ON 17:24-26 {At the close of this marvelous chapter, there are two desires of peculiar sweetness, both in themselves and in their connection with each other. The one is in verse 24, and the other in verse 26. In the former the Lord desires for His own, that they may be with Him where He is, but observe for what end-"that they may behold my glory which thou hast given me, for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world."
Now, in looking forward to the blessedness of being with Christ, do we not often think of that only which more directly concerns ourselves? Yet we shall always find that our fullest blessing is linked with the glory of Christ, and this, when apprehended, gives real enlargement to the heart. The Lord had just said, " the glory which thou gavest me I have given them," but He does not stop there. It is not enough for Christ (however great for us) that we should share the glory which He has earned, and the Father has given to Him, as man.
Nor is it enough for the heart that knows Christ. Will it be nothing to see Him acting in all the plenitude of His power in subduing all things, in reigning over all things, in dispensing peace and bringing in everlasting blessing, and receiving in return the glory and honor due to His blessed name? Surely He counts upon the affections of our hearts in this.
Nay more, the very glory He sets us in will be but the sphere where we may behold His glory given, according to the love of the Father, before the world was, and to find our delight in it. In all things He must have the pre-eminence, and so it will be in the day of glory. We have a sample of it in the transfiguration. It was His glory that was manifested. Moses and Elias "appeared in glory" with Him, but it was His glory that characterized the scene, and arrested the attention of the disciples. "They saw his glory and the men that stood with him”
In Rev. 5 it is the Lamb that is worthy to take the book, and it is the Lamb that receives equal honor with Him that sits upon the throne, according to the purpose of God expressed in John 5:22, 2322For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 23That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. (John 5:22‑23). The elders, no doubt, enjoy the nearest place in this scene, but it is not their own glory they celebrate, but His.
And again, of the heavenly city in Rev. 21 we read, "the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light [or lamp] thereof." Thus the city, with its precious stones and "street of pure gold as it were transparent glass," is the suited and glorious vessel for the display of the glory, but the light which gives it all its luster is not its own. God and the Lamb are in it in the very closest way, yet in a glory distinctly their own.
We see, then, that however near grace may bring us, and however fully we may be blessed with and in Christ, we are never blessed on a level with Him. On the contrary, our very nearness to Him is, as here expressed, that we might behold His glory. Indeed, this itself is an additional blessing, and at the same time a witness to the grace that has fitted such unworthy and feeble creatures for the enjoyment of such a display. Glorified with Christ, and in nearness to Him, it will be our unspeakable delight to behold Him shining out over the new creation, according to the counsels of the Father's love, like the sun in the firmament throughout an endless day. In short, He will be the object for sight in that day even as now He is the object for faith.
A word in passing as to how the Lord uses the glory. We are familiar with His words "I have glorified thee on the earth," but will it be the same in the glory? Hear His prayer-"Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee." He has no thought for Himself, and no desires apart from the Father. Even as to the objects of His love, He will not put forth His power apart from the Father (ver. 2), and when He delivers up the kingdom at the end, He takes still, as man, the place of subjection, that God may be "all in all." What a lesson for us! How often the day of prosperity proves too much for the saint! Take Hezekiah for an example. No sooner is he relieved of the pressure than he shows his treasures to the messengers of the King of Babylon. But the Lord Jesus fills the throne of glory as perfectly as He trod the path of humiliation, seeking only and always the Father's glory. May we learn of Him!
But we must hasten to notice the remaining desire of the Lord in verse 26. When we speak of the glory we speak of that which is in a sense external and can be displayed. But there is an inner circle of blessing which cannot be displayed. It is the Father's love. We may behold love in its actings, but love itself is not a thing of outward display, though in a very real way known by the one who is in the enjoyment of it. Now the Lord seeks for His own this inner circle of inexpressible joy, and for this end He declares the Father's name. It is not the love of God to sinners that is here made known, but the Father's love-that which the Son ever abode in, and which He desires should be "in" us.
It must, however, be carefully noted that the prayer is on behalf of those "whom thou hast given me out of the world," and who, as to nature and calling, "are not of the world even as I am not of the world." If unfaithful to the place we thus have before the world, we cannot expect to enjoy the love here spoken of, and which is really the solace provided for the heart amidst the trial and pressure when the world is outside. Hence, "if any man love the world the love of the Father is not in him."
Surely we may say, if the sufferings abound, so does the consolation, yet, forgetting this, how often is an easier path sought than the one known to be right, or, yet worse, an effort made to find relief in the things of the world. All this is unbelief. The Lord has marked out the path for us, and has given us His own resources in it. If a separated people, He means that we should be a satisfied people, and who that has, in the smallest measure, tasted the sweetness of this love can doubt the sufficiency of the provision made for this purpose? It must ever be remembered that if we are not a satisfied people we will not long remain separated from the world. The Israelites no sooner turned from the Lord than their thoughts reverted to Egypt, and worldliness in a saint is the sign of an unsatisfied heart, and springs from it.
The glory, then, is before us-that which we are pressing on towards, and the moral power of which is to be displayed in us more brightly day by day as we draw nearer to it. Yet when there, with Him and like Him, His glory will still fill our gaze and delight our hearts. Meanwhile, as the present portion of the heart for its refreshment and sustainment, amidst the difficulties and sorrows of the path of faith, we have the Father's love. In this connection we must ever remember that, if the Father's name is made known that His love may be in us, He adds, "and I in them,"-there will be fruitfulness and testimony.
The Lord give us to answer a little more to the desires of His heart, and to enjoy the resources He has so freely provided for us; not turning aside to hew out cisterns, "broken cisterns that can hold no water." D. D. C.
If we are in Christ before the Father, we must remember that Christ is in us before the world.