A Golden Chain

The second part of Christs anointing is the pouring out of the fullness of the spirit or grace into the manhood of Christ:¹ and it was particularly figured by the holy oil. For first, that oil had no man but God alone to be the author of it: so the most excellent and unspeakable graces of the manhood of Christ have their beginning from the godhead of Christ. Again, though the same oil was most precious,² yet was it compounded of earthly substances, as myrrh, calamus, and Cassia, and such like, to signify, that the spiritual oil of grace whereof the manhood of Christ was as it were, a vessel or storehouse, did not consist of the essential properties of the godhead, as Eutiches and his followers in these days imagine, but in certain created gifts and qualities placed in his human nature: otherwise we should not have any participation of them. Thirdly, the sweet savour of the holy oil figured, that the riches of all grace with the effect thereof in the obedience of Christ, doth take away the noisome sent of our loathsome sins from the nostrils of God, and withal doth make our persons and all our actions acceptable unto him as a sweet perfume, as Paul saith,³ we are unto God the sweet savour of Christ, &c. And Christs death is for this cause termed a sacrifice of sweet smelling savour.

The second part of Christs annointing is the powring out of the fulnesse of the spirit or grace into the manhood of Christ:¹ and it was particularly figured by the holy oile. For first, that oile had no man but God alone to bee the author of it: so the most excellent and vnspeakeable graces of the manhood of Christ haue their beginning from the godhead of Christ. Againe, though the same oile was most precious,² yet was it compounded of earthly substances, as myrrhe, calamus, and Casia, and such like, to signifie, that the spirituall oile of grace whereof the manhood of Christ was as it were, a vessell or storehouse, did not consist of the essentiall properties of the godhead, as Eutiches and his followers in these daies imagine, but in certaine created gifts and qualities placed in his humaine nature: otherwise we should not haue any participation of them. Thirdly, the sweete sauour of the holy oile figured, that the riches of all grace with the effect thereof in the obedience of Christ, doth take away the noisome sent of our loathsome sinnes from the nosthrilles of God, and withal doth make our persons and al our actiōs acceptable vnto him as a sweete perfume, as Paul saith,