“In all miseries and distresses you may be sure to know where you have a Friend to help and pity you, even in heaven, namely, Christ. You have One whose nature, office, interest, and relation, all, do engage Him to your succour.
You will find men, even friends, to be oftentimes unto you unreasonable, and their mercies in many cases shut up towards you.
Well, say to them all, ‘If you will not pity me, I know One that will, One in heaven, whose heart is touched with the feeling of all my infirmities, and I will go and bemoan myself to Him.’
Come boldly (says the text), μετὰ παῤῥησίας, (Heb. 4:16) even with open mouth, to lay open your complaints, and you shall find grace and mercy to help in time of need.
Men love to see themselves pitied by friends, though they cannot help them.
Christ can and will do both.”
–Thomas Goodwin, “The Heart of Christ in Heaven Towards Sinners on Earth,” The Works of Thomas Goodwin, Volume 4 (Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 1862/2006), 4: 150.
