SERMON XXXVII.
That they all may he one ; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe thai thou hast sent me. — John XVII. 21.
Having proved the point, I shall examine why Christ should be so
44 SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. [SeR. XXXVII.
earnest to have the world convinced, that he should put this into his prayer, ' That the world may believe that thou hast sent me.' The reasons are, partly in respect of himself, partly in respect of the elect, partly in respect of the world. First, In respect of himself.
1. It is much for Christ's honour that even his enemies should have some esteem of him, and some conviction of his worth and excellency. Praise and esteem in the mouth of an enemy is a double honour, more than in the mouth of a friend. The commendations of a friend may seem the mistakes of love, and their value and esteem may proceed from affection rather than judgment. Now it is for the honour of God and Christ that his enemies speak well of him, and that they give an approbation to the gospel. Many spake highly of God that never received him for their God. Nebuchadnezzar was forced to confess, Dan, ii. 47, ' Of a truth it is that your God is a God of gods, and Lord of kings;' Deut. xxxii. 31, ' Their rock is not as our rock, even our enemies themselves being judges.' His enemies speak well of him. The church commendeth God, as they have cause, ' Who is like unto the Lord our God in all the world ? ' But now they might seem par- tial, and therefore God 'will extort praise from his enemies; those that are apt to think of Christ as an impostor and seducer shall see the reality of their religion. It was an honour to Christianity ' that the people magnified the apostles,' though they had not a heart to run all hazards with them, Acts v. 13.
2. It is for the clearing of his process at the last day. The heathens, being convinced by God's works, are dvairokoyrjroi,, ' with- out excuse,' Eom. i. 20 ; ' God hath not left himself without a witness,' Acts xiv. 17. So those that live within the sound of the gospel, though they do not come under the power and dominion of the christian faith, yet they have such a conviction of it as shall tend to their condemna- tion at the great day. All those whom the Lord arraigns at the last day, ' they will all be speechless,' and have nothing to say for them- selves, Mat. xxii. 12. At the day of judgment our mouths will be stopped, as being condemned in our own conscience ; then the books shall be opened ; and one of the books opened is in the malefactor's keeping, the sinner's conscience ; they are avTOKaraKpnoi. God's providence is justified by the conviction of their own hearts. It is a question which is the greatest torment, the terribleness of the sentence which shall be passed upon wicked men, or the righteousness of it. You know the apostle tells you, ' When the Lord Jesus shall come in flames of fire, to render vengeance to the world,' 2 Thes. i. 7, 8, there are two sorts of persons he shall meet with, — ' Them that know not God," that is, heathens, which did not take up what they might know of God from the course of nature, from the knowledge of their eye and ear ; and ' Them that obey not the gospel,' them that lived within the sound of the gospel, and heard much of it ; they were con- vinced, they had some kind of knowledge and belief of it, yet they would not let their hearts be subject, and give up themselves to it. It clears the Lord's process ; if men continue ignorant and opposite to the grace of the gospel, by this means they are left without excuse ; therefore, that he might be clear when he judgeth, the world shall be
VeR. 21.] SERMONS UPON JOHN XVII. 45
convinced and brought to a temporal persuasion ' that thou hast sent me ;' the old conviction that remaineth with them shall justify God.
Secondly, With respect to the elect ; for all is for the elect's sake. The world would not stand if it were not for their sakes. Time would be at an end but that God hath some;more that are not called, and the number of the elect is not fully accomplished. When all the pas- sengers are taken in, the ship launcheth forth into the main ; so we should all launch forth into the ocean of eternity if all the elect were taken in. He prays with respect to them, ' that the world may be- lieve.' How doth this concern them ?
1. Their conviction conduceth to others' conversion. Many of the Samaritans possibly would not believe if Simon Magus, their great leader, had not been convinced : Acts viii. 10, ' To him they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.' If the word can gain such a one but to the conviction of the truth, though he be an enemy to it in his heart, yet it is a mighty means to further the conversion of the elect. The conviction of the world, it is a rational inducement, it is a door by which the gospel entereth. It is no small advantage that Christianity hath gotten such esteem as to be made the public profession of the nations ; that potentates have counted it the fairest flower in their crown to be styled the defender of the faith, the catholic king, the most chris- tian king. By all kind of means is this to be promoted, to bring men to a general confession. Though it be no great benefit to them as to the world to come, yet it is a help to the elect, that they are under such a conviction ; for if Christianity were still counted a novel doc- trine, a hated doctrine, and were publicly hated, maligned, opposed, and persecuted, what would become of it ?