knowledge of Christ in all his offices, are at this day sadly baffled
with the sophistications of the devil? To instance no more than this
one thing-when they have committed some heinous sin after light
received, how are they, I say, tossed and tumbled and distressed with
many perplexities! They cannot come to any anchor in this their
troubled sea; they go from promise to promise, from providence to
providence, from this to that office of Jesus Christ, but forget that
he is, or else understand not what it is for this Lord Jesus to be an
Advocate for them. Hence they so oft sink under the fears that their
sin is unpardonable, and that therefore their condition is desperate;
whereas, if they could but consider that Christ is their Advocate, and
that he is therefore made an Advocate to save them from those high
transgressions that are committed by them, and that he waits upon this
office continually before the judgment-seat of God, they would conceive
relief, and be made to hold up their head, and would more strongly
twist themselves from under that guilt and burden, those ropes and
cords wherewith by their folly they have so strongly bound themselves,
than commonly they have done, or do.
Second Objection. But notwithstanding what you have said, this sin is a
deadly stick in my way; it will not out of my mind, my cause being bad,
but Christ will desert me.
Answer. It is true, sin is, and will be, a deadly stick and stop to
faith, attempt to exercise it on Christ as considered under which of
his offices or relations you will; and, above all, the sin of unbelief
is “the sin that doth so,” or most “easily beset us” (Heb 12:1, 2). And
no marvel; for it never acteth alone, but is backed, not only with
guilt and ignorance, but also with carnal sense and reason. He that is
ignorant of this knows but little of himself, or what believing is. He
that undertakes to believe sets upon the hardest task that ever was
proposed to man; not because the things imposed upon us are
unreasonable or unaccountable, but because the heart of man, the more
true anything is, the more it sticks and stumbles thereat; and, says
Christ, “Because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not” (John 8:45).
Hence believing is called labouring, (Heb 4:11); and it is the sorest
labour, at times that any man can take in hand, because assaulted with
the greatest oppositions; but believe thou must, be the labour never so
hard, and that not only in Christ in a general way, but in him as to
his several offices, and to this of his being an Advocate in
particular, else some sins and some temptations will not, in their
guilt or vexatious trouble, easily depart from thy conscience; no, not
by promise, nor by thy attempts to apply the same by faith. And this
the text insinuateth by its setting forth of Christ as Advocate, as the
only or best and most speedy way of relief to the soul in certain
cases.
There is, then, an order that thou must observe in exercising of thy
soul in a way of believing.
1. Thou must believe unto justification in general; and for this thou
must direct thy soul to the Lord Christ as he is a sacrifice for sin;
and as a Priest offering that sacrifice, so as a sacrifice thou shalt
see him appeasing Divine displeasure for thy sin, and as a Priest
spreading the skirt of his garment over thee, for the covering of thy
nakedness; thus being clothed, thou shalt not be found naked.
2. This, when thou hast done as well as thou canst, thou must, in the
next place, keep thine eye upon the Lord Christ as improving, as Priest
in heaven, the sacrifice which he offered on earth for the continuing
thee in a state of justification in thy lifetime, notwithstanding those
common infirmities that attend thee, and to which thou art incident in
all thy holy services or best performances (Rom 5:10; Exo 28:31-38).
For therefore is he a Priest in heaven, and by his sacrifices
interceding for thee.
3. But if thy foot slippeth, if it slippeth greatly, then know thou it
will not be long before a bill be in heaven preferred against thee by
the accuser of the brethren; wherefore then thou must have recourse to
Christ as Advocate, to plead before God thy judge against the devil
thine adversary for thee.
4. And as to the badness of thy cause, let nothing move thee, save to
humility and self-abasement, for Christ is glorified by being concerned
for thee; yea, the angels will shout aloud to see him bring thee off.
For what greater glory can we conceive Christ to obtain as Advocate,
than to bring off his people when they have sinned, notwithstanding
Satan so charging of them for it as he doth?
He gloried when he was going to the cross to die; he went up with a
shout and the sound of a trumpet, to make intercession for us; and
shall we think that by his being an Advocate he receives no additional
glory? It is glory to him, doubtless, to bear the title of an Advocate,
and much more to plead and prosper for us against our adversary, as he
doth.
5. And, I say again, for thee to think that Christ will reject thee for
that thy cause is bad, is a kind of thinking blasphemy against this his
office and his Word; for what doth such a man but side with Satan,
while Christ is pleading against him? I say, it is as the devil would
have it, for it puts strength into his plea against us, by increasing
our sin and wickedness. But shall Christ take our cause in hand, and
shall we doubt of good success?
This is to count Satan stronger than Christ; and that he can longer
abide to oppose, than Christ can to plead for us. Wherefore, away with
it, not only as to the notion, but also as to the heart and root
thereof. Oh! When shall Jesus Christ our Lord be honoured by us as he
ought? This dastardly heart of ours, when shall it be more subdued and
trodden under foot of faith? When shall Christ ride Lord, and King, and
Advocate, upon the faith of his people, as he should? He is exalted
before God, before angels, and above all the power of the enemy; there
is nothing comes behind but the faith of his people.
Third Objection. But since you follow the metaphor so close, I will
suppose, if an advocate be entertained, some recompense must be given
him. His fee-who shall pay him his fee? I have nothing. Could I do
anything to make this advocate part of amends, I could think I might
have benefit from him; but I have nothing. What say you to this?32
Answer. Similitudes must not be strained too far; but yet I have an
answer for this objection. There is, in some cases, law for them that
have no money; ay, law and lawyers too; and this is called a suing in
forma pauperis;33 and such lawyers are appointed by authority for that
purpose. Indeed, I know not that it is thus in every nation, but it is
sometimes so with us in England; and this is the way altogether in the
kingdom of heaven before the bar of God. All is done there for us in
forma pauperis, on free cost; for our Advocate or lawyer is thereto
designed and appointed of his Father.
Hence Christ is said to plead the cause, not of the rich and wealthy,
but of the poor and needy; not of those that have many friends, but of
the fatherless and widow; not of them that are fat and strong, but of
those under sore afflictions (Prov 22:22, 23; 23:10, 11; 31:9). “He
shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to save him from those that
condemn his soul,” or, as it is in the margin, “from the judges of his
soul” (Psa 109:31). This, then, is the manner of Jesus Christ with men;
he doth freely what he doth, not for price nor reward. “I have raised
him up,” says God, “and I will direct all his ways; he shall build my
city, and he shall let go my captives, not for a price nor reward” (Isa
45:13). [This scripture speaks of Cyrus, a type of Christ.]
This, I say, is the manner of Jesus Christ with men; he pleads, he sues
in forma pauperis, gratis, and of mere compassion; and hence it is that
you have his clients give him thanks; for that is all the poor can
give. “I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth; yea, I will praise
him among the multitude. For he shall stand at the right hand of the
poor, to save him from those that condemn his soul” (Psa 109:30,31).
They know but little that talk of giving to Christ, except they mean
they would give him blessing and praise. He bids us come freely, take
freely, and tells us that he will give and do freely (Rev 22:17; 21:6).
Let him have that which is his own-to wit, thyself; for thou art the
price of his blood. David speaks very strangely of giving to God for
mercy bestowed on him; I call it strangely, because indeed it is so to
reason. “What,” says he, “shall I render to the Lord for all his
benefits? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of
the Lord” for more (Psa 116:12, 13). God has no need of thy gift, nor
Christ of thy bribe, to plead thy cause; take thankfully what is
offered, and call for more; that is the best giving to God. God is rich
enough; talk not then of giving, but of receiving, for thou art poor.
Be not too high, nor think thyself too good to live by the alms of
heaven; and since the Lord Jesus is willing to serve thee freely, and
to maintain thy right to heaven against thy foe, to the saving of thy
soul, without price or reward, “let the peace of God rule in your
hearts, to the which also ye are called,” as is the rest of “the body,
and be ye thankful” (Col 3:15). This, then, is the privilege of a
Christian-“We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous”; one that pleadeth the cause of his people against those
that rise up against them, of his love, pity, and mere good-will. Lord,
open the eyes of dark readers, of disconsolate saints, that they may
see who is for them, and on what terms!
Fourth Objection. But if Christ doth once begin to plead for me, and
shall become mine Advocate, he will always be troubled with me, unless
I should, of myself, forsake him; for I am ever in broils and suits of
law, action after action is laid upon me, and I am sometimes ten times
in a day summoned to answer my doings before God.
Answer. Christ is not an Advocate to plead a cause or two; nor to
deliver the godly from an accusation or two. “He delivereth Israel out
of all his troubles” (Psa 25:22; II Sam 22:28); and chooses to be an
Advocate for such; therefore, the godly of old did use to make, from
the greatness of their troubles, and the abundance of their troublers,
an argument to the Lord Christ to send and lend them help-“Have mercy
upon me,” saith David; “consider my trouble which I suffer of them that
hate me” (Psa 9:13). And again, “Many are they that rise up against me;
many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God”
(Psa 3:1,2). Yea the troubles of this man were so many and great, that
his enemies began to triumph over him, saying, “There is no help for
him in God.” But could he not deliver him, or did the Lord forsake him?
No, no; “Thou hast smitten,” saith he, “all mine enemies upon the cheek
bone; thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.” And as he delivereth
them from their troublers, so also he pleadeth all their causes; “O
Lord,” saith the church, “thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou
hast redeemed my life” (Lam 3:58). Mark, troubled Christian, thou
sayest thou hast been arrested ofttimes in a day, and as often summoned
to appear at God’s bar, there to answer to what shall be laid to thy
charge. And here, for thy encouragement, thou readest that the church
hath an Advocate that pleadeth the causes of her soul; that is, all her
causes, to deliver her. He knows that, so long as we are in this world,
we are subject to temptation and weakness, and through them made guilty
of many bad things; wherefore, he hath prepared himself to our service,
and to abide with the Father, an Advocate for us. As Solomon saith of a
man of great wrath, so it may be said of a man of great weakness, and
the best of saints are such-he must be delivered again and again, (Prov
19:19); yea, “many a time,” saith David, “did he deliver them,” (Psa
106:43); to wit, more than once or twice; and he will do so for thee,
if thou entertain him to be thine Advocate. Thou talkest of leaving
him, but then whither wilt thou go? All else are vain things, things
that cannot profit; and he will not forsake his people, (I Sam
12:20-23), “though their land be filled with sin against the Holy One
of Israel” (Jer 51:5). I know the modest saint is apt to be abashed to
think what a troublesome one he is, and what a make-work he has been in
God’s house all his days; and let him be filled with holy blushing; but
let him not forsake his Advocate.
[THE USE AND APPLICATION.]
SEVENTHLY, Having thus spoken to these objections, let us now come to
make some use of the whole. And,
Use First. I would exhort the children to consider the dignity that God
hath put upon Jesus Christ their Saviour; for by how much God hath
called his Son to offices and places of trust, by so much he hath
heaped dignities upon him. It is said of Mordecai, that he was next to
the king Ahasuerus. And what then? Why, then the greatness of Mordecai,
and his high advance, must be written in the book of the Chronicles of
the kings of Media and Persia, to the end his fame might not be buried
nor forgotten, but remembered and talked of in generations to come
(Esth 10). Why, my brethren, God exalted Jesus of Nazareth, hath made
him the only great one, having given him a name above every name-a
name, did I say?-a name and glory beyond all names, and above all
names, as doth witness both his being set above all, and the many
offices which he executeth for God on behalf of his people. It is
counted no little addition to honour when men are not only made near to
the king, but also entrusted with most, if not almost with all the most
weighty affairs of the kingdom. Why, this is the dignity of Christ; he
is, it is true, the natural Son of God, and so high, and one that
abounds with honour. But this is not all; God has conferred upon him,
as man, all the most mighty honours of heaven; he hath made him Lord
Mediator betwixt him and the world. This in general. And particularly,
he hath called him to be his High Priest for ever, and hath sworn he
shall not be changed for another (Heb 7:21-24). He hath accepted of his
offering once for ever, counting that there is wholly enough in what he
did once “to perfect for ever them that are sanctified”; to wit, set
apart to glory (Heb 10:11-14).
He is Captain-general of all the forces that God hath in heaven and
earth, the King and Commander of his people (ch. 9:25, 28). He is Lord
of all, and made “head over all things to the church,” and is our
Advocate with the Father (Eph 1:22). O, the exaltation of Jesus Christ!
Let Christians, therefore, in the first place, consider this. Nor can
it be but profitable to them, if withal they consider that all this
trust and honour is put and conferred upon him in relation to the
advantage and advancement of Christians. If Christians do but consider
the nearness that is betwixt Christ and them, and, withal, consider how
he is exalted, it must needs be matter of comfort to them. He is my
flesh and my bone that is exalted; he is my friend and brother that is
thus set up and preferred. It was something to the Jews when Mordecai
was exalted to honour; they had, thereby, ground to rejoice and be
glad, for that one of themselves was made lord-chief by the king, and
the great governor of the land, for the good of his kindred. True, when
a man thinks of Christ as severed from him, he sees but little to his
comfort in Christ’s exaltation; but when he looks upon Christ, and can
say, My Saviour, my Priest, or the chief Bishop of my soul, then he
will see much in his being thus promoted to honour. Consider, then, of
the glories to which God has exalted our Saviour, in that he hath made
him so high. It is comely, also, when thou speakest of him, that thou
name his name with some additional title, thereby to call thy mind to
the remembrance, and so to the greater reverence of the person of thy
Jesus; as, our Lord Jesus, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, “the
Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus” (II Peter
2:20; Heb 3:1, &c). Men write themselves by their titles; as, John,
earl of such a place, Anthony, earl of such a place, Thomas, lord, &c.
It is common, also, to call men in great places by their titles rather
than by their names; yea, it also pleaseth such great ones well; as, My
lord high chancellor of England, My lord privy seal, My lord high
admiral, &c. And thus should Christians make mention of Jesus Christ
our Lord, adding to his name some of his titles of honour; especially
since all places of trust and titles of honour conferred on him are of
special favour to us. I did use to be much taken with one sect of
Christians; for that it was usually their way, when they made mention
of the name of Jesus, to call him “The blessed King of Glory.”
Christians should do thus; it would do them good; for why doth the Holy
Ghost, think you, give him all these titles but that we should call him
by them, and so make mention of him one to another; for the very
calling of him by this or that title, or name, belonging to this or
that office of his, giveth us occasion, not only to think of him as
exercising that office, but to inquire, by the Word, by meditation, and
one of another, what there is in that office and what, by his
exercising of that, the Lord Jesus profiteth his church.
How will men stand for that honour that, by superiors, is given to
them, expecting and using all things; to wit, actions and carriages, so
as that thereby their grandeur may be maintained; and saith Christ, “Ye
call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am” (John 13:13).
Christ Jesus our Lord would have us exercise ourselves in the knowledge
of his glorious offices and relative titles, because of the advantage
that we get by the knowledge of them, and the reverence of, and love
to, him that they beget in our hearts. “That disciple,” saith the text,
“whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon
Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him
(for he was naked), and did cast himself into the sea. And the other
disciples came in a little ship”: to wit, to shore, to wait upon their
Lord (John 21). The very naming of him under the title of Lord, bowed
their hearts forthwith to come with joint readiness to wait upon him.
Let this also teach us to distinguish Christ’s offices and titles, not
to confound them, for he exerciseth those offices, and beareth those
titles, for great reason, and to our commodity. Every circumstance
relating both to Christ’s humiliation and exaltation ought to be duly
weighed by us, because of that mystery of God, and of man’s redemption
that is wrapped therein; for as there was not a pin, nor a loop, nor a
tack in the tabernacle but had in it use of instruction to the children
of Israel, so there is not any part, whether more near or more remote
to Christ’s suffering and exaltation, but is, could we get into it,
full of spiritual advantage to us.
To instance the water that came out of Christ’s side, a thing little
taken notice of either by preachers or hearers, and yet John makes it
one of the witnesses of the truth of our redemption, and a confirmation
of the certainty of that record that God, to the world, hath given of
the sufficiency that is in his Son to save (John 19:34; I John 3:5-9;
5:5-9; I John 4:9-12).
When I have considered that the very timing of Scripture expressions,
and the season of administering ordinances, have been argumentative to
the promoting of the faith and way of justification by Christ, it has
made think that both myself and most of the people of God look over the
Scriptures too slightly, and take too little notice of that or of those
many honours that God, for our good, has conferred upon Christ. Shall
he be called a King, a Priest, a Prophet, a Sacrifice, an Altar, a
Captain, a Head, a Husband, a Father, a Fountain, a Door, a Rock, a
Lion, a Saviour, &c., and shall we not consider these things? And shall
God to all these add, moreover, that he is an Advocate, and shall we
take no notice thereof, or jumble things so together, that we lose some
of his titles and offices; or so be concerned with one as not to think
we have need of the benefit of the rest? Let us be ashamed thus to do
or think, and let us give to him that is thus exalted the glory due
unto his name.
Use Second. As we should consider the titles and offices of Christ in
general, so we should consider this of his being an Advocate in
particular; for this is one of the reasons which induced the apostle to
present him here under that very notion to us-namely, that we should
have faith about it, and consider of it to our comfort-“If any man sin,
we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” “An
advocate”-an advocate, as I said, is one that hath power to plead for
another in this, or that, or any court of judicature. Be much therefore
in the meditation of Christ, as executing of this his office for thee,
for many advantages will come to thee thereby. As,
1. This will give thee to see that thou art not forsaken when thou hast
sinned; and this has not in it a little relief only, but yieldeth
consolation in time of need. There is nothing that we are more prone
unto than to think we are forsaken when we have sinned, when for this
very thing-to wit, to keep us from thinking so, is the Lord Jesus
become our Advocate-“If any man sin, we have an Advocate.” Christian,
thou that hast sinned, and that with the guilt of thy sin art driven to
the brink of hell, I bring thee news from God-thou shalt not die, but
live, for thou hast “an Advocate with the Father.” Let this therefore
be considered by thee, because it yieldeth this fruit.
2. The study of this truth will give thee ground to take courage to
contend with the devil concerning the largeness of grace by faith,
since thy Advocate is contending for thee against him at the bar of
God. It is a great encouragement for a man to hold up his head in the
country, when he knows he has a special friend at court. Why, our
Advocate is a friend at court, a friend there ready to give the onset
to Satan, come he when he will. “We have an Advocate with the Father”;
an Advocate, or one to plead against Satan for us.
3. This consideration will yield relief, when, by Satan’s abuse of some
other of the offices of Christ, thy faith is discouraged and made
afraid. Christ as a prophet pronounces many a dreadful sentence against
sin; and Christ as a king is of power to execute them; and Satan as an
enemy has subtlety enough to abuse both these, to the almost utter
overthrow of the faith of the children of God. But what will he do with
him as he is an Advocate? Will he urge that he will plead against us?
He cannot; he has no such office. “Will he plead against me with his
great power? No, but he would put strength into me”(Job 23:6).
Wherefore Satan doth all he may to keep thee ignorant of this office;
for he knows that as Advocate, when he is so apprehended, the saints
are greatly relieved by him, even by a believing thought of that
office.
4. This consideration, or the consideration of Christ as exercising of
this office, will help thee to put by that visor wherewith Christ by
Satan is misrepresented to thee, to the weakening and affrighting of
thee. There is nothing more common among saints than thus to be wronged
by Satan; for as he will labour to fetch fire out of the offices of
Christ to burn us, so to present him to us with so dreadful and so
ireful a countenance, that a man in temptation, and under guilt, shall
hardly be able to lift up his face to God. But now, to think really
that he is my Advocate, this heals all! Put a visor upon the face of a
father, and it may perhaps for a while fright the child; but let the
father speak, let him speak in his own fatherly dialect to the child,
and the visor is gone, if not from the father’s face, yet from the
child’s mind; yea, the child, notwithstanding that visor, will
adventure to creep into its father’s bosom. Why, thus it is with the
saints when Satan deludes and abuses them by disfiguring the
countenance of Christ to their view. Let them but hear their Lord speak
in his own natural dialect (and then he doth so indeed when we hear him
speak as an Advocate), and their minds are calmed, their thoughts
settled, their guilt made to vanish, and their faith to revive.