Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1855-09-20
MONTPELIER, VERMONT, THURSDAY,

parentage, birth and death Of many others
But does such want of knowledge In regard to
Mechisedek or any other person, increase their
claim to regard of any kind Much less would
it render them any more like the Son of God.
But Paul goes further than to say that his pa
rentage, birth and death are unknown. For he
positively says there is proof that he yet liveth.
T" Here men that die receive tithes (that is
Aaron and his descendants) bat there he re-
ceiveth them (that is Melchisedek) of whom it
is witnessed he liveth." Thus the apostle tes-
ties not that the death of Melchiselek is un-
known or unrecorded, but that there is wit
ness that he liveth and abidcth priest contin-
ually, and that in contradistinction from all the
men of Aaron line who could not continue in
their priesthood because they were subject to
death. Thus that Interpretation of Paul's
words, which would place him in the strange
position of attempting to exalt the character of
Melchisedek that he had no priest'y parentage
mo ather.pr mother. But it So IA quite i'm
possible to say Of any priest that he never had
beginning as priest, and as such he never had
an end, but liveth and abideh priest contn-
ually. Yet we impute all this jargon to Paul,
if we make him to say these things Of Melchis-
edek as priest, and not Of him as man like
wis.,. For who does not know that q living
priest, of necessity, implies living man also p!
viii any one say that Paul says these things
neither of the man, nor of the priest, but Of the
priesthood of Melchisedek Ii so, the difficult
ty remains undiminished for then Paul sober
ly teaches US that the priesthood in question
has no father, no mother, no beginning, nor end,
and yet remained a continual priest. Surely,
that must be marvellous priesthood, indeed,
which had neither beginning nor end, and yet
continues to be o perpetual priest Why put
a construction on Paul's argument that would
make him speak sublimated nonsense, when all
is plain if we allow him to speak of the man
Melchisedek: and make this man to be Christ,
in one of the many manifestations in which he
appeared, held occasional intercourse with the
patriarchs in the likeness Of his subsequent
manifestations in the flesh
But before we dismiss this subject it may be
well to notice two or three objections which may
be raised in opposition to the one here taken.-
And first, why then did Melcbisedek receive
tithes of Abraham In answer to this it may
be stated, that it seems fit that offerings should
be made to him as High Priest and Lord of all,
even to the tenth part of all. How the offspring
Of Abraham in this case, was disposed of, we
are not told, nor does it concern us to know any
more than it does to know why the risen Saviour
ate of the broied fish and the honey comb. II
may be objected, he was made like unto the Son
of God, and therefore not truly he. This state
ment is true, but the conclusion does not nee
essarily follow. Does any one draw such con-
olasion from the factssJatsl- NJ the KING Of
Babylon in regard to the One he sawin the fur
mace of fire, whose form was like unto the Son
of God, or in regard to him whom Daniel saw
who was like unlo the Son of Man Shall We
therefore conclude that neither of these were
identical with him to whose likeness they ap-
peared! May we not sooner conclude, that thi'
likeness establishes, rather than dsaproyes tn,
identity, especially, if we consider that none o
these manifestations were actually God manifes
in the flesh, as was the case, when in the full
ness of time he was born Of the seed of David
but all of them like unto him
1t is objected, that Christ was u priest afte
the order of Melchisedek therefore, Melchis
edek could not he Christ. Here again the con
cusion does not Of necessity follow the premise
which is acknowledged to be true. But tn
contrary is evident; for Christ is priest of hi
own peculiar order, which was established a
early as human transgression, in which he alon
can administer in perpetuity of Office. He
that other priest, in contradstinction fror
Aaron sacred line, before whose exalted persol
and priesthood all other priests vanish as shad
ows flee away before the bright beams of tn
sun, when in the Zenith he reigns in uncloude
glory.