follow the stream, till it brings thee to this fountain, or well-head of hope, that now thou canst say, "O this intercession is mine!" Come, search, and try, it is worth the pains; and to put thee out of question, and in a more facile way of discerning, I shall lay down these signs. As,

1. If Christ's intercession be mine, then is the Spirit's intercession mine. Or if thou wouldst rather argue from the effect to the cause, then thus; if the Spirit's intercession be mine, then is Christ's intercession mine. In this case, we need not to ascend up into heaven to learn the truth, rather let us descend into our own hearts, and look whether Christ hath given us of his Spirit, which makes us cry unto God, "with sighs and groans which cannot be expressed;" he that would know whether the sun shines in the firmament, he must not climb into the clouds to look, rather he must search for the beams thereof upon the earth; which, when he sees, he may conclude, that the sun shines in the firmament; O come, and let us ransack our own consciences; let us search whether we feel the Spirit of Christ crying in us, Abba, Father; certainly these two are as the cause and the effect; Christ's intercession in heaven, and his Spirit's intercession on earth are as twins of a birth; or rather such is the concatenation of these two, that Christ's intercession in heaven breeds another intercession in the hearts of his saints. It is the same Spirit dwelling in Christ, and in all his members, that moves and stirs them up to cry, Abba, Father. Here then is my argument, if Christ hath put his Spirit into thy heart, and if the Spirit hath set thy heart on work to make incessant intercessions for thyself, then is Christ's intercession thine. There is a kind of a round in the carrying on of this great work of intercession; as, 1. Christ intercedes for his people, O that my Spirit might go down! 2. God hearkens to the intercession of Christ, Awake, holy Spirit, get thee down into the hearts of such and such. 3. The Spirit waits on the pleasure of them both, and no sooner down but he sends up his intercession back again: Christ cries to God, and God sends the Spirit, and the Spirit goes and echoes in the hearts of saints, to the cries of Christ. Much of this is contained in that one text, "God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, (Krazon) crying, (as if he merely acted on our tongues,) Abba, Father," Gal. 4:6. Here is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, and all are acting their parts on the elect people of God: the Son intercedes, "O that my Spirit may be given to these!" the Father willingly grants, "Away, holy Spirit, and, as my Son asketh, enter, and take possession of those sinful hearts:" the holy Spirit obeys, and no sooner in the hearts of the saints, but he cries in them, Abba, Father. God hears Christ, and the Spirit hears God, and the elect hear the Spirit; and now because the Spirit speaks in the elect, God hears the elect. Much like unto this is that of the prophet, " And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord; I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth, and the earth shall bear the corn, and wine, and oil, and they shall hear Jezreel," Hosea 2:21. O my soul, to the test! hath God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into thy heart? Hast thou the indwelling of the Spirit; and now by help of the Spirit, canst thou pray with earnest. ness, confidence, and an holy importunity? Canst thou cry, Abba, Father; i. e. Canst thou cry with earnestness, Father? With confidence, and Abba, Father, or Father, Father, with an holy importunity. Why, these are the very signs of the Spirit's intercession. Oiny soul! that thou wouldst deal faithfully with thy own self; canst thou by the help of the Spirit go to the Father in the name of Christ? As Christ is gone before into the holy of holies to intercede, so canst thou with boldness follow after, " and enter

into the holiest by the blood of Jesus," Heb. 10:19. Canst thou say, God hath given me his Spirit, and his Spirit hath showed me Christ as my Mediator at the right hand of God; and now, under the wing of such a Mediator, I can, by the Spirit's assistance, go with boldness, (meta porresias,) with assuming a liberty to speak any thing I will in the ears of God: surely this is the fruit, the effect of Christ's intercession, and therefore thou mayest comfortably conclude, Christ's intercession is mine.

2. If at any time in the midst of duties 1 am savingly affected, then is Christ's intercession mine. Sometimes it pleaseth God to appear in ordinances, and the soul is comforted, quickened, enlarged, affected; why, now I look upon this as the efficacy of Christ's blood, and as the power of Christ's intercession; at that very instant that I feel any good in any ordinance of Christ, why then, even then, is Christ prevailing with God his Father; for what I feel, then, even then, may I boldly say, "Now is the Lord Jesus, who is at God's right hand in heaven, remembering me a poor worm on earth; Oh now I feel the fruit of his intercession! Oh what is this spirit, power, grace, comfort, sweetness I drink of! but a taste of the honey-comb with the end of my rod, dropping from the intercessions of Jesus Christ? And if this presence of Christ's Spirit be so sweet, What is himself then? I know we had need to be wary in laying down this sign, it is clearly proved by an eminent divine, "That sweet motions of heart in holy things, are not infallible evidences of grace." The third kind of hearers are said to" receive the word with joy," Matth. 13:20. They found some sweet and power in the ordinances of Christ. And Herod heard John gladly, Mark 16:20. And many "for a season rejoiced in John's light and ministry," John 5:35. Certainly affections in holy adininistrations with delight and joy, may be in those, who, yet have no true grace; so it may be, that the novelty and strangeness of a doctrine may much affect and delight; or the nature of the doctrine, as it is comfortable, without any respect to spirit. ual operations, may exceedingly affect, or the minister's abilities, because of his parts, eloquence, elocution, affectionate utterance, may much delight and stir up the hearers' affections; fine head-notions may produce some affectionate heart motions; but what symptom of grace in all this? The sign therefore I lay down of my propriety in Christ's intercessions is not every sweet motion, or every excited affection, but that which is holy, spiritual, heavenly, saving; I may discern much of this, if I will but look into the grounds and effects of my excited or stirred-up affections; if the ground thereof be fetched from heaven, and in their effect they tend to wards heaven, if they wean my heart from the world, if they elevate and raise up my affections to things above, if they form, and frame iny conver sation heaven-wards, then may I be assured these motions and affections are of the right stamp, for all such motions are but sparks of that heavenly fire, the flame whereof is mindful of its own original; they are the fruits of Christ, and they go back to Christ, they work towards their centre, they tend towards the place from whence they came; and in this respect, O that I could never hear a sermon without a savory affection of what I hear! O that I could never go to prayer without some warmth, and heat, and life and fervency! O that in every duty I was savingly affected, that I felt the savor of Christ's ointments, whose name, and whose intercession is as an ointment poured forth: in times of the Old Testament, if they offered up a sacrifice, and a material fire came down from heaven

Mr. Burges of Assurance.

and burnt up the sacrifice to ashes, it was a certain testimony that the sacrifice was accepted: now, in the time of the gospel, we must not expect material fire to come down upon our duties; but bath the Lord at any time caused an inward and spiritual fire to fall down upon thy heart, warming thy Spirit in duty, and carrying it up heaven ward? Surely if so, thou mayest safely conclude, these are the very effects of Christ's intercession; his intercession is mine.

3. If in my heart I feel a holy frame, disposition, inclination to pray and cry, and intercede for others, especially for the miseries and distresses of the church of God; then is Christ's intercession mine. We should (ss near as we may) in every thing conform to Christ; and this conformity is an evidence or sign to us of our interest in Christ; O my soul! go down into the inmost closet of thy heart, look what disposition there is in it towards the members of Christ; and thou mayest conclude there is in Christ's heart the very same disposition towards thee. A do I think there is love in my bosom towards the saints, and that there is no love in Christ's bosom towards me? What, can I think that my narrow, straitened and sinful bowels are larger than those wide, compassionate and tender bowels of Jesus Christ? As a drop of water is in comparison of the ocean, and as a gravel stone is in comparison of the sand, so is my heart to Christ's, and my love to Christ's, and my bowels to Christ's. Come then, and try by this sign, "Hereby we know that we are translated from death to life, if we love the brethren; he that loveth not his brother, abideth in death," 1 John 3:14.-Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren, verse 16. Is not this plain, if I love the brethien, Christ loveth me? If I feel in my heart an holy disposition to go to God, and to pray and cry, and to intercede for a saint in misery, surely the Lord Jesus hath as much bowels towards me, and to go and intercede for me, and to present my prayers unto God the Father; his intercession is mine.

4. If I am called, justified and sanctified, then is Christ's intercession mine: are not these the subject-matter of Christ's intercession? "I pray (saith Christ) that thou shouldst keep them from the evil," John 17:15.—I pray that thou wouldest "sanctify them through thy truth; neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which believe on me through their word or preaching; Father, I will, that those whom thou hast given me, be with me in glory," verse 17.20.24. He first prays that we may be called and justified, and then he prays that we may be sanctified and saved: he holds at both ends of this golden chain of our salvation; the one end is hanged at his breast, where the names of all his saints are written, and the other is at his heart that he may be the author and finisher, the first and last, the beginning and ending of our soul's salvation: alas! there is nothing in us, in our reach here below; the first stirrings of grace is up in heaven, at the right hand of the Father; and the far end of any gracious thought is as far above us, as the heart of Christ is above the earth; come then, since all hangs on this great pin of Christ's intercession, let us search and try, Are we called? Do we believe on the Son? Are we sanctified in some measure? Are we kept from the evil, that sin may not have dominion over us? Hath Christ put up these prayers in our behalf, that now we feel (as it were) and experience the truth of Christ's prevailings with his Father in our hearts and lives? O sure signs that Christ's intercession is ours! Away, away, all diffidence, doubting, wavering, fluctuating hopes; a soul thus grounded, may with Paul cast the gauntlet, and bid defiance to all the world, "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? Who

is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, and who also maketh intercession for us," Rom. 8:34.

SECT. V. Of believing in Jesus in that respect.

5. LET us believe in Jesus, as carrying on this great work of our salvation in his intercession: wounded spirits are full of scruples, and thus they cry, "My sins will never be forgiven: have not I sinned against God, and Christ, and the Spirit of Christ? Had I not my hands imbrued in the blood of his Son? And have not I trodden under foot the blood of God? And will that blood that I have shed, and trod on, intercede for my pardon? Had I but gone so far as the Jews did, who indeed killed and crucified Christ, I might have had some hopes, because they knew not what they did, and therefore Christ prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." But alas! I sinned, and I knew well enough what, and wherein I have sinned, "Had they known (saith the apostle) they would not have crucified the Lord of glory," 1 Cor. 2:8. But alas! I knew it, and I was fully convinced that the commission of every sin is a crucifying of Christ; and yet against knowledge, and judgment, and light, and checks of my own conscience, I have crucified the Lord of glory; and is not the apostle express? "It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift,-if they fall away, to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to open shame," Heb. 6:4.6. Oh! I fear my name is not in the roll of those for whom Christ intercedes, I have crucified him afresh, and will he intercede for such a dead dog as I am? I cannot believe." Silence, unbelief! be not tyrannical to thyself, for Christ will not, sin shall do thee no hurt, nor Satan, no nor God himself, for Jesus Christ can work him to any thing; if he but open his wounds in heaven, he will so work his Father, that thy wounds on earth shall close up presently. "O but I have sinned against light!" and what then? I hope thou hast not sinned wilfully, maliciously, and despitefully against the light: the apostle tells us, That if "we sin wilfully, after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation," Heb. 10:26,27. These two texts in Heb. 6:4. and 10:26. are parallel, and give light to each other; and therefore unless thy sin be unpardonable sin, unless wilfully, maliciously and despitefully, thou hast crucified Christ as some of the Jews did, never pass a doom of final condemnation on thy soul: what, is there no difference betwixt a sin done wilfully, or purposely, of malice with delight, and against the feeling of thy own conscience, and a sin done of mere ignorance, inconsideracy, infirmity, or through a strong temptation, though against light itself? I know there is a light given in by God's word, and some beams of the Holy Ghost, which yet never penetrated so far as to transform and regenerate the soul wholly to God's image; and in such a case, a man may fall away, even into an universal fall, and general apostacy; but dost thou not hope better things of thyself than so? I suppose thou dost; O then believe! O believe thy part in Christ's intercession; and for the directions of thy faith, that thou mayest know how, or in what manner to believe, observe these particulars in their order. As,

1. Faith must directly go to Christ.

2. Faith must go to Christ as God in the flesh.

3. Faith must go to Christ as God in the flesh, made under the law.

4. Faith must go to Christ made under the directive part of the law by his life, and under the penal part of the law by his death.

5. Faith must go to Christ as put to death in the flesh, and as quickened by the Spirit.

6. Faith must go to Christ as quickened by the Spirit and as going up into glory, as sitting down at God's right hand, and as sending the Holy Ghost: Of all these before.

7. Faith must go to Christ as interceding for his saints: this act of Christ is for the application of all the former acts on Christ's part; and our faith closing with it, is for the application of this, and all other the actings of Christ on our part. Now is our faith led up very high, if we can but reach this, we may say, that our faith stands very lofty when it may at once see earth and heaven; when it may see all that Christ hath acted for it here, and all that Christ doth act, and will act in heaven for it hereafter. It is not an ordinary, single, particular act of faith that will come up to this glorious mystery; no, no, it is as a comprehensive, perfective act; it is such an act as puts the soul into a condition of glorious triumph, "Who shall condemn? It is Christ that will save me to the uttermost, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for me. The same word, to the uttermost, is a good word, and, well put in; *it is a reaching word, and extends itself so far, that thou canst not look beyond it: let thy soul be set on the highest mountain that ever any creature was yet set on, and there let thy soul take in, and view the most spacious prospect, both of sin and misery, and difficulties of being saved, that ever yet any poor humble soul did cast within itself; yea, join to these all the objections, and hinderances of thy salvation, that the heart of man can suppose, or invent against itself; lift up thy eyes, and look to the utmost thou canst see, and Christ, by his intercession, is able to save thee beyond the horizon, and farthest compass of thy thought, even to the utmost and worst case the heart of man can possibly 'suppose; it is not thy having lain long in sin, or long under terrors and despairs, it is not thy having sinned often under many enlightenings, that can hinder thee from being saved by Christ: do but remember this same word, to the uttermost, and then put in what exception thou wilt, or canst." O the holy triumphs of that soul that can but act its faith on Christ's inter cession! why this is the most perfect and consummate act of Christ's priestly office, this argues thy Christ to be a perfect Mediator, and being A perfect Mediator, no condition can be desperate, "And being made perfect, (saith the apostle) he became the author of eternal salvation unto all then that obey him." Heb. 9:5. Now therefore lead up thy faith to this blessed object, and thou hast under consideration the whole of Christ, and the total of Christ's actings in this world, from first to last, in respect of mediation; this is the coronis, the upshot, the period, the consummation, the perfection of all.

8. Faith in going to Christ as interceding for us; it is principally and mainly to look to the purpose, end, intent, and design of Christ in his intercession: now the ends of Christ, as in reference unto us, are these,

1. That we might have communion and fellowship with the Father and the Son, "I pray for these, that as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, they also may be one in us," John 17:21.

2. That we might have the gift of the Holy Ghost, "I will pray the Fa

*Goodwin's Christ set forth.