O my soul! come hither and put thy little candle to this mighty flame; if thou hadst ten hearts, or as many hearts in one as there are elected inen and angels in heaven and earth, all these would be too little for Jesus Christ: only go as fat as thou canst, and love him with that heart thou hast, yea, love him with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy might; and as Christ in loving thee is not his own, so let thy soul in lov ing Christ be not her own: come, love thy Christ, and not thyself; possess thy Christ, and not thyself, enjoy thy Christ, and not thyself: live in thy Christ, not in thyself; solace thyself in Jesus Christ, and not thyself, say with the apostle, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ that liveth in me," Gal. 2:20. Certainly, if ever thou comest to love Christ truly, thou canst not but deny thyself, and all created lovers. This love will screw up thy. self so high above the world, and above thy flesh, and above thyself, and above all other lovers, that nothing on this side Christ, whether in heaven or on earth, will come in competition with him. Suppose a man in the top of a castle higher than the third region of the air, or near the sphere of the moon, should look down to the fairest and sweetest meadows, or to a garden rich with roses and flowers of all sweet colors and delicious smells; certainly he should not see or feel any sweetness, pleasantness, color or smell, because he is so far above them; so the soul, filled with the love of Christ, is so high above all created lovers, that their loveliness cannot reach or ascend to the high and large capacity of a spiritual soul. O for a soul filled up with all the fulness of God! O for a soul stretched out to its widest capaci ty and circumference for the entertainment of God! O my soul!" that thou wert but "able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and heighth, and to know the love of Christ that passeth knowledge!" Eph. 3:18,19. Surely if Christ be mine, if his death be mine, his resurrection mine, his ascension mine, his session mine, his intercession mine, How should I but love him with a singular love? Farewell world, and worldly glory; if Christ come in your room, it is time for you to vanish; I shall little care for a candle when the sun shines fair and bright upon my head; what, is my name written on the heart of Christ? Doth he wear me as a favor and love-token about his arms and neck? Is he at every turn presenting me and my duties to his heavenly Father?" Thou hast ravished my heart, my King, my Jesus, thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, and with one chain of thy neck," Sol. Song 4:9. Suppose, O my soul! thou hadst been with Christ when he washed his disciples' feet, and that he should have come, and have washed thy feet; would not thy heart have glowed with love to Jesus Christ? Why, Christ is now in glory, and now he takes thy filthy soul and dirty duties, and washes (as it were) the feet of all, that he may present them to his Fa. ther: thou canst not shed a tear, but he washes it over again in his precious blood, and perfumes it with his glorious intercessions. Ob! what cause hast thou to love Jesus Christ? O! you that never loved Christ, come, love him now; and you that have loved Christ a little, O! love him more: above all, let me, O my soul! charge upon thee this duty of love; Oh! go away warmed with the love of Christ, and with a love to Christ. Of joying in Jesus in that respect. SECT. VII. 7. LET us joy in Jesus, as carrying on this work of our salvation in his intercession. Surely this is glad tidings of great joy; when wicked Haman procured letters from king Ahasuerus for the destruction of all Jews, then Esther the queen makes request to the king that her people might be saved, and Haman's letters revoked, "and the king said to her, What wilt thou, queen Esther? and what is thy request, and it shall be given thee?" Esther 5:9. O! the joy of the Jews at this happy tidings!" Then the city of Shushan rejoiced, and was glad; then the Jews had light, and gladness, and joy, and honor, in every province, and in every city, whithersoever the king's commandment, and his decree came, the Jews had joy, and gladness, a feast, and a good day," Esther 8:15,16,19. Is not this our very case? Was there not a law against us, an hand-writing of ordinances, a sentence of a double death, of body and soul! Had not Satan, as wicked Ilaman, accused us, and sought by all means our condemnation? But yet behold, not only an earthly Esther, but Jesus the Son of God was willing, for our sakes, to come down from heaven; and he it was that took away the hand-writing of ordinances, and cancelled it upon the cross; that ascended into heaven, and there makes requests for us; and he it is in whom his Father is well pleased: never comes he to his Father, but he obtains the grace of the golden sceptre; no sooner he cries, "I will that these poor souls be eternally saved," but his Father answers, "Amen, be it so; be it, O my Son! even as thou pleasest." O that we could joy in this! O that we could imitate the Jews! O that light, and gladness, and joy, and honor would possess our souls! If at Christ's birth was such, and so much joy, because a Saviour was proclaimed, is not our joy to be heightened when salvation is effected? If the first act of Christ's mediation was so joyous, shall no: the last act of his mediation be much more joyous? But I hear many objections which keep back joy; they are as bars and hinderances at the doors of many heavy hearts, that joy cannot enter in: I shall instance in some. O! I am opposed here in this world, (says one,) men are as wolves and devils, "dogs have compassed me, the assembly of the wicked have enclosed me," Psal. 22:16. They have no bowels, they persecute, reproach, revile, so that I am killed all the day long.-And what then? What mat ters oppositions of men, so long as Christ doth intercede for thee in heaven! O remember Christ's bowels; it may be he suffers men to be merciless on' earth, that thou mayest look up, and behold how merciful he is who sits above; and tell ine, hast thou no experience of this truth? Doth not re lief strangely come in now and then? Why write upon the forehead of such favers, "I have a merciful and compassionate Mediator in heaven." O! I am much tempted, says another, that I cannot pray; had I now the key of prayer, I could then unlock the cabinet where all God's treasures lie, and take out what I pleased; but, alas! my prayers are dull, and weak, and dry, and without spirit and life; I cannot pray. If so, be humbled for it, and yet know this, that when thou canst not pray, Christ then prays for thee, and he prays that thou mayest pray: and tell me, hast thou no experience of this truth? Hath not thy spirit sometimes been enlarged in prayer? Hast thou not sometimes felt thy heart warmed or savingly affected? Hast thou not sometimes in prayer been lifted up above thyself and above the world? Conclude then, "My intercessor above hath sent me this gift and spirit; it is not I but Christ's intercession, that by an admirable and secret operation hath given me the Spirit to help my infirmity; these are the intercessions of the Spirit of Christ, and they are the very echo of the intercession of Christ in his own person." O but I labor under such and such corruptions! (says another) and the devil is busy, exceeding busy, and he exceedingly prevails: how am I overcome with these corruptions, and with these and these sins? It may be so, and yet do not altogether despond, for Jesus Christ is at God's right hand, and there he sits till all his enemies be made his footstool; and what, are not thy sins his enemies? O be of good comfort! for Christ will prevail, it is one piece of his prayer that he puts up for thee, "to keep thee from evil," John 17:15. And surely he will either keep thee from it, or keep thee in it, that in the issue thou shalt have the victory. "Those that thou gavest me I have kept, (saith Christ) and none of them is lost," John 17:12. If he undertake for thee, thou art safe and sure; "his cove. nant is everlasting, even the sure mercies of David," Isa. 55:3. And therefore if thou dost not, certainly thou shalt feel the virtue of Christ's intercession: sin must be subdued, hell gates shall not prevail against thee; and he will not quench thy sparks until he bring forth judgment unto victory. Oh, but I am in a suffering condition! (says another) and there is none that regards or takes pity on me, all my friends have dealt treacherously with me, among all my lovers there is none to comfort me: they have heard that I sigh, and there is none to refresh me; I stand for Christ, but there is none stands by me; I own him, but there is none owns me. Bleeding Christians, bear up! is not Christ's intercession a sufficient answer to this case? Alas! thou wouldst be pitied for all thy weaknesses; Why Know that compassion is natural to Jesus Christ; he is a merciful high priest, and can be no other to thee; God ordained him to officiate in such a tabernacle as wherein thou dwellest, he was in all things like unto thee, sin only excepted. It may be thou art in want, and so was Christ, he had no house; thou art persecuted, and so was Christ; sin loads thee, and so it did Christ. A Christian's condition needs compassion, and Christ knows how much, and it is his work continually to lay it open above; "O my Father! thus and thus it is with the militant church, not a member in it, but he is under sin and affliction: see here the tears, bearken to the sighs and groans, and chatterings, and mournings of my doves below; I present here their persons and performances; and, Oh! that they inay find acceptance through my merits!" Some speak of heaven's music, some tell us of saints and angels singing and warbling in lively notes, the praises of Christ in heaven; and if any such thing be, certainly it is eartickling, heart-ravishing music; O the melody! O the joy of saints to hear such heavenly airs with heavenly ears! but be it as it will be, of this Lam confident, that heaven itself yields no such music as is the intercession of Jesus Christ; this (if any thing in heaven do it) makes melody in the ears of God, and of all celestial spirits, saints or angels: and O my soul! suppose thyself within the compass, if now thou couldst but hear what thy Jesus is saying in thy behalf; "Is not this a brand newly plucked out of the fire? Was not this poor soul but the other day in a state of nature, defiled with sin, within a step of hell? And did not I send my Spirit to recal him? Was not this precious blood shed for the redemption of him? And what though sin stick and cleave to him to this day, yet have I not given thee charge to take away his filthy garments from him, and to clothe him in changes of raiment, even with the shining robes of mine own righteousness? O my Father, let this soul live in thy sight! O cast him not away for whom I have suffered and done all this! I cannot rest satisfied without LOOKING UNTO JESUS. 617 his society, I am not right till he is with me in glory: he is my darling, my purchase, my portion, my delight, and therefore let him be saved." Is not this enough to cause thy very heart leap in thy bocom? ture fondly reports, That Francis hearing an angel a little while playing Bonavenon a harp, he was so moved with extraordinary delight, that he thought himself in another world. O! but suppose thou shouldest hear the voice of Jesus thy Intercessor thus pleading for thee: wouldest thou not be cast into an ecstasy? Would not this fill thee with joys unspeakable and full of glory? Come, realize this meditation. Certainly if thou art Christ's, he is thus, or in some other manner interceding for thee; as sure as Christ is in heaven, he is pleading with his Father in heaven on thy behalf: Othe joys! the joys, the joys that I should now feel! Tell me, is it not a comfort for a poor beggar to be relieved at a rich man's door? We are all beggars in regard of heaven, and Jesus Christ doth not only come forth and serve us, but he takes us poor beggars by the hand, and leads us unto his heavenly Father. Oh! what comfort is here? SECT. VIII. Of praying unto and praising of Jesus in that respect. 1. Let us pray or sue our interest in this intercession: it is a question among the schools, Whether we may conveniently pray to Jesus to pray to his Father in our behalf? And thus far is granted, that we may pray to Christ to make us partakers of his intercessions, and to mingle our prayers with his prayers, that they may find acceptance with God his Fa ther. But that we may use such a form, as Ora pro nobis, “O Christ pray for us," it is looked upon as inconvenient in this respect. 1. Because 66 we have no such custom, neither the churches of God," 1 Cor. 11.6. 2. Because it savors too much of the error of Arrious Nestorious, and indeed of the Romanists themselves. 3. Because our prayers are mostly directed to Christ in his person or divine subsistence, whose part is rather to give than to ask; or, if they are directed to Christ as Mediator, and not simply, as the only begotten Son of God, then I see no incongruity, though in the former respect some inconveniency, but that we may pray to Christ. to intercede for us, for so he is God and man: and he is considered according to both natures, only the difference of both natures is still to be kept and maintained. Intercession is the office of the whole person of Christ, and of the two natures of Christ; but he performs this office one way ac cording to his divine nature, and another way according to his human na ture. I list not to quarrel about niceties, it is thus agreed on all hands, and that is enough to cur purpose, that we may call on Jesus, or on Ged the Father in and through Jesus, that Christ's interces-ions may be ours, and that he would make it out to us in a way of assurance every day more and more. 2. Let us praise, let us bless God, and bless Christ for every transaction in heaven for us. It is a wonder to observe what songs of praise were chanted to Christ in heaven, for that one transaction of opening the book, and loosing the seven seals thereof; First, "the four beasts, and then the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints, Rev. 5:8.--And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, verse 9.-And then, the angels round about the throne, whose number was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, verse 11. came on, saying, Worthy is the Lamb 78 that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing, verse 12.-And then every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, came on, saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever, verse 13.-And the four beasts, and four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever," verse 14. I can. not tell what other transactions may be in heaven, we have but hints of them here, nor shall we fully or particularly know them till we come to heaven; but for this one transaction of Christ's intercession, we cannot imagine less praise to be given to Christ than for any other. O then let us do this duty on earth, as it is done in heaven! What, is Christ praying for us? O let us be on the exercise of praising him! is Christ interceding for us? Let us give him the glory of his intercession; heaven is full of his praises, O! why should not the earth ring with the sound thereof? "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, praise his holy name." SECT. IX. Of conforming to Jesus in that respect. 9. LET us conform to Jesus in respect of his intercession. I cannot think, but in every action of Christ there is something imitable of us. And as to the present work, I shall instance only in these few particulars. As, 1. Christ appears in heaven for us, let us appear on earth for him. Is there not equity as well as conformity in this duty? O my soul! consider what thy Christ is doing, consider wherein the intercession of Jesus Christ consists; is not this the first part of it? Why, he appears in heaven before saints, and angels, and before God his Father in thy behalf; and art thou afraid to appear before worms, mortals, dust and ashes in his cause, or for his truth? Shall Jesus Christ own thee in heaven, and wilt thou not own Jesus Christ here in this world? Shall Jesus Christ, as thy great high priest, take thy very name, and carry it upon his breast into the presence of God; and wilt not thou take the name of Christ, and hold it forth in profession and practice to all men? Oh! what a mighty engagement is here to stand to Christ, and to appear for Christ, and to own his cause in these backsliding times? In that Christ, who sits at the right hand of God, is willing and ready to appear in person for us, both as a mediator, and sponsor, and solicitor, and advocate, and lieger ambassador. 2. Christ spends all his time for us, and our salvation, let us spend all our time for him, and in his service; the apostle tells us, That "he over lives to make intercession for us," Heb. 7:25. It is not for a day, or a month, or a year, but he lives for ever upon this account; for ever, i. e. during all the time from his ascension until the end of the world; he is still interceding, he spends off all that time for us, and shall we think it too much time to spend a few days that we have here to live upon the earth for him? one thinks this is the greatest argument in the world to make us walk closely with God in Christ, "He spends off his eternity for us; and shall we not spend off our whole time for him?" Surely people do not think what Christ is doing in heaven for them; if you who are saints would but seriously consider, that Christ, this Sabbath, this day of rest, is at his work, that without any weariness or intermission, from morning till evening, and from evening till morning, he is ever, ever interceding; How should this engage you in his service? Ah, Christians! if you should continue praying, praising, reading, hearing all this day, with |