Christians too little concern themselves, as I have said, with the offices of Jesus Christ; and therefore their knowledge of him is so little, and their faith in him so weak. We are bid to have our conversation in heaven, and then a man so hath, when he is there, in his spirit, by faith, observing how the Lord Jesus doth exercise his offices there for him. Let us often, by faith, go to the bar of God, there to hear our Advocate plead our cause; we should often have our faith to God's judgment-seat, because we are concerned there; there we are accused of the devil, there we have our crimes laid open, and there we have our Advocate to plead; and this is suggested in the text, for it saith, "We have an Advocate with the Father"; therefore, thither our faith should go for help and relief in the day of our straits. I say, we should have our faith to God's judgment-seat, and show it there, by the glass of our text,35 what Satan is doing against, and the Lord Jesus for, our souls. We should also show it how the Lord Jesus carries away every cause from the devil, and from before the judgment-seat, to the comfort of the children, the joy of angels, and the shame of the enemy. This would strengthen and support our faith indeed, and would make us more able than, for the most part, we are to apply the grace of God to ourselves, and hereafter to give more strong repulses to Satan. It is easy with a man, when he knows that his advocate has overthrown his enemy at the King's Bench bar or Court of Common Pleas, less to fear him the next time he sees him, and more boldly to answer him when he reneweth his threats on him. Let faith, then, be strengthened, from its being exercised about the advocateship of Jesus Christ.
2. As we should make use of Christ's advocateship for the strengthening of our faith, so we should also make use thereof to the encouraging us to prayer. As our faith is, so is our prayer; to wit, cold, weak, and doubtful, if our faith be so. When faith cannot apprehend that we have access to the Father by Christ, or that we have an Advocate, when charged before God for our sins by the devil, then we flag and faint in our prayer; but when we begin to take courage to believe-and then we do so when most clearly we apprehend Christ-then we get up in prayer. And according as a man apprehends Christ in his undertakings and offices, so he will wrestle with and supplicate God. As, suppose a man believes that Christ died for his sins; why, then, he will plead that in prayer with God. Suppose, also, that a man understands that Christ rose again for his justification; why, then, he will also plead that in prayer; but if he knows no more, no further will he go. But when he shall know that there is also for him an Advocate with the Father, and that that Advocate is Jesus Christ; and when the glory of this office of Christ shall shine in the face of this man's soul; oh, then, he takes courage to pray with that courage he had not before; yea, then is his faith so supported and made strong, that his prayer is more fervent, and importuning abundance. So that, I say, the knowledge of the advocateship of Christ is very useful to strengthen our graces; and, as of graces in general, so of faith and prayer in particular. Wherefore, our wisdom is, so to improve this doctrine that prayer may be strengthened thereby.
3. As we should make use of this doctrine to strengthen faith and prayer, so we should make use of it to keep us humble; for the more offices Christ executeth for us with the Father, the greater sign that we are bad; and the more we see our badness, the more humble should we be. Christ gave for us the price of blood; but that is not all; Christ as a Captain has conquered death and the grave for us, but that is not all: Christ as a Priest intercedes for us in heaven; but that is not all. Sin is still in us, and with us, and mixes itself with whatever we do, whether what we do be religious or civil; for not only our prayers and our sermons, our hearings and preaching, and so; but our houses, our shops, our trades, and our beds, are all polluted with sin. Nor doth the devil, our night and day adversary, forbear to tell our bad deeds to our Father, urging that we might for ever be disinherited for this. But what should we now do, if we had not an Advocate; yea, if we had not one who would plead in forma pauperis; yea, if we had not one that could prevail, and that would faithfully execute that office for us? Why, we must die. But since we are rescued by him, let us, as to ourselves, lay our hand upon our mouth, and be silent, and say, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory." And, I say again, since the Lord Jesus is fain to run through so many offices for us before he can bring us to glory, oh! how low, how little, how vile and base in our own eyes should we be.
It is a shame for a Christian to think highly of himself, since Christ is fain to do so much for him, and he again not at all able to make him amends; but some, whose riches consist in nothing but scabs and lice, will yet have lofty looks. But are not they much to blame who sit lifting up of lofty eyes in the house, and yet know not how to turn their hand to do anything so, but that another, their betters, must come and mend their work? I say, is it not more meet that those that are such, should look and speak, and act as such that declare their sense of their unhandiness, and their shame, and the like, for their unprofitableness? Yea, is it not meet that to every one they should confess what sorry ones they are? I am sure it should be thus with Christians, and God is angry when it is otherwise. Nor doth it become these helpless ones to lift up themselves on high. Let Christ's advocateship therefore teach us to be humble.
4. As we should improve this doctrine to strengthen faith, to encourage prayer, and keep us humble, so we should make use of it to encourage perseverance-that is, to hold on, to hold out to the end; for, for all those causes the apostle setteth Christ before us as an Advocate. There is nothing more discourages the truly godly than the sense of their own infirmities, as has been hinted all along; consequently, nothing can more encourage them to go on than to think that Christ is an Advocate for them. The services, also, that Christ has for us to do in this world are full of difficulty, and so apt to discourage: but when a Christian shall come to understand that-if we do what we can-it is not a failing either in matter or manner that shall render it wholly unserviceable, or give the devil that advantage as to plead thereby to prevail for our condemnation and rejection; but that Christ, by being our Advocate, saves us from falling short, as also from the rage of hell. This will encourage us to hold on, though we do but hobble in all our goings, and fumble in all our doings; for we have Christ for an Advocate in case we sin in the management of any duty-"If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Let us, therefore, go on in all God's ways as well as we can for our hearts; and when our foot slips, let us tell God of it, and his mercy in Christ shall hold us up (Psa 84:9–12).
Darkness, and to be shut up in prison, is also a great discouragement to us; but our Advocate is for giving us light, and for fetching us out of our prison. True, he that Joseph chose to be his Advocate with Pharaoh remembered not Joseph, but forgat him (Gen 40:14, 23); but he that has Jesus Christ to be his Advocate shall be remembered before God, (Micah 7:8–10).-"He remembered us in our low estate; for his mercy endureth for ever" (Psa 136:23). Yea, he will say to the prisoners, Show yourselves; and to them that are in the prison-house, Go forth. Satan sometimes gets the saints into the prison when he has taken them captive by their lusts (Rom 7:23). But they shall not be always there; and this should encourage us to go on in godly ways; for "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."
Objection. But I cannot pray, says one, therefore how should I persevere? When I go to prayer, instead of praying, my mouth is stopped. What would you have me do?
Answer. Well, soul, though Satan may baffle thee, he cannot so serve thine Advocate; if thou must not speak for thyself, Christ thine Advocate can speak for thee. Lemuel was to open his mouth for the dumb-to wit, for the sons of destruction, and to plead the cause of the poor and needy (Prov 31:8, 9). If we knew the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so as the Word reveals it, we would believe, we would hope, and would, notwithstanding all discouragements, wait for the salvation of the Lord. But there are many things that hinder, wherefore faith, prayer, and perseverance, are made difficult things unto us-"But if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous": and, God "shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace," was once a good word to me when I could not pray.
5. As we should improve this doctrine for the improvement and encouragement of these graces, so we should improve it to the driving of difficulties down before us, to the getting of ground upon the enemy-"Resist