The Lord is once more in His holy place, as in Mount Sinai-rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks. "Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain,

whereby Thou

didst confirm Thine inheritance when it was weary." Oh when the wondering disciples are witnesses of these moral miracles-thousands on thousands flying as doves to their windows, and nations, through their representatives then gathered at Jerusalem, "born in a day"-whatever may have been the sorrow with which they once heard of their divine Master's severance from them; however deeply, since the hour they parted from Him on Olivet, they might have missed His personal companionship and lovethey would cease at all events now to marvel at His saying or to dispute the expediency of His announced purpose,-"It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you, but if I depart, I will send Him unto you."

* Ps. lxviii. 9.

Lord, come! hide us in this new cleft of the one Glorious Rock :-and as the Beloved Disciple tells us he was "in the Spirit,” when his eyes were opened to the transcendent visions and his ears to the wondrous words of his ascended Lord, so may He open our ears to receive the soul-stirring message which gave heart-cheer to the lonely exile of Patmos, “Fear not; I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore!"

'Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like as we do believe Thy only begotten Son the Lord Jesus Christ, to have ascended into the heavens: so we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and with Him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end."*

* Collect for Ascension-Day.

"He shall be a priest upon His throne."-Zech. vi. 13.

"We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens."-Heb. viii. 1.

"Wherefore in all things it behoved Him to be made like unto His brethren,

that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."—Heb.

ii. 17.

"Seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them."-Heb. vii. 25. "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."-Heb. ix. 12.

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us through the vail, that is to say, His flesh; and having an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."-Heb. x. 19-22. "And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." -Rev. viii. 3, 4.

"If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous "1 John ii. 1.

"WHO ALSO MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US."-Rom. viii. 34.

"Thanks, O Father, for Thy abounding love, which did not spare the only Son of Thy bosom, but did deliver Him up to the death for us, that we might have with Thee an Advocate so mighty and so faithful.”—Anselm, A.D., 1093.

"He who might have been placing a vial of wrath in the hand of every angel around His throne, with a commission to pour it out on this rebellious world till it was utterly consumed, is standing at this moment, at the altar of incense, presenting our prayers for mercy, and officiating there as our Great High Priest."-Harris.

XIV.

"This is the confidence that we have in Him"

"WHO ALSO MAKETH INTERCESSION FOR US.”—

Rom. viii. 13.

WITH the contemplation of every new

Rock-cleft, the "treasures hid in Christ" seem to grow upon us, not only in number and variety, but in value and preciousness.

This is specially the case in meditating on the Redeemer as the INTERCESSOR of His Church and people. In that beautiful grouping of the great apostle's "Confidences" in his divine Lord, to which we have more than once adverted, the crowning one is that which heads this chapter;"It is Christ that died; yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God; who also maketh intercession for us!" It is when climbing, step by step, he reaches this height of his high argument,

that he turns round with the challenge, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ?"*

The intercession of the Saviour is based on His atonement. It has been well defined as "the efficacious virtue of the atonement perpetuated by a divine official act." Some theological writers have ingeniously drawn an analogy between creation and providence, atonement and intercession; † that just as Providence is the sustaining of the creative work-so that if Christ's continual upholding arm were withdrawn, the outer material world would soon lapse into disorganisation ;-so, the intercession of Jesus is the carrying out, and carrying on, of His propitiatory and mediatorial work, -the complement of the great salvation consummated on Calvary. The Atonement, indeed, is in itself complete; just as this outer creation, (to revert to the analogy), was complete, when it came in all its glorious mechanism from the hands of God, and was pronounced "very

*Rom. viii. 34, 35.

+ See Dr Symington on the Atonement in loco.