thrusting that ever worthy, glorious, and great Man into darkness. Thus was Christ, the light and salvation of the whole world, to be received and honoured by the world!--he was excommunicated and thrust out of the world like the worst of devils! And so it is even unto this day. The Jews still go on to fill up the measure of their fathers for they would rather bear any kind of bitterness, yea, even all the devils together, than hear the name of Christ and of his mother Mary mentioned.

I am

And it fares the same with our Gospel. For there is no devil, no pest, no destruction, against which the Pope and his sects, together with all our enemies, are so much enraged, as against our Gospel and doctrine. These must be condemned, execrated, devoted to the furies, and excommunicated: so that nothing is to be esteemed more infamous, ignominious, and detestable, than Christ and the Gospel. This is what Christ says, "the hour is come," or, the hour is at hand. For he prays with such a feeling, and so urgently, as though he were now hanging on the cross, and wished to say, now in the midst of ignominy and death, and lie buried in the deepest darkness; now the time is come for thy delivering me, that thou mightest exalt me and raise me to honours, now that the light of my glory is so utterly darkened, and the world tramples me under their feet, and all hate and spurn me, so that I have no help or counsel whatever, but thy caring for me and undertaking my cause. For, that I may escape from the jaws of death and from the power of the devil, who is the prince of darkness, an eternal, omnipotent, and divine power must be put forth.

And how was this glorification accomplished? Surely, when the Father raised him again from the dead, laid the devil at his feet, and made him King and Lord over all creatures; and when he ordained all these things to be spread abroad and proclaimed by the Gospel, to the intent that they might be openly shewn to the whole world. And even as this once took place at the feast of the passover, so will it be preached unto the end of time, that it might be known unto our

children and our children's children throughout all generations.

That thy Son also may glorify thee.

The

Here, in this particular expression in the exercise of his graces, "thy Son," he at once discloses himself; wherein he confesses and glories, that he is the Son of God, and has all things from the Father; which same particular he shortly after unfolds in more full expressions. He is the Son of God from everlasting, in the same majesty, power, and honour: but now in the world, he is in exile, in infirmity, in death, in ignominy, as though deserted by his Father and by all men. world plies all its powers, efforts, endeavours, and labour, and the devil directs all his arts and devices, to bring him to nothing, and that no remembrance of him might remain; as it is said in the Psalm, "When shall he die, and his name perish?" thinking, that all was at an end with him when he hung on the cross and was dying. And therefore it is, that he thus prays, I know, O Father, that I came into the world by thy mission, and that therefore, thou wilt not suffer thy Son to remain buried in his darkness. Wherefore be thou pleased to glorify me, not that I might thereby please myself, but do it for thine own honour and glory."

For he was for that end sent into the world, that he might proclaim the praise and glory of the Father far and wide with the loudest voice. And hence, he alone is that Man, by whose preaching the Father is to be known and honoured. If he therefore had not been honoured, the dignity and glory of the Father also would have been obscured and extinguished; nay would have remained buried with him in disgrace and ignominy; (for whatever the Son suffers, the same also must the Father bear and suffer;) and from this, the world would have taken an occasion to revile and accuse.-- Lo! where is now this God, and his Father in whom he gloried with so much boasting! How excellently has he upheld him!' Therefore, that there might be no place for such reviling and blaspheming, the strength and power of the

Father were to be displayed in glorifying his Son; and the Son was to be made manifest in so much honour, that the whole world, with all their prepared ignominy and disgrace, should be compelled to fall down at his feet and adore him!

And at length, the Father is glorified by the Son. That is, he is made known and preached, as being able to bring help in infirmity, in death, in ignominy; and, out of them to bring strength, life, honour, and glory; which then began to be done when Christ arose from the dead unto his glory, and ascended into heaven, and sent down his Holy Spirit; and which still continues to be done by his permitting his Gospel to be preached far and wide, as long as the world shall stand. For this is the office of the Holy Spirit-to manifest by the preaching of the Gospel, how great and unspeakable things God has done for us through Christ-that he has delivered us from sin, death, and the power of the devil. and has received us into his grace and protection, and wholly given himself unto us!

And such a glorifying or magnifying_were_just as necessary for the Father, as for our Lord Jesus Christ himself. For if we consider the Father, we shall see that he was as deeply immersed in darkness and hidden from the world, with respect to the glory and honour of his name, as Christ himself was when hanging upon the cross. For what was the state of things at that time in the world? All was full of impious and blasphemous idolatries; so much so, that there were some who worshipped the sun and the moon, and even fishes and birds; and the most holy name of the divine Majesty had to endure seeing adoration paid to his creatures, but none to himself. Nay, the Jews even, who were called the people of God, practised their idolatries under his name, by trusting in their own works and righteousness.

T

And the same is going on at this day for every one forms to himself a God according to his own imaginations, under various kinds of a false worship of God, and each under a form of godliness: not to mention

those open and atrocious blasphemies against God with which the world is wholly filled. Wherefore, there is the greatest need to pray that the Father may be glorified; that is, that he may be known by the preaching of the Gospel, and be thereby honoured as he desires and ought to be honoured; that all erroneous doctrines and false worshippings of God, together with all human traditions and dreams, may cease and be abolished; and that the Gospel alone may prevail and shine.

From this view of things you may see, how the heart of the Lord Christ burns, and with what ardent feelings of his inmost soul he utters this prayer.-It grieves him that the most holy name of God should be obscured in such darkness, and that the whole world should lie in unbelief and blindness of mind and so deeply does he grieve, that he desires speedy death, and to endure every kind of insult and ignominy, so that the honour of the Father's name might be vindicated, and his glory brought forth to the light.

But, as I have already observed, the Father cannot be glorified, unless the Son be first glorified. That is, unless the Holy Spirit first come and preach the Gospel, without which, no one can know the Father. For, before that, he can only be preached and known as a rewarder and dealer in good works, and as one who is to look upon us according to our religion and holiness. But this is to praise, not the Father, but ourselves and our own merits. Whereas, when Christ desires to be glorified by the Father, and to glorify the Father in return, it is, that men, leaving all confidence in themselves, should glory only in his grace and benefits.

Such words as these, therefore, does Christ speak for our sakes, to strengthen our faith against the greatest offence that can be opposed to the Gospel in the world. For it brings no small grief to Christians, that they hear and see the name of God blasphemed and insulted on every side, while he himself also permits his Christians to be oppressed by persecutions and driven to every extremity, and so carries himself as though he could not bring them any help, or would not,

in order that the world might fiercely triumph over them and shout the song of victory. Hence it is, that Christ not only prays for himself, but that he might be glorified in all and by all that believe in him, and that he might glorify the Father: who, being gained over and softened by this prayer, still now and then displays the same power in Christians which he openly manifested in Christ himself; to the intent, that as he was glorified by him, so also he might be glorified by us.

Therefore although we may suffer many afflictions, and may die for his Word's sake, yet, through this ignominy of death, this turpitude, and this bitterness, we shall pass away into eternal glory. On the other hand, our enemies, although they now rule and lord it over all things, shall at last be cast down from on high, and shall ignominiously go away into eternal disgrace. And this has been abundantly fulfilled in the most evident examples; and the same has been testified by experience down from the times of the apostles in many martyrs. And John Huss also was most ignominiously condemned in the council of Constance, and put to death; yet he has obtained these honours;-the Word which he taught has openly come forth and now shines throughout the world, condemning and shaming Popery with all its honours, pomp, and riches.

And the same also shall come upon all our enraged enemies who wish to suppress the Gospel and to extirpate Christians, a great part of whom they have already burnt and murdered. For, kings and potentates much more powerful and fierce than they are, have come to destruction, and have been hurled headlong to perdition for the Gospel's sake, which they would not endure; in a comparison with whom, all the princes of this day would appear but as the common beggars of the street. How often was the Roman empire terribly laid waste, plundered, harassed, and overthrown, at the times when it thought itself the most powerful and most secure, while it knew not how to cease from blaspheming and raging, and venting its fury against Christians, and from shedding their blood? And all those tyrants and perse