are put upon his work of Salvation and therefore we should live to his Glory Our dear Lord may say to us I live for ever I know all things Why then do you slight my Work and slight my Ordinances and slight my People Why do you not live more to my Glory And then Lastly This should be a strong motive for Men to come to Christ Ye trust in dying Friends dying comforts dying Relations and fix your hope upon things that crumble away to dust When Peter made his confession of Christ Joh. 6. 68. To whom should we go thou hast the words of Eternal Life Go from Christ and you go to death and Damnation Go to him and you come to Life and to Everlasting Salvation For he ever liveth an High-priest to make Intercession for us Now the Inference follows in the next words SERMON IX Hebrews 7. 25. Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for them THese words of the Apostle contain the Inference which he makes of all that he had said before of the Priesthood of Jesus Christ He comes to this conclusion Wherefore Christ is able to save to the uttermost all those that come unto God by him This Illative or word wherefore hath a reference to what was spoken before And also to what follows after For the Apostle having said before that Jesus Christ the Son of God is made a Priest after the order of Melchisedeck that he was not made a Priest by the Law of a Carnal Command but by the power of an endless Life That Christ was made a Priest by a solemn Oath The Lord hath Sworn and will not Repent thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedeck That Jesus Christ is made a surety of a better Testament That he endures and hath an unchangeable Priesthood Wherefore saith he he is able to save to the uttermost The Argument may be thus framed He that is the Eternal Son of God He that is a Priest for ever and made a Priest by the Oath of God He that hath an unchangeable Priesthood He that is the surety of a better Covenant He is able to save to the uttermost But all this is Jesus Christ Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto him But then The words have also a reference to what follows in the last clause of this Verse Seeing he ever liveth to maketh Intercession for them Wherefore he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make Intercession for them And the Argument may also be framed He that ever liveth to make Intercession for them He is able to save all that come unto God by him So that both these conclusions are proved That Jesus Christ is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him We begin with the first branch of this Text He is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him These are the words I shall open and apply this Morning if God permit To save a Soul is a great work a great and glorious work All the powers of Heaven and Earth short of God cannot save a Soul The Devil can destroy Souls by the Righteous and Just Judgment of God And therefore hath that name given him which is opposite to Christ He is called Abaddon and Apollyon which signifies to destroy in Rev. 9. 11. The Devil I say can destroy Souls but he cannot save any he cannot save himself 'T is a great and glorious work to save a poor Soul This is only Christ's work And therefore he is called the Author of Eternal Salvation Heb. 5. 9. And being made perfect he became the Author of Eternal Salvation to all them that obey him the Author of Eternal Salvation There have been Temporal Saviours Men that God hath raised up in several Ages and Generations to deliver his People from the power of their Enemies when his People were in distress God did raise them up Saviours And it was accounted a very great Mercy to have a Temporal Saviour To have a Man of Faith and Courage as Sampson and Gideon and Barack and others that would appear for the Church in times of streights There is a Prophecy in Mic. 5. 5. speaking of Christ And this Man shall be the Peace when the Assyrian shall come into the Land and when he shall tread in our Palaces then shall we raise against him seven Shepherds and eight Principal Men that are worthy Instruments that shall rise up to oppose the Assyrians power The Assyrians power is made a Type of the Antichristian power God hath his principal Men and his principal Instruments to save his People These are under Christ But he only is the Author of Eternal Salvation And this Salvation this Eternal Salvation that Jesus Christ brings is an unspeakable mercy The very thoughts of it gives abundance of comfort If we do but consider what he saves us from and what he saves us to First What he saves us from He saves a poor sinner from his sin and from all the misery that comes along with it His name shall be called Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins saith the Angel in Matth. 1. 24. He shall save his people from their sins i. e. from all those miseries that their sins bring upon them or would bring upon them For sin is the cause of all misery And to be saved from sin is to be saved from all misery What would the Devils in Hell give to be saved from their misery that their sin hath brought upon them What would the Rich Glutton in the Gospel give to be saved from his misery We are not aware what he saves us from Then if we consider what he saves us to or brings us to by this Salvation Christ brings us into his favour and grace brings us into that blessed state in Heaven where there is all safety and security and blessing where the Devil nor his Instruments can never break in upon us to intercept our peace Rev. 21. 9. God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there be any more pain To be brought into Communion with God with the holy Angels and with the glorified Saints and with Jesus Christ the Head of the Church An Everlasting Communion Oh the Salvation that our Lord Jesus Christ brings us to There is no solitude in Heaven Here we complain of a solitude and a solitary life We want company we want converse in the World But there will be an everlasting converse with the great God so far as our Natures are capable of coming near to him An everlasting converse with our Redeemer with the holy Angels and with the glorified Saints Who is able to express the Salvation our Lord Jesus Christ
We begin with the first verse This Melchisedeck saith the Apostle was King of Salem and Priest of the most high God Here is his Office It is much disputed amongst many who this Melchisedeck was Some have thought him to be an Angel because 't is said he was without Father and without Mother and without descent But that is clearly answered and confuted by the Apostle in the 5th chapter and the 1st and 2d verses For every High Priest was to be taken from among men not from among Angels but from among men And therefore Melchisedeck was a man and not an Angel And whereas it is said that he was without Father without Mother without descent which leads to that Opinion that he was no man That is spoken of him as to his Genealogy For it was the Custom of the Jews to keep Genealogies and Records of their Parentage in the Church that they might read them in their Church-Book But Melchisedeck had not this Record But he was a man and the most received Opinion is that this Melchisedeck was Shem the Son of Noah For you know that Noah had three Sons Shem Ham and Japheth These three Sons replenished the whole Earth after the Flood as you may read in Gen. 9. 18 19. And that this Melchisedeck was Shem and had his Name given him afterward Melchisedeck from his Kingdom and Goodness and the reasons for it are these First of all Shem lived Six hundred years he lived a Hundred years before the Flood and Five hundred years after the Flood as you may see in the 11 of Gen. the 10 and 11. verses He was One hundred years before the Flood and Five hundred years after it when the World was planted again and this is given as a reason why his Genealogy could not be found for the Flood destroyed all Persons but a few and their Records and Genealogies might be lost The Second reason given for Shems being this Melchisedeck is That he was the Person that in the 9th of Gen. God stiled him self the Lord God of Shem the 26. verse Thirdly Shem the Son of Noah had the Promise made to him as you may read in that 9th of Gen. he had the Promise of Propagating the Church of God and therefore it is said God shall perswade Japheth to dwell in the Tents of Shem and Shem was great Grand-sire to Abraham for Abrahams stock did spring out of this root of Shem. Fourthly Another reason is this that of this Son of Noah of his stock came Christ according to the Flesh that you have in the Third of Luke speaking of the Genealogy of Christ according to the Flesh the 36th verse Which was the Son of Shem which was the Son Noah so that Christs Genealogy according to the Flesh is reckoned from Shem and for these Reasons it is most generally believed that this Melchisedeck was Shem the Son of Noah but whether that be so or no he was a Man for he could not be an Angel because he was a great and honourable Person in the World in whom the Propagation of the Church consisted Now we must not only consider his Person but his Place KING OF SALEM What is that Country Salem It was a Country that bordered upon the Land of Canaan where Abraham Sojourned and this Country of Salem bordered upon Canaan and in this place was the Temple built afterward and the City of Jerusalem For you must know Jerusalem is a word compounded of two words Jeru and Salem Salem is the latter part of the word Jerusalem Jeru signifies God will provide It is the same word which Abraham said to his Son when he was Offering him up for a Sacrifice he said God will provide and Salem signifies Peace as you may see in the 76 Psal in the 1 and 2. ver In Judah God is known in Salem is his Tabernacle i. e. in Jerusalem Now of this Place Melchisedeck was King He was King of that Country that bordered upon Canaan and he was Priest of the most High God Here he Governed as King and here he Governed as a Magistrate and here he kept up the Word of God as a Minister Hence you may observe That God would never in any Age of the World let his true Worship fall in the World but there should be some to keep it up Here you have a Melchisedeck that was King of Salem that kept up the true Worship in the Land of Canaan he kept up the Name of the most high and great God So that we may comfort our selves with this that God will never let his Worship fall to the ground This Melchisedeck was King of Salem and Priest of the most High God King of Salem There is a Mystery in that it is said he was Priest of the most high God and for this reason good Abraham shewed him that respect he did as to give him the Tenths of all the Spoils If Mechisedeck had been a Priest of Baal or of an Idol God Abraham would have turned his back upon him for it is the property of Godly men to bear their Testimonies against Idol-priests and from hence we may briefly take notice of this from Abrahams practice to shew our respects to the Ministers of God who faithfully labour in the Word and Doctrin But that which I would chiefly take notice of in this branch of the Text is this He is stiled Priest of the most high God that is one of the glorious Titles of our Lord Jesus Christ The Scripture speaks much of God as the most high in the 113. Psal 2 3 4. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and for evermore from the rising of the Sun unto the going down of the same the Lords Name is to be praised The Lord is high above all Nations c. The most high God This should teach us to use the Name of God always with a holy awfull Reverence not to speak of God as you do of Man You know Men look for their Titles when they come into place of greatness and honour they will be called your Highness and your Majesty and the like Shall we speak so to Man And shall we not speak to the most high God with an awful Reverence and Fear Our Lord Jesus Christ though he was the Son of God and equal with God yet taking upon him our nature when he comes to speak to God the Father he speaks with a holy Reverence Holy Father Our Lord Jesus Christ remembred the greatness of God the Father I thank thee O Father Lord of Heaven and Earth Matt. 11. 25. So when he spoke to his Disciples about Prayer saith he Pray to your Father in Heaven all this is to shew how we must use the holy Name of God with Reverence There is a passage in Malachi where the Lord rebuked his People that carried it irreverently under his service For I am a great King saith the Lord of Hosts and my Name is dreadful among
on Earth so that the Pharisees said he was a Wine-bibber and a friend of Publicans and sinners The Answer is thus Our Lord Jesus Christ when he was here on Earth did converse with sinners for the saving of their Souls but never converst with them in their sin And so he is said to be separated from sinners Christ could have no more communion with their sins than Light with Darkness Yet he converst with sinners as he came to save and to seek them that were lost He came to save them not to mingle with them in their sins Therefore you may observe in Luke 19. when he goes to Zacheus his house some of the people murmured and said He is gone to be a Guest to a man that is a sinner in verse 7. But what saith Christ in verse 10. The Son of Man is come to seek and to save those that were lost Therefore he was to go to be a Guest to a sinner to save those that were lost It was easie with Christ to keep and converse with sinners and yet keep himself from the defilement of their sins As it is with a Physician he can go into the house of a sick person and yet keep himself free from the Contagion of the Disease The Adversaries of Christ could never charge him with any defilements of sin and herein the purity of our Lord Jesus Christ is set out to us And it became us to have such an High-priest But then here is the next thing which is his Exaltation Made higher than the Heavens That is an expression that carries much in it Here we have the Exaltation of our great High-priest He is made higher than the Heavens Heavens in the Plural number The Scripture mentions three Heavens First The Lowest Heaven is the Airy Heaven where the Fowls of the Air flie And of this you read in Gen. 1. about the 8th verse God called the Firmament Heaven when he had separated the Earth from the Heaven The second or middlemost Heaven is the Starry Heaven which God shewed to Abraham in Gen. 15. where the Sun Moon and Stars are contained But then There is a Third Heaven which is the place of the blessed where God doth manifest himself in his Glory and that Third Heaven the Apostle speaks of in 2 Cor. 12. 2. he tells us that he was caught up into the Third Heaven that is the place where the blessed are This is that which Solomon calls the Heaven of Heavens in that passage of his in 2 Chron. 2. 6. But who is able to build him an House seeing the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him that is God Now saith the Apostle here in my Text Jesus Christ our High-priest is made higher than the Heavens he is made higher than the Terrestrial Heaven higher than the Starry Heaven and I pray mind what an Emphasis the Scripture puts upon this compare the words of the Text with Ephes 4. 10. the Apostle saith That he Ascended far above all Heavens that he might fill all things The Apostle in the Text saith that he is made higher than the Heavens and here he saith he is Ascended far above all Heavens Why Because in his exalted state of Glory he is taken up above to Gods right hand which is above all the Created Glory in Heaven For though the great God made a Heaven for the holy Angels and for the glorified Saints and doth there manifest his Glory so far as they are capable of receiving it yet still God is above all the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him saith Solomon How God is a Heaven in himself You know the Prophet tells us that he inhabits in Eternity and liveth in Eternity Now this Eternity was in God himself before the Heavens were made and tho he manifests himself in his Glory among the Saints and Angels yet he is above all and so the Glory of Christ is far above all the Glory of the Saints and Angels for the Glory of Christ is to sit at Gods right hand as the Apostle saith Heb. 1. 13. He gives us Glory in Heaven and his Angels have Glory in Heaven but Jesus Christ hath higher Glory than all these for he is at the Fathers right hand and he dwells in God himself and inheriteth Eternity see Ephes 1. 20 21. when the Apostle who is speaking of raising up Christ from the dead he saith He set him on his own right hand in Heavenly places far above all Principalities and Powers and Might and Dominions Mind how high the Apostle goes with this when he raised up Christ from the dead he set him on his own Right hand far above all Principalities and Powers and Dominions What Principalities and Powers are these Why the holy Angels for Heaven is a Kingdom and there is a Government and an Order in Heaven There is Principalities and Powers there is Angels and Arch angels But when God raised Jesus Christ from the dead he raised him above the Angels he set him far above the Glory of the Saints And tho he prayed that the Saints might be where he is it is not meet that we should be received in that height of Glory where he is but we are to have the Glory of Christ communicated to us so far as we are capable to receive him as he is the second Person of the Trinity The Saints cannot reach to that Glory he is in but they shall have it so far as they are capable to receive him Phil. 2. 9 10. Wherefore God hath highly Exalted him and given him a Name which is above every Name That at the Name of Jesus every Knee should bow of things in Heaven of things in Earth of things under the Earth All the holy Angels and Saints in Heaven do bow unto our Lord Jesus Christ and do homage to him in our Nature Why Because the Father hath made him higher than the Heavens above all the Glory of Heaven He is not only holy harmless separate from sinners but made higher than the Heavens And such an High-priest became us Now for Application This Doctrin is Four ways Useful to us First This shews the Riches of Gods Goodness and Mercy to poor sinful Man that he should appoint such a High-priest to interceed for us such a one as is not to be found among all the Children of Men. God had the whole Creation before him Angels and Men but there was no Person could be found that did become us that was fit to be our High-priest but he that is higher than the Heavens the Son of God Oh the great goodness of God! It will take up an Eternity to adore God for his goodness in our Salvation by Jesus Christ God hath done much for us in our Creation he hath made us rational Creatures out of nothing he hath made a World for us to inhabit and given us Dominion over the works of his hand hath made us but a little lower than the Angels which made