Works, Commentary 1 · Part 2
EZRA VI. X.
That they may offer Sacrifices of sweet savour unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the King, and of his Sons.
THE words of the Decree of King Darius, for the building and furnishing of the service of the Temple of God at Ierusalem; That (saith he) which they have need of for the burnt-offerings of the God of heaven, both young bullocks, rams and lambs, wheat, salt, wine and oyl, let it be given them day by day without fail: That they may offer Sacrifices of sweet savour unto the God of Heaven, and pray for the life of the King, and of his Sons.
I have made choice of this Scripture, to shew that Sacrifice was Species Orationis, or a Rite of Supplication unto God: Such a one, namely wherein the Supplicant came not with naked Prayer, but presented something unto his God whereby to find favour in his sight. The nature and quality of the thing presented was Munus foederale a Federal Gift, consisting of meat and drink; in the tender whereof, as a sinner agnized himself to be his God's vassal and servant, so by acceptance of the same he was reconciled and restored to his Covenant, by the atonement and forgiveness of his sin. *See this largely proved in the foregoing Treatise, chap. 7.Forasmuch as, according to the use and custom of Mankind, to receive meat and drink from the hand of another was a sign of amity and friendship; much more to make another partaker of his Table, as the sinner was here of God's, by eating of his Oblation: hence those who came to make supplication unto the Divine Majesty, whom they had offended, were wont by this Rite to make way for their sute, by removing the obstacle of his offence. For what hope of speeding could there be, whilest the party to whom we tendred our supplication should be at enmity with us? when God might say,Psal. 50. 16, 17. What hast thou to do to take my Covenant in thy mouth, seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee? For the foundation of all Invocation is, Remember thy Covenant; and of Impetration, the Remission of our sin.
For this cause therefore was Sacrifice used as Medium deprecandi Deum, Unde Philo de Sacrif. foreign nabet.as a Rite of address unto God, when we were to make prayer and supplication unto him; yea or to bless or give thanks. But this is not to my present purpose, but the use for Prayer only; which to have been thus addressed as I speak, appears not only by the words of my Text, That they may offer, &c. and pray, &c. but sundry other places of Scripture; which I mean to rehearse.
As first, by that so often inculcated of Abraham and Isaac, that where they pitched down their Tents, they built also an Altar, and there called upon the Name of the Lord: But an Altar was a place for Sacrifice: Therefore Sacrifice must be a Rite whereby they called upon the Name of God.
The same appears by that speech of Saul, 1 Sam. 13. 12. when Samuel reproving him for having offered a Burnt-offering, I said, (saith he) The Philistines will come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord: I forced my self therefore, and offered a Burnt-offering: Therefore to offer a Burnt-offering was to make Supplication.
It is yet more plain out of 1 Sam. 7. 8. The Children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not, (or be not silent) to cry unto the Lord our God for us, that he will save us out of the hands of the Philistines. And Samuel (saith the Text, v. 9.) took a sucking Lamb, and offered it for a Burnt-offering unto the Lord; and Samuel cryed unto the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him.
It is further proved by that in the 116. Psalm, Ezra 6. 10.v. 13. I will take the Cup of Salvation and call upon the Name of the Lord: For this Cup of Salvation is the Libamen or Drink-offering annexed and poured upon the Sacrifice, at what time they used (as here you see) to call upon the Name of the Lord. 'Tis a Synechdoche, where the part is put for the whole. Also [to take] is here to offer, by that Figure, quâ ex Antecedente intelligitur Consequens.
The same is implied by that of Micah 6. 6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow my self before the most High? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old?
And by that Antithesis, Prov. 15. 8. The Sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord; but the Prayer of the upright is his delight: For here the words of Sacrifice and Prayer are taken the one for the other: it being all one as if it had been said, for [Prayer of the upright] the Sacrifice of the upright, or for [Sacrifice of the wicked] the Prayer of the wicked. Hence it follows, That Sacrifice was Species Orationis, or a Rite of Supplication unto God.
The like may be inferred out of Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple, and the Lord's answer to the same: For in that dedicatory prayer is no mention at all of Sacrifice to be there offered, but only that the Lord would be pleased to hear from heaven the Prayers of such and such as should be made in that Place, or towards it. Nevertheless, when God appeared to Solomon in the night, he saith unto him, I have heard thy Prayer, and have chosen this place to my self for an house of Sacrifice, 2 Chron. 7. 12, plainly implying, That to be an house of Sacrifice was to be an house of Prayer.
Add to these that in 1 Mac. 12. 11. where the Iews in their Epistle to the Lacedaemonians speak on this manner; We at all times (say they) without ceasing, both in our Feasts and other convenient days, do remember you in the Sacrifices which we offer, and in our prayers; foreign, for in our prayers at our Sacrifices. Certainly it may be gathered hence, that Prayers were annexed to their Sacrifices, and that Sacrifice was a Rite of Prayer.
The like we shall find in the first of Baruch, where we read that those who were carried Captive with Iechonias made a Collection of Money, and sent it to Ierusalem, Vers. 10. 11.saying, Behold, we have sent you money to buy you Burnt-offerings and Sin-offerings and Incense; and prepare ye the Meat-offering, and offer upon the Altar of the Lord our God: And pray for the life of Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon, and for the life of Balthasar his son, that their dayes on earth may be as the days of heaven; just to that of my Text, that they may offer Sacrifices of sweet savour unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the King, and of his Sons.
Hence appears the reason why*Antiq. Iud. l. 1. c. 4. Iosephus, when the Scripture mentions no more but that Noah offered a Sacrifice when he came out of the Ark, attributes unto him a Prayer. foreign (saith he) foreign, &c. Noah fearing lest God (having adjudged men to a general destruction) should every year thus drown the earth, offered Sacrifices unto God, beseeching him that hereafter all things may continue in that good order and primitive state, &c.
I could be as plentiful in Profane Testimonies to this point as I have been in Sacred; and could alledge the Testimonies of Homer, (where we have Examples of Sacrifices with the forms of Prayer,) of Herodotus, and others. But what need we the Testimonies of the Gentiles, save to know that in this point the Iews and they agreed? It is enough to have proved it out of Scripture, that this was the use and nature of Sacrifice: wherein I have been so much the longer, because though the thing be of it self most apparent and evident, yet it is very little taken notice of.
But you will enquire now, What profit hath this Discourse, or what use is there of this thing being known? I answer, Yes; it will help our conceit very much to understand in what sense and for what respect the ancient Church called the Eucharist or Lord's Supper a Sacrifice, and how harmless that notion was; namely, They took this Sacrament to have been ordained by our Blessed Saviour to succeed those bloudy Sacrifices of the Law, and to be a Medium deprecandi Deum, a mean of Supplication and address to God, in the New Testament, as they were in the Old, by representing the Body and Bloud of Christ unto his Father, foreign according to his appointment: Forasmuch as they saw them both to be Rites of a like kind, as consisting of Meats and Drinks; both Epulae foederales, Federal Feasts, those of the Old Covenant, this of the New, [foreign, This Cup is the New Testament,] both Rites of atonement or for Impetration of Remission of sin, [foreign, saith our Saviour, foreign, This is my Bloud, which is shed for many for remission of sins.] Besides, the Eucharist was by the time of its institution as it were substituted in place of the Passeover, which was a Sacrifice of that kind called Pacifica. All these things considered how obvious was it for them to think, that it was in the Institution intended for the same End and Use the other were, namely, for a Commemoration, whereby to have access and find favour with God, when we address our selves unto him in the New Testament?
And that this was no new device of later ages, but derived from the first times; may appear out of Cyril (or his Successour Iohn of Ierusalem) Author of the 5. Catech. Mystag. In the last whereof, relating and expounding the meaning of that which was said or done at the celebration of the holy Eucharist, according to the use of his time, (which was the Fourth Seculum current) amongst other things he saith, foreign, &c. [See this passage quoted in the foregoing Discourse, Chap. 6. pag. 366.]
Yea that it was the use in the days of Constantine thus adhibere Eucharistiam ad preces, to use the Eucharist as a Rite of impetration in their prayers, appears out of Eusebius in his De vita Constantini, lib. 4. c. 45. where speaking of a great Synod of Bishops assembled at Ierusalem by the Emperor's Command, to celebrate the dedication of a Church erected over the place of our Saviour's Sepulchre, and telling how the Bishops there met employ'd themselves during that Solemnity; Some (saith he) by Panegyrick Orations set forth the Emperor's felicity; others were employed in preaching and expounding the Mysteries of Holy Scripture; another part foreign, did propitiate God and sought his favour by unbloudy Sacrifices, offering unto God humble Prayers for the publick peace, for the Church of God, for the King the Author of so much good, and for his children beloved of God; namely, as the Iews in their Sacrifices prayed for the life of the King and his Sons, according to my Text.
But for the more full understanding the notion and practice of this Age, take also a passage of S. Austin: it is in his 22. Book De Civitate Dei, concerning one Hesperius, &c. [See this passage quoted in the foregoing Discourse, Chap. 5. pag. 363.]
But some will suspect perhaps that this Custome began in the days of Constantine. No, it did not: It was in use in the days of Cyprian 60. years before, as appears in his 16. Epistle ad Mosen & Maximum. *Adde hereunto that of Cyprian in his De Orat Dom. Et quando in unum cum fratribus con…enimus, & SACRIFICIA Di…ina cum Dei Sacerdote celebramus, verecundiae & disciplinae memores essi debemus, non passi… ventilare PRECES nostras inconditis vocibu…, &c.Nos quidem vestri memores, & quando in Sacrificiis precem cum pluribus facimus, &c. [See this passage quoted in the foregoing Discourse, Chap. 5. pag. 362.]
Let us ascend a little higher yet unto the days of Tertullian, within 200 years after Christ. He, in his Book De Oratione, makes express mention of Orationes Sacrificiorum, Prayers that accompanied the celebration of the Christian Sacrifice, such namely as S. Cyprian (Bishop of the same City whereof Tertullian was Presbyter, to wit of Carthage) even now spake of. And in his Book ad Scapulam, Sacrificamus (saith he) purâ prece, We sacrifice with pure prayer. But you will say, This is against me rather, because he saith purâ prece, implying their was nothing else. No, it is not: For by purâ prece he means not nudâ & solitariâ prece, bare and naked prayer, but *This to be his meaning, appears from the words immediately following, Non eget Deus od…r…s & sanguinis alicujus, &c. See Chap. 3. of the foregoing Discourse, pag. 358.prayer not defiled with shedding of bloud and smoke of Incense, according to the manner of the Gentiles. And thus (as Sozomen in l. 2. c. 14. relates) Constantine writes to Sapores the Persian King in behalf of the Christians, foreign that they did satisfie themselves and acquiesce in offering up Prayers without bloud for the intreating of God's favour, foreign, for that the shedding of bloud was no way acceptable to God, whose sole and chief delight was in a purified Soul.
And that it was the manner in Tertullian's time adhibere Eucharistiam ad preces, may be further confirmed by the promiscuous use of the words signifying the one and the other. For in his*[See the passage quoted in the foregoing Discourse, Chap. 5. pag. 363.] Exhort. ad Castitatem, Oratio and Offerre, Oratio and Sacrificium are interchangeably put the one for the other. It was observed before, how that Iosephus attributes unto Noah a Prayer when the Scripture mentions only his offering a Sacrifice. And for that which is said (Acts 6. 6.) in the story of the seven Deacons set before the Apostles to be ordained by them, foreign, and when they had prayed, &c. we have in Constit. Apostol. l. 8. c. ult. foreign, &c. We having offered (according to his appointment) a pure and unbloudy Sacrifice, ordained Bishops, Presbyters, and Deacons, in number seven.
[What remains in the Manuscript, consists of Testimonies quoted out of Iustin Martyr his Dialogue with Trypho, and Ignatius his Epistle to the Ephesians, and Acts 2. 42. All which Passages are quoted at large in the foregoing Discourse, Chap. 5.]