A. 2. Clnist causeth perseverance and carries on a saint till he come to the hea- venly kingdom, vi orationis, by his interces- sion. Christ is an advocate as well as a surety; he prays that the saints may arrive safe at the kingdom, Heb. v'i. 25., " Where- fore he is able also to save them to the ut- termost, (i. e. perfectly,) seeing he ever liv- eth to make intercession for them." That prayer he made for Peter on earth, he prays now in heaven for the saints, " that thy faith fail not," Luke xxii. 32., that they may be Avith him Avhere he is, John xvii. 24. And sure, if he pray that they may be Avith him in his kingdom, they cannot perish by the Avay. Christ's prayer is efficacious. If the saints' prayers have so much force and prcA'alency in them. Jacob had poAver with God, and as a prince prcA-ailed, Hos. xii. 4. ; by prayer Elijah unlocked heaven ; if the prayers of the saints haA'e so much poAver Avith God, then, Avhat hath Christ's prayer ? How can the children of such prayers miscarry ? Hoav can they fall short of the kingdom, Avho have him praying for them, Avho is not only a Priest, but a Son ? And besides, Avhat he prays for as he is man, that he hath poAver to gi\'e as he is God. Thus you see hoAv a Christian comes to persevere till he comes to the kingdom.
Ob J. But mcthinks I hear some Christian say, if only perseverance obtains the kingdom, they fear they shall not come thither ,- they fear they shall faint by the way, and the iceak legs of their grace will never carry them to the kingdom of heaven.
Ans. Wert thou indeed to stand in thy OAvn strength, thou niightcst fall away: that branch Avithers and dies that hath no root to groAV upon. Thou groAvest upon the root Christ, Avho Avill be daily sending forth vital influence to strengthen thee ; thou art imbecile and Avcak in grace, yet fear not falling short of heaven : For,
1. God hath made a promise to Aveak be- licA-ers. What is a bruised reed, but an emblem of a Aveak faith ? yet it hath a pro- mise made to it. Mat. xii. 20., " A bruised reed sh.ill he not break." — God hath pro- mised to supply the Aveak Christian Avitli so much grace as he shall need, till he comes to heaven. Beside the tAvo-pence Avhich the s good Samaritan left to pay for the cure of
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tlie poor wounded man, lie passed his word for all that he should need beside, Luke x. 35. : so, Christ doth not only give a little grace in hand, but his bond for more, that he will give as much grace as a saint should need till he comes to heaven, Ps. Ixxxiv. 11., " The Lord will give grace and glory ;" that is, a fresh supply of grace, till he be perfected in glory.
2. God hath most care of his weak saints, who fear they shall never hold out till they come to the kingdom. Doth not the mother tend the weak child most ? Isa. xl. 1 1., " He will gather the lambs in his arms, and car- ry them in his bosom." If thou thinkest that thou art so weak that thou shalt never hold out till thou comest to heaven, thou shalt be carried in the arms of the Almigh- ty ; he gathers the lambs in his arms ; Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, marcheth before his people, and his power is their rereward, so that none of them faint or die in their march to heaven.
Quest. JVhat are t'le encouragements to make Christians hold on till they come to the kingdom of heaven ?
Ans. 1. It is a great credit to a Christian, not only to hold forth the truth, but to hold fast the truth till he comes to heaven ; when grace doth flourish into perseverance, and with the church of Thyatira, our last works are more than our first, Jiex. ii. 19., this is insiyni honoris, — a star of honour. It is matter of renown to see grey hairs shine with golden virtues : the excellency of a thing lies in the finishing of it. What is the excc'llency of a building ? not when the first stone is laid, but when it is finished : so the beauty and excellency of a Christian is, when he hath finished his faith, having done his work, is landed safe in heaven.
A. 2. You that have made a progress in religion, have not many miles to go I efore you come at the kingdom of heaven, Rom. xiii. 11., " Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed." You who have hoary liairs, your green tree is turned into an al- mond-tree; you are near to heaven, it is but going a little further and you will set your feet within heaven's gates ; O therefore now be encouraged to hold out, your salva- tion is nearer than when you fi^'st began to believe ! Our diligence should be greater