Exposition of John 17, Exposition · Part 33
JOHN 17.12.
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy Name.
THE words now read are part of the Lords Prayer, not of the Lords Prayer which he taught us, but as I ſhewed in the beginning, of the Lords Prayer which he made for us: Not that which he propounded to us as our pattern, but that which he preſented for us as our priviledge; at leaſt for his Apoſtles and Diſciples, and in them for us alſo. In which have been conſidered two things: The matter of it, and the reaſons of it. The things which Chriſt deſires in the behalf of his Apoſtles and Diſciples: And then the arguments with which he preſſeth and enforceth his deſire: The matter of it, or the thing which he deſireth in the behalf of his Apoſtles and Diſciples, is preſervation; Holy Father, keep them through thy own Name, which we have fully ended and diſpatched.
And now we are arrived at the reaſons of the prayer, the arguments with which our Saviour preſſeth and enforceth this deſire of his. Whereof the firſt is taken from his own effectual preſervation of them, during the time that he had been among them; and therefore he would have his Father keep them now, becauſe he himſelf had kept them very ſafe till now. While I was with them in the world, ſaith he, I kept them, and none of them is loſt, but the ſon of perdition: And now I am even ready to withdraw my corporal and fleſhly preſence from them, and therefore I beſeech thee Father, take them into thy tuition, receive them into thy eſpecial cuſtody and care; I had them from thee, and here I render and reſign them up again ſafe, and whole, and ſound to thee; I pray thee Father, keep them henceforward, as well as I have done to this day.
This paſſage of our Saviour hath two conſiderable things in it; a general profeſſion, and a particular exception. Firſt you have here a general profeſſion, that he had ſafely and entirely kept all thoſe that were beſtowed upon him by his Father; While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy Name, thoſe that thou gaveſt me I kept, and none of them is loſt. And then you have a particular exception of Judas, who here is ſtiled, foreign, the ſon of perdition. An Hebrew manner of expreſſion, that is, perditioni deſtinatus & devotus, as Beza reads it, deſtinated and devoted to perdition. None of them is loſt, but the ſon of perdition, who was deſigned and appointed to deſtruction. He is loſt, and he only.
In the general profeſſion and aſſertion of our Saviour, I ſhall deſire you to take notice with me of theſe three things, viz. whom he kept; in whoſe behalf he kept them; and how long he kept them. Firſt whom he kept; thoſe who were beſtowed upon him by the donation of the Father, only thoſe, and all thoſe; Thoſe whom thou gaveſt me I kept, and none of them is loſt: Secondly, in whoſe behalf he kept them, in his Fathers. As he had them from the Father, ſo he kept them as the Fathers, I kept them in thy Name, ſaith he; though they were made over to him by a deed of gift, he kept them notwithſtanding in his Fathers Name, and not in his own. He keep them as his Fathers goods, and as a ſervant in the buſineſs to his Father. As if he ſhould have told the world, they are my Fathers, and for him I keep them. Thirdly, how long he kept them; while I was with them in the world, ſaith he; He ſpeaks as if he were in heaven already, becauſe the time of his departure was at hand, he was as good as gone into the boſom of the Father, while I was with them in the world I kept them.
But did he keep them no longer then he was with them in the world? No, my Beloved, no longer in the way that he intends: No longer as God manifeſted in the fleſh, and in a viſible, and corporal, and fleſhly way; and therefore in the verſe before which I have finiſhed, he yeelds them up to the tuition of the God-head, and addeth this immediately; while I was with them (conceive it corporally) in the world, I kept them in thy Name, thoſe whom thou gaveſt me I kept, and none of them is loſt. You ſee, my Brethren, here are many weighty things, if I ſhould undertake to handle all, I ſhould over-graſp my ſelf, and let fall more then I ſhould hold. And therefore I ſhall faſten on the firſt particular obſerved, which though it be not firſt in place, and in the order of the words, yet it is firſt in reaſon to be handled: Whom our Saviour kept; and they, as you have heard, were thoſe that were beſtowed upon him by the Father; Thoſe that thou gaveſt me I kept, and none of them is loſt; and here the Obſervation lies before us.
DOCTRINE. Chriſt hath been wont to keep them ſafe who are beſtowed upon him by the Father.
Thoſe whom the Father gives him, he is ſure to keep: So he did when he was converſant upon the earth among them; and ſo he doth now he is reſident in heaven; for he is yeſterday and to day the ſame for ever: Then indeed he kept them one way, and now he keeps them in another; then he was with them to preſerve them in a viſible and fleſhly way, by the preſence of his body: Now he is with them to preſerve them in an inviſible and ſpiritual way, by the preſence of his Spirit: And however in the verſe immediately before my Text he reſigns them to the Father, as if he meant to take no further charge of them; that Father, my Beloved, is the whole God-head, of which himſelf as God makes one Perſon: For Jeſus Chriſt as he is man, is not the Son of the firſt Perſon of the God-head only, but of all the three Perſons. And in my text he ſpeaks as man, for he ſpeaks in prayer here; and prayer is part of worſhip, and God doth not worſhip God. And therefore when as man he yeelds up his Diſciples to the Father (his Man-hood being now to be withdrawn) he yeelds them to the whole God-head, which is the Father of the Son as he is Man: And conſequently Jeſus Chriſt as Man, reſigns them to himſelf as God aſwell as to the other two Perſons; and ſo in that capacity he keeps them to this day, and wil do ſo to the worlds end. Still you ſee he keeps them ſafe who are beſtowed upon him by the Father.
Now to evince and clear the point, I ſhall diſpatch theſe two things. Firſt I ſhall ſhew you that, and how, the Father gives men to the Son. And then in what reſpects, and how far forth the Son preſerves and keeps them ſafe who are thus beſtowed upon him by the Father.
As for the firſt of theſe, that ſome there are, ſome certain choice ſelected ones, whom God the Father in a ſpecial manner gives to Jeſus Chriſt, this is apparent in the Text; Thoſe whom thou gaveſt me I kept; Indeed, originally all the world, and all the people in it, appertain to God; his they are, for he made them: So that if Jeſus Chriſt, as he is Man, have any people, it muſt be by donation from the Father: And therefore he is often ſaid to give men to the Son in the Scripture, eſpecially in the New Teſtament, according to his promiſe in the old, Pſal. 2.7. Ask of me and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance. And yet you muſt not apprehend that he doth ſo beſtow them on the Son, that he doth utterly deveſt himſelf of all his intereſt, and wholly paſs away his right in them: No, my Beloved, the Father gives men to the Son, juſt as a great Sheep-maſter gives his ſheep unto his Shepherd, to keep them and to look to them, to ſave them and anſwer them again: So Jeſus Chriſt who is the ſervant of the Father (as he calls him, Iſa. 42.1. Behold my ſervant) receives men from him under that notion: And therefore he is ſaid to keep them in his Fathers Name, and as his Fathers goods, as a ſhepherd and a ſervant to his Father. It is his own expreſſion in my Text, While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy Name; thoſe whom thou gaveſt me I kept, and none of them is loſt. They are his, you ſee, to keep them, not to ſell them or to loſe them; for he is always anſwerable for them to the Father. Now in this ſenſe the Father gives men to the Son, eſpecially in two reſpects.
1. In the firſt place he gives men to him by election; and this he doth from everlaſting; He picks out ſuch a certain company of men, and beſtows them upon Chriſt in regard of the decree. There are a people for thee, ſaith the Father to the Son: So many thou ſhalt have among the Iews; and if that be not ſufficient, thou ſhalt have as many more as thou wilt ask among the Gentiles; Ask of me and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance, Pſal. 2.7. And therefore God is ſaid to chooſe us in the Son, Eph. 1.4. as in our Head, and as by deſignation members of his body. He doth not chooſe us firſt, and then after chooſe Chriſt; No, he chooſes Chriſt firſt; he is his firſt and chief Elect, and then he chooſes as in him, appoints us to belong to him. It were unnatural the feet ſhould firſt come out of the womb before the head; and therefore God obſerves this method; Firſt Chriſt the Head comes forth out of the womb of his Decree, and then the others follow. Firſt he electeth Chriſt to be the head of his Church, and then he electeth us to be the members of his body. And hence perhaps is that expreſſion of our Saviours to the Father, a body haſt thou prepared me, or fitted me, as it is rendred in the Margent, Heb. 10.5. viz. in thy Predeſtination: Thou haſt not only choſen me to be a Head, but in and by the fame decree thou haſt prepared a body for me. Thou haſt culled out a certain company of men, whom thou haſt preordained to belong to me, whom thou haſt choſen as it were in me, and whom thou haſt beſtowed upon me to be members of my body.
2. And as the Father gives men to the Son by the decree, ſo more expreſly by the execution and accompliſhment of the decree; as he beſtows men on our Saviour by election, ſo further yet by actual union and incorporation. In the firſt he aſſigns them, in the ſecond he delivers them, when he takes thoſe very men whom he had preordained from everlaſting and puts them into Jeſus Chriſt: There, ſaith the Father, are the members which I appointed for thee from Eternity. So that now the Son receives them, and hath them in his own poſſeſſion. And he may ſay to God the Father as the Prophet doth, Here am I, and the people which thou haſt given me. Thine they were ſaith Jeſus Chriſt, Joh. 17.6. They have been thine, I muſt acknowledge; but now the property is altered, they are mine. Why, which way came you by them? might the Father ſay. The Son replies, By thy donation, by thy own free gift; Thine they were, and thou haſt given them to me, as it is added in the next words. So then you ſee, my Brethren, that, and how, the Father gives men to the Son.
Now for the ſecond thing propoſed, in what reſpects and how far forth the Son preſerves and keeps them ſafe, who are thus beſtowed upon him by the Father, This will need a little opening, becauſe indeed there is ſome difficulty in it. And that you may the better underſtand it, I ſhall ſhew you in the firſt place, how far our Saviour doth not keep them, who are thus beſtowed upon him. And in the ſecond place how far he doth.
1. He doth not keep them that they do not ſuffer. Though Chriſt be with his own Diſciples in the Ship, there may be a ſtorm upon it, and a very dangerous one. They may be under heavy tryals, and afflictions, both within them and without them. Chriſt may expoſe them, though they be his own, to bitter perſecutions in the world; yea to the greateſt miſeries that humane cruelties can deviſe to inflict. And when in the extremity of their diſtreſſes they run crying to him, as they are about to ſink, Maſter ſave us we periſh, Chriſt may ſeem to be aſleep, to wink at all this miſery of theirs, to make as if he knew nothing, and as if he did not dream of the intolerable preſſures that lye upon his poor people.
2. He doth not keep them that they do not ſin; and that moſt grievouſly, ſometimes with hideous circumſtantial aggravations. How fearfully have many fallen, who have indeed belong'd to Jeſus Chriſt? We have very ſad examples of it in the Scripture. Peter was one of them, concerning whom our Saviour tells his Father in my text, thoſe whom thou gaveſt me I kept. And indeed he prayed for Peter in a ſpecial manner, that his faith might never fail, that it might not wholly fail, ſo as to be quite loſt and utterly extinct in him. Yet after this you know, he fearfully ſinned notwithſtanding, ſo as in ſome reſpect to deny the Lord that bought him; and that in a ſtupendious way, with dreadfull Oaths, yea, more then ſo, with bitter curſes, and direfull imprecations too. What ſin almoſt may not Chriſt leave a perſon to commit, whom he hath taken into his tuition?
3. But now my brethren, in the third place, though Chriſt do not keep them that they do not ſuffer, and though he do not keep them that they do not ſin, who are beſtowed upon him by his Father, both by election and incorporation: yet he doth keep them that they do not periſh. All that are ſo beſtowed upon him he keeps ſo that they are not loſt, as you have it in my text, Thoſe whom thou gaveſt me, I kept ſaith he, and none of them is loſt. They may ſuffer grievouſly, their ſufferings may deprive them of the life of nature, but they cannot deprive them of the life of grace. They may be perſecuted, but they cannot be forſaken totally and finally. They may be caſt down, but they cannot be deſtroyed, as 2 Cor. 4.9. They may be deſtroyed as men, but they can never be deſtroyed as Saints. In this reſpect they are like Mount Sion that can never be removed. The wind may … drive away the chaff; but all the ſtorms of perſecution ſhall never blow away one grain of good wheat.
So they may ſin exceedingly, but they can never ſin to death. Any ſin they may commit (if you reſpect the matter of it, for of that I ſpeak, not of the manner of Commiſsion) but that againſt that Holy Ghoſt. There is a ſin to death, ſaith the Apoſtle, 1 John 5.16. to death, not in the merit of it only (for ſo is every ſin to death if we look to the deſert) but to death, in the event, ſo that eternal death and condemnation is the infallible and unavoidable effect and iſſue of it. And this Chriſt ſurely keeps his people from, ſo that they never fall into it. He gives his ſheep eternal life, and they do never periſh, as himſelf ſpeaks, John 10.28. And though they be not kept in all reſpects to preſervation, either from ſinning, or from ſuffering, yet they are kept unto ſalvation, notwithſtanding both theſe, 1 Pet. 1.5.
And thus you ſee the point is clear, that Jeſus Chriſt doth keep them ſafe who are beſtowed upon him by his Father, in the ſenſe before expreſt. Not ſafe from ſinning and from ſuffering, but ſafe from loſing, whatever their afflictions, whatever their trangreſsions be. Thoſe whom thou gaveſt me, I kept, ſaith he, and none of them is loſt.
Object. But you will interrupt me with our Saviours own exception in the very next words, but the Son of perdition; none of them is loſt but the Son of perdition, ſo that one of them was loſt who was beſtowed upon him by the Father.
Sol.To this ſome anſwer, that the particle But is not exceptive, but adverſitative, and ſo doth not at all imply that Iudas was beſtowed upon our Saviour by the Father. Thoſe whom thou gaveſt me I kept, and none of them, no not one of them is loſt. But as for Judas, he indeed is gone, being none of that number. He is not given to me by election, but is indeed the Son of perdition.
But if it be allowed to be exceptive, and ſo that Judas was in ſome reſpect beſtowed upon our Saviour by the Father, it will not follow that he was ſo beſtowed upon him as the reſt were. Indeed the Father gave him Judas for outward Miniſtration as the reſt of the Apoſtles, but not for inward union and incorporation as the reſt. He gave him Judas for a Servant as the reſt, not for a member as the reſt; he was not beſtowed upon our Saviour by election as the reſt, for he was a reprobate, and therefore called the Son of perdition.
But why then doth Chriſt except him? Becauſe he was in ſome reſpect beſtowed upon him as the reſt, and for ought appeared then in all reſpects. And therefore though our Saviour Chriſts exception be improper, as to the Grammar of the words, as Calvin very well obſerves upon the Text, yet it is not improper as to the ſence of thoſe that heard him. For any thing that they were able to diſcover, he was as much beſtowed on Chriſt, as any of the reſt of the Apoſtles. And therefore though this [but] might have been ſpared, if all things had been rightly underſtood, yet it was very neceſſary with reſpect to them who thought far better of that hypocrite then he deſerved. None of them is loſt ſaith Chriſt, but he who though he be accounted for the preſent of the number, yet he is indeed and will in time appear to be the Son of perdition.
Ʋſe 1 Now is it ſo that Jeſus Chriſt doth keep them ſafe who are beſtowed upon him by the Father? They are exceedingly miſtaken then who hold and teach, that Chriſt may and doth often loſe thoſe whom the Father gives him: And that not only for outward Miniſtration, but even for inward union and incorporation; That he that is in Chriſt to day, may be out of Chriſt to morrow; That he that is elect to day, may be reprobate to morrow; that he that is to day an heir of ſalvation, may be to morrow a child of perdition.
A Doctrine infinitely prejudicial to the honour of our Saviour, as if he were regardleſs of that which is beſtowed upon him by his Father, and looked upon it as not worth the keeping. As if he were unfaithfull to the truſt that is repoſed in him by the Father. He commits a people to him to be kept and ſaved by him. The Father doth it to this very end, that he may give eternal life to as many as he hath given him, John 17.2. And what doth Jeſus Chriſt abandon them to ruine and deſtruction notwithſtanding? No, my beloved: mark what John the Baptiſt ſaith, John 3.35. The Father loves the Son, ſaith he, and hath given all things into his hands; you muſt conceive it, all things of one ſort he hath beſtowed upon him; ſo that he hath put them into his hand, to honour them and to keep and preſerve them: all his elect and choſen people: for all things of another ſort he hath (as the Apoſtle ſpeaks) put under his feet to tread upon them and to ruine and deſtroy them. But what doth Jeſus Chriſt with thoſe his Father gives him in the former way? why as his Father would he ſhould do: he keeps them and he gives eternal life to them, as it is added in the next verſe. Yea they have everlaſting life (as that is the expreſſion there) they have it in the preſent world in regard of inchoation, and are as ſure of the perfection of it in the world to come, as if they had it in their own poſſeſſion. And to affirm that ſuch may periſh and be loſt for ever, is to make the Son of God unfaithfull to the Father, which is a horrid derogation.
Or if not ſo, at leaſt unable to preſerve them from deſtruction; Save them he would, but it is not in his power. Whereas the Apoſtle tell us that he is able to ſave his people to the utmoſt, Heb. 7.25. And he himſelf who is the truth it ſelf affirms, that none ſhall pluck them out of his hand, Iohn 10.28. The world would, the devil would, the fleſh would, many would, but none ſhall. He hath power to overtop them and to maſter and controul them, ſo that they ſhall not have their will in this buſineſs.
And as this Doctrine, that they may be loſt whom God the Father gives to Jeſus Chriſt, is very prejudicial to the honour of our Saviour, ſo to the comfort of his poor people. Alas, my brethren, what ſolid and enduring comfort will the beſt condition that they can be in, afford them, if they be not ſure to keep it? Suppoſe they give all diligence to make their calling and election ſure; yea, ſuppoſe they make it ſure; Though they be ſure they are elect, they are not ſure they ſhall continue ſo; by this doctrine, they may be reprobates to morrow; ſuppoſe they prove themſelves whether they be in Chriſt or no; Suppoſe they prove they be in Chriſt; they cannot prove they ſhall continue ſo; by this doctrine, they may be out of Chriſt to morrow. And is not this cold comfort? Ah my beloved, how will it ſting the ſoul that is about to take her flight for another world to be at ſuch uncertainty, when all the conſolation ſhe can have is only this, that for the preſent ſhe belongs to Chriſt, but the next hour before ſhe get away out of the world, he may loſe her and diſown her, and ſo ſhe is undone for ever.
John making mention of the Locuſts that crawl out of the bottomleſs pit (and they are Antichriſtian Teachers) affirmeth that they ſhall torment men, Apoc. 9.5. and that with exquiſite and horrid torture: it ſhall be like the torment of a Scorpion that ſtriketh a man, as it is added in the next words: which torment they ſhall put men to by teaching Antichriſtian doctrine. And truly, my Beloved, this doctrine of the poſſibility of falling quite away from Chriſt, and being loſt by him for ever, after the moſt ſweet experience of his love, and after all his deareſt kiſſes and embraces of a poor ſoul, is one of the moſt venomous and bitter ſtings with which theſe Scorpions ſtrike men. Oh my Beloved, what exquiſite and racking pangs and agonies of fear and horror, this may caſt a ſoul into, in the ſad hour of temptation, deſertion and diſſolution, no tongue of Men or Angels is ſufficient to expreſs.
Ʋſe. 2 Is it ſo, that Jeſus Chriſt doth keep them ſafe who are beſtowed, &c. You then that are delivered up into the hands of Jeſus Chriſt by the donation of the Father, triumph and be exceeding glad in the ſecurity of your Condition. Believe it, you can never periſh, be your afflictions, or temptations, or corruptions what they will, or what they can: depend upon it, you are ſafe as to the main. If you belong to Jeſus Chriſt, he hath undertaken for you to the Father, and he will ſee that you ſhall not miſcarry. Let the fleſh, and let the world, and let the Devil pluck at you with all their power, and might, it is in vain; they ſhall not get you off from Jeſus Chriſt. They may pluck you, and pluck you violently in his hand, but they ſhall never pluck you out of his hand: No, my Beloved; he that hath received you from the Father, will be ſure to anſwer you ſafe and ſound to him again: And in the great day of account, he will bring you forth and ſay, Here am I, and the people which thou haſt given me: Thoſe which thou gaveſt me, I kept, and not one of them is loſt. Indeed, my Brethren, if your preſervation depended on your own care, ſtrength, ability, you were in very great hazard: But ſeeing this depends upon the care and power, and faithfulneſs of Jeſus Chriſt, what can be added to your ſafety? Now the better to aſſure you, & ſettle you in this particular, I ſhall lay down a few particulars as an immoveable foundation, upon which this comfortable truth is built, that Chriſt will ſurely keep them ſafe who are beſtowed upon him by the Father. And they are of three ſorts. Either ſuch as reſpect the Father who beſtows a people on the Son; or ſuch as reſpect the Son on whom this people are beſtowed; or ſuch as reſpect the people who by the Father are beſtowed upon the Son.
As for the firſt of theſe, you may be ſure that Chriſt will keep you ſafe, if you have been beſtowed upon him by the Father; out of love, and out of duty to the Father.
Firſt he will keep you out of love to God the Father: What do you think that Chriſt will loſe that which his Father gives him? we would not loſe the gift but of an ordinary friend, eſpecially if he be dear to us, as I have noted heretofore, and much leſs would we loſe a Fathers gift; we would keep ſuch a thing with all the care and diligence we can. Now Jeſus Chriſt loves his Father better then we can love ours; and therefore as he had us from the Father, ſo he will ſurely keep us for the Fathers ſake.
Secondly, As he will keep us out of love ſo out of duty to the Father; For as Man and Mediator he is a ſervant to the Father; And as the Father hath beſtowed a people on him, ſo he hath given him an expreſs command to keep them, and he hath given him ample power that he may keep them: And conſequently Jeſus Chriſt will certainly preſerve them, out of duty to the Father: in reference to his injunction that he may not diſobey him: in reference to his intention and expectation, that he may not diſappoint to him.
Firſt in reference to the injunction of the Father, Chriſt will ſurely keep us that he may not diſobey him. For you muſt know, my Brethren, that the Father, as he hath given us to Jeſus Chriſt, ſo he hath withall commanded him to look to us, and to ſee we do not periſh. This is the Fathers will, ſaith Chriſt, that of all which he hath given me, I ſhould loſe nothing, Joh. 6.39. And he came down into this lower world to do the will of him that ſent him. And therefore certainly he will be very careful of this ſpecial charge of his: he will obſerve it very ſtrictly and exactly. He will be infinitely wary that he loſe nothing of the Fathers goods, which he hath given him to keep, and required him to keep, that ſo he may approve himſelf a faithful ſervant.
Secondly in reference to the intention of the Father, Jeſus Chriſt will ſurely keep us, that he may not diſappoint him: For as he hath received a ſtrict command, ſo he hath withall received full and ample power to keep us: His Father hath beſtowed it on him to this very end, as himſelf acknowledges, Joh. 17.2. As thou haſt given him power over all fleſh, that he might give eternal life to as many as thou haſt given him, and conſequently that they might not periſh: So that this is the Fathers aim, you ſee, which Jeſus Chriſt will never fruſtrate; he hath beſtowed upon him large authority and power to this purpoſe: Power over all fleſh that he may give eternal life to ſome fleſh, to as many as God hath given him. Indeed if he were only veſted with authority and power over that fleſh which God intends that he ſhall keep and ſave, it would fall ſhort in this buſineſs; For there is other fleſh that would reſiſt and hinder our ſalvation. There is fleſh within us, I mean our luſts and our corruptions; and there is fleſh without us, I mean the world and worldly men that would oppoſe this great work; and therefore God hath qualified Jeſus Chriſt with power ſufficient to reach his end in this deſign of his. He hath not only veſted him with power over the fleſh to which he means that he ſhould give eternal life: But he hath given him power over all fleſh, that he may give eternal life to as many as he hath given him; that other fleſh may not reſiſt him and diſappoint him in this great buſineſs; and therefore let the fleſh without us, and let the fleſh within ſtruggle, we may be confident that we ſhall have eternal life, in ſpite of all their oppoſition: For God hath veſted Jeſus Chriſt with full power, to this end, and to this purpoſe, that he may give it, and that none may hinder it.
As Jeſus Chriſt will ſurely keep us for his Fathers ſake, ſo he will keep us for his own ſake, and for the property and intereſt which he himſelf hath in us; For you muſt know, my Brethren, that we are not nakedly entruſted with our Saviour as a ſervant, in which reſpect he is engaged to keep us out of duty; but more then ſo, we are beſtowed upon him as a Son, in which reſpect he is engaged to keep us out of property, and this is that which makes us ſafe indeed. If Jeſus Chriſt were but an hireling, and if the ſheep were not his own, he might leave them as a prey to the devouring and ravening Wolf, as he himſelf informs us in that ſame Similitude, Joh. 10.12. The hireling flees and leaves the ſheep, becauſe the ſheep are not his own, and cares not for the ſheep, and the Wolf catcheth and ſcattereth the ſheep. But Jeſus Chriſt is not the Shepherd only, but the owner of the ſheep; he keeps them not for wages, but for love, and for the property he hath in them, and therefore certainly he will be careful of them to the utmoſt. Thoſe whom the Father gives him, he will keep: Indeed they are the Sons portion, The Lords portion is his people, Deut. 32.9. And what follows? He kept them as the Apple of his Eye. What do you think that Jeſus Chriſt will loſe his portion which his Father gives him? That he will be ſo wretchleſs, that he will not keep his own? his own goods: Nay, more then ſo; his own members, the very apples of his Eye. Will he ſuffer men or Devils to rent away his limbs from him, to pluck his very eyes out of his head? take this and take all.
We may be ſure that Jeſus Chriſt will keep us ſafe, who are beſtowed upon him by his Father, as for his Fathers ſake, and for his own ſake, ſo for our ſakes too: And that upon a double reckoning or account. For firſt of all we coſt him dear; and ſecondly, we are very dear to him.
1. We coſt him dear; he paid a great price for us, and therefore he will know how he goes from us. We coſt him prayers; he hath not one of us among the Gentiles without asking: Ask of me, and I will give thee the Heathen for thine inheritance, ſaith the Father to the Son, Pſal. 2.7. Otherwiſe I will not. Chriſt is faign to beg for us before he gets us of the Father.
Nay, more then ſo, we did not coſt him breath only, but we coſt him blood too; He is the Lord that bought us, as the Apoſtle Peter calls him, and bought us not with gold and ſilver, and ſuch corruptible things, but with his own moſt pretious blood, 1 Pet. 1.19. And if he loſe us in the end, he hath a very ill bargain. No, my Beloved, we may reſt upon it, that Jeſus Chriſt will never ſuffer the purchaſe of his prayers the purchaſe of his blood to periſh; he never ſpent his breath, and much leſs will he ſpend his blood in vain.
2. And as we coſt him dear, ſo we are very dear to him: His heart is infinitely ſet upon his Church and people; he loves them out of all meaſure, ſo that you may be ſure he will be loth to ſee them periſh. He looks upon them as his Jewels, Mal. 3.17. and as his own peculiar treaſure, Pſal. 135.4. And he will keep his Treaſure and his Jewels ſafe, take his traſh who will.
And thus you have ſeen the grounds, on which you may be confident, that if the Father have beſtowed you on the Son, he will not loſe you; No, you are ſafe enough, depend upon it; it is impoſſible that you ſhould ever periſh, or miſcarry.
But you will interpoſe and ſay perhaps, Object. This Doctrine ſerves to make men negligent, and careleſs, and ſecure; For if they be preſerved and kept ſo abſolutely ſafe by Chriſt, they need to take no care to keep themſelves.
For anſwer, let it be conſidered, 1.Sol. That Chriſt doth keep men by themſelves. And hence ſaith the Apoſtle James, This is Religion for a man to keep himſelf unſpotted of the world, James 1.27. And Paul adviſes Timothy to keep himſelf pure, 1 Tim. 5.22. And 2. if any of you who belong to Chriſt, remit your watch and grow ſecure, and neglect to keep your ſelves, though Chriſt will not loſe you, yet you may loſe Chriſt as the Church did when ſhe lay upon her bed, and would not open, Cant. 5.6. You may be wofully deſerted by him both in regard of grace and peace: And though you cannot fall away, yet you may fall moſt fearfully to the diſhonor of the Lord, and of Religion, and the irreparable wounding of your Names while you have a day to live. Though you cannot wholly loſe the inward habits of your graces, yet you may loſe the exerciſe of them. And though you cannot loſe the Eſſence, yet you may loſe the ſenſe and comfort of all the graces that you have: Though it be utterly impoſſible that you ſhould periſh in reality, yet you may periſh in your own conceit and apprehenſion; you may be brought to ſuch a ſad condition, that you may look upon your ſelves as reprobates and caſt-aways, and think your ſelves undone creatures: And though Chriſt will not ſuffer you to go to hell, yet he may make you cry in your heart and in your bones, as David did, and ſet you on the rack of ſuch unutterable agonies, and horrors and affrightments, that you may feel a Hell in this world.
Now for a laſt uſe of the Point, this may afford a ſeaſonable admonition Ʋſe 3 to all the Deputies and under-Officers of Jeſus Chriſt. If Chriſt who is the Fathers ſervant, and the Fathers Shepherd, do keep them ſafe who are committed to him by the Father; you then who are the Servants, and the Shepherds and the Officers of Chriſt, ſhould learn of him, to keep them (ſafe as far as lies in you) who are committed to your cuſtody, and care by Jeſus Chriſt.
1. Miniſters are Chriſts Shepherds in the Church, as Chriſt is the Fathers Shepherd; and as the Father commits his people to the Son to keep, ſo Chriſt commits them to his under-Officers, and to his Miniſters to keep; and therefore it concerneth them to hearken to the advice of the Apoſtle to the Elders of Epheſus, Act. 20.28. Take heed to your ſelves, and to all the flock over which Jeſus Chriſt hath made you Over-ſeers to feed the Church of Chriſt, which he hath purchaſed with his own blood; yea, to the admonition of Jeſus Chriſt himſelf to Peter, Joh. 21.15. Simon ſon of Jonas, loveſt thou me? doſt thou love me? doſt thou indeed? why if thou doſt, Keep my Lambs, feed my Sheep; If you have any love to Chriſt your Maſter, ſee that none of his be loſt by your default, by want of any pains you could have taken w…th them, in heat by day, and cold by night, for want of any admonition, or inſtruction that you could have given them: And be aſſured of th…s, that if any of them periſh by your careleſneſs, and your neglect, you will have a very ſad account to make when the day of reckoning comes; their blood will Jeſus Chriſt require at your hands: Oh let it not be ſaid of you that you do not Cuſtodire gregem ſed perdere, non paſcere ſed mactare. Not keep the ſheep but loſe them; not feed the flock, but feed upon it: Be ſure that you be faithful to your great truſt, that you may give up your account with joy; and that when Chriſt ſhall call you to a reckoning, you may ſay to him, as he doth to his Father in my Text, and ſay it truly, Thoſe whom thou gaveſt me to keep I kept, and not one of them is loſt by my means.
2. So Magiſtrates are Chriſts ſervants, his Shepherds in the Common-wealth, as they are called 1 King. 22.17. And they muſt learn to keep them ſafe who are committed to them to be kept as Chriſt doth. They muſt be very careful of the ſheep of Chriſt that none of them miſcarry in their hands. And to this end they muſt do two things.
1. They muſt chaſe away the Wolves, that ſeek to prey upon the ſheep of Chriſt: The Wolves that prey upon their perſons or eſtates. Theſe you muſt either make to fly, or break their jaws, as Job did, and pluck the prey out of their teeth. The Wolves that prey upon their ſouls, that bring in ſoul-deſtroying errors, damnable hereſies, as the Apoſtle calls them, 2 Pet. 2.1. There are ſome errors which whoſoever holds them and continues in them, ſuffers loſs, but he himſelf is ſaved, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks, 1 Cor. 3.15. But there are others in which if any man continue, he himſelf is loſt for ever. Now they that bring in thoſe, deſtroy the ſheep of Chriſt: and therefore they that keep his ſheep, muſt take courſe with ſuch, according to the power wch the Law of God and Man hath put into their hands.
2. They muſt be very tender of the ſheep of Chriſt, which he hath given them to keep, as David was; Alas thoſe ſheep, what evil have they done? And as Hezekiah was, who, as a Type of Chriſt, is ſtiled a hiding place from winde, and a covert from the Tempeſt, Iſa. 32.2. where the poor ſheep might fly for ſhelter, in a ſtorm, and there find ſure refuge. Now I beſeech you honorable and reſpected,Preached at the Aſſizes. who are the Miniſters of Chriſt, be you ſuch to his people; Let them have protection from you, let them be kept ſafe by you: Oh do not ſee them injured and undone, if you can help them. Oh do not ſee them loſt if you can ſave them: Keep them as you deſire that Jeſus Chriſt ſhould keep you; let thoſe who will aſſuredly find favour at the laſt day, at the bar of Jeſus Chriſt, find favour at your bar now. I ſpeak not this that you ſhould boulſter any out in any evil; God forbid; but that you ſhould be very careful that thoſe who appertain to Chriſt, be not ſo far neglected by you, as to be over-born unjuſtly and malitiouſly by thoſe who are the enemies of Chriſt and them, Oh be a covert and a hiding place to ſuch. Make them aſhamed who report (I hope untruly) that many times an honeſt man finds leſs reſpect and countenance then an enemy of Chriſt. And in a word, in all your actings, and adminiſtrations, have a careful eye upon the little flock of Jeſus Chriſt, to fence it, and to mound it, and ſafe-guard it, that no damage come to it: that when the Stewardſhip is out, and the counting time is come, you may not be dejected, and hang down your heads, but may appear before the preſence of his glory with exceeding joy: that you may rejoyce in Chriſt, and Chriſt may rejoyce in you, to ſee how well and faithfully you have demeaned your ſelves in his ſervice.