This chapter is a prayer, it is the Lord's prayer,
the Lord Christ's prayer. There was one Lord's prayer which he
taught us to pray, and did not pray himself, for he needed not to
pray for the forgiveness of sin; but this was properly and
peculiarly his, and suited him only as a Mediator, and is a sample
of his intercession, and yet is of use to us both for instruction
and encouragement in prayer. Observe, I. The circumstances of the
prayer,
1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
Here we have, I. The circumstances of this
prayer,
1. The time when he prayed this prayer;
when he had spoken these words, had given the foregoing
farewell to his disciples, he prayed this prayer in their hearing;
so that, (1.) It was a prayer after a sermon; when he had spoken
from God to them, he turned to speak to God for them. Note, Those
we preach to we must pray for. He that was to prophesy upon the dry
bones was also to pray, Come, O breath, and breathe upon
them. And the word preached should be prayed over, for God gives
the increase. (2.) It was a prayer after sacrament; after
Christ and his disciples had eaten the passover and the Lord's
supper together, and he had given them a suitable exhortation, he
closed the solemnity with this prayer, that God would preserve the
good impressions of the ordinance upon them. (3.) It was a
family-prayer. Christ's disciples were his family, and, to set a
good example before the masters of families, he not only, as the
son of Abraham, taught his household (
2. The outward expression of fervent desire
which he used in this prayer: He lifted up his eyes to
heaven, as before (
II. The first part of the prayer itself, in which Christ prays for himself. Observe here,
1. He prays to God as a Father: He
lifted up his eyes, and said, Father. Note, As prayer is to
be made to God only, so it is our duty in prayer to eye him as a
Father, and to call him our Father. All that have the Spirit
of adoption are taught to cry Abba, Father,
2. He prayed for himself first. Though
Christ, as God, was prayed to, Christ, as man, prayed; thus it
became him to fulfill all righteousness. It was said to him, as
it is said to us, Ask, and I will give thee,
(1.) Christ here prays to be
glorified, in order to his glorifying God (
[1.] What he prays for—that he might be
glorified in this world: "The hour is come when all the
powers of darkness will combine to vilify thy Son; now, Father,
glorify him." The Father glorified the Son upon earth,
First, Even in his sufferings, by the signs and wonders
which attended them. When they that came to take him were
thunder-struck with a word,—when Judas confessed him innocent, and
sealed that confession with his own guilty blood,—when the judge's
wife asleep, and the judge himself awake, pronounced him
righteous,—when the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple
rent, then the Father not only justified, but glorified the Son.
Nay, Secondly, Even by his sufferings; when he was
crucified, he was magnified, he was glorified,
[2.] What he pleads to enforce this request.
First, He pleads relation:
Glorify thy Son; thy Son as God, as Mediator. It is in
consideration of this that the heathen are given him for his
inheritance; for thou art my Son,
Secondly, He pleads the time: The
hour is come; the season prefixed to an hour. The hour of
Christ's passion was determined in the counsel of God. He had often
said his hour was not yet come; but now it was come, and he knew
it. Man knows not his time (
Thirdly, He pleads the Father's own
interest and concern herein: That thy Son may also glorify
thee; for he had consecrated his whole undertaking to his
Father's honour. He desired to be carried triumphantly through his
sufferings to his glory, that he might glorify the Father two
ways:—1. By the death of the cross, which he was now to
suffer. Father, glorify thy name, expressed the great
intention of his sufferings, which was to retrieve his Father's
injured honour among men, and, by his satisfaction, to come up to
the glory of God, which man, by his sin, came short of: "Father,
own me in my sufferings, that I may honour thee by them." 2. By the
doctrine of the cross, which was now shortly to be published to the
world, by which God's kingdom was to be re-established among men.
He prays that his Father would so grace his sufferings, and crown
them, as not only to take off the offence of the cross, but
to make it, to those that are saved, the wisdom of God and the
power of God. If God had not glorified Christ crucified, by
raising him from the dead, his whole undertaking had been
crushed; therefore glorify me, that I may glorify thee. Now
thereby he hath taught us, (1.) What to eye and aim at in our
prayers, in all our designs and desires—and that is, the honour of
God. It being our chief end to glorify God, other things must be
sought and attended to in subordination and subserviency to the
Lord. "Do this and the other for thy servant, that thy servant may
glorify thee. Give me health, that I may glorify thee with my body;
success, that I may glorify thee with my estate," &c.
Hallowed be thy name must be our first petition, which must
fix our end in all our other petitions,
Fourthly, He pleads his commission
(
a. The origin of his power: Thou hast given him power; he has it from God, to whom all power belongs. Man, in his fallen state, must, in order to his recovery, be taken under a new model of government, which could not be erected but by a special commission under the broad seal of heaven, directed to the undertaker of that glorious work, and constituting him sole arbitrator of the grand difference that was, and sole guarantee of the grand alliance that was to be, between God and man; so as to this office, he received his power, which was to be executed in a way distinct from his power and government as Creator. Note, The church's king is no usurper, as the prince of this world is; Christ's right to rule is incontestable.
b. The extent of his power: He has
power over all flesh. (a.) Over all mankind. He has
power in and over the world of spirits, the powers of the upper and
unseen world are subject to him (
c. The grand intention and design of this power: That he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. Here is the mystery of our salvation laid open.
(a.) Here is the Father making over the elect to the Redeemer, and giving them to him as his charge and trust; as the crown and recompence of his undertaking. He has a sovereign power over all the fallen race, but a peculiar interest in the chosen remnant; all things were put under his feet, but they were delivered into his hand.
(b.) Here is the Son undertaking to
secure the happiness of those that were given him, that he would
give eternal life to them. See how great the authority of
the Redeemer is. He has lives and crowns to give, eternal lives
that never die, immortal crowns that never fade. Now consider how
great the Lord Jesus is, who has such preferments in his gift; and
how gracious he is in giving eternal life to those whom he
undertakes to save. [a.] He sanctifies them in this world,
gives them the spiritual life which is eternal life in the bud and
embryo,
(c.) Here is the subserviency of the
Redeemer's universal dominion to this: He has power over all
flesh, on purpose that he might give eternal life to the select
number. Note, Christ's dominion over the children of men is in
order to the salvation of the children of God. All things are
for their sakes,
d. Here is a further explication of
this grand design (
(a.) The great end which the Christian religion sets before us, and that is, eternal life, the happiness of an immortal soul in the vision and fruition of an eternal God. This he was to reveal to all, and secure to all that were given him. By the gospel life and immortality are brought to light, are brought to hand, a life which transcends this as much in excellency as it does in duration.
(b.) The sure way of attaining this
blessed end, which is, by the right knowledge of God and Jesus
Christ: "This is life eternal, to know thee," which may be
taken two ways—[a.] Life eternal lies in the
knowledge of God and Jesus Christ; the present principle of this
life is the believing knowledge of God and Christ; the future
perfection of that life will be the intuitive knowledge of God and
Christ. Those that are brought into union with Christ, and live a
life of communion with God in Christ, know, in some measure, by
experience, what eternal life is, and will say, "If this be heaven,
heaven is sweet." See
(2.) Christ here prays to be glorified in
consideration of his having glorified the Father hitherto,
[1.] With what comfort Christ reflects on the life he had lived on earth: I have glorified thee, and finished my work; it is as good as finished. He does not complain of the poverty and disgrace he had lived in, what a weary life he had upon earth, as ever any man of sorrows had. He overlooks this, and pleases himself in reviewing the service he had done his Father, and the progress he had made in his understanding. This is here recorded, First, For the honour of Christ, that his life upon earth did in all respects fully answer the end of his coming into the world. Note, 1. Our Lord Jesus had work given him to do by him that sent him; he came not into the world to live at ease, but to go about doing good, and to fulfill all righteousness. His Father gave him his work, his work in the vineyard, both appointed him to it and assisted him in it. 2. The work that was given him to do he finished. Though he had not, as yet, gone through the last part of his undertaking, yet he was so near being made perfect through sufferings that he might say, I have finished it; it was as good as done, he was giving it its finishing stroke eteleiosa—I have finished. The word signifies his performing every part of his undertaking in the most complete and perfect manner. 3. Herein he glorified his Father; he pleased him, he praised him. It is the glory of God that his work is perfect, and the same is the glory of the Redeemer; what he is the author of he will be the finisher of. It was a strange way for the Son to glorify the Father by abasing himself (this looked more likely to disparage him), yet it was contrived that so he should glorify him: "I have glorified thee on the earth, in such a way as men on earth could bear the manifestation of thy glory." Secondly, It is recorded for example to all, that we may follow his example. 1. We must make it our business to do the work God has appointed us to do, according to our capacity and the sphere of our activity; we must each of us do all the good we can in this world. 2. We must aim at the glory of God in all. We must glorify him on the earth, which he has given unto the children of men, demanding only this quit-rent; on the earth, where we are in a state of probation and preparation for eternity. 3. We must persevere herein to the end of our days; we must not sit down till we have finished our work, and accomplished as a hireling our day. Thirdly, It is recorded for encouragement to all those that rest upon him. If he has finished the work that was given him to do, then he is a complete Saviour, and did not do his work by the halves. And he that finished his work for us will finish it in us to the day of Christ.
[2.] See with what confidence he expects
the joy set before him (
First, See here what he prayed for:
Glorify thou me, as before,
Secondly, See here what he pleaded:
I have glorified thee; and now, in consideration thereof,
glorify thou me. For, 1. There was an equity in it, and an
admirable becomingness, that if God was glorified in him, he
should glorify him in himself, as he had observed,
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
Christ, having prayed for himself, comes next to pray for those that are his, and he knew them by name, though he did not here name them. Now observe here,
I. Whom he did not pray for (
II. Whom he did pray for; not for angels,
but for the children of men. 1. He prays for those that were
given him, meaning primarily the disciples that had attended
him in this regeneration; but it is doubtless to be extended
further, to all who come under the same character, who receive and
believe the words of Christ,
III. What encouragement he had to pray for them, and what are the general pleas with which he introduces his petitions for them, and recommends them to his Father's favour; they are five:—
1. The charge he had received concerning
them: Thine they were, and thou gavest them me (
(1.) This is meant primarily of the
disciples that then were, who were given to Christ as his pupils to
be educated by him while he was on earth, and his agents to be
employed for him when he went to heaven. They were given him to be
the learners of his doctrine, the witnesses of his life and
miracles, and the monuments of his grace and favour, in order to
their being the publishers of his gospel and the planters of his
church. When they left all to follow him, this was the secret
spring of that strange resolution: they were given to him, else
they had not given themselves to him. Note, The apostleship and
ministry, which are Christ's gift to the church, were first the
Father's gift to Jesus Christ. As under the law the Levites were
given to Aaron (
(2.) But it is designed to extend to all
the elect, for they are elsewhere said to be given to Christ
(
[1.] That the Father had authority to give
them: Thine they were. He did not give that which was none
of his own, but covenanted that he had a good title. The elect,
whom the Father gave to Christ, were his own in three
ways:—First, they were creatures, and their lives and
beings were derived from him. When they were given to Christ to be
vessels of honour, they were in his hand, as clay in the
hand of the potter, to be disposed of as God's wisdom saw most
for God's glory. Secondly, They were criminals, and their
lives and beings were forfeited to him. It was a remnant of fallen
mankind that was given to Christ to be redeemed, that might have
been made sacrifices to justice when they were pitched upon to be
the monuments of mercy; might justly have been delivered
to the tormentors when they were delivered to the Saviour.
Thirdly, They were chosen, and their lives and beings were
designed, for him; they were set apart for God, and were consigned
to Christ as his agent. This he insists upon again (
[2.] That he did accordingly give them to
the Son. Thou gavest them to me, as sheep to the shepherd,
to be kept; as patients to the physician, to be cured; children to
a tutor, to be educated; thus he will deliver up his charge
(
2. The care he had taken of them to teach
them (
(1.) The great design of Christ's doctrine,
which was to manifest God's name, to declare him (
(2.) His faithful discharge of this
undertaking: I have done it. His fidelity appears, [1.] In
the truth of the doctrine. It agreed exactly with the instructions
he received from his Father. He gave not only the things, but the
very words, that were given him. Ministers, in wording their
message, must have an eye to the words which the Holy Ghost
teaches. [2.] In the tendency of his doctrine, which was to
manifest God's name. He did not seek himself, but, in all he did
and said, aimed to magnify his Father. Note, First, It is
Christ's prerogative to manifest God's name to the souls of the
children of men. No man knows the Father, but he to whom the Son
will reveal him,
3. The good effect of the care he had taken
of them, and the pains he had taken with them, (
(1.) What success the doctrine of Christ had among those that were given to him, in several particulars:—
[1.] "They have received the words which I gave them, as the ground receives the seed, and the earth drinks in the rain." They attended to the words of Christ, apprehended in some measure the meaning of them, and were affected with them: they received the impression of them. The word was to them an ingrafted word.
[2.] "They have kept thy word, have continued in it; they have conformed to it." Christ's commandment is then only kept when it is obeyed. Those that have to teach others the commands of Christ ought to be themselves observant of them. It was requisite that these should keep what was committed to them, for it was to be transmitted by them to every place for every age.
[3.] "They have understood the word, and
have been sensible on what ground they went in receiving and
keeping it. They have been aware that thou art the original author
of that holy religion which I am come to institute, that all
things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee." All Christ's
offices and powers, all the gifts of the Spirit, all his graces and
comforts, which God gave without measure to him, were all
from God, contrived by his wisdom, appointed by his will, and
designed by his grace, for his own glory in man's salvation. Note,
It is a great satisfaction to us, in our reliance upon Christ, that
he, and all he is and has, all he said and did, all he is doing and
will do, are of God,
[4.] They have set their seal to it:
They have known surely that I came out from God,
(2.) How Jesus Christ here speaks of this: he enlarges upon it, [1.] As pleased with it himself. Though the many instances of his disciples' dulness and weakness had grieved him, yet their constant adherence to him, their gradual improvements, and their great attainments at last, were his joy. Christ is a Master that delights in the proficiency of his scholars. He accepts the sincerity of their faith, and graciously passes by the infirmity of it. See how willing he is to make the best of us, and to say the best of us, thereby encouraging our faith in him, and teaching us charity to one another, [2.] As pleading it with the Father. He is praying for those that were given to him; and he pleads that they had given themselves to him. Note, The due improvement of grace received is a good plea, according to the tenour of the new covenant, for further grace; for so runs the promise. To him that hath shall be given. Those that keep Christ's word, and believe on him, let Christ alone to commend them, and, which is more, to recommend them to his Father.
4. He pleads the Father's own interest in
them (
(1.) The plea particularly urged for his
disciples: They are thine. The consigning of the elect to
Christ was so far from making them less the Father's that it was in
order to making them the more so. Note, [1.] All that receive
Christ's word, and believe in him, are taken into covenant-relation
to the Father, and are looked upon as his; Christ presents them to
him, and they, through Christ, present themselves to him. Christ
has redeemed us, not to himself only, but to God, by his
blood,
(2.) The foundation on which this plea is
grounded: All mine are thine, and thine are mine. This
bespeaks the Father and Son to be, [1.] One in essence. Every
creature must say to God, All mine are thine; but none can
say to him, All thine are mine, but he that is the same in
substance with him and equal in power and glory. [2.] One in
interest; no separate or divided interests between them.
First, What the Father has as Creator is delivered over to
the Son, to be used and disposed of in subserviency to his great
undertaking. All things are delivered to him (
5. He pleads his own concern in them: I
am glorified in them—dedoxasmai. (1.) I have
been glorified in them. What little honour Christ had in this
world was among his disciples; he had been glorified by their
attendance on him and obedience to him, their preaching and working
miracles in his name; and therefore I pray for them. Note,
Those shall have an interest in Christ's intercession in and by
whom he is glorified. (2.) "I am to be glorified in them
when I am gone to heaven; they are to bear up my name." The
apostles preached and wrought miracles in Christ's name; the
Spirit in them glorified Christ (
11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
After the general pleas with which Christ
recommended his disciples to his Father's care follow the
particular petitions he puts up for them; and, 1. They all relate
to spiritual blessings in heavenly things. He does not pray that
they might be rich and great in the world, that they might raise
estates and get preferments, but that they might be kept from sin,
and furnished for their duty, and brought safely to heaven. Note,
The prosperity of the soul is the best prosperity; for what relates
to this Christ came to purchase and bestow, and so teaches us to
seek, in the first place, both for others and for ourselves. 2.
They are such blessings as were suited to their present state and
case, and their various exigencies and occasions. Note, Christ's
intercession is always pertinent. Our advocate with the
Father is acquainted with all the particulars of our wants and
burdens, our dangers and difficulties, and knows how to accommodate
his intercession to each, as to Peter's peril, which he himself was
not aware of (
Now the first thing Christ prays for, for
his disciples, is their preservation, in
I. The request itself: Keep them from the world. There were two ways of their being delivered from the world:—
1. By taking them out of it; and he does not pray that they might be so delivered: I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world; that is,
(1.) "I pray not that they may be speedily
removed by death." If the world will be vexatious to them, the
readiest way to secure them would be to hasten them out of it to a
better world, that will give them better treatment. Send chariots
and horses of fire for them, to fetch them to heaven; Job, Elijah,
Jonah, Moses, when that occurred which fretted them, prayed that
they might be taken out of the world; but Christ would not
pray so for his disciples, for two reasons:—[1.] Because he came
to conquer, not to countenance, those intemperate heats and
passions which make men impatient of life, and importunate for
death. It is his will that we should take up our cross, and not
outrun it. [2.] Because he had work for them to do in the world;
the world, though sick of them (
(2.) "I pray not that they may be totally
freed and exempted from the troubles of this world, and taken out
of the toil and terror of it into some place of ease and safety,
there to live undisturbed; this is not the preservation I desire
for them." Non ut omni molestia liberati otium et delicias
colant, sed ut inter media pericula salvi tamen maneant Dei
auxilio—Not that, being freed from all trouble, they may bask in
luxurious ease, but that by the help of God they may be preserved
in a scene of danger; so Calvin. Not that they may be kept from
all conflict with the world, but that they may not be overcome by
it; not that, as Jeremiah wished, they might leave their people,
and go from them (
2. Another way is by keeping them from the
corruption that is in the world; and he prays they may be thus
kept,
(1.) Holy Father, keep those whom thou hast given me.
[1.] Christ was now leaving them; but let
them not think that their defence was departed from them; no, he
does here, in their hearing, commit them to the custody of his
Father and their Father. Note, It is the unspeakable comfort of all
believers that Christ himself has committed them to the care of
God. Those cannot but be safe whom the almighty God keeps, and he
cannot but keep those whom the Son of his love commits to him, in
the virtue of which we may by faith commit the keeping of our
souls to God,
[2.] The titles he gives to him he prays
to, and them he prays for, enforce the petition. First, He
speaks to God as a holy Father. In committing ourselves and
others to the divine care, we may take encouragement, 1. From the
attribute of his holiness, for this is engaged for the preservation
of his holy ones; he hath sworn by his holiness,
(2.) Keep them through thine own name. That is, [1.] Keep them for thy name's sake; so some. "Thy name and honour are concerned in their preservation as well as mine, for both will suffer by it if they either revolt or sink." The Old Testament saints often pleaded, for thy name's sake; and those may with comfort plead it that are indeed more concerned for the honour of God's name than for any interest of their own. [2.] Keep them in thy name; so others; the original is so, en to onomati. "Keep them in the knowledge and fear of thy name; keep them in the profession and service of thy name, whatever it cost them. Keep them in the interest of thy name, and let them ever be faithful to this; keep them in thy truths, in thine ordinances, in the way of thy commandments." [3.] Keep them by or through thy name; so others. "Keep them by thine own power, in thine own hand; keep them thyself, undertake for them, let them be thine own immediate care. Keep them by those means of preservation which thou hast thyself appointed, and by which thou hast made thyself known. Keep them by thy word and ordinances; let thy name be their strong tower, thy tabernacle their pavilion."
(3.) Keep them from the evil, or out
of the evil. He had taught them to pray daily, Deliver us from
evil, and this would encourage them to pray. [1.] "Keep them
from the evil one, the devil and all his instruments; that wicked
one and all his children. Keep them from Satan as a tempter, that
either he may not have leave to sift them, or that their faith may
not fail. Keep them from him as a destroyer, that he may not drive
them to despair." [2.] "Keep them from the evil thing, that is sin;
from every thing that looks like it, or leads to it. Keep them,
that they do no evil,"
II. The reasons with which he enforces these requests for their preservation, which are five:—
1. He pleads that hitherto he had kept them
(
(1.) Christ's faithful discharge of his
undertaking concerning his disciples: While he was with them, he
kept them, and his care concerning them was not in vain. He
kept them in God's name, preserved them from falling into any
dangerous errors or sins, from striking in with the Pharisees, who
would have compassed sea and land to make proselytes of
them; he kept them from deserting him, and returning to the little
all they had left for him; he had them still under his eye and care
when he sent them to peach; went not his heart with them?
Many that followed him awhile took offence at something or other,
and went off; but he kept the twelve that they should not go away.
He kept them from falling into the hands of persecuting enemies
that sought their lives; kept them when he surrendered himself,
(2.) The comfortable account he gives of
his undertaking: None of them is lost. Note, Jesus Christ
will certainly keep all that were given to him, so that none of
them shall be totally and finally lost; they may think themselves
lost, and may be nearly lost (in imminent peril); but it is the
Father's will that he should lose none, and none he will
lose (
(3.) A brand put upon Judas, as none of
those whom he had undertaken to keep. He was among those that were
given to Christ, but not of them. He speaks of Judas as already
lost, for he had abandoned the society of his Master and his
fellow-disciples, and abandoned himself to the devil's guidance,
and in a little time would go to his own place; he is as
good as lost. But the apostasy and ruin of Judas were no reproach
at all to his Master, or his family; for, [1.] He was the son of
perdition, and therefore not one of those that were given to
Christ to be kept. He deserved perdition, and God left him to throw
himself headlong into it. He was the son of the destroyer,
as Cain, who was of that wicked one. That great enemy whom
the Lord will consume is called a son of perdition,
because he is a man of sin,
2. He pleads that he was now under a
necessity of leaving them, and could no longer watch over them in
the way that he had hitherto done (
(1.) With what pleasure he speaks of his own departure. He expresses himself concerning it with an air of triumph and exultation, with reference both to the world he left and the world he removed to. [1.] "Now I am no more in the world. Now farewell to this provoking troublesome world. I have had enough of it, and now the welcome hour is at hand when I shall be no more in it. Now that I have finished the work I had to do in it, I have done with it; nothing remains now but to hasten out of it as fast as I can." Note, It should be a pleasure to those that have their home in the other world to think of being no more in this world; for when we have done what we have to do in this world, and are made meet for that, what is there here that should court our stay? When we receive a sentence of death within ourselves, with what a holy triumph should we say, "Now I am no more in this world, this dark deceitful world, this poor empty world, this tempting defiling world; no more vexed with its thorns and briars, no more endangered by its nets and snares; now I shall wander no more in this howling wilderness, be tossed no more on this stormy sea; now I am no more in this world, but can cheerfully quit it, and give it a final farewell." [2.] Now I come to thee. To get clear of the world is but the one half of the comfort of a dying Christ, of a dying Christian; the far better half is to think of going to the Father, to sit down in the immediate, uninterrupted, and everlasting enjoyment of him. Note, Those who love God cannot but be pleased to think of coming to him, though it be through the valley of the shadow of death. When we go, to be absent from the body, it is to be present with the Lord, like children fetched home from school to their father's house. "Now come I to thee whom I have chosen and served, and whom my soul thirsteth after; to thee the fountain of light and life, the crown and centre of bliss and joy; now my longings shall be satisfied, my hopes accomplished, my happiness completed, for now come I to thee."
(2.) With what a tender concern he speaks of those whom he left behind: "But these are in the world. I have found what an evil world it is, what will become of these dear little ones that must stay in it? Holy Father, keep them; they will want my presence, let them have thine. They have now more need than ever to be kept, for I am sending them out further into the world than they have yet ventured; they must launch forth into the deep, and have business to do in these great waters, and will be lost if thou do not keep them." Observe here, [1.] That, when our Lord Jesus was going to the Father, he carried with him a tender concern for his own that are in the world; and continued to compassionate them. He bears their names upon his breast-plate, nay, upon his heart, and has graven them with the nails of his cross upon the palms of his hands; and when he is out of their sight they are not out of his, much less out of his mind. We should have such a pity for those that are launching out into the world when we are got almost through it, and for those that are left behind in it when we are leaving it. [2.] That, when Christ would express the utmost need his disciples had of divine preservation, he only says, They are in the world; this bespeaks danger enough to those who are bound for heaven, whom a flattering world would divert and seduce, and a malignant world would hate and persecute.
3. He pleads what a satisfaction it would
be to them to know themselves safe, and what a satisfaction it
would be to him to see them easy: I speak this, that they may
have my joy fulfilled in themselves,
(1.) Christ earnestly desired the fulness
of the joy of his disciples, for it is his will that they should
rejoice evermore. He was leaving them in tears and troubles, and
yet took effectual care to fulfil their joy. When they
thought their joy in him was brought to an end, then was it
advanced nearer to perfection than ever it had been, and they were
fuller of it. We are here taught, [1.] To found our joy in Christ:
"It is my joy, joy of my giving, or rather joy that I am the
matter of." Christ is a Christian's joy, his chief joy. Joy in the
world is withering with it; joy in Christ is everlasting, like him.
[2.] To build up our joy with diligence; for it is the duty as well
as privilege of all true believers; no part of the Christian life
is pressed upon us more earnestly,
(2.) In order hereunto, he did thus
solemnly commit them to his Father's care and keeping and took them
for witnesses that he did so: These things I speak in the
world, while I am yet with them in the world. His intercession
in heaven for their preservation would have been as effectual in
itself; but saying this in the world would be a greater
satisfaction and encouragement to them, and would enable them to
rejoice in tribulation. Note, [1.] Christ has not only
treasured up comforts for his people, in providing for their future
welfare, but has given out comforts to them, and said that which
will be for their present satisfaction. He here condescended in the
presence of his disciples to publish his last will and testament,
and (which many a testator is shy of) lets them know what legacies
he had left them, and how well they were secured, that they might
have strong consolation. [2.] Christ's intercession for us is
enough to fulfil or joy in him; nothing more effectual to silence
all our fears and mistrusts, and to furnish us with strong
consolation, than this, that he always appears in the presence of
God for us; therefore the apostle puts a yea rather upon
this,
4. He pleads the ill usage they were likely
to meet with in the world, for his sake (
(1.) The world's enmity to Christ's followers. While Christ was with them, though as yet they had given but little opposition to the world, yet it hates them, much more would it do so when by their more extensive preaching of the gospel they would turn the world upside down. "Father, stand their friend," says Christ, "for they are likely to have many enemies; let them have thy love, for the world's hatred is entailed upon them. In the midst of those fiery darts, let them be compassed with thy favour as with a shield." It is God's honour to take part with the weaker side, and to help the helpless. Lord, be merciful to them, for men would swallow them up.
(2.) The reasons of this enmity, which
strengthen the plea. [1.] It is implied that one reason is because
they had received the word of God as it was sent them by the hand
of Christ, when the greatest part of the world rejected it, and set
themselves against those who were the preachers and professors of
it. Note, Those that receive Christ's good will and good word must
expect the world's ill will and ill word. Gospel ministers have
been in a particular manner hated by the world, because they call
men out of the world, and separate them from it, and teach them not
to conform to it, and so condemn the world. "Father, keep
them for it is for thy sake that they are exposed; they are
sufferers for thee." Thus the psalmist pleads, For thy sake I
have borne reproach,
5. He pleads their conformity to himself in
a holy non-conformity to the world (
17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
The next thing he prayed for for them was that they might be sanctified; not only kept from evil, but made good.
I. Here is the petition (
1. As Christians. Father, make them holy,
and this will be their preservation,
(1.) The grace desired—sanctification. The
disciples were sanctified, for they were not of the world; yet he
prays, Father sanctify them, that is, [1.] "Confirm the work
of sanctification in them, strengthen their faith, inflame their
good affections, rivet their good resolutions." [2.] "Carry on that
good work in them, and continue it; let the light shine more and
more." [3.] "Complete it, crown it with the perfection of
holiness; sanctify them throughout and to the end." Note,
First, It is the prayer of Christ for all that are his that
they may be sanctified; because he cannot for shame own them as
his, either here or hereafter, either employ them in his work or
present them to his Father, if they be not sanctified.
Secondly, Those that through grace are sanctified have need
to be sanctified more and more. Even disciples must pray for
sanctifying grace; for, if he that was the author of the good work
be not the finisher of it, we are undone. Not to go forward is to
go backward; he that is holy must be holy still, more holy
still, pressing forward, soaring upward, as those that have not
attained. Thirdly, It is God that sanctifies as well as God
that justified,
(2.) The means of conferring this
grace—through thy truth, thy word is truth. Not that the
Holy One of Israel is hereby limited to means, but in the
counsel of peace among other things it was settled and
agreed, [1.] That all needful truth should be comprised and summed
up in the word of God. Divine revelation, as it now stands in the
written word, is not only pure truth without mixture, but entire
truth without deficiency. [2.] That this word of truth should be
the outward and ordinary means of our sanctification; not of
itself, for then it would always sanctify, but as the instrument
which the Spirit commonly uses in beginning and carrying on that
good work; it is the seed of the new birth (
2. As ministers. "Sanctify them, set
them apart for thyself and service; let their call to the
apostleship be ratified in heaven." Prophets were said to be
sanctified,
II. We have here two pleas or arguments to enforce the petition for the disciples' sanctification:—
1. The mission they had from him (
(1.) Christ speaks with great assurance of his own mission: Thou hast sent me into the world. The great author of the Christian religion had his commission and instructions from him who is the origin and object of all religion. He was sent of God to say what he said, and do what he did, and be what he is to those that believe on him; which was his comfort in his undertaking, and may be ours abundantly in our dependence upon him; his record was on high, for thence his mission was.
(2.) He speaks with great satisfaction of
the commission he had given his disciples "So have I sent
them on the same errand, and to carry on the same design;" to
preach the same doctrine that he preached, and to confirm it with
the same proofs, with a charge likewise to commit to other faithful
men that which was committed to them. He gave them their commission
(
2. The merit he had for them is another
thing here pleaded (
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
Next to their purity he prays for their unity; for the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable; and amity is amiable indeed when it is like the ointment on Aaron's holy head, and the dew on Zion's holy hill. Observe,
I. Who are included in this prayer
(
II. What is intended in this prayer
(
1. That they might all be incorporated
in one body. "Father, look upon them all as one, and ratify
that great charter by which they are embodied as one church. Though
they live in distant places, from one end of heaven to the other,
and in several ages, from the beginning to the close of time, and
so cannot have any personal acquaintance or correspondence with
each other, yet let them be united in me their common head." As
Christ died, so he prayed, to gather them all in one,
2. That they might all be animated by one
Spirit. This is plainly implied in this—that they may be one in
us. Union with the Father and Son is obtained and kept up only
by the Holy Ghost. He that is joined to the Lord in one
spirit,
3. That they might all be knit
together in the bond of love and charity, all of one heart.
That they all may be one, (1.) In judgment and sentiment;
not in every little thing—this is neither possible nor needful,
but in the great things of God, and in them, by the virtue of this
prayer, they are all agreed—that God's favour is better than
life—that sin is the worst of evils, Christ the best of
friends—that there is another life after this, and the like. (2.)
In disposition and inclination. All that are sanctified have the
same divine nature and image; they have all a new heart, and it is
one heart. (3.) They are all one in their designs and aims.
Every true Christian, as far as he is so, eyes the glory of
God as his highest end, and the glory of heaven as his chief good.
(4.) They are all one in their desires and prayers; though they
differ in words and the manner of expressions, yet, having received
the same spirit of adoption, and observing the same rule,
they pray for the same things in effect. (5.) All one in love and
affection. Every true Christian has that in him which inclines him
to love all true Christians as such. That which Christ here prays
for is that communion of saints which we profess to believe;
the fellowship which all believers have with God, and their
intimate union with all the saints in heaven and earth,
III. What is intimated by way of plea or argument to enforce this petition; three things:—
1. The oneness that is between the Father
and the Son, which is mentioned again and again,
2. The design of Christ in all his
communications of light and grace to them (
3. He pleads the happy influence their
oneness would have upon others, and the furtherance it would give
to the public good. This is twice urged (
(1.) His good-will to the world of mankind
in general. Herein he is of his Father's mind, as we are sure he is
in every thing, that he would have all men to be saved, and to
come to the knowledge of the truth,
(2.) The good fruit of the church's oneness; it will be an evidence of the truth of Christianity, and a means of bringing many to embrace it.
[1.] In general, it will recommend
Christianity to the world, and to the good opinion of those that
are without. First, The embodying of Christians in one
society by the gospel charter will greatly promote Christianity.
When the world shall see so many of those that were its children
called out of its family, distinguished from others, and changed
from what they themselves sometimes were,—when they shall see this
society raised by the foolishness of preaching, and kept up by
miracles of divine providence and grace, and how admirably well it
is modelled and constituted, they will be ready to say, We will
go with you, for we see that God is with you. Secondly, The
uniting of Christians in love and charity is the beauty of their
profession, and invites others to join with them, as the love that
was among those primo-primitive Christians,
[2.] In particular, it will beget in men good thoughts, First, Of Christ: They will know and believe that thou hast sent me, By this it will appear that Christ was sent of God, and that his doctrine was divine, in that his religion prevails to join so many of different capacities, tempers, and interests in other things, in one body by faith, with one heart by love. Certainly he was sent by the God of power, who fashions men's hearts alike, and the God of love and peace; when the worshippers of God are one, he is one, and his name one. Secondly, Of Christians: They will know that thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Here is, 1. The privilege of believers: the Father himself loveth them with a love resembling his love to his Son, for they are loved in him with an everlasting love. 2. The evidence of their interest in this privilege, and that is their being one. By this it will appear that God loves us, if we love one another with a pure heart; for wherever the love of God is shed abroad in the heart it will change it into the same image. See how much good it would do to the world to know better how dear to God all good Christians are. The Jews had a saying, If the world did but know the worth of good men, they would hedge them about with pearls. Those that have so much of God's love should have more of ours.
24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Here is, I. A petition for the glorifying
of all those that were given to Christ (
1. The connection of this request with
those foregoing. He had prayed that God would preserve, sanctify,
and unite them; and now he prays that he would crown all his gifts
with their glorification. In this method we must pray, first for
grace, and then for glory (
2. The manner of the request: Father, I
will. Here, as before, he addresses himself to God as a Father,
and therein we must do likewise; but when he says,
thelo—I will, he speaks a language peculiar
to himself, and such as does not become ordinary petitioners, but
very well became him who paid for what he prayed for. (1.) This
intimates the authority of his intercession in general; his word
was with power in heaven, as well as on earth. He entering with
his own blood into the holy place, his intercession there has
an uncontrollable efficacy. He intercedes as a king, for he is a
priest upon his throne (like Melchizedek), a king-priest. (2.) It
intimates his particular authority in this matter; he had a power
to give eternal life (
3. The request itself—that all the elect might come to be with him in heaven at last, to see his glory, and to share in it. Now observe here,
(1.) Under what notion we are to hope for
heaven? wherein does that happiness consist? three things make
heaven:—[1.] It is to be where Christ is: Where I am; in
the paradise whither Christ's soul went at death; in the third
heavens whither his soul and body went at his ascension:—Where
I am, am to be shortly, am to be eternally. In this world we
are but in transitu—on our passage; there we truly are
where we are to be for ever; so Christ reckoned, and so must we.
[2.] It is to be with him where he is; this is not tautology, but
intimates that we shall not only be in the same happy place where
Christ is, but that the happiness of the place will consist in his
presence; this is the fulness of its joy. The very heaven of
heaven is to be with Christ, there in company with him, and
communion with him,
(2.) Upon what ground we are to hope for
heaven; no other than purely the mediation and intercession of
Christ, because he hath said, Father, I will. Our
sanctification is our evidence, for he that has this hope in him
purifies himself; but it is the will of Christ that is our
title, by which will we are sanctified,
4. The argument to back this request:
for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. This
is a reason, (1.) Why he expected this glory himself. Thou wilt
give it to me, for thou lovedst me. The honour and power
given to the Son as Mediator were founded in the Father's love to
him (
II. The conclusion of the prayer, which is designed to enforce all the petitions for the disciples, especially the last, that they may be glorified. Two things he insists upon, and pleads:—
1. The respect he had to his Father,
(1.) The title he gives to God: O righteous Father. When he prayed that they might be sanctified, he called him holy Father; when he prays that they may be glorified, he calls him righteous Father; for it is a crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge shall give. God's righteousness was engaged for the giving out of all that good which the Father had promised and the Son had purchased.
(2.) The character he gives of the world that lay in wickedness: The world has not known thee. Note, Ignorance of God overspreads the world of mankind; this is the darkness they sit in. Now this is urged here, [1.] To show that these disciples need the aids of special grace, both because of the necessity of their work—they were to bring a world that knew not God to the knowledge of him; and also, because of the difficulty of their work—they must bring light to those that rebelled against the light; therefore keep them. [2.] To show that they were qualified for further peculiar favours, for they had that knowledge of God which the world had not.
(3.) The plea he insists upon for himself: But I have known thee. Christ knew the Father as no one else ever did; knew upon what grounds he went in his undertaking, knew his Father's mind in every thing, and therefore, in this prayer, came to him with confidence, as we do to one we know. Christ is here suing out blessings for those that were his; pursuing this petition, when he had said, The world has not known thee, one would expect it should follow, but they have known thee; no, their knowledge was not to be boasted of, but I have known thee, which intimates that there is nothing in us to recommend us to God's favour, but all our interest in him, and intercourse with him, result from, and depend upon, Christ's interest and intercourse. We are unworthy, but he is worthy.
(4.) The plea he insists upon for his disciples: And they have known that thou hast sent me; and, [1.] Hereby they are distinguished from the unbelieving world. When multitudes to whom Christ was sent, and his grace offered, would not believe that God had sent him, these knew it, and believed it, and were not ashamed to own it. Note, To know and believe in Jesus Christ, in the midst of a world that persists in ignorance and infidelity, is highly pleasing to God, and shall certainly be crowned with distinguishing glory. Singular faith qualifies for singular favours. [2.] Hereby they are interested in the mediation of Christ, and partake of the benefit of his acquaintance with the Father: "I have known thee, immediately and perfectly; and these, though they have not so known thee, nor were capable of knowing thee so, yet have known that thou hast sent me, have known that which was required of them to know, have known the Creator in the Redeemer." Knowing Christ as sent of God, they have, in him, known the Father, and are introduced to an acquaintance with him; therefore, "Father, look after them for my sake."
2. The respect he had to his disciples
(
(1.) What Christ had done for them: I
have declared unto them thy name. [1.] This he had done for
those that were his immediate followers. All the time that he
went in and out among them, he made it his business to declare
his Father's name to them, and to beget in them a veneration for
it. The tendency of all his sermons and miracles was to advance his
Father's honours, and to spread the knowledge of him,
(2.) What he intended to do yet further for
them: I will declare it. To the disciples he designed to
give further instructions after his resurrection (
(3.) What he aimed at in all this; not to fill their heads with curious speculations, and furnish them with something to talk of among the learned, but to secure and advance their real happiness in two things:—
[1.] Communion with God: "Therefore I have
given them the knowledge of thy name, of all that whereby thou hast
made thyself known, that thy love, even that wherewith
thou hast loved me, may be, not only towards them, but in
them;" that is, First, "Let them have the fruits of that
love for their sanctification; let the Spirit of love, with
which thou hast filled me, be in them." Christ declares his
Father's name to believers, that with that divine light darted into
their minds a divine love may be shed abroad in their hearts, to be
in them a commanding constraining principle of holiness, that they
may partake of a divine nature. When God's love to us comes to be
in us, it is like the virtue which the loadstone gives the needle,
inclining it to move towards the pole; it draws out the soul
towards God in pious and devout affections, which are as the
spirits of the divine life in the soul. Secondly, "Let them
have the taste and relish of that love for their consolation; let
them not only be interested in the love of God, by having God's
name declared to them, but, by a further declaration of it, let
them have the comfort of that interest; that they may not only know
God, but know that they know him,"
[2.] Union with Christ in order hereunto:
And I in them. There is no getting into the love of God but
through Christ, nor can we keep ourselves in that love but by
abiding in Christ, that is, having him to abide in us; nor can we
have the sense and apprehension of that love but by our experience
of the indwelling of Christ, that is, the Spirit of Christ in our
hearts. It is Christ in us that is the only hope
of glory that will not make us ashamed,