeable; and shewing the unprofitableness, and the weakness of the law, and the commandment, and the first priesthood, and how it made nothing perfect; but the gospel brought people to Christ the better hope, which purified them as he is pure, through which they drew nigh to God.

Now all the tythes by the law of God and his commandment, the children of Israel were to pay to the Levites, and the Levites were to offer up the tenths of the heave-offerings to the Lord. But Christ Jesus, it is said of him, 'lo I come to do thy will O God, to take away the first, [mark,] that I may establish the second, by the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all, once for all their offerings.' So he has ended all the offerings, by offering up his own body, to wit, the offering of tythes, and all other offerings; and these offerers the priests; and so he has taken away the first priesthood, his law, and command, and his tythes, he has taken away his altar, and temple, his tabernacle, his sanctuary, and all his offices and services; and all the Levitical priests, offices and services, for the first priesthood had his tythes for his service at the tabernacle, altar, sanctuary, and keeping the charge of all holy things: but all these things Christ has taken away, and has taken away his priesthood, and so has taken away his tythes, his maintenance, and taken away his offices and offerings, and his charge, and he hath discharged him, and so has changed his law, and disannulled his commandment, and so all is fallen to the ground, for God will have no pleasure in these offerings which were offered by the law; but Christ is come, as in the volume of the book it is written of him, ' to do the will of God, he taketh away the first, that he may establish the second; first priesthood, first covenant, with all his tythes and offerings.' For Christ, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, forever sat down at the right hand of God, so this one sacrifice has ended both sacrifices and sacrificers.

And also the tythes, their sacrifices, offerings, and maintenance in the time of the law, which made none perfect, 'for by one offering of Christ he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified,' [mark, forever.] Heb. x.

And the Levites or priests, that took the tythes for the services, these stood daily offering, oftentimes, the same sacrifices, which can

never take away sins; but Christ, after he had offered up one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, who by this offering ended the first priest and his daily sacrifices. Heb. ix. 19. And Moses sprinkled the book and the people with blood: but how much more shall the blood of Christ, through the eternal spirit, offer up himself without spot to God, purge your consciences from dead works, to serve the living God. So Christ is the Mediator of the New Testament, and redeems from under the transgression of the first, and ends it, and sprinkles the consciences and the hearts of his people with his blood, and ends the blood of the sacrifices which was offered and shed, which the people were sprinkled withal. And the Levites had the tenths for their service; but Christ's blood which was shed, is the blood of the New Testament, which ends the blood of bulls and goats, and the Old Testament, which were sprinkled with their blood, and with which blood of Jesus the hearts and consciences of people are sprinkled from their dead works, to serve the living God. And the apostle saith, the first covenant had ordinances of divine services, and a worldly sanctuary made with hands;' and he saith, while the first tabernacle was standing, the holiest of all was not yet made manifest; but Christ being come, is an high priest of good things, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building of Aaron's and Levi's law, first covenant, first testament, with their carnal ordinances, worldly sanctuary, tythes, heave-offerings, &c. nor outward temple at Jerusalem, where they brought their tythes unto. So this worldly sanctuary, worldly temple, carnal ordinances, and the outward city Jerusalem, where they brought their tythes unto, and the priest that had the tythes for their service, and had no other inheritance in the land; all this Christ came to end, who is not of this building that was made with hands, nor after the order of Aaron, but of a more perfect tabernacle. And so the first covenant waxeth old and decays, and is ready to vanish away and so he is the Mediator of the New Testament, and so he ends the old with the covenant, and their carnal ordinances and sanctuary, their altar, and the priests of Levi and Aaron, and their order, and all their tythes which was their maintenance. So tythes are not their maintenance now from God; for the law by which they were made, is taken away; so their office and service is taken away, for which tythes was given them; for the tribe of Levi, which had no portion in the land by the law and command of God, but the tythes for his service. Now the law, and service, and priesthood, and tythes, and offerings, and covenant, and order, and sanctuary, and tabernacle and testimony being taken away, and command that gave them the tythes and offerings, they may labour and buy a portion of land, for there is no tythes for them; and the apostle saith, 'he that will not work, must not eat.'

Now in the time of the law, and command of God for tythes, Levi the priest was not to eat it at all, nor to put it in his own particular barn, but the people were to carry it up to Jerusalem, which was the place the Lord did choose, and there the high priest was to offer up his heave-offerings of it, his tenth, and the Levite must not eat all the tythes himself, but the widows, fatherless, strangers, and the persons that gave it him, as you may see in Deut. xii. 18.

For they were not to eat it within their gates, but they were to eat at the place where the Lord did choose, and rejoice before the Lord, their sons and daughters, and maid-servants, and men-servants, and the strangers, and the fatherless, and widow, that is within thy gates shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, that the Lord thy God may bless thee, so all these must eat of the tythes with Levi, (which had no part nor inheritance with the children of Israel,) but as I said before, Christ has ended and changed the Levitical priesthood, and his law that commanded tythes, and the high priest's heave-offering of them, by the offering up of himself once for all, he has ended both the offerings and priest's services, so Levi has no law to take tythes and wages, seeing he has no service for them; blessed be God who has sent his son, which is over the household of God, the household of faith, and of the Jews in spirit, as Moses was over the household of the outward Jews, with their tythes and offerings, and carnal ordinances, and outward temples, which all are put down by Christ, who remains a priest forever, not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek.

And they were blessed that brought their tythes to the place which God had chosen, and did eat them there with Levi, and the sons, and daughters, men-servants, maid-servants, strangers, fatherless, and widows, as in Deut. xiv.

And they were cursed that did not, for they that did not, robbed God and the whole nation, as in Mal. iii. as it is said before.

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And the apostle saith, cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them;' so you that take tythes, pretending the law and a command in scripture, and do not carry them to Jerusalem; and if it had been too far for you to carry thither, to turn into money; the place which the Lord God had chosen, which was the place of offering, where the high priest must have his heave-offering out of them, and the widows, strangers, fatherless, sons, and daughters, men-servants, and maid-servants, and them that gave them, all might eat and praise the Lord together. Now if you have not continued in all these things written in the book of the law, and done them according to the law; if you have not, cursed is every one that continues not in all things which is written in the book of the law to do them. But they that be of faith, are blessed with faithful Abraham, not