And he that is well acquainted with himself will do this readily; though light heads, and such as are not acquainted with the desperate evil that is in their natures, will sacrifice to their own net. But such will, so sacrifice for a while. Sir Death is coming, and he will put them into the view of what they see not now and will feed sweetly upon them because they did not trust the Lord. And therefore, ascribe thou the glory of preserving thy soul in the faith hitherto to that salvation which Christ Jesus, our Lord, obtained for you by his intercession.
7. Are those already justified by the blood of Christ, such as those who still need to be saved by his intercession? Then is this also to be inferred from hence, that saints should look to him for that saving that they shall yet need betwixt this and the day of their dissolution; yea, from henceforward, even to the day of judgment. I say they should still look to him for the remaining part of their salvation, or for that of their salvation which is yet behind; and let them look for it with confidence, for that it is in a faithful hand; and for thy encouragement to look and hope for the completion of thy salvation in glory, let me present thee with a few things—
(1.) The hardest or worst part of the work of thy Saviour is over; his bloody work, his bearing of thy sin and curse, his loss of the light of his Father’s face for a time; his dying upon the cursed tree, that was the worst, the sorest, the hardest, and most difficult part of the work of redemption; and yet this he did willingly, cheerfully, and without thy desires; yea, this he did, as considering those for whom he did it in a state of rebellion and enmity to him.
(2.) Consider, also, that he has made a beginning with thy soul to reconcile thee to God, and to that end has bestowed his justice upon thee, put his Spirit within thee, and began to make the unwieldable mountain and rock, thy heart, to turn towards him and desire after him; to believe in him and rejoice in him.
(3.) Consider, also, that some comfortable pledges of his love thou hast already received, namely, as to feel the sweetness of his love, as to see the light of his countenance, as to be made to know his power in the raising of thee when thou was down, and how he has made thee stand, while hell has been pushing at thee, utterly to overthrow thee.
(4.) Thou mayest consider, also, that what remains behind the work of thy salvation is in his hands, as it is the easiest part, so the most comfortable, and that part which will more immediately issue in his glory, and therefore he will mind it.
(5.) That which is behind is also safer in his hand than if it were in thine own; he is wise, he is powerful, he is faithful, and therefore will manage that part that is lacking to our salvation well until he has completed it. His love for thee has made him say that ‘he putteth no trust in thee’; he knows that he can himself bring thee to his kingdom most surely; and therefore he has not left that work to thee, no, not any part thereof. (Job 5:18, 15:15)
Live in hope, then, in a lively hope, that since Christ is risen from the dead, he lives to make intercession for thee, and that thou shalt reap the blessed benefit of this twofold salvation that is wrought, and that is working out for thee, by Jesus Christ our Lord. And thus have we been treated to the benefit of his intercession, in that he can save to the uttermost. And this leads me to the third particular.
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