tion went so far, that they had not only false prophets to support them, but the people, who, how bad soever they may be themselves, do generally hate evil priests, grew to be pleased with it. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: From the prophet even to the priest, every one dealt falsely. And upon that, a woe is denounced against the pastors that destroyed and scattered the sheep of God's pastureb. They by their office ought to have fed the people; but, instead of that, they had scattered the flock, and driven them away, and had not visited them: both prophet and priest were profane; their wickedness was found even in the house of God. In opposition to all which, God promises by the prophet, that he would set shepherds over them, that should feed them; so that the people should have no more reason to be afraid of their pastors, or of being misled by them; and he promised upon their return from the captivity, to give them pastors according to his own heart, who should feed them with knowledge and understandinge. In Ezekiel we find the solemn and severe charge given to watchmen twice repeated; that they ought to warn the wicked from his wickedness; otherwise though he should indeed die in his sin, God would require his blood at the watchman's hand; but if he gave warning, he had by so doing delivered his own soulf. In that prophecy we have the guilt of the priests set forth very heinously. Her priests have violated my law, and profaned my holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, the clean and the unclean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths; the effect of which was, that God was profaned among thems. This is more fully prosecuted in the 34th chapter, which is all addressed to the shepherds of Israel; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel, that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flock? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flockh. Then follows an enumeration of the several sorts of troubles that the people were in, under the figure of a flock, to shew how they had neglected their duty in all the parts and instances of it; and had trusted to their authority, which they had abused to tyranny and violence. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound a Jer. b Jer. xxiii. 1. © Jer. xxiii. 2, 11. Ezek. xxii. 26. a Jer. v. 31. and vi. 13. xxiii. 4. Jer. iii. 15. h Ezek. xxxiv. 2, 3. up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled themi: upon which follows a terrible expostulation, and denunciation of judgments against them: I am against the shepherds, saith the Lord; I will require my flock at their hands, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any morek. And in the 44th chapter of that prophecy one rule is given, which was set up in the primitive church as an unalterable maxim. That such priests as had been guilty of idolatry should not do the office of a priest any more, nor come near to any of the holy things, or enter within the sanctuary, but were still to bear their shame; they might minister in some inferior services, such as keeping the gates, or slaying the sacrifice; but they were still to bear their iniquity. I have passed over all that occurs in these prophets, which relates to the false prophets, because I will bring nothing into this discourse that relates to sins of another order and nature. In Daniel we have a noble expression of the value of such as turn men to righteousness, that they shall shine as the stars for ever and ever1. In Hosea we find among the sins and calamities of that time, this reckoned as a main cause of that horrid corruption, under which they had fallen, there being no truth, no mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land; which was defiled by swearing, lying, killing, stealing, and committing adultery. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: to which is added, Because thou hast rejected knowledge, (or the instructing the people,) I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me; seeing thou hast forgot the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children m. That corrupt race of priests attended still upon the temple, and offered up the sin-offering, and feasted upon their portion; which is wrong rendered, They eat up the sin of my people; for sin stands there, as in the law of Moses, for sin-offering: because of the advantage this brought them, they were glad at the abounding of sin; which is expressed by their setting their heart, or lifting up their soul, to their iniquity: the conclusion of which is, that they should be given up for a very heavy curse, of, Like priests like people. In Joel we find the duty of the priests and ministers of the Lord set forth in times of great and approaching ca i Ezek. xxxiv. 4. k Ezek. xxxiv. 10. 1 Dan. xii. 3. iv. 1, 2, 6. m Hosea lamities, thus; They ought to be intercessors for the people, and to weep between the porch and the altar, and say, Spare thy people, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen (strangers and idolaters) should rule over them; wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? There is in Micah a very black character of a depraved priesthood; Their priests teach for hire, and their prophets divine for money". These were the forerunners of the destruction of that nation: but though it might be expected, that the captivity should have purged them from their dross, as it did indeed free them from all inclinations to idolatry; yet other corruptions had a deeper root. We find in Zechariah a curse against the idol shepherd, who resembled the true shepherd, as an idol does the original: but he was without sense and life. Woe be to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock; the curse is figuratively expressed, The sword shall be upon his arm, and his right eye; (the things that he valued most;) his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkenedP. But this is more copiously set out by Malachi, in an address made to the priests; And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you; If you will not hear, and if you will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. -Then the first covenant with the tribe of Levi is set forth; My covenant was with him of life and peace; the law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips; he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many from their iniquity; for the priest's lips should preserve knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. All this sets forth the state of a pure and holy priesthood: but then follow terrible words: But ye are departed out of the way, ye have caused many to stumble at the law: ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people; according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law 9. Their ill example made many loathe both their law and their religion: they had corrupted their institution, and studied, by a gross partiality, to bring the people to be exact in those parts of the law, in which their wealth or their aua Mal. ii. 1, &c. ■ Joel ii. 17. Micah iii. 11. P Zech. xi. 17. thority was concerned; while they neglected the more essential and indispensable duties. Thus far have I gone over the most important places, that have occurred to me in the Old Testament, relating to this matter; upon all which I will only add one remark, that though some exception might be made to those expressions, that import the dignity and sanctification of those who were then consecrated to the holy functions, as parts of that instituted religion which had its period by the coming of Christ; yet such passages as relate to moral duties, and to the. obligations that arise out of natural religion, have certainly a more binding force, and ought to be understood and explained in a more elevated and sublime sense, under the new dispensation, which is internal and spiritual; compared to which, the Old is called the letter and the flesh; therefore the obligations of the priests, under the Christian religion, to a holy strictness of life and conversation, to a diligent attendance on their flock, and for instructing and watching over them, must all be as much higher, and more binding, as this new covenant ex- . cels the old one. CHAP. III. Passages out of the New Testament relating to the same matter. THIS general consideration receives a vast improvement from the great example that the Author of our religion, the great Bishop and Shepherd of our souls, has set us; who went about ever doing good, to whom it was as his meat and drink, to do the will of his Father that sent him. He was the good Shepherd that knew his sheep, and laid down his life for them. And since he set such a value on the souls of that flock which he hath redeemed, and purchased with his own blood; certainly those to whom he has committed that work of reconciliation which stood himself so dear, ought to consider themselves under very strict obligations, by that charge of which they must give a severe account at the great day, in which the blood of all those who have perished through their neglect and default, shall be required at their hands. Yet because I will not aggravate this argument unreasonably, I will make no use of those passages which relate immediately to the apostles: for their function being extraordinary, as were also the assistances that were given them for the discharge of it, I will urge nothing that belongs properly to their mission and duty. In the character that the gospel gives of the priests and Pharisees of that time, we may see a just and true idea of the corruptions into which a bad clergy is apt to fall. They studied to engross the knowledge of the law to themselves, and to keep the people in ignorance, and in a blind dependence upon them: they were zealous in lesser matters, but neglected the great things of the law: they put on an outward appearance of strictness, but under that there was much rottenness: they studied to make proselytes to their religion, but they had so depraved it, that they became thereby worse men than before: they made great shows of devotion, of praying, and fasting much, and giving alms; but all this was to be seen of men, and by it they devoured the estates of poor and simple people: they were very strict in observing the traditions and customs of their fathers, and of every thing that contributed to their own authority or advantage; but by so doing they made void the law of God: in a word, they had no true worth in themselves, and hated such as had it: they were proud and spiteful, false and cruel, and made use of the credit they were in with the people, by their complying with them in their vices, and flattering them with false hopes, to set them on to destroy all those who discovered their corruptions, and whose real and shining worth made their counterfeit show of it the more conspicuous and odious. In this short view of those enormous disorders, which then reigned amongst them, we have a full picture of the corrupt state of bad priests in all ages and religions, with this only difference, that the priests in our Saviour's time were more careful and exact in the external and visible parts of their conversation, than they have been in other times: in which they have thrown off the very decencies of a grave and sober deportment. But now to go on with the characters and rules that we find in the New Testament. Our Saviour as he compared the work of the gospel in many parables to a field and harvest, so he calls those whom his Father was to send, the labourers in that harvest; and he left a direction to all -his followers, to pray to his Father that he would send labourers into his harvest. Out of which both the vocation Matth. ix. 38. |