IN A MEDIATORY SENSE; so they are proper to Christ;
1. “I have glorified Thee.” Christ glorified God
(1) By His person (Heb_1:3).
(2) By His life and perfect obedience (Joh_8:46; Joh_8:49).
(3) By discovering God’s mercy (Joh_1:14).
(4) By His miracles (Mat_9:8; Mar_15:31).
(5) By His passion.
(6) In His doctrine.
God was much glorified in the Creation (Psa_19:1), in His providences; but mostly in Christ, redemption being the most noble work with which He was ever acquainted. In creation, the wisdom, goodness, and power of God appeared; in providence, the justice, mercy, and truth of God; but these in Christ in a more raised degree.
2. “I have finished the work,” &c., implies
(1) The submission, faithfulness, and diligence of Christ Php_2:7; Joh_13:1).
(2) The completeness of our redemption (Heb_10:14; Rom_8:1).
(3) The Divine appointment of His work (Psa_40:7-8).
II. IN A MORAL SENSE in which they apply to us.
1. What it is to glorify God upon earth, &c.
(1) What? God is glorified passively. So all things shall at length glorify Psa_76:10; Rom_3:5; Rom_3:7). This is no thanks to them, but to God’s wise and powerful government. We glorify God actively when we set ourselves to this work, and make it our end and scope. Thus actively to glorify God is
(a) To acknowledge His excellency upon all occasions (Psa_50:23; Psa_145:10).
(b) To resign our wills to His. Verbal praises merely are but an empty prattle (2Th_1:11-12). God is most glorified in the creatures’ obedience. First, to His laws, when we study to please Him in all things (Col_1:10). Second, to His providence. It is an honour to Him when we are contented to be what God will have us to be, and can prefer His glory before our own ease, His honour before our plenty Php_1:20).
(c) To entertain the impressions of His glory upon us, i.e., when we grow most like Him, and show forth His virtues (1Pe_2:9; Eph_1:12). A Christian’s life is a hymn to God; his circumspect walking proclaims God’s wisdom; His awfulness and watchfulness against sin, His Majesty; His cheerful and ready obedience, His goodness; His purity, God’s holiness.
(d) To do those things which tend to the honour of God’s name, and to bring Him into request in the world (1Pe_2:12; Mat_5:16; chap. 15:8).
(e) To promote His interests in the world. This is the method of the Lord’s prayer, “Hallowed be Thy name;” and then, “Thy kingdom come.”
(f) To do the work which He hath given us to do. First, the duty of our particular relations. If poor, I glorify God by my diligence, patience, innocence, contentedness; if rich, I glorify God by a humble mind; if well, I glorify God by my health; if sick, by meekness under His hand; if a magistrate, by my zeal (Neh_1:11); if a minister, by my watchfulness; if a tradesman, by my righteousness. From the king to the scullion, all are to work for God. Second, the duty of our vocation and calling. Every Christian hath his way and place, some work which God gave him.
(g) To make God the great scope and end of our lives and actions. In our ordinary actions (1Co_10:31). So in acts of grace.
(2) Where? On earth.
(a) Where so few mind God’s glory, but seek their own things Php_3:20).
(b) Which is the place of our trial? Many expect to glorify God in heaven, but take no care to glorify God on earth. But here where the danger is there is the duty and trial (Mat_10:32).
(3) How? “I have finished,” &c.
(a) It is work that glorifieth God; not empty praises, but a holy conversation (Mat_5:16; Psa_50:23; Joh_15:8).
(b) Every man has his work. Life was given to us for somewhat; not merely that we might fill up the number of things in the world, as stones and rubbish: not to grow in stature, like the plants; nor merely to taste pleasures, like the beasts. God gave man faculties of reason and conscience to manage some work and business for the glory of God and his own eternal happiness. The world was never made to be a hive for drones and idle ones.
(c) This work is given us by God. By His word. There is no course of service good but what is agreeable to the word of God (Psa_119:105; Tit_2:12). By His providence, which ruleth in everything that falleth out. But how should a man glorify God in his place and station wherein God hath set him? Be content with it; God is the Master of the scenes, and appoints which part to act. With patience digest the inconveniences of your calling.
(d) This work must be finished and perfected (Rev_2:10; 2Ti_4:7-8).
2. Why this should be our great care?
(1) This is the end why all creatures were made (Rom_11:36; Pro_16:4).
(2) God has a right and interest in us (Rom_14:7-8; 1Co_6:19-20).
(3) We shall be called to an account (Luk_19:23).
(4) Great benefit will come to us by it. God noteth it (chap. 17:10), and rewards it (Mat_19:28).
(5) This ennobles a man.
(6) God will have His glory upon you, if not from you, for He is resolved not to be a loser (Pro_16:4; Lev_10:3).
(7) When we come to die this will be our comfort, Christ hath left us a pattern here; and Hezekiah (Isa_38:3), and Paul (2Ti_4:7-8). (T. Manton, D. D.)
The heavenly glorification
1. Our Lord presents as a plea that He might be glorified--the fidelity and completeness with which He had discharged His trust. This petition rises beyond that in the first. In the first He prayed for glorification on earth, that He might be borne triumphantly, as the Divine testimony to His success. Here He prays for glorification in heaven, that He might be raised to that position of honour which by Divine right belonged to Him from eternity.
2. It is wonderful and encouraging that the Son of God should not only pray, but should use arguments for His requests. Thus, as in all things, He was made like unto His brethren. Notice
I. CHRIST’S DECLARATION CONCERNING HIS COURSE ON EARTH--“I have glorified Thee,” &c.
1. His mission was a work; not a course of influence, or teaching only, but of glorious action, viz., the redemption of mankind from the power and consequences of sin.
2. This work was the result of Divine arrangement. Long before His advent He had declared, “Lo, I come,” &c. (Psa_40:7-8; cf. Heb_10:7). So that Father, Son, and Spirit, were alike interested in the accomplishment of redemption. Yet the work was specially personal to Christ. Great undertakings require great qualifications. Hence this work was laid on the “strong Son of God,” who alone could accomplish it.
3. This world was the scene or sphere of the Saviour’s work. In heaven God is ever glorified. How fitting, then, and necessary, that God should be glorified where He had been dishonoured. And mark what emphasis is laid on the personal element. Adam fell from his original innocence, and thus failed in glorifying God, and all his posterity have followed in his downward course. Jesus, the second Adam alone, could say, “I have finished the work of God, I have glorified the Father.”
4. It is not difficult to see that the bearing of the Saviour’s course on earth was for the glorification of the Father, although at the same time it had its relation and design in regard to man. His course was a constant acknowledgment of God. The thought of the Father was always first. He connected all that He said and all that He did with the Father. Men’s minds were always directed by Him up to God. For the first time in history the Divine law, in all its extent and spirituality, found complete illustration and fulfilment. In Him we behold the personal revelation of God. In Him the brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express image of His person. Men beheld the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
5. Christ, however, speaks of the completion of His course before it was actually closed--“I have finished.” But it was virtually ended. Having asked to be glorified, He had no doubt of the issue. His active life of ceaseless beneficence and spotless innocence had run its course, and His work was accomplished. His words combine the profoundest humility with the loftiest dignity.
II. THE SAVIOUR’S REQUEST FOR HIS MEDIATORIAL CROWN IN HEAVEN (Joh_17:5). These words assume that Christ had an existence before His appearance on earth; and that in His pre-existence He had Divine glory; and that His true and eternal glory, when He became incarnate, was necessarily veiled. Now He prays that, having accomplished His enterprise, He may resume His majesty, and rise again to His glory in heaven. This glorification involved
1. The enthronement of His person, with the new element of humanity added to His Divine nature. As relating to our nature, this was a marvellous request, and what a stimulus it is for us! With what a dignity does it invest our nature! Christ’s love to humanity was so strong that He would not return to heaven without our nature.
2. The exhibition of His perfection. It was necessary that all the principalities and powers of heaven subject unto Him should see that His assumption of humanity brought no flaw to His infinite perfection; that His personal glory suffered no abatement from its new association. Hence, in the visions of the Apocalypse, we find angels and saints uniting in the new song of adoration to the Redeemer (Rev_5:13).
3. The establishment and triumph of His kingdom. If the end for which He took our nature were not realized, how could He be glorified? The complete success of His mission was essential to His glory with the Father. Hence, as this kingdom advances, and this principle triumphs, He is glorified on His throne. (J. Spence, D.D.)
Christ’s retrospect of life
Jesus brought honour to God
I. BECAUSE HE SO LIVED AS TO MAKE OTHER MEN THINK MORE ABOUT GOD. “Out of sight, out of mind” is the old adage; and because God is always invisible, therefore He is often forgotten. Whatever makes men think about God with reverence and gratitude thereby promotes His glory. In this sense, “the heavens declare His glory.” They suggest to men’s minds thoughts of His wisdom, power, and greatness. For service of this kind was there ever anything in the world like the words and deeds of Jesus? Jesus might not have mentioned the name of God, but do you think that you could have been in His presence one hour and not have bad your thoughts elevated Godward? Men saw Him heal the sick, raise the dead, &c.; was it possible for them to see and hear these things, and not recognize the power and love of God? The morality of Jesus’ teaching must have been a great power to startle men who had buried themselves in unmindfulness of the Most High. There was something in Jesus Himself that made men think of God. It is not possible for us to imitate the miracles of Christ; but it is possible for a man to manifest such a temper, that wherever he goes he will suggest thoughts of God.
II. BY HELPING MEN TO THINK OF GOD MORE CORRECTLY. We ofttimes make mistakes about each others’ character, and sometimes to their advantage. We give men credit for what they are not and have not. Bat no thought of ours ever goes beyond the truth about God. His character is nobler and greater than my best conception can be; therefore whatever helps me to see Him more perfectly, and corrects my mistakes about Him, promotes His glory. Was there ever anything in the world that had such power to clear the darkness that hid the glory of God, as the life and labour, the words and works of Jesus? Could men see and hear these things and help thinking better of God? Could they go on and not think of Him whose care is over all creation?
III. BY A CONSTANT RECOGNITION OF HIS AUTHORITY AND HELP. How careful He was to make men understand that He was not in the world to pursue His own plans, or to follow His own purpose! He called His miracles the works of the Father. The habit of thanking God for all things became a conspicuous feature in His character, as we learn from this fact--that by means of it two of His disciples recognized Him after He camefrom the dead. When men see in us this constant recognition of Divine authority, help, and mercy, then in our way we can say with Jesus, “I have glorified Thee on the earth.” Then, again, by His obedience to the Divine laws, His cheerful contentment with God’s dispensations, His unfaltering trust in God, Jesus glorified God. Conclusion:
1. It is easy to think of glorifying God in heaven, where every heart is pure; but Jesus said, “I have glorified Thee on the earth”--in life’s difficulties, trials, temptations--where sin abounds.
2. It is a simple contradiction for a man to call himself a Christian and not to have an increasing anxiety to regard God’s authority, submit to His will, give Him thanks for His kindness, and live to His praise and glory. (C. Vince.)
Christ’s a great work on earth
The Son glorified the Father on the earth by finishing the work which He had given Him to do. It was a great work. None but the Eternal Son could have finished it. The dignity of the eternal law, which man had broken, had to be vindicated and upheld; the full weight of an infinite curse had to be endured. Each of the sins of all His people, which cleaved to them as a leprosy, had to be borne and carried away. The prince of this world had to be met and conquered on his own ground, the battle-field of this world. All this work had to be done in the face of the full strength and opposition of hell and all the powers thereof; in face, and in spite of the apathy and indifference, the ignorance and folly of His own, and the rage and antagonism of the powers of this world. The work had to be done, moreover, in man’s nature. The nature that sinned behoved also to be the nature that suffered. (T. Alexander, M. A.)
The Messianic purpose
I. IT WAS CHRIST’S END IN EXECUTING HIS MEDIATORY OFFICE TO GLORIFY GOD.
1. What is it to glorify God? (Psa_86:11; Rev_4:11).
(1) Not to add glory to Him (Psa_8:1; Psa_106:2).
(2) But to declare the glory that is in Him (Mat_5:16; Mat_15:31; Joh_12:28; Joh_16:14).
2. This was Christ’s end (Joh_7:18).
(1) Not His own glory (Joh_8:50; Heb_12:2).
(2) Not ultimately man’s happiness (Php_1:11; Php_2:11), for
(a) God does all things for His own glory (Psa_46:10; Pro_16:14).
(b) All creatures are bound to glorify Him (Lev_10:3; 1Co_10:31; 1Pe_4:11).
(c) His glory is the best end (Rom_11:36).
3. How did Christ glorify His Father? (Joh_14:13)
(1) By declaring His holiness (verse 11).
(2) By showing forth His praise (Mat_11:25).
(3) By the works He did in His name (Joh_10:25; Joh_11:40).
(4) By the occasions He gave others to bless and praise God (Luk_17:18; Luk_18:43; Php_1:11).
(5) By teaching His disciples to ascribe all glory to Him (Mat_6:13).
(6) By the holiness of His life (Mat_5:16).
(7) By the manner of His death (Joh_21:19; Php_2:8; Php_2:11).
(8) By the conquest thereby obtained over the devil (Heb_2:14).
(9) By His glorious resurrection and ascension (Rom_1:4; Luk_24:51-53).
4. Uses
(1) Comfort to believers, that their salvation is for God’s glory (1Ti_2:4).
(2) Exhortation to follow Christ in glorifying God (1Co_10:31).
(a) In your thoughts (Pro_12:5; Isa_55:7).
(b) In your affections (Gal_5:24; Col_3:2-3).
(c) In your words (Jam_3:6-9).
(d) In your actions (1Pe_2:12).
II. CHRIST HAS FINISHED THE WORK WHICH GOD GAVE HIM TO DO Joh_4:34).
1. What was this work? The recovery of fallen man (1Ti_2:6).
(1) To this end the Father accepted Him as our ransom (Joh_3:16;2Co_5:19-21).
(2) He, to capacitate Himself for this great work, assumed our nature and became man (Joh_1:14; 1Ti_1:15).
(3) Being thus made man, the Father exacted of Him (Isa_61:1-3; 1Ti_2:6)
(a) An entire obedience to His laws (Heb_7:26).
(b) To undergo suffering for sin (Isa_53:6; 2Co Heb_2:9).
(4) By complying with such terms Christ ejected our redemption Heb_4:15; Rom_1:16; 1Co_1:30-31).
2. How did Christ finish it?
(1) As to all sorts and kinds, He died and suffered (Php_2:8).
(2) As to all parts, everything required.
(3) As to all degrees, His obedience was perfect (1Pe_2:22); and His sufferings were infinitely meritorious (1Jn_2:2; Act_20:28).
(4) As to all the times of obedience, He continued in all things Gal_3:10).
3. What benefits accrue to us hereby?
(1) We are redeemed from all evil (Isa_33:22; 1Pe_3:13).
(a) From the wrath of God (Rom_5:9).
(b) From the power of Satan (Joh_16:11; 1Jn_3:8).
(c) From the prevalency of sin (Act_3:26).
(d) From the curse of the law (Gal_3:13).
(e) From eternal torments (Rom_8:1; 1Th_1:10).
(2) Instatement in all good (Rom_8:32; 1Co_3:22).
(a) In the love of God (Rom_5:1).
(b) In a justified estate (Rom_3:24).
(c) In the power of holiness (1Pe_1:18).
(d) In a title to eternal happiness (Joh_14:2).
III. WE, IN IMITATION OF CHRIST, OUGHT TO FINISH THE WORK WHICH GOD HAS GIVEN US TO DO (1Pe_2:21; 1Co_11:1).
1. To glorify God.
(1) By acknowledging our dependence on Him, and honouring Him accordingly (Psa_86:9).
(2) By discovering His glory and perfections one to another (Psa_9:11).
(3) By blessing and praising Him (Psa_86:12; Luk_5:25; 2Co_9:13).
(4) By confession of sins (1Jn_1:9; Jer_13:16).
(5) By a dedication of the whole man to Him (1Co_6:20).
(6) By being fruitful in holiness (Joh_15:8).
2. Why should we finish this work? This is the end
(1) Of our coming into the world (Psa_149:2; Pro_16:4; Rev_4:11).
(2) Of our being endowed with rational souls capable of this work (Job_35:10-11; Act_17:26-27).
(3) Of our preservation, and all the blessings we receive from Him Act_17:28; Heb_1:3; Psa_107:8).
(4) Of all other works He enables us to do (Mat_5:16; 1Co_10:31).
(5) Of the gracious manifestations of His will to us (1Pe_2:9).
(6) Of the glorious hope set before us (Col_1:27-28; Heb_7:19).
3. How may we finish this work? We must celebrate
(1) His omnipresence and omniscience by acknowledgement (Psa_139:7-8), by suitable behaviour (Psa_16:8), by sincerity in all our ways (Job_11:11; 2Co_1:12).
(2) His omnipotence, by praying to Him (Eph_6:18), by depending on Him (Rom_4:20-21), by fearing Him (Joh_4:24; Isa_8:13), and humbling ourselves before Him (Isa_2:10-12).
(3) His wisdom, by admiring it (Rom_11:33).
(4) His sovereignty by submitting to it (1Sa_3:18).
(5) His goodness, by loving Him (Deu_6:5), longing for Him Psa_42:1-2), rejoicing in Him (Php_4:4).
(6) His veracity, by believing Him (1Jn_5:10), and so with His other perfections, mercy, justice, spirituality, &c. Conclusion: Glorify God because
1. He made you.
2. What you have He gave you.
3. He gave it for His glory.
4. The angels glorify Him.
5. He is highly offended in those who will not give Him glory Mal_2:2; Act_12:23).
6. Glorify Him, and He will glorify you (1Sa_2:30).
(Bp. Beveridge.)
I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do. Work
1. It is work that glorifies God.
2. Each one has his proper work assigned Him of God.
3. This work must be finished on earth.
4. To have finished this work is the most consolatory death-bed reflection. (W. H. Van Doren, D. D.)
Christ’s finished work
I. A WORK GIVEN TO CHRIST, AND UNDERTAKEN BY HIM-salvation work. It was a prescribed work, a definite work, a complete work. We have a summary of it in Dan_9:24.
1. He was “to finish the transgression.” He did that by fulfilling the law, which demanded two things--obedience, and, failing obedience, satisfaction. Christ met the law in both ways.
2. He was “to make an end of sin.” To seal it up (Rev_20:3).
3. He was “to make reconciliation for iniquity;” by giving up Himself, “the just for the unjust.”
4. He was “to bring in an everlasting righteousness” Himself, the righteousness of God (Rom_3:21; 2Co_5:21).
5. He was to “seal up the vision and prophecy;” that is, “to consummate, ratify, and fulfil them;” to secure all their precious promises, and to preserve them for His people--because a seal protects and preserves.
II. THIS WORK CHRIST FINISHED. Redemption is finished, the types and the shadows finished, forgiveness sealed and finished, the separation which sin had made between the sinner and God, and between the members in the body of Christ, finished, the distance annihilated, those who were afar off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
III. THIS WAS NO LIGHT WORK. All the angels in heaven could not have accomplished it (Isa_59:16).
1. It was no insufficient work; the Lord Jesus left nothing for any to do.
2. It was no disappointing work; it did not disappoint the Father, nor the Son, nor the Holy Ghost, and it will not disappoint you (Rom_10:11).
3. It was no uncertain work; some people seem to think as if its completion depended upon whether they consented or not.
4. It is no unsatisfying work; try it!
5. It was no unnecessary work; without it no sinner could be saved; you cannot get to heaven by any other way, you cannot approach God in any other name; do not talk about your works, prayers, intentions, charity: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” &c. (M. Rainsford.)
Life’s work should be completed
If any of you should die to-day, could you say to God, “Lord, here is my life work. Thou didst send me into life with a handful of seeds, and here is my heart, like a garden, full of flowers”? (H. W. Beecher.)
Christ’s reward His finished work
I. CHRIST’S FINISHED WORK.
1. It is true of all men in a sense that they must finish the work given them to do. It may be well done or ill done, but we must each of us weave into the web of human story that bit of the pattern, be it dark or bright, which has been allotted to us. But though we have to finish our task, it may be anything but a finished piece of work for all that. The true soul looking back on its past cannot think but its life has been a poor thing after all. It is a thing of patches and broken ends, of wasted powers, opportunities lost, and the result is a lame and blemished offering that I am ashamed of, as I well might be.
2. But consider how entirely different the attitude of Christ is here. Though like us, having the same burden, and the same life of faith by which to direct His steps, and coming so near to us, yet what a gulf lies between Him and us in virtue of this one fact, that He was wholly without sin. Hence, when He comes to the brink of life, He can look back without one regret, and say, “I have finished the work,” &c., so finished it that it needs no supplement, that it will tolerate no amendment. It had been given Him to reveal the Father, and He had discovered to us the brightness of His glory, &c. It had been given to Him to show us the path of life, and through the world’s thorns and briers. He had walked on straight and undefiled in the way everlasting. It had been given to Him to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows, and with every human sympathy He had reached out and laid hold on all the ills of men, and made them all His own. It had been given Him to make His soul an offering for sin, and He was waiting, ready to be offered up. There was nothing which He undertook which He had not fulfilled, no opportunity given Him which He had failed to use. It looks, indeed, a broken life, when we think how brief it was, yet it was the only whole life ever lived on earth.
3. What encouragement lies for us in this, and how it helps to assure our heart before God. The glory which He claimed as His due is to be paid to Him in His people; it was for them that He finished His work, it is for them that He asks His reward. And as He had no misgivings about His right, no more should we when we are pleading in His name.
II. THE PRAYER (Joh_17:5). It must have been a strange thing, even to those who had accompanied Him so long, to listen to those words. No saying of Christ contains a suggestion of stronger and grander importance than this.
1. Jesus in the solemn simplicity of prayer takes it on Him to speak to the Eternal Father about a time when as yet there was neither heaven nor earth, and as it were reminds His Father that even then He was not companionless, neither did Divine love shrivel into mere self-love. And the strange thing is to think of Him who called Himself the Son of Man calmly recalling these mysterious communings as part of His personal experience.
2. And now, as to the nature of that glory whose restoration He prays for.
(1) We are apt, in a somewhat carnal way, to picture for the risen Lord that kind of regal magnificence which has always been the ideal of Eastern monarchs. Their notion of glory is to absorb to themselves all power and praise, and then to withdraw into privacies of undisturbed delight where toil and trouble may not enter, nor the cry of the afflicted or the groan of the oppressed. Christ never wore, nor wished to wear, such a crown, and was more glorious even in His crown of thorns than He would be with such honours. It was a true song the angels sang at Bethlehem, “glory to God in the highest” when God was lying there in the stable; and to exchange the grandeur of that humility for any kind of state and magnificence would be to fall away from the reality of greatness and to get mere empty show and display.
(2) What, then, was that glory? We read of the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” and the “Lamb foreordained from the foundation of the world.” Words like these remind us that, far back in a past eternity, the spirit of the Son was the same as now. His was an eternal spirit of obedience, sacrifice, and love. Because of this the Father loved Him and delighted in Him; this was His honour, to be the symbol and the revelation of Divine love.
3. That is the one side of the medal, and the other presents exactly the same picture. The heavens have now received Him, but heaven is partly opened to show us what He now is; “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” is exalted still as a slain Lamb. There is change of place and circumstances, but no change of spirit. There are songs of praise sung to Him, there are crowns put upon His head, there are crowns east at His feet, but He is still the slain Lamb to whom honours and dignities are nothing except as giving Him power to work out the purpose of His life. His new power is only the means of new services, and His glory is to give us repentance and remission of our sins. It is as if the Cross were planted between the two eternities, whether we look backward or forward, it is the same glorious vision we behold.
III. WHATEVER GLORY CHRIST ASKS IS FOR HIS PEOPLE’S SAKE (Joh_17:10). He desires to realize it in them. The holy angels, and all the saints who have washed their robes, &c., cannot help singing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain,” &c. But He turns from them all to His Church, and the thought of His heart is, “Father, let Me be glorified in them.” The reward He sought and still seeks is that we should obtain His spirit; that we should be able to finish our work as He finished His, that He may be able to say of us one day, “Well done good and faithful servant.” In a measure, it depends upon us whether the longing of Christ’s soul is to be satisfied or not; He would be glorified in us, but if we are full of envy and malice and hatred, He is not glorified, He is dishonoured in us; He would be glorified in us, but if we are carnally-minded and selfish, caring only for the treasures that corrupt and perish, we do not glorify, we bring reproach upon Jesus. He would be glorified in us, but if we are slack in His work, counting His service a burden, He is not glorified in us, and He may well be ashamed to call Himself our God. But we are His glory, and crown, and rejoicing when in meekness, love, patience, righteousness, &c., we are doing in this world as He did; dead to it and laying up for ourselves the treasures which are unseen and eternal. See to it that you are going to be a crown of rejoicing to Him, and not a fresh crown of thorns. (W. C. Smith, D. D.)
The complete work
These are words which no other man who has ever left this world has dared to say, or could say. Even the best men say, when they realise their approaching death, “I would that I might have lived to complete this work.” Or, more often, “I feel as if my whole work were just beginning!” Or, oftener yet, “I have done nothing!” The only perfect work is Christ’s. Has anything in nature fulfilled all its purpose? Is any rose without a blemish? Is any pleasure--is any affection--all it could be? Does He not “charge His angels with folly?” and are not “the heavens unclean in His sight?” The ancient artists, in a true sense of the incompleteness of all which a human hand could ever do, were wont to inscribe on their highest works not “he painted it;” or “he sculptured it;” but “he was painting it.” To Christ only, of all that ever trod this earth, it belongs to say, “I have finished.” What then was this “work?”
I. TO BE A MODEL MAN. Therefore, as His great type and forerunner, David, went through almost all the vicissitudes of human life that he might write the Psalms, that keystone to every heart--so Christ passed through so many chapters of life, and filled so many relations, that He might be a Pattern to every one.
II. TO BE A TEACHER. Therefore He is called “The Word,” for as a word conveys mind to mind, so Christ conveys the mind of God to the mind of man. With this end in view, He was always changing the letter of law into its spirit; making the obedience at once far more strict, and infinitely more free.
III. TO BE A SACRIFICE FOR SIN. This vast “work” Christ “finished” on the cross, so “finished” that it does not require or admit one iota of addition on your part. The worst thing you can do in the world is to treat that as unfinished! The unbelief in the finished work--giving God the lie, disparaging the work of Christ, and “limiting the Holy One of Israel”--is a greater sin than all the guilt for which you may be now wishing and doubting whether you are forgiven.
IV. TO BE THE MYSTICAL HEAD OF A MYSTICAL BODY. As such He died, rose, ascended. And every believer is a member in that mystical body. Therefore, believer, your death is past, and your resurrection and ascension are sure.
V. TO GLORIFY GOD. The two in His mind stand as one. And nothing has ever reached its resting-place till it rests there. This only is final--and the final is the test of everything--“Does it glorify God.” (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Life’s work well done
1. We naturally link with these words Christ’s last words (Joh_19:30). When men come to die, the mind naturally reviews the past and forecasts the future. As Paul lay awaiting death, he looked over the past and his mind rested with satisfaction on the fact that he had fought a good fight, &c. Then he looked forward, and the outlook was bright. “There is laid up for me a crown.” As Jesus was brought face to face with death He looked back to see what He had done, and forward to see the final outcome of His life-work, He cried, “It is finished.”
2. Those granite columns in our cemeteries are parables of human life. Over some graves the pillar rises furl and high, signifying a completed life. Over other graves the column is broken off abruptly, half way or near the top. Many a man’s career in this world is like those broken columns. Men are naturally anxious to bring their undertakings to a successful, completion before they die. But how many fail! The field is left halt ploughed The author is called away when his book is only partially written. The mother dies before the children are grown. Die when man may, he generally leaves something unfinished. But it was not so with our Lord. He had been sent of God to do a certain work, and He early apprehended it. “I must be about My Father’s business.” In this work He never faltered.
I. EVERY MAN HAS A WORK TO DO FOR GOD IN THIS WORLD, and should find it out and do it. “The latest gospel,” says Carlyle, “is, know thy work and do it.” Fill the place God has ordained you to fill. Alas! many never consider the meaning and purpose of their life. Suppose you should see an angel flying through space and you should haft him, “Whither bound?” and he should answer back, “Nowhere.” Suppose you should signal a ship on the sea and say, “Whither bound?” and the answer came back, “Nowhere.” How many in life are like that.
II. THE SECRET OF EVERY GREAT AND TRUE LIFE LIES IN GRASPING THIS TRUTH--e.g., Moses and Paul. William, Prince of Orange, laboured in the conviction that God had called him to his special work, and that he must finish it before be died. Oliver Cromwell realized the same truth. To those who were convened to judge the king he said, “If any one had voluntarily proposed to me to judge and punish the king I should have looked upon him as a prodigy of treason, but since Providence and necessity have imposed this upon me, I pray heaven to bless your deliberations.” On his death-bed he prayed, saying, “Lord, Thou art my witness, that if I still desire to live, it is to glorify Thy name and to complete Thy work.” Columbus was inspired to heroic endurance by the same conviction. “Man,” he said, “is an instrument that must work until it breaks in the hand of Providence, who uses it for His own purposes.” General Gordon’s magnificent life was inspired by the same conviction. Nothing was created in vain. Every created object in the wide universe, from the mote that floats in the sunbeam to the archangel that serves next the throne, has a place and a work in the plan of the Creator. It is man’s highest privilege and first duty to discover what God’s plan or purpose of life for him is. To find that out and do it is to live to some purpose. “He always wins who sides with God.” Some say, “This is all true of the great ones of the earth, but my life is so insignificant that I cannot believe that God has any special work for me to do.” No life is insignificant or worthless. The smallest cog in the smallest wheel of the great manufactory has its place to fill and work to do.
III. DO NOT UNDER-ESTIMATE YOUR LIFE’S WORTH AND WORK. “Your life is worth something to God. Multitudes of men and women fail in duty because they under-estimate their worth. What is one star among the myriads above? What is one leaf or blade of grass to the million forms of vegetable life that mantle the earth with beauty? But let us not be oppressed with the thought of our littleness. A human soul is the highest of all created things. Man has a mind that, in some measure, can comprehend the vastness of creation. To man God has given dominion over all works. So that there is nothing great in the world but man, and nothing great in man but mind or soul. Do not think little of your place and work in God’s vast universe. It makes little difference what work is assigned us of God so long as we do that work faithfully and well.
IV. A MAN’S BEST WORK IS OFTEN THAT WHICH GROWS OUT OF WHAT HE BEGAN. Look at the engine that George Stephenson used in 1825. What a poor affair it is alongside of those magnificent engines of modern make. And yet that old crippled engine was the mother of them all. What you do may be insignificant in itself, but out of that may grow a work that will bless a world. The seed you plant may grow a mighty tree, whose wide branches may shelter the weary and whose rich fruit may feed the hungry long after you have passed away. Here is a merchant prince. He is forward in every good work. You inquire into his life, and this is the story: “In early days I was brought up among the poor and profane of a great city. I was induced to enter a mission school. My teacher was a gentle Christian woman. What she was and did and said touched my heart and waked up my better nature. I would give thousands to-day to know where she is, that I might thank her.” The mission teacher went home many a night with a sore discouraged heart. What surprise of joy there will be in heaven when the faithful workers meet there, for the first time, the results of their work on earth.
V. THERE IS A DIVISION OF LABOUR. This is of God’s ordaining. To one man God has given the talent of invention, to another he has given the skill of the artizan, to others musical faculties, eloquence, aptness for commercial life, or medicine. Each should cultivate and develop his special faculty, feeling that his work is God-given. If God should send His angels to this world and commission the one to rule a kingdom and the other to plough a field or sweep a room, and if each did the work assigned them, they would each be equally rewarded and commended by Him who sent them. Robert Browning teaches this truth in that little poem, “The Boy and the Angel.” This view dignifies labour of every kind. Here is a blacksmith welding together links of a great chain. He does his work faithfully and well. His work is a part of his religion. Years go by. The old blacksmith is dead and forgotten. A ship is on the sea and a wild storm is raging. The anchor is dropped. The safety of the whole ships crew and passengers depend on the chain that holds the anchor. All through the dark night and the wild storm the ship is held fast and sure. At last, when the storm is ended all gather on deck and with glad and reverent heart join in hymns of thanksgiving to God for deliverance. Yes, praise God for safety and praise God because that old God-fearing blacksmith put his conscience in the chain he made for the cable. Heaven will disclose heroes and heroines whom this world never dreamed of. Multitudes of them will come from humble homes and obscure corners.
VI. LET US SEE TO IT THAT WE FULFIL THE PURPOSE OF OUR EXISTENCE. They tell us that it is a serious thing to die; it is a more serious thing to live. Sad beyond expression will it be, to pass from this earth, so crammed with opportunity of usefulness, to the judgment-seat of Christ with our God-given work unfinished, and at last compelled to face the terrible fact that life is done and life’s great work undone. It were better never to have had an existence than having it, fail in fulfilling the Divine purpose of our being. (J. B.Silcox.)
