Spurgeon: March PM
* 03/22/PM
"Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with
Me where I am."
--John 17:24
O death! why dost thou touch the tree beneath whose spreading
branches weariness hath rest? Why dost thou snatch away the
excellent of the earth, in whom is all our delight? If thou must
use thine axe, use it upon the trees which yield no fruit; thou
mightest be thanked then. But why wilt thou fell the goodly
cedars of Lebanon? O stay thine axe, and spare the righteous.
But no, it must not be; death smites the goodliest of our
friends; the most generous, the most prayerful, the most holy,
the most devoted must die. And why? It is through Jesus'
prevailing prayer--"Father, I will that they also, whom Thou
hast given Me, be with Me where I am." It is that which bears
them on eagle's wings to heaven. Every time a believer mounts
from this earth to paradise, it is an answer to Christ's prayer.
A good old divine remarks, "Many times Jesus and His people pull
against one another in prayer. You bend your knee in prayer and
say 'Father, I will that Thy saints be with me where I am';
Christ says, 'Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast
given Me, be with Me where I am.'" Thus the disciple is at
cross-purposes with his Lord. The soul cannot be in both places: the beloved one cannot be with Christ and with you too. Now,
which pleader shall win the day? If you had your choice; if the
King should step from His throne, and say, "Here are two
supplicants praying in opposition to one another, which shall be
answered?" Oh! I am sure, though it were agony, you would start
from your feet, and say, "Jesus, not my will, but Thine be
done." You would give up your prayer for your loved one's life,
if you could realize the thoughts that Christ is praying in the
opposite direction--"Father, I will that they also, whom Thou
hast given Me, be with Me where I am." Lord, Thou shalt have
them. By faith we let them go.