John 17

John 17:1

Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee.

O Father, as thou hast hitherto mightily declared me for thy Son, by those wonderful miracles that have been wrought by me; so now, that the hour of my suffering and death approacheth, do thou more glorify thyself by me, in that, by this bitter passion of mine, mankind shall be redeemed, Satan and all the powers of hell defeated: even while I must undergo this pain and ignominy, do thou shew forth thy almighty power, in acknowledging and magnifying the infinite virtue of this my all-sufficient redemption; that herein I, thine Eternal Son, the Mediator betwixt thee and mankind, may also glorify thee in this work of atonement, which I shall make betwixt thee and men, and the full glorification of all mine with thee.

John 17:3

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

And this is the sure and certain way to attain eternal life: even this, to know thee, who art the Only True God; and Jesus Christ thy Son, whom thou hast sent into the world, to be the Redeemer thereof.

John 17:4

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

I have, by my doctrine and miracles, made thee known to men on earth; and now I am upon the point of finishing that work of man’s redemption, by my death and passion, which thou hast enjoined me to do.

John 17:7

Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

And now they have known, both by my information and by their own experience, that all the power that I have, and all the great acts that I have done, are from thee, and from that perfect and indivisible union which I have with thee.

John 17:9

I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

O Father, I require nothing of thee, but what I know may and doth well stand with thine eternal counsel: I pray not therefore for the world of unbelievers, and rebellious wicked men; I pray for that special charge, that peculiar flock, which thou hast committed unto me: they are thine; and thou hast professed to have a dear interest in them, and an infinite care of them.

John 17:10

And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

There is that perfect union between thee and me, that those, which pertain to the one, are no less peculiarly proper unto the other: our right in all the elect is inseparable: all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am, together with thee, glorified in them.

John 17:11

Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

Keep thou, through thy mighty power and gracious protection, those, whom thou hast given me, that they may be joined together in the unity of the Spirit; and may be so of one heart, as thou, O Father, and I, are of one nature and essence.

John 17:12

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.

While I was visibly with them in the world, I was ready upon all occasions to sustain, and comfort, and instruct them; and, as by the personal execution of that power of a Mediator, which thou hast committed unto me to preserve and keep them: even all those, whom thou gavest to my peculiar charge and attendance, have I yet more specially watched over and kept from the peril of temptations; so as not one of them is lost: only Judas, who was of old ordained to this condemnation, miscarrieth; not through any neglect of mine, but through his own wilful wickedness; so as in him is that Scripture fulfilled, which the Psalmist said of him long ago, Let his days be few, and let another take his office. Psalm cix. 8.

John 17:17

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Sanctify thou them, O Lord, and purge them from all evil and corrupt affections, by the power of thy Gospel: which is the word of truth, and the power of God to salvation to every believer.

John 17:19

And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

For their sakes I have sanctified and consecrated myself to this work of mediation, to become a holy and all-sufficient sacrifice unto thee; that the holiness of my perfect obedience might be derived unto them, that they, through this my word of truth, might be sanctified unto thee.

John 17:24

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.

O Father, it is the utmost of all my endeavours and desires, that all those faithful ones, whom thou hast given me, may enjoy the full participation of my glory; and that, for this end, they may be received up, at last, into that heavenly kingdom, whither I am going before them, and be there present with me for ever.