1 Timothy 2:1-2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;… I am led by these words to consider the great Christian duty of praying for others. Perhaps there is none more neglected, with so little consciousness of sin in the omission of it. It is enforced by the example of the most eminent saints. Thus Abraham interceded with God for Sodom; and He said, in answer to his prayer, "I will not destroy it for ten's sake." Moses, the illustrious type of the great Intercessor, prayed for the people; and we learn that God would have destroyed the Israelites had not Moses His chosen stood in the gap: "I prayed," saith he, "unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance, which Thou hast redeemed through Thy greatness." "God forbid," said Samuel, "that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you." The Psalmist exhorts to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, "They shall prosper that love thee" "Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces." Isaiah expresses his determination not to hold his peace for Zion's sake. and for Jerusalem not to rest "until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth." Daniel humbled himself before God day and night, and fasted and prayed for the sins of the Jews. I would not, however, enforce this duty merely, or chiefly, because it is enjoined to us by thee precepts and recommended to us by the practice of patriarchs, judges, psalmists, prophets, and apostles, and of Him who is in all respects our great Example: it is rather because this duty is included within the general obligation of Christian love, of which it forms an essential part. Leaving, therefore, the question of the duty of intercession, I proceed to consider its advantages. I. INTERCESSION FOR OTHERS MAY BE CONSIDERED AS THE MEANS OF EXCITING BENEVOLENT AFFECTIONS IN OURSELVES. Ask me, What is the glory of an angel above a devil? I answer, It is the spirit of love which animates the one, of which the other is destitute. It is not the absence of external splendour, it is not the suffering and misery, it is the want of benevolence, by which a fallen spirit is degraded, and which makes him odious. Ask me, What is the peculiar glory of the gospel above every other religion? I reply, It is the spirit of love which breathes in it. The providence of God seems purposely to have placed the Christian in a scene where the exercise of love is needed, and his benevolent affections continually called forth; where wants and miseries present themselves on every side amongst his fellow-creatures and his friends. What can he do for them? His own means are insufficient to relieve them; but he can pray; he can implore God to supply what he cannot do. Have you a dear relation sick or afflicted? Are you indebted to a generous benefactor to whom you cannot repay the debt of gratitude? O what a just and noble return may you render him by your prayers! II. Intercession for others will also produce the spirit of love in those for whom we pray. Love creates love. You cannot meet your friend after your heart has been engaged in fervent supplication for him, without expressing that genuine tenderness which will produce a reciprocal regard in him. Intercession enlarges the exercise of friendship: it opens a new source of love. Let not a Christian say, I am forsaken — I meet with no acts of kindness. Has he then no Christian friends? Let him think of them as interceding for him. Intercession for our friends refines our friendship and redeems it from those debasing feelings by which the attachments of worldly men are so often degraded. III. THE THIRD ADVANTAGE ON INTERCESSION FOE OUR FRIENDS CONSISTS IN ITS EXCITING OUR LOVE TOWARDS GOD. This is its direct influence. Can you go to the Father of Mercies day by day imploring blessings upon all you love? can you diversify these petitions, adapting them to the various necessities, sorrows, and circumstances of your friends? and do you not exclaim, How infinite the riches, how boundless the power, how vast the bounty of the Being I address? He is the Giver of all good things to my children, to my friend, to my neighbour, to my country, to the whole world, to the universe! IV. THE LAST ADVANTAGE WHICH I SHALL MENTION IN INTERCESSION FOR OUR FRIENDS IS THAT IT IS THE DIRECT MEANS OF PROMOTING THEIR WELFARE. Why, when He intends to bless, may He not do so through the medium of prayer and intercession? Can anything be more consonant to the general analogy and constitution of the world? Even the great benefits of redemption are conveyed to us through the intercession of the Redeemer. What an example did He exhibit of the performance of this duty! V. LET US LEARN WHO HAS BEEN OUR TRUEST FRIEND, TO WHOM WE HAVE BEEN MOST INDEBTED. Think often of Him who has laboured the most for your welfare, who has most watched over your soul, and prayed the most effectually for you. Think of Him who now liveth to make intercession for you. That Friend is Christ. (J. Venn.) Parallel Verses KJV: I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; |
    |