Page:Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, 1842.djvu/56

those who are admitted among these, he no longer imparts mere types and similitudes, but undisguised virtues, and a heavenly hfe, in the doctrines of truth. He received an unction, not formed of material substances, but that which comports with Deity, the divine Spirit itself, by a participation of the uncreated divinity of the Father. This is shown by Isaiah, who seems to exclaim in the very person of Christ : " The spirit of the Lord is upon me, wherefore he hath anointed me, (he hath sent me) to proclaim glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the recovery of sight to the blind.'* And not only Isaiah but David also, addressing him, says, " Thy throne, O God, is from everlasting to everlasting. A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore hath God, thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." In which words, he calls him God in the first verse; and in the second he ascribes to him the royal sceptre, and thus proceeding after the divine and royal power, in the third place, he represents him as Christ, anointed not by the oil of material substances, but by the divine oil of gladness. By this also, he shows his excellence and great superiority over those who, in former ages, had been anointed as typical images with the material substance. The same speaks of him in another place, thus: " The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool ;" and a little after, " From the womb before the morning star did I beget thee; the Lord hath sworn and he will not repent, thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech." This Melchisedek is mentioned in the holy Scriptures, as a priest of the Most High God, not consecrated by any unction prepared of any material substance, and not even succeeding to the priesthood of the Jews, by any descent of lineage. Hence, Christ our Saviour is denominated, with the addition of an oath, Christ and priest after his own order, but not according to the order of those who received merely the badges and emblems. Hence, also, neither does history represent him anointed corporeally among the Jews, nor even as sprung from a tribe of the priesthood, but as coming into existence from God himself,