Obs. VIL. Much more glorious is our privilege under the gospel, since our Lord Jesus hath taken upon him, and actually discharged, this part of his office, in offering an absolutely perfect and complete sacrifice for sin. Here is the foundation laid of all our peace and happiness. And this is now plainly proposed unto us, and not taught by types or spoken in parables. Their teachings of old were ob- seure, and thetefore many missed of the mind of God in them. Hence some thought that they must trust to their sacrifices for their righteousness and pardon. Of these, some took up with them, and rested in them to their ruin. Others, more galled with their con- victions, thought of other ways, and how they might outdo what God required, seeing they could not trust unto what he did so re- quire, Mic. vi. 6, 7. But now all things are clearly revealed and proposed unto us; for Jesus Christ in the gospel is “ evidently cru- cified before our eyes,” Gal. iii. 1. Our way is made plain, so that “ wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein,” Isa. xxxv. 8. The veil being removed, “we all with open face behold as
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450 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. Vv.
in a glass the glory of the Lord,’ 2 Cor. iii 18. The sum of all is,—
Obs. IX. What is to be done with God on the account of sin, that it may be expiated and pardoned, and that the people of God who have sinned may be accepted with him and blessed, is all actually done for them by Jesus Christ, their high priest, in the sacrifice for sin which he offered on their behalf. He was ordained r& apis rév @<év,—to do all things with God that were to be done for us; namely, that we might be pardoned, sanctified, and saved. This he under- took when he took his office upon him. His wisdom, faithfulness, and mercy, will not allow us to suppose that he hath left any thing undone that belonged thereunto. If any thing be omitted, as good all were so: for none besides himself in heaven or earth could do aught in this matter. He hath therefore faithfully, mercifully, fully done all that was to be done with God on our behalf. Particularly, he hath offered that great sacrifice which was promised, expected, represented, from the foundation of the world, as the only means of reconciliation and peace between God and man. So saith the text he was to do: he was to offer sacrifice for sin. How he did it, and what he effected thereby, must be declared in our progress. For the present it may suffice, that there is no more to be done with God about sin, as to atonement, propitiation, and pardon. There needs no more sacrifice for it,—no masses, no merits, no works of our own.
VERSE 2.
Two things the apostle hath proposed unto himself, which in this and the ensuing verses he doth yet further pursue. 1. A descrip- tion of a high priest according to the law. 2. The evincing, (1.) That whatever was useful or excellent in such a high priest was to be found in a more eminent manner in Jesus Christ, the only real and proper high priest of the church; as also, (2.) That whatever was weak and infirm in such a priest, necessarily attending his frail and sinful condition, which either eclipsed the glory or weakened the efficacy of the office as by him discharged, had no place in him at all. For whereas the affections and infirmities of our human na- ture are of two sorts,—(1.) Such as arise from the essence and con- stitution of it, and so are naturally and absolutely necessary unto all that are partakers thereof as created; (2.) Such as came occasionally on it by the entrance of sin, which adhere to all that are partakers of our nature as corrupted;—the former sort were necessary unto him that should be a high priest, and that not only unto his being so, as is the participation of our nature in general, but also as to such a qualification of him as is useful and encouraging unto them for whose good he doth exercise and discharge his office; but the latter sort are such as that although they did not evacuate the office in
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their discharge of it who were obnoxious unto them, as to the pro- portion of their interest therein, yet was it an impeachment of its perfection, and absolutely hindered it from being able to attain the utmost end of the priesthood. Wherefore the first sort of these affections, such as are compassion, love, condescension, care, pity, were not only in Christ, our high priest, but also, as graciously pre- pared, did belong unto his holy qualification for the effectual and encouraging discharge of his office. The latter sort, as death natural, sickness, distempers of mind, producing personal sins inevitably, with other frailties, as they were found in the high priest according to the law, and belonged unto the imperfection of that priesthood; so being either sinful or penal, with respect unto the individual person in whom they were, they had no place in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. To understand, therefore, aright the comparison here made between the high priest under the law and Jesus Christ, or the application of it as spoken concerning a high priest by the law, unto him, we must observe that the apostle designs the two things mentioned in the second particular before laid down :—