of aid even to the end, which characterize him now, maketh intercession for us.

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And mark the tone and spirit of this prayer. With what earnestness and yet assurance of success he pleads. When he asks, he knows that he shall not ask in vain; he "has power with God, and can prevail." The result of his application for his people is not doubtful. "I "I pray for them," says he; he pours forth the fulness of his soul in earnest entreaty on their behalf, while he also proves that he pleads, "not as uncertainly "-" Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me, where I am." Oh what a privilege to have such warm, such powerful intercession for us!

And farther consider the word with which our Lord commences his prayer, "Father." He had on a former occasion taught his disciples to come before God with this language, "Our Father, which art in heaven;" and now by using this same manner of address he establishes a blessed community of feeling and interest between himself and his people. We are thus not only led to know one who is our Father, even God; but when we behold our beloved Master thus addressing God, we have the delightful assurance pressed on our minds that he is our elder brother, that his Father is our Father.

And I would ask, what is it that gives the charm to the believer's prayer; what is it that imparts to it such heavenly joy, such unutterable fulness, such abounding consolation; what is it that causes his heart to overflow in prayer with love, and gratitude and adoration-it is when he can say, "Thou, my Father, art the Father of my Lord Jesus Christ." It is this which makes a dull prayer a lively one-it is this which chases the cloud away from the troubled spirit-it is this which changes the moanings

of a deserted and desolate heart into the breathings of devout thankfulness and praise-it is this which releases. the affections of the sin-bound soul, and lends them wings for heaven-it is this which deepens conviction, spreads light, sanctifies knowledge, and pours balm into the spirit's wounds;-when we bend the knee before the throne of One who is our Father, and who calls him Son,-who though partaker of our nature, is yet at his right hand.

Let us proceed, however, with the prayer before us. "Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son." Our Lord was glorious from all eternity-" glorious in holiness, fearful in praises: " but in time he was to be glorious in suffering, in doing the will of God, and accomplishing the mighty work of man's salvation. The Father had before now glorified his Son. When an angel from the courts of heaven announced the conception of the " Holy" child, then the Father glorified the Son; when the Spirit descended on him at his baptism, and the voice of the Father was uttered from heaven, then he glorified his Son; when Jesus stood by the grave of Lazarus, and called forth the deadwhen he took the ruler's daughter by the hand, and she arose when he delivered her son alive to the widow at the gates of Nain, then the Father glorified the Sonwhen disease fled at his approach, when at his word the blind received their sight, the tongue of the dumb sang, and the lame man leaped as an hart, then the Father glorified the Son;-when Jesus walked upon the waters, and stilled the raging tempest-when he drove out the unclean spirits-when he resisted in the wilderness the "craft and subtlety of the devil"-when he showed himself in glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, then the Father glorified the Son;-when he walked in the midst of hatred, scorn and reproach, and yet challenged all to

convince him of one sin-when he displayed in every part of his life and character, that he was "holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners," then the Father glorified his Son.

Notwithstanding all that was past, however, in the view of the consummation of his work, and his most terrible sufferings, he yet prays, "Father, glorify thy Son." And how fully this prayer of the Redeemer was answered, the inspired record largely testifies. When he stood in the Garden of Gethsemane, with his few trembling followers, and the servants of the persecuting High Priest, overawed by the majesty of his presence, instead of laying hands upon him, went backward, and fell to the ground, then the Father glorified the Son; when he was brought before the tribunal of the High Priest, and the false witnesses failed to attach any guilt to him, then the Father glorified the Son; when his poor erring disciple, the wayward but affectionate Peter, denied his Master in the presence of his enemies, and when a single glance from his neglected Lord recalled him to a sense of his duty and his guilt, then the Father glorified the Son. At the last scene too of his sufferings, the Father glorified his Son. When the Centurion cried out, "Truly this was the Son of God; "— when the veil was rent, and the rocks were driven asunder, when the preternatural darkness hung over the devoted city of Jerusalem, then the Father glorified his Son;— when upon the cross, and in the midst of his shame, the penitent Thief said unto him, "Lord, remember me," then the Father glorified his Son; and when he arose from the dead, and stepped forth before the bewildered gaze of his followers-when he went up in the clouds of heavenwhen his Spirit descended on his followers, according to his promise, then the Father glorified the Son. And yet

again, when all the ransomed ones shall be gathered home -when the church shall be complete in all its parts, and the spiritual temple finished-when the Saviour and the friend of a lost and guilty people shall stand in the midst of that "multitude whom no man can number," and be the "first-born among many brethren;" the chief among the countless thousands of his saints, every one of whose many sins has been quenched in his love, every one of whose glories is reflected from his glory—when the wide vault of heaven shall re-echo the eternal song, "Worthy the Lamb; "-when every heart shall feel his love, and every tongue tell of all his wondrous works;— when every harp shall be tuned to his praise, every palmbranch waved to his honour, and every being throughout the universe acknowledge him as King of kings, then shall the prayer of our beloved Master be finally and through eternity answered, "Glorify thy Son."

"That thy Son, also," he proceeds, "may glorify thee." Every glory on the path, the work, the character of the man Christ Jesus, darted its beams back to heaven. Was the Saviour glorified in his works? "My Father doeth the works," was his declaration. Was he glorified in his words? "Never man spake like this man"- He was ready to reply, "The words which I speak, I speak not of myself." All that the Saviour did, all that he laboured and bled and died to accomplish was to "the glory of God the Father." "I seek not mine own glory," was his stedfast purpose; and therefore every honour he received was transferred by him to the Father. In the economy of grace there is a reflex glory from the Son to the Father, and from the Father to the Son. The one cannot receive glory, without the same glory resting on the other. And here is the way by which the Son is to glorify the Father,

That, as thou hast given him power over all flesh, he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." The Father glorifies the Son by giving him power over all flesh, and the Son glorifies the Father by using this power in giving eternal life to those whom the Father gives him.

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"And this," adds the Saviour, "is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." What does he mean here by the expression "know?" It is not merely an acquaintance with the abstract attributes or perfections of God-it is not the mere knowledge of the existence of a God, and the acknowledging of his power-it is to know him, “And Jesus Christ whom he has sent ;" to know him, in and by the person of his Son; to recognize in Jesus the indwelling of "all the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and to know the only true God "in the face of Jesus Christ;" not in a cold and speculative spirit, with only the mind and intellect satisfied as to the correctness of the lineaments, but with a heart impressed with their beauty and their loveliness. Thus we may be said to know a mere acquaintance; we recognize the form of his countenance, and are satisfied of his identity-but the heart may be utterly unaffected. It is different however with the friend; the mind not only rests with complacency on the well-known and faithfully-treasured records of his form and character, our affections too are stirred up towards him. His image is in fact on our hearts as well as our memories. We know him by the emotion of love, as well as by the perception of intelligence. And such is the knowledge our Lord speaks of here; it is the knowledge of love, the knowing God as a friend, the impression on the heart of the greatness of his love, the glory of his justice, and the beauty of his holiness.