SECT. IV.

Of Christ's priestly office.

To what persons the priesthood anciently belonged, 359.

What the Melchizedekan priesthood was, and in what respects

Christ's priesthood is of that order, 361. What the old priest-

hood was, and in what acts it consisted, 364. That it con-

sisted, first, in sacrificing; and secondly, in presenting the

sacrifice to God by way of intercession for the people, 365.

That this ancient priesthood was in both these acts of it in-

tended by God for a type of the priesthood of our Saviour,

370.

SECT. V.

Concerning the first act of our Saviour's priesthood, viz.

sacrificing.

That the death of Christ had in it all the requisite con-

ditions of a sacrifice for sin; and what those conditions are,

shewed in five particulars, 375. These conditions applied to

our Saviour's death: as, first, in his death he was substituted

in the room of sinful men to be punished for them, in order

to their being released from their personal obligations to pu-

nishment, 378. secondly, he died a pure and spotless inno-

cent, 382. thirdly, his death was of sufficient intrinsic worth

and value to be an equivalent commutation for the pu-

nishment that was due to the whole world of sinners, 383.

fourthly, his death was on his part voluntary and unforced,

388. fifthly, his death was admitted and accepted of God in

lieu of the punishment which was due to him from mankind,

391. The wisdom of this method of God's admitting Christ's

sacrifice for sinners, in order to the reforming mankind,

shewn in five particulars: first, that the sacrifice of Christ's

death was a most sensible and affecting acknowledgment of

the infinite guilt and demerit of our sin, 394. secondly, it

was an ample declaration of God's severity against sin, 396.

hirdly, it was a most obliging expression of the love of God

and our Saviour to us, 398. fourthly, it is a sure and certain

ground of our hope of pardon, if we repent and amend, 400.

fifthly, it is a seal and confirmation of the new covenant,

403.

SECT. VI.

Of Christ's intercession, or presenting his sacrifice to God

in heaven, by way of advocation for us.

The nature of it defined, 409. The definition explained in

the several parts of it, which are four: first, it is a solemn

address of our blessed Saviour to God the Father in our be-

half, ibid. secondly, this address is performed by the pre-

senting his sacrificed body to the Father in heaven, 412.

thirdly, it is continued and perpetuated by the perpetual ob-

lation of this his sanctified body, 415. fourthly, in virtue of

this perpetual oblation, he doth always successfully movc

and solicit God, 418. and that which he moves him to, is,

first, to receive and graciously accept our sincere and hearty

prayers, 421. secondly, to empower him to bestow on us all

those graces and favours, which, in consideration of his sa-

crifice, God hath promised to us, 424. The admirable ten-

dency of this method of God's communicating his favours to

us, through Christ's intercession, to reform mankind, shewn

in five particulars: first, it naturally tends to excite in us a

mighty awe of the divine Majesty, 429. secondly, it also

tends to give us the strongest conviction of God's hatred of

sin, 431. thirdly, it secures us from presuming upon God's

mercy while we continue in our sins, 433. fourthly, it en-

courages us to approach God with cheerfulness and freedom,

436. fifthly, it assures our difficult minds of God's gracious

intentions to perform to us all the good things which he hath

promised to us, upon our performing the condition of them,

440.

SECT. VII.

Of Christ's kingly office.

Christ's universal royalty successive to his sacrifice and in-

tercession, 446. Christ had a particular kingdom in this

world, viz. the Jewish church, before his incarnation, and

during his abode upon earth, 449. and therefore that which

he was exalted to upon his ascension was the universal king-

dom of the world, ibid. Six heads proposed to be treated of

concerning our Saviour's kingdom, 450.

SECT. VIII.

Of the rise and progress of Christ's kingdom, from the fall

to his incarnation.

Of which an account is given at large in eight propo-

sitions, 451. First, That the kingdom of Christ is founded in

the new covenant, ibid. Secondly, That the new covenant

commenced immediately after the fall, and was afterwards in

a particular manner renewed to Abraham and his posterity,

452. Thirdly, That from its first commencement Christ was

Mediator of it, and so he continued to be all along under

that particular renewal of it to the people of Israel, 456.

Fourthly, Christ's being always mediator of this covenant

necessarily implies his having been always king over all that

were admitted into it, and particularly over the people of

Israel, 458. and that he was the divine King that reigned

over Israel, and who in the Old Testament is promiscuously

called Jehovah and the angel of Jehovah, is proved in five

propositions, 462. Fifthly, That after his coming into the

world, he still retained this his right and title of King of Is-

rael in particular, 477. Sixthly, That the main body of the

Jews rejected Christ from being their king, and were there-

upon rejected by him, yet was there a remnant of them that

received and acknowledged him, 480. Seventhly, That this

remnant still continued the same individual church or king-

dom of Christ with what it was before its main body revolted,

though very much reformed and improved, 481. Eighthly,

That to this individual church or kingdom of Christ, thus re-

formed and improved, were superadded all those Gentiles

that were afterwards converted to Christianity, 493.

SECT. IX.

Of the nature and constitution of Christ's kingdom.

The kingdom and church of Christ the same, 496. The

universal church or kingdom of Christ defined, 498. This de-

finition explained in the several parts of it, which are eight,

499. first, it is one universal society, consisting of all Chris-

tian people, ibid. secondly, it consists of all Christian people

incorporated by the new covenant, 501. thirdly, these Chris-

tian people are incorporated by the new covenant in baptism,

504. fourthly, they are incorporate under Jesus Christ their

supreme head, 512. fifthly, this one universal society, thus
incorporated, is distributed into particular churches, ibid.
sixthly, these particular churches are distributed under law-
ful governors and pastors, 515. seventhly, these particular
churches thus distributed hold communion with each other,

518. eighthly, the communion which these particular churches

hold, is, first, in all the essentials of Christian faith, 522. se-

condly, in all the essentials of Christian worship, 526.

thirdly, in all the essentials of Christian regiment and disci-

pline, 528.

OF

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

PART II. CONTINUED.

CHAP. IV.

Of the necessity of acknowledging the divine providence, to oblige us to be truly religious.

THE main influence which the belief of a God hath upon the minds of men proceeds immediately from the belief of his providence, without which we are no way concerned or interested in him. For a God without a providence is a solitary kind of being that lives alone from the world, altogether retired within himself, and never looks abroad, or any ways intermeddles with any thing without: and what have we to do with a being that hath nothing to do with us or our affairs, but lives apart from us in some inaccessible retirement, where neither we can go to him nor he come to us? So that it is by his providence that all correspondence and intercourse between God and his creatures is maintained; which being taken away, he is nothing to us, and we are as nothing to him. For what doth it signify to us that there is a certain excellent being called God, sitting on the top of the heavens with his arms folded in his bosom, and who doth nothing there but enjoy himself in a quiet contemplation of his own perfections, without regarding any thing without him, or