VeR. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. 39
But how is this the fruit of the mystical union ? The fruits of the mystical union are four, to this purpose : —
1. HoHness: ' Whosoever is in Christ is a new creature,' 2 Cor. v. 17. Sanctification is a fruit of union : 1 Cor. i. 30, ' For of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.' And it is a means to convince the world : Mark v. 16, ' Let your light so shine before men, that they, see- ing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven ; ' 1 Peter ii. 12, ' Having your conversation honest amongst the Gentiles, that whereas they speak evil of you as of evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visita- tion ; ' 1 Peter iii. 1, ' Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, that if any obey not the word, they also may, without the word, be won by the conversation of the wives.'
2. Unity : 1 Cor. xii. 13, ' For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body.' To endear us to himself, and to one another as fellow- members, Christ would draw us into one body : John xiii. 35, ' By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,' Aspice ut se vmtuo diligunt christiani! Oh ! the mighty charity that was among the primitive christians : Acts iv, 32, ' And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul.' Divisions in the church breed atheism in the world.
3. Constancy in the profession of the truth : Jude 1, * To them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.' We are preserved in Christ as wine in the hogshead, being in the cabinet where God's jewels are kept. Now this is taking with the world.
4 Special care of God's providence. God keepeth them as the apple of his eye : Dan. ii. 47, ' Of a truth it is that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing he could reveal unto you this secret ; ' 1 Cor. xiv. 25, ' And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest, and so falling down on his face, he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth ; ' Dan. iii. 28, * Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God ; ' Dan. vi. 27, ' He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions ; ' Josh. ii. 11, ' And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you ; for the Lord your God is God in heaven above,. and in earth beneath ; ' Acts v. 12-14, ' And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people, and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch ; and of the rest durst no man join him- self to them : but the people magnified them, and believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.'
Doct. That the general conviction which the lost world hath of the truth of Christianity is a very great blessing to the church. Christ here prays for it, ' Let them be one ; ' and why ? that the lost world, who are left out of his prayer, ' may believe that thou liast sent me ; ' that
40 SEKMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SeR. XXXVI.
they might not count Christ to be an impostor, nor the doctrine of the gospel a fable. And what Christ prayed for he had promised before ; for as good men of old did suit their prayers to their foregoing sermons, 80 did our Lord Jesus Christ suit this prayer to his foregoing sermon made to his apostles. What did he promise to them ? John xvi. 8-11, ' If I depart, I will send the Comforter unto you ; and when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin , because they believe not on me. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.' This is a difficult place ; the meaning is this : — In the context you will find tlie apostles were troubled about Christ's departure, and their going out into the world to preach the gospel, for they apprehended their service difficult ; their master (for whom they stood) despised, and looked upon as a seducer and mock king among the Jews, their message very unpleasant, as contrary to the carnal interests of men. Now for a few weak men to be left to the hatred and opposition of a proud, malicious, ambitious world, they that were to preach a doctrine contrary to the lusts and interests of men, and go forth in the name of a master that was despised and hanged on a tree, what shall they do ? 'Be not troubled,' saith our Saviour. He lays in many comforts, and among them, that the world shall be con- vinced : ' The Spirit shall convince the world of sin,' &c. Observe —