Selected quad for the lemma: love_n
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A50253
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The figures or types of the Old Testament by which Christ and the heavenly things of the Gospel were preached and shadowed to the people of God of old : explained and improved in sundry sermons / by Mr. Samuel Mather ...
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Mather, Samuel, 1626-1671.; Mather, Nathanael, 1631-1697.
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1683
(1683)
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Wing M1279; ESTC R7563
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489,095
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683
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Exod. 28.4.30 So Joh. 9.39 For Judgment am I come into this world that they that see not might see this is no act of Punishment but of Mercy yet called Judgment so it is prophesied of Christ Isai 42.3 4. that he shall bring forth Judgment unto truth and shall not fail nor be discouraged till he have set Judgment in the earth that is he shall not faint nor be discouraged till he hath gone through with the work of their Salvation and set in order all the concernments of it that wise and prudent and judicious administration of things by Jesus Christ whereby he rectifies repairs and sets in good order the confused and collapsed estate of his Church and people insomuch that all the concernments of their eternal good are set strait brought to their best constitution and carried on in a most exact and regular manner with admirable and infinite Wisdom That as they Mark 7. ult were beyond measure astonished and they said he hath done all things well so shall all the Saints say when they understand and review the ways that Christ hath walked in for their Salvation Aaron did here represent this typically in this Pectorale Judicii this Brest-plate of Judgment But Christ hath performed and done it really and indeed To unfold the mystery of these things a little more particularly 1. The Precious Stones with the Names of the Children of Israel signifie all the Saints the whole Church and people of God Israel was a typical people therefore the whole Church of God is called Israel Gal. 6.16 As many as walk according to this rule peace be on them and mercy and upon or even upon the Israel of God Hence the same Apostle distinguisheth of outward Jews and inward Jews Rom. 2. two last And Christ calls Nathaniel an Israelite indeed Joh. 1.47 And the Saints are fitly represented by Precious Stones because they are indeed precious and excellent with a spiritual excellency and that in the sight of God though despised of the world Isai 43.4 Since thou wast precious in my fight thou hast been honourable and I have loved thee therefore will I give men for thee and people for thy life Psal 16.3 the Saints 〈◊〉 that are on earth the excellent in whom is all my delight Lam. 4.7 Her Nazarites and that religious Order was typical as you have formerly heard were purer then Snow they were whiter then Milk they were more ruddy in body then Rubies their polishing was of Saphire As these precious Stones in the Brest-plate were divers and various there were twelve of them yet all of them precious and excellent and useful so the Saints are indoed with varieties of Gifts and Graces yet all useful and excellent And as these Stones were set in exact and comely order in the Brest-plate of Aaron so there is an insition of the Saints into Christ and a comely order amongst themselves 2. Look as the High Priest did bear the names of the twelve Tribes of Israel in his Brest-plate for a memorial before the Lord so doth Jesus Christ bear the names and the concernments of his people upon his heart before the Lord that is in dearest Love and Heart-affection See Exod. 28.29 As he bore them upon the shoulders of his Power in the two Onyx-stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the Ephod of which before so now here he bears them upon his heart in dearest Love and Favour See Isai 49.15 16. Therefore the Church prays Cant. 8.6 set me as a Seal upon thine Heart as a Seal upon thine Arm. These Stones were engraven like the ingravings of a Seal or of a Signer 3. The fastening of this Brest-plate of Love to the shoulder-pieces of the Ephod speaks the inseparable Conjunction of the Love and Power and Righteousness of Christ in the great work of our Salvation For the Ephod being an holy and glorious Garment signifies as the rest do the glorious Righteousness of Christ the true High Priest as hath been formerly shewed The shoulders are strong to support the Pectoral betokens Love therefore that the Pectoral is fastened to the shoulders speaks that Love and Power are united together in Jesus Christ for our Salvation and all this upon the Ephod the Garments of his glorious Righteousness wherein he appears for us and bears our Names for a memorial before the Lord continually How should Faith triumph in this Is not our High Priest in the Sanctuary Is he not clothed with Garments of Salvation and Righteousness and doth he not bear the Names of his people upon his shoulders and upon his Brest before the Lord Thy particular concernments if thou art a Believer are written upon his heart with the Pen of a Diamond in such lasting Letters of loving kindness as shall never be blotted out 7. The seventh piece of these Sacerdotal Vestments was the Vrim and Thummim of which the Text saith Also he put in the Brest-plate the Vrim and Thummim and Exod. 28.30 and thou shalt put in the Brest-plate of Judgement the Vrim and the Thummim and they shall be upon Aarons heart c. There is more of Difficulty and Controversie upon this then upon any other piece of all the Pontifical attire I shall speak but briefly to it in these four heads 1. Whether they were any new Materials in the holy Garments 2. What kind of Materials they were 3. What was the end and use of them 4. What Gospel-mysteries were aimed at therein 1. Whether the Vrim and Thummim were visible and external materials in the holy Garments yea or no. For some think they are only an expression of the end and use of the Brest-plate and not another distinct piece of attire But there are these Reasons against this Reas 1. Because the Text seems to speak of them as Materials for it speaks of them in the same course and tenor of speech as it doth of other things As here in the Text for instance all the rest of these three verses are only enumerations of the holy Vestments He put on the Coat girded him with the Girdle put on him the Brest-plate all this is external material things therefore why not also the next clause and he put in the Brest-plate the Urim and Thummim Reas 2. Because we have an intimation of the loss of them in the Captivity of Babylon Ezra 2.63 Nehem. 7.65 If the Vrim and Thummim had been no other material but the Brest-plate it self with the Precious Stones therein as some think they might have consulted with God and received answers from God by it as formerly For the Ordinances of God are blest of God to such as use them sincerely for those ends for which they are appointed Therefore so would the Brest-plate have been for Counsel and Answers to them if that had been the Ordinance appointed for that end For they did not want the Brest-plate for they might and ought to make that according to the Rule in Exod. 28. but they having not the Vrim
their high strains of superstitious Devotion Mark 7.4 8. But out of Gods Institution here we may spell this lesson of spiritual Instruction namely the strange defilement and deep contagion and pollution that is in sin that there is so much ado for the cleansing of it and what care there should be to purge and cleanse our selves from it Heb. 10.19 22 2 Cor. 7.1 And to make it out a little more particularly If you would find out the meaning of a Type it is a good Rule to observe the Scripture use of the same word in the way of a Metaphor and allusion Now we find both wicked men and good men compared to earthen Vessels It is a Metaphor concerning wicked men and the breaking is the destroying them Jer. 19.11 Psal 2.9 Jer. 48.38 God will break wicked men and unclean persons with utter destruction as Vessels wherein is no pleasure But good men also are called earthen Vessels and so the Type must be accommodated a little otherwise 2 Cor. 4.7 We have this Treasure in earthen Vessels And so the cleansing these Vessels by washing with water points to the spiritual cleansing by the Spirit of Christ Ezek. 36.25 and by his blood Heb. 9.13 14. And breaking signifies the utter abolishing of all sin and uncleanness by death We are not fully cleansed till the Vessel be broken but then there is no more defilement in the Vessel And God will make it up again in the Resurrection as pure and holy as if it had never been defiled with sin at all Thus we have gone through the special Laws of the Sin-Offering in these five Heads for they do either concern the end or the matter or the blood of it or the burning or lastly the eating of it I shall conclude all that hath been said upon the Sin-Offering with some general Instructions from the whole 1. We may here learn and be instructed that even sins of Infirmity they do contract a guilt upon the Soul yea such a guilt as needs Atonement and Expiation in the blood of Jesus Christ There are no venial sins the least sin is death You must bring your Sin Offering if you expect to be forgiven Do not slight sins of Infirmity for then they become more than meer Infirmities 2. Here is relief unto Faith against those usual complaints of dayly Infirmities which many gracious Souls do so much complain of and mourn under Alas I can do nothing well if I pray my thoughts wander when I hear the Word I understand little and remember less I am easily overtaken and carried aside dayly I sin in all I do But you see here is a Sin Offering provided There is not a just man upon earth that doth good and sinneth not Eccles 7.20 In many things we offend all James 3.2 Therefore the Lord ordained this Sin-Offering which as it served for a legal Expiation and purging of their sins under that Dispensation so it did prefigure to them the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanseth us from all our sins 3. Here is great encouragement to engage in the service and work of God notwithstanding our own Infirmities and disabilities yet do not withdraw when called though conscious to thy self of much unworthiness and unfitness for the Lord hath provided a Sin-Offering for us he will accept our sincere though weak endeavours and pardon our failings 4. See and take notice what continual Obligations of love are upon us to Jesus Christ we have such continual need of him Behold and wonder at his love in that he was content to be made a Sin Offering for us and so procures our pardon for such continual sins and failings He that knew no sin was made sin for us that is he was made a Sin Offering for us 2 Cor. 5.21 Hence we have pardon and not only pardon but power also against sin Rom. 8.3 and for sin condemned sin in the flesh And for sin that is God sent Christ for a Sin Offering as you have the same word so rendred Heb 10.6 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure Object But my sins are worse then meer Infirmities of Saints they are sins of a grosser nature Ans There is relief for such in the Trespass Offering if they do not sin presumptuously and obstinately For God will wound the hairy Scalp of him that goeth on in his Trespasses Psal 68.21 But if you repent of it and bring your Trespass-Offering to the Lord there is hope in Israel even concerning such kinds of sin also of which the Lord assisting we shall speak the next time THE GOSPEL OF THE TRESPASS-OFFERING Lev. Cap. 5. and Cap. 6. to vers 7. August 27 and September 6. 1668 The Trespass-Offering Asham THis is the fifth sort of legal Sacrifices The difference between this and the Sin-Offering as to the special end of them being in this That the Sin-Offering seems to carry some limitation to sins of weakness and ignorance but this extends further even to sins against knowledg This points at Christ as the Sin Offering and all the rest did therefore Christ is called Asham Isai 53. The method which the Holy Ghost is pleased to use upon the Trespass Offering is this He proposeth 1. the Case and 2. the Remedy and in this method he goes over a four-fold Case and a Cure and Remedy for them The sacred Rites and Ceremonies here required differ little from other Offerings before handled and therefore we may be the briefer The first Case is three-fold I mean there be three Cases put together 1. Concealment of mans knowledg when called to testify upon Oath Vers 1. If a Soul sin and hear the voice of Swearing and is a Witness whether he hath seen or known of it if he do not utter it then c. A Soul that is a person the Soul the more noble part being synecdochically put for the whole man The temptation seems to ly here if the persons for Rank and Quality in the world be great so that a Witness is afraid to speak and utter his knowledg Hear a voice of Swearing that is either of the Judge adjuring or calling him forth to speak upon Oath Or of sinners Swearing Cursing Blaspheming You have an Instance of the former in the High Priest Mat. 26.63 I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be Christ the Son of the living God Unto which Adjuration or voice of Swearing our Lord Jesus Christ made answer and did declare the truth though before he held his peace For it was Casus Confessionis a case wherein confession of the Truth was called for Of the latter we have an Instance in Lev. 24.10 11. They that heard the man blaspheme made complaint to Authority A man may contract upon himself the guilt of other mens sins by concealing them if he be called to reveal them This presupposeth a Magistrate that is not given to swearing and cursing and damning himself for if