negligent, as to concern ourselves no more about it than if it were only a fanciful description of the road to Utopia, or the highway to the world in the moon, it is impossible we should be throughly acquainted with it, how plainly soever it is described. It is true, there are some doctrines in Christianity which are not so clearly revealed, but that the most honest minds may be mistaken about them; but then these are such as are far remote from the necessary and fundamental articles upon which our salvation depends, all which are so clearly and distinctly revealed, that there is nothing but a perverse will, that is either prejudiced against them by some sinful affection, or through a profane disregard of God and religion utterly unconcerned about them, can hinder men from apprehending them; and if, when the divine light shines so clearly round about them, men will be so obstinate as to shut their eyes against it, it is at their own eternal peril; and they are as justly accountable for their ignorance, as if they had sinned against the clearest knowledge. For this, saith our Saviour, John iii. 19. is the condemnation of the world, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light. If therefore, through any wicked prejudice against the truth, or through a profane neglect to inquire after it, we continue ignorant of it, this will be no excuse at all for our sinning against it; but we shall be as certainly condemned for our affecting ignorance, and loving darkness more than light, as if we had sinned against the clearest light and conviction. what a monstrous instance is it of stupidity and impiety together, to shut our eyes against that light which is of such infinite moment to us, and which

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the Son of God thought worth his while to come down from heaven to reveal to us! What is this, but to tell him to his face, that, if he had pleased, he might have spared his pains, and not have come so far on such an impertinent errand, as is not worth a man's while to listen to! O prodigious supineness and stupidity! that men, who are so inquisitive about the little affairs of this life, as that when they receive but a letter, in which they imagine any of their worldly interests are concerned, they cannot forbear one moment breaking it open and perusing the contents of it, should yet receive a message from the God of heaven by his own Son, in which their everlasting happiness or misery is concerned, and take no notice of it; but let it lie by them day after day, without ever inquiring into the contents of it, or taking the least care and pains to inform themselves about it. Good God! what reverence have these wretched creatures for thee, or what regard for themselves, that can thus receive thy messages, and with them their own eternal fate, with the same unconcern and indifferency as they would the most impertinent tales of Bedlam! Wherefore, as we regard either God or our own souls, let us from henceforth be persuaded seriously to attend to this great and momentous revelation of our Saviour, and throughly to inform our minds with its doctrines and precepts; for which end let us avoid, as much as in us lies, busying and entertaining our thoughts with nice and curious speculations, or remote and disputable opinions; and betake ourselves to the study of things upon which our eternal life and happiness depends, viz. of the duties which the gospel exacts and requires of us, and of the motives by which it presses

and enforces them; which when once we have digested into a clear and distinct scheme of practical knowledge, that will be a standing light to our wills and affections, by which we shall always see our way before us, and be secured from wandering into dangerous errors, and at length safely conducted to eternal light and happiness.

SECT. IV.

Of Christ's priestly office.

IN treating of which great and momentous argu

ment, I shall endeavour, first, to shew what the ancient priesthood was, and in what acts it consisted: secondly, to prove that the ancient priesthood in its proper acts was a type and figure of the priesthood of our Saviour: thirdly, to explain the priesthood and priestly acts of our Saviour, corresponding to that ancient priesthood, in which they were prefigured.

First, What the ancient priesthood was, and in what acts it consisted. In the first ages of the world, it is evident that, in matters which concerned himself alone, every man was his own priest. For thus in sacrificing to God upon their own particular accounts, both Cain and Abel officiated for themselves; but in family sacrifices, the father of the family was the priest, as is evident by Noah and Job, Gen. viii. 20. Job i. 5. And when families were multiplied into tribes and greater societies, the prince of each society was also the supreme priest of it; and hence, before Aaron was consecrated, Moses, who was the prince of Israel, officiated also as the priest in that solemn sacrifice by which the covenant with Israel was confirmed, Exod. xxiv. 6. And long before Moses,

Melchizedek, king of Salem, was also priest of the most high God, Gen. xiv. 18. And it is evident, that originally kings were the high priests of their countries. For so Aristotle observes, that μovaρxe Kai iepaτeven, to rule and sacrifice were offices conjoined in the same person, Polit. 1. iii. So also Virgil, En. 3.

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Rex Anius, rex idem hominum, Phœbique sacerdos : i. e. "Anius, in the same person, was king of men and priest of Phoebus:" upon which Servius hath this note, Sane majorum hæc erat consuetudo, ut rex esset etiam sacerdos vel pontifex; " It was a custom

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among the ancients, that the king should be also priest or high priest." Which custom was continued for a long while in Egypt, and from thence was derived to the Greeks, and from them to the Romans; for so Plut. Quæst. Rom. p. 279. tells us: Tò naλaiòv oi βασιλεῖς τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ μέγιστα τῶν ἱερῶν ἔδρων, καὶ τὰς θυσίας ἔθυον αὐτοὶ μετὰ τῶν ἱερέων, ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐκ ἐμετρίαζον, ἀλλ ̓ ἦσαν ὑπερήφανοι καὶ βαρεῖς, τῶν μὲν Ἑλλήνων οἱ πλεῖστοι τὴν ἐξουσίαν αὐτῶν περιελόμενοι μόνον τὸ θύειν τοῖς θεοῖς ἀπέλιπον, i. e. "Of old, kings performed the most and greatest

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parts of the sacred rites, and, together with the "priests, sacrificed the victims; but upon their ex"ceeding their due bounds, and taking upon them to "domineer proudly and unjustly, many of the Greeks "took from them all their civil power, and only left "them their authority to sacrifice to the gods: but "the Romans," as he goes on, " utterly rejecting their "kings, appointed another to succeed them in the high priesthood, whom they wholly debarred from

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intermeddling with secular affairs." Dionysius Halicarn. speaking of the power of kings, expressly tells us, πρῶτον μὲν ἱερῶν καὶ θυσιῶν ἡγεμονίαν εἶχεν, καὶ πάντα δι

ἐκείνου πραττέσθαι τὰ πρὸς θεοὺς ὅσια i. e. “ That they "had the government of all sacrifices and sacred rites, "and whatsoever was to be done to the holy gods "was done by them." And therefore the reason why Melchizedek here is more particularly taken notice of under the character of a king and priest, was not because there was no other kings so but he, but perhaps because all other kings that were contemporary to him were revolted to idolatry, so that he only remained a priest of the most high God. And in being a king and priest together, he was a type of our Saviour, who was a priest, not after the order of Aaron, but after the order of Melchizedek, Heb. v. 10. For in Aaron the priestly office was separated from the kingly, which latter remained in Moses, after he by the command of God had devolved the priesthood, which was originally in himself, upon his brother Aaron; and so, according to divine institution, the priesthood was to continue in the family of Aaron, separate from the regal power, till the coming of our Saviour, who reunited those offices in himself, and became a royal priest after the ancient order of Melchizedek. For upon the separation of these offices none could be a priest of the Aaronical order, but such as were descended from the family of Aaron; and therefore Christ could not be a priest of that order, because he descended from the family of Judah; and being of the royal lineage, he resumed the priestly office from the house of Aaron, and joined it to the kingly office again, with which it was originally united; by which he abrogated the priesthood of the Aaronical order, and in its room restored the ancient Melchizedekan or royal priesthood. And hence the author to the Hebrews observes, that