Book IV. 1loolung unto jjtfu.s. ftream, till it brings thee to thi5Fountain . or 'Veil-head of hope, that now thou canll: fay, 0 thi& interceffion i& min;? come, fearch, and try, it is worth the pains; and to put thee out of queftion, a11d ma more faCJ!e way of dtfccrmng, I Jhall lay down thefe figns . As-- I . If Chrifl's inrercefiion be mine; then is the Spirits interceffion mine; or if thou wouldfi rather argue from the effect to the caufe, then thu~; if the Spirits interceffion be mine, then is Chri!t's interceffion mine. In .this cafe we need not to afcend up into Heaven to learn the truth, rather let us defcend mto our own hearts, and look whether Chri!t have given us of his Spirit, which makes us cry unto God with fighs and groans which cannot be expreffed ; he that would know whether the Sun ll1ine in the Firmament lJe mufl not climb into the Clouds to look, rather he mull: fearch for the beams thereof upon the earth; which when he fees, he may conclude, that the Sun lhines in the Fir– mament: 0 come and let us ranfack our own confciences; let usfearch whether we feel the Spirit ofChrifl crying in us,Abba Father: certainly thefctwo are as the caufe and the effect; Chrifl's interceffion in Heaven, and his Spirits i!Jtercefiion onearrh are as twins of a birth; or rather fuch is the concatenation of thefe two, that Chrifl's interceffion in l1eaven breedunether intercefsion in the hearts Qf his Saints. lt is the fame Spirit dwel– ling in Chrift, and in all his members, that moves and ftirs them up to cry Abba F~tther. Here then is my Argument, if Chrift bath put his Spirit into thy hem, .and if the Spirit hath fer thy heart on work to make inceffanr intercefsions for thy felf, then is Chrift'si~tercefsi~n thine, There is a.kind of around.in ihecarrying on of this greae work of mtercefswn ; as, r. Chn~ tntercedes for hts. people, 0 that my Spirir rr.ight go down! 2 . God harkens to the mtercefswn ?f Chn!t, Aw.ty holy Spirit, get thee down int• the heam of (uch and fuch. 3. The Sptrtt watts on the pleafure of them both, and no fooner down, but he fends up his intercefsion back again: Chrifl crycs to God, and God fends the Spirit, and the Spirit goes and ecchoc~ in the hearts of Saints to the cries of Chrift. Much of this is contained in t~at one Text, God hath fent forth the Spirit of hu Son into our heart ~p.:(ov, crying (as tf he meerly acted onr tongues) Abba Father, bcreis God theFather, God the Son 1 and God the holy Ghoft, and all arc acting their parts on the elect ~e?pleof God: the Son intercedes, 0 that my Spirit may begiventotheft; the Father wtllmgly grants, .Away holy Spirit, and .umy Son .uf<!th, enter, And tak,t poffif!ienof thofe ftnful hearts; the holy Spirit obeys, and no fooner in the hearts of the Saints, bur heCt·yes in them .Abba Father. God hears Chrilt, and the Spirit l1ears God, and the Eled hear the Spirit; and now becaufe the Spirit fpeaks in the Eleel:, God hears the Elect; much like unto this is that of the Prophet, A nd it Jballco111e to pa[s in that day! willhear, faith the Lord, lwi/Jheartheheavens, and they jhA/1 hear the earth, and the earth fl1aU hear the corn, and wine, and oy/, and they fludl hear Jez..reel, 0 my foul to rhe teft I bath God fent forth the Spirit of his Son into thy heart? haft thou the in-dwelling of the Spirit; and now by help of the Spirit canfl thou pray with earne!tnefs, confid.ence, and an holy importunity? canft thou cry Abba Fa– ther ? ( i.) Canft thou cry J with earnell:nefs ? Father J with confidence ( and .Abba Father] or Father Father] with an holy importunity? why, thefeare theveryfigns of the Spirits imercefsion. 0 my foul that thou wouldft deal faithfully with thy own felf; canft thou by the help of the Spirit go to the Father in the Name of Chrill: ? as Chrift is gone before into the Holy of Holies to intercede, fo canll thou tvith boldnifs follow after, a11d enter into the holieft by the blood of lefm? Canfl tho\1 fay God bath gi– ven me his Spirit, and his Spirit bath !hewed me Chrifl a~ my Mediator at the right hand of God, and now under the wing of fuch a Mediator, I can by the Spirits af1i!1ance go with boldnefs ( f"rn' .,PP".;"' with affuming a liberty) to fpeak any thing I will in the ears of God? Surely this is the fruit, the effect of Chri!t's inrercefsion, and therefore thou mayefl comfortably conclude, Chrift's interceffion i& mine. 2. If at any time in the midll:of duties I am favingly affected, then is Chri!t's inter– cefsion mine. Sometimes it pleafeth God to appear in Ordinances, and the foul is com– forted, quickened, ' enlarged, affected; why, now I look on this as the efficacy of Chri!t's blood, and as the power of Chrifl's intercefsion; at that very in!tant that I feel any good in any Ordinance of Chrifl, why then, even then is Chri!t prevailing with God his Father for what I feel; then, even then may I boldly fay, Notv inhe Lord Je– fm, who i& at God's right hand in heaven, remembring "'Fa psor worm on earth, oh now I feel the frJJit of hi& intercef!ion; oh what u thi& Spirit, power, grace, comfort, fweetne[s 1drink.. of, bHt atafteof the honey-comb with the end of my rod, dropping from the interceffions
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