APPLICATION. There is one thing I would exhort you to from this doctrine, That Christ's love and will is fixed on the eternal glory of his people; and it is this:-Let believers learn to own their eternal salvation as springing from the will of Christ, as well as from the blood of Christ. There was a saving will in Christ in shedding his saving blood: Heb. x. 10. By the which will we are sanctified, (i. e. justified and saved, in the style of that epistle, specially) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. What this will is, is declared in the foregoing verses; to be the Father's will commanding the true sacrifice, and the Son's will in offering this commanded sacrifice. By this will we are saved; this will, thus fixed, thus accomplished in Christ's death.

There are three great advantages, which we shall reap by this looking on heaven, the prize of our calling, as willed by Jesus Christ.

1. It will stir you up to praise and glorify him. He that took on him the burden of our souls, and the care of our salvation, should surely bear the burden of all our songs for salvation, and for the hope of it. So the apostle sings, Rev. i. 5. Hearty praise to Jesus Christ for salvation can never be given, unless men know that all their salvation is owing to him alone; to his will, and to his blood. If a man ascribe any bit of his salvation to any thing or person besides Christ, that thing or person will bear away, or rob somewhat of the glory of salvation. But since all salvation is from Christ, all the glory of it should be given to him.

2. This will make your faith in Christ strong. What is strong faith? Christians usually think, that strong faith hath in it peace, joy, and comfort. But these are but the effects of it; and separable also, as in Psalm xxii. 1. Never was faith near so strong in any saint, as it was in the man Christ on the cross and yet no joy or comfort was tasted by him then. But as to faith in believers, strong faith is when a believer gets far in, into the love and will of Jesus Christ. Now, this doctrine opens up Christ's love and will about our salvation; let us then enter into it. Faith makes several approaches to Christ for and about salvation.

1st, It seeketh, and findeth, and seeth atoning, reconciling VCL. II.

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blood, flowing from Christ's love: Rom. iii. 25. God hath set him forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood. In whom we have redemption through his blood.

Eph. i. 7.

2dly, Faith seeth life springing and growing out of Christ's grave. Alas! many are busy about Moses's grave, and have no business with Christ's grave. A believer seeth eternal life springing from Christ's death and grave.

3dly, Faith goes further; and through this blood of atonement, and this life-giving death, it enters into Christ's love and will that was in his redeeming. As there was life to us in his death, so there was love to us in his dying for us, Gal. ii. 20. Rev. i. 5. But can faith go any further? Yes. Only one step more; and that is to the highest fountain of all this; even God's eternal purpose which he purposed in Jesus Christ our Lord, Eph. iii. 11. So that faith begins at Christ's death, riseth with him in his resurrection, seeth the virtue and power of all in Christ's love, and then riseth to the love of the Father that sent him, to that purpose of grace from which the Saviour and all salvation doth proceed. Can faith go any further? No. Here faith is at a stand. The believer is saved, and yet sinks and is overwhelmed in this depth; and, like one swallowed up, cries out, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! Rom. xi. $3. When faith gets a view of the unsearchable riches of God's grice in, by, and through Jesus Christ, then the believer longs to be in heaven, to behold the fountain-head of all grace and glory. Faith lengs to cease to be faith. This is a strange and strong act of faith, a strange desire in a believer," when shall I cease to be a believer, and become a "seer! when shall the glass be done away, and the full-eyed "vision of glory succeed! 1 Cor. xiii. 10, 11, 12. When "shall both faith and hope cease, and love fill their " room ?"

3. This seeing of Christ's heart and will about your salvation, will enable you to pray and labour rightly for glory. What is it to do it rightly? It is to labour with courage, and to labour with humility. And Christians work prospereth, when those are united, as they always should be. How

boldly may a believer say, I would be in heaven, since Christ wills it? And how humbly should he say, I would be there; since his own will about it signifies nothing, and Christ's will is all?

Obj. How shall I know that I am in Christ's will for salvation? If I did know it, then I would give thanks, I would believe firmly, and would labour hard to obtain the possession of this glory.

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Answ. To this I offer three things. 1. Consider how they behaved themselves, that with their own ears heard those very words from Christ's own mouth. It is a vain. thought that readily riseth in all our hearts, that if we had. been present, and had heard Christ praying thus for us in a special, particular way, that we might be with him where he is, that then we would believe our salvation if we were in the saddest distress. But now consider what great encouragement to faith Christ gave them. He told them, chap. xiv. 2, 3. I go to prepare a place for you. again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also. What more could they desire, than to have Christ telling them to their faces, "You and I must indeed part "for a little while; but you and I shall quickly meet "again, never to part more ?" They did also with their ears hear Christ praying over his promise to them, to his Father, I will that they be with me where I am. Could such believers under all those advantages, so great, so singular, ever stagger again? Yes. Almost as soon as this encouraging sermon and prayer is ended, their faith was almost at an end too: John xvi. 31, 32. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone. I speak this, to check the vanity of that thought in Christians, that if they had but sufficient ground of the assurance of Christ's love, and of eternal glory, they would believe in every difficulty and trial. Yet you see how they behaved that had such grounds of faith from Christ's own lips, whilst bodily present with them, which you cannot expect or desire. And I hope none of you will imagine, that if ye had been in those good men's places, and had had their helps, you would

have behaved better than they did.

Grounds of faith, if never so great, yet if not attended with the influence of the Spirit of faith, will never keep faith in life and vigour.

Answ. 2. What reason have you to doubt your interest in this prayer of Christ? You may say, I am so vile and unworthy, that I cannot believe that Christ willed me to be with him. If this be all, it is nothing, yea worse than nothing. 1. Hath not Christ willed eternal glory to many as bad as ever you were? Did he ever will heaven for worthiness in the persons that are to receive it? Is it not always willed to the praise of his own grace and love as the giver, and never as a recompence to the worth and loveliness of the receiver? 2. Christ will mend you ere he bring you to heaven. And a great work it is to make you meet for it, Col. i. 12.; a work that must be done, and that he only can do, and he can easily do it. 3. Right preparation for glory, flows from the faith of Christ's good-will to give it. It is a weak and ignorant, but common thought of Christians, that they ought not to look for heaven, nor trust Christ for eternal glory, till they be well advanced in holiness, and meetness for it. But as the first sanctification of our natures flows from our faith and trust in Christ for acceptance, se our farther sanctification and mectness for. glory flows from the renewed and repeated exercise of faith on him. The hope of glory is purifying, 1 John iii. 3.

Answ. 3. Every believer hath the witness in himself, that he hath an interest in Christ's heart and will in this prayer: 1 John v. 10. He that believeth on the Son of God, hath the witness in himself. The apostle is speaking of the many witnesses that are given to Jesus Christ as the Saviour. Three in heaven, ver. 7. three on earth, ver. 8 All are divine witnesses, and sufficient grounds of faith in Jesus Christ, ver. 9. Now, saith the apostle, ver. 10. He that believeth on the Son of God, (that trusts his soul, and its salvation, to this so well attested Saviour), he hath the witness (or testimony) in himself. 1. There are witnesses in heaven. 2. Witnesses on earth. 3. A testimony in the heart of a believer in Christ. Whoever believeth on Christ, that faith is an evidence sufficient (if he will require it to speak, and will re

gard its testimony, and both of them require actings of faith) to persuade him, that he hath an interest in Christ's prayer here. On this I would glance at four things, and

conclude.

1. Believers in Christ, what do you do when you believe? O that all believers did but know what they do when they believe! Do ye not, in every distinct act of faith, betrust your guilty perishing soul to the saving arm' of Jesus Christ, upon the warrant of all that grace, mercy, and power, that belongs to Christ in his office of a Saviour? And is not this his willing of eternal glory, a great and glorious beam of that grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which ye believe to be saved? Acts xv. 11.

2. How came you by this your faith? Is it not his gift? He is the author of it, Heb. xii. 2. It is given on Christ's behalf, Phil. i. 29. Whenever you have an evidence in your heart, (and it is your own fault if you have it not daily), that you have true faith in Jesus Christ; if it be but weak, and cannot mount so high as it ought, raise it by this consideration, Whence came this spark of faith to be kindled in my heart? Did it naturally grow in my heart? No. Time was when I was without it, Eph. ii. 12. and loved to be without it. Did Satan plant it? No. I find him to be the great enemy of it; and I never felt his enmity, till I began to trust Jesus Christ; and it is that in me he mainly assaults. Did ministers, and the means of grace, plant faith in me? No. I enjoyed them when no faith was wrought in me; and when it is wrought, all their power, without Christ's grace and Spirit concurring, cannot raise this faith to act and exercise. Therefore, surely, this faith came from Jesus Christ himself. Was it not from the work, and will, and love of Christ? How easy and native is the inference? If faith in Christ be the work of his love, how warrantably may I look, by that faith, for all the good that this love purposeth, promiseth, and prayeth for to me?

3. Can you call him to witness with a good conscience, that your great desire and will is to be with Christ in heaven? If the Lord should try you with this question, "Name "that one thing that you would have above all?"

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