Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

2.

With men: This is a faithful faying and worthy of all acceptation, that lefus Chrift came into the world to fave finners, Tim. 1. 1. How much is the Church (in the Canticles) affected with the Javour of this precious ointment!

O how much more precious then gold, more delightful then all the rivers of Carnall pleafures, is that Oyl of gladneffe wherewith the Son of God was anointed: anointed to become the Saviour of my finful foul!

Solomon fpeakes of Oyl which did give a cheerfull countenance, fure I am, if there be any thing which can revive the heart of a drooping finner, which can cheare or quicken his fpirits, which can put life into him, it is this, that God hath appointed his Son to dye for him and to fave him.

SECT. III.

2.

the fecond was

anointed? For a fatisfaction to this demand, we must know that those who were anointed, by Gods command, were fequeftred to fingular and Special offices thereby, and there were three forts of perfons, who were to execute three forts of offices who were anointed.

First, the Priest, as we read of Aaron and the reft of that order.

16.

[ocr errors]

Secondly, The Prophet, as Elisha by Elijah, 1 Kings 19..

Thirdly, the King as David by Samuel, and Solomon, by Zadock.

Now Chrift differs from all others, who were anointed, we read that fome were anointed to be Kings, but not to be Priefts nor Prophets; others were mointed to be Priests; but neither to be Prophets, nor Kings: others were anointed to be Prophets, but neither to be Kings, nor Priests.

Againe we read of fome who were to be Kings, and Priests as Melchifedek, others to be Prophets, and Kings, as David, fome to be Priests and Prophets, but not any one was anointed a King and a Prieft and a Prophet conjunctively. Now here is the ex-, cellency and the eminence of Chrifts anointing, He was ancinted

to

to all those three offices, not only to be a Priest, but also a Prophet, not onely to be a Prophet, but alfo to be a King.

Had he been a Prieft only, he might have offered facrifice, for our finful gilt. But who fhould have then been the Prophet, to have opened the eyes of the blind, and to give the ignorant knowledge?

Had he been a Prieft, to fuffer and a Prophet, to inftruct only, who fhould then have been a King, to have abolished the confufions of the Heart, and Life, and to have fubdued our finnes and fo to lead captivity captive?

Nay that he might be a compleat Saviour and Mediator. He was anointed to be Prieft Prophet and King. I will open fomething in every one of these.

He was anointed, to be a Prieft. Thou art a Prieft for ever after the order of Melchifedek, Pfal. 110.4. fo Heb. 3. 1. fefus Chrift is called the Apoftle and High Priest of our profeffion ver. 2. He was faithful to him that appointed him, fee Heb. 7.26. There are these things implyed in his anointing to be our Prieft..

4. 10.

1. That he was defigned perfectly to fulfil the Law of God for w. He was a fatisfactory Prieft, there was the ceremonial Law which he fulfilled by abrogation, and there was the Morall Law, which he fulfilled by obedience. Whatfoever the Law of God could require, either for the holineffe of nature, or of life, that was to be found in Chrift: And fuch a high Priest became us, who is holy, harmelesse, unde filed, feperate from finners, &c. Heb. 7.26. Hence is he often called the boly and just one, A&t. 3.14. and Chap. 4. 27, 30. and is faid to be without fin. He. had no finne at all of which he was perfonally gilty, but he was every way a righteous perfon and fulfilled all righteou(nels.

[ocr errors]

I fay fulfilled it, not for himself only, but for us; fo that if you would now look for a righteoufneffe which can every way fatisfie, and which is every way punctually exact, and unblameable, you must look out of your felves, unto the righteousneffe of Christ as Paul did, Phil. 3. and therefore he faith, that Chrift is the end of the Law for righteousness unto every one that believeth, Rom.10.4.

To make expiation for finnes He was an expiatory Priest.

There

2 Cor. 3. 1 Pet. 2.

Efay 53. Rom. 4.

There was in the Law, facrifices offered by the Prieft, of which
fome were Gratulatory, wherin God was praised; and others were
Expiatory, wherein God was appeafed; as in the oblations of the
Lamb, &c. thus it ftands with us. As we are creatures, we are
bound to obey God; as rational and righteous creatures, we were
bound to obey the Mor all Law of God, and now as finful crea-
tures, we are bound to answer the tranfgreffions of that Law, by
expofing our perfons to the endurance of the great curfe of that
Law, and the wrath of God: The Law is broken by us, Godsj
juftice is wronged, his indignation moved, and our own gilt,
like fo many cords hold us faft, and deliver us bound hand and
foot to the vengeance and punishment of Gods pure and righte-
ous justice.

Now fuppofe you faw a number of Malefactors going to execution, the Kings Son meets them, they are heavy, weeping and fobbing becaule death is approaching; Why? faith the Kings Son weep not, you have provoked my father, and have deferved death, but fear you not, I will take a course to preferve your lives: How fo? Thus, I will lay down my own life for you, I will dye for you, to deliver you. It is even thus betwixt Chrift and us, we all have finned, and by reafon of finne are bound over to death, and hell, how now thall we escape? Thus,God did give his own Son, and he did take our fins on him, and did dye and fhed his blood to expiate our gilt and procure our pardon. Hence is he called a facrifice for fin, and he is faid to be made fin for us. And to beare our fins in his own body on the tree, and that our iniquities was laid on him, and that the chaftifement of our peace was upon him, and to be delivered to death for our finnes and that Christ our Passeover was fa. crificed for us, 1 Cor. 5. 7. And obferve the phrafe, Christ our Paffeover, &c. You know that the Paffeover had a Lamb, and the Lamb loft his life and blood, and that blood was sprinkled upon the doors of the Children of Ifrael, and the deftroying Angel did pafs by the doors where it was fprinkled,and their lives were preferved, fo it is here, we should have been deftroyed, but Jefus Chrift our Paffeover was facrificed for us, (ie.) he did poure out his own blood, which did answer for our gile,and fo preserved our fouls.

Now concerning his Prieftly expiation of our finnes obferve,

First,

fice.

First, the Priest, who did offer this expiatory facri

Secondly, the facrifice it felf.

Thirdly, the Altar upon which it was offered.
Fourthly, The dignity and efficacy thereof,

The Priest, was Jefus Chrift, as God and man, as our Mediator, for that did belong to the Prieft, who was to offer facrifice, to be a middle perfon: Aaron was to bear upon him the finnes of the people,and to offer for them; fo Jefus Christ, as God and man, was he who did offer up that facrifice, which did expiate our finnes, Heb. 5. 5. He that faid unto him,tbou art my Sonne, to day have I begotten thee, verf. 6. He faith alfo in another place, Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchifedeck.

The facrifice it self, was Chrift as confifting of foul and body: by reason of our fins we had forfeited both our fouls and bodyes to the curfe of the Law, and to the wrath of God: The arreft and attachment was out against both, but now Jefus Christ became our Prieft and offered his foul and body, to quit and release ours. Therefore it is faid, that he made his foul an offering for fins, Ifai. 53. 10. And that his foul was exceeding for-· rowful even to death,Mat. 26. 38. In it he felt the bitter anguish and wrath, which made him to sweat, even drops of blood; And, as for his body, that was prepared for him to fuffer for us." hence it is faid,that he bore our fins on his own body on the tree, 1 Pet. 2. 24. It is very true, that the Godhead formally, was not the facrifice, that could neither fuffer, nor be afflicted, only it did aid and affift the humane nature, which was offered up as a facrifice...

The Altar on which this facrifice was offered, which did expiate our fins, was Chrift as God; as the faffering did properly belong to the humane nature, fo the efficacy of that fuffering, did appertaine to the divine nature; had he been God only, he could not have fuffered, had he been man only, he could not have merited: The Altar fanctifieth the gift, not the gift the Altar; for here that which did make up the high efficacy of the facrifice, was the divine nature of Chrift. That Jefus Chrift who was God and man did offer up himfelf as a facrifice for finnes, was more then if all the holy Angels and holy men in the world

had

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

4.

3.

had fuffered; there is now,by reason of the divine nature an infi• nite dignity to answer for all our fins which elfe had stood uncancelled.

The efficacy of this facrifice, which is this, that he took away our fins, blotted out the band writing, nailed them to his cross, buried them in bis grave.

Heb. 9.28. Chrift was once offered to bear the fins of many, 10,11. Every High Prieft ftandeth daily miniftring and offering often-times the fame facrifice which can never take away fins. 12. But this man after he had offered one facrifice for fins, for ever fate down on the right hand of God.

He did by his facrifice take away all the gilt of fin, and all the fatisfactory punishment, for all this was charged upon him as our Mediator, our Prieft, and our furety, yea and he made a perfect reconciliation betwixt his father and us, and therefore as our Prieft he is our propitiation, 1 fob. 2. 1. and our reconciliator and peace, Eph. 2. 14. and our atonement, Romanes 5. II.

So that to give the fumme of all this, Jefus Christ was anoin➡ ted, that is, defigned by God the Father to be our Prieft, (i.c.) to offer up himlelf, as a perfect fatisfaction to divine Juftice, for the remiffion of all our fins, and punishments, and this he did perfectly performe for us, and this was accepted of God for

us.

I fay for us, he was made fin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him;and who is made righteousnes, redemption, and fanctification, and wifdome to us, and that of God, whatfoever he did, or fuffered from his Father, it was as our furety, in our stead, and so it is repu

ted.

A third part of his Prieftly office is this, that he doth make interceffion, Ifa. 53, 12. He bare the finnes of many, and made interceffion for the tranfgreffors, lo Rom. 8. 34. It is Chrift that dyed or rather that is rifen againe, and is even at the right hand of God who also maketh interceffion for us. And therefore he is called our advocate, 1 Joh. 2. 1. and is faid to appear for us, Heb. 9.24. He is as it were the Deputy, or rather our Attorney, to Negotiate for us, with the Father.

There is a two fold interceffion, one by way of duty, another

by

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »