I love to play the child with little children, and have learned something by so doing; I have met with a child that has had a sore finger; yea, so sore as to be altogether at present useless; and not only so, but because of its infirmity, has been a let or hindrance to the use of all the fingers that have been upon that hand, then have I began to bemoan the child, and said, Alas! My poor boy, or girl, has got a sore finger! Ah! Quoth the child, with water in its eyes, and hath come to me to be bemoaned. Then I began to offer to touch the sore finger. O! saith the child, pray do not hurt me: I have replied, Canst thou do nothing with this finger? No, saith the child, nor with this hand either; then have I said, Shall we cut off this finger, and buy my child a better, a brave golden finger? At this, the child has started, stared in my face, gone back from me, and entertained a kind of indignation against me, and has no more cared to be intimate with me. Then, I began to use that good sermon that this little child had preached unto me, and thus, I went on. If membership be so dear, if this child has such tenderness to the most infirm, the most useless of its members; if it counts me its friend no longer than when I have a mouth to bemoan and carriages that show tenderness to this useless finger; what an interest doth membership give on in the body, and what compassions hath the soul for such a worthless thing, because it is a member! Turning all this over to Jesus Christ, instead of matter and corruption, honey comes to me out of this child's sore finger; I take leave to tell you how I used to play. And though I have told this tale upon so grave a truth, as is the membership of Christians with their head, yet bear with me; no child can be so tender of its sore finger as is the Son of God of his afflicted members; he cannot but be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
Ah! who would not make many supplications, prayers, and intercessions, for a leg, for an eye, for a foot, for a hand, for a finger, rather than they will lose it? And can it be imagined that Christ alone shall be like the foolish ostrich, hardened against his young, yea, against his members? It cannot be.
Should he lose a member, he would be disfigured, maimed, dismembered, imperfect, and next to monstrous. For his body is called his fulness, yea, the fulness of him that fills all in all. This naturally has respect for those for whom he ever lived to make intercession; yea, an unfathomable respect for them because they are his members.
Fifth. But again, when nature, relation, and membership is urged to show the fit qualifications wherewith Christ is endued, I intend not to intimate, as if the bottom of all lay here; for then it might be urged that one imperfect has all these; for who knows not that sinful man has all these qualifications in him towards his nature, relations, and members? I have therefore, as I said, thus discoursed, only for demonstration's sake, and to suit myself with the infirmity of your flesh. I also want to tell you that Jesus Christ, our High Priest, is thus, concerning other designs. We are his purchase, and he counts us so; his jewels, and he counts us so; his estate is real, and he counts us so (Psa 16:5,6). And you know a man will do much, speak much, intercede much and long, for that which he thus is interested in. But we will come to speak more particularly of the excellence of his natural qualifications and show you that he hath such as are peculiar to himself alone, and that we are concerned about them.
[The peculiar natural qualifications of Christ as our High Priest.]
1. He is holy, and so a suitable High Priest. There is a holiness that sets further from, and a holiness that brings one nearer to, and to be more concerned with the condition of those in affliction; that holiness is entailed in office. When a man is put into an office, the more unholy he is, the worse he performs his office; the more holy, the better he performs his office. For his holiness obliges him to be faithful unto men, wherein he is concerned by his office. Hence, you read that he is 'a faithful High Priest,' because he is holy, and 'such a High Priest became us, who is holy,' &c. (Heb 2:17, 7:26). 'Good and upright is the Lord' Jehovah, Christ Jesus, 'therefore will he teach sinners in the way' (Psa 25:8). 'He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God' (2 Sam 23:3). I mention these texts to show you, that holiness, when entailed to office, makes a man do that office the better. Now then, Christ is holy, and he is made, called, and made of God an High Priest, after the order of Melchisedec, and is to manage that his office for thee with God; that is to say, to continue to make reconciliation for iniquity; for that iniquity that cleaveth unto thee, and that spuriously breaketh, or issueth from thy flesh after thou art called and converted. For we are now upon the second part of the execution of the priesthood of Christ; that which he executeth, I say; and executing takes away the iniquity of our holy things and our life, after turning to God by him. Now he that is to do this is holy, and so one that will make conscience of performing that office for us, with which he is intrusted by God. Hence, he is set in opposition to those high priests who had infirmities, who were not holy, and upon this very account preferred above them. 'For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated,' perfected, or holy 'for evermore' (Heb 7:28). This therefore is a great thing, to wit, that we have a holy High Priest, and so one that will not fail to perform to the utmost the trust committed to him in our behalf, to wit, 'to offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins' (Heb 5:1). This is one thing.
