Christ Set Forth, Section 5 · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
The potencie of Chriſts Interceſsion, demonſtrated, in that he intercedes with God, who is Our Father. How Gods heart is as much inclined to heare Chriſt for us, as Chriſts is to intercede.
SEcondly, Chriſt is an Advocate for us with Our Father: You may perhaps think there is little in that; but Chriſt puts much upon it: yea ſo much, as if that God would however grant all that Chriſt himſelfe means to ask, whether Chriſt asked it or no. This you have expreſly in Iohn 16. 26, 27. At that day (ſayes Chriſt) you ſhall ask in my name, and I ſay not to you, that I will pray the Father for you; for the Father himſelfe loveth you. To open this place, where he ſayes [at that day;] The day he meanes through this whole Chapter, is that time vvhen the holy Ghoſt ſhould be ſhed upon them: for throughout his diſcourſe, he ſtil ſpeaks of the fruits of his Aſcenſion, and of giving the Comforter, vvhichwhich vvas done upon his aſcending, and vvas the firſt fruits of his prieſtly office in Heaven. Thus Peter informs us, Act. 2. 33. He being (ſayes he) exalted by the right hand of God, and having received (namely by asking, Ask and I will give thee) of the Father the promiſe of the holy Ghoſt, he hath ſhed forth this, which you now ſee and heare. Now of that time, vvhen he ſhall be in Heaven, he ſayes, I ſay not that I will pray for you: vvhichwhich is not meant, that Chriſt prays not for us in heaven, but rather thoſe very vvords are the higheſt intimation, that he vvould and doth pray for us, that can be. When men vvould moſt ſtrongly intimate their purpoſe of a kindneſſe they mean to doe for one, they uſe to ſay, I doe not ſay that I love you, or that I will doe this or that for you; which is as much as to ſay, I will ſurely doe it, and doe it to purpoſe. But Chriſts ſcope here is, as in the higheſt manner to promiſe them that he would pray for them; ſo withall, further to tell them for their more abundant aſſurance and ſecurity, that beſides their having the benefit of his prayers, God himſelfe ſo loves them of himſelfe, that indeed that alone were enough to obtaine any thing at his hands, which they ſhall but ask in his name; ſo as he needs not pray for them, and yet he will too. But now in this caſe, if he himſelfe pray for them, and they themſelves in his name, and both unto a Father, who of himſelfe loveth them, and who hath purpoſed to grant all, before either he, or they ſhould ask; vvhat hope muſt there needs be then of a good ſucceſſe? this is both the meaning of this place, and a great truth to be conſidered on by us, to the purpoſe in hand: That it is the meaning of the place, the manner of Chriſts ſpeech implies, [I ſay not that I will pray the Father for you, for the Father himſelfe loveth you.] It is ſuch a ſpeech as Chriſt uſed upon a cleane contrary occaſion, Iohn 5. 45. Doe not thinke (ſayes he) that I will accuſe you to the Father, there is one who accuſeth you, even Moſes, &c. He there threatens the obſtinate and accurſed Phariſees with condemnation: Never ſtand thinking that it is I (ſayes he) who am your onelyonly enemie and accuſer, that will procure your condemnation, and ſo proſecute the matter againſt you meerely for my own intereſt; no, I ſhall not neede to doe it: though I ſhould not accuſe you, your owne Moſes in whom you truſt, he is enough to condemne you, he will doe your errand ſufficiently, you would be ſure to be damned by his words and ſayings; I ſhall not neede to trouble my ſelfe to come in and enter my action againſt you too, Moſes and his Law would follow the ſuit, and be enough to condemne you to Hel. So as this Speech doth not implie that Chriſt will not at all accuſe them; no, he meanes to bring in his action againſt them too: for he after ſayes, If he had not ſpoke to them, they had had no ſinne, and therefore he meant to bring the greateſt accuſation of all. Now in an oppoſite (though parallel) ſpeech here, to comfort his Diſciples, he ſayes [I ſay not that I will pray for you] that God may ſave you, I who your ſelves ſhall ſee will dye for you, I ſay not that I will pray for you, not I. But though I ſpeake this to inſinuate in the higheſt manner, that I will; (for if I ſpend my blood for you, will I not ſpend my breath for you?) yet the truth is, that the caſe ſo ſtands, that but for Gods own ordination, I ſhould not neede to doe it, for the Father himſelfe loves you: (that is) the Father of his own motion, and proper good will taken up of himſelfe towards you, and not wrought in him by me, doth love you, and beares ſo much love to you, as he can deny you nothing, for he is your Father as well as mine. How much more then ſhall you be ſaved, when I ſhall ſtrike in too, and uſe all my intereſt in him for you? Chriſt on purpoſe uſeth this ſpeech, ſo to daſh out of their hearts that conceit, which harboureth in many of ours, who look upon God in the matter of Salvation, as one who is hardly entreated to come off, to ſave ſinners, and with whom Chriſt (through the backwardneſſe of his heart) hath ſo much adoe; and we are apt to think that when he doth come off to pardon, he doth it only & meerly at Chriſts entreaty, and for his ſake, having otherwiſe no innate motion in himſelfe ſufficient to encline his heart to it; but that it is in this tranſaction by Chriſt with him, as a Favourite procures a Pardon for a Traitor, whoſe perſon the King cares not for; only at his Favourites ſuit and requeſt he grants it, which elſe he would never have done. You are deceived, ſayes Chriſt, it is otherwiſe: my Fathers heart is as much towards you, and for your ſalvations, as mine is: Himſelfe of himſelfe loveth you. And the truth is, that God took up as vaſt a love unto us of himſelfe at firſt, as ever he hath borne us ſince: and all that Chriſt doth for us, is but the expreſſion of that love which was taken up originally in Gods owne heart. Thus we find, that out of that love he gave Chriſt for us: So Iohn 3. 16. God ſo loved the world (of elect) that he gave his onelyonly begotten Sonne to dye, &c. Yea, Chriſts death was but a meanes to commend or ſet forth that love of his unto us: So Rom. 5. 8. it was God alſo that did himſelfe give the perſons unto Chriſt, and under-hand ſet him on work to mediate for them: God was in Chriſt reconciling the World to himſelfe: He onelyonly uſed Chriſt as his inſtrument to bring it honourably about. All the Bleſsings he means to give us, he firſt purpoſed and intended in himſelfe: (ſo Eph. 1. 3, 5, 9, 11. compared) out of the good pleaſure of his will, yet [in Chriſt] as it is added there, as the means through which hee would convey them: yea Chriſt adds not one drop of love to Gods heart; onelyonly he draws it out, he brocheth it, and makes it flow forth, whoſe current had otherwiſe beene ſtopt. The truth is, that God ſuborned Chriſt to beg them on our behalf for an honourable way of carrying it, and to make us prize this favour of it the more; but ſo, as his heart is as ready to give all to us, as Chriſts is to ask, and this out of his pure love to us.
The Interceſſion therefore of Chriſt muſt needs ſpeed, when Gods heart is thus of it ſelfe prepared to us. In Eſay 53. 10. it is ſaid, The pleaſure of the Lord ſhall proſper in his hand: If our ſalvation be in Chriſts hand, it is in a good hand; but if it be the pleaſure of the Lord too, it muſt needs proſper. And it is ſaid of our hearts and prayers, that He prepareth the heart, and heareth the prayer; much more therefore when his owne heart is prepared to grant the ſuit, will he eaſily heare it. When one hath a mind to doe a thing, then the leaſt hint procures it of him: So a father having a mind to ſpare his child, he will take any excuſe, any ones mediation, even of a ſervant, a ſtranger, or an enemie, rather then of none. Now when Chriſt ſhall ſpeak for us, and ſpeak Gods owne heart, how prevalent muſt thoſe words needs be? Davids ſoule longing to goe forth unto Abſalom, (2 Sam. 13. ult.) whom notwithſtanding (for the honour of a Father, and a Kings State-policie, and to ſatisfie the world) he had baniſht the Court for his Treaſon; when Ioab perceived it, that the Kings heart was towards Abſalom, (Chap. 14. 1.) and that the King onelyonly needed one to ſpeake a good word for him, he ſubornes a woman, a ſtranger (no matter whom, for it had beene all one for ſpeeding) with a made tale to come to the King; and you know how eaſily it tooke and prevailed with him, and how glad the Kings heart was of that occaſion: even ſo acceptable it was to him, that Ioab could not have done him a greater kindneſſe; and that Ioab knew well enough. Thus it is with Gods heart towards us, Chriſt aſſures us of it, and you may believe him in this caſe, for Chriſt might have tooke all the Honour to himſelfe, and made us beholding to himſelfe alone for all Gods kindnes to us; but he deales plainly, and tels us that his Father is as ready as himſelfe; and this for his Fathers honour and our comfort; And therefore it is that, Iohn 17. in that this prayer ſo operated on this diſcourſe, he pleads our election, Iohn 17. 6. Thine they were, and thou gaveſt them me; Thou commendedſt them unto me, and badeſt me pray for them, and I doe but commend the ſame to thee again. In the High-prieſts breaſt-plate when he went into the Holy of Holies, were ſet twelve ſtones, on which were written the names of the twelve Tribes: the myſterie of which is this, Chriſt beares us and our names in his Heart, when he goes to God: and moreover, we are Gods jewels, precious in his own account and choiſe. So God calls them Mal. 3. 17. Made precious to him out of his love. So Iſai. 43. 4. So that God loves us as jewels choſen by him, but much more when he beholds us ſet and preſented unto him in the breaſt-plate of Chriſts heart and prayer.
To conclude therefore, we have now made both ends of this Text to meet, Gods love, and Chriſts interceſſion. The Apoſtle began with that, Who ſhall accuſe? it is God that juſtifies, and he being for us, who can be againſt us? The Father himſelf loves us as he is our Father: And then he ends with this, Chriſt intercedes, namely, with our Father and his Father, Who then ſhall condemn? Who, or what can poſſibly condemne, all theſe things being for us, the leaſt of which were alone enough to ſave us?
Let us now looke round about, and take a full view and proſpect at once, of all thoſe particulars that Chriſt hath done and doth for us, and their ſeverall and joynt influence which they have into our ſalvation.
1. In that Chriſt dyed, it aſſures us of a perfect price payed for, and a right to eternall life thereby acquired.
2. In that he roſe again as a common perſon, this aſſures us yet further, that there is a formall, legall, and irrevocable act of Iuſtification of us paſſed and enrolled in that Court of Heaven between Chriſt and God: and that in his being then juſtifyed, we were alſo juſtified him, ſo that thereby our juſtification is made paſt re-calling.
3 Chriſts Aſcenſion into Heaven, is a further act of his taking poſſeſsion of Heaven for us, he then formally entring upon that our right in our ſtead; and ſo is a further confirmation of our ſalvation to us. But ſtill we in our owne perſons are not yet ſaved, this being but done to us as we are repreſentatively in Chriſt as our Head.
4. Therefore he ſits at Gods right hand, vvhichwhich imports his being armed and inveſted with all power in Heaven and Earth to give and apply eternall life to us.
5. And laſt of all there remaines Interceſsion to finiſh and compleat our ſalvation; to doe the thing, even to ſave us. And as Chriſts death & Rereſurrection were to procure our Iuſtification: ſo his ſitting at Gods right hand and Interceſsion are to procure ſalvation; and by faith we may ſee it done, and behold our ſoules not onelyonly ſitting in heaven, as in Chriſt a common perſon ſitting there in our right; as an evidence that we ſhall come thither: but alſo through Chriſts Interceſsion begun vve may ſee our ſelves actually poſſeſſed of heaven. And there I vvill leave all you that are believers by faith poſſeſſed of it, and ſolacing your ſoules in it, and doe you feare condemnation if you can.