Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.119

 

Quoted from the Genevan, or Puritan translation. This, therefore, must first be believed by thee before thou wilt reveal thy cause unto him.

(b.) A man, when his estate is called into question, I mean his right and title to that, will be very cautious, especially if he also questions his title to it himself, to whom he reveals that affair; he must know him to be not only friendly but faithful, to whom he reveals such a secret as this. Thus, it is with Christ and the soul. If the soul is not somewhat persuaded of the faithfulness of Christ—to wit, that if he can do him no good, he will do him no harm—he will never reveal his cause unto him but will seek to hide his counsel from the Lord. This, therefore, is another thing by which thou mayest know that thou hast Christ for thine Advocate, if thou hast heartily and in very deed revealed thy cause unto him. Now, they that do honestly reveal their cause to their lawyer will endeavor to possess him, as I hinted before, with the worst; they will, with words, make it as bad as they may; for I think they, by that means, shall prepare him for the worst that my enemy can do. And thus souls deal with Jesus Christ; see Psalms 51 and 38, with several others that might be named, and see if God's people have not done so. "I said," saith David, "I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin." But,

(3.) Hast thou Jesus Christ for thine Advocate? or wouldst thou know if thou hast? Then I ask again, Hast thou committed thy cause to him? When a man entertains his lawyer to stand for him and to plead his cause, he does not only reveal but commit his cause to him. "I would seek unto God," says Eliphaz to Job, "and unto God would I commit my cause" (Job 5:8). Now there is a difference between revealing my cause and committing it to a man. To reveal my cause is to open it to one, and to commit it to him is to trust it in his hand. Many a man will reveal his cause to him unto whom he will yet be afraid to commit it; but now, he that entertains a lawyer to plead his cause, doth not only reveal but commit his cause into him. As suppose right to his estate be called in question; why, then, he not only reveals his cause to his lawyer, but puts into his hands his evidence, deeds, leases, mortgages, bonds, or what else he hath, to show a title to his estate by. And thus doth Christians deal with Christ; they deliver up all unto him-to wit, all their signs, evidence, promises, and assurances, which they have thought they had for heaven and the salvation of their souls, and have desired him to peruse, to search, and try them every one. "And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psa 139:23-24). This is committing of thy cause to Christ, and this is the hardest task of all, for the man that doth thus, he trusteth Christ with all; and it implieth, that he will live and die, stand and fall, lose and win, according as Christ will manage his business. Thus did Paul, (II Tim 1:12), and thus Peter admonishes us to do. Now he that doth this must be convinced,

(a.) Of the ability of Jesus Christ to defend him; for a man will not commit so great a concern as his all is to his friend. No; not to his friend, be he never so faithful, if he perceives not in his ability to save him, and to preserve what he hath, against all the cavils of an enemy. And hence it is that the ability of Jesus Christ, to the saving of his people, is so much insisted on in the Scripture; as "I have laid help upon one that is mighty" (Psa 89:19). "I That speak in righteousness, mighty to save" (Isa 63:1). And again, "He shall send them a Saviour, and a great one" (Isa 19:20).

(b.) As they must be convinced of his ability to help them, so they must of his courage; a man that has parts sufficient may yet fail his friend for want of courage; wherefore, the courage, and greatness of Christ's Spirit, as to his undertaking of the cause of his people, is also amply set out in Scripture. "He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he has set judgment in the earth," "till he sends forth judgment unto victory" (Isa 42:4; Matt 12:20).

(c.) They must also be convinced of his willingness to do this for them; for though one be able and of courage sufficient, yet if he is not willing to undertake one's cause, what is it the better? Wherefore, he declareth his willingness also, and how ready he is to stand up to plead the cause of the poor and of them that are in want. "The Lord will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled them" (Prov 22:23).

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.118

 

Question. You will say, How should I know that?

Answer. I answer Hast thou well considered the nature of the crime wherewith thou standest charged at the bar of God? Hast thou also considered the justness of the Judge? Again I ask, Hast thou considered what truth, as to matter of fact, there is in the things whereof thou standest accused? Also, Hast thou considered the cunning, the malice, and diligence of thy adversary, with the greatness of the loss thou art like to sustain, shouldst thou with Ahab, in the book of Kings, (I Kings 22:17-23), or with the hypocrites in Isaiah, (Isa 6:5-10), have the verdict of the Lord God go out from the throne against thee? I ask thee these questions, because if thou art in the knowledge of these things to seek, or if thou art not deeply concerned about the greatness of the damage that will certainly overtake thee, and that forever, shouldest thou be indeed accused before God, and have none to plead thy cause, thou hast not, nor canst not, let what will come upon thee, have been with Jesus Christ to plead thy cause; and so, let thy case be never so desperate, thou standest alone and hast no helper (Job 30:13, 9:13) Or if thou hast, they, not being the advocate of God's appointing, must needs fall with thee, and with thy burden. Wherefore, consider of this seriously, and return thy answer to God, who can tell if truth shall be found in thy answers, better by far than any; for it is he that tries the reins and the heart, and therefore to him I refer thee. But,

(2.) Wouldst thou know whether Jesus Christ is the advocate? Then I ask again, Hast thou revealed thy cause unto him?-I say, Hast thou revealed thy cause unto him? For he that goeth to law for his right, must not only go to a lawyer, and say, Sir, I am in trouble, and am to have a trial at law with mine enemy, pray to undertake my cause; but he must also reveal to his lawyer his cause. He must go to him and tell him what is the matter, how things stand, where the shoe pinches, and so on. Thus did the church of old, and thus doth every true Christian now; for though nothing can be hidden from him, yet he will have things out of thine own mouth; he will have thee to reveal thy matters unto him (Matt 20:32). "O Lord of hosts," said Jeremiah, "that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause" (Jer 11:20). And again; "But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I opened my cause" (Jer 20:12). Seest thou here, how saints of old were wont to do? how they did, not only in a general way, entreat Christ to plead their cause, but in a particular way, go to him and reveal, or open their cause unto him?

O! It is excellent to behold how some sinners will do this when they get Christ and themselves in a closet alone; when they, upon their bare knees, are pouring out of their souls before him; or, like the woman in the gospel, telling him all the truth (Mark 5). O! saith the soul, Lord, I have come to thee upon an earnest business; I am arrested by Satan; the bailiff was my own conscience, and I am like to be accused before the judgment seat of God. My salvation lies at stake; I am questioned for my interest in heaven; I am afraid of the Judge; my heart condemns me (I John 3:20). Mine enemy is subtle, and wanteth not malice to prosecute me to death, and then to hell. Also, Lord, I am sensible that the law is against me, for indeed I have horribly sinned, and thus and thus have I done. Here I lie open to law, and there I lie open to law; here I have given the adversary advantage, and there he will surely have a hank11 against me. Lord, I am distressed, undertake for me! And there are some things that thou must be acquainted with about thine Advocate before thou wilt venture to go thus far with him. As,

(a.) Thou must know him to be a friend, and not an enemy, unto whom thou openest thy heart; and until thou comest to know that Christ is a friend to thee, or to souls in thy condition, thou wilt never reveal thy cause unto him, not thy whole cause unto him. And it is from this that so many that have soul causes hourly depending before the throne of God, and that are in danger every day of eternal damnation, forbear to entertain Jesus Christ for their Advocate, and so wickedly conceal their matters from him; but "he that hideth his sins shall not prosper" (Prov 28:13)

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[WHO HAVE CHRIST FOR AN ADVOCATE]

Therefore it is of absolute necessity that an advocate be provided for the strong as for the weak. "Any man"—he"that is most holy, most reformed, most refined, and most purified—may as soon be in the dirt as the weakest Christian, and, so far as I can see, Satan's design is against them most. I am sure the greatest sins have been committed by the biggest saints. This wayfaring man came to David's house, and when he stood up against Israel, he provoked David to number the people (II Sam 12:4, 7; I Chron 21:1). Wherefore they have as much need of an advocate as have the youngest and most feeble of the flock. What a mind had he to try a fall with Peter! And how quickly did he break the neck of Judas! The like, without doubt, he had done to Peter, had not Jesus, by stepping in, prevented As long as sin is in our flesh, there is danger. Indeed, he says of the young men that they are strong and that they have overcome the wicked one, but he does not say they have killed him.

 As long as the devil is alive there is danger, and though a strong Christian may be too hard for, and may overcome him in one thing, he may be too hard for, yea, and may overcome him two for one afterward. Thus he served David, and thus he served Peter, and thus he, in our day, has served many more. The strongest are weak, and the wisest are fools when suffered to be sifted as wheat in Satan's sieve; yea, and have often been so proved, to the wounding of their great hearts and the dishonor of religion. To conclude this: God of his mercy hath sufficiently declared the truth of what I say, by preparing for the best, the strongest, and most sanctified, as well as for the least, weakest, and most feeble saint, as Advocate-"My little children, I write unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

2. But some may object, saying that what has been said as to discovering for whom Christ is an Advocate has been too general and, therefore, would have me come more to particulars, else they can get no comfort. Well, inquiring soul, so I will; and, therefore, hearken to what I say.

(1.) Wouldest thou know whether Christ is thine Advocate or not? I ask, Hast thou entertained him so to be? When men have suits of law depending in any of the king's courts above, they entertain their attorney or advocate to plead their cause, and so he pleads for them. I say, hast thou entertained Jesus Christ for thy lawyer to plead thy cause? "Plead my cause, O Lord," said David (Psa 35:1); and again, "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause" (Psa 43:1). This, therefore, is the first thing that I would propose to thee: Hast thou, with David, entertained him for thy lawyer, or, with good Hezekiah, cried out, "O Lord, I am oppressed; undertake for me" (Isa 38:14). What sayest thou, soul? Hast thou been with him, and prayed him to plead thy cause, and cried unto him to undertake for thee? This I call entertaining of him to be thy advocate, and I choose to follow the similitude, both because the Scripture seems to smile upon such a way of discourse and because thy question doth naturally lead me to it. Wherefore, I ask again, hast thou been with him? Hast thou entertained him? Hast thou desired him to plead thy cause?

Question. Thou wilt say unto me, How should I know that I have done so?

Answer. I answer Art thou sensible that thou hast an action commenced against thee in that high court of justice that is above? I say, Art thou sensible of this? For the defendants, all God's people are defendants not used to entertain their lawyers, but from knowledge, that an action either is or may be, commenced against them before the God of heaven. If thou sayest yea, then I ask, Who told thee that thou standest accused for transgression before the judgment seat of God? I say, Who told you so? Hath the Holy Ghost, hath the world, or hath thy conscience? For nothing else, as I know of, can bring such tidings to thy soul.

Again; Hast thou found a failure in all others that might have been entertained to plead thy cause? Some make their sighs, their tears, their prayers, and their reformations, their advocates-"Hast thou tried these and found them wanting?" Hast thou seen thy state to be desperate if the Lord Jesus does not undertake to plead thy cause? for Jesus is not entertained so long as men can make a shift without him. But when it comes to this point, I perish forever, notwithstanding the help of all, if the Lord Jesus steps not in. Then Lord Jesus, Lord Jesus, good Lord Jesus! undertake for me. Hast thou therefore been with Jesus Christ as concerned in thy soul, as heartily concerned about the action that thou perceives to be commenced against thee?

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[WHO HAVE CHRIST FOR AN ADVOCATE]

Wherefore, after he had said, "My little children, I write unto you, that ye sin not"; he then adds, with enlargement, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father." Yet the little children may well be mentioned first since they most want the knowledge of it, are most feeble, and so by sin may be forced most frequently to act faith on Christ, as Advocate. Besides, they are most ready, through temptation, to question whether they have so good a right to Christ in all his offices as have better and more well-grown saints; and, therefore, they, in this the apostle's salutation, are first set down in the catalog of names:My little children, I write unto you, that ye sin not. If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." So, then, the children of God are those who have the Lord Jesus, an Advocate for them with the Father. The last and biggest, the oldest and youngest, the feeblest and the strongest; ALL the children have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

(1.) Since, then, the children have Christ as their advocate, art thou a child? Art thou begotten of God by his word? (James 1:18). Hast thou in thee the spirit of adoption? (Gal 4:1-6). Canst thou in faith say, Father, Father, to God? Then is Christ thy Advocate, thine Advocate, "now to appear in the presence of God for thee" (Heb 9:24). To appear there, and to plead there, in the face of the court of heaven, for thee; to plead there against thine adversary, whose accusations are dreadful, whose subtlety is great, whose malice is inconceivable, and whose rage is intolerable; to plead there before a just God, a righteous God, a sin-revenging God: before whose face thou wouldst die if thou wast to show thyself, and at his bar to plead thine own cause. But,

(2.) There is a difference in children; some are bigger than some; there are children and little children.My little children, I write unto you." Little children; some of the little children can neither say Father, nor so much as know that they themselves are children.

This is true in nature, and so it is in grace; therefore, notwithstanding what was said under the first head, it does not follow that if I am a child, I must certainly know it, and also be able to call God, Father. Let the first, then, serve to poise and balance the confident ones, and let this be for the relief of those more feeble; for they that are children, whether they know it or not, have Jesus Christ for their Advocate, for Christ is assigned to be our Advocate by the Judge, by the King, by our God and Father, although we have not known it. True, at present, there can come from hence, to them that are thus concerned in the advocateship of Christ, but little comfort; but yet it yields them great security; they have "an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." God knows this, the devil feels this, and the children shall have the comfort of it afterward. I say the time is coming when they shall know that even then, when they knew it not, they had an Advocate with the Father; an Advocate who was neither loath, nor afraid, nor ashamed, to plead for their defense against their proudest foe. And will not this, when they know it, yield them comfort? Doubtless, it will; yea, more, and of a better kind than that which flows from the knowledge that one is born into crowns and kingdoms.

Again; as he is an Advocate for the children, he is also, as before was hinted, for the strong and experienced; for no strength in this world secureth from the rage of hell, nor can any experience, while we are here, fortify us against his assaults. There is also an incident in the best to sin; and the bigger man, the bigger fall; for the more hurt, the greater damage.

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[WHO HAVE CHRIST FOR AN ADVOCATE]

3. By this office he prevents not temporal punishment, but by it, he chiefly preserves the soul from hell. 4. By this office he brings in no justifying righteousness for us, he only thereby prevaileth to dispose of that brought in by himself, as Priest, for the justifying of those who, by a new and fresh act, who had made their justification doubtful by new falls into sin. And this is plain in the history of our Joshua, so often mentioned before (Zech 3). 5. As Priest, he hath obtained eternal redemption for us; and as Advocate, he by law, maintains our right thereto against the devil and his angels.

Third, I come now to show you who they are: that have Jesus Christ for their Advocate. And this I shall do-first, more generally, and then be more particular and distinct about it.

1. More generally. They are all truly gracious; those that are the children by adoption; and this the test affirms,My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." They are, then, the children, by adoption, who are the persons concerned in the advocacy of Jesus Christ. The priesthood of Christ extendeth itself to the whole body of the elect, but the advocateship of Christ does not. This is further clarified by this apostle; and in this very text, if you consider what immediately follows:We have an Advocate," says he, "and he is the propitiation for our sins." He is our Advocate, and also our Priest. As an Advocate, ours only; but as a propitiation, not ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world; to be sure, for the elect throughout the world, and they that will extend it further, let them.

And I say again, had he not intended that there should have been a straiter limit put to the Advocateship of Christ than he would have us put to his priestly office, what needed he, when he speaketh of the propitiation which relates to Christ as Priest, have added-"And not for ours only"? As an Advocate, then, he engageth for us that are children; and as a Priest, too, he hath appeased God's wrath for our sins; but as an Advocate his offices are confined to the children only, but as a Priest he is not so. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only. The sense, therefore, of the apostle should, I think, be this-That Christ, as a Priest, hath offered a propitiatory sacrifice for all; but as an Advocate he pleaded only for the children. Children, we have an Advocate to ourselves, and he is also our Priest; but as he is a Priest, he is not ours only, but maketh, as such, amends for all that shall be saved. The elect, therefore, have the Lord Jesus for their Advocate then, and then only, when they are by calling put among the children, because, as Advocate, he is peculiarly the children's "My little children, WE have an Advocate."

Objection. But he also said, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate"; any man that sinneth seems, by the text, notwithstanding what you say, "to have an Advocate with the Father." Answer. By any man, must not be meant any of the world, nor any of the elect, but any man in faith and grace; for he still limits this general term, "any man," with this restriction, "we"—children, "if any man sin, we have an Advocate." We, any man of us And this is yet further made appear since he says that it is to them that he writes, not only here but further in this chapter: I write unto YOU, little children; I write unto you, fathers; I write unto you, young men" (I John 2: 12,13). These are the persons intended in the text, for under these three heads are comprehended all men; for they are either children, and so men in nature, or young men, and so men in strength; or else they are fathers, and so aged, and of experience. Add to this, by "any man," that the apostle intendeth not to enlarge himself beyond the persons that are in grace; but to supply what was wanting by that term "little children"; for since the strongest saint may have heed of an Advocate, as well as the most feeble of the flock, why should the apostle leave it to be so understood as if the children, and the children only, had an interest in that office?

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.114

 

by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

[WHO HAVE CHRIST FOR AN ADVOCATE]

THIRDLY, And I shall come now to the third head, to wit, to show you more particularly who they are that have Jesus Christ for their Advocate.

In my handling of this head, I shall show, First, that the office of an advocate differs from that of a priest, and how. Second, I shall show you how far Christ extends this office of advocateship—I mean, in matters concerning the people of God—and then, Third, I shall come more directly to show who they are that have Christ for their Advocate.

First, For the first of these, That this office of Christ, as an Advocate, is different from that of a Priest. That he is a Priest, a Priest forever, I heartily acknowledge; but that his priesthood and advocateship should be one and the self-same office, I cannot believe.

1. Because they differ in name. We may as well say a father, as such, is a son, or that father and son are the self-same relation, as say a priest and an advocate, as to office, are but one and the same thing. They differ in name as much as priest and sacrifice do: a priest is one, and a sacrifice is another; and though Christ is Priest and Sacrifice too, yet, as a Priest, he is not a Sacrifice, nor, as a Sacrifice, a Priest.

2. As they differ in name, so they differ in the nature of office. A priest is to slay a sacrifice; an advocate is to plead a cause; a priest is to offer his sacrifice, to the end that, by the merit thereof, he may appease; an advocate is to plead according to law; a priest is to make intercession, by virtue of his sacrifice; an advocate is to plead law because amends is made.

3. As they differ in name and nature, they also differ as to their extent. The priesthood of Christ extends itself to the whole of God's elect, whether called or in their sins; but Christ, as Advocate, pleaded only for the children.

4. As they differ in name, nature, and extent, so they differ as to the persons with whom they have to do. We read not anywhere that Christ, as Priest, has to do with the devil as an antagonist, but, as an Advocate, he has.

5. As they differ in these, so they differ as to the matters about which they are employed. Christ, as Priest, concerns himself with every wry thought, and, also, with the least imperfection or infirmity that attends our most holy things; but Christ, as Advocate, doth not so, as I have already shown.

6. So that Christ, as Priest, goes before, and Christ, as an Advocate, comes after; Christ, as Priest, continually intercedes; Christ, as Advocate, in case of great transgressions, pleads: Christ, as Priest, has need to act always, but Christ, as Advocate, sometimes only. Christ, as Priest, acts in times of peace; but Christ, as Advocate, in times of broils, turmoils, and sharp contentions; wherefore, Christ, as Advocate, is, as I may call him, a reserve, and his time is then to arise, to stand up and plead, when HIS are clothed with some filthy sin that of late they have fallen into, as David, Joshua, or Peter. When some such thing is committed by them, as ministereth to the enemy, a show of ground to question the truth of their grace; or when it is a question and to be debated, whether it can stand with the laws of heaven, with the merits of Christ, and the honor of God, that such a one should be saved. Now let an advocate come forth; now let him have time to plead, for this is a fitting occasion for the saints' Advocate to stand up to plead for the salvation of his people. But,

Second, I come next to show you how far this office of an advocate is extended. I hinted at this before, so now I will be more brief. 1. By this office he offers no sacrifice; he only, as to matters of justice, pleads for the sacrifice offered. 2. By this office he obtains the conversion of none; he only thereby secures the converted from the damnation which their adversary, for sins after light, professed to bring them to.

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6. Christ, when he pleads as an Advocate for his people, in the presence of God, against Satan, can plead those very weaknesses of his people, for which Satan would have them damned, for their relief and advantage. "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?" This is part of the plea of our Advocate against Satan for his servant Joshua, when he said, "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan" (Zech 3:2). Now, to be a brand plucked out of the fire is to be a saint, impaired, weakened, defiled, and made imperfect by sin; for so also the apostle means when he says, "And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh" (Jude 23). By fire, in both these places, we are to understand sin; for that it burns and consumes as fire (Rom 1:27). Wherefore a man is said to burn when his lusts are strong upon him and to burn in lusts to others when his wicked heart runs wickedly after them (I Cor 7:9).

Also, when Abraham said, "I am but dust and ashes" (Gen 18:27), he meant he was but what sin had left; yes, he had something of the smutch and besmearings of sin yet upon him. Wherefore it was a custom with Israel, in days of old, when they set days apart for confession of sin and humiliation for the same, to sprinkle themselves with or to wallow in dust and ashes, as a token that they did confess they were but what sin had left, and that they also were defiled, weakened, and polluted by it (Esth 4:1,3; Jer 6:26; Job 30:19, 42:6).

This, then, is the next plea of our good Advocate for us: O Satan, this is "a brand plucked out of the fire." As who should say, Thou objected against my servant Joshua that he is black like coal, or that the fire of sin at times is still burning in him. And what then? The reason why he is not totally extinct, as tow; is not thy pity, but my Father's mercy to him; I have plucked him out of the fire, yet not so out but that the smell thereof is yet upon him; and my Father and I, we consider his weakness, and pity him; for since he is as a brand pulled out, can it be expected by my Father or me that he should appear before us as clear and do our biddings as well as if he had never been there? This is "a brand plucked out of the fire," and must be considered and borne with as such. Thus, as Mephibosheth pleaded for his excuse, his lameness (II Sam 19:24-26), so Chr19:24–26)s the infirm and indigent condition of his people against Satan for their advantage. Wherefore Christ, by such pleas as these for his people, doth yet further show the malice of Satan (for all this burning comes through him), yea, and by it he moveth the heart of God to pity us, and yet to be gentle, long-suffering, and merciful to us; for pity and compassion are the fruits of the yearning of God's bowels towards us, while he considereth us as infirm and weak, and subject to slips, and stumbles, and falls, because of weakness.

And that Christ our Advocate, by thus pleading, doth turn things to our advantage, consider, (1.) That God is careful, that through our weakness, our spirits do not fail before him when he chides (Isa 57:16-18). (2.) "He stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind," and debates about the measure of affliction, when, for sin, we should be chastened, lest we should sink thereunder (Isa 27:7-9). (3.) He will not strictly mark what is done amiss, because if he should, we cannot stand (Psa 130:3). (4.) When he threatens to strike, his bowels are troubled, and his repentances are kindled together (Hosea 11:8, 9). (5.) He will spin out his patience to the utmost length because he knows we are such bunglers at doing (Jer 9:24). (6.) He will accept the will for the deed because he knows that sin will make our best performances imperfect (II Cor 8:12). (7.) He will count our little ones a very great deal, for he knows we are so unable to do anything at all (Job 1:21). (8.) He will excuse the souls of his people and lay the fault upon their flesh, which has the greatest affinity with Satan if, through weakness and infirmity, we do not do as we should (Matt 26:41; Rom 7).

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                                        by Thomas Sadler, oil on canvas, 1684

Besides, it is well known that Satan, as to us, is the original cause of those very crimes for which he accuses us at the bar of God's tribunal. Not to say anything about how he comes to us, solicits us, tempts us, flatters us, and always, in a manner, lies at us to do those wicked things for which he so hotly pursues us to the bar of the judgment of God. For though it is not meet for us thus to plead,-to wit, laying that fault upon Satan, but rather upon ourselves,-yet our advocate will do it, and make work of it too before God. "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he might sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fails not" (Luke 22:31,32). He maketh here mention of Satan's desires, by way of advantage against him; and, doubtless, so he did in his prayer with God for Peter's preservation. And what he did here, while on earth, as a Saviour in general, that he doth now in heaven as a Priest and an Advocate in special.

I will further suppose that which may be supposed and that which is suitable to our purpose. Suppose, therefore, that a father has a child whom he loveth, but the child has not half that wit that some of the family hath, and I am sure that we have less wit than angels; and suppose, also, that some bad-minded neighbor, by tampering with, tempting of, and by unwearied solicitations, should prevail with this child to steal something out of his father's house or grounds, and give it unto him; and this he doth on purpose to set the father against the child; and suppose, again, that it comes to the father's knowledge that the child, through the allurements of such a one, has done so and so against his father; will he, therefore, disinherit this child? Yea, suppose, again, that he that did tempt this child to steal should be the first to come to accuse this child to its father for so doing. Would the father take notice of the accusation of such a one?-No, verily, we that are evil can do better than so; how then should we think that the God of heaven should do such a thing, since also we have a brother that is wise, and that will and can plead the very malice of our enemy that doth to us all these things against him for our advantage?-I say this is the sum of this fifth plea of Christ, our Advocate, against Satan.

O Satan, says he, thou art an enemy to my people; thou pleadest not out of love to righteousness, not to reform, but to destroy my beloved and inheritance. The charge wherewith thou chargest my people is thine own (Job 8:4-6). Not only as to a matter of charge, but the things that thou accusest them of are thine, thine in the nature of them. Also, thou hast tempted, allured, flattered, and daily labored with them, to do that for which now thou so willingly would have them destroyed. Yea, all this hast thou done of envy to my Father and to godliness; of hatred to me and my people; and that thou mightest destroy others besides (I Chron 21:1). And now, what can this accuser say? Can he excuse himself? Can he contradict our Advocate? He cannot; he knows that he is a Satan, an enemy, and as an adversary has he sown his tares among the wheat, that it might be rooted up; but he shall not have his end; his malice has prevented him, and so has the care and grace of our Advocate. The tares, therefore, he shall have returned unto him again; but the wheat, for all this, shall be gathered into God's barn (Matt 13:25–30).

Thus, therefore, our Advocate makes use, in his plea against Satan, of the rage and malice that is the occasion of the enemy's charge, wherewith he accuses the children of God. Wherefore, when thou readest these words, "O Satan," say with thyself, thus Christ our Advocate accuseth our adversary of malice and envy against God and goodness, while he accuseth us of the sins which we commit, for which we are sorry, and Christ has paid a price of redemption: "And if any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." But,

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4. As Christ, as Advocate, pleads for us, against Satan, his Father's interest in us and his own; so he pleadeth against him that right and property that he hath in heaven, to give it to whom he will. He has a right to heaven as Priest and King; it is his also by inheritance; and since he will be so good a benefactor as to bestow this house on somebody, but not for their deserts, but not for their goodness, and since, again, he has to that end spilled his blood for, and taken a generation into covenant relation to him, that it might be bestowed on them; it shall be bestowed on them; and he will plead this if there be a need if his people sin, and if their accuser seeks, by their sin, their ruin and destruction: "Father," saith he, "I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me" (John 17:24). Christ's will is the will of heaven, the will of God. Shall not Christ, then, prevail?

"I will," saith Christ; "I will," saith Satan; but whose will shall stand? It is true, that Christ in the text speaks more like an arbitrator than an Advocate; more like a judge than one pleading at a bar. I will have it so; I judge that so it tough to be, and must. But there is also something of plea in the words both before his Father and against our enemy; and therefore he speaketh like one that can plead and determine also; yea, like one that has the power so to do. But shall the will of heaven stoop to the will of hell? Or the will of Christ to the will of Satan? Or the will of righteousness to the will of sin? Shall Satan, who is God's enemy, and whose charge wherewith he chargeth us for sin, and which is grounded, not upon love to righteousness, but upon malice against God's designs of mercy, against the blood of Christ, and the salvation of his people—I say, shall this enemy and this charge prevail with God against the well-grounded plea of Christ and against the salvation of God's elect, and so keep us out of heaven? No, no; Christ will have it otherwise; he is the great donator, and his eye is good. True, Satan was turned out of heaven for that he sinned there, and we must be taken into heaven, though we have sinned here; this is the will of Christ, and, as Advocate, he pleads it against the face and accusation of our adversary. Thus, "If any man sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." But,

5. As Christ, as Advocate, pleadeth for us, against Satan, his Father's interest in us, and his own, and pleadeth also what right he has to dispose of the kingdom of heaven; so he pleadeth against this enemy, that malice and enmity that is in him, and upon which chiefly his charge against us is grounded, to the confusion of his face. This is evident from the title that our Advocate bestows upon him, while he pleads for us against him: "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, O enemy," saith he; for Satan is an enemy, and this name given him signifies so much. And lawyers, in their pleas, can make a great matter of such a circumstance as this; saying, My lord, we can prove that what is now pleaded against the prisoner at the bar is of mere malice and hatred, that has also a long time lain burning and raging in his enemy's breast against him. This, I say, will greatly weaken the plea and accusation of an enemy. But, says Jesus Christ, "Father, here is a plea brought in against my Joshua, that clothes him with filthy garments, but it is brought in against him by an enemy, by an enemy in the superlative or highest degree. One that hates goodness worse than he, and that loveth wickedness more than the man against whom at this time he has brought such a heinous charge."

Then leaving with the Father the value of his blood for the accused, he turneth him to the accuser, and pleads against him as an enemy: "O Satan, thou that accusest my spouse, my love, my members, art SATAN, an enemy." But it will be objected that the things charged are true. Grant it; yet what law takes notice of the plea of one who doth professedly act as an enemy? because it is not done of love to truth, and justice, and righteousness, nor intended for the honour of the king, nor for the good of the prosecuted; but to gratify malice and rage, and merely to kill and destroy. There is, therefore, a great deal of force and strength in an Advocate's pleading of such a circumstance against an accuser; especially when the crimes now charged are those, and only those for which the law, in the due execution of it, has been satisfied before; wherefore now a lawyer has double and treble ground or matter to plead for his client against his enemy. And this advantage against him has Jesus Christ.

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3. As they cost him dear, so he hath made them near to himself, nearby way of relation. Now that which did not only cost dear but that by way of relation is made so, that a man will plead heartily for. Said David to Abner, "Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal, Saul's daughter when thou comes to see my face" (II Sam 3:13,14). Saul's daughter cost me dear; I bought her with the jeopardy of my life; Saul's daughter is near to me; she is my beloved wife. He pleaded hard for her because she was dear and near to him. Now, I say, the same is true in Christ; his people cost him dear, and he hath made them near unto him; wherefore, to plead interest in them, is to hold by an argument that is strong. (a.) They are his spouse, and he hath made them so; they are his love, his dove, his darling, and he accounts them so.

Now, should a wretch attempt, in open court, to take a man's wife away from him, how would this cause the man to plead! Yea, and what judge that is just, and knows that the man has this interest in the woman pleaded for, would yield to, or give a verdict for the wretch, against the man whose wife the woman is? Thus Christ, in pleading interest pleading "thou gavest them me"-pleads by a strong argument, an argument that the enemy cannot invalidate. True, were Christ to plead this before Saul (I Sam 25;44), or before Samson's wife's father, the Philistine (Judg 14:20), perhaps such treacherous judges would give it against all right. But, I have told you, the court in which Christ pleads is the highest and the justest, and that from which there can be no appeal; wherefore Christ's cause, and so the cause of the children of God, must be tried before their Father, from whose face, to be sure, just judgment shall proceed. But,

(b.) As they are called his spouse, so they are called his flesh, and members of his body. Now, said Paul to the church, "Ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular" (I Cor 12:27; Eph 5:30). This relation also makes a man plead hard. Were a man to plead for a limb, or a member of his own, how would he plead? What arguments would he use? And what sympathy and feeling would his arguments flow from? I cannot lose a hand, I cannot lose a foot, cannot lose a finger; why, saints are Christ's members, his members are of himself. With what strength of argument would a man plead the necessariness of his members to him, and the unnaturalness of his adversary in seeking the destruction of his members, and the deformity of his body! Yea, a man would shuck and cringe, and weep, and entreat, and make demurs, and halts, and delays, to a thousand years, if possible, before he would lose his members or any one of them.

But, I say, how would he plead and advocate it for his members, if judge, and law, reason, and equity, were all on his side, and if, by the adversary, there could be nothing urged, but that against which the Advocate had long before made provision for the effectual overthrow thereof? And all this is true as to the case that lies before us. Thus we see what strength there lieth in this second argument, that our Advocate bringeth for us against the enemy. They are his flesh and bones, his members; he cannot spare them; he cannot spare this, because, nor that, because, nor any, because, they are his members. As such, they are lovely to him; as such, they are useful to him; as such, they are an ornament to him; yea, though in themselves they are feeble, and through infirmity weak, much disabled from doing as they should. Thus, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." But,

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Third. As Christ, as Advocate, pleads against Satan the interest that his Father hath in his chosen, so also he pleads against him by no less authority own interest in them. "Holy Father," said he, "keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me" (John 17:11). Keep them while in the world from the evil, the soul-damning evil of it. These words are directed to the Father, but they are leveled against the accusations of the enemy and were spoken here to show what Christ will do for his, against our foe, when he is above. How, I say, he will urge before his Father his own interest in us against Satan, and against all his accusations, when he brings them to the bar of God's tribunal, with design to work our utter ruin. And is there not a great deal in it?

As if Christ should say, Father, my people have an adversary who will accuse them for their faults before thee; but I will be their Advocate, and as I have bought them of thee, I will plead my right against him (John 10:28). Our English proverb is, Interest will not lie; interest will make a man do that which otherwise he would not. How many thousands are there for whom Christ doth not so much as once open his mouth, but leaves them to the accusations of Satan, and to Ahab's judgment, nay, a worse, because there is none to plead their cause? And why doth he not concern himself with them? but because he is not interested in them-"I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine; and all mine are thine, and I am glorified in them" (John 17:9,10).

Suppose so many cattle in such a pound, and one goes by whose they are not, doth he concern himself? No; he beholds them and goes his way. But suppose that at his return he should find his own cattle in that pound, would he now carry it toward them as he did unto the other? No, no; he has interest here, they are his that are in the pound; now he is concerned, now he must know who put them there, and for what cause too they are served as they are; and if he finds them rightfully there, he will fetch them by ransom; but if wrongfully, he will replevy them, and stand a trial at law with him that has thus illegally pounded his cattle. And thus it is betwixt Jesus Christ and his. He is interested in them; the cattle are his own, "his own sheep," (John 10:3,4), but pounded by some other, by the law, or by the devil.

If pounded by the law, he delivereth them by ransom; if pounded by the devil, he will replevy them, stand a trial at law for them, and will be, against their accuser, their Advocate himself. Nor can Satan withstand his plea, though he should against them join argument with the law; forasmuch, as has been proved before, he can and will, by what he has to produce and plead of his own, save him from all trespasses, charges, and accusations. Besides, all men know that a man's proper goods are not therefore forfeited, because they commit many, and them too great transgressions-"And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Now, the strength of this plea thus grounded upon Christ's interest in his people is great, and hath many weighty reasons on its side; as

1. They are mine; therefore in reason at my dispose, not at the dispose of an adversary; for while a thing can properly be called mine, no man has therewith to do but myself; nor doth (a man, nor) Christ close his right to what he has by the weakness of that thing which is his proper right. He, therefore, as an Advocate, pleadeth interest, his own interest, in his people, and right must, with the Judge of all the earth, take place-"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen 18:25).

2. They cost him dear, and that which is dearly bought is not easily parted with (I Cor. 6:20). They were bought with "his blood" (Eph 1:7; I Peter 1:18,19). They were given him for his blood, and therefore are "dear children" (Eph 5:1); for they are his by the highest price; and this price he, as Advocate, pleadeth against the enemy of our salvation; yea, I will add, they are his, because he gave his all for them (II Cor 8:9). When a man shall give his all for this or that, then that which he so hath purchased has become his all. Now Christ has given his all for us; he made himself poor for us, wherefore we are become his all, his fullness; and so the church is called (Eph 1:23). Nay, further, Christ likes well enough of his purchase, though it hath cost him his all-"The lines," says he, "are fallen to me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage" (Psa 16:6). Now, put all these things together, and there is a strong plea in them. Interest, such an interest, will not be easily parted with. But this is not all; for,

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I answer, Thought there lieth no engagement upon God for any worthiness that is in man, yet there lieth a great deal upon God for the worthiness that is in himself. God has engaged himself with his having chosen them to be a people to himself, and by this means they are so secured from all that all can do against them, that the apostle is bold, upon this very account, to challenge all despite to do its worst against them, saying, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" (Rom 8:33). Who? saith Satan; why, that will I. Ay, saith he, but who can do it, and prevail? "It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth?" (ver. 34). By which words the apostle clearly declareth that charges against the elect, though they may be brought against them, must needs prove ineffectual as to their condemnation; because their Lord God still will justify, for that Christ has died for them. Besides, a little to enlarge, the elect are bound to God by a sevenfold cord, and a threefold one is not quickly broken.

(1.) Election is eternal as God himself, and so without variableness or shadow of change, and hence it is called "an eternal purpose," and a "purpose of God" that must stand (Eph 3:11; Rom 9:11). (2.) Election is absolute, not conditional; and, therefore, cannot be overthrown by the sin of the man that is wrapped up therein. No works foreseen to be in us was the cause of God's choosing us; no sin in us shall frustrate or make election void-"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth" (Rom 8:33; 9:11). (3.) By the act of election the children are involved, wrapped up, and covered in Christ; he hath chosen us in him; not in ourselves, not in our virtues, no, not for or because of anything, but of his own will (Eph 1:4-11). (4.) Election included in it a permanent resolution of God to glorify his mercy on the vessels of mercy, thus foreordained unto glory (Rom 9:15,18,23). (5.) By the act of electing love, it is concluded that all things whatsoever shall work together for the good of them whose call to God is the fruit of this purpose, this eternal purpose of God (Rom 8:28-30). (6.)

The eternal inheritance is by a covenant of free and unchangeable grace made over to those thus chosen; and to secure them from the fruits of sin, and from the malice of Satan, it is sealed by this our Advocate's blood, as he is Mediator of this covenant, who also is become surety to God for them; to wit, to see them forthcoming at the great day, and to set them then safe and sound before his Father's face after the judgment is over (Rom 9:23; Heb 7:22; 9:15,17-24; 13:20; John 10:28,29). (7.) By this choice, purpose, and decree, the elect, the concerned therein, have allotted them by God, and laid up for them, in Christ, sufficiency of grace to bring them through all difficulties to glory; yea, and they, every one of them, after the first act of faith-the which also they shall certainly attain, because wrapped up in the promise for them-are to receive the earnest and first-fruits thereof into their souls (II Tim 1:9; Acts 14:22; Eph 1:4,5,13,14).

Now, put all these things together, and then feel if there be no weight in this plea of Christ against the devil. He pleads God's choice and interest in his saints against his interest that is secured by the wisdom of heaven, by the grace of heaven, by the power, will, and mercy of God, in Christ-an interest in which all the three Persons in the Godhead have engaged themselves, by mutual agreement and operation, to make good when Satan has done his all. I know some object against this doctrine as false; but such, perhaps, are ignorant of some things else as well as of this. However, they object against the wisdom of God, whose truth it is, and against Christ our Advocate, whose argument, as he is such, it is; yea, they labor, what in them lieth, to wrest that weapon out of his hand, with which he so cudgeled the enemy when, as Advocate, he pleadeth so effectually against him for the rescuing of us from the danger of judgment, saying, "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee."

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1. He pleads against him the well-pleasedness that his Father has in his merits, saying, This shall please the Lord, or this doth or will please the Lord, better than anything that can be propounded (Psa 69:31). Now that this plea is true, as it is established upon the liking of God Almighty, whatever Satan can say to obtain our everlasting destruction is without ground and so unreasonable. "I am well pleased," saith God (Matt 3:17), and again, "The Lord is well pleased for his (Christ's) righteousness' sake" (Isa 42:21). All those who take actions against others pretend that wrong is done, either against themselves or against the king. Now Satan will never enter an action against us in the court above, for that wrong by us has been done to himself; he must pretend, then, that he sues us, for that wrong has, by us, been done to our king. But, behold, "We have an Advocate with the Father," and he has made compensation for our offenses. He gave himself for our offenses. But still, Satan maintains his suit, and our God, saith Christ, is well pleased with us for this compensation's sake, yet he will not leave off his clamor. Come, then, says the Lord Jesus, the contention is not now against my people but against myself and about the sufficiency of the amends that I have made for the transgressions of my people; but he is near that justifies me, that approves and accepts of my doings; therefore, shall I not be confounded? Who is my adversary? Let him come near me! Behold, "the Lord God will help me" (Isa 50:7-9). Who is he who condemns me? Lo, they all shall, were there ten thousand times as many more of them, wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. Wherefore, if the Father saith Amen to all this, as I have shown already that he hath and doth, the which also further appeareth, because the Lord God has called him the Saviour, the Deliverer, and the Amen; what follows, but that a rebuke should proceed from the throne against him? And this, indeed, our Advocate calls for from the hand of his Father, saying, O enemy, "the Lord rebuke thee"; yea, he doubles this request to the judge, to intimate his earnestness for such a conclusion, or to show that the enemy shall surely have it, both from our Advocate, and from him before whom Satan has so grievously accused us (Zech 3).

For what can be expected to follow from such an issue in law as this is, but sound and severe snibs from the judge upon him that hath thus troubled his neighbor, and that hath, in the face of the country, cast contempt upon the highest act of mercy, justice, and righteousness, that ever the heavens beheld? 6 And all this is true with reference to the case in hand, wherefore, "The Lord rebuke thee," is that which, in conclusion, Satan must-have for the reward of his works of malice against the children and for his contemplation of the works of the Son of God. Now, our Advocate having thus established, by the law of heaven, his plea with God for us against our accuser, there is a way made for him to proceed upon a foundation that cannot be shaken; therefore, he proceeds in his plea and further urges against this accuser of the brethren.

2. God's interest in these people, and pray that God will remember that: "The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem, rebuke thee." True, the church, the saints, are despicable in the world; wherefore men do think to tread them down; the saints are, also, weak in grace, but have corruptions that are strong, and, therefore, Satan, the god of this world, doth think to tread them down; but the saints have a God, the living, the eternal God, and, therefore, they shall not be trodden down; yea, they "shall be held up, for God is able to make them stand" (Rom 14:4).

It was Haman's mishap to be engaged against the queen and the kindred of the queen; it was that that made him he could not prosper; that brought him to contempt and the gallows. Had he sought to ruin other people, he probably might have brought his design to a desired conclusion, but his compassing the death of the queen spoiled all. Satan, also, when he fighteth against the church, must be sure to come to the worst, for God has a concern in that; therefore, it is said, "The gates of hell shall not prevail against it," but this hindereth not, but that he is permitted to make almost what spoils his will of those that do not belong to God. Oh, how many doth he accuse, and soon get out from God, against them, a license to destroy them! as he served Ahab, and many more. But this, I say, is a very great block in his way when he meddles with the children; God has an interest in them. Has God cast away his people? God forbid!" (Rom 11:1,2). The text intimates that they for sin had deserved it and that Satan would fain have had it had been so, but God's interest in them preserved them: God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew." Therefore, when Satan accuses them before God, Christ, as he pleaded for his own worth and merit, also against him, that interest that God has in them.

And though this, to some, may seem an indifferent plea, for what engagement lieth, may they say, upon God to be so much concerned with them, for they sin against him and often provoke him most bitterly? Besides, in their best state, they are altogether vanity and a very thing of naught: What is man (sorry, man), that thou art mindful of him," or that thou shouldest be so?

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(3). The Lord Jesus having thus taken our sins upon himself, and presented God with all the worthiness that is in his whole self for them, in the next place he calleth for justice, or a just verdict upon the satisfaction he hath made to God and to his law. Then proclamation is made in open court, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him," from him that hath offended, and clothe him with change of raiment (Zech 3).

Thus the soul is preserved that hath sinned; thus the God of heaven is content that he should be saved; thus Satan is put to confusion, and Jesus applauded and cried up by the angels of heaven, and by the saints on earth. Thus have I showed you how Christ doth advocate it with God and his Father for us; and I have been the more particular in this, because the glory of Christ, and the comfort of the dejected, are greatly concerned and wrapped up in it. Look, then, to Jesus, if thou hast sinned; to Jesus, as an Advocate pleading with the Father for thee. Look to nothing else; for he can tell how, and that by himself, to deliver thee; yea, and will do it in a way of justice, which is a wonder; and to the shame of Satan, which will be his glory; and also to thy complete deliverance, which will be thy comfort and salvation.

Second, But to pass this and come to the second thing, which is, to show you how the Lord Jesus manages this his office of an Advocate before his Father against the adversary; for he pleadeth with the Father, but pleadeth against the devil; he pleadeth with the Father law and justice, but against the adversary he letteth out himself. I say, as he pleads against the adversary, so he enlargeth himself with arguments over and besides those which he pleadeth with God his Father.

Nor is it meet or needful that our advocate, when he pleads against Satan, should so limit himself to matter of law, as when he pleadeth with his Father. The saint, by sinning, oweth Satan nothing; no law of his is broken thereby; why, then, should he plead for the saving of his people, justifying righteousness to him?

Christ, when he died, died not to satisfy Satan, but his Father; not to appease the devil, but to answer the demands of the justice of God; nor did he design, when he hanged on the tree, to triumph over his Father, but over Satan; "He redeemed us," therefore, "from the curse of the law," by his blood (Gal 3:13). And from the power of Satan, by his resurrection (Heb 2:14). He delivered us from righteous judgment by price and purchase; but from the rage of hell by fight and conquest.

And as he acted thus diversely in the work of our redemption, even so he also doth in the execution of his Advocate's office. When he pleadeth with God, he pleadeth so; and when he pleadeth against Satan, he pleadeth so; and how he pleadeth with God when he dealeth with law and justice I have showed you. And now I will show you how he pleadeth before him against the "accuser of the brethren."

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And thus far, there is, in some way, a harmony between his being a sacrifice, a priest, and an Advocate. As a sacrifice, our sins were laid upon him (Isaiah 53). As a priest, he beareth them (Exo 28:38). And as an Advocate, he acknowledges them to be his own (Psa 69:5). Now, having acknowledged them to be his own, the quarrel is no longer between us and Satan, for the Lord Jesus has espoused our quarrel and made it his. All, then, that we in this matter have to do is stand at the bar by faith among the angels and see how the business goes. O blessed God! What a lover of mankind art thou! and how gracious is our Lord Jesus, in his thus managing matters for us?

(2.) The Lord Jesus, having thus taken our sins upon himself, next pleads his own goodness to God on our behalf, saying, "Let not those that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake; let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel, because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face" (Psa 69:6, 7). Mark, let them not be ashamed for my sake; let them not be confounded for my sake. Shame and confusion are the fruits of guilt, or of a charge for sin, (Jer 3:25), and are but an entrance into condemnation (Dan 12:2. John 5:29). But behold how Christ pleads, saying, Let not that be for my sake, for the merit of my blood, for the perfection of my righteousness, for the prevalency of my intercession. Let them not be ashamed for my sake, O Lord God of hosts. And let no man object, because this text is in the Psalms as if it were not spoken by the prophet of Christ; for both John and Paul, yea, and Christ himself, do make this psalm a prophecy of him. Compare verse with John 2:17, and with Romans 15:3; and verse 21 with Matthew 27:48, and Mark 15:25. But is not this a wonderful thing, that Christ should first take our sins, and account them his own, and then plead the value and worth of his whole self for our deliverance? For by these words, "for my sake," he pleads his own self, his whole self, and all that he is and has; and thus he put us in good estate again, though our cause was very bad.

To bring this down to weak capacities Suppose a man should be indebted twenty thousand pounds, but has not twenty thousand farthings wherewith to pay; and suppose also that this man be arrested for this debt, and that the law also, by which he is sued, will not admit of penny bate; this man may yet come well enough off if his advocate or attorney will make the debt his own and will, in the presence of the judges, out with his bags, and pay down every farthing. Why, this is the way of our Advocate. Our sins are called debts (Matt 6:12). We are sued for them at the law (Luke 12:59). And the devil is our accuser; but behold, the Lord Jesus comes out with his worthiness, pleads it at the bar, making the debt his own (Mark 10:45. II Cor 3:5). And saith, Now let them not be ashamed for my sake, O Lord God of hosts: let them not be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. And hence, as he is said to be an Advocate, so he is said to be a propitiation, or amends-maker, or one that appeaseth the justice of God for our sins-"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the propitiation for our sins."

And who can now object against the deliverance of the child of God? God cannot; for he, for Christ's sake, according as he pleaded, hath forgiven us all trespasses (Col 2:13, Eph 4:32). The devil cannot; his mouth is stopped, as is plain in the case of Joshua (Zech 3). The law cannot; for that approveth of what Christ has done. This, then, is the way of Christ's pleading. You must know, that when Christ pleads with God, he pleads with a just and righteous God, and therefore he must plead law, and nothing but law; and this he pleaded in both these pleas-First, in confessing of the sin he justified the sentence of the law in pronouncing of it evil; and then in his laying of himself, his whole self, before God for that sin, he vindicated the sanction and perfection of the law. Thus, therefore, he magnifies the law, and makes it honorable, and yet brings off his client safe and sound in the view of all the angels of God.

Works of John Bunyan – The Greatness of The Soul, And Unspeakableness 0f the Loss Thereof; How Christ Manages The Office Of An Advocate.103

 

II. I come now to show you how Jesus Christ manages this office of an Advocate for us. And that I may do this to your edification, I shall choose this method for the opening of it. First. Show you how he manages this office with his Father. Second. I shall show you how he manages it before him against our adversary.

First. how does he manage his office as an Advocate with His Father?

1. He doth it by himself, by no other as deputy under him, no angel, no saint; no work has a place here but Jesus, and Jesus only. This is what the text implies: "We have an Advocate"; speaking of one, but one alone, without an equal or an inferior. We have but one, and he is Jesus Christ. Nor is it for Christ's honor, nor for the honor of the law or of the justice of God, that anyone but Jesus Christ should be an Advocate for a sinning saint. Besides, to assert the contrary, what doth it but lessen sin and make the advocateship of Jesus Christ superfluous? It would lessen sin should it be removed by a saint or angel; it would make the advocateship of Jesus Christ superfluous, yea, needless, should it be possible that sin could be removed from us by either saint or angel.

Again, if God should admit more advocates than one and yet make mention of never one but Jesus Christ, or if John should allow another and yet speak nothing but of Jesus only, yea, that an advocate under that title should be mentioned but once, but once only in all the book of God, and yet that divers should be admitted, stands neither with the wisdom or love of God nor with the faithfulness of the apostle. But saints have but one Advocate, if they will use him, or improve their faith in that office for their help; if not, they must take what follows. This I thought good to hint at, because the times are corrupt, and because ignorance and superstition always wait for a countenance with us, and these things have a natural tendency to darken all truth, so especially this, which bringeth to Jesus Christ so much glory, and yieldeth to the godly so much help and relief.

2. As Jesus Christ alone is Advocate, so is God's bar, and that alone is that before which he pleads, for God is to judge himself (Deut 32:36; Heb 12:23). Nor can the cause for which he is now pleading be removed from any other court, either by appeals or otherwise.

If Satan could remove us from heaven to another court, he would certainly be too hard for us, because there we should want our Jesus, our Advocate, to plead our cause. Indeed, sometimes he impleads us before men, and they are glad of the occasion, for they and he are often one; but then we have leave to remove our cause and to pray for a trial in the highest court, saying, "Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal" (Psa 17:2). This wicked world does sentence us for our good deeds, but how then would they sentence us for our bad ones? But we will never appeal from heaven to earth for right, for here we have no Advocate; "our advocate is with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."

3. As he pleadeth by himself alone, and nowhere else but in the court of heaven with the Father, so as he pleadeth with the Father for us, he observed this rule. He granteth and confesseth whatever can rightly be charged upon us, yet so as that he taketh the whole charge upon himself, acknowledging the crimes to be his own. "O God," says he, "thou knowest my foolishness and my sins"; my guiltiness "is not hid from thee" (Psa 69:5). And this he must do, or else he can do nothing. If he hides the sin or lessens it, he is faulty; if he leaves it still upon us, we die. He must, then, take our iniquity to himself, make it his own, and so deliver us; for having thus taken the sin upon himself, as lawfully he may, and lovingly doth, "for we are members of his body" ('tis his hand, 'tis his foot, 'tis his ear hath sinned), it followeth that we live if he lives; and who can desire more? This, then, must be thoroughly considered, if ever we will have comfort in a day of trouble and distress for sin.