Chapter II
The first head explained by two things : First, Intercession one part of Christ s
priesthood, and the most excellent part of it.
1. Towards the explanation of the first of these, two things are to be done.
(1.) First, To shew how great, and necessary, and how excellent a part of Christ s priesthood his intercession and praying for us in heaven is.
(2.) Secondly, To shew the peculiar influence that intercession hath into our salvation, and so the reasons for which God ordained this work of inter cession for us, and that in heaven, to be added to all the former.
(1.) For the first I will proceed therein by degrees.
[l.j It is one part of his priesthood. You must know that Christ is not entered into heaven simply as a forerunner (which hath been explained) to take up places for you, but as a priest also : made a priest, after the order of Melchisedec, which is more than simply a forerunner. Yea, his
sitting at God s right hand is not only as a king armed with power and
authority to save us, but he sits there as a priest too : Thus, Heb. viii. 1,
4 We have such an High Priest, who is set down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high.
In the old Levitical priesthood, the high priest s office had two parts, both which concurred to make them high priests.
First, Oblation, or offering the sacrifice.
Secondly, Presentation of it in the holy of holies, with prayer and inter
cession unto God, to accept it for the sins of the people. The one was done without, the other within the holy of holies. This
tyou see in many
places, especially Lev. xvi. 11, 15, 16, where you have the law about the
high priest s entering into the holy of holies ; he was not to come into the
holy place till first he had offered a sacrifice for himself and the people, ver. 11 and 15, and this without. Then, secondly, when he had killed it, he was to enter with the blood of it into the holy of holies, and sprinkle the
mercy-seat therein with it, ver. 14, 17, and to go with incense, and cause a cloud to arise over the mercy-seat. And this you have also, Heb. xiii. 11,
* the blood of those beasts that were burnt without the camp was brought into the sanctuary by the high priest ; and in that 16th of
it is said, that
Leviticus you shall find the atonement made as well by the blood, when
brought into the holy place, ver. 16, as by the killing of the beast, ver. 11. Both these were acts of the high priesthood for atonement.
And this was done in a type and* priestly office of Christ, and the parts thereof. So, Heb. ix. 23, he calls all those transactions under the ceremo
* the patterns of things heavenly ; instancing in this part of
nial law,
* is not entered into the holy places made with hands, as that was, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, to appear in the presence of God for us. Now, * Qu. of the ? ED.
Christ s office, ver. 24, For Christ, says he,
58 THE TEIUMPH OF FAITH [SECT. V.
then, in answer to this type, there are two distinct parts of Christ s priest hood.
* offering himself a sacrifice up to death, as Heb. ix. 26, which
First, The
answers to the killing of the sacrifice without the holy of holies ; for
answerably he was crucified without the city, Heb. xiii. 12.
Secondly, He carried this his blood into the holy of holies, namely, the
heavens, Heb. ix. 12, where he appears, ver. 24, and there also prays in
the force of that blood. And the type of those prayers was that cloud of
incense made by the high priest ; so it is expressly interpreted, Rev. viii.
* much incense to offer with
3, &c. The angel Christ is said to have had
the prayers of all the saints. Which incense is his own prayers in heaven, which he continually puts up when the saints pray on earth, and so per fumes all their prayers, and procures all blessings for them.
Both these parts of his priesthood the apostle John mentions in his first
Epistle, chap. ii. ver. 2, where, as he calls Jesus Christ a propitiation for
our sins (that is, an oblation or sacrifice offered up for us) ; so likewise ho
calls him our advocate, both going to make up this his office. And, indeed,
this latter of intercession, and bringing his blood into the holy of holies
(or heaven), is but the same action continued. That blood which he
offered with tears and strong cries on the cross, where he likewise inter
ceded, the same blood he continues virtually to offer up with prayers in the
heavens, and makes atonement by both, only with this difference ; on earth,
though he interceded, yet he more eminently offered up himself ; in heaven, he more eminently intercedes, and doth but present that offering.
[2.] Secondly, this was so necessary a part of his priesthood, that with
* If he were on earth he should not be a priest ; that is, if he should have abode on
out it he had not been a complete priest. Thus, Heb. viii. 4,
earth he should not have been a complete priest. Paul saith not, that if he had offered that his sacrifice on earth, he had not been a priest, for that was necessary ; but that if he had staid still on earth, after he had offered
it, he had not been a priest, that is, a perfect priest ; for he had then left
his office imperfect, and had done it but by halves, seeing this other part of it (the work of intercession) lay still upon him to be acted in heaven. Thus the high priest, his type, if he had only offered sacrifice without the
holy of holies, had not been a perfect high priest ; for to enter into the holy of holies, and to act the part of a priest there, was the proper, peculiar work of the high priest as such. Which shews, that Christ had not been an high priest if he had not gone to heaven, and priested it there too, as I may so speak, as well as upon earth. Yea, if Christ had not gone to
heaven, and were not now become a priest there, then the Levitical priest hood were still in force, and should share the honour with him ; and the
high priest must continue still to go into the holy of holies. To this pur pose you may observe, that so long as Christ was on earth, though risen, the types of the law held in force, and were not to give way, till all the
truth signified by their ministry was fully accomplished ; and so, not until
Christ was gone into heaven as a priest, and there had begun to do all
that which the high priest had done in the holy of holies, and as his type
fore-signified. And this is plainly the meaning of what follows (in that Heb. viii. ver. 4) as the reason or demonstration why that Christ should not have been a priest, if he had not gone to heaven, not only as a king, but as a priest too, as he had affirmed, ver. 1,
* Seeing, says he, that
there are priests upon earth that do offer gifts according to the law. The
force of the reason lies thus : there are already priests, and that of a tribe
CHAP. II.] FKOM CHRIST S INTERCESSION. 59
he was not of, that offer gifts on earth, before he came into the world.
And, therefore, if that had been all his priesthood, to be a priest on earth,
they would plead possession before him, having been priests before him. And then he further backs his reason by this, that those priests served
(as it follows, ver. 5), unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. And, therefore, it is only a real priesthood in heaven which must put them
out of place ; and till such a priesthood comes, they must serve still, for
the truth, which these serve to shadow out, is not till then fulfilled. This
you have also, chap. ix. 8. The first tabernacle was to stand until a
priest went into heaven, and did act that office there ; so that, if Christ
will be a priest alone, he must become a priest interceding in heaven ; or else high priests must come up again, and share that office with him ; and so he should as good as fall from his office, and lose all that he had
done.
[3.] Yea, thirdly, this part of his priesthood is of the two the more emi
nent, yea, the top, the height of his priesthood. And this is held forth to us in the types of both those two orders of priesthood that were before
him, and figures of him, both that of Aaron and Melchisedec : First, This was typified out in that Levitical priesthood of Aaron and his fellows : the
highest service of that office was the going into the holy of holies, and
making an atonement there ; yea, this was the height of the high priest s
honour, that he did this alone, and did constitute the difference between
him, as he was high priest, and other priests ; for they killed and offered
the sacrifices without as well as he, every ordinary priest did that ; but none but the high priest was to approach the holy of holies with blood, and
this but once a-year. Thus, Heb. ix. 6, 7, the priests, namely those
< into the first tabernacle, or court of priests, which was without the holy of
inferior priests, went always, that is, daily, morning and evening,
holies, accomplishing the service of God ; namely, that offering of the
daily sacrifice ; but into the second, namely, the holy of holies, went
the high priests alone every year. So, then, this was that high and trans cendent prerogative of that high priest then, and which indeed made him
high priest; and answerably the height of our high priest s office,
although he alone also could offer a satisfactory sacrifice, as the apostle shews, Heb. ix. and x., yet comparatively lay in this, that he entered
into the heavens by his blood, and is set down on the majesty on high, and in the virtue of his sacrifice there doth intercede. I know but one
* Great High Priest (higher before than Aaron), and that is Heb. iv. 14, 16. And then it is in this respect that he is
place that calleth him the
passed into the heavens, as it follows there.
Secondly, The excellency of this part of his priesthood was likewise typi fied out by Melchisedec s priesthood, which the apostle argueth to have been much more excellent than that of Aaron s, inasmuch as Levi, Aaron s
father, paid tithes to this Melchisedec in Abraham s loins. Now Melchi sedec was his type, not so much in respect of his oblation, or offering of
sacrifice (that work which Christ performed on earth), but in respect of that work which he ever performs in heaven : therefore that same clause for ever still comes in, in the quotation and mention of Melchisedec s priest hood in that Epistle ; because in respect of that his continual interces
sion in heaven, Melchisedec was properly Christ s type. And accordingly you may observe, Ps. ex., when is it that speech comes in, Thou art a
priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec, but then, when God had him sitting at his right hand? ver. 1. So that, as the transcendent excel-
60 THE TKIUMPH OF FAITH [SECT. Y.
lency of Christ s priesthood was typified out by Melchisedec s rather than Aaron s, as heing the better priesthood of the two, so this, the most
excellent part thereof, was typified out thereby, namely, that which Christ
for ever acteth in heaven.
And, thirdly, to confirm this, you shall find this to be made the top notion of this Epistle to the Hebrews, and the scope of it chiefly, to discourse of Christ s eternal priesthood in heaven, and to shew how therein Melchisedec was a type of him. This is not only expressed both in Heb. vii. 21 and 25, where this same for ever is applied to his intercession, ver. 25, but more expressly in chap. viii. 1, where the apostle puts the emphasis upon this part of his priesthood, saying, that
* of the things which we have
spoken, or which are to be spoken, for the word i<iel ro7g Xsyo//,i/o/s will bear either, this is, says he, the sum or argument of all : the word is
xspdXaiov, and signifies as well the head, the chief, the top of all, and above
all, as it doth the sum of all. And what is it that he thus professeth to be both the main subject and argument of this epistle, and the top and emi nent thing in Christ he intends to discourse of? It follows, that
* we have such an high priest as is set down at the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens. And of the priestly office he alone discourseth both
before and after ; and in the following verses calleth his ministry or office
(in respect of this) a more excellent ministry, ver. 6, he being such a
priest as was higher than the heavens, as he had set him out in the latter
part of the former chapter. And therefore you may observe, how in his
preface to this Epistle to the Hebrews, in chap. i. ver. 3, he holds up this
to our eye as the argument of the whole saying, When he had by himself
purged our sins, he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Yea, to conclude this, all his priesthood would have been ineffectual, if he had not acted the part of a priest in heaven, by intercession there ; for
by his death he did but begin the execution of his office : in heaven he ends
it ; and if he had not fulfilled his office in both, the work of our salvation had not been fully perfected ; it was therefore as necessary as oblation
itself. Not but that his death was a perfect oblation ; it was perfect for an
oblation, to which as such nothing can be added. There needed no more, nor any other price to be paid for us ; by that one offering, he perfects us
for ever, as Heb. x. 14, and became himself perfect thereby, Heb. v. 9. And in the 9th chapter ver. 12, By his own blood he entered into the
holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. Mark how before he entered by his blood into heaven, he had fully obtained a redemption, and that eternal, that is, for ever sufficient ; which done, he became through his intercession in heaven an applying cause of eternal salvation, as Heb.
v. 10, 11, hath it. So that as in his death he paid the full sum of all he owed ; unto which payment nothing can be added, no not by himself, though he would come and die again ; it was made at that once as perfect, that is, for an oblation, as ever himself could make. But yet still by God s ordination there remained another further action of another kind that was
to be added to this of oblation, and that is, intercession, or praying for us
in heaven ; otherwise our salvation by his death were not perfected ; for if
his priesthood be imperfect, our salvation then must needs be so. The
presenting of that his sacrifice in heaven, was the consummation of his
priesthood, and the performance of that part there, the perfection of it.
CHAP. III.] FBOM CHEIST S INTERCESSION. 61