WHAT CHRIST INTERCEDES FOR.

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Secondly, It extendeth itself unto these four things: 1. To pray that all the elect may be brought home to him, that is, to God. 2. To pray that their sins, committed after conversion may be forgiven them. 3. To pray that their graces, which they receive at conversion, may be maintained and supplied. 4. To pray that their persons may be preserved unto his heavenly kingdom.

This is the intercession of Christ, or that for which he doth make intercession.

(1.) He prays for all the elect, that they may be brought home to God, and so into the unity of the faith, &c. This is clear, for that he saith, "Neither pray I for these alone" (that is, for those only that are converted), "but for them also that shall believe on me through their word;" for all them that shall, that are appointed to believe; or, as you have it a little above, "for all them which thou hast given me," And the reason is, for that he hath paid a ransom. Christ therefore, when he maketh intercession for the ungodly (and all the unconverted elect are such), doth but ask for his own, his purchased ones, those for whom he died before, that they might be saved by his blood.

(2.) When any of them are brought home to God, he yet prays for them; namely, that the sins which, through infirmity, they after conversion may commit, may also be forgiven them.

This is showed us by the intercession of the high priest under the law, that was to bear away the iniquities of the holy things of the children of Israel; yea, and also by his atonement for them that sinned: for that it saith, "And the priest shall make an atonement for him, for the sin which he hath sinned, and it shall be forgiven him."

This also is intimated even where our Lord doth make intercession, saying, "I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil.”

That Christ prayed that the converted should be kept from all manner of commission of sin, must not be supposed, for that is the way to make his intercession, at least in some things, invalid, and to contradict himself; "for," saith he, "I know that thou hearest me always." But the meaning is, I pray that thou wouldst keep them from soul-damning delusions, such as are unavoidably such; also that thou wouldst keep them from the soul-destroying evil of every sin, of every temptation. Now this he doth by his prevailing, and by his pardoning grace.

(3.) In his intercession, he prayeth also that those graces which we receive at conversion may be maintained and supplied. This is clear where he saith, "Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." Ay, may some say, he is said to pray here for the support and supply of faith; but doth it therefore follow, that he prayed for the maintaining and supply of all our graces? Yes, in that he prayed for the preservation of our faith, he prayed for the preservation of all our graces; for faith is the mother-grace, the root-grace, the grace that hath all others in the bowels of it, and that from the which all others grow; yea, it is that which gives being to all our other graces, and that by which all the rest do live. Let then faith be preserved, and all graces continue and live, that is, according to the present state, health, and degree of faith. So then Christ prayed for the preservation of every grace, when he prayed for the preservation of faith. That text also is of the same tendency, where he saith, "Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me :" that is, keep them in thy fear, in the faith, in the true religion, in the way of life, by grace, by thy power, by thy wisdom, &c. This must be much of the meaning of this place; and he that excludes this sense, will make but poor work of another exposition.

THAT OUR PERSONS MAY BE PRESERVED.

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(4.) He also, in his intercession, prayeth that our persons be preserved, and brought safe unto his heavenly kingdom. And this he doth, 1. By pleading his interest in them. 2. By pleading that he had given, by promise, glory to them. 3. By pleading his own resolution to have it so. 4. By pleading the reason why it must be so. Observe,

He prays that their persons may come to glory, for that they are his, and that by the best of titles: "Thine they were, and thou gavest them me." Father, I will have them: Father, I will have them, for they are mine: "Thine they were, and thou gavest them me." What is mine, my wife, or my child, or my jewel, or my joy; sure I may have it with me. Thus therefore he pleads, or cries in his intercession, that our persons might be preserved to glory: "They are mine, and thou gavest them me."

He also pleads that he had given, given already (that is, in the promise) glory to them; and therefore they must not go without it. "And the glory which thou gavest me I

have given them."

thing by promise,

Righteous men, when they give a good design the performance of that promise; nay, they more than design it, they purpose, they determine it. As the mad prophet also saith of God, in another case, "Hath he said, and will he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Hath Christ given us glory, and shall we not have it? Yea, hath the truth itself bestowed it upon us, and shall those to whom it is given, even given by the scriptures of truth, be yet deprived thereof?

He pleads, in his interceding that they might have glory, his own resolution to have it so: "Father, I will that those whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.' "Behold ye here, he is resolved to have it so; it must be so; it shall be so; I will have it so. We read of Adonijah, that his father never denied him in more will our Father let our Lord Jesus Christ have his mind and his will in this, since he also is as willing to have

any thing. How much

it so, as is the Son himself: "Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." Resolution will drive things far, especially resolution to do that, which none shall oppose but they that cannot hinder. Why, this is the case, the resolution of our intercessor is, that we be preserved to glory; yea, and this resolution he pleads in his intercession: "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me be with me where I am," &c. Must it not therefore now be so?

be

He also, in the last place, in this his intercession, urges a reason why he will have it so, namely, "That they may hold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."

And this is a reason to the purpose. It is as if he had said, 'Father, these have continued with me in my temptations; these have seen me under all my disadvantages; these have seen me in my poor, low, contemptible condition; these have seen me, what scorn, reproach, slanders, and disgrace, I have borne for thy sake in the world: and now I will have them also be where they shall see me in my glory. I have told them that I am thy Son, and they have believed that; I have told them that thou lovest me, and they have believed that; I have also told them that thou wouldst take me again to glory, and they have believed that: but they have not seen my glory: nor can they but be like the Queen of Sheba; they will but believe by the halves, unless their own eyes do behold it. Besides, Father, these are they that love me; and it will be an increase of their joy, if they may but see me in glory: it will be a heaven to their hearts, to see their Saviour in glory." "I will therefore that those which thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory." This therefore is a reason why Christ Jesus our Lord intercedes to have his people with him in glory.

I come now to the third thing, namely, To show you what is to be inferred from Christ's making intercession for us.

FEAR FOLLOWS OFFENCE.

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1. This is to be inferred from hence, That saints (for I will here say nothing of those of the elect uncalled) do ofttimes give occasion of offence to God, even they that have received grace. For intercession is made to continue one in the favor of another, and to make up those breaches that at any time shall happen to be made by one, to the alienating of the affections of the other. And thus Jesus makes reconciliation for iniquity. For reconciliation may be made for iniquity two ways; first, By paying a price; secondly, By insisting upon the price paid for the offender, by way of intercession. Therefore you read, that as a goat was to be killed, so his blood was to be brought by the priest within the vail, and in a way, of intercession to be sprinkled before, and upon the mercy-seat: "Then shall he kill the goat of the sin-offering that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail; and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy-seat. And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins. And so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation that remaineth among them in the midst of all their uncleanness." This was to be done as you see, that the tabernacle, which was the place of God's presence and graces, might yet remain among the children of Israel, notwithstanding their uncleannesses and transgressions. This also is the effect of Christ's intercessions; it is that the signs of God's presence and his grace might remain among his people, notwithstanding they have by their transgressions so often provoked God to depart from them.

2. By Christ's intercession I gather, that awakened men and women, such as the godly are, dare not, after offence given, come in their own names to make unto God an application for mercy. God in himself is a consuming fire, and sin has made the best of us as stubble is to fire: wherefore they