adversaries, through their accusations, endeavour to bring upon us and prefer against us.

2. I now come to speak of those Good Things, which, by Christ's merits we have a Right and Title to.

And innumerable are the benefits, that redound to believers by the Intercession of Christ.

If you enquire what they are, I answer,

(1) In General, the whole work of our salvation depends, as well upon the Life and Intercession of Christ, as upon his Death and Sufferings.

Though this may seem strange possibly to those, who are wont to hear our salvation ascribed only to the death and sufferings of Christ; yet it evidently appears from Scripture, that our salvation and all the benefits we are to receive and expect do as much flow from the virtues of his glorious life and intercession, as from the merits of his death and passion.

There are Two things requisite, before any good thing can become ours.

A Meritorious Procurement or Purchase of the thing itself. An Actual and Effectual Application of it to us. Now the Purchase is made by his death and sufferings; but the effectual application of them is by his life and intercession. By the former, the mercies are purchased: by the latter, the purchase is enjoyed. Therefore, if Christ had only died, and not risen again, and overcome and triumphed over death in his own empire, and triumphed over the grave as in his own territories, his undertakings had redounded to his own disappointment, but not at all to our salvation: but, herein, saith the Apostle, doth he declare himself, to be the Son of God with power.....by his resurrection from the dead: Rom. i. 4. our hopes of salvation had been all buried in the same grave with him, but that what he died to purchase he lives to bestow: for he ever liveth to make intercession.

There was no one prejudice, that hindered the Gospel so much from taking place in the hearts of the Heathens in the primitive times, as the death and cross of Christ; for they believed that he was lifted up upon the cross: but would not believe, that he was raised from the grave. Their natural reason herein taught them this inference, That, to expect life from Christ, was to hope for it from him, that could not preserve his own, or restore it again after the loss of it.

It is true, it seems to natural reason, to be folly thus to hope for life from a dead person: were it not that his life applied what his death purchased; and our salvation, which was begun on the cross, is perfected on the throne. And therefore we have it in Acts ii. 24. God raised him from the grave, because it was impossible that he should be held of it.

"Why was it not possible that Christ should be held of the grave?" I answer, upon these Two accounts.

One impossibility was in regard of his Person; another, in regard of his office: for, as he was man, so he abhorred death, and a separation from his body; and, as he was God, so he was able to reunite them, to overcome death, and burst asunder the bars of the grave: so that, as man having a desire to live, and as God having power to live, it was impossible for him to be detained prisoner in the grave.

But this is not all: there is another impossibility in regard of his Office. He was appointed to redeem lost man, to rescue him from eternal death: and therefore it was impossible for him to be kept under the power of any temporal death, because this could not be done while he lay under a restraint of the grave: his death would have been but a dead thing to us, without his resurrection: it was his life, that put virtue into his death. The obedience of Christ hath a Twofold virtue.

As it is a Satisfaction to Offended Justice.

As it is a Purchase of Forfeited Mercy.

Both these become benefits to us, by Christ's life and inter

cession.

[1] His Satisfaction to Offended Justice, whereby we are reconciled to God and God to us, that satisfaction which was purchased and procured by his death, becomes beneficial to us by his life.

So we have it, Rom. v. 10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. But the actual application of this is by his life: therefore it follows, in the same place, much more shall we be saved by his life. We were fully reconciled by his death, in respect of merit; but we are much more reconciled by his life, in respect of the effectual application of that merit to us.

[2] Christ purchased those Blessings and Mercies, which we had forfeited; and they are made effectual and beneficial to us by his life.

There are three great and principal mercies, which Christ purchased for us; Justification and Pardon, Sanctification or Holiness, and the future Inheritance of Life and Glory. These three become effectual to us by Christ's life.

1st. Justification and the Pardon of our Sins become effectual and beneficial to us by the life of Christ.

Rom. iv. 25. He was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. If he had not risen from the dead, he himself could not be justified; much less could we be justified by him. And, therefore saith the Apostle, 1 Tim. iii. 16. And, without controversy, great is the mytery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, &c. that is, he was manifested in the flesh, in his incarnation: he was seen of angels, in his glorious ascension: but he was justified in the Spirit, in his resurrection. Had he never been raised from the dead by his Spirit, that is, by the almighty power of the divine nature, he had not been declared just, nor could he ever have justified us.

2dly. Sanctification and Holiness is the powerful effect of the life of Christ, though it was the purchase of his death.

Therefore saith the Apostle, Phil. iii. 10. That ye may know. him, and the power of his resurrection: that is, that power, which, through his resurrection, he doth apply to us, and by which he raiseth us up also to newness of life. And this he calls our being planted together in the likeness of his resurrection: Rom: vi. 5. For, if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.

3dly. Our future Inheritance of Life and Glory, is likewise ascribed to the life of Christ, though it was purchased by his death.

John xiv. 19. Because I live, ye shall live also: that is, because I live eternally in heaven, ye shall live eternally in heaven also.

So then, in the General, you see that there is no benefit redounding to believers by the death of Christ, but the same doth redound to them likewise by the life of Christ: which life is ever employed in the work of Intercession: He ever liveth to make intercession for us. See what the Apostle saith: Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. It might happily be inverted to us: Whether the Lord lives, he lives for us; or, whether he dies, he dies for us; and, whether the Lord lives or dies, it is for our advantage.

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But this is only in the general; and, therefore,

(2) To come and descend to Particulars: there are very many great benefits, that do redound to believers by the Life and Intercession of Christ.

[1] Hence we obtain the mystical union, both to God and one another.

John xvii. 21. Christ prays, that his saints may be all one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee. And from this union flows all that fellowship and communion, which they have either with God or with one another; their communion with God depends upon their union to him in the sameness of spirit; and their communion among themselves depends upon their mutual union to the same body; and both depend upon this prayer of Christ.

[2] The inestimable gift of the Holy Ghost, likewise, is the benefit of Christ's Intercession.

John xvi. 7. If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you: so, John xiv. 16, 17. I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever. All the motions, breathings, evidences, and supports of the Holy Spirit which you enjoy, as they were the purchase of Christ's death, so also are they benefits obtained by his life and intercession for us. Hence also was it, that, in the first age of the Church, there were those extraordinary and miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost; the gifts of tongues and healing, &c. Acts iii. 33.

[3] Through this Intercession, we have boldness and confi. dence at the Throne of Grace.

Heb. iv. 14, 15. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.....let us there fore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Eph. iii, 12. In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through the faith of him. Who would not be encouraged to go boldly to God, that hath an Advocate to plead for him, that never yet had the least denial ?

[4] Hence, also, we receive all our strength and growth in grace.

John xvii. 17. Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.. Grace, together with all the measures and degrees of it, is derived to us, as from Christ's fulness, so by his intercession: it is received by our prayers, and conveyed to us by his prayer,

[5] Hence we obtain, likewise, perseverance and continuance

in grace.

John xvii. 11. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me. I have prayed, saith Christ to Peter, that thy faith fail not: and, upon this incense of Christ's prayer, is built the perseverance of the saints in grace.

[6] Hence, likewise, we are preserved both against temptation; and, from sin, when under temptation.

John xvii. 15. I pray.....that thou shouldest keep them from the evil: that is, from the evil of temptation, so that Satan never come near us; or, from the evil which he tempts us to, so that though he assault us he may never prevail: that we may be either free from temptation, or at least victorious over it. So, Luke x. 17. The Devil is bound up by this almighty prayer: and, though there be no saint on earth, that enjoys perfect freedom either from sin or temptations to sin; yet these temptations would be much more frequent, and always prevalent over us, did not Christ's prayer interpose by mighty force and strength, and beat back Satan's fiery darts that they cannot reach us, or rebate their force and sharpness that they cannot hurt us.

[7] From Christ's Intercession we, likewise, do obtain acceptation of all our duties.

He sees the iniquity of our holy things, and cleanses us from all the imperfection, corruption, and sinfulness, that adhere to them even by that incense, that he offers up with the prayers of all the saints, he makes them acceptable and a sweet savour to God the Father. Not that the incense of the Intercession of Christ casts a mist before God, that he should not discern the faults and infirmities of our best services: yea, he clearly sees them, and fully knows them; yet those performances, which in themselves were abominable and sinful, through the perfume of his incense become a sweet savour to God, and he accepts of them with as much complacency and delight as he doth of the perfect services of the angels themselves.

[8] From the Intercession of Christ we receive the benefit of the Spirit's making intercession for us in our hearts; with prayer for us, that we, through the Spirit, may be enabled to pray again.

All our prayers are, indeed, but the echoing back of his own Spirit Gal. iv. 6. Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father. The Holy Ghost is here called the Spirit of his Son, because Christ