Secondly, To undertake their protection, and to plead their cause against all the accusations of Satan. He yet accuseth and chargeth them before God ; but Christ is their advocate at the throne of grace, effectually frustrating all his attempts. Rev. xii. 1 0 ; Zech. iii. 2.
Thirdly, To intercede for them, as unto the communication of all grace and glory, all supplies of the Spirit, the accomplishment of all the promises of the covenant towards them, 1 John ii. 1 , 2. This is the work of Christ in heaven. In these things, as the high priest of the church, doth he continue to administer his mediatory office on their behalf And herein is he attended with the songs and joyful acclamations of all the holy ones that are in the presence of God, giving glory to God by him.
(2.) As unto the manner of this glorious administration, sundry things are to be considered.
[1.] That this transaction of things in heaven, being in the temple of God, and before the throne of grace, is a solemn instituted wor- ship at present, which shall cease at the end of the world. Religious worship it is, or that wherein and whereby all the saints above do give glory to God. And it is instituted worship, not that which is merely natural, in that it is God's especial appointment, in and by Christ the mediator. It is a church-state which is constituted hereby, wherein these glorious ordinances are celebrated ; and such a state as shall not be eternal, but hath its time allotted unto it. And be- lievers at present have, by faith, an admission into communion with
HIS MEDIATORIAL OFFICE IN HEAVEN. 255
this church above, in all its divine worship. For we " are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jeru- salem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general as- sembly and church of the first-bom, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel," Heb. xii. 22-24. A church-state doth the apostle most expressly represent unto us. It is Zion, Jerusalem, the great assembly, — the names of the church-state under the Old Testament. And it is a state above, the heavenly Jerusalem, where are all the holy angels, and the spirits of just men made perfect in themselves, though not in their state as to the restitution of their bodies at the resurrection. And a holy wor- ship is there in this great assembly; for not only is Jesus in it as the mediator of the covenant, but there is the "blood of sprinkling" also, in the effectual application of it unto the church. Hereinto have we an entrance. In this holy assembly and worship have we communion by faith whilst we are here below, Heb. x. 19—22. O that my soul might abide and abound in this exercise of faith ! — that I might yet enjoy a clearer prospect of this glory, and inspection into the beauty and order of this blessed assembly ! How inconceivable is the representation that God here makes of the glory of his wisdom, love, grace, goodness, and mercy, in Christ ! How excellent is the manifestation of the glory and honour of Christ in his person and offices ! — the glory given him by the Father ! How little a portion do we know, or can have experience in, of the refreshing, satiating com- munications of divine love and goodness, unto all the members of this assembly; or of that unchangeable delight in beholding the glory of Christ, and of God in him, — of that ardency of affections wherewith they cleave unto him, and continual exultation of spirit, whereby they triumph in the praises of God, that are in all the mem- bers of it ! To enter into this assembly by faith, — to join with it in the assignation of praises unto "him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb for evermore," — to labour after a frame of heart in holy affections and spiritual delight in some correspondency with that which is in the saints above, — is the duty, and ought to be the design, of the church of believers here below. So much as we are furthered and assisted herein by our present ordinances, so much benefit and advantage have we by them, and no more. A constant view of this glory will cast contempt on all the desirable things of this world, and deliver our minds from any dreadful apprehensions of what is most terrible therein.
[2.] This heavenly worship in the sanctuary above, administered by the High Priest over the house of God, is conspicuously glorious.
256 THE PERSON OF CHRIST.
The glory of God is the great end of it, as shall be immediately de- clared; that is, the manifestation of it. The manifestation of the gloiy of God consists really in the effects of his infinite wisdom, good- ness, grace, and power; — declaratively, in the express acknowledg- ment of it with praise. Herein, therefore, doth the solemn worship of God in the sanctuary above consist, — setting aside only the imme- diate actings of Christ m his intercession. It is a glorious, express acknowledgment of the wisdom, love, goodness, grace, and power of God, in the redemption, sanctification, and salvation of the church by Jesus Christ, with a continual ascription of all divine honour unto him in the way of praise. For the manner of its performance, our present light into it is but dark and obscure. Some things have an evidence in them. As, —