"He Ever Liveth to Make Intercession for Us."
WORDS of sweetness! Precious to the believer's heart. Glorious as were the death and resurrection of Jesus, his work for the sinner would not have been complete without his continued intercession. Let each one bring the subject home to his own case. What would you do, Christian brother or sister, if, after rejoicing that your sins were pardoned for the sake of God's dear Son—in virtue of the blood he shed on Calvary, you should become conscious of some departure from the way of holiness which you had so lately commenced, and at the same moment, the awful truth should flash upon your mind, I have no Intercessor! No one to stand between my soul and my offended God! Atonement has once been made, but that gracious Being can never offer such costly sacrifice again; the only blood which could avail with God will never again be poured out. O my soul, what hast thou done! Thou art fallen from the favor of him who has power to perfect thee in eternal bliss, but thou art lost, for ever lost! No words can depict nor imagination enter into the unutterable woe of such a soul, rendered only the more intense and dreadful by the holy peace which, just before, had pervaded its secret chambers. And this all for one sin; what then for every additional one, until an innumerable multitude which no man could number, had been added to the list! But the compassionate Christ has not thus left our weak and sinful nature without hope,—without a complete, a finished redemption: so that every humble, contrite spirit may bless his name with joy and sing,— "Look up, my soul, with cheerful eye;
See where the great Redeemer stands,
The glorious Advocate on high,
With precious incense in his hands.
"He sweetens every humble groan;
He recommends each broken prayer;
Recline thy hope on Him alone,
Whose power and love forbid despair."