negatively; that it doth not consist in the often offering up of himself by his priests or ministers here on earth; For if he were on earth, saith the apostle, Heb. viii. 4, he should not be a priest. This argues that he exerciseth his priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary, not in temples made with hands. So saith the apostle more expressly, Heb. ix. 24, 25: Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year, ἐν αἵματι ἀλλοτρίῳ, with blood of others; for then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The truth then is, as you have heard before, that Christ by his bloody sacrifice upon the cross was consecrated to be an everlasting Priest; and that this consecration was not accomplished until his resurrection from the dead: for it is not conceivable that he should be an everlasting priest before he became an 305 immortal man, and by his rising, &c., opened the gate of everlasting life. After he was thus consecrated by death, and by the resurrection from the dead, to be an everlasting Priest after the order of Melchisedec, he was not to offer any sacrifice: nor do we read that Melchisedec offered any k Wherein then did Melchisedec's priesthood consist? Only in the dignity of authoritative blessing. He was, saith Moses, the priest of the most high God, and he blessed Abram, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth. St. Cyril, in his parallel betwixt Christ and Melchisedec, speaks more expressly, and reads the text more punctually for the opinion of reformed churches, than we ourselves for the most part do 1. 2. This exercise of Christ's spiritual priesthood in the heavenly sanctuary was foreshadowed by sundry services and sacrifices of the law, by that solemn atonement which the high priest made in the most holy place, and, as we have often said, by the sacrifice of the red heifer also; albeit that solemnity did prefigure him likewise in the act of his consecration, or designation to his heavenly sanctuary. This heifer was slain by another without the camp, in Eleazar's sight, and yet Eleazar the priest was to sprinkle the blood of this sacrifice before the tabernacle of the congregation, that is, with his face towards the sanctuary, on which unless he did constantly look whilst he did sprinkle the blood, the service was frustrated, as the Jews say. This testified that the validity of this act, or the purification intended by it, was to be expected from the sanctuary: Christ likewise was slain by the hands of sinful men without the city; and yet, though slain by them, he offered himself by the eternal Spirit". And whether by this eternal Spirit, or by his spirit as man, or by both, certain it is, that by the Spirit he sprinkleth the blood of the new covenant upon us, and prepareth a way for us to the heavenly sanctuary. As the people under the law might not enter into the congregation, nor the priests into the sanctuary, until they had been purified from their uncleanness by the water of sprinkling, so neither could we or any of God's people have access unto the most holy place or heavenly sanctuary, until the way were prepared for us by the blood of the Son 1 See the note at the end of this chapter. m Heb. ix. 14. of God, nor until we be sprinkled and purified with his blood. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Heb. x. 19-22. He consecrated the way itself by his bloody sacrifice upon the cross; from the very moment in which the veil did rend asunder, the door was opened and the way prepared. But we must be qualified for walking in this way, and for entering into this heavenly sanctuary, by the present exercise of his everlasting priesthood, which is a priesthood of blessing, not of sacrifice. And yet he blesseth us by communicating the virtue and efficacy of his everlasting sacrifice unto our souls. This participation, and this blessing by it, the full expiation of our sins, we are to expect from his heavenly sanctuary. 3. God, saith the apostle, Heb. vi. 17, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, éμeσiтevσev öρкw, interposed himself by an oath, or, word by word, he mediated by an oath". an oath". The tenor of this oath, as you have heard before°, was, that he would requite Abraham, as we say, in kind; that as Abraham was then willing to offer up his son, his only son Isaac, in bloody sacrifice unto him, so he would offer or give his only Son for Abraham, and for all such as should n See book 9. ch.19. [vol. viii. page 304.] page 149.] and book 9. chap. 17. [vol. viii. page 287.] 306 follow his example of faith and obedience. It was in the same promise (confirmed by oath) implied, that this only Son of God should be the seed of Abraham ; that in this one seed of Abraham all the nations of the earth should be blessed; that for the derivation of this blessing upon all the nations upon earth, this seed of Abraham should be made a priest after the order of Melchisedec. The hope in this promise, thus confirmed by oath to Abraham, is by the apostle in the same sixth chapter, ver. 19, termed an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast. But why an anchor, sure and stedfast? Because it entereth into that within the veil, to wit, into the heavenly sanctuary, which was prefigured by the most holy place within the material tabernacle or earthly sanctuary, into which none might come besides the high priest, nor he saving once a year, and then not without blood; for he was to purify or sanctify it by the blood of the sacrifices which were offered without the camp or congregation upon the day of the atonement. And thus the Son of God, being crucified without the city of Jerusalem, did by his blood then shed enter into the heavenly sanctuary, and even purify it by his blood, Heb. ix. 23, 24. But what doth our hope apprehend within the veil? The apostle tells us, Heb. vi. 20, Even Jesus, made an high priest after the order of Melchisedec; that is, an high priest to bless us in the name of the most high God, to make us blessed, even blessed as the sons of God, or such as he himself as man is, that is, kings and priests unto our God. That this his priesthood is a priesthood of blessing, and offereth the blessing promised unto Abraham to all the nations of the earth, as well unto the Gentile as unto the Jew, (though in the first place unto the Jew,) St. Peter witnesseth, Acts iii. 25, 26: Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our 4. Yet seeing he entered not into the heavenly |