intolerable a burden as guilt! They talk of the stones, and of the
sands of the sea; but it is guilt that breaks the heart with its
burden. And Satan has the art of making the uttermost of every sin; he
can blow it up, make it swell, make every hair of its head as big as a
cedar. He can tell how to make it a heinous offence, and unpardonable
offence, an offence of that continuance, and committed against so much
light, that, says he, it is impossible it should ever be forgiven. But,
soul, Christ is able to save to the uttermost, he can ‘do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think.’ (Eph 3:20)
(5.) Join to all this the rage and terror of men, which thing of itself
is sufficient to quash and break to pieces all desires to come to God
by Christ; yea, and it doth do so to thousands that are not willing to
go to hell. Yet thou art kept, and made to go panting on; a whole world
of men, and devils, and sin, are not able to keep thee from coming. But
how comes it to pass that thou art so hearty, that thou settest thy
face against so much wind and weather? I dare say it arises not from
thyself, nor from any of thine enemies. This comes from God, though
thou art not aware thereof; and is obtained for thee by the
intercession of the blessed Son of God, who is also able to save thee
to the uttermost, that comest to God by him.
(6.) And for a conclusion as to this, I will add, that there is much of
the honour of the Lord Jesus engaged as to the saving of the coming man
to the uttermost: ‘I am glorified in them,’ saith he. (John 17:10) He
is exalted to be a Saviour. (Acts 5:31) And if the blessed One doth
count it an exaltation to be a Saviour, surely it is an exaltation to
be a Saviour, and a great one. ‘They shall cry unto the Lord because of
the oppressors, and he shall send them a Saviour, and a great one, and
he shall deliver them.’ (Isa 19:20) If it is a glory to be a Saviour, a
great Saviour, then it is a glory for a Saviour, a great one, to save,
and save, and save to the uttermost—to the uttermost man, to the
uttermost sin, to the uttermost temptation. And hence it is that he
saith again, speaking of the transgressions, sins, and iniquities that
he would pardon, that it should turn to him for ‘a name of joy, a
praise, and an honour before all nations.’ (Jer 33:9) He therefore
counts it an honour to be a great Saviour, to save men to the
uttermost.
When Moses said, ‘I beseech thee, show me thy glory,’ the answer was,
‘I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the
name of the Lord before thee.’ (Exo 33:18,19) And when he came indeed
to make proclamation, then he proclaimed, ‘The Lord, The Lord God,
merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and
truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and
transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.’
(Exo 34:6,7) That will by no means clear them that will not come to me
that they may be saved.
See here, if it is not by himself accounted his glory to make his
goodness, all his goodness, pass before us. And how can that be, if he
saveth not to the uttermost them that come unto God by him? For
goodness is by us noways seen but by those acts by which it expresseth
itself to be so. And, I am sure, to save, to save to the uttermost, is
one of the most eminent expressions by which we understand it is great
goodness. I know goodness has many ways to express itself to be what it
is to the world; but then it expresseth its greatness when it pardons
and saves, when it pardons and saves to the uttermost. My goodness,
says Christ, extends not itself to my Father, but to my saints. (Psa
16:2,3) My Father has no need of my goodness, but my saints have, and
therefore it shall reach forth itself for their help, in whom is all my
delight. And, ‘Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up
for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in
thee before the sons of men’! (Psa 31:19) It is therefore that which
tendeth to get Christ a name, a fame, and glory, to be able to save to
the uttermost them that come to God by him.
[In Christ’s ability to save, lieth our safety.]
But some may say, What is the meaning of this word able? ‘Wherefore he
is able to save.’ He is able to save the uttermost. How comes it to
pass that his power to save is rather put in than his willingness; for
willingness, saith the soul, would better have pleased me. I will speak
two or three words to this question. And,
First, By this word able is suggested to us the sufficiency of his
merit, the great worthiness of his merit; for, as Intercessor, he
sticks fast by his merit; all his petitions, prayers, or supplications
are grounded upon the worthiness of his person as Mediator, and on the
validity of his offering as priest. This is the more clear, if you
consider the reason why those priests and sacrifices under the law
could not make the worshippers perfect. It was, I say, because there
wanted in them worthiness and merit in their sacrifices. But this man,
when he came and offered his sacrifice, he did by that one act ‘perfect
for ever them that are sanctified,’ or set apart for glory. ‘But this
man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on
the right hand of God.’ (Heb 10:1-12)
When Moses prayed for the people of Israel, thus he said, ‘And now, I
beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast
spoken.’ But what had he spoken? ‘The Lord is long-suffering, and of
great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means
clearing the guilty—Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people
according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven
this people, from Egypt even until now.’ (Num 14:17-19)
Second, Has he but power, we know he is willing, else he would not have
promised; it is also his glory to pardon and save. So, then, in his
ability lies our safety. What if he were never so willing, if he were
not of ability sufficient, what would his willingness do? But he has
showed, as I said, his willingness by promising: ‘Him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out.’ (John 6:37) So that now our comfort lies
in his power, in that he is able to make good his word. (Rom 4:20,21)
And this also will then be seen, when he hath saved them that come to
God by him, when he hath saved them to the uttermost; not to the
uttermost of his ability, but to the uttermost of our necessity; for to
the uttermost of his ability I believe he will never be put to it to
save his church; not for that he is loath so to save, but because there
is no need so to save; he shall not need to put out all his power, and
to press the utmost of his merit for the saving of his church. Alas!
there is sufficiency of merit in him to save a thousand times as many
more as are like to be saved by him; ‘he is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think.’
Measure not, therefore, what he can do by what he has, doth, or will
do; neither do thou interpret this word, to the uttermost, as if it
related to the uttermost of his ability, but rather as it relateth, for
so it doth indeed, to the greatness of thy necessity. For as he is able
to save thee, though thy condition be, as it may be supposed to be, the
worst that ever man was in that was saved, so he is able to save thee,
though thy condition were ten times worse than it is.
What! shall not the worthiness of the Son of God be sufficient to save
from the sin of man? or shall the sin of the world be of that weight to
destroy, that it shall put Christ Jesus to the uttermost of the worth
of his person and merit to save therefrom? I believe it is blasphemy to
think so. We can easily imagine that he can save all the world—that is,
that he is of ability to do it; but we cannot imagine that he can do no
more than we can think he can. But our imagination and thoughts set no
bound to his ability. ‘He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think.’ But what that is, I say, no man can think, no
man can imagine. So, then, Jesus Christ can do more than ever any man
thought he could do as to saving; he can do we know not what. This,
therefore, should encourage comers to come to him; and them that come,
to hope. This, I say, should encourage them to let out, to lengthen,
and heighten their thoughts by the word, to the uttermost, seeing he
can ‘save to the uttermost them that come to God by him.’6
[Inferences from the benefits of Christ’s intercession.]
Third. And now I come to the third thing that I told you I should speak
to, and that is, to those inferences that may be gathered from these
words.
1. Are they that are justified by Christ’s blood such as have need yet
to be saved by his intercession? Then from hence it follows that
justification will stand with imperfection. It doth not therefore
follow that a justified man is without infirmity; for he that is
without infirmity—that is, perfect with absolute perfection, has no
need to be yet saved by an act yet to be performed by a mediator and
his mediation.
When I say, justification will stand with imperfection, I do not mean
that it will allow, countenance, or approve thereof; but I mean there
is no necessity of our perfection, of our personal perfection, as to
our justification, and that we are justified without it; yea, that
that, in justified persons, remains. Again; when I say that
justification will stand with imperfection, I do not mean that in our
justification we are imperfect; for in that we are complete; ‘we are
complete in him’ who is our justice. (Col 2:10) If otherwise, the
imperfection is in the matter that justifieth us, which is the
righteousness of Christ. Yea, and to say so would conclude that wrong
judgment proceedeth from him that imputeth that righteousness to us to
justification, since an imperfect thing is imputed to us for
justification. But far be it from any that believe that God is true to
imagine such a thing; all his works are perfect, there is nothing
wanting in them as to the present design.
[Quest.] But what then do we mean when we say, justification will stand
with a state of imperfection?
Answ. Why, I mean that justified men are yet sinners in themselves, are
yet full of imperfections; yea, sinful imperfections. Justified Paul
said, ‘I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good
thing.’ (Rom 7:18) While we are yet sinners, we are justified by the
blood of Christ. Hence, again, it is said, ‘he justifieth the ungodly.’
(Rom 4:5, 5:8,9) Justification, then, only covereth our sin from the
sight of God; it maketh us not perfect with inherent perfection. But
God, for the sake of that righteousness which by his grace is imputed
to us, declareth us quit and discharged from the curse, and sees sin in
us no more to condemnation.
[WHY THE JUSTIFIED NEED AN INTERCESSOR.]
And this is the reason, or one reason, why they that are justified have
need of an intercessor—to wit, to save us from the evil of the sin that
remains in our flesh after we are justified by grace through Christ,
and set free from the law as to condemnation. Therefore, as it is said,
we are saved; so it is said, ‘He is able also to save them to the
uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for them.’ The godly, for now we will call them the godly,
though there is yet abundance of sin in them, feel in themselves many
things even after justification by which they are convinced they are
still attended with personal, sinful imperfections.
[Imperfect in their feelings and inclinations.]—(1.) They feel
unbelief, fear, mistrust, doubting, despondings, murmurings,
blasphemies, pride, lightness, foolishness, avarice, fleshly lusts,
heartlessness to good, wicked desires, low thoughts of Christ, too good
thoughts of sin, and, at times, too great an itching after the worst of
immoralities.
(2.) They feel in themselves an aptness to incline to errors, as to
lean to the works of the law for justification; to question the truth
of the resurrection and judgment to come; to dissemble and play the
hypocrite in profession and in performance of duties; to do religious
duties rather to please man than God, who trieth the heart.
(3.) They feel an inclination in them, in times of trial, to faint
under the cross, to seek too much to save themselves, to dissemble the
known truth for the obtaining a little favour with men, and to speak
things that they ought not, that they may sleep in a whole skin.
(4.) They feel wearisomeness in religious duties, but a natural
propensity to things of the flesh. They feel a desire to go beyond
bounds both at board, and bed, and bodily exercise, and in all lawful
recreation.
(5.) They feel in themselves an aptness to take the advantage of using
of things that are lawful, as food, raiment, sleep, talk, estates,
relations, beauty, wit, parts, and graces, to unlawful ends. These
things, with many more of the like kind, the justified man finds and
feels in himself, to his humbling and often casting down; and to save
him from the destroying evil of these, Christ ever liveth to make
intercession for him.
[Imperfect in their graces.]—Again; the justified man is imperfect in
his graces, and therefore needeth to be saved by the intercession of
Christ from the bad fruit that that imperfection yields.
Justifying righteousness is accompanied with graces—the graces of the
Spirit. Though these graces are not that matter by and through which we
are justified, nor any part thereof, that being only the obedience of
Christ imputed to us of mere pleasure and good will; but, I say, they
come when justification comes. (Rom 9) And though they are not so
easily discerned at the first, they show forth themselves afterwards.
But I say, how many soever they are, and how fast soever they grow,
their utmost arrivement here is but a state short of perfection. None
of the graces of God’s Spirit in our hearts can do their work in us
without shortness, and that because of their own imperfections, and
also because of the oppositions that they meet with from our flesh.
(1.) Faith, which is the root-grace, the grand grace, its shortness is
sufficiently manifest by its shortness of apprehension of things
pertaining to the person, offices, relations, and works of Christ, now
in the heavenly place for us. It is also very defective in its fetching
of comfort from the Word to us, and in continuing of it with us, when
at any time we attain unto it; in its receiving of strength to subdue
sin, and in its purifyings of the heart, though indeed it doth what it
doth in reality, yet how short is it of doing of it thoroughly?
Oftentimes, were it not for supplies by virtue of the intercession of
Christ, faith would fail of performing its office in any measure. (Luke
22:31,32)
(2.) There is hope, another grace of the Spirit bestowed upon us; and
how often is that also, as to the excellency of working, made to flag?
‘I shall perish,’ saith David; ‘I am cut off from before thine eyes,’
said he. (Psa 31:22) And now where was his hope, in the right gospel
discovery of it? Also all our fear of men, and fears of death, and
fears of judgment, they arise from the imperfections of hope. But from
all those faults Christ saves us by his intercessions.
(3.) There is love, that should be in us as hot as fire. It is compared
to fire, to fire of the hottest sort; yea, it is said to be hotter than
the coals of juniper. (Cant 8:6,7) But who finds this heat in love so
much as for one poor quarter of an hour together? Some little flashes,
perhaps, some at some times may feel, but where is that constant
burning of affection that the Word, the love of God, and the love of
Christ call for? yea, and that the necessities of the poor and
afflicted members of Christ call for also. Ah! love is cold in these
frozen days, and short when it is at the highest.
(4.) The grace of humility, when is it? who has a thimbleful thereof?
Where is he that is ‘clothed with humility,’ and that does what he is
commanded ‘with all humility of mind’? (1 Peter 5:5, Acts 20:19)
(5.) For zeal, where is that also? Zeal for God against sin,
profaneness, superstition, and idolatry. I speak now to the godly, who
have this zeal in the root and habit; but oh, how little of it puts
forth itself into actions in such a day as this is!
(6.) There is reverence, fear, and standing in awe of God’s Word and
judgments, where are the excellent workings thereof to be found? And
where it is most, how far short of perfect acts is it?
(7.) Simplicity and godly sincerity also, with how much dirt is it
mixed in the best; especially among those of the saints that are rich,
who have got the poor and beggarly art of complimenting? For the more
compliment, the less sincerity. Many words will not fill a bushel. But
‘in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin.’ (Prov 10:19) Plain
men are thin come up in this day; to find a mouth without fraud and
deceit now is a rare thing. Thus might one count up all the graces of
the Spirit, and show wherein every one of them are scanty and wanting
of perfection. Now look, what they want of perfection is supplied with
sin and vanity; for there is a fullness of sin and flesh at hand to
make up all the vacant places in our souls. There is no place in the
souls of the godly but it is filled up with darkness when the light is
wanting, and with sin so far forth as grace is wanting. Satan, also,
diligently waiteth to come in at the door, if Careless has left it a
little achare.7 But, oh! the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ever
liveth to make intercession for us, and that, by so doing, saves us
from all the imperfect acts and workings of our graces, and from all
the advantages that flesh, and sin, and Satan getteth upon us thereby.
[Imperfect in their Duties.]—Further, as Christ Jesus our Lord doth
save us, by his intercession, from that hurt that would unavoidably
come upon us by these, so also, by that we are saved from the evil that
is at any time found in any or all our holy duties and performances
that is our duty daily to be found in. That our duties are imperfect,
follows upon what was discoursed before; for if our graces be
imperfect, how can our duties but be so too?
(1.) Our prayers, how imperfect are they! With how much unbelief are
they mixed! How apt is our tongue to run, in prayer, before our hearts!
With how much earnestness do our lips move, while our hearts lie within
as cold as a clod! Yea, and ofttimes, it is to be feared, we ask for
that with our mouth that we care not whether we have or no. Where is
the man that pursues with all his might what but now he seemed to ask
for with all his heart? Prayer is become a shell, a piece of formality,
a very empty thing, as to the spirit and life of prayer at this day. I
speak now of the prayers of the godly. I once met with a poor woman
that, in the greatest of her distresses, told me she did use to rise in
the night, in cold weather, and pray to God, while she sweat with fears
of the loss of her prayers and desires that her soul might be saved. I
have heard of many that have played, but of few that have prayed, till
they have sweat, by reason of their wrestling with God for mercy in
that duty.
(2.) There is the duty of almsgiving, another gospel performance; but
how poorly is it done in our days! We have so many foolish ways to lay
out money, in toys and fools’ baubles for our children, that we can
spare none, or very little, for the relief of the poor. Also, do not
many give that to their dogs, yea, let it lie in their houses until it
stinks so vilely that neither dog nor cat will eat it; which, had it
been bestowed well in time, might have been a succour and nourishment
to some poor member of Christ?
(3.) There is hearing of the Word; but, alas! the place of hearing is
the place of sleeping with many a fine professor. I have often observed
that those that keep shops can briskly attend upon a twopenny customer;
but when they come themselves to God’s market, they spend their time
too much in letting their thoughts to wander from God’s commandments,
or in a nasty drowsy way. The heads, also, and hearts of most hearers
are to the Word as the sieve is to water; they can hold no sermons,
remember no texts, bring home no proofs, produce none of the sermon to
the edification and profit of others. And do not the best take up too
much in hearing, and mind too little what, by the Word, God calls for
at their hands, to perform it with a good conscience?
(4.) There is faithfulness in callings, faithfulness to brethren,
faithfulness to the world, faithfulness to children, to servants, to
all, according to our place and capacity. Oh! how little of it is there
found in the mouths and lives, to speak nothing of the hearts, of
professors.
I will proceed no further in this kind of repetition of things; only
thus much give me leave to say over again, even many of the truly godly
are very faulty here. But what would they do if there were not one
always at the right hand of God, by intercession, taking away these
kind of iniquities?
2. Are those that are justified by the blood of Christ such, after
that, as have need also of saving by Christ’s intercession? From hence,
then, we may infer, that as sin, so Satan will not give over from
assaulting the best of the saints.
It is not justification that can secure us from being assaulted by
Satan: ‘Simon, Simon, Satan has desired to have you.’ (Luke 22:31,32)
There are two things that do encourage the devil to set upon the people
of God:—
(1.) He knows not who are elect; for all that profess are not, and,
therefore, he will make trial, if he can get them into his sieve,
whether he can cause them to perish. And great success he hath had this
way. Many a brave professor has he overcome; he has cast some of the
stars from heaven to earth; he picked one out from among the apostles,
and one, as it is thought, from among the seven deacons,8 and many from
among Christ’s disciples; but how many, think you, nowadays, doth he
utterly destroy with his net?
(2.) If it so happeneth that he cannot destroy, because Christ, by his
intercession, prevaileth, yet will he set upon the church to defile and
afflict it. For (a), If he can but get us to fall, with Peter, then he
has obtained that dishonour be brought to God, the weak to be stumbled,
the world offended, and the gospel vilified and reproached. Or (b), If
he cannot throw up our heels, yet, by buffeting of us, he can grieve
us, afflict us, put us to pain, fright us, drive us to many doubts, and
make our life very uncomfortable unto us, and make us go groaning to
our Father’s house. But blessed be God for his Christ, and for that ‘he
ever liveth to make intercession for us.’
3. Are those that are justified by the blood of Christ such as, after
that, have need to be saved by Christ’s intercession? Then, hence I
infer that it is dangerous going about anything in our own name and
strength. If we would have helps from the intercession of Christ, let
us have a care that we do what we do according to the word of Christ.
Do what he bids us as well as we can, as he bids us, and then we need
not doubt to have help and salvation in those duties by the
intercession of Christ. ‘Do all,’ says the apostle, ‘in the name of the
Lord Jesus.’ (Col 3:17) Oh, but then the devil and the world will be
most of all offended! Well, well, but if you do nothing but as in his
fear, by his Word, in his name, you may be sure of what help his
intercession can afford you, and that can afford you much help, not
only to begin, but to go through with your work in some good measure,
as you should; and by that also you shall be secured from those
dangers, if not temptations to dangers, that those that go out about
business in their own names and strength shall be sure to meet withal.
4. Are those that are justified by the blood of Christ such as, after
that, have need of being saved by Christ’s intercession? Then, hence I
infer again, that God has a great dislike of the sins of his own
people, and would fall upon them in judgment and anger much more
severely than he doth, were it not for Christ’s intercession. The
gospel is not, as some think, a loose and licentious doctrine, nor
God’s discipline of his church a negligent and careless discipline;
for, though those that believe already have also an intercessor, yet
God, to show his detestation against sin, doth often make them feel to
purpose the weight of his fingers. The sincere, that fain would walk
oft with God, have felt what I say, and that to the breaking of their
bones full oft. The loose ones, and those that God loves not, may be
utter strangers as to this; but those that are his own indeed do know
it is otherwise.9