that which is of the greatest importance in prayer,that we give thanks unto God; and that, with an honouring thanksgiving, we extol and enumerate the blessings he has already bestowed upon us; as Christ does here, recounting those things which the Father had given him and bestowed upon him; whose example we ought also to imitate at this day, and say, 'O Almighty and dearest Father, thou hast given unto us thy precious and holy Gospel; wherein thou hast abundantly poured upon us unspeakable grace.' Then, are to be introduced prayers and a mention of our necessity, 'Grant therefore, O dearest Father, such a portion of grace, that we may hold fast the Gospel which thou hast thus communicated unto us, and may abide therein.' And then, we are to remember others in our prayers, That he would condescend to give his help unto all.'

In this way every prayer is to be offered up, even where it is on account of temporal necessities, and with this exercise of the graces; and also with confession, whereby we may confess that all the blessings which we enjoy are God's; for which cause also we ought to pray, that he would preserve and increase them both unto ourselves and others. This is the way of rightly entering upon prayer, and of making a proper access and approach whereby to gain the favour of God, that he might willingly and freely hear us. And an example of the same kind you will meet with also in another place, where he highly extols and preaches the Father, and speaks forth a great sermon in the midst of his prayer, as it were; as in Matt. xi. towards the end.

And thus he here begins,-" Father, glorify thy Son, that thy Son may also glorify thee." These words are in appearance so trifling and simple, that, in the judgment of human ears, they do not seem to be worth a straw, but who can by searching find out unto the full the weight of the matter contained in them, and the solemnity with which they were uttered by Christ? The meaning of them is, briefly, this; -'I entreat thee, O Father, to glorify me.' But not content with this he adds,—' that I also may glorify thee.'

To" glorify," signifies to praise, to extol, and to magnify and make of great fame; that his name and fame may become every where renowned, and may be spoken of and honoured by all. But in this expression, he shews in what a situation he is now placed, and with what a necessity he is now urged to put up this prayer. The hour, (as he would say,) is now approaching, and is at hand, in which I am to suffer, and to die a death the most ignominious of all deaths; by which, all my renown, the splendour of my life and name, and my dignity, will be obscured and darkened. For Christ had now done great things, had preached with great authority, had wrought most miraculous signs, and had given a splendid proof of his excellency, so that he in just right deserved to be praised, honoured, and adored by all. Whereas, he meets with just the contrary: and instead of having honour and glory shewn and given unto him, he is loaded with ignominy and disgrace. For he is compelled to hang on the cross, to die between two thieves as the worst and most abandoned of malefactors that ever the earth produced, and to be treated with greater ignominy and turpitude than any criminal was

ever treated.

For the most part, the world has that feeling of humanity, that, when even the most depraved and desperate ruffians and murderers are led to punishment, there is no one who does not pity their state, grieve for their misery, and feel sorrow for them. But, Christ the Saviour of the world is the only one who is destined to see his death a matter of gratification and joy to all. Nor were the Jews, even when they had had all their hearts' desire in putting him brutally to death, satisfied after all. And, in a word, there was no one engaged in the scene, who did not think that the highest and most acceptable service would be done unto God, and the world reduced to safety and tranquillity, if this man were killed and taken out of the way. For they considered him to be the most pernicious and poisonous worm that ever was upon the face of the earth, and worthy to suffer every bitterness, affliction, and plague.-And this was indeed

thrusting that ever worthy, glorious, and great Man into darkness. Thus was Christ, the light and salvation of the whole world, to be received and honoured by the world! he was excommunicated and thrust out of the world like the worst of devils! And so it is even unto this day. The Jews still go on to fill up the measure of their fathers for they would rather bear any kind of bitterness, yea, even all the devils together, than hear the name of Christ and of his mother Mary mentioned.

And it fares the same with our Gospel. For there is no devil, no pest, no destruction, against which the Pope and his sects, together with all our enemies, are so much enraged, as against our Gospel and doctrine. These must be condemned, execrated, devoted to the furies, and excommunicated: so that nothing is to be esteemed more infamous, ignominious, and detestable, than Christ and the Gospel. This is what Christ says, "the hour is come," or, the hour is at hand. For he prays with such a feeling, and so urgently, as though he were now hanging on the cross, and wished to say, I am now in the midst of ignominy and death, and lie buried in the deepest darkness; now the time is come for thy delivering me, that thou mightest exalt me and raise me to honours, now that the light of my glory is so utterly darkened, and the world tramples me under their feet, and all hate and spurn me, so that I have no help or counsel whatever, but thy caring for me and undertaking my cause. For, that I may escape from the jaws of death and from the power of the devil, who is the prince of darkness, an eternal, omnipotent, and divine power must be put forth.

And how was this glorification accomplished? Surely, when the Father raised him again from the dead, laid the devil at his feet, and made him King and Lord over all creatures; and when he ordained all these things to be spread abroad and proclaimed by the Gospel, to the intent that they might be openly shewn to the whole world. And even as this once took place at the feast of the passover, so will it be preached unto the end of time, that it might be known unto our

children and our children's children throughout all generations.

That thy Son also may glorify thee.

Here, in this particular expression in the exercise of his graces, "thy Son," he at once discloses himself; wherein he confesses and glories, that he is the Son of God, and has all things from the Father; which same particular he shortly after unfolds in more full expressions. He is the Son of God from everlasting, in the same majesty, power, and honour: but now, in the world, he is in exile, in infirmity, in death, in ignominy, as though deserted by his Father and by all men. The world plies all its powers, efforts, endeavours, and labour, and the devil directs all his arts and devices, to bring him to nothing, and that no remembrance of him might remain; as it is said in the Psalm, " When shall he die, and his name perish?" thinking, that all was at an end with him when he hung on the cross and was dying. And therefore it is, that he thus prays, I know,

Father, that I came into the world by thy mission, and that therefore, thou wilt not suffer thy Son to remain buried in his darkness. Wherefore be thou pleased to glorify me, not that I might thereby please myself, but do it for thine own honour and glory.'

For he was for that end sent into the world, that he might proclaim the praise and glory of the Father far and wide with the loudest voice. And hence, he alone is that Man, by whose preaching the Father is to be known and honoured. If he therefore had not been honoured, the dignity and glory of the Father also would have been obscured and extinguished; nay would have remained buried with him in disgrace and ignominy; (for whatever the Son suffers, the same also must the Father bear and suffer;) and from this, the world would have taken an occasion to revile and accuse. Lo! where is now this God, and his Father in whom he gloried with so much boasting! How excellently has he upheld him!' Therefore, that there might be no place for such reviling and blaspheming, the strength and power of the

Father were to be displayed in glorifying his Son; and the Son was to be made manifest in so much honour, that the whole world, with all their prepared ignominy and disgrace, should be compelled to fall down at his feet and adore him!

And at length, the Father is glorified by the Son. That is, he is made known and preached, as being able to bring help in infirmity, in death, in ignominy; and, out of them to bring strength, life, honour, and glory; which then began to be done when Christ arose from the dead unto his glory, and ascended into heaven, and sent down his Holy Spirit; and which still continues to be done by his permitting his Gospel to be preached far and wide, as long as the world shall stand. For this is the office of the Holy Spirit-to manifest by the preaching of the Gospel, how great and unspeakable things God has done for us through Christ-that he has delivered us from sin, death, and the power of the devil, and has received us into his grace and protection, and wholly given himself unto us!

And such a glorifying or magnifying were just as necessary for the Father, as for our Lord Jesus Christ himself. For if we consider the Father, we shall see that he was as deeply immersed in darkness and hidden from the world, with respect to the glory and honour of his name, as Christ himself was when hanging upon the cross. For what was the state of things at that time in the world? All was full of impious and blasphemous idolatries; so much so, that there were some who worshipped the sun and the moon, and even fishes and birds; and the most holy name of the divine Majesty had to endure seeing adoration paid to his creatures, but none to himself. Nay, the Jews even, who were called the people of God, practised their idolatries under his name, by trusting in their own works and righteousness.

And the same is going on at this day for every one forms to himself a God according to his own imaginations, under various kinds of a false worship of God, and each under a form of godliness: not to mention