And pleads his having glorified his Father on earth. 333 clxxix. John which thou hast promised to me, and which I SECT. know that thou wilt punctually fulfil; that thy Son also in the whole series of his conduct, both in this world, and in that to which he is now XVII. 1. returning, may successfully glorify thee, and ac2 As thou hast given complish the purposes of thy saving love; Ac-2 him power over all cording as thou hast, by the engagements of thy flesh, that he should covenant, given him that power over all flesh, that absolute dominion over all the human race, which he will ere long receive and exert; that he may give eternal life to all that thou hast given him by that covenant to be redeemed and 3 And this is life saved. And this is the sure way to that eternal 3 eternal, that they life, even that they may know thee, who art the only true God, and only living and true God, in opposition to the Jesus Christ, whom idols they have ignorantly worshipped; and may give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. might know thee the thou hast sent, have finished the work to do. know also and believe in Jesus Christ, whom thou 4 I have glorified It is with unutterable pleasure that I now re- 4 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before with thine own self, the world was. a Glorify thy Son.] All the circumstances of glory attending the sufferings of Christ; as, the appearance of the angel to him in the garden, his striking down to the ground those that came to apprehend him, his curing the ear of Malchus, his good confession before Pilate, his extorting from that unjust judge a testimo. ny of his innocence, the dream of Pilate's wife, the conversion of the penitent robber, the astonishing constellation of virtues and graces which shone so bright in Christ's dying behaviour, the supernatural darkness, and all the other prodigies that attended his death: as well as his resurrection, and ascension, and exaltation at God's right hand, and the mission of the people Holy Spirit, and the consequent success of b This is eternal life.] Christ might in- c The glory which I had with thee before the world was. To suppose, with the Socinians, that this refers only to that glory which God intended for him in his decrees; or, with Mr. Fleming, that it refers only, or chiefly, to his being clothed with the SheTt 2 kinah 334 He had faithfully instructed those that were given him ; John 6 I have manifest. ed thy name unto the me out of the world: men which thou gavest and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou bast given me, are of thee, I have manifested thy name, and revealed the XVII.6. glory of thy power and grace, to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world: they were originally thine, the creatures of thine hand, and thine they were, and the happy objects of thy sovereign choice; and thou gavest them me in consequence of thy gracious purposes thou gavest them to me, that they might be instructed and sanctified, and formed for the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world: and such accordingly has been the influence of my doctrine on their hearts, that they have readily embraced it, and hitherto have resolutely kept 7 and retained thy word and gospel. And, notwithstanding the mean appearance I have made to an eye of sense, their faith has owned me through this dark cloud and even now, in this my humble state, they have perceived and known, that all things whatsoever which I have said and done, and all the credentials which thou hast in fact given me, and which so many overlook, are indeed of thee; and that I am truly what I profess myself to be, a Divine Messenger to the children of men, and the Saviour that was pro8 mised to come into the world. This plainly appears to be their firm persuasion : for the words which thou gavest me; which thou gavest to me, I have given to them, and they have receiv I have revealed already much of my gospel to ed them, and have them, and begun to deposit it in their hands; came out from thee, known surely that I and in the midst of great discouragement and and they have believed opposition, giving attention to the words Ispake, that thou didst send me. they have received [them] with faith and love, and made it manifest by their embracing and adhering to my doctrine, that they have known in truth the divinity of my mission, so as to be fully satisfied in their own minds that I came out from thee with a commission to reveal thy will (compare John xvi. 27, 30); and while I have been rejected by an ungrateful world, they have regarded me as the true Messiah, and have shewn they have believed that thou didst indeed send me on the great errand of their salvation. kinah, seems to sink and contract the d They were originally thine.] There I 8 For I have given unto them the words sen to their great office on account of any And prays the Father to keep them through his own name. 335 SECT. çixxix. John 9 I pray for them: I therefore pray for them, who have attended me I pray not for the as my apostles, and for all those who are, or world, but for them which thou hast given shall be, brought to the same faith and the same me, for they are thine. temper, that thou wouldest support them under XVII. 9. every trial, and wouldest regard them in a peculiar manner as the objects of thy care: 1 pray not thus for the unbelieving world, but for those whom thou hast graciously given me, and I' am confident that my prayer for them shall not be in vain; for they are not only mine, but thine too, chosen by thy grace, and devoted to thy service. And indeed all mine interests, 10 and my people are thine, and thine are also mine; and while thy glory is advanced by their establishment, I likewise am, and finally shall be, glorified in them: so near and intimate is our relation to each other; so sincere and active thy paternal affection to me, O my heavenly Father, and my filial duty to thee. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the And now I am to continue no longer in the 11 world; but these my faithful servants are yet in world, and I come to the world, and some of them are to remain a thee. Holy Father, considerable time in it, exposed to various hardkeep through thine own name those whom ships and dangers: whereas I (delightful thou hast given me, thought!) shall soon have done with this weary that they may be one, wilderness, and am coming to thee, who art the as we are. centre of my soul, and the supreme object of my complacency and desire. But while I am separated from these my servants, so dear to thee and to me, vouchsafe, O holy Father, to keep these whom thou hast thyself given me, and let them be preserved through thy name; let them be kept in safety by thy mighty power, and be established in the faith by a constant regard to thee, and a sense of thy presence impressed on their hearts; that they may still continue united to us, and to each other, in cordial affection, 12 While I was with and may be one, even as we [are] one. Do not, 12 O gracious Father, forget these my friends, in whose cause I have so affectionately engaged; me for thou art witness, that while I was with them in the world I kept them in thy name, and through the influences of thy grace; [yea], I guarded them them in the world I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest e And I am coming to thee.] It is very plain that this clause could not be intended as an additional argument to introduce the following petition; for Christ's coming to the Father was the great security of his people: but it seems rather to be a short reflection on that dear subject, so familiar to his mind, 1 Unless 336 John Reflections on Christ's prayer to the Father. SECT. them whom thou gavest me with a most constant me, I have kept, and elxxix. care, and none of them is lost, unless it be counted none of them is lost, but the son of perdias a kind of exception, that the son of perdi- tion: that the scripture XVIL2tion perishes by his iniquity; that wretched might be fulfilled. creature, who in a lower sense was indeed given to me, but never, like the rest, was taken under my special care; but is left to fall into deserved ruin, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which foretold it as the dreadful consequence of his treachery. (See Psal. cix. 8, & seq. compared with Acts i. 20.) Ver, 1 IMPROVEMENT. WITH pleasure let us behold our gracious Redeemer in this posture of humble adoration; lifting up his eyes to God with solemn devotion, and pouring out his pious and benevolent Spirit in those Divine breathings which are here recorded. From his example, let us learn to pray; and from his intercession, to hope. We know that the Father heareth him always (John xi. 42); and singularly did he manifest that he heard him now, by all that bright assemblage of glories which shone around him in the concluding scenes of his abode on earth, and in those that attended his removal from ↑ Unless it be the son of perdition.] I am it is not used strictly as an exceptive particle ; and that if it has any thing like that force, it is only to intimate that what it introduces may, in a less proper sense, be reduced to the number of things mentioned before it. And this I take to be its precise sense in this text; for which reason I render it [unless it be,] though in some of the former instances it has not so much signification as that; but is used with as great a liberty, as [except] by Milton, when he says of Satan, God and his Son except, Created thing nought valued he nor shunn'd. Thus likewise ay pan is used, Gal. ii. 16. John v. 19. xv. 4.- -The words before us might indeed refer to the apostles, (compare John xviii. 8, 9. sect. clxxxiii.) but I do not see any necessity of confining them to Christ's care for their preservation, for the reason given above. g Is left to fall into deserved ruin.] The son of perdition signifies one who deservedly perishes: as a son of death (2 Sam. xii. 5.) children of hell (Mat. xxiii. 15.) and childres of wrath (Eph. ii. 3.) signify persons justly obnoxious to death, hell, and truth. Christ prays that his apostles might be kept from evil. clxxix. 337 it: and in all this too did the blessed Jesus manifest his zeal for the SECT. glory of the Father. May we emulate that holy temper! and when we pray even for our own consummate happiness in the Ver. heavenly world, may we consider it as ultimately centering in the honour and service of God! Well may we be encouraged to hope for that happiness, since 2 Christ has an universal power over all flesh, and over spirits supe rior to those that dwell in flesh; with which he is invested on purpose that he may accomplish the salvation of those whom the Father has given him, even of every true believer. We see the certain 3 way to this life, even the knowledge of God in Christ: let us bless God, that we enjoy so many opportunities of obtaining it; and earnestly pray that he who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, would by his Divine rays shine forth on our benighted souls; and so animate us in his service, from the noblest principles of gratitude and love, that we may be able to say, even in our dying moments, with somewhat of the same Spirit which our Lord ex-4 pressed, Father, we have glorified thee on earth, and finished the work which thou gavest us to do; and therefore, being no more in 11 the world, we come unto thee. Then may we hope, in our humble degree, to partake of that glory to which he is returned, and to sit down with him on his victorious throne. 12 In the mean time, may our faith see, and our zeal confess, 7, 8 Christ! May we acknowledge his Divine authority, as having come out from the Father! May we be united in love to him, and to each other; and be kept by that Divine word which is the security of his people, that none of them shall be lost! Let the son of perdition, who perished even from among the apostles, teach us an humble jealousy over our own hearts, whatever external privileges we enjoy; and engage us to maintain a continual regard to him who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy! (Jude vcr. 24.) SECT. CLXXX. Our Lord concludes his prayer, recommending his apostles, and succeeding Christians in every future age, to the favourable regards of his Father, and praying for their union on earth and glory in heaven. John XVII. 13, to the end. JOHN XVII. 13. AND now come I JOHN XVII. 13. SECT. clxxx. to thee, and these OUR Lord proceeded in that excellent address to God, which he had begun in the former things I speak in the world, section, in such words as these: And now, O my John heavenly Father, I come unto thee with unutter-XVII.13 able |