ther, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth," John 14:16,17.

3. That we might have protection against all evil, "I pray (saith Christ) that thou wouldst keep them from the evil," John 17:15. Some may ob ject, are not the faithful subject to evils, corruptions, and temptations still? How then is that part of the intercession of Christ made good unto us? I answer, The intercession of Christ is presently available, only it is conveyed in a manner suitable and convenient to our present condition, so as there may be left room for another life; and therefore we must not conceive all presently done; it is with us as with malefactors doomed to death, suppose the supreme power should grant a pardon to be drawn, though the grant be the whole thing at once, yet it cannot be written but word after word, and line after line; so the grant of our protection against all evil is made unto Christ at first, but in the execution thereof, there is line upon line, and precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. We know Christ prayed for Peter, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not;" yet Peter's faith did shake and totter; the prayer was not, that there might be no failing at all, but that it might not utterly and totally fail; and in that respect Peter was protected.

4. That we might have free access to the throne of grace: so the apostle, "Seeing we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession, and come boldly to the throne of grace," Heb, 4:14.16. And again, "Having therefore boldness to enter into the holiest by tho blood of Jesus, and having an high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart, in a full assurance of faith," Heb. 10:23.

5. That we might have the inward interpellation of the Spirit, which is as it were, the echo of Christ's intercession in our hearts, "The Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered," Rom. 8:26. It is the same Spirit's groans in us, which more distinctly and fully in Christ prayeth for us, "These things I speak in the world (saith our Saviour) that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves," John 18:13. q. d. I have made this prayer in the world, and left a record and pattern of it in the church, that they feeling the same heavenly desires kindled in their own hearts, may be comforted in the workings of that spirit of prayer in them, which testifieth to their souls, the quality of that intercession which I make for them in the heaven of heavens; certainly there is a dependance of our prayers on Christ's prayer; as it is with the sun, though the body of it abide in the heavens, yet the beams of it descend to us here on earth; so the intercession of Christ, though as tied to his person, it is made in heaven, yet the groans, and desires of the touched heart, as the beams thereof, are here on earth.

6. That we might have the sanctification of our services: of this the Levitical priests were a type, "For they bear the iniquity of the holy things of the children of Israel, that they might be accepted, Exod. 28:38.-And he is the angel of the covenant, who hath a golden censer to offer up the prayers of the saints," Rev. 8:3. Some observe a threefold evil in man, of every of which we are delivered by Christ, First, An evil of state or condition under the guilt of sin. Secondly, An evil of nature, under the corruption of sin. Thirdly, An evil in all our services by the adherency of sin, for that which toucheth an unclean thing, is made unclean thereby. Now Christ, by his righteousness and merits, justifieth our persons from the guilt of sin; and Christ, by his grace and Spirit, doth in measure purify our faculties from the corruption of sin; and Christ, by his incense and

intercession, doth cleanse our services from the adherency of sin; so that in them the Lord smells a sweet savor; and both we and our services find acceptance with God.

7. That we might have the pardon of all sin. It is by virtue of Christ's intercession, that a believer sinning of infirmity hath a pardon of course, for Christ is his advocate to plead his cause; or if he sin of presumption, and the Lord give repentance, he hath a pardon at the hands of God the Father, by virtue of this intercession, in a way of justice. And to this end, rather is Christ called an advocate than a petitioner, "If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father," 1 John 2:1. The work of an advocate differs from the work of a petitioner; an advocate doth not merely petition, but he tells the judge what is law, and what ought to be done, and so doth Christ, "O my Father! (saith Christ) this soul hath indeed sinned, but I have satisfied for his sins, I have paid for them to the full; now therefore in a way of equity and justice, I do here call for this man's pardon." If this were not so, our estate would be most miserable, considering, that for every sin committed by us after repentance, we deserve to be cast out of the love and favor of God our Father, for ever and

ever.

8. That we might have continuance in the state of grace, "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not," Luke 22:32. Some that dissent from us in the point of perseverance, object, that in our Saviour's prayer for Peter, there was somewhat singular; but we say, That in this prayer there is nothing singular, which is not common to all the faithful, and unto such as are given unto Christ of the Father. They allege, That this privilege was granted to Peter as an apostle; but we say, That if it was granted to Peter as an apostle, then it was common to Peter and Judas, in that both were apostles. They allege farther, That Christ prays not for the absolute perseverance of believers, but after a sort, and upon condition. But we say the prayer of Christ is certain and not suspended; in this prayer his desire is not for Peter that he would persevere, but his desire is for Peter that he should persevere; the object of the thing for which Christ prays, is distinct from the thing itself prayed for.

9. That we might have the salvation of our souls in the day of Jesus, "Father, I will, that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they might behold my glory," John 17:24. Why, this is the main end in respect of us, our glory; and indeed herein is the main piece of our glory, to behold his glory; oh! to see the Lord Jesus Christ glorified, as he shall be glorified, must be a glorious thing; What is it to see his glory, but to behold the lustre of his divinity through his humanity? In this respect our very eyes shall come to see God, as much as is possible for any creature to see him: we may be sure God shall appear through the humanity of Christ as much as is possible for the divinity to appear in a creature; and therefore men and angels will be continually viewing of Christ. I know there is another glory of Christ which the Father will put upon him, "because he humbled himself, therefore God will exalt him, and give him a name above every name; and we shall see him in his glo. ry." O the ravishing sight of saints! Christ is so lovely, that the saints cannot leave, but they must and will "follow the Lamb wheresoever he goes," Rev. 14:4. There shall be no moment to all eternity, wherein Christ shall be out of sight to so many thousand thousands of saints; now this is the glory of the saints above: as a queen that sees the prince in his glory, she delights in it, because it is her glory; so the church when she shall see Christ her husband in his glory, she shall rejoice in it because she looks

upon it as her own. Is not this a blessed end of Christ's intercession? Why, hither tend all the rest; all the other ends end in this, and for this above all Christ intercedes to his Father, "Father I would have my saints with me; O! that all the daughters of Zion may behold King Solomon with the crown wherewith thou hast crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart," Sol. Song 3:11.

Only one question, and I have done. How should I set my faith on work to act on Christ's intercession for these ends? I answer,

1. Faith must persuade itself, that there is a virtue in Christ's intercession. Certainly every passage and acting of Christ hath its effi cacy; and therefore there is virtue in this, it is full of juice, it hath a strong influence in it.

2. Faith must consider that it is the design of God, and the intendment of Christ, that this intercession should be for the good of those that are given to Christ. O! there is enough in Christ, enough in Christ's inter cession to convey communion, the Spirit's protection, free access to the throne of grace, a spirit of prayer, pardon of sins, continuance in grace, and salvation of souls to the saints and people of God through all the world; and this is the design of God, that Christ's intercession should be as the fountain from whence all these streams must run and be con veyed unto us.

3. Faith must act dependently upon the intercession of Christ for these very ends: this is the very nature of faith; it relies upon God in Christ, and upon all the actings of Christ, and upon all the promises of Christ. So then, Is there a desirable end in Christ's intercession which we aim at? O let us act our faith dependently! let us rely, stay, or lean upon Christ to that same end; let us roll ourselves, or cast ourselves upon the very intercession of Jesus Christ; saying, "O my Christ! there is enough in thee, and in this glorious intercession of thine: and therefore there will I stick, and abide for ever."

4. Faith must ever and anon be trying, and improving, and wrestling with God, that virtue may go out of Christ's intercession into our hearts: I have heard, Lord, that there is an office erected in heaven, that Christ as high priest should be ever praying and interceding for his people; O that I may feel the efficacy of Christ's intercession! am I now in prayer? O that I could feel in this prayer the warmth, and heat, and spiritual fire, which usually falls down from Christ's intercession into the hearts of his! Lord, warm my spirit in this duty; give me the kisses of thy mouth, O that I may now have communion with thee, thy Spirit upon me, thy protection over me! O that my pardon may be sealed, my grace confirmed, my soul saved in the day of Jesus! In this method, O my soul, follow on; and who knows but God may appear ere thou art aware? Howsoever be thou in the use of the means, and leave the issue to God.

SECT. VI. Of loving Jesus in that respect.

6. LET us love Jesus as carrying on this great work of our salvation in his intercession. Now, two things more especially will excite our love. 1. Christ's love to us. 2. Our propriety in Christ. For the first, many acts of Christ's love have appeared before, and every one is sufficient to diaw our loves to him again. As,

1. He had an eternal love to man; he feasted himself on the thoughts of love, delight, and free grace to man from all eternity: since God was God (O boundless duration!) the Lord Jesus, in a manner was loving and lo ing for the dawning of the day of the creation; he was (as it were) with

child of infinite love to man, before he made the world. Some observe, That the first words that ever Christ wrote, were "Love to believers;" and these were written with glory, for it was before gold was, and they were written upon his bosom, for then other books were not.

2. In the beginning of time he loved man above all creatures, for after he had made them all, he then speaks as he never did before, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth," Gen. 1:26. And though man at that very instant unmade himself by sin; Christ's love yet was not broken off, but held forth in a promise till the day of performance, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."

3. In the fulness of time his love was manifested, the seed then blossomed, and the birth came out in an high expression of love; the manchild, the love of Christ, was born, and saw the light, "After that (saith the apostle) the kindness and love of God our Saviour towards man appeared," Tit. 3:4. I shall not need sure to instance in succeeding passages; so far as we have gone, we have clearly seen Christ's life was a perfect mirror of his love; as there is no beam in the sun, in which there is no light; so there was no act in the life of Christ, but to a spiritual eye it shines with the light of love. But above all, O the love of Christ in his death! ask a malefactor, if the prince's son should go to his father, and say, "Father, I confess this wretch hath deserved to die, but I see a willingness in thee, that he should live; only I perceive it sticks with thy justice; why, for that, father, here I am; and to satisfy thy justice I will die myself, only let this poor wretch live to the glory of thine, and my free grace." Ask, I say, the malefactor what kind of love were this? Surely Christ died for our sins, and Christ rose again for our justification, and he ascended, and sat down at God's right hand, and sent down his holy Spirit, and all for us: there was not one passage in all these transactions, but held forth the breakings and breathings out of a strong fire of love.

4. At this time there is a coal of burning love in the breast of Christ. This fire was indeed from everlasting, but their flames are as hot this day as ever: now it is that Christ loves, and lives; and wherefore lives? But only to love us, and to intercede for us. Christ makes our salvation his constant calling; he is ever at his work, "Yesterday and to-day, and for ever;" there is not one hour in the day, nor one day in a year, nor one year in an age, wherein Christ is not busy with his Father in this heavenly employment of interceding for us. He loved us, before he died for us; his love being the cause why he died for us; and he loves us still, in that now he intercedes for us: it is as much as to say, "Christ hath loved us, and he repents not of his love:" love made him die for us, and if it were to do again, he would die over again; yea, if our sins had so required, that for every elect person Christ must have died a several death, love, love would have put him willingly upon all these deaths. O the love of Christ towards our poor souls! if I might but stay, and take some turns in this large field of love, how many thousands of particulars might I draw out of scripture, expressing Christ's love to us in this respect; though he be in heaven, yet by virtue of his intercession, he bears us in his hands; yea, he leads us by the hand, and arms too, "I taught Ephraim to go, taking them by their arms, but they knew not that I healed them," Isa. 40:11. Hos. 11:3. He dandles us on his knees, be bears us on his wings, "As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttering over her young, spreading abroad her

wings, taketh them, and beareth them on her wings; so the Lord alone doth lead us," Deut. 32:11,12. He carries us on his shoulders, as a man "found his sheep, and laid it on his shoulders rejoicing," Luke 15:5. Nay, I must yet come nearer; for Christ by his intercession sets us nearer yet: "his left hand is under us, and his right hand doth embrace us," Sol. Song 2:6. He wears us in heaven as a bracelet about his arms, which made the spouse cry out, "O set me as a seal upon thine arm,' Sol. Song 8:6. He stamps and prints us on the palms of his hands, "Behold I have graven thee on the palms of my hands," Isa. 49:16. as if our names were written in letters of blood upon Christ's flesh. He sets us as a seal upon his heart; that is the expression of the spouse too, “O set me as a seal upon thine heart," Sol. Song 8:6. Nay, so precious are the saints to Jesus Christ, that they lodge in heaven in his bowels, and in his heart, for they dwell in Christ; "Hereby we know that we dwell in him:" 1 John 4:13. And they dwell in God, and dwell in love, For God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God," 1 John 4:16. I know not what more to say. You know, the manner of the high priests was to carry the names of the children of Israel into the holy of holies on their shoulders, and on their breasts; but was it ever heard, that any high priest, besides the great High priest of our profession, should carry the names of thousands and millions on his shoulders, and on his arms, and on his hands, and on his wings, and on his bosom, and on his heart, and in his bowels, as a memorial before the Lord? O unmatchable love!

Methinks this love of Christ should now change my soul into a globe or mass of divine love towards Christ, "as it were by the Spirit of the Lord." Methinks a sight of Christ in his presenting himself, and his sacrifice to his Father for me, should so enamor my soul, as that I should delight in no other sight but this. Then is a Christian sweetly exercised, when as the golden ball of divine love is tossed to and again betwixt Christ's bosom and his; and in this respect it is a wonder that before this I am not sickened, and overcome with love, and ready to cry out with the spouse, "O stay me with flagons, and comfort me with apples, for I am sick of love!" Sol. Song 2:5. "O! I am wounded with the arrows of love, so as neither grave, nor death, nor hell, neither angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, can ever lick these wounds, or embalm, or bind them up. O my Christ, my Lord, my Jesus! what shall I do but yield over myself as a spouse under the power of her husband? What shall I do, but lose myself in such a deep ocean of loves, stronger than wine, hotter than coals of juniper, which hath a most vehement flame?"

2. Another motive of our love to Christ, is our propriety in Christ, "Ye are not your own," said the apostle of us, 1 Cor. 6:16. and he is not his own, may we say of Christ. If any ask how may this be? I answer, That the soul in loving Christ is not her own, and in regard of loving, Christ is not his own; every one makes over itself to another; and propriety or interest to itself on both sides ceaseth, "my beloved is mine, and I am his,” saith the spouse, Sol. Song 2:16. not as if Christ should leave off to be his own, or to be a free God, when he becometh ours; no, no, but he so demeans himself, in respect of his loves, as if he were not his own; he putteth on such relations, and assumes such offices of engagements, as if he were all for us, and nothing for himself; thus he is called a Saviour, a Redeemer, a King, a Priest, a Prophet, a Friend, a Guide, a Head, a Husband, a Leader, Ransomer, and Intercessor; and what not of this

nature.