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THE BEGINNING OF TYTHES IN THE LAW,

AND ENDING OF TYTHES IN THE GOSPEL.

The Law and the Commandment of the Lord concerning payment of Tythes, to whom, and how they were to be disposed, viz. to the Levitical Priesthood in the Old Testament, and how Christ is come to end that Priesthood, Law, and Commandment, by which he took the Tythes and Offerings.-By G. F.

ALL the tythes of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruits of the trees, are the Lord's, they are holy unto the Lord.

And concerning the tenths of the herds, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.' Levit. xxvii. 40, to the end.

* Behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites, from among the children of Israel, to you they are given as a gift from the Lord, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: therefore, thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office, for every thing of the altar; and within the vail ye shall serve: I have given your priest's office unto you, as a service of gift; and I have given to thee, the charge of the heave-offerings, and thou shalt keep the charge of the altar and the sanctuary, and thou shalt keep the charge of the tabernacle for the congregation, and for all the services of the tabernacle. Numb. xviii. 6, 7. and the Levites shall be mine, I am the Lord.' Numb. iii. 45.

And behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenths in Israel for an inheritance, for their services which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle.'*

Neither must the children of Israel come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, least they bear sin and die.

But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity, this shall be a statute forever among your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance, (to wit, the Levites.)

But the tythes of the children of Israel, which they offered an heaveoffering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit, for they have no other inheritance among the children of Israel.'

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And the Lord said unto Moses, thus speak unto the Levites, when ye take of the children of Israel's tythes, which I have given you from them

* Christ has discharged them of this charge.

for your inheritance, when ye shall offer an heave-offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tythe.'

'And this your heave-offering shall be reckoned to you, as the corn of the threshing-floor,' &c.

'And thus you also shall offer an heave-offering unto the Lord, of all your tythes which ye receive of the children of Israel, and ye shall give thereof the Lord's heave-offering to Aaron the priest.' Numb. xviii.

"The place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall he seek, and thither shalt thou come, and thither shall you bring your offerings and sacrifices, and your tythes and heave-offerings of your hands,' &c.

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And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that you put your hands unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. For ye are not as yet come to the rest, &c.-But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about you, so that ye dwell in safety.Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring your offerings, sacrifices, tythes, and your heave-offerings of your hands, &c. unto the Lord. -And ye shall rejoice before the Lord, ye and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants and maid-servants, and Levi that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you his brethren. The Lord is his inheritance according as the Lord promised him; for the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to stand before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name.' Deut xii. x. 8, 9.

*

And thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tythes of thy corn, or of the wine, or of the oil, or of the firstling of thy herd, or of thy flock. But thou shalt eat them before the Lord thy God, in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, in all thou puttest thy hands unto.' Deut. xii. 17, 26.

'And take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite, &c. And thou must eat flesh within thy gates, or what thou desirest: only the holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, observe and hear all these words which I command thee.'

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And in Deut. xiv. Thou shalt truly tythe all the increase of thy seed year by year, and thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tythe of thy corn, of thy wine, of thy oil, and the firstlings of thy herds, and of thy flocks,

that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.-And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose, and set his name there; when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.* Then thou shalt turn it into money, and bind up the money in thy hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose.-And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul desireth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desires; and thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household. And the Levite that is within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him, for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tythe of thine increase, the same year thou shalt lay it up within thy gates. And the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied, that the Lord thy God may bless thee, in all the works of thy hands which thou dost.' Deut. xiv. 22, to the end.

And also, in Deut. xxvi. When thou hast made an end of tything all, the tythes of the increase, the third year, which is the year of tything, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates and be filled. Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of my house, and also given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to thy commandments, which thou hast commanded me,' &c. Here you may see the laws and the commandments of God concerning tythes, and who they were to. Deut. xxvi. 12, 13.

And you may see how that the tythes were to be brought to the chambers of the house of God at Jerusalem. Neh. x. 37, 38.

And in 2 Chron. xxxi. 11. how the chambers for the tythes, were in the house of the Lord, which was the place the Lord had chosen according to Moses.

And in Mal. iii. it was called a robbing of God and the whole nation, when they did not bring in their tythes into the storehouse, that there might be meat in his house, so it was a wronging of Levi, the stranger, the widow, the fatherless, from their right, for the tythes of the land were the Lord's, and for Levi, the widow, stranger, and fatherless, and so if they did not bring them in, they robbed God in his tythes and offerings, and walked contrary to the law and command of God, therefore, says he, ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

* Here was their own choice in laying out their tythe-money.

And the apostle saith, 'cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which is written in the book of the law to do them.' Gal. iii. 10. and Deut. xxvii. 26. But no man is justified by the works of the law in the sight of God, for the just shall live by faith; for as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse.' Gal. iii. 11.

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And Christ has redeemed us from under the curse of the law, so they are not under that curse that do not pay tythes now. And the apostle saith, that no man is justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ Jesus, even as we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law :' and the apostle saith, by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified in the sight of God: therefore you are not justified by the law of tythes and offerings, nor outward circumcision in the sight of God. Gal. ii. 3.

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And Christ cried,' woe unto you scribes and pharisees, hypocrites, ye pay tythe of mint, anise, and cumin, and have omitted the weighty matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith, these things ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.' Mat. xxiii. 23. and Lúke xi. 42.

And in Gen. xiv. 20. when Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, he was the priest of the most high God, and he blessed Abraham, and Abraham gave him the tenths of all that he had taken in the spoil,' as also ye may see in Heb. vii. 4.

Now did ever Abraham pay tythes to Melchizedek after this time? or did he ever pay Melchizedek tythes before of his own yearly increase? but now of the spoil of the war?

And did ever any of the kings or judges pay the tenths of their spoil of the wars afterwards?

'And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on; so I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house, and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee.'

Now where did ever Jacob pay tythes? or the children of Israel in Egypt? until they came out of Egypt and received his law, for this was only Jacob's condition and free vow, not a command from God, as you may see in Gen. xxviii. 20, 21, 22.

And in Heb. vii.' when Abraham returned from the slaughter of the kings, Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met him and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave the tenths of all the spoils, so this was not of the increase of his personal estate, neither did other kings or judges, (as I said before,) follow this example, to give the tenth of their spoils that they had gotten in war. Neither did Abraham lay VOL. V.-33

this as a command of God, upon his own family to pay tythes, either of their personal estates, or of the wars to Melchizedek afterwards. Neither do we read that Jacob, or his children, did pay tythes, till after they came out of Egypt, as before it is said, by the law of God: but the apostle saith, as I may so say, 'Levi, also, who received tythes, paid tythes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him who received the tythes: and as for Melchizedek, his descent is not counted from them;' so here the apostle goes to cut off Levi who received tythes, and his priesthood, and place it upon Levi, as paying tythes, (in Abraham.) For the apostle saith, verily they that were of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tythes of the people according to the law, that is of their brethren, though they came out of the loins of Abraham,' so here is the law and commandment to take tythes of their brethren, and not of them that was not their brethren.

And the apostle saith, if perfection were by the Levitical priesthood,> for under it the people received the law, what further need was there that another priest should arise, (to wit, Christ,) after the order of Melchizedek, and not after the order of Aaron, who had a law and a commandment to take tythes.' For the apostle saith, the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law, for there is a disannulling of the commandment going before, and so the priesthood changed, and the law changed by which he was made, and the commandment disannulled that gave him his tythes; for it is evident, that our Lord Jesus Christ sprang out of Judah, of which tribe, Moses speaks nothing concerning the priesthood, and Christ is made a priest, not after the order of Aaron and yet it is far more evident, for that after the similitude of Melchizedek, there arises another priest, (to wit, Christ,) who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment, (as the other priests were that took tythes,) but after the power of an endless life, for this law of the carnal commandment, commanded all these carnal things, tythes, offerings, to be given to Levi's priesthood: and therefore the apostle saith, the law is changed by which the priesthood was made, and the priesthood is changed:' and the apostle saith, there is a disannulling the commandment going before, for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof;' so here the apostle notes both the weakness and unprofitableness of that law of tythes. Moreover, he saith, the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hōpe did, (to wit, Christ,) by the which we draw nigh unto God, now Christ our high priest was made with an oath, but the priesthood under the law was made without an oath,' and so Christ performs God's oath and fulfils it, and so ends oaths and swearing, and forbids them.

For the Lord sware, and will not repent, thou art a priest forever

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