BOOK 9. THE INTERCESSION.
CHAPTER 1.
9.1.10. Of the Reasons of Christ's Intercession.
Of the Reasons of Christ's Intercession.
What are the reasons of this great transaction of Christ's intercession for his people? I answer, --
1. It is the Father's will that it should be so; he called Jesus Christ to this office, the command of God is upon Jesus Christ, "Ask what thou wilt for thy redeemed ones, I willingly engage myself to grant, only it is my pleasure thou should ask;" as sometimes he said to the house of Israel, "I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it; notwithstanding I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them," Ezek. xxxvi. 36, 37. So saith God to Christ, "I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it, only, my Son, I will be inquired of by thee." I look upon this as the main reason of Christ's intercession, "Even so Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight;" it is God's will that Christ should intercede.
2. It is the Father's love to engage his Son for his own people. O the comfort of a sound Christian in this respect! What, art thou in temptation, or desertion? Surely Christ is engaged by God to petition for thee; thou hast put up many petitions to Christ, and he hath put them all up unto God; he could do no otherwise, for he is in place an advocate, to mention and plead such causes as are moved to him. Methinks I imagine God thus bespeaking his Son; "See thou do this poor soul good, my Son; here is for him according to all he needs only ask according to what thou knowest will make him happy; must he have my Spirit, my comforting Spirit? Will no less, no cheaper thing serve his turn? Then there it is." Oh how is Christ engaged now to petition for them whom God loves, and for whom he gave himself? Surely if Christ should leave to intercede for such, he would displease his Father, which we know he would not do, he would undergo hell first.
3. It is Christ's own inclination to do his office: the power that Christ hath for the good of sinners is necessarily acted: as the sun shines upon all the world, and it cannot do otherwise, so Christ the Sun of righteousness shines or intercedes for all his saints, and he can do no less: what is the will of the Father, the will of Christ, (I mean the will of Christ naturally, not artificially in a way of self-denial, as God's will is said to be our will) so that what the Father would have Christ own, he cannot but own; for the same Spirit is in Christ, which is in the Father, and in the self-same measure: as God is captivated with love towards all captives, so am I, saith Christ; as God would have all to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth, so would I too, saith Christ. The very same bottomless sea of love, that fluctuates in my Father's breast, is in my breast, for I and the Father are one, John x. 30.
4. It is Christ's honour to intercede: hereby is the crown set on Christ's head, much honour and glory redounds to Jesus in this very respect. I believe all the work that is done in heaven, is Christ's interceding, and the saints and angels praising; Christ intercedes forever, and the four beasts, and four and twenty elders sing forever, Rev. iv. 8, 9, 10, 11. An argument of Christ's honour, by Christ's intercession, is given in thus by Mr Goodwin (Goodwin's Christ set forth.): if it were not for Christ's intercession, now would the office of Christ's priesthood be out of work: and this reason is more than intimated, Heb. vii. 24, 25. "This man because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood ;" and the work of his priesthood reinterpreted, verse 25. "To make intercession forever." The meaning of this is, that God would not have him continue to be a priest in title only, or in respect only of a service past, and so to have only the honour of priesthood perpetuated to him, out of the remembrance of what he once had done: but God would have him to enjoy as the renown of the old; so a perpetual spring of honour by this new work of intercession, and so to preserve the verdure of his glory ever fresh and green; and the sum of the apostle's reasoning is this, that seeing himself was to be forever, so his work of priesthood should be forever, that so his honour might be preserved and continued forever also.
5. It is Christ's love to his saints, his heart is so enamoured with his saints, that therefore he intercedes for them forever; love is as strong as death; it is never weary of doing good for the party beloved; now Christ's saints are Christ's love; "My sister, my love, my dove," Cant, v. 2. The saints in Christ's books are as so many jewels, "And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels," Mai. iii. 17. The saints are Christ's only choice, the very flower of the earth, "You have I chosen out of the world," John xv. 19, and ye are "my people, my chosen," Isa. xliii. 20. All the world is Christ's refuse, and kings are but mortar to him, only the saints are Christ's chosen, they are they whom the Lord in his eternal counsels hath set apart for himself, "But know (saith the Psalmist) that the Lord hath set apart them that is godly," Psal. iv. 3. The saints are Christ's image, i.e. the resemblance of Christ in all that which is his chief excellency, I mean in his righteousness and holiness; as if I would take the picture of a man, I would not draw it to resemble his back parts, but as near as I could, I would draw it to life, the very face and countenance: so are the saints the very picture, the image, the draught of God to his top excellency. The saints are in covenant with Jesus Christ, and therefore in nearer relation than any others, hence it is that they are called the portion of God, the treasure of God, the peculiar people of God, those that God and Christ doth satisfy themselves in, those that God and Christ have set their hearts on; the children of God the Father, the very spouse and bride of God the Son, in some respect nearer than the angels themselves, for the angels are not so married to Christ in a mystical union, as God's people are; now, is it any wonder that those who are so very dear to Christ, should be in the prayers of Christ? If they were so much in his heart, that sometimes he shed his blood for them, will he not now intercede for them? O yes! to this end he carries them on his breast or heart, as near as near may be, that they may be in a continual remembrance before the Lord forever: his very love compels him to this office, to intercede for them.
6. It is Christ's delight to intercede for his saints. Before the world was, "his delights were with the sons of men," Prov. viii. 31. And when the fulness of time came, then said he, "Lo, I come in the volume of thy book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will O my God," Psalm xl. 7, 8. And what was that, but to be with the sons of men? He knew that was his Father's pleasure, and in respect of himself, he had a delight to live with them, and to die for them: and no sooner he entered into heaven, but there he delights to officiate still in behalf of the sons of men; he carries their names on his heart there, and though some of their persons be on earth, and he in his bodily presence is in heaven, yet distance of place cannot deaden his delights in the remembrance of them; he is ever minding his Father of his people in the nether world; he tells them that they are his all in all upon the earth, and all his joy, and all his delight, all his portion; as men use to give portions to their children, so God having but one Son by eternal generation, he hath given the elect unto him as his portion; and hence he makes it his great business in heaven, to provide mansions for his portion, to take up God's heart for his portion, to beg favour and love for his portion. Here is the joy of Christ in heaven, in going to his Father, and telling him, "Why Father, I have a small portion yet on earth, and because they are on earth, they are still sinning against thy Majesty, but I have suffered and satisfied for their sins, and hither am I come to mind thee of it, and continually to get out fresh pardons for new sins; come, look on my old satisfaction, didst thou not promise? Is it not in the articles of agreement betwixt thee and me, that I should see of the travail of my soul, and should be satisfied! Didst thou not say, That because I poured out my soul, therefore thou wouldst divide me a portion with the great, and the spoil with the strong? Isa. liii. 11, 12. O my Father! now I make intercession for the transgressors; give me out pardons for an hundred thousand millions of sins; thou hast said and sworn that thou hast no pleasure in the death of sinners, and it is my pleasure, my joy, my infinite delight to save sinners, these are my seed, my portion, my redeemed ones, and therefore let them be saved." Thus Christ intercedes, and his delight is in his saints, as knowing it to be his Father's mind, draws him on to this intercession; indeed this reason hangs upon that primary and first reason; it is God's will that Christ should intercede, and it is Christ's delight to do the will of his Father in heaven, "I delight to do thy will, O my God."
7. It is Christ's compassion that causeth intercession. "Christ is such an high priest (saith the apostle) as cannot but be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin," Heb. iv. 15. When he was on earth he felt our infirmities, frailties, miseries, and as a man that hath felt the stone, or gout, or fever, or especially that have felt soul-troubles, cannot but compassionate those that are in the like condition; so Christ having had the experience of our outward and inward sufferings, he cannot but compassionate us; and hence it is, (his very compassions moving) that he intercedes to his Father on our behalf. It is observed, That the very office or work of the high-priest, was to sympathise with the people of God; only in the case of the death of his kindred, he was not as others, to sympathise or mourn; but Jesus Christ goes beyond all the high-priests that ever were before him; he doth fully sympathise with us, not in some, but in all conditions, "In all our afflictions, he is afflicted," Isa. lxiii. 9. I believe Christ hath carried a man's heart up with him to heaven; and though there be no passions in him as he is God, yet the flower, the blossom, the excellency of all these passions, (which we call compassions) are infinitely in him as he is God; he striketh, and trieth, and yet he pitieth; when Ephraim bemoaneth himself, God replies, "Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still, therefore my bowels are troubled for him," Jer. xxxi. 20. Surely there is a violence of heavenly passion in Christ's heart as God man, which makes him to break out into prayer to God, and into compassion towards men; O that tempted souls would consider this; It may be, Christ is giving you a cup of tears and blood to drink; but who knows what bowels, what turnings of heart, what motions of compassion are in Jesus Christ all the while? Those who feel the fruit of Christ's intercessions know this, and cannot but subscribe to this truth, "O ye of little faith" why do ye doubt of Christ's bowels? Is he not our compassionate high-priest? Hath not the tenderest, meekest, mildest heart of a man that God possibly can form, met with the eternal and infinite mercy of God himself in Jesus Christ? You have heard that Christ in both natures is our high-priest, mediator, intercessor; and if either God or man know how to compassionate, Christ must do it. O the bowels of Christ! "He is touched (saith the apostle) with the feeling of our infirmities," Heb. iv. 15. It is an illusion to the rolled and moved bowels of God, in Jer. xxxi. 20: Christ in heaven is burning and flaming in a passion of compassion towards his weak ones, and therefore he pleads, intercedes, and prays to God for them.
Thus far we have propounded the object, which is Christ's intercession: our next work is to direct you how to look upon Jesus in this respect.