The advocateship of Jesus Christ clearly explained, and largely improved, for the benefit of…

This is then the occasion that Christ taketh to plead, as Advocate, for the Salvation of his People: to wit the Cause; he pleadeth the Cause of his People. Not every Cause but such and such a Cause; the Cause that is very bad, and by the which they are involved not ⟨p. 24⟩only in Guilt and Shame, but also in danger of Death and Hell. I say the Cause is bad, if the Text be true; if Sin can make it bad, yea if Sin it Self be bad. If any Man sin, we have an Advocate. An Advocate to plead for him; for him as considered guilty, and so consequently as considered in a bad Condition. 'Tis true we must distinguish between the Person and the Sin: and Christ pleads for the Person, not the Sin: but yet, he cannot be concerned with the Person, but he must be with the Sin; for tho the Person and the Sin may be distinguished, yet they cannot be separated. He must plead then not for a Person only, but for a guilty Person, for a Person under the worst of Circumstances: If any Man sin, we have an Advocate for him as so considered.

When a Man's Cause is good, it will sufficiently plead for it self, yea and for its Master too: specially when it is made appear so to be, before a Just and Righteous Judge. Here therefore needs no Advocate, the Judge himself will pronounce him righteous. This is evidently seen in Job, Thou movest me against him (this said God to Satan) to destroy him without a Cause, Job 2.3. Thus far Job's Cause was good, wherefore he did not need an Advocate; his Cause pleaded for its self, and for its owner also. But if it was to plead ⟨p. 25⟩good Causes for which Christ is appointed Advocate, then the Apostle should have written thus: If any Man be righteous, we have an Advocate with the Father. Indeed I never heard but one in all my Life preach from this Text, and he, when he came to handle the Cause for which he was to plead, pretended it must be good, and therefore said to the People see that your Cause be good, else Christ will not undertake it. But when I heard it, Lord, thought I, if this be true, what shall I do, and what will become of all this People; yea and of this Preacher too? Besides, I saw that by the Text, the Apostle supposeth an other Cause, a Cause bad, exceeding bad, if Sin can make it so. (And this was one Cause why I undertook this work.)