Exposition of John 17, Exposition · Part 51
JOHN. 17.23.
And thou haſt loved them as thou haſt loved me.
AND thus far we came on the laſt occaſion, by way of explication of the Point. Proceed we now to the Application of it, according to the branches of the explication in their order.
Is it ſo that God the Father loves believers as really and truly as he Ʋſe 1 loves Chriſt? This then ſhould teach us in the firſt place, to depend upon him in all caſes and not to doubt him, or diſtruſt him, who is true and reall to us. Its that which we are very ſubject to, when we are brought to ſtreights and difficulties and diſtreſſes, our hearts are ſhaken preſently, and our faith in God fails; we are affraid that God will ſerve us as unfaithfull friends are wont to do, when the time of tryal comes; That he will leave us ſuccourleſs in our diſtreſſes. Oh, my beloved, I beſeech you take heed how you wrong God, how you give way to one ſuſpicious thought of him, who is ſo real in his love to you. It is an injury of which he cannot chooſe but be infinitely tender, and that the rather and the more, becauſe his heart is ſo unfeignedly endeared to us. As friends who love us tenderly, if we be alwayes jealous of them, it troubles them exceedingly, they know not how to take it at our hands; ſo do but think how grievous it will be to God (who loves us as he doth his own Son) to be ſuſpected ſtill on all occaſions, and to have his love queſtioned. And therefore ſeeing God is ſuch a faithfull friend, let us commit our ſelves, and all our wayes to him, and let us caſt our ſelves upon him without fear in all caſes; Seeing he loves us really, let us truſt him perfectly: And let us ſo behave our ſelves in all conditions, that we may make it to appear that we rely upon him fully without the leaſt ſuſpition of his love to us.
Is it ſo that God the Father loves believers as really and truly as he Ʋſe 2 loves Chriſt? This then ſhould teach us in the ſecond place to love him truly and really again: To be (as far as it is poſſible) as undiſſembled and ſincere and cordial in our love to him, as he is in his love to us. Oh, my beloved, let us not anſwer true love with feigned love, nor real with pretended love; that would be an ill requital. We all profeſs a great deal of affection to the Lord, we ſay we love him: but if he ſhould examine us, and ſift us man by man, as once our Saviour did Peter, Loveſt thou me? doſt thou love me? doſt thou indeed? could we reply with him Oh Lord thou knoweſt that we love thee; Thou knoweſt that our hearts are right to thee. If God ſhould ask us, as Jehu did Jehonadab, 2 Kings 10.25. Is thine heart right as my heart is with thy heart? can you reply, as he? It is. So you may think indeed, and yet you may decieve your own ſouls. The Apoſtle ſpeaks of ſome who love the Lord in ſincerity, Eph. 6.24. by which he intimates that there are ſome who do not ſo, who love him hypocritically, not ſincerely; whoſe love to God is like the love of many to their brethren, in word and in ſhew, not in deed and in truth: and therefore it concerns us to examine whether the love we bear to God, be foreign, without diſsimulation, yea or no, as the Apoſtles phraſe is, Rom. 12.9. And thus far of the Application of the Point, in reference to the firſt branch of the Explication of it: Proceed we to the ſecond.
Ʋſe 2 Doth God the Father love believers everlaſtingly, even as he loves Chriſt? this then may cheer and comfort up the hearts of all believers, who though they have had ſweet experience of the love of God to them, yet are inclinable to fear that it may be withdrawn again from them. And ſurely there are many ſuch, who even waſte and pine away themſelves in ſuch perplexed thoughts as theſe are; Oh they ſhall never perſevere and continue to the end, they ſhall fall away at laſt from Gods favour, and ſo they ſhall be loſt for ever. Now I beſeech you, quiet and ſecure your ſelves in this particular; the Lord that hath begun to love you, will perſiſt to love you on to all eternity; as he hath loved you from the beginning, ſo he will ſurely love you to the end. As he hath loved you from everlaſting, ſo he will love you to everlaſting, even as he loves Chriſt. When he gives over loving Chriſt, then and not till then, my brethren he will give over loving you; when he withdraws his heart from Chriſt, the darling of his own boſome, he will withdraw his heart from you too. Believe it, Jeſus Chriſt and you muſt fare alike in this reſpect, you muſt be hated or be loved together.
And therefore do not fear of falling from the love of God, though you have many failings, many imperfections in you; do not doubt that they will cauſe the Lord to hate you. No, no, the love of God is large enough to cover a multitude of them, and none of them ſhall ſeparate you from the love of God which is in Chriſt Jeſus our Lord, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, Rom. 8.39. Obſerve it well, it is a love in Jeſus Chriſt; he loveth us in loving Chriſt, as being part of Chriſt; we are involved and wrapt up together with him in the ſame love: ſo that if our infirmities ſhould ſeparate us from the love of God, they muſt ſeparate Chriſt with us. If God and we part, God and Chriſt muſt part too. Oh think on this, my brethren, when your fears of loſing Gods favour are moſt prevailing with you, and have greateſt power upon you. This take for all, and reſt upon it, he can no ſooner ceaſe to love you, then you can ceaſe to love Chriſt.
Doth God the Father love believers infinitely even as he loves Chriſt? Ʋſe 3 Oh then, what may you not expect from ſuch love as this is? A love that hath no bounds, no meaſures. What will not God do for you, in all conditions and in all caſes? what will not God give you? what will not God forgive you? what can you want, if God love you in this manner? Let your hearts dwell upon the meditation of it, eſpecially when you are in trouble.
When penal miſeries are deſperate and extream, when they are very ſore upon you, that you know not what to do, Think with your ſelves, Is it a likely thing that God will ſuffer you to periſh or miſcarry? the God that loves you infinitely even as he loves Chriſt himſelf? Indeed if he did love you only with an ordinary love, you had ſome colour then to doubt, that he might be regardleſs of you. But ſince he loves you ſo unmeaſurably, as he doth, how can you think that he will ſtand and ſee you ſink away to ruine, and not ſtretch out his hand to ſave you? Suppoſe Chriſt were in your caſe (if it were to be ſuppoſed) that he were brought to ſuch an exigent as you are, how tender would the Father be of him? how would his bowels yearn upon him? how would he haſten to relieve him? What is it thou, ſaith God, that are brought to ſuch diſtreſs? and art thou likely to be ruined and undone? what thou my dear and pleaſant child, my own beloved ſon? Alas, I pitty thee, I melt upon thee, I will help thee preſently, I will not ſee thee to continue long in ſuch miſery as this is. Why my beloved, juſt as God would deal with Chriſt in ſuch a caſe, even ſo will he deal with you; for he loves you, even as he loveth him.
So when your ſins lie heavy on you, and you are even afraid that God will never pardon you, your provocations are ſo many and ſo great, you vex him every day, and every hour without ceaſing: you do not give him any breathing time: and therefore you are apt to think ſometimes, his patience will be out at laſt, and you ſhall pay for all together. Indeed my brethren, if his love were but as the love of man, you had ground enough to fear it. For who is able alwayes to forgive injuries without number, and without meaſure? But ſince his love is infinite, and there is no end of it, it cannot be too narrow, and too ſcant for you. What may you not expect from an infinite love? Oh my beloved, I beſeech you, do not limit it, do not ſet bounds to it: do not think thus far the love of God may cauſe him to forbear us, and forgive us, but beyond this it will not go. Ah my beloved, if you be humble and believing ſouls, it is a bottomleſs and boundleſs love to you: it will go beyond all that you can think, further then you are able to imagine. And therefore do not caſt away your confidence, but roll your ſelves on this unmeaſurable love of God in all caſes. Your ſins are finite: that is infinite: your ſins have limits: that hath none.
Doth God the Father love believers, under the ſame relations as he loves Ʋſe 4 Chriſt? doth he love them as his choſen, as his ſervants, as his children? This then adminiſters incomparable ſweet & pretious comfort, to all that do in deed and truth, believe in Chriſt. The love of God to them is like to that he bears to Chriſt, under all theſe three relations. And this involveth bleſſed priviledges and carries high things in it, as I ſhall ſhew you in their order.
Doth God the Father love believers as his choſen, even as he loves Chriſt? Then ſurely he will never caſt them off again, as he will never caſt off Chriſt. There are ſome whom God chooſes out of a common love, to common priviledges and advancements, whom in the iſſue he rejects again: he repents that he hath choſen them to ſuch a dignity, place, and office, and ſo he even caſts them off again. And thus he dealt you know with Saul and Judas. But he choſe Chriſt out of a ſpecial and peculiar love, never to be reverſed again. And juſt ſo he choſe us in and by and through Chriſt, out of the very ſame love, and with the very ſame intentions (in reference to revocation) that he choſe Chriſt. And what will God caſt away his people, whom he hath foreknown from everlaſting? whom he hath choſen in his Son Chriſt, before the foundation of the world was laid, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, Eph. 1.4. No, no; his choice of us, is as unalterable as his choice of Chriſt himſelf. And when he caſts away Chriſt, then and not till then (my brethren,) will he caſt away us.
Doth God the Father love believers as his ſervants, even as he loves Chriſt? Then ſurely he will deal with us in this regard, much as he dealt with Chriſt, as I ſhall ſhew you in a few particulars.
1. He will uphold us, as he did uphold Chriſt. A Maſter will uphold his ſervant in any buſineſs or employment that he ſetteth him about: Eſpecially a ſervant that he loves. So did God uphold Chriſt, and he ſeems to glory in it, and to call us to obſerve it, Iſa. 42.1. Behold my Servant whom I uphold; I am reſolved to bear him out, meddle with him he that dare. Indeed when the appointed time was come, he gave him up to ſuffer what he had deſigned him to. But in the interim, he bore him out, ſo that no projects, no attempts could take againſt him; they could not ſeize upon him, they could not hurt him (ſaith the Goſpel ſtory) becauſe his hour was not yet come. Even ſo will God uphold us, untill our hour be come too. For we are ſervants whom he loves even as he loved Chriſt. And as he is a loving, ſo he is an al-ſufficient and almighty Maſter, as he ſaid to Abraham, when he took him to be a Covenant-ſervant to him, Gen. 17.1. And therefore he will be not only a reward, but a ſhield to his ſervants; a ſhield and an exceeding great reward, as his own expreſſion is, Gen. 15.1. A reward for their ſalvation, and a ſhield for their protection.
2. God will aſſiſt us in his ſervice, as he did aſſiſt Chriſt. Chriſt had a piece of work you know in hand that was very difficult, ſo that he ſweat, and that not ordinary ſweat, but drops of blood trickling down upon the earth. Yea, more then ſo, he fainted, while he was about it: But God his Maſter that employed him, took a ſpecial care of him, and ſent an Angel down from heaven of purpoſe to comfort him, and ſtrengthen him, Luke 22.43. And when as man he feared how he ſhould hold out and how he ſhould go through with the buſineſs (as to any ſelf ſufficiency as a Creature) and ſo wept and cried to God, he had a very ſweet return as you may ſee, Heb. 5.7. When in the dayes of his fleſh he had offered up prayers and ſupplications with ſtrong crying and tears to him that was able to ſave him, he was heard in that he feared.
Juſt ſo doth God ſupport us in the work he calls us to; for we are ſervants whom he loves, even as he loved Chriſt. If he perceive the ſervice that we have in hand, to be too difficult and hard for us, then in comes God, and puts his own hand to the work. What, canſt thou not go through with it? Come let me help thee, ſaith the Lord. It is obſerved of the Levites, that God helped them, 1 Chron. 15.26. And the Apoſtle tells us, that the ſpirit helpeth our infirmities, Rom. 8.26. he ſtands againſt us, and bears up the burthen with us. So that the weakeſt ſervants of the Lord need not fear the hardeſt ſervice, or the heavieſt burthen, when he hath ſuch a one to help him, and when thoſe everlaſting arms are underneath him, as the Prophet ſpeaks, Deut. 33.27. What ſaid the Lord to Paul, when he was hard beſtead, and when he was about to faint? My grace is ſufficient for thee. And this made Paul to ſay, I can do all things through Chriſt that ſtrengthneth me, Phil. 4.13.
3. Out of this love, God will reward us for the ſervice that he enables us to do, as he did reward Chriſt. As ſoon as he had done his work, he had his wages down upon the nail, for he was heard in that prayer, John 15.4. I have glorified thee upon earth, I have finiſhed the work which thou gaveſt me to do: and now Oh Father glorifie me with thy ſelf. And ſo as ſoon as we have ended and diſpatched the buſineſs that God hath put into our hands, we ſhall receive our own reward according to our own labour. Having had the fruit to holineſs, we ſhall receive the end eternal life. If we be faithfull to the death, we ſhall receive the Crown of life, Apoc. 2.10. If we continue in the Vineyard to the Evening, we ſhall have our penny. If we hold out to the period of our lives, when we ſhall come to dye, we may conclude with God, as Chriſt doth in the forealledged place, We have glorified thee on earth, we have finiſhed the work which thou gaveſt us to do: and now O Father glorifie us with thy ſelf; and we may ſing our dying Song with the Apoſtle, 1 Tim. 4.7. We have fought a good fight, we have finiſhed our Courſe: henceforth there is laid up for us a Crown of righteouſneſs which God the righteous Judge will give us.
Doth God the Father love believers as his Children, even as he loves Chriſt? doth he affect them under that relation too, and that as he doth Chriſt? Then ſurely he will ſhew him ſelf a loving Father to them as he doth to Chriſt, and that eſpecially in two reſpects.
1. He will hear them as he doth hear Chriſt. You know it is but ask and have, with Chriſt. Thou art my Son, ſaith God the Father to our Saviour, Pſa. 2.6. this day I have begotten thee. And what follows? Ask of me and I will give thee. And this is that which Chriſt himſelf acknowledges, John 11.42. Father, I thank thee becauſe thou haſt heard me. Yea ſo he might in that particular, and yet he might deny him in another. But mark what followes preſently, and I know thou heareſt me alwayes. Thou art my Father, and I am thy Son, and hence it is that thou art ſo inclinable to hear me, to let me have my own asking. Even ſo will God hear us in every thing that we deſire according to his will, for we are Children alſo whom he loves, even as he loves Chriſt. And therefore as it was but ask and have with Chriſt, juſt ſo it is with us too. Ask and it ſhall be given you, Mat. 7.7. And that becauſe he is our loving Father, as he is Chriſts. Our heavenly Father will undoubtedly give good things to them that ask him.
2. He will provide for us, as he doth for Chriſt. You know he hath provided well for Chriſt. He is not his Son only, but he is his heir too. Yea, he hath made him heir of all things, Heb. 1.1. Why juſt ſo he hath done by us, for we are children whom he loves even as he loves Chriſt. As Chriſt is his Son and Heir, ſo we are heirs of God through Chriſt, Gal. 4.17. Joint heirs with Chriſt, Rom. 8.17. Not heirs divided and apart from Chriſt, but joint with Chriſt. And even as Chriſt is heir of all things, ſo we are heirs of all things too. All is ours, and we are Chriſts, 1 Cor. 3.21. A man can have but earth and heaven: and we are heirs to both in Chriſt: The meek ſhall inherit the earth, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, Pſal. 37.11, &c. And as we are heirs to earth, ſo we are heirs of heaven too, and that by virtue of our Son-ſhip: we are begotten to it, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks 1 Pet. 1.3. He hath begotten us to an inheritance, &c. So that the child of God you ſee engroſſeth all: earth is his, and heaven is his, and nothing elſe remains for other men but hell only. Oh the unutterable happineſs of thoſe whom God the Father loves even as he loves Chriſt! he gives his own Son nothing but they have a ſhare with him.
And thus far of the firſt main thing which Chriſt deſires of God the Father in the behalf of true believers, that they may be all one: Which ſuit he proſecutes with many arguments, as you have heard. The ſecond follows now in order to be handled, and this is, that they may be all in one place. They may be one by ſuch an union as our Saviour means (a ſpiritual and a myſtical union) though they be in divers places. But Chriſt is not content with this, you ſee; he will not only have them to be all one, but he will have them alſo to be all in one place, the ſame place where he is. Father, I will that they alſo whom thou haſt given me, be with me where I am, &c.
And here you may take notice with me of theſe two particulars. Firſt, the manner how our Saviour Chriſt propounds this ſuit of his: And then the matter of it, or the ſuit it ſelf. Firſt the manner how our Saviour here propounds this ſuit of his, and that is boldly and confidently, as you ſee: Father, I will: he ſaith not, as in other places, Father, I pray, or I deſire, or I beſeech thee and entreate thee, that it may be thus: but I will have it to be thus. No more but ſo, Father, I will, that they whom thou haſt given me. Secondly, And then you have the matter of the ſuit which he propounds, the thing which he will have to be, That they alſo whom thou haſt given me be with me, where I am.
Begin we with the manner, how our Saviour here propounds this ſuit of his, confidently as I ſaid, Father, I will.
I ſhall not hence conclude (as Auſtin did ſometimes againſt the Arrians) the Sons equality with God the Father, becauſe he ſpeaks in ſuch a peremptory manner to him, if I may expreſs it ſo, Father, I will, or elſeſaith he, he would have ſpoken in a ſupplicating and entreating, not in a willing and commanding way. That Chriſt as God is equal with the Father, is a certain truth, and manifeſtly to be proved from other Scriptures: But certainly it is not to be gathered hence: for in this Chapter all along he ſpeaks as man, and as man he is inferiour to the Father. And therefore uſually before, he ſaith, I pray, or I intreat, he ſpeaks in a ſubmiſſive way, though here he uſes ſuch a term as ſeems to to carry more authority, Father, I will.
Now ſince, he ſpeaks as man and mediator, as that is very evident, we muſt underſtand him here in ſuch a way as is agreeable to Chriſt in that capacity, and under that conſideration. And conſequently that he doth not here imperiouſly require of God the Father: and yet upon the other ſide, he doth ſo expreſs himſelf, as being very confident that he ſhall have his own pleaſure, and that his will ſhall ſurely carry it with God the Father, without any contradiction. If he will it, it is done without any more ado. Father, I will have it ſo, and there's an end. And ſo accordingly the point ſhall be.
DOCTRINE. The will of Chriſt as Mediator, is as it were a law with God the Father, or Chriſt may have even what he will of God the Father.
And therefore praying here that all believers might be together with him in the ſame place, he ſaith no more but this, Father, I will that they alſo whom thou haſt given me be with me where I am: And this is that which Martha was ſo ſtedfaſtly perſwaded of, that Chriſt was ſure to ſpeed with God in any ſuit that he would make to him: She had no doubt at all concerning this, as you may ſee, John 11.22. I know, ſaith ſhe, that whatſoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. Let it be what it will, God will not turn thee off with a denial. And leaſt you ſhould conceive that this was but a groundleſs confidence in her, you ſhall find it ſeconded by Chriſt himſelf, ver. 42. of the very ſame Chapter, which puts it out of all queſtion. If you ſurvey the ſupplications that he made while he was here upon the earth, you ſhall perceive what force they had with God the Father. The Apoſtle Paul obſerves that he was very earneſt with him in a weighty buſineſs, Heb. 5.7. and what was the event and iſſue of it? he was heard as it is added preſently, no more but ſo, he was granted out of hand. So in another place he prayed for Peter in a ſpecial manner, that his faith might never fa…l, Luke 22.32. that it might not wholly fail, ſo as to be quite loſt, and utterly extinct in him. His faith was ſhaken after this indeed, but it was not overthrown: it fainted, but it did not fail; So that Chriſt had his full deſire in that particular, I ſhall add no more for proof: you ſee the will of Chriſt as Mediator is, &c. And there are many Reaſons of it. For,
He is the Fathers own Son. And Fathers uſe to be indulgent to their Reaſon 1 Children to let them have their ears, yea and their very hearts too. Our Saviour calls him Father all along this prayer. Indeed he gives him once the attribute of Holy, once the attribute of Righteous Father. But this is ſtill the appellation that he uſes, and from which he never varies. If he call him any thing, he calls him Father: And therefore he preſumeth much upon him, becauſe of this relation to him, that he ſhall not be denyed; he is the bolder, while he conſiders he is ſpeaking to a Father, as that is his expreſſion in my Text it ſelf; Father, I will; Come, I muſt have my will in this particular, thou muſt not put me off with a denyal; for I am thine own Son.
Reaſon 2 Yet this is not ſufficient that he is a Son: for there are ſons whom fathers will deny in every thing almoſt, becauſe they have deſerved ill of them: and ſo they bear but little love to them. But Chriſt is not ſuch a Son; no, as he is a Son, ſo he is a beloved ſon; it is the Fathers atteſtation of him, Mat. 3.17, This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleaſed. And that is a ſecond reaſon, why Chriſt may have even what he will of God the Father, becauſe he bears ſuch dear affection to him: And this is intimated alſo in the Text it ſelf, ſaith Chriſt, in the words mediately before, which we have even now diſpatched, thou haſt loved me, ſaith he; and what follows? Father I will, q. d. I know thou will let me have my will, becauſe thou loveſt me.
Reaſon 3 Yet this is not ſufficient neither, that he is a Son, and a beloved Son too: For there are ſons that are very well beloved, who yet will ask that of their fathers many times, which would be neither beneficial for them to receive, nor honourable for their fathers to beſtow upon them; and God himſelf hath ſome of theſe ſons, who now and then put up their ſupplications and requeſts for that which would be neither good for them to have, nor him to give; and therefore they receive the anſwer that the two Diſciples did, Ye know not what ye ask. But Jeſus Chriſt is none of thoſe ſons; he never faileth in the leaſt degree, in the matter or the manner of his prayers. He never asketh what he ſhould not ask: he never asketh what he ſhould, in ſuch a manner as he ſhould not. And that is a third reaſon, why he may have even what he will of God the Father, becauſe as he is a Son, and a beloved Son, ſo he is ſuch a Son as never asketh any thing amiſs; he never prays but juſt according to his Fathers own will. His will as he is Man and Mediator, agrees in every thing, and all reſpects with the will of God the Father; And therefore while the Father lets our Saviour have his will, he hath his own; and if he ſhould not let him have his will, he ſhould not have his own neither. We that are adopted ſons, are many times miſtaken in the ſupplications that we make to God; we do not ask according to his will; and hence it is, my Brethren, that he doth not always hear us. But Jeſus Chriſt who is the Fathers own begotten Son, is never at a loſs in this reſpect. He never miſſes of conforming his deſires to his Fathers own pleaſure; and hence it is that his Will is a law with God the Father.
Reaſon 4 And then there is a fourth reaſon, which is more then all the reſt, why Chriſts Will is a Law with God the Father, becauſe indeed he willeth nothing but that which he deſerves of him. If he ſue for any thing as Mediator in the behalf of his people, it is but that which he hath dearly bought and paid for: So that his Father ought not in juſtice to deny him, His Interceſſion, as Divines obſerve, is nothing elſe but the preſenting of his merits to the Father. And this is that which makes him bold and confident, as you ſee him in my Text: Father, I will have it thus; That which I ſeek, I have purchaſed with my blood, and therefore let me not be wronged, but let me have what I have paid for. Father, I will that thoſe whom thou haſt given me, be with me where I am: q. d. Thou knoweſt that I have bought that place for them, and I have ſatisfied thee for it, to the very utmoſt, and therefore I will have them to be there, and I muſt not be denyed.
Now is it ſo, my Brethren, that the will of Chriſt is as it were, &c. Ʋſe. 1 The firſt ſerves to let us ſee their happineſs who have Chriſt to ſpeak for them. They who have him to be their Interceſſor, and to preſent his ſupplications and requeſts for them, are in a very good Condition, for they can want no good thing. They might ſtand begging long enough themſelves, and never ſpeed: But if Chriſt do undertake to plead for them, if he put in a good word for them, all is ended preſently, they have a gracious anſwer out of hand. God may deny them (as I ſhewed you) while they are ſpeaking for themſelves; but if Chriſt ſpeak for them, he can never be denyed; he may have what he will of God the Father. O the the bleſſedneſs of thoſe to whom this glorious priviledge belongs, and who have ſuch a powerful Advocate as Chriſt is.
Is it ſo, that the will of Chriſt, &c. why then, if we have any ſuit Ʋſe 2 to make, or any ſupplication to preſent, let us not go directly to the Father, but let us get the Lord Chriſt to ſpeak for us. And then we may be confident that all is ſure. We may be denyed, but he cannot.
But how ſhall we make Chriſt to be our Spokeſman, and our Advocate in all ſupplications that we make to God? I will give you two directions.
1. We muſt walk by his Rule, the Rule that he would have us guide our prayers and our ſupplications by. We muſt be ſure to put up ſuch petitions, and none but ſuch as are agreeable to his will. For as the Father will not grant the ſuit that is not ſuitable to his will: if we ask any thing according to his will he hears us, otherwiſe he doth not: ſo Chriſt will not take the ſuit that is not ſuitable to his will. And to ſay truth, that is the reaſon why the Father doth not grant it, viz. becauſe the Son doth not preſent it and purſue it; for if he do, it never fails of audience or ſucceſs. If Chriſt undertake it once, his Father never puts it off with a denyal. His will is as it were a Law with God the Father.
Brethren, our Saviour is not ſuch an Advocate as pleads for fees, and undertaketh any thing that any Clyent puts into his hands; No, what he likes, and what he hath a mind to, he purſues and proſecutes with God the Father, and never leaves till he obtain a grant from him; but if he miſlike the ſuit, if it agree not with his mind, or will, he never ſpeaks a word in it, and then it never ſpeeds with God. For as the Father granteth all that Chriſt deſires, ſo he denyeth all in which he doth not ſhew himſelf an Interceſſor. If Chriſt the Mediator do not own it, the Father never gives aſſent to it. And therefore he muſt be engaged and intereſted in every ſuit we make to God, by framing it agreeably to his will.
2. We muſt act by his Spirit, who knows his mind as the Apoſtle tells us, 1 Cor. 2.11. and what will ſurely take and relliſh with him. Beloved, if the Spirit draw up the Petition, Chriſt will preſent and follow it, and get it ſigned. But if the Spirit have no hand in it, Chriſt will have none neither. We have two Advocates and Interceſſors to the Father. An Interceſſor or an Advocate within us; an Interceſſor or an Advocate without us: An Interceſſor to plead in us, and to plead by us; and an Interceſſor to plead for us. In the firſt ſenſe, the Spirit is our Interceſſor, ſo the Apoſtle calls him, Rom. 8.20. In the Latter Chriſt only. Now theſe two Advocates or Interceſſors are agreed: you get not one of them without the other. Chriſt will not be your Lawyer, unleſs you make the Spirit your Attorney. And as the Father never grants that which Chriſt doth not preſent and plead before him: So our Saviour never pleads that which the Spirit doth not frame and draw up. If the Petition which you tender be of the Spirits forming in you, Chriſt entertains and urges it without any more ado, and ſo the Father gives aſſent to it.
If then you would have Chriſt to be your Advocate, you muſt engage him by his Spirit; your Supplications and Petitions muſt be the voyce of his Spirit in your hearts; the Holy Ghoſt muſt raiſe and frame them there: you muſt take heed they be not barely natural deſires, as the Petitions of abundance are, which ſeek for nothing elſe but that which nature craves for, on natural principles, and for natural ends: And that they be not: only the voyce of your own ſpirits, but that they be the voyce of Chriſts ſpirit; and if Chriſts Spirit make you prayers, if he make Interceſſion in you with ſighs and groans, Chriſt will make Interceſſion for you, and then the Father will be ſure to hear you: For if he deny you, he muſt deny Chriſt too that pleads for you, and that he never doth, as you have heard. His will is as it were a law with God the Father, he may have what he will of him.