Tliese words of the apostle, "Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?" do not denote that this is the intercession of Christ for them, that no accusation be admitted against them whilst they believe, which is no more but the confirmation of that general pro- position of the gospel before mentioned; but it is the conclusion which they make upon the account of the intercession of Christ, in the application of the promise of the gospel to their own souls. Neither is there any more weight in that which follows, " That there be no abatement or alienation of the love of God from them upon the account of their sufferings and afflictions;" which for the most part are for his sake. Wliat saints of God were almost so much as once tempted with a conceit that God's love should be abated or alienated from them because they suffered for him?
And this is the foundation of that " excellent rate of consolation at which the saints, upon the account of the intercession of Christ, may be maintained :" " Into afflictions, temptations, trials, they may fall; but if they continue in faith and love they shall not be rejected. No creature shall be heard against them ; that Christ takes care for : but for the worst enemies they have, their own lusts, corruptions, and unbelief, the fiery darts of Satan fighting against their souls, with their continuance in believing, — the falling from whence is indeed all the danger they are exposed to, for whilst they continue so doing, all other things are lighter than vanity, — these Christ takes no care about" (though he prays that God would sanctify them and keep them), " but they must shift for themselves as well as they can ; he will not, doth ]iot intercede for them that from these they may be preserved." Doubtless, he that shall think to be maintained long at any high rate of consolation, and lays in no other nor no better pro- vision to live on than this mentioned, will quickly be reduced to a dry morsel.
But yet some reasons of the foregoing interpretation of this place of the apostle, Kom. viii., are offered unto us: —
374 DOCTRINE OF THE SAINTS* PERSEVERANCK [CHAP.
[First], "This to be the tenor and effect of Christ's intercession for his saints/' saith he, " is evident from the first of the three pas- sages cited; and for that demand, 'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?' it is not meant from the love wherewith we love Christ, but from the love wherewith Christ loveth us as ^Ye are saints, and abide in his love, and keep his commands. Neither is it so to be conceived as if sin, wickedness, looseness, profaneness, could not unsaint men, and thereby separate them from that love where- with Christ some time loved them (for that iniquity will separate between men and their God is evident from Isa. lix. 2) ; but the clear meaning is, that nothing, no creature whatsoever, person or thing, can make Christ an enemy to those who shall in faith and love cleave fast unto him."
Ans. All this respecteth only one expression in this one place of Scripture, and ariseth not with the least power against our argu- ment, taken from many places in conjunction, explicatory one of an- other. It runs also upon the same mistake with the former, taking the exultation of believers upon the intercession of Christ in their behalf, which holds out the issue of it, to be expressive of the mat- ter of his intercession, being only a demonstration of the event of it. But grant this to be the tenor and effect of Christ's interces- sion, that believers may not be separated from his love, is he heard herein, or is he not? Whatsoever be the issue of the question, our procedure will be facile. But it is said that it is not "the love wherewith we love Christ, but that wherewith he loveth us, that we shall not be separated from." Take this also for granted, that it is that, and that only, will this advantage your cause? If we be never separated from that love that Christ bears us, is it possible w^e should wholly be separated from that love that we bear him? Wherein consists our separation from that love that Christ bears us? How is it caused, or may it be procured? Is it not by the loss of our faith and love to him? or, at least, is it not an inseparable consequence thereof? or can it possibly come to pass any otherwise than on that account? If, then, he intercedes that Ave may not be separated from that love he bears us, and that love infers the continuance of ours, doth he not withal intercede that we may never lose that love wherewith we love him, by which we continue in his love? If the old shift be not at hand for a relief, this young part of the answer will instantly suffer loss. It is added therefore, "He loveth us as we are saints and abide in his love," — that is (for so we must under- stand it), whilst we are so; for that he bears any effectual love to us to keep us up to saintship, that is denied. It is true, Christ loveth us as saints, and as abiding in his commandments; but it is also his love to keep us, and he intercedeth that we may abide, in that con- dition wherein alone it is possible for us so to do. Neither is the