fin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. There is perfection in Christ, but none in us; and if we are in any fenfe perfect, it is as we are in him. 2. Are all the elect engraven on Christ's heart? You then may learn from hence, how near and dear they are to him; what an affection he has for them, and what love he bears to them; they have not only a place in his arms, but a place in his heart; they are a people near unto the Lord indeed; and as they can never be be plucked out of his hands, fo they can never be removed from the affections of his heart; For who shall feparate us from the love of Chrift? 3. Is Christ, as a counsellor and advocate, represented by the priests afking counsel of God by Urim and Thummim for the people? Let us then make use of him as fuch; he knows how to manage our affairs, and has intereft enough to obtain what we defire; and what is more, will do all faithfully and freely, and take it kindly at our hands that we make use of him. 4, and laftly, Is the true Urim and Thummim alone with Chrift? You learn hence, the fuperiority of Chrift's priesthood, to that of Aaron's; the Levitical law was but a shadow of good things to come, which good things are brought to us by Chrift, who is the fubftance of those fhadows. And we may also learn the glory of the gofpel difpenfation, in which the day is broke, and the shadows are fled and gone; and we all with open face beholding, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the fame image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord". b 1 John i. 8. • Rom. viii. 36. 2 Cor. iii. 18. SERMON Chrift a Prieft after the Order of Melchizedek*. PSALM CX. 4. The Lord hath fworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchizedek. I f HAVE in a late difcourfe fhown you that Levi's Urim and Thummim are to be found with Chrift, and I fhall now endeavour to make it appear, that notwithstanding that, he is not a priest of Levi's order, but of the order of Melchizedek; there was a weakness and an imperfection in Levi's priesthood, therefore it was neceffary that another priest should arise, not after his order, but after the order of another, who is here mentioned in these words. This Pfalm was not wrote by Melchizedek, as a fome of the Jewish Rabbies have imagined; for he was a greater person than Abraham, he bleffed him, and received tithes from him, and therefore could not call him Lord: nor by Eleazar, as others of them have thought: for though it is true he might call him his Lord, but then he could not affign unto him feffion at the right hand of God; nor fay of him, that he had an everlasting priesthood after the order of Melchizedek: nor is it a composure of David's concerning Abraham, and that victory which he obtained over the kings, for the fame reasons as before: nor was it wrote by David, or by any of the fingers in his time concerning himself, for David had nothing to do with the priesthood. It is true David was the penman of it, as is manifeft from the infcription, A pfalm of David; but then he did not write it concerning himself, but concerning one that was greater than he, even one whom he acknowledges to be his Lord; for if God never faid to an angel, Sit thou at my right hand, &c. certainly he would never say so to a meer man. с The person who is the fubject of this pfalm is the Meffiah, as is acknowledged by many of the antient Jewish Rabbies; though many of the modern ones, obferving how manifeftly fome places in this pfalm are applied to the Lord Jefus Chrift in the New Teftament, have endeavoured, as much as in them lies, X 2 b Ibid. • R. Abendana in not in Miciol d R. David Kimchi, R. Aben Ezra, & Miclol Jophi in Pfal. cx. a R, Abraham in Rivet. in Pfal. cx. Jophi in Pfal. cx. • Bereshith Rabba in Gen. xviii. 1. Midrash Tillim in Pfal. xviii. 35. & ii. 7. & cx. 1. R. Saadias Gaon on Dan. vii. 13. R. Obadiah in Pfal. cx. * This Sermon was preached in the year 1725, and never before published. lies, to wreft it to any other perfon; but we have a more fure word of prophecy, and a better rule to go by, than their gloffes and interpretations: for the first verfe is evidently referred to the Messiah by Christ himself, in Matthew xxii. 42,43. where he puts this question to the fcribes and Pharifees, What think ye of Chrift? whofe fon is be? They fay unto him, The fon of David. He faith unto them, How then doth David in fpirit call him Lord? faying, The Lord faid unto my Lord, &c. now as they were not able to answer this question, so neither do they charge him with a mifapplication of the text; which, no doubt, they would have done, had they not been convicted in their own confciences that it was right. It is also applied unto him by the apostle Peter, in Acts ii. 39. and there the words of my text, in all those places where they are cited in the epistle to the Hebrews, are manifestly referred unto Christ. The three first verses of this Pfalm speak of the glory of Chrift's kingdom, in his being placed at the Father's right hand, in the subjection of his enemies to him, and in the mighty conquefts of his grace over his own people; and in this fourth verfe there is an eafy tranfition from his kingly to his priestly office; both which offices were eminently conjoined in him, of whose order he is here faid to be. Three things are here said of Christ's priesthood; rft, That it is after the order of Melchizedek. Secondly, That it is an everlasting one. Thirdly, That its stability and firmness is in the immutable and unrepealable. oath of God. Each of which I fhall confider in their order. First, Chrift is a priest after the order of Melchizedek: And in speaking to this, it will be neceffary, 1ft, To give you fome account, who and what Melchizedek was; 2dly, How Chrift may be faid to be a prieft after the order of Melchizedek: In treating of the former, I fuppofe that I fhall gratify the curiosity of fome; and in confidering the latter, I hope to bring out fomething, for the edification of others; but, in the 1st place, Let us confider who and what Melchizedek was. The first mention that is made of him, is in Gen. xiv. 18. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. His name, by interpretation, is, King of righteousness; and it is very probable that he was called fo; because that he was a king who reigned in righteoufnefs, and executed juftice in his realm; as he does, of whom he was a glorious type. In Joshua's time, we find that there was a king in Jerufalem, which is fuppofed to be the fame with Salem, whofe name was Adonizedek; which is, by interpretation, Lord of righteoufnefs; a name of much the fame fignification with this, and perhaps it was a common name of the kings of this place; even as Abimelech was a f Heb. v. 6, 10. & vi. 2c. and vii. 17, 21. & Vid. R. Abendana in not. in Micial. Jophi in Gen. xiv. 18. common common name of the kings of Gerar, and Pharaoh of the kings of Egypt. Now this inquiry of ours confifts of two parts, 1ft, Who he was. 2dly, What he was. ift, Let us confider who he was; there has been a variety of opinions concerning him, which may be reduced to thefe two heads: ft, Such who have thought him to be more than a man; 2dly Such who have thought him to be but a mere man: of those who have thought him to be more than a man, Some have imagined that he was an angel, which appeared in a human form to Abrabam: this was the opinion of Origen; which, though not approved of by a learned author, yet is preferred by him to that which Jerom, and many others, both of the antient and modern writers, have embraced; of which hereafter. That angels have appeared in a human form, is undeniable; those who appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, Gen. xviii. and are there called men, are in the xixth called angels; but then we never read of angels being priests, or of this office being afcribed to them; for every high priest is taken from among men, and not from among angels. i Others have thought him to be a divine power, fuperior to Chrift: this was the heresy of those who were called Melchifedecians: the first author of this was one Theodorus, a'filversmith, a difciple and follower of one Theodorus, a tanner, who lived under Zepherinus, Pope of Rome, and Severus, Emperor, about the year of Christ 174. This herefy confifted of two parts, 1ft, That Chrift was a mere man. 2dly, That Melchizedek was not a man, but the power of God; more powerful, august, and happy, than the Son of God; after whose image Christ was made by God. This herefy arose from a mistaken fense of Christ's being faid to be after the order of Melchizedek; but rather the contrary follows from hence; for if Melchizedek was a type of Christ, and Christ the truth of that type, then Chrift must be greater than Melchizedek, because the truth is greater than the type. Others have fancied, that he was the holy Ghoft; this was the notion of the Hieraclites, as appears from Epiphanius; though Auguftine, in treating concerning those hereticks, makes no mention of this tenet of theirs: yet Daneus', in his commentary upon him, does; by whom we are informed, that they were fo called from one Hierax, or Hieracla, an Egyptian monk, who lived under Dionyfius, Pope of Rome, and Gallienus, Emperor, about the year of Christ 234. That the holy Ghoft appeared once in the form of a dove, and defcended on Christ at his baptifm, is well known; but that he ever appeared in the form of a man, the fcripture does not furnifh us with one fingle inftance of, nor is he ever called a prieft, or that office affigned unto him, in all the word of God. Cunæus de Rep. Heb. 1. 3. c. 3. p. 426. 1 Epiphan. Hæref. 55. Auguft. de Hæref, c. 34. & Danæus in idem. * Hær. 67. In Auguft. de Hæref. c. 47. Others Others have supposed that he was the son of God himself: which opinion is defended by a learned author", who fuppofes that Chrift appeared to Abraham when he returned from the flaughter of the Kings, in the fhape and form of that body which he afterwards dwelt in here on earth; and hence he is faid to be à‡wμosúμer© тÑ v 9, “made like unto the Son of God;" and that because Abrabam faw him in the likeness of that body which when incarnate he really affumed, therefore it is faid by Chrift, that Abraham rejoiced to fee his day, and he saw it, and was glad": he argues, that if Melchizedek, and the Son of God, is not one and the fame perfon, then it follows, that there are two priests, whofe priesthood is everlasting; for the apoftle says of Melchizedek, that he abides a priest continually°; he lays fome stress upon his bleffing fo great a patriarch as Abraham; which the apostle obferves as an undeniable evidence of his being "greater and more ex"cellent than he :" but his chief argument is founded on Heb. vii. 8. where the apostle, comparing Melchizedek with the Levites, fays, and bere men that die, receive tithes but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth; where two things may be observed of the Levites, which are oppofed in Melchizedek's character; one is, that they were men, the other is that they died; but this priest to whom Abraham gave tithes, was not a man, nor mortal; for there is a witness of him that he liveth; these priests were made after the law of a carnal commandment; but Melchizedek, or the Son of God, after the power of an endle's life; he cannot fee how Melchizedek's priesthood was more perfect than that of the Levites, if he was a mortal man, and a king and priest among the Salemites; those people having not as yet embraced the true Religion; for Abraham was but just come amongst them: and if fo be they had, yet, says he, every one knows that religious worship, even in the families of the patriarchs, was but rude and without form, until God inftituted the Levitical order; he asks what reason we have, why we fhould not believe this King of righteousness and peace, to be the fame Son of God, who appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre? Gen. xviii. accompanied by two angels, who, with him, are called men: he thinks there is a greater evidence of divinity in this King of righteousness, who on a fudden came from above, as out of a machine, and met Abraham on the road, and bleffed him, and refreshed him with bread and wine; than there is in that person who appeared to Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and was hofpitably received by him: only, as he obferves, there is this difference, that he in Gen. xviii. is exprefsly said to be THE LORD, but this is not faid of Melchizedek in Genefis: but he supposes, that Mofes left this mystery to be explained by David and Paul; who he thinks have left us no room to doubt of it. He thinks that Abraham gave him these names, Melchizedek and Malecfalem; which he thinks are m Cunæus de Rep. Heb. 1. 3. c. 3. n John viii. 56. • Heb. vii. 3. |