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 moved 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 considered us as infirm and weak, and subject to slips, stumbles, and falls because of weakness.
And that Christ our Advocate, by thus pleading, do 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 stayed 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). Now, as I said, all these things happen unto us, both infirmities and pity, because, for that, we were once in the fire, and for that, the weakness of sin abides upon us to this day. But none of this favor could come to us, nor could we, by any means, cause that our infirmities should work for us thus advantageously; but that Christ our Advocate stands as our friend and pleads for us as he doth.
But again, before I pass this over, I will, for the clearing of this, present you with a few more considerations, which are of another rank-to-wit, that Christ our Advocate, as such, makes mention of our weaknesses so, against Satan and before his Father, as to turn all to our advantage.
(1.) We are therefore to be saved by grace; because of sin, we are disabled from keeping the law (Deut 9:5; Isa 64:6). (2.) We have given unto us the Spirit of grace to help because we can do nothing good without it (Eph 2:5; Rom 8:26). (3.) God has put Christ’s righteousness upon us to cover our nakedness with because we have none of our own to do it withal (Phil 3:7, 8; Eze 16:8). (4.) God allowed us to ride in the bosom of Christ to the grave and from there in the bosom of angels to heaven because our own legs are not able to carry us there (Isa 40:11, 46:4; Psa 48:14; Luke 16:22). (5.) God has made his Son our Head, our Priest, our Advocate, our Saviour, and our Captain, that we may be delivered from all the infirmities and all the fiends that attend us and that plot to do us hurt (Eph 1:22; Col 1:18; Heb 7:21). (6.) God has put the fallen angels into chains (II Peter 2:4; Rev 20:1, 2), that they might not follow us too fast, and has enlarged us (Psa 4:1), directed our feet in the way of his steps, that we may haste us to the strong tower and city of refuge for succor and safety, and given good angels a charge to look to us (Heb 1:14; Psa 34:7). (7.) God has promised that we, at our counting days, shall be spared, “as a man spared his own son that served him” (Mal 3:17).
