to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Daily do I experience more of the riches of his grace, comforting, strengthening, and sanctifying me through faith in his most precious blood. Through this he saves me from hell, through this he bestows upon me heaven, and for this shall be my song of everlasting praise: Unto him who hath thus exceedingly loved me, and hath washed me from my sins in his own blood, and hath made me, the vilest of sinners, a king and a priest (amazing grace) unto God and his Father; to him beglory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

These are the breathings of the believing soul, now become well-grounded upon the atonement, and living upon the priestly office of the Lord Jesus Christ, for peace and joy, and expecting to be established in them continually by his power, which makes another of his offices necessary for some corruption or enemy, temptation or trouble, will be always trying to draw the eye of faith from looking unto Jesus the High Priest of our profession and such is the believer's helplessness, that he could not be fixed a moment, was not Jesus a priest upon his throne, almighty to make all his enemies his footstool, and to rule in and over his people as their

KING. In this relation he exceedingly endears him-self to them for they are in themselves weak and helpless. They are without strength to resist the least temptation, or to overcome the weakest enemy. They cannot of themselves subdue one corruption, or get the victory over a single lust. Neither can they perform one act of spiritual life. They cannot make nor keep themselves alive to God by any power of their own: for without Christ they can do nothing. Most mercifully then is his kingly office suited to their weakness. He is the great king over all the earth, as God; but he has a peculiar rule in and over believers as God-man, the Head of the body the church; to which he is connected by as close and near a bond, as the members of the body are with the head. He is the first in dignity, as the head is, and in all things has the pre-eminence

and what the natural head is to its members, the same he is to the members of his spiritual body: for he is the Head, from which all the body, by joints and bands, having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. And for the ministering of proper nourishment and influence to his members, he has all power in heaven and earth in his hand. He is the Lord God omnipotent, whose kingdom ruleth over all. It is not an outward thing, like the kingdoms of the world; but, says he, the kingdom of God is within you. He sets it up within, in the hearts of his people, and there he sways the sceptre of his grace, subduing all the evils within, and conquering all the enemies without, by his almighty arm. He takes them and theirs under his royal protection, and manages all their matters for them, until he bring them by his power unto eternal salvation. The power is his ; but by faith, it becomes theirs. When they find themselves helpless and without strength, then they look up to him to make them strong in the Lord, and by faith rest upon his promised strength, and thereby receive whatever degree of it is needful at that time. Thus they live by faith upon their almighty king, and they glorify him by trusting in him for strength. By daily experience they become more sensible of their weakness, and learn to live more out of themselves upon him.. They find the safety, the comfort of this. They see it is far better for them to be dependent upon Christ, that his power may rest upon them, than that they should be strong in themselves: and therefore they rejoice, they take pleasure in their own weakness, because it illustrates and magnifies the power of Christ, who does all for them, and in them.

Hear one of these happy believers thus describing his case: I was caught up, says he, into the third heavens, into paradise, and I heard there unspeakable words, which it is not possible for a man to utter; and lest I should be exalted above measure, through the abundance of the Revelations, there was given to me a thorn

in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure; for this thing I besought the Lord thrice that he would take it away from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee-My grace is sufficient to sanctify this cross; and to support thee under it; it will be for my glory and for thy good it should be continued: because my strength is made perfect in weakness-The weaker thou art, the more will thy strength be magnified in bearing thee up, until faith and patience have their perfect work. This divine answer from my Lord and king satisfied me, and I have for fourteen years had sweet experience of the truth of it. I am a witness to the all-sufficiency of Jesus' grace; but never have I found so much of it, as when I have been the most helpless in myself; and therefore most gladly will I glory in my infirmities and weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me, that his power may be continually glorified by my continually depending upon him for it; and that I may have fresh evidence of Christ's power working mightily in me. Since the Lord is thus become my strength, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, in whatever I suffer for him and his cause: for when I am weak then am I strong-weak in myself, strong in the Lord; stronger in him the more sensible I am of my own weakness, and then strongest of all, when finding I can do nothing, I live by faith upon him to do all for In this state of weakness and dependence I glory, I take perfect pleasure in it; because it honours the kingly office of my Lord Christ, and makes it plain to myself and others, that he keeps me every moment by his mighty power: for since I can do nothing, the excellency of the power which does all in me and by me, appears evidently to be of God, and not of man.

me.

Reader, is not this an happy case? Is not that man blessed whose strength is in the Lord, and who can say in faith, Surely in the Lord have I strength? And what hinders thee from being as strong in the Lord as

Paul was? Thou hast the same promises, the same God and Saviour to fulfil them; and, for thy greater encouragement to live upon him by faith, for the fulfilling of them to thee, he has another office, in which he condescends to be thy

ADVOCATE, freely to take thy cause in hand, and to see it carried in the court of heaven. In this character he would represent himself, as having undertaken to answer all charges against thee from whatever quarter they come, and to obtain for thee every blessing promised in his word, and for which thou appliest to him by faith in the time of need. In this amiable light he would have thee to consider him as thy daysman, to whom being thy Saviour and thy Friend, thou mayest safely refer thy cause, as the Mediator between God and man, who will transact all thy matters for thee with the Father, and as thy Intercessor, who appears in the presence of God for thee, that every blessing of his salvation may be thine. Under these names the scripture describes the advocateship of the Lord Christ, which office he sustains for thy sake, to encourage thee to come with boldness to the throne of his grace. Thou hast a friend there, who is bound by his word, and also by his office, to see that thou want no manner of thing which is good; and although all things seem to make against thee, and thou canst find no human means of obtaining the promised good, which thou wantest, then look up to the Lord Jesus. Thou wilt glorify him at such a time, if thou canst trust in his intercession, and if the workings of thy faith be such as these

Although I am less than the least of God's mercies, a vile sinner, and to this moment an unprofitable servant, deserving for my very best works and duties to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord; yet glory be to his infinite grace, I have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and he is the Propitation for my sins. All the blessings which he has promised to give his dear people, as their Saviour, their Prophet, Priest and King,

he is my Advocate with the Father to obtain for me. -A righteous Advocate, who asks nothing but what he has a right to, and who never asks in vain. It hath pleased the Father, that all fulness should dwell in the Head of the body, the church, and it pleaseth him that the members should, from the fulness of their Head, receive abundantly all the influence they want; for the Father himself loveth them, and out of his infinite love gave his Son to be their head, that he might fill all in all of them. What then may not I expect from such an Advocate with such a Father? Already have I received so much that I know Jesus appears in the presence of God for me. I can trust my cause in his hands. He has taught me to leave all my matters to his management, and I desire more simply to resign them up to him. I find every thing goes on well which is left to his direction, and nothing miscarries but what I undertake without him. Oh for more faith! The Lord increase it, that my precious Advocate may be more glorified by my trusting him more, and that he may have all the honour of conducting my affairs, spiritual and temporal, in earth and heaven, in time and in eternity: Even so be it Lord Jesus.

After the believer has been taught thus to trust the Lord Christ, and to expect that grace which in his several offices he is engaged to give, then his conversation will be well ordered: and as he daily grows in faith and dependence upon Christ, he will walk more in the comfort of the Holy Ghost: his outward as well as inward matters, will come under the influence of grace, and will be left to the direction and government of the Lord Jesus, which is another excellency of the life of faith, and which renders it infinitely preferable to any other way of living.

The state of the case is this: Christ has all power in heaven and earth given unto him. As God-man he has a mediatorial kingdom, which ruleth over all created beings and things; for they subsist by the word of his power, and are upheld by his providence, so that what