And this is the reason, or one reason, why those that are justified need an intercessor—to wit, to save us from the evil of the sin that remains in our flesh after we are justified by grace through Christ and set free from the law as to condemnation. Therefore, as it is said, we are saved; so it is said, ‘He is able also to save them to the uttermost that comes unto God by him, seeing he ever lived intercession for them.’ The godly, for now, we will call them the godly, though there is yet abundance of sin in them. They feel in themselves many things even after justification by which they are convinced they are still attended with personal, sinful imperfections.
Imperfect in their feelings and inclinations.—(1.) They feel unbelief, fear, mistrust, doubting, desponding, murmurings, blasphemies, pride, lightness, foolishness, avarice, fleshly lusts, heartlessness to good, wicked desires, low thoughts of Christ, too good thoughts of sin, and, at times, too great an itching after the worst of immoralities.
(2.) They feel in themselves an aptness to incline to errors, as to lean to the works of the law for justification; to question the truth of the resurrection and judgment to come; to dissemble and play the hypocrite in the profession, and in performance of duties; to do religious duties rather to please man than God, who tries the heart.
(3.) They feel an inclination in them, in times of trial, to faint under the cross, to seek too much to save themselves, to dissemble the known truth for the obtaining a little favor with men, and to speak things that they ought not, that they may sleep in a whole skin.
(4.) They feel wearisomeness in religious duties, but a natural propensity to things of the flesh. They feel the desire to go beyond bounds both at board, and bed, and bodily exercise and in all lawful recreation.
(5.) They feel in themselves an aptness to take advantage of using lawful things, such as food, raiment, sleep, talk, estates, relations, beauty, wit, parts, and graces, to unlawful ends. These things, with many more of the like kind, the justified man finds and feels in himself, to his humbling and often cast down; and to save him from the destroying evil of these, Christ ever lived to make intercession for him.
[Imperfect in their graces.]—Again; the justified man is imperfect in his graces, and therefore needed to be saved by the intercession of Christ from the bad fruit that that imperfection yields.
Justifying righteousness is accompanied by graces—the graces of the Spirit. Though these graces are not that matter by and through which we are justified, nor any part thereof, that being only the obedience of Christ imputed to us of mere pleasure and goodwill; but, I say, they come when justification comes. (Rom 9) And though they are not so easily discerned at the first, they show forth themselves afterward. But I say, how many soever they are, and how fast soever they grow, their utmost agreement here is but a state short of perfection. None of the graces of God’s Spirit in our hearts can do their work in us without shortness, and that is because of their own imperfections, and also because of the oppositions that they meet with from our flesh.
(1.) Faith, which is the root grace, the grand grace, its shortness is sufficiently manifest by its shortness of apprehension of things about the person, offices, relations, and works of Christ, now in the heavenly place for us. It is also very defective in its fetching of comfort from the Word to us, and in continuing of it with us, when at any time we attain unto it; in its receiving of strength to subdue sin, and in its purifying of the heart, though indeed it doth what it doth in reality, yet how short is it of doing of it thoroughly? Oftentimes, were it not for supplies by the intercession of Christ, faith would fail to perform its office in any measure. (Luke 22:31,32)
(2.) There is hope, another grace of the Spirit bestowed upon us; and how often is that also, as to the excellency of working, made to flag? ‘I shall perish,’ saith David; ‘I am cut off from before thine eyes,’ said he. (Psa 31:22) And now where was his hope, in the right gospel discovery of it? Also, all our fears of men, fears of death, and fears of judgment arise from the imperfections of hope. But from all those faults Christ saves us by his intercessions.
(3.) There is love, that should be in us as hot as fire. It is compared to fire, to fire of the hottest sort; yea, it is said to be hotter than the coals of juniper. (Cant 8:6,7) But who finds this heat in love so much as for one poor quarter of an hour together? Some little flashes, perhaps, some at some times may feel, but where is that constant burning of affection that the Word, the love of God, and the love of Christ call for? yea, and that the necessities of the poor and afflicted members of Christ call for also. Ah! love is cold in these frozen days, and short when it is at the highest.
(4.) The grace of humility, when is it? who has a thimbleful thereof? Where is he that is ‘clothed with humility,’ and that does what he is commanded ‘with all humility of mind’? (1 Peter 5:5, Acts 20:19)
(5.) For zeal, where is that also? Zeal for God against sin, profaneness, superstition, and idolatry. I speak now to the godly, who have this zeal in the root and habit; but oh, how little of it puts forth itself into actions in such a day as this is!
(6.) There is reverence, fear, and standing in awe of God’s Word and judgments, where are the excellent workings thereof to be found? And where it is most, how far short of perfect acts is it?
(7.) Simplicity and godly sincerity also, with how much dirt is it mixed in the best; especially among those of the rich saints, who have got the poor and beggarly art of complimenting? The more compliments, the less sincerity. Many words will not fill a bushel. But ‘in the multitude of words, there wanted not sin.’ (Prov 10:19) Plain men are thin come up in this day; to find a mouth without fraud and deceit now is a rare thing. Thus might one count up all the graces of the Spirit, and show wherein every one of them is scanty and wanting of perfection. Now look, what they want of perfection is supplied with sin and vanity; for there is a fullness of sin and flesh at hand to make up all the vacant places in our souls. There is no place in the souls of the godly but it is filled up with darkness when the light is wanting, and with sin so far forth as grace is wanting. Satan, also, diligently waited to come in at the door, if Careless had left it a little achare. But, oh! the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ever lived to make intercession for us, and that, by so doing, saves us from all the imperfect acts and workings of our graces, and from all the advantages that flesh, and sin, and Satan gutted upon us thereby.
