Mary Godolphin - "Robinson Crusoe"

Isabella Valancy Crawford - "Old Spookses' Pass"

Voltaire - "Jeannot et Colin"

Francois Coppee - "A Romance of Youth, v2"

New Philadelphia Book Publisher Highlights Local Talent
Book and Publishing News from Publishers Newswire(tm)

Looking for Child to be on Cover of a New Book, 'The Model Child'
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- The Philadelphia literary world will celebrate the launch of two new players today, April 10th: Kay Square Press, a new publishing company focused on Philadelphia-area artists, their stories, and their art; and Kay Square's first release, 'With the Rich and Mighty: Emlen Etting of Philadelphia' (ISBN: 978-0-9815129-0-7), a critical biography by Kenneth C. Kaleta.

FlatSigned Press Alleges Don Imus Remarks Damage Legacy of President Gerald R. Ford
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Nathan Yungerberg, an accomplished model scout and professional child photographer is launching a nation-wide casting call to find the cover model for his highly anticipated book release, 'The Model Child: A Parents Guide to the Child Modeling Industry' (ISBN: 978-0-9817018-0-6).

Books: The Works of John Bunyan Volume 1

J >> John Bunyan >> The Works of John Bunyan Volume 1




There are three things in judgment that a lawyer must take heed
of-one is the nature of the offence, the other is the meaning and
intendment of the law-makers, and a third is to plead for them in
danger, without respect to affection or reward; and this is the
excellency of our Advocate, he will not, cannot be biased to turn
aside from doing judgment. And this the apostle intendeth when
he calleth our Advocate "Jesus Christ the righteous." "We have
an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous"; or, as
another prophet calls him, to wit, "The just Lord-one that will not
do iniquity"-that is, no unrighteousness in judgment (Zeph 3:5). He
will not be provoked to do it, neither by the continual solicitations
of thine enemy; nor by thy continual provocations wherewith, by
reason of thy infirm condition, thou dost often tempt him to do
it. And remember that thy Advocate pleads by the new covenant, and
thine adversary accuses by the old; and again, remember that the
new covenant is better and more richly provided with grounds of
pleading for our pardon and salvation, than the old can be with
grounds for a charge to be brought in by the devil against us, suppose
our sin be never so heinous. It is a better covenant, established
upon better promises.

Now, put these two together-namely, that Jesus Christ is righteous,
and will not swerve in judgment; also, that he pleads for us by the
new law, with which Satan hath nothing to do, nor, had he, can he
by it bring in a plea against us, because that law, in the very
body of it, consists in free promises of giving grace unto us, and
of an everlasting forgiveness of our sin (Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:25-30;
Heb 8:8-13) O children, your Advocate will stick to the law, to the
new law, to the new and everlasting covenant, and will not admit
that anything should be pleaded by our foe that is inconsistent with
the promise of the gift of grace, and of the remission of all sin.
This, therefore, is another privilege that they are made partakers
of who have Jesus Christ to be their Advocate. He is just, he is
righteous, he is "Jesus Christ the righteous"; he will not be turned
aside to judge awry, either of the crime or the law, for favour or
affection. Nor is there any sin but what is pardonable committed
by those that have chosen Jesus Christ to be their Advocate.

Tenth Privilege. Another privilege that they have who have Jesus
Christ to be their Advocate, is this, the Father has made him, even
him that is thine Advocate, the umpire and judge in all matters
that have, do, or shall fall out betwixt him and us. Mark this
well; for when the judge himself, before whom I am accused, shall
make mine Advocate, the judge of the nature of the crime for which
I am accused, and of matter of law by which I am accused-to wit,
whether it is in force against me to condemnation, or whether by
the law of grace I am set free, especially since my Advocate has
espoused my cause, promised me deliverance, and pleaded my right
to the state of eternal life-must it not go well with me? Yes,
verily. The judge, then, making thine Advocate the judge, for he
"hath committed all judgment unto the Son," hath done it also for
thy sake who hast chosen him to be thine Advocate (John 5:22) It
was a great thing that happened to Israel when Joseph was become
their advocate, and when Pharaoh had made him a judge. "Thou,"
says he, "shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall
all my people be ruled. See, I have set thee over all the land of
Egypt-and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all
the land of Egypt-only in the throne will I be greater than thou"
(Gen 41:40,44). Joseph in this was a type of Christ, and his
government here of the government of Christ for his church. Kings
seldom make a man's judge his advocate; they seldom leave the issue
of the whole affair to the arbitration of the poor man's lawyer;
but when they do, methinks it should even go to the heart's desire
of the client whose the advocate is, especially when, as I said
before, the cause of the client is become the concern of the advocate,
and that they are both wrapped up in the self-same interest; yea,
when the judge himself also is therein concerned; and yet thus it
is with that soul who has Jesus Christ for his Advocate. What sayest
thou, poor heart, to this? The judge-to wit, the God of heaven,
has made thy Advocate, arbitrator in thy business; he is to judge;
God has referred the matter to him, and he has a concern in thy
concern, an interest in thy good speed. Christian man, dost thou
hear? Thou hast put thy cause into the hand of Jesus Christ, and
hast chosen him to be thine Advocate to plead for thee before God
and against thy adversary; and God has referred the judgment of
that matter to thy Advocate, so that he has power to determine the
matter. I know Satan is not pleased with this. He had rather things
should have been referred to himself, and then woe had been to the
child of God; but, I say, God has referred the business to Jesus
Christ, has made him umpire and judge in thine affair. Art thou
also willing that he should decide the matter? Canst thou say unto
him as David, "Judge me, O God, and plead my cause" (Psa 43:1)?
Oh, the care of God towards his people, and the desire of their
welfare! He has provided them an Advocate, and he has referred
all causes and things that may by Satan be objected and brought in
against us, to the judgment and sentence of Christ our Advocate.
But to come to a conclusion for this; and therefore,

Eleventh Privilege. The advantage that he has that has the Lord
Jesus for his Advocate is very great. Thy Advocate has the cause,
has the law, has the judge, has the purse, and so consequently has
all that is requisite for an Advocate to have, since together with
these he has heart, he has wisdom, he has courage, and loves to
make the best improvement of his advantages for the benefit of his
client; and that which adds to all is, he can prove the debt paid,
about which Satan makes such ado-a price given for the ransom of my
soul and for the pardon of my sins. Lawyers do use to make a great
matter of it, when they can prove, that that very debt is paid for
which their client is sued at law. Now this Christ Jesus himself
is witness to; yea, he himself has paid it, and that out of his own
purse, for us, with his own hands, before and upon the mercy-seat,
according as the law requireth (Lev 16:13-15; Heb 9:11-24). What
then can accrue to our enemy? or what advantage can he get by his
thus vexing and troubling the children of the Most High? Certainly
nothing, but, as has been said already, to be cast down; for the
kingdom of our God, which is a kingdom of grace, and the power of his
Christ will prevail. Samson's power lay in his hair, but Christ's
power, his power to deliver us from the accusation and charge
of Satan, lieth in the worth of his undertakings. And hence it is
said again, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb," and
he was cast out and down (Rev 12:10-12). And thus much for the
privileges that those are made partakers of, who have Jesus Christ
to be their Advocate.

[THE NECESSITY OF HAVING CHRIST FOR OUR ADVOCATE.]

Fifthly, I come now to the fifth thing, which is, to show you what
necessity there is that Christ should be our Advocate.

That Christ should be a Priest to offer sacrifice, a King to rule,
and a Prophet to teach, all seeing men acknowledge is of necessity;
but that he should be an Advocate, a pleader for his people, few
see the reason of it. But he is an Advocate, and as an Advocate has
a work and employ distinct from his priestly, kingly, or prophetical
offices. John says, "He is our Advocate," and signifieth also the
nature of his work as such, in that very place where he asserteth
his office; as also I have showed you in that which goes before.
But having already showed you the nature, I will now show you the
necessity of this office.

First. It is necessary for the more full and ample vindication of
the justice of God against all the cavils of the infernal spirits.
Christ died on earth to declare the justice of God to men in his
justifying the ungodly. God standeth upon the vindication of his
justice, as well as upon the act thereof. Hence the Holy Ghost, by
the prophets and apostles, so largely disputeth for the vindication
thereof, while it asserteth the reality of the pardon of sin, the
justification of the unworthy, and their glorification with God
(Rom 3:24; Isa, Jer, Mal; Rom 3, 4, 8; Gal 3,4). I say, while it
disputeth the justness of this high act of God against the cavils
of implacable sinners. Now the prophets and apostles, in those
disputes by which they seek to vindicate the justice of God in
the salvation of sinners, are not only ministers of God to us, but
advocates for him; since, as Elihu has it, they "speak on God's
behalf," or, as the margin has it, "I will show thee that there
are yet words for God," words to be spoken and pleaded against his
enemies for the justification of his actions (Job 36:2). Now, as
it is necessary that there should be advocates for God on earth
to plead for his justice and holiness, while he saveth sinners,
against the cavils of an ungodly people, so it is necessary that
there should be an Advocate also in heaven, that may there vindicate
the same justice and holiness of God from all those charges that
the fallen angels are apt to charge it with, while it consenteth
that we, though ungodly, should be saved.

That the fallen angels are bold enough to charge God to his face
with unjustness of language, is evident in the 1st and 2nd of Job;
and that they should not be as bold to charge him with unjustness
of actions, nothing can be showed to the contrary. Further, that
God seeks to clear himself of this unjust charge of Satan is as
manifest; for all the troubles of his servant Job were chiefly for
that purpose. And why he should have one also in heaven to plead
for the justness of his doing in the forgiveness and salvation of
sinners appears also as necessary, even because there is one, even
an Advocate with the Father, or on the Father's side, seeking to
vindicate his justice, while he pleadeth with him for us, against
the devil and his objections. God is wonderfully pleased with his
design in saving of sinners; it pleases him at the heart. And since
he also is infinitely just, there is need that an Advocate should
be appointed to show how, in a way of justice as well as mercy, a
sinner may be saved.

The good angels did not at first see so far into the mysteries of
the gospel of the grace of God, but that they needed further light
therein for the vindication of their Lord as servants. Wherefore
they yet did pry and look narrowly into it further, and also bowed
their heads and hearts to learn yet more, by the church, of "the
manifold wisdom of God" (I Peter 1:12; Eph 3:9,10). And if the
standing angels were not yet, to the utmost, perfect in the knowledge
of this mystery, and yet surely they must know more thereof than
those that fell could do, no wonder if those devils, whose enmity
could not but animate their ignorance, made, and do make, their
cavils against justice, insinuating that it is not impartial and
exact, because it, as it is just, justifieth the ungodly.

That Satan will quarrel with God I have showed you, and that he
will also dispute against his works with the holy angels, is more
than intimated by the apostle Jude, verse 9, and why not quarrel
with, and accuse the justice of God as unrighteous, for consenting
to the salvation of sinners, since his best qualifications are
most profound and prodigious attempts to dethrone the Lord God of
his power and glory.

Nay, all this is evident, since "we have an Advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous." And again, I say, it is evident that
one part of his work as an Advocate, is to vindicate the justice
of God while he pleadeth for our salvation, because he pleadeth a
propitiation; for a propitiation respects God as well as us; the
appeasing his wrath, and the reconciling of his justice to us, as
well as the redeeming us from death and hell; yea, it therefore
doth the one, because it doth the other. Now, if Christ, as an
Advocate, pleadeth a propitiation with God, for whose conviction
doth he plead it? Not for God's; for he has ordained it, allows
it, and gloriously acquiesces therein, because he knows the whole
virtue thereof. It is therefore for the conviction of the fallen
angels, and for the confounding of all those cavils that can be
invented and objected against our salvation by those most subtle
and envious ones. But,

Second. There is matter of law to be objected, and that both against
God and us; at least, there seems to be so, because of the sanction
that God has put upon the law, and also because we have sinned
against it. God has said, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou
shalt surely die"; and, "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." God
also standeth still upon the vindication of his justice, he also
saveth sinners. Now, in comes our accuser, and chargeth us of sin,
of being guilty of sin, because we have transgressed the law. God
also will not be put out of his way, or steps of grace, to save us;
also he will say, he is just and righteous still. Ay, but these
are but say-so's. How shall this be proved? Why, now, here is room
for an advocate that can plead to matter of law, that can preserve
the sanction of the law in the salvation of the sinner-"He will
magnify the law, and make it honourable" (Isa 42:21). The margin
saith, "and make him honourable25"--that is, he shall save the sinner,
and preserve the holiness of the law, and the honour of his God.
But who is this that can do this? "It is the servant of God," saith
the prophet, (Isa 42:1, 13), "the Lord, a man of war." But how can
this be done by him? The answer is, It shall be done, "for God is
well pleased for his righteousness' sake"; for it is by that he
magnifies the law, and makes his Father honourable-that is, he, as
a public person, comes into the world under the law, fulfills it,
and having so done, he gives that righteousness away, for he, as
to his own person, never had need thereof; I say, he gives that
righteousness to those that have need, to those that have none
of their own, that righteousness might be imputed to them. This
righteousness, then, he presenteth to God for us, and God, for this
righteousness' sake, is well pleased that we should be saved, and
for it can save us, and secure his honour, and preserve the law in
its sanction. And this Christ pleadeth against Satan as an Advocate
with the Father for us; by which he vindicates his Father's justice,
holdeth the child of God, notwithstanding his sins, in a state of
justification, and utterly overthroweth and confoundeth the devil.

For Christ, in pleading thus, appeals to the law itself, if he
has not done it justice, saying, "Most mighty law, what command of
thine have I not fulfilled? What demand of thine have I not fully
answered? Where is that jot or tittle of the law that is able to
object against my doings for want of satisfaction?" Here the law
is mute; it speaketh not one word by way of the least complaint,
but rather testifies of this righteousness that it is good and
holy, (Rom 3:22, 23; 5:15-19). Now, then, since Christ did this as
a public person, it follows that others must be justified thereby;
for that was the end and reason of Christ's taking on him to do
the righteousness of the law. Nor can the law object against the
equity of this dispensation of heaven; for why might not that God,
who gave the law his being and his sanction, dispose as he pleases
of the righteousness which it commendeth? Besides, if men be made
righteous, they are so; and if by a righteousness which the law
commendeth, how can fault be found with them by the law? Nay, it is
"witnessed by the law and the prophets," who consent that it should
be unto all, and upon all them that believe, for their justification
(Rom 3:20,21).

And that the mighty God suffereth the prince of the devils to do
with the law what he can, against this most wholesome and godly
doctrine; it is to show the truth, goodness, and permanency thereof;
for this is as who should say, Devil, do thy worst! When the law is
in the hand of an easy pleader, though the cause that he pleadeth
be good, a crafty opposer may overthrow the right; but here is the
salvation of the children in debate, whether it can stand with law
and justice; the opposer of this is the devil, his argument against
it is the law; he that defends the doctrine is Christ the Advocate,
who, in his plea, must justify the justice of God, defend the
holiness of the law, and save the sinner from all the arguments,
pleas, stops and demurs that Satan is able to put in against it.
And this he must do fairly, righteously, simply, pleading the voice
of the self-same law for the justification of what he standeth for,
which Satan pleads against it; for though it is by the new law that
our salvation comes, yet by the old law is the new law approved of
and the way of salvation thereby by it consented to.

This shows, therefore, that Christ is not ashamed to own the way
of our justification and salvation, no, not before men and devils.
It shows also that he is resolved to dispute and plead for the same,
though the devil himself shall oppose it. And since our adversary
pretends a plea in law against it, it is meet that there should be
an open hearing before the Judge of all about it; but, forasmuch as
we neither can nor dare appear to plead for ourselves, our good God
has thought fit we should do it by an advocate: "We have an Advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." This, therefore, is
the second thing that shows the need that we have of an Advocate-to
wit, our adversary pretends that he has a plea in law against us,
and that by law we should be otherwise disposed of than to be made
possessors of the heavenly kingdom. But,

Third. There are many things relating to the promise, to our life,
and to the threatenings, that minister matter of question and
doubt, and give the advantage of objections unto him that so eagerly
desireth to be putting in cavils against our salvation, all which
it hath pleased God to repel by Jesus Christ our Advocate.

1. There are many things relating to the promises, as to the largeness
and straitness of words, as to the freeness and conditionality of
them, which we are not able so well to understand; and, therefore,
when Satan dealeth with us about them, we quickly fall to the
ground before him; we often conclude that the words of the promise
are too narrow and strait to comprehend us; we also think, verily,
that the conditions of some promises do utterly shut us out from
hope of justification and life; but our Advocate, who is for us with
the Father, he is better acquainted with, and learned in, this law
than to be baffled out with a bold word or two, or with a subtle
piece of hellish sophistication (Isa 50:4). He knows the true
purport, intent, meaning, and sense of every promise, and piece of
promise that is in the whole Bible, and can tell how to plead it
for advantage against our accuser, and doth so. And I gather it
not only from his contest with Satan for Joshua, (Zech 3), and from
his conflict with him in the wilderness, (Matt 4), and in heaven,
(Rev 14), but also from the practice of Satan's emissaries here;
for what his angels do, that doth he. Now there is here nothing
more apparent than that the instruments of Satan do plead against
the church, from the pretended intricacy, ambiguity, and difficulty
of the promise; whence I gather, so doth Satan before the tribunal
of God; but there we have one to match him; "we have an Advocate
with the Father," that knows law and judgment better than Satan,
and statute and commandment better than all his angels; and by the
verdict of our Advocate, all the words, and limits, and extensions
of words, with all conditions of the promises, are expounded and
applied! And hence it is that it sometimes so falleth out that the
very promise we have thought could not reach us, to comfort us by
any means, has at another time swallowed us up with joy unspeakable.
Christ, the true Prophet, has the right understanding of the Word
as an Advocate, has pleaded it before God against Satan, and having
overcome him at the common law, he hath sent to let us know it by
his good Spirit, to our comfort, and the confusion of our enemy.
Again,

2. There are many things relating to our lives that minister to our
accuser occasions of many objections against our salvation; for,
besides our daily infirmities, there are in our lives gross sins,
many horrible backslidings; also we ofttimes suck and drink in
many abominable errors and deceitful opinions, of all which Satan
accuseth us before the judgment-seat of God, and pleadeth hard that
we may be damned for ever for them. Besides, some of these things
are done after light received, against present convictions and
dissuasions to the contrary, against solemn engagements to amendment,
when the bonds of love were upon us (Jer 2:20). These are crying
sins; they have a loud voice in themselves against us, and give
to Satan great advantage and boldness to sue for our destruction
before the bar of God; nor doth he want skill to aggravate and to
comment profoundly upon all occasions and circumstances that did
attend us in these our miscarriages-to wit, that we did it without
a cause, also, when we had, had we had grace to have used them,
many things to have helped us against such sins, and to have kept
us clean and upright. "There is also a sin unto death," (I John
5:16), and he can tell how to labour, by argument and sleight of
speech, to make our transgressions, not only to border upon, but
to appear in the hue, shape, and figure of that, and thereto make
his objection against our salvation. He often argueth thus with
us, and fasteneth the weight of his reasons upon our consciences,
to the almost utter destruction of us, and the bringing of us down
to the gates of despair and utter destruction; the same sins, with
their aggravating circumstances, as I said, he pleadeth against
us at the bar of God. But there he meeteth with Jesus Christ, our
Lord and Advocate, who entereth his plea against him, unravels
all his reasons and arguments against us, and shows the guile and
falsehood of them. He also pleadeth as to the nature of sin, as also
to all those high aggravations, and proveth that neither the sin in
itself, nor yet as joined with all its advantageous circumstances,
can be the sin unto death, (Col 2:19), because we hold the head,
and have not "made shipwreck of faith," (I Tim 1:19), but still,
as David and Solomon, we confess, and are sorry for our sins. Thus,
though we seem, through our falls, to come short of the promise,
with Peter, (Heb 4:1-3), and leave our transgressions as stumbling
blocks to the world, with Solomon, and minister occasion of a question
of our salvation among the godly, yet our Advocate fetches us off
before God, and we shall be found safe and in heaven at last, by
them in the next world, who were afraid they had lost us in this.

But all these points must be managed by Christ for us, against
Satan, as a lawyer, an advocate, who to that end now appears in the
presence of God for us, and wisely handleth the very crisis of the
word, and of the failings of his people, together with all those
nice and critical juggles by which our adversary laboureth to bring
us down, to the confusion of his face.

3. There are also the threatenings that are annexed to the gospel,
and they fall now under our consideration. They are of two sorts-such
as respect those who altogether neglect and reject the gospel, or
those that profess it, yet fall in or from the profession thereof.

The first sort of threatening cannot be pleaded against the professors
of the gospel as against those that never professed it; wherefore
he betaketh himself to manage those threatenings against us that
belong to those that have professed, and that have fallen from
it (Psa 109:1-6). Joshua fell in it (Zech 3:1, 2). Judas fell
from it, and the accuser stands at the right hand of them before
the judgment of God, to resist them, by pleading the threatenings
against them-to wit, that God's soul should have no pleasure
in them. "If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in
him." Here is a plea for Satan, both against the one and the other;
they are both apostatized, both drawn back, and he is subtle enough
to manage it.

Ay, but Satan, here is also matter sufficient for a plea for our
Advocate against thee, forasmuch as the next words distinguish
betwixt drawing back, and drawing back "unto perdition"; every
one that draws back, doth not draw back unto perdition (Heb 10:38,
39). Some of them draw back from, and some in the profession of,
the gospel. Judas drew back from, and Peter in the profession of
his faith; wherefore Judas perishes, but Peter turns again, because
Judas drew back unto perdition, but Peter yet believed to the saving
of the soul.26 Nor doth Jesus Christ, when he sees it is to no boot,
at any time step in to endeavour to save the soul. Wherefore, as
for Judas, for his backsliding from the faith, Christ turns him up
to Satan, and leaveth him in his hand, saying, "When he shall be
judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin" (Psa
109:7) But he will not serve Peter so-"The Lord will not leave
him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged" (Psa 37:33).
He will pray for him before, and plead for him after, he hath been
in the temptation, and so secure him, by virtue of his advocation,
from the sting and lash of the threatening that is made against
final apostasy. But,