John 17:5














Still the Savior's mind runs upon glory. How unlike the thoughts of a man, however great and good, are these thoughts expressed in this recorded prayer of Christ! It was not vanity, it was not egotism, it was not assumption; it was the consciousness of Divinity which accounted for this language.

I. CHRIST HAD GLORY WITH THE FATHER BEFORE THE WORLD WAS. Of this we only know what our Lord himself has revealed to us. But we are assured that this world is not the only scene of the manifestation of the glory of the eternal Word. In what manner, through what circumstances, to what order of intelligences, this ante-natal glory was displayed, we have no means of knowing.

II. CHRIST GATHERED TO HIMSELF FRESH GLORY DURING HIS EARTHLY MANIFESTATION AND MINISTRY. This was emphatically a moral and spiritual glory - the glory of truth, righteousness, purity, and love. It was emphatically the glory of sacrifice - glory which could only be realized through incarnation and humiliation. This glory is discerned anti appreciated only by the spiritual; to the view of such it excels all the tinseled splendor of worldly greatness.

III. CHRIST TOOK WITH HIM TO THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER A GLORY WHICH HARMONIZED WITH THAT WHICH WAS NATIVE AND ORIGINAL, AND WHICH EVEN ENHANCED IT. This prayer opens up before the mind three stages of Divine glory as belonging to Christ. The Incarnation did not create his glory, for he brought it with him from the heavens. But his earthly sojourn was the occasion of accession of glory. And when he ascended on high to receive the reward of toil, to reap the harvest of sacrifice, he appeared, and he ever does and will appear, irradiated with a splendor which, as mediatorial, is at once sacrificial and triumphant. - T.

I have glorified Thee on the earth.
The words may be considered —

I. IN A MEDIATORY SENSE; so they are proper to Christ;

1. "I have glorified Thee." Christ glorified God —

(1)By His person (Hebrews 1:3).

(2)By His life and perfect obedience (John 8:46, 49).

(3)By discovering God's mercy (John 1:14).

(4)By His miracles (Matthew 9:8; Mark 15:31).

(5)By His passion.

(6)In His doctrine.God was much glorified in the Creation (Psalm 19:1), in His providences; but mostly in Christ, redemption being the most noble work with which He was ever acquainted. In creation, the wisdom, goodness, and power of God appeared; in providence, the justice, mercy, and truth of God; but these in Christ in a more raised degree.

2. "I have finished the work," &c., implies —

(1)The submission, faithfulness, and diligence of Christ (Philippians 2:7; John 13:1).

(2)The completeness of our redemption (Hebrews 10:14; Romans 8:1).

(3)The Divine appointment of His work (Psalm 40:7, 8).

II. IN A MORAL SENSE in which they apply to us.

1. What it is to glorify God upon earth, &c.(1) What? God is glorified passively. So all things shall at length glorify God (Psalm 76:10; Romans 3:5, 7). This is no thanks to them, but to God's wise and powerful government. We glorify God actively when we set ourselves to this work, and make it our end and scope. Thus actively to glorify God is —(a) To acknowledge His excellency upon all occasions (Psalm 50:23; Psalm 145:10).(b) To resign our wills to His. Verbal praises merely are but an empty prattle (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12). God is most glorified in the creatures' obedience. First, to His laws, when we study to please Him in all things (Colossians 1:10). Second, to His providence. It is an honour to Him when we are contented to be what God will have us to be, and can prefer His glory before our own ease, His honour before our plenty (Philippians 1:20).(c) To entertain the impressions of His glory upon us, i.e., when we grow most like Him, and show forth His virtues (1 Peter 2:9; Ephesians 1:12). A Christian's life is a hymn to God; his circumspect walking proclaims God's wisdom; His awfulness and watchfulness against sin, His Majesty; His cheerful and ready obedience, His goodness; His purity, God's holiness.(d) To do those things which tend to the honour of God's name, and to bring Him into request in the world (1 Peter 2:12; Matthew 5:16; chap. John 15:8).(e) To promote His interests in the world. This is the method of the Lord's prayer, "Hallowed be Thy name;" and then, "Thy kingdom come."(f) To do the work which He hath given us to do. First, the duty of our particular relations. If poor, I glorify God by my diligence, patience, innocence, contentedness; if rich, I glorify God by a humble mind; if well, I glorify God by my health; if sick, by meekness under His hand; if a magistrate, by my zeal (Nehemiah 1:11); if a minister, by my watchfulness; if a tradesman, by my righteousness. From the king to the scullion, all are to work for God. Second, the duty of our vocation and calling. Every Christian hath his way and place, some work which God gave him.(g) To make God the great scope and end of our lives and actions. In our ordinary actions (1 Corinthians 10:31). So in acts of grace.(2) Where? On earth.(a) Where so few mind God's glory, but seek their own things (Philippians 3:20).(b) Which is the place of our trial? Many expect to glorify God in heaven, but take no care to glorify God on earth. But here where the danger is there is the duty and trial (Matthew 10:32).(3) How? "I have finished," &c.(a) It is work that glorifieth God; not empty praises, but a holy conversation (Matthew 5:16; Psalm 1:1.23; John 15:8).(b) Every man has his work. Life was given to us for somewhat; not merely that we might fill up the number of things in the world, as stones and rubbish: not to grow in stature, like the plants; nor merely to taste pleasures, like the beasts. God gave man faculties of reason and conscience to manage some work and business for the glory of God and his own eternal happiness. The world was never made to be a hive for drones and idle ones.(c) This work is given us by God. By His word. There is no course of service good but what is agreeable to the word of God (Psalm 119:105; Titus 2:12). By His providence, which ruleth in everything that falleth out. But how should a man glorify God in his place and station wherein God hath set him? Be content with it; God is the Master of the scenes, and appoints which part to act. With patience digest the inconveniences of your calling.(d) This work must be finished and perfected (Revelation 2:10; 2 Timothy 4:7, 8).

2. Why this should be our great care?(1) This is the end why all creatures were made (Romans 11:36; Proverbs 16:4).(2) God has a right and interest in us (Romans 14:7, 8; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20).(3) We shall be called to an account (Luke 19:23).(4) Great benefit will come to us by it. God noteth it (chap. John 17:10), and rewards it (Matthew 19:28).(5) This ennobles a man.(6) God will have His glory upon you, if not from you, for He is resolved not to be a loser (Proverbs 16:4; Leviticus 10:3).(7) When we come to die this will be our comfort, Christ hath left us a pattern here; and Hezekiah (Isaiah 38:3), and Paul (2 Timothy 4:7, 8).

(T. Manton, D. D.)

1. Our Lord presents as a plea that He might be glorified — the fidelity and completeness with which He had discharged His trust. This petition rises beyond that in the first. In the first He prayed for glorification on earth, that He might be borne triumphantly, as the Divine testimony to His success. Here He prays for glorification in heaven, that He might be raised to that position of honour which by Divine right belonged to Him from eternity.

2. It is wonderful and encouraging that the Son of God should not only pray, but should use arguments for His requests. Thus, as in all things, He was made like unto His brethren. Notice —

I. CHRIST'S DECLARATION CONCERNING HIS COURSE ON EARTH — "I have glorified Thee," &c.

1. His mission was a work; not a course of influence, or teaching only, but of glorious action, viz., the redemption of mankind from the power and consequences of sin.

2. This work was the result of Divine arrangement. Long before His advent He had declared, "Lo, I come," &c. (Psalm 40:7, 8; cf. Hebrews 10:7). So that Father, Son, and Spirit, were alike interested in the accomplishment of redemption. Yet the work was specially personal to Christ. Great undertakings require great qualifications. Hence this work was laid on the "strong Son of God," who alone could accomplish it.

3. This world was the scene or sphere of the Saviour's work. In heaven God is ever glorified. How fitting, then, and necessary, that God should be glorified where He had been dishonoured. And mark what emphasis is laid on the personal element. Adam fell from his original innocence, and thus failed in glorifying God, and all his posterity have followed in his downward course. Jesus, the second Adam alone, could say, "I have finished the work of God, I have glorified the Father."

4. It is not difficult to see that the bearing of the Saviour's course on earth was for the glorification of the Father, although at the same time it had its relation and design in regard to man. His course was a constant acknowledgment of God. The thought of the Father was always first. He connected all that He said and all that He did with the Father. Men's minds were always directed by Him up to God. For the first time in history the Divine law, in all its extent and spirituality, found complete illustration and fulfilment. In Him we behold the personal revelation of God. In Him the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of His person. Men beheld the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

5. Christ, however, speaks of the completion of His course before it was actually closed — "I have finished." But it was virtually ended. Having asked to be glorified, He had no doubt of the issue. His active life of ceaseless beneficence and spotless innocence had run its course, and His work was accomplished. His words combine the profoundest humility with the loftiest dignity.

II. THE SAVIOUR'S REQUEST FOR HIS MEDIATORIAL CROWN IN HEAVEN (ver. 5). These words assume that Christ had an existence before His appearance on earth; and that in His pre-existence He had Divine glory; and that His true and eternal glory, when He became incarnate, was necessarily veiled. Now He prays that, having accomplished His enterprise, He may resume His majesty, and rise again to His glory in heaven. This glorification involved —

1. The enthronement of His person, with the new element of humanity added to His Divine nature. As relating to our nature, this was a marvellous request, and what a stimulus it is for us! With what a dignity does it invest our nature! Christ's love to humanity was so strong that He would not return to heaven without our nature.

2. The exhibition of His perfection. It was necessary that all the principalities and powers of heaven subject unto Him should see that His assumption of humanity brought no flaw to His infinite perfection; that His personal glory suffered no abatement from its new association. Hence, in the visions of the Apocalypse, we find angels and saints uniting in the new song of adoration to the Redeemer (Revelation 5:13).

3. The establishment and triumph of His kingdom. If the end for which He took our nature were not realized, how could He be glorified? The complete success of His mission was essential to His glory with the Father. Hence, as this kingdom advances, and this principle triumphs, He is glorified on His throne.

(J. Spence, D.D.)

Jesus brought honour to God —

I. BECAUSE HE SO LIVED AS TO MAKE OTHER MEN THINK MORE ABOUT GOD. "Out of sight, out of mind" is the old adage; and because God is always invisible, therefore He is often forgotten. Whatever makes men think about God with reverence and gratitude thereby promotes His glory. In this sense, "the heavens declare His glory." They suggest to men's minds thoughts of His wisdom, power, and greatness. For service of this kind was there ever anything in the world like the words and deeds of Jesus? Jesus might not have mentioned the name of God, but do you think that you could have been in His presence one hour and not have bad your thoughts elevated Godward? Men saw Him heal the sick, raise the dead, &c.; was it possible for them to see and hear these things, and not recognize the power and love of God? The morality of Jesus' teaching must have been a great power to startle men who had buried themselves in unmindfulness of the Most High. There was something in Jesus Himself that made men think of God. It is not possible for us to imitate the miracles of Christ; but it is possible for a man to manifest such a temper, that wherever he goes he will suggest thoughts of God.

II. BY HELPING MEN TO THINK OF GOD MORE CORRECTLY. We ofttimes make mistakes about each others' character, and sometimes to their advantage. We give men credit for what they are not and have not. Bat no thought of ours ever goes beyond the truth about God. His character is nobler and greater than my best conception can be; therefore whatever helps me to see Him more perfectly, and corrects my mistakes about Him, promotes His glory. Was there ever any. thing in the world that had such power to clear the darkness that hid the glory of God, as the life and labour, the words and works of Jesus? Could men see and hear these things and help thinking better of God? Could they go on and not think of Him whose care is over all creation?

III. BY A CONSTANT RECOGNITION OF HIS AUTHORITY AND HELP. How careful He was to make men understand that He was not in the world to pursue His own plans, or to follow His own purpose! He called His miracles the works of the Father. The habit of thanking God for all things became a conspicuous feature in His character, as we learn from this fact — that by means of it two of His disciples recognized Him after He came from the dead. When men see in us this constant recognition of Divine authority, help, and mercy, then in our way we can say with Jesus, "I have glorified Thee on the earth." Then, again, by His obedience to the Divine laws, His cheerful contentment with God's dispensations, His unfaltering trust in God, Jesus glorified God. Conclusion:

1. It is easy to think of glorifying God in heaven, where every heart is pure; but Jesus said, "I have glorified Thee on the earth" — in life's difficulties, trials, temptations — where sin abounds.

2. It is a simple contradiction for a man to call himself a Christian and not to have an increasing anxiety to regard God's authority, submit to His will, give Him thanks for His kindness, and live to His praise and glory.

(C. Vince.)

The Son glorified the Father on the earth by finishing the work which He had given Him to do. It was a great work. None but the Eternal Son could have finished it. The dignity of the eternal law, which man had broken, had to be vindicated and upheld; the full weight of an infinite curse had to be endured. Each of the sins of all His people, which cleaved to them as a leprosy, had to be borne and carried away. The prince of this world had to be met and conquered on his own ground, the battle-field of this world. All this work had to be done in the face of the full strength and opposition of hell and all the powers thereof; in face, and in spite of the apathy and indifference, the ignorance and folly of His own, and the rage and antagonism of the powers of this world. The work had to be done, moreover, in man's nature. The nature that sinned behoved also to be the nature that suffered.

(T. Alexander, M. A.)

I. IT WAS CHRIST'S END IN EXECUTING HIS MEDIATORY OFFICE TO GLORIFY GOD.

1. What is it to glorify God? (Psalm 86:11; Revelation 4:11).(1) Not to add glory to Him (Psalm 8:1; Psalm 106:2).(2) But to declare the glory that is in Him (Matthew 5:16; Matthew 15:31; John 12:28; John 16:14).

2. This was Christ's end (John 7:18).(1) Not His own glory (John 8:50; Hebrews 12:2).(2) Not ultimately man's happiness (Philippians 1:11; Philippians 2:11), for —

(a)God does all things for His own glory (Psalm 46:10; Proverbs 16:14).

(b)All creatures are bound to glorify Him (Leviticus 10:3; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 4:11).

(c)His glory is the best end (Romans 11:36).

3. How did Christ glorify His Father? (John 14:13) —(1) By declaring His holiness (ver. 11).(2) By showing forth His praise (Matthew 11:25).(3) By the works He did in His name (John 10:25; John 11:40).(4) By the occasions He gave others to bless and praise God (Luke 17:18; Luke 18:43; Philippians 1:11).(5) By teaching His disciples to ascribe all glory to Him (Matthew 6:13).(6) By the holiness of His life (Matthew 5:16).(7) By the manner of His death (John 21:19; Philippians 2:8, 11).(8) By the conquest thereby obtained over the devil (Hebrews 2:14).(9) By His glorious resurrection and ascension (Romans 1:4; Luke 24:51-53).

4. Uses —(1) Comfort to believers, that their salvation is for God's glory (1 Timothy 2:4).(2) Exhortation to follow Christ in glorifying God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

(a)In your thoughts (Proverbs 12:5; Isaiah 55:7).

(b)In your affections (Galatians 5:24; Colossians 3:2, 3).

(c)In your words (James 3:6-9).

(d)In your actions (1 Peter 2:12).

II. CHRIST HAS FINISHED THE WORK WHICH GOD GAVE HIM TO DO (John 4:34).

1. What was this work? The recovery of fallen man (1 Timothy 2:6).(1) To this end the Father accepted Him as our ransom (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21).(2) He, to capacitate Himself for this great work, assumed our nature and became man (John 1:14; 1 Timothy 1:15).(3) Being thus made man, the Father exacted of Him (Isaiah 61:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:6) —

(a)An entire obedience to His laws (Hebrews 7:26).

(b)To undergo suffering for sin (Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:9).(4) By complying with such terms Christ ejected our redemption (Hebrews 4:15; Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 1:30, 31).

2. How did Christ finish it?(1) As to all sorts and kinds, He died and suffered (Philippians 2:8).(2) As to all parts, everything required.(3) As to all degrees, His obedience was perfect (1 Peter 2:22); and His sufferings were infinitely meritorious (1 John 2:2; Acts 20:28).(4) As to all the times of obedience, He continued in all things (Galatians 3:10).

3. What benefits accrue to us hereby?(1) We are redeemed from all evil (Isaiah 33:22; 1 Peter 3:13).

(a)From the wrath of God (Romans 5:9).

(b)From the power of Satan (John 16:11; 1 John 3:8).

(c)From the prevalency of sin (Acts 3:26).

(d)From the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13).

(e)From eternal torments (Romans 8:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:10).(2) Instatement in all good (Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 3:22).

(a)In the love of God (Romans 5:1).

(b)In a justified estate (Romans 3:24).

(c)In the power of holiness (1 Peter 1:18).

(d)In a title to eternal happiness (John 14:2).

III. WE, IN IMITATION OF CHRIST, OUGHT TO FINISH THE WORK WHICH GOD HAS GIVEN US TO DO (1 Peter 2:21; 1 Corinthians 11:1).

1. To glorify God.(1) By acknowledging our dependence on Him, and honouring Him accordingly (Psalm 86:9).(2) By discovering His glory and perfections one to another (Psalm 9:11).(3) By blessing and praising Him (Psalm 86:12; Luke 5:25; 2 Corinthians 9:13).(4) By confession of sins (1 John 1:9; Jeremiah 13:16).(5) By a dedication of the whole man to Him (1 Corinthians 6:20).(6) By being fruitful in holiness (John 15:8).

2. Why should we finish this work? This is the end —(1) Of our coming into the world (Psalm 149:2; Proverbs 16:4; Revelation 4:11).(2) Of our being endowed with rational souls capable of this work (Job 35:10, 11; Acts 17:26, 27).(3) Of our preservation, and all the blessings we receive from Him (Acts 17:28; Hebrews 1:3; Psalm 107:8).(4) Of all other works He enables us to do (Matthew 5:16; 1 Corinthians 10:31).(5) Of the gracious manifestations of His will to us (1 Peter 2:9).(6) Of the glorious hope set before us (Colossians 1:27, 28; Hebrews 7:19).

3. How may we finish this work? We must celebrate —(1) His omnipresence and omniscience by acknowledgement (Psalm 139:7, 8), by suitable behaviour (Psalm 16:8), by sincerity in all our ways (Job 11:11; 2 Corinthians 1:12).(2) His omnipotence, by praying to Him (Ephesians 6:18), by depending on Him (Romans 4:20, 21), by fearing Him (John 4:24; Isaiah 8:13), and humbling ourselves before Him (Isaiah 2:10-12).(3) His wisdom, by admiring it (Romans 11:33).(4) His sovereignty by submitting to it (1 Samuel 3:18).(5) His goodness, by loving Him (Deuteronomy 6:5), longing for Him (Psalm 42:1, 2), rejoicing in Him (Philippians 4:4).(6) His veracity, by believing Him (1 John 5:10), and so with His other perfections, mercy, justice, spirituality, &c. Conclusion: Glorify God because —

1. He made you.

2. What you have He gave you.

I. A WORK GIVEN TO CHRIST, AND UNDERTAKEN BY HIM-salvation — work. It was a prescribed work, a definite work, a complete work. We have a summary of it in Daniel 9:24.

1. He was "to finish the transgression." He did that by fulfilling the law, which demanded two things — obedience, and, failing obedience, satisfaction. Christ met the law in both ways.

2. He was "to make an end of sin." To seal it up (Revelation 20:3).

3. He was "to make reconciliation for iniquity;" by giving up Himself, "the just for the unjust."

4. He was "to bring in an everlasting righteousness" Himself, the righteousness of God (Romans 3:21; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

5. He was to "seal up the vision and prophecy;" that is, "to consummate, ratify, and fulfil them;" to secure all their precious promises, and to preserve them for His people — because a seal protects and preserves.

II. THIS WORK CHRIST FINISHED. Redemption is finished, the types and the shadows finished, forgiveness sealed and finished, the separation which sin had made between the sinner and God, and between the members in the body of Christ, finished, the distance annihilated, those who were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

III. THIS WAS NO LIGHT WORK. All the angels in heaven could not have accomplished it (Isaiah 59:16).

1. It was no insufficient work; the Lord Jesus left nothing for any to do.

2. It was no disappointing work; it did not disappoint the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Ghost, and it will not disappoint you (Romans 10:11).

3. It was no uncertain work; some people seem to think as if its completion depended upon whether they consented or not.

4. It is no unsatisfying work; try it!

5. It was no unnecessary work; without it no sinner could be saved; you cannot get to heaven by any other way, you cannot approach God in any other name; do not talk about your works, prayers, intentions, charity: — "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," &c.

(M. Rainsford.)

If any of you should die to-day, could you say to God, "Lord, here is my life work. Thou didst send me into life with a handful of seeds, and here is my heart, like a garden, full of flowers"?

(H. W. Beecher.)

I. CHRIST'S FINISHED WORK.

1. It is true of all men in a sense that they must finish the work given them to do. It may be well done or ill done, but we must each of us weave into the web of human story that bit of the pattern, be it dark or bright, which has been allotted to us. But though we have to finish our task, it may be anything but a finished piece of work for all that. The true soul looking back on its past cannot think but its life has been a poor thing after all. It is a thing of patches and broken ends, of wasted powers, opportunities lost, and the result is a lame and blemished offering that I am ashamed of, as I well might be.

2. But consider how entirely different the attitude of Christ is here. Though like us, having the same burden, and the same life of faith by which to direct His steps, and coming so near to us, yet what a gulf lies between Him and us in virtue of this one fact, that He was wholly without sin. Hence, when He comes to the brink of life, He can look back without one regret, and say, "I have finished the work," &c., so finished it that it needs no supplement, that it will tolerate no amendment. It had been given Him to reveal the Father, and He had discovered to us the brightness of His glory, &c. It had been given to Him to show us the path of life, and through the world's thorns and briers. He had walked on straight and undefiled in the way everlasting. It had been given to Him to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows, and with every human sympathy He had reached out and laid hold on all the ills of men, and made them all His own. It had been given Him to make His soul an offering for sin, and He was waiting, ready to be offered up. There was nothing which He undertook which He had not fulfilled, no opportunity given Him which He had failed to use. It looks, indeed, a broken life, when we think how brief it was, yet it was the only whole life ever lived on earth.

3. What encouragement lies for us in this, and how it helps to assure our heart before God. The glory which He claimed as His due is to be paid to Him in His people; it was for them that He finished His work, it is for them that He asks His reward. And as He had no misgivings about His right, no more should we when we are pleading in His name.

II. THE PRAYER (ver. 5). It must have been a strange thing, even to those who had accompanied Him so long, to listen to those words. No saying of Christ contains a suggestion of stronger and grander importance than this.

1. Jesus in the solemn simplicity of prayer takes it on Him to speak to the Eternal Father about a time when as yet there was neither heaven nor earth, and as it were reminds His Father that even then He was not companionless, neither did Divine love shrivel into mere self-love. And the strange thing is to think of Him who called Himself the Son of Man calmly recalling these mysterious communings as part of His personal experience.

2. And now, as to the nature of that glory whose restoration He prays for.(1) We are apt, in a somewhat carnal way, to picture for the risen Lord that kind of regal magnificence which has always been the ideal of Eastern monarchs. Their notion of glory is to absorb to themselves all power and praise, and then to withdraw into privacies of undisturbed delight where toil and trouble may not enter, nor the cry of the afflicted or the groan of the oppressed. Christ never wore, nor wished to wear, such a crown, and was more glorious even in His crown of thorns than He would be with such honours. It was a true song the angels sang at Bethlehem, "glory to God in the highest" when God was lying there in the stable; and to exchange the grandeur of that humility for any kind of state and magnificence would be to fall away from the reality of greatness and to get mere empty show and display.(2) What, then, was that glory? We read of the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," and the "Lamb foreordained from the foundation of the world." Words like these remind us that, far back in a past eternity, the spirit of the Son was the same as now. His was an eternal spirit of obedience, sacrifice, and love. Because of this the Father loved Him and delighted in Him; this was His honour, to be the symbol and the revelation of Divine love.

3. That is the one side of the medal, and the other presents exactly the same picture. The heavens have now received Him, but heaven is partly opened to show us what He now is; "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" is exalted still as a slain Lamb. There is change of place and circumstances, but no change of spirit. There are songs of praise sung to Him, there are crowns put upon His head, there are crowns east at His feet, but He is still the slain Lamb to whom honours and dignities are nothing except as giving Him power to work out the purpose of His life. His new power is only the means of new services, and His glory is to give us repentance and remission of our sins. It is as if the Cross were planted between the two eternities, whether we look backward or forward, it is the same glorious vision we behold.

III. WHATEVER GLORY CHRIST ASKS IS FOR HIS PEOPLE'S SAKE (ver. 10). He desires to realize it in them. The holy angels, and all the saints who have washed their robes, &c., cannot help singing, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain," &c. But He turns from them all to His Church, and the thought of His heart is, "Father, let Me be glorified in them." The reward He sought and still seeks is that we should obtain His spirit; that we should be able to finish our work as He finished His, that He may be able to say of us one day, "Well done good and faithful servant." In a measure, it depends upon us whether the longing of Christ's soul is to be satisfied or not; He would be glorified in us, but if we are full of envy and malice and hatred, He is not glorified, He is dishonoured in us; He would be glorified in us, but if we are carnally-minded and selfish, caring only for the treasures that corrupt and perish, we do not glorify, we bring reproach upon Jesus. He would be glorified in us, but if we are slack in His work, counting His service a burden, He is not glorified in us, and He may well be ashamed to call Himself our God. But we are His glory, and crown, and rejoicing when in meekness, love, patience, righteousness, &c., we are doing in this world as He did; dead to it and laying up for ourselves the treasures which are unseen and eternal. See to it that you are going to be a crown of rejoicing to Him, and not a fresh crown of thorns.

(W. C. Smith, D. D.)

These are words which no other man who has ever left this world has dared to say, or could say. Even the best men say, when they realise their approaching death, "I would that I might have lived to complete this work." Or, more often, "I feel as if my whole work were just beginning!" Or, oftener yet, "I have done nothing!" The only perfect work is Christ's. Has anything in nature fulfilled all its purpose? Is any rose without a blemish? Is any pleasure — is any affection — all it could be? Does He not "charge His angels with folly?" and are not "the heavens unclean in His sight?" The ancient artists, in a true sense of the incompleteness of all which a human hand could ever do, were wont to inscribe on their highest works not "he painted it;" or "he sculptured it;" but "he was painting it." To Christ only, of all that ever trod this earth, it belongs to say, "I have finished." What then was this "work?"

I. TO BE A MODEL MAN. Therefore, as His great type and fore. runner, David, went through almost all the vicissitudes of human life that he might write the Psalms, that keystone to every heart — so Christ passed through so many chapters of life, and filled so many relations, that He might be a Pattern to every one.

II. TO BE A TEACHER. Therefore He is called "The Word," for as a word conveys mind to mind, so Christ conveys the mind of God to the mind of man. With this end in view, He was always changing the letter of law into its spirit; making the obedience at once far more strict, and infinitely more free.

III. TO BE A SACRIFICE FOR SIN. This vast "work" Christ "finished" on the cross, so "finished" that it does not require or admit one iota of addition on your part. The worst thing you can do in the world is to treat that as unfinished! The unbelief in the finished work — giving God the lie, disparaging the work of Christ, and "limiting the Holy One of Israel" — is a greater sin than all the guilt for which you may be now wishing and doubting whether you are forgiven.

IV. TO BE THE MYSTICAL HEAD OF A MYSTICAL BODY. As such He died, rose, ascended. And every believer is a member in that mystical body. Therefore, believer, your death is past, and your resurrection and ascension are sure.

V. TO GLORIFY GOD. The two in His mind stand as one. And nothing has ever reached its resting-place till it rests there. This only is final — and the final is the test of everything — "Does it glorify God."

(J. Vaughan, M. A.)

1. We naturally link with these words Christ's last words (John 19:30). When men come to die, the mind naturally reviews the past and forecasts the future. As Paul lay awaiting death, he looked over the past and his mind rested with satisfaction on the fact that he had fought a good fight, &c. Then he looked forward, and the outlook was bright. "There is laid up for me a crown." As Jesus was brought face to face with death He looked back to see what He had done, and forward to see the final outcome of His life-work, He cried, "It is finished."

2. Those granite columns in our cemeteries are parables of human life. Over some graves the pillar rises furl and high, signifying a completed life. Over other graves the column is broken off abruptly, half way or near the top. Many a man's career in this world is like those broken columns. Men are naturally anxious to bring their undertakings to a successful, completion before they die. But how many fail! The field is left halt ploughed The author is called away when his book is only partially written. The mother dies before the children are grown. Die when man may, he generally leaves something unfinished. But it was not so with our Lord. He had been sent of God to do a certain work, and He early apprehended it. "I must be about My Father's business." In this work He never faltered.

I. EVERY MAN HAS A WORK TO DO FOR GOD IN THIS WORLD, and should find it out and do it. "The latest gospel," says Carlyle, "is, know thy work and do it." Fill the place God has ordained you to fill. Alas! many never consider the meaning and purpose of their life. Suppose you should see an angel flying through space and you should haft him, "Whither bound?" and he should answer back, "Nowhere." Suppose you should signal a ship on the sea and say, "Whither bound?" and the answer came back, "Nowhere." How many in life are like that.

II. THE SECRET OF EVERY GREAT AND TRUE LIFE LIES IN GRASPING THIS TRUTH — e.g., Moses and Paul. William, Prince of Orange, laboured in the conviction that God had called him to his special work, and that he must finish it before be died. Oliver Cromwell realized the same truth. To those who were convened to judge the king he said, "If any one had voluntarily proposed to me to judge and punish the king I should have looked upon him as a prodigy of treason, but since Providence and necessity have imposed this upon me, I pray heaven to bless your deliberations." On his death-bed he prayed, saying, "Lord, Thou art my witness, that if I still desire to live, it is to glorify Thy name and to complete Thy work." Columbus was inspired to heroic endurance by the same conviction. "Man," he said, "is an instrument that must work until it breaks in the hand of Providence, who uses it for His own purposes." General Gordon's magnificent life was inspired by the same conviction. Nothing was created in vain. Every created object in the wide universe, from the mote that floats in the sun. beam to the archangel that serves next the throne, has a place and a work in the plan of the Creator. It is man's highest privilege and first duty to discover what God's plan or purpose of life for him is. To find that out and do it is to live to some purpose. "He always wins who sides with God." Some say, "This is all true of the great ones of the earth, but my life is so insignificant that I cannot believe that God has any special work for me to do." No life is insignificant or worthless. The smallest cog in the smallest wheel of the great manufactory has its place to fill and work to do.

III. DO NOT UNDER-ESTIMATE YOUR LIFE'S WORTH AND WORK. "Your life is worth something to God. Multitudes of men and women fail in duty because they under-estimate their worth. What is one star among the myriads above? What is one leaf or blade of grass to the million forms of vegetable life that mantle the earth with beauty? But let us not be oppressed with the thought of our littleness. A human soul is the highest of all created things. Man has a mind that, in some measure, can comprehend the vastness of creation. To man God has given dominion over all works. So that there is nothing great in the world but man, and nothing great in man but mind or soul. Do not think little of your place and work in God's vast universe. It makes little difference what work is assigned us of God so long as we do that work faithfully and well.

IV. A MAN'S BEST WORK IS OFTEN THAT WHICH GROWS OUT OF WHAT HE BEGAN. Look at the engine that George Stephenson used in 1825. What a poor affair it is alongside of those magnificent engines of modern make. And yet that old crippled engine was the mother of them all. What you do may be insignificant in itself, but out of that may grow a work that will bless a world. The seed you plant may grow a mighty tree, whose wide branches may shelter the weary and whose rich fruit may feed the hungry long after you have passed away. Here is a merchant prince. He is forward in every good work. You inquire into his life, and this is the story: "In early days I was brought up among the poor and profane of a great city. I was induced to enter a mission school. My teacher was a gentle Christian woman. What she was and did and said touched my heart and waked up my better nature. I would give thousands to-day to know where she is, that I might thank her." The mission teacher went home many a night with a sore discouraged heart. What surprise of joy there will be in heaven when the faithful workers meet there, for the first time, the results of their work on earth.

V. THERE IS A DIVISION OF LABOUR. This is of God's ordaining. To one man God has given the talent of invention, to another he has given the skill of the artizan, to others musical faculties, eloquence, aptness for commercial life, or medicine. Each should cultivate and develop his special faculty, feeling that his work is God-given. If God should send His angels to this world and commission the one to rule a kingdom and the other to plough a field or sweep a room, and if each did the work assigned them, they would each be equally rewarded and commended by Him who sent them. Robert Browning teaches this truth in that little poem, "The Boy and the Angel." This view dignifies labour of every kind. Here is a blacksmith welding together links of a great chain. He does his work faithfully and well. His work is a part of his religion. Years go by. The old blacksmith is dead and forgotten. A ship is on the sea and a wild storm is raging. The anchor is dropped. The safety of the whole ships crew and passengers depend on the chain that holds the anchor. All through the dark night and the wild storm the ship is held fast and sure. At last, when the storm is ended all gather on deck and with glad and reverent heart join in hymns of thanksgiving to God for deliverance. Yes, praise God for safety and praise God because that old God-fearing blacksmith put his conscience in the chain he made for the cable. Heaven will disclose heroes and heroines whom this world never dreamed of. Multitudes of them will come from humble homes and obscure corners.

VI. LET US SEE TO IT THAT WE FULFIL THE PURPOSE OF OUR EXISTENCE. They tell us that it is a serious thing to die; it is a more serious thing to live. Sad beyond expression will it be, to pass from this earth, so crammed with opportunity of usefulness, to the judgment-seat of Christ with our God-given work unfinished, and at last compelled to face the terrible fact that life is done and life's great work undone. It were better never to have had an existence than having it, fail in fulfilling the Divine purpose of our being.

(J. B. Silcox.)

People
Jesus, Disciples
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Along, Existed, Glorify, Glory, O, Ownself, Presence, Self, Thyself
Outline
1. Jesus prays to his Father.

Dictionary of Bible Themes
John 17:5

     1140   God, the eternal
     1412   foreknowledge
     2012   Christ, authority
     2018   Christ, divinity
     2051   Christ, majesty of
     2078   Christ, sonship of
     2525   Christ, cross of
     4909   beginning
     9121   eternity, nature of

John 17:1-26

     2360   Christ, prayers of
     8603   prayer, relationship with God

John 17:4-5

     1045   God, glory of
     2024   Christ, glory of

Library
October 10 Evening
After this manner . . . pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven.--MATT. 6:9. Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father.--My Father, and your Father. Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.--Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

August 10 Morning
I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but thou shouldest keep them from the evil.--JOHN 17:15. Blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.--Ye are the salt of the earth, . . . the light of the world.--Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is heaven. I also withheld thee from sinning against me. The Lord is faithful,
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

July 20 Morning
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.--JOHN 17:16. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.--In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.--That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Jesus of Nazareth . . . went about doing good, and
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

February 21 Morning
I am the Lord which sanctify you.--LEV. 20:8. I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people. And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine. Sanctified by God the Father.--Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.--The very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus . . . that he might
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 16 Morning
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.--JOHN 17:17. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.--Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul: discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 27 Morning
The glory which thou gavest me I have given them.--JOHN 17:22. I saw . . . the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.--These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.--Upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness . . . of a man above upon it. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

November 13 Evening
Through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.--EPH. 2:18. I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one. Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

January 1 Morning
This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,. . . I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.--PHI. 3:13,14. Father, I will that they . . . whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me.--I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.--He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

May 4 Evening
I have glorified thee on the earth.--JOHN 17:4. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.--I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them.--This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

January 25 Evening
The spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.--ROM. 8:15. Jesus . . . lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, . . . Holy Father, . . . O righteous Father.--He said, Abba, Father.--Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.--For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints and of the household of God. Doubtless thou
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

February 12 Morning
They shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels.--MAL. 3:17. 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. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am: that
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

December 31. "I Pray not that Thou Shouldst Take them Out of the World, but that Thou Shouldst Keep them from the Evil" (John xvii. 15).
"I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from the evil" (John xvii. 15). He wants us here for some higher purpose than mere existence. That purpose is nothing else than to represent Him to the world, to be the messengers of His Gospel and His will to men, and by our lives to exhibit to them the true life, and teach them how to live it themselves. He is representing us yonder, and our one business is to represent Him here. We are just as truly sent
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

November 5. "I in Them, and Thou in Me" (John xvii. 23).
"I in them, and Thou in Me" (John xvii. 23). If we would be enlarged to the full measure of God's purpose, let us endeavor to realize something of our own capacities for His filling. We little know the size of a human soul and spirit. Never, until He renews, cleanses and enters the heart can we have any adequate conception of the possibilities of the being whom God made in His very image, and whom He now renews after the pattern of the Lord Jesus Himself. We know, however, that God has made the human
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

December 11. "I Pray not for the World, but for Them" (John xvii. 9).
"I pray not for the world, but for them" (John xvii. 9). How often we say we would like to get some strong spirit to pray for us, and feel so helped when we think they are carrying us in their faith. But there is One whose prayers never fail to be fulfilled and who is more willing to give them to us than any human friend. His one business at God's right hand is to make intercession for His people, and we are simply coming in the line of His own appointment and His own definite promise and provision,
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

The Folded Flock
I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am; that they may behold My glory.'--JOHN xvii. 24. This wonderful prayer is (a) for Jesus Himself, (b) for the Apostles, (c) for the whole Church on earth and in heaven. I. The prayer. 'I will' has a strange ring of authority. It is the expression of His love to men, and of His longing for their presence with Him in His glory. Not till they are with Him there, shall He 'see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied.' We
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Christ's Summary of his Work
'I have declared onto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.'--JOHN xvii. 26. This is the solemn and calm close of Christ's great High-priestly prayer; the very last words that He spoke before Gethsemane and His passion. In it He sums up both the purpose of His life and the petitions of His prayer, and presents the perfect fulfilment of the former as the ground on which He asks the fulfilment of the latter. There is a singular
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

The Intercessor
'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: As Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

'The Lord Thee Keeps'
...They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.'--JOHN xvii. 14-16. We have here a petition imbedded in a reiterated statement of the disciples' isolated position when left in a hostile world without Christ's sheltering presence. We cannot fathom the depth of the mystery of the praying Christ, but we may be sure of this,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

The High Priest's Prayer
'Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; 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. And the glory which Thou givest Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 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
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: St. John Chaps. XV to XXI

Sixteenth Day. Holiness and Truth.
Make them holy in the Truth: Thy word is Truth.'--John xvii. 17. 'God chose you unto salvation in sanctification and belief of the Truth.'--2 Thess. ii. 12. The chief means of sanctification that God uses is His word. And yet how much there is of reading and studying, of teaching and preaching the word, that has almost no effect in making men holy. It is not the word that sanctifies; it is God Himself who alone can sanctify. Nor is it simply through the word that God does it, but through
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

Seventeenth Day. Holiness and Crucifixion.
For their sakes I sanctify myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.'--John xvii. 19. 'He said, Lo, I am come to do Thy will. In which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all. For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.'--Heb. x. 9, 10, 14. It was in His High-priestly prayer, on His way to Gethsemane and Calvary, that Jesus thus spake to the Father: 'I sanctify myself.' He had not long before spoken
Andrew Murray—Holy in Christ

The Plenary Inspiration of Every Part of the Bible, vindicated and Explained. --Nature of Inspiration. --The Text of Scripture.
Thy Word is Truth. I THANKFULLY avail myself of the opportunity which, unexpected and unsolicited, so soon presents itself, to proceed with the subject which was engaging our attention when I last occupied this place. Let me remind you of the nature of the present inquiry, and of the progress which we have already made. Taking Holy Scripture for our subject, and urging, as best we knew how, its paramount claims on the daily attention of the younger men,--who at present are our hope and ornament;
John William Burgon—Inspiration and Interpretation

August the Twenty-Fourth the Lord's Body
"I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do." --JOHN xvii. 1-11. This quiet confession is in itself a token of our Lord's divinity. The serenity in which He makes His claims is as stupendous as the claims themselves. "Finished," perfected in the utmost refinement, to the last, remotest detail! Nothing scamped, nothing overlooked, nothing forgotten! Everything which concerns thy redemption and my redemption has been accomplished. "It is finished!" "And now ... I come to Thee." The visible
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling Year

The Cure of Evil-Speaking
"If thy brother shall sin against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear, take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he will not hear them, tell it to the Church. But if he does not hear the church, let him be to thee as an heathen man and a publican." Matt. 18:15-17 1. "Speak evil of no man," says the great Apostle: -- As plain a
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

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