Chapter III
The second ; the special peculiar influence that intercession hath into our salva
tion and justification, and the reasons why God appointed it to be added to
the former.
2. To come now more particularly to shew that proper and special influence that intercession hath into our salvation, and what it adds to the
"
oblation of Christ s death, though in its kind perfect, in order to the effect
ing our salvation ; and to shew the more inward reasons why God ordained
for upon his ordination alone this is to be put this work of intercession
in heaven to be joined with his death. And both these I shall put pro miscuously together ; for in laying down the reasons why God thus ordered
our salvation to be brought about by it, that influence also which intercession hath into our salvation, will together therewith appear.
The reasons either respect (1.) God himself, who will have us so saved
as himself may be most glorified ; or (2.) respect us and our salvation ; God ordering all the links of this golden chain of the causes of our salva
tion, as should make our salvation most sure and stedfast, (as David in
his last song speaks, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5). Or (3.) respect Christ himself, whose glory is to be held up, and throughout continued as the author and
finisher of our salvation, beginner and ender of our faith and justification.
(1.) The first sort of reasons respect God himself.
[1.] In general, God will be dealt withal like himself, in and throughout the whole way of our salvation, from first to last, and carry it all along as a superior wronged, and so keep a distance between himself and sinners ; who still are to come to him by a priest, and a mediator (as Heb. vii. 25 hath it) upon whose mediation and intercession
* for ever, as there, at
least till the day of judgment, their salvation doth depend; and therefore
though Christ, in his dispensation of all to us downward, doth carry it as a
king, as one having all power to justify and condemn (as hath been shewn),
yet upward, towards God, he carries it as a priest, who must still intercede
to do all that which he has power to do as a king. Therefore in the second
Psalm, after that God had set him up as King upon his holy hill, ver. 6,
namely, in heaven, and so had committed all power in heaven and earth to him ; then he must yet ask all that he would have done ; Ask of me, and I will give thee, &c., ver. 8, says God to him; for though he be a
* I have set my king, &c., and by asking him, God will be acknowledged to be above him. But more of this hereafter. But
king, yet he is God s king,
[2.] More particularly. God hath two attributes which he would have most eminently appear in their highest glory by Christ s effecting our salva
tion, namely, justice and free grace ; and therefore hath so ordered the
bringing about of our salvation, as that Christ must apply himself in a more
especial manner unto each of these, by way of satisfaction to the one, of
entreaty to the other. Justice will be known to be justice, and dealt with
upon its own terms ; and grace will be acknowledged to be free grace, throughout the accomplishment of our salvation. You have both these
joined, Rom. iii. 24, 26, Being justified freely through his grace, by the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus ; that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believes. Here is highest justice and the freest grace both met to save us, and both ordained by God to be
* declared and
* set forth, as ver. 25 and 26 have it. I said before, that God justifies and saves us
62 THE TRIUMPH OF FAITH [SECT. Y.
through free grace, so absolutely freely, as if his justice had had no satis
faction. Now therefore our salvation depending and being carried on, even
in the application of it, by a continuation of grace in a free way, notwith
standing satisfaction unto justice, therefore this free grace must be sought
to, and treated with like itself, and applied upon in all, and the sovereignty and freeness of it acknowledged in all, even as well as God s justice had the honour to be satisfied by a price paid upon it, that so the severity of it
might appear and be held forth in our salvation. Thus God having two
attributes eminently to be dealt withal, his justice and his free grace, it was meet that there should be two eminent actions of Christ s priesthood, wherein he should apply himself to each according to their kind, and as the nature and glory of each doth require. And accordingly in his death he deals with justice, by laying down a sufficient price ; and in his inter
cession, he entreateth free grace, and thus both come to be alike acknow
ledged. In Heb. iv. 16, we are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace, because we have an high priest entered into the heavens. Observe how it is called a throne of grace, which our high priest now in heaven officiates at ; so called because his priesthood there deals with free
grace chiefly, it is a throne of grace, and so to be sued unto ; therefore he treateth with God by way of intercession. Of this throne of grace in
heaven, the mercyseat in the holy of holies was the type. And as there the high priest was to bring the blood and mercyseat together, he was to
sprinkle the blood upon it, so Christ. And as the high priest was to go into the holy of holies by blood, so with incense also, (that is, prayer), to shew that heaven is not opened by mere justice, or bringing only a price in hand for it, but by grace also, and that must be entreated ; and therefore when the priest was within that holy place, he was to make a cloud over the mercy-seat, which cloud of incense is prayer, whereof incense was the
type, Rev. viii. 3. And thence it is, that Christ hath as much work of it
still in heaven as ever, though of another kind. He dealt with justice here
below, to satisfy it, and here got money enough to pay the debt ; but in heaven he deals with mercy. Therefore all the grace he bestows on us, he
is said first to receive it, even now when in heaven. Acts ii. 33, it is said of him, after his going to heaven, and that he was exalted, &c., that he received the promise of the Spirit, which John xiv. 16, he told them he would pray for. And this is part of the meaning of that in Ps. Ixviii. 18,
* He ascended up on high, and received gifts for men, says the Psalmist. The apostle renders it, Eph. iv., gave, but you see it was by receiving them first, as fruits of his intercession and asking after his ascending. He
is said both to give, as being all of his own purchase, and as having power as a king also both to do and bestow all he doth ; and yet withal he is said
to receive all that he gives, because as a priest he intercedes for it, and asks
it. Free grace requires this. This is the first thing. Yea, secondly, justice itself might stand a little upon it, though there was enough in Christ his death to satisfy it ; yet having been wronged, it stood thus far upon it, as those to whom a debt is due use to do, namely, to have the money brought home to God s dwelling-house, and laid down
there. God is resolved not to stoop one whit unto man, no nor to Christ
his surety. Justice will not only be satisfied, and have a sufficient ransom
collected and paid, as at Christ s death, but he must come and bring his
bags up to heaven ; justice will be paid it upon the mercy-seat ; for so in the type the blood was to be carried into the holy of holies, and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat. And therefore his resurrection, ascension, &c., were
CHAP, in.] FROM CHRIST S INTERCESSION. 63
but as the breaking through all enemies, and subduing them, to the end to
bring this price or satisfaction to the mercyseat ; and so God having his
money by him, might not want wherewithal to pardon sinners ; so as the
blood of Christ is current money, not only on earth, but in heaven too, whither all is brought, which is for our comfort, that all the treasure which
should satisfy God is safely conveyed thither, and our surety with it.
(2.) The second sort of reasons why God ordained Christ s intercession
to be joined to his death, are taken from what was the best way to effect and make sure our salvation, and secure our hearts therein ; and these
reasons will shew the peculiar influence that intercession hath into our
ealvation, and therein as in the former.
[1.] First in general, God would have our salvation made sure, and us
saved all manner of ways, over and over. First, By ransom and price, (as
captives are redeemed) which was done by his death, which of itself was
enough ; for it is said, Heb. x. to perfect us for ever. Secondly, By power and rescue ; so in his resurrection, and ascension, and sitting at God s right hand, which also was sufficient. Then, thirdly, again by inter
cession, a way of favour and entreaty ; and this likewise would have been
enough, but God would have all ways concur in it, whereof notwithstanding not one could fail ; a threefold cord, whereof each twine were strong enough, but all together must of necessity hold.
[2.] Secondly, the whole application of his remedy, both in justifying and saving of us first and last, hath a special dependence upon this his
intercession. This all divines on all sides do attribute unto it, whilst they
put this difference between the influence of his death, and that of his inter
cession into our salvation : calling his death medium impetrationis, that is, the means of procurement or obtaining it for us ; but his intercession medium
applicationis, the means of applying all unto us. Christ purchaseth salva
tion by the one, but possesseth us of it by the other. Some have attributed
the application of justification to his resurrection ; but it is much more
proper to ascribe it to his intercession, (and what causal influence his
resurrection hath into our justification, hath been afore in the third section
declared). But that his eternal priesthood in heaven, and the work of its
intercession, is the applying cause of our eternal salvation, in all the parts of it, first and last, seems to me to be the result of the connection of the
8th, 9th, and 10th verses of the 5th chapter to the Hebrews. For having spoken of his obedience and sufferings unto death, ver. 8, and how he
thereby was made perfect, ver. 9, he says, and being thus first made
perfect, he became the author or applying cause, ainog, of eternal salva
tion, unto all them that obey him ; and this by his being become an eternal
priest in heaven, after he was thus perfected by sufferings ; for so it follows, ver. 10,
* called of God an high priest, after the order of Melchisedec. And Melchisedec s priesthood was principally the type of his priesthood in
heaven, as was before declared. One leading instance to shew that his
intercession was to be the applying cause of salvation, was given by Christ, whilst he was on earth, thereby manifesting what much more was to be done by him in heaven, through his intercession there ; when he was on
the cross, and as then offering that great sacrifice for sin, he at that time
also joined prayers for the justification of those that crucified him, Father
forgive them, for they know not what they do ; so fulfilling that in Isa.
liii. 12, He bare the sins of many, and made intercession for the trans
gressors. And the efficacy of that prayer then put up, was the cause of
the conversion of those three thousand, Acts ii., whom, ver. 25, the apostle
64 THE TKIUMPH OF FAITH [SECT. Y.
* whom ye by wicked hands have taken, crucified, and slain. These were the first-fruits of his
had expressly charged with the crucifying of Christ,
intercession, whose prayers still do reap and bring in the rest of the crop, which in all ages is to grow up unto God on earth.
[3.] And more particularly, as the whole application in general, so our
justification, in the whole progress of it, depends upon Christ s inter
cession. As,
First, Our first actual or initial justification, which is given us at our first
conversion, depends upon Christ s intercession. Therefore in the forementioned prayer on the cross, the thing he prayed for was forgiveness,
Father, forgive them. You heard before that Christ s death affords the
matter of our justification, as being that which is imputed, the ransom, the
price, the thing itself that satisfies; and that his resurrection was the
original act of God s justifying us in Christ. We were virtually justified then in Christ his being justified, as in a common person. But besides all
this, there is a personal or an actual justification to be bestowed upon us, that is, an accounting and bestowing it upon us in our own persons, which
is done when we believe, and it is called (Horn. v. 1) a being justified by
* received the atonement ; now this depends on Christ s
faith, and (ver. 10)
intercession, and it was typified out by Moses his sprinkling the people with blood, mentioned Heb. ix. 19, which thing Jesus Christ as a Mediator and Priest doth now from heaven. For, Heb. xii. 24, it is said,
* You are come to heaven, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and, as it
* to the blood of sprinkling. He shed his blood on the
is next subjoined,
cross on earth, but he sprinkleth it now as a priest from heaven. For it is
upon Mount Zion, to which (he had said first in the former verse) ye are come ; and so to Christ as a mediator standing on that mount, and sprink
ling from thence his blood ; and so therein there is an allusion unto Moses, Christ s type, who sprinkled the people with the blood of that ceremonial
covenant, the type of the covenant of grace. Now, in 1 Peter i. 2, The
sprinkling of his blood, as it is there made the more proper work of Christ
himself, in distinction from the other persons, and therefore was done by Moses, who was his type, so is it also put for our first justification. And
this sprinkling, as it is there mentioned, is from the virtue of his interces
sion. And therefore in that place of the Hebrews fore-cited, he attributes an intercession unto it, as the phrase that follows, which speaks better
things, &c., doth imply, of which more hereafter. Yet concerning this
first head, let me add this by way of caution (which I shall presently have occasion to observe), that though this our first justification is to be ascribed
to his intercession, yet more eminently intercession is ordained for the
accomplishing our salvation, and this other more rarely in the Scripture at :
tributed thereunto. .
Secondly, The continuation of our justification depends upon it. And as
his intercession is the virtual continuation of his sacrifice, so is it the con
tinuing cause of our justification ; which though it be an act done once, as
fully as ever, yet is it done over every moment, for it is continued by acts of free grace, and so renewed actually every moment. There is a
* standing in grace by Christ, spoken of Horn. v. 2, as well as a first access by Christ, and that standing in grace, and continuing in it, is afterwards, ver. 10, attri buted to his life, that is, as it is interpreted, Heb. vii. 25, his living ever to
intercede. We owe our standing in grace every moment to his sitting in heaven and interceding every moment. There is no fresh act of justifica tion goes forth, but there is a fresh act of intercession. And as though
CHAP. III.] FROM CHRIST S INTERCESSION. 65
God created the world once for all, yet every moment he is said to create, every new act of providence being a new creation ; so likewise to justify continually, through his continuing out free grace to justify as at first ; and
this Christ doth by continuing his intercession ; he continues a priest for
ever, and so we continue to be justified for ever.
Thirdly, There is hereby a full security given us of justification to be con tinued for ever. The danger either must lie in old sins coming into re membrance, or else from sins newly to be committed. Now, first, God
hereby takes order, that no old sins shall come up into remembrance, to trouble his thought, as in the old law, after the priest s going into the holy of holies, their sins are said yet to have done, Heb. x. 3 ; and to that end
it was that he placed Christ as his remembrancer for us, so near him, to take up his thoughts so with his obedience, that our sins might not come into mind. Not that God needed this help to put himself in mind, but
only for a formality sake, that things being thus really carried between God and Christ for us, according to a way suiting with our apprehensions, our
faith might be strengthened against all suppositions, and fears of after re
viving our guilts. Look therefore as God ordained the rainbow in the
heavens, that when he looked on it, he might remember his covenant, never to destroy the world again by water ; so he hath set Christ as the rainbow about his throne. And look as the bread and wine in the Lord s supper are appointed on earth to
* shew forth Christ s death, as a remembrancer to us ; so is Christ himself appointed in heaven to shew forth his death really as a remembrancer thereof to his Father ; and indeed, the one is corres
pondent to the other. Only the papists have perverted the use of the Lord s supper, by making it on earth a commemorative sacrifice to God, whenas it is but a remembrancer thereof to men ; and besides, their priests therein do take upon themselves this very office of presenting this sacrifice to God, which is proper only to Christ in heaven. But God, when he would make sure not to be tempted to remember our sins any more, nor trouble himself with them, hath set his Christ by him to put him in mind of his so
pleasing an offering. So the high priest going into the holy of holies, was
for amemorial, and therein the type of Christ. And this is plainly and
expressly made the use of this execution of his priestly office in heaven, Heb. viii. where the apostle having discoursed of that part of his office, as the chief thing he aimed at in this epistle, ver. 1, and of the necessity of it, verses 3, 4, and 5, and excellency of it in this respect, ver. 6, he then shews how from thence the new covenant of pardon came to be sure and stedfast, that God
* will remember our sins no more, ver. 12, which he there brings in as the proper use of this doctrine, and of this part of his priesthood.
Secondly, As by reason of intercession God remembers not old sins, so likewise he is not provoked by new. For though God, when he justifies us, should forgive all old sins past for ever, so as never to remember them more,
yet new ones would break forth, and he could not but take notice of them ; and so, so long as sin continues, there is need of a continuing intercession. Therefore for the securing us in this, it is said, Rom. v. 10, that
* if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Where we see that his death is in some more special manner said to procure reconciliation at
first for sins of unregeneracy, and to bring us to Christ ; but then his life and intercession, or living to intercede, is said to keep God and us friends, that we may never fall out more. What Christ did on earth, doth more
especially procure reconciliation for sins which we do in the state of nature ; VOL. rv. E
66 THE TKIUMPH OF FAITH [SECT. Y.
so as notwithstanding them, God resolves to turn us from that state and draw us to Christ. But sins which we commit after conversion, though pardoned also by his death, yet the pardon of them is more especially attri buted to his life and intercession, as a daily preservative, a continual plaster
(as some call it) to heal such sins. So that it would seem that God out
of his eternal love doth bring us to Christ, and draws us to him through the
beholding the reconciliation wrought by his death, and so gives us at first
conversion unto Christ ; and we being brought to him, he sprinkles us with
his blood ; and then God says to him, Now do you look to them, that they and I fall out no more. And to that end Christ takes our cause in hand
by that eternal priesthood of his, and from that time begins more especially to intercede for us. And thus sins after the state of grace may be said more eminently to be taken away by that part of his priesthood which he now in heaven performs. That place also, 1 John ii. 1, 2, seems to make
this the great end of intercession, If any man sin (that is, if any of the
* we have an advocate with
company of believers, to whom alone he wrote),
the Father ; so as intercession principally serves for sins to come, or com mitted after grace received. Thus also in his prayer, John xvii., which was
left as a pattern of his intercession in heaven, he prays for his elect as be
lievers, I pray for them that shall believe through their word. Not but
that sins after conversion are taken away by his death ; and sins before it, by his intercession also ; for Christ interceded for those who crucified him, and
by virtue of that intercession, those three thousand were converted (as was
observed). But the meaning only is, that yet more eminently the work of
reconciliation for sins before conversion is attributed to his death ; and for
sins after conversion to his intercession. Even as the persons of the Trinity, though they have all a like hand in all the work of our salvation, yet we
see that one part is attributed more to one person, and another to another.
(3.) A third sort of reasons why God ordained this work of intercession
to accomplish our salvation by, do respect Christ himself, whose honour and glory, and the perpetuation of it in our hearts, God had as well in his
eye in the ordering all the workings of our salvation, as much as his own,
* that all might honour the Son as well as the Father, as Christ himself
speaks. Now, therefore, for the maintaining and upholding his glory, and the comings in thereof, did God ordain, after all that he had done for us here below, this work of intercession in heaven to be added to all the rest, for the perfecting of our salvation. As,
First, It became him, and was for his honour, that none of his offices should be vacant or lie idle, and he want employment in them. All offices have work to accompany them, and all work hath honour, as its reward, to
arise out of it. And therefore when he had done all that was to be done on earth, as appertaining unto the merit of our salvation, he appoints this
full and perpetual work in heaven, for the applying and possessing us of
salvation, and that as a priest, by praying and interceding in the merit of that one oblation of himself. God would have Christ never to be out of
office, nor out of work. And this very reason is more than intimated, Heb.
vii. 24. This man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood, (or, as ver. 21 expounds it) for ever. And the work of his
* ever to make intercession. The
priesthood is interpreted, ver. 25, to be
meaning 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, as great generals have, even in time of peace, the glory of some great
CHAP. IV.] FROM CHRIST S INTERCESSION. 67
battle fought, continued to them in their titles, or rewards for ever. But God would have him have, as the renown of the old, so a perpetual spring of honour by new work, and employment in that office which he is con
tinually adoing, so to preserve the verdure of his glory ever fresh and green, and therefore ordained a continual work for him. And the sum of the
apostle s reasoning is this, that seeing himself was to be for ever, so should
his work and priesthood be, that so his honour might be for ever. So ver. 28 concludes it, consecrated or perfected for evermore.
Secondly, For the same reason also, it became him that the whole work
of our salvation, first and last, and every part of it, every step and degree of accomplishment of it, should be so ordered as he should continue still to have as great and continual a hand in every part, even to the laying of the
top stone thereof, as he had in laying the first foundation and corner stone
* Looking to Jesus the
thereof. And this you have expressed, Heb. xii. 2,
beginner and perfecter of our faith. Two things had been said of him, as two causes of two effects ; and we must look to him in both. [1.] He is to be looked at as dying, enduring the cross, as there he is set forth. [2.] As sitting at God s right hand and interceding, as that whole Epistle had
represented him. We are to look at these two as causes of a double effect,
to look at his dying as that which is the beginning of our faith, (so accord
ing to the Greek, and the margin of our translation), and at his sitting at God s right hand as an intercessor, for the finishing of our faith there
by ; and so of our final salvation. For as Christ s work began in his life and death, which is put for all his obedience here below, so our first be
lieving (as was said) begins by virtue of his death at first ; and as his work ends in his intercession, and sitting at God s right hand, so answerably is our faith and salvation perfected by it, that thus he might be left out in
* the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, to whom be glory for ever. So that we are to look upon our Mediator Christ, as
nothing, but be
doing as much work for us in heaven at this instant, as ever he did on earth ; here suffering, but there praying and presenting his sufferings. All his work was not done, when he had done here ; that work here was indeed the harder piece of the two, yet soon despatched ; but his work in heaven,
though sweeter far, yet lies on his hands for ever ; therefore let us leave out none of these in our believing on him..