God and our duty? For now we are not only assured of his pardon and gracious reception, but also of the assistance of his blessed Spirit to back and enforce our pious endeavours, and to enable us to conquer all those resistances of flesh and blood, with which we are to contend: and to encourage us to contend with all our might, we have an immortal crown of glory proposed to us as the reward of our victory, and are firmly assured, that after we have spent a few moments here, in the practice of piety and virtue, we shall be removed from hence into that triumphant state of immortality, there to reign in unspeakable glory and delight among the blessed conquerors above, and sing hallelujahs with them for ever. For to all these blessed things we are entitled by the ratifications of the new covenant. Having therefore these great and precious promises, sealed to us by the blood of Jesus, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, 2 Cor. vii. 1.

And thus you see how effectually the death of Christ, as it is a sacrifice for sin, contributes to our reformation. But after all, it must be acknowledged that it contributes only as a concurrent cause with our own endeavours; it doth not work upon us as if we were dead machines, that have no vital principle of action in us; nor yet as necessary agents, that have no free-will or principle of self-determination; it draws us indeed, but it is with the cords of a man, i. e. with a powerful grace and persuasion, but doth not drive or hale us with violent or irresistible agency: for, after all the powerful influence of his death to reform and amend us, we are still in our own disposal; and so may resist and baffle the efficacy of

his death, and, in despite of it, continue in our wickedness if we please. But, if we do, it is at our own eternal peril, and we must one day expect to answer, not only for the blood of our own souls, which, in despite of the most powerful method of saving them, we have wilfully ruined and destroyed; but also for the blood of our Saviour, which we have not only defeated, but trampled on and if both these be brought to our account, it had been better for us, not only that we had never been born, but that our Saviour himself had never suffered for us, since all that he has done to save us will be brought in judgment against us, as an horrid aggravation of our guilt, to inflame the reckoning of our punishment. So that unless we concur with this great design of Christ, by endeavouring our own reformation to the utmost of our power, his death will not only be as insignificant to our happiness, as it is to the redemption of devils; but even those vocal wounds of his, which were made to plead for, will accuse and condemn us; and that eloquent blood, which in its native language speaks better things for us than the blood of Abel, will, like the souls under the altar, raise a cry of vengeance on us as high as the tribunal of God. Wherefore, as we would not find this blessed sacrifice, which was designed for our city of refuge, converted into an avenger of blood, let us diligently concur with it to our utmost power in this necessary design of our reformation, that so, being washed white and clean in the blood of it, we may appear before God holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in his sight. And thus I have given an account of the first act of Christ's priesthood, viz. his sacrifice.

SECT. VI.

Of Christ's intercession, or presenting his sacrifice to God in heaven, by way of advocation for us.

I NOW proceed to the second act of our Saviour's priesthood, corresponding to that ancient priesthood, in which it was typified and prefigured, viz. his presenting his sacrifice to God in heaven, thereby to move God, as our advocate, to be merciful and propitious to us. In discoursing of which, I shall endeavour,

First, To explain the nature of that advocation, which he performs by presenting his sacrificed body in heaven.

Secondly, To shew the admirable tendency of this method of God's communicating of his graces and favours to us, through the intercession and advocation of our Saviour, to reduce and reform mankind.

As for the first, viz. the nature of this our Saviour's advocation for us in heaven, it may be thus defined; It is a solemn address of our blessed Saviour to God the Father in our behalf, wherein, by presenting to him his own sacrificed body, and by continuing and perpetuating the presentation of it, he doth effectually move and solicit him graciously to receive and accept our prayer, and to empower him to bestow on us all those graces and favours, which, in consideration of his sacrifice, God hath promised to us. For the better understanding of which definition, I shall distinctly explain the several parts of it; which are these four:

First, It is a solemn address of our blessed Saviour to God the Father in our behalf.

Secondly, This address is performed by the presenting his sacrificed body to the Father in heaven.

Thirdly, It is continued and perpetuated by the perpetual oblation or presenting of this his sacrificed body.

Fourthly, In virtue of this perpetual oblation, he doth always successfully move and solicit God; and this,

First, To receive and graciously accept our sincere and hearty prayer; and,

Secondly, To empower him to bestow on us all those graces and favours, which, in consideration of his sacrifice, God hath promised to us.

I. This advocation of Christ in heaven is a solemn address to the Father in our behalf. And this is implied in the very word advocation; for the proper business of an advocate is to address in the behalf of his client to the party with whom he is concerned; or to plead the cause of his client with some person with whom he has some difference, or from whom he expects some favour. Now St. John tells us, that we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, 1 John ii. 1. which must therefore necessarily imply his addressing to the Father in our behalf, in order to the composing that difference which sin hath made between him and us, and to the obtaining for us his mercy and favour: for in this sense the Greek word napákλŋτos, which we here render advocate, is generally used among all authors, (vid. Outram de Sacrif. p. 360.) And so also the word intercession signifies, to address for one person to another, in order to the reconciling some matter of difference between them, or to the obtaining from

the one some favour for the other: and therefore, since Jesus Christ is said to intercede for us at the right hand of God, Rom. viii. 34. this intercession must necessarily imply his making application to God in our behalf: for so the phrase ἐντυγχάνειν ὑπὲρ, which we render to intercede for, signifies to advocate or plead the cause of another; as on the contrary evτvyxáve Kaтà doth always signify to accuse, Rom. xi. 2. 1 Maccab. viii. 32. x. 16. and xi. 25. And consequently, when our Saviour is said evτuyχάνειν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, it must necessarily denote his addressing himself to God as our advocate, to plead our cause and solicit our interest; and accordingly, Heb. ix. 24. we are told, that Christ is entered into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; which phrase cannot, without infinite force, be otherwise understood, than of his appearing for us as our advocate to God. By all which it appears, that, in this his intercession for us, our Saviour addresses to God the Father, from whose bountiful hands he procures and receives all those blessings and favours which he derives to us. So that the Father is the fountain whence all our blessings flow, and the Son is the channel that receives them thence, and conveys them down to us: for, as he is Mediator, the Son can bestow nothing on us in his own right independently from the Father, whose minister he is, and by whose commission and authority he acts and since they are all his Father's goods which he bestows upon us, he cannot justly bestow them without his leave and consent, the obtaining of which is the great business of his intercession, whereby he continually moves and solicits the Father to grant to him those good things in our behalf, which,