Even as he spoke, the vision was gone; it was lost in the brighter glories of the cloud that hid them from his sight. If we look back to the Old Testament, we shall find that a bright cloud was always the sign of God's presence; and the voice that was spoken from the cloud, proves at this time, the awful presence of God the Father. Here the voice of the Father appoints the Son to his everlasting kingdom. In the presence of the two saints who had passed into glory, and represented the Church in heaven, and in the presence of the three apostles who represented the Church on earth, God solemnly gives him the dominion.* This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him." Thus on that mountain-top were assembled together, God the Father, God the Son, the Church in glory,† for which Moses and Elias appeared as ambassadors, and the Church on earth still struggling with the weakness and difficulties of this life, of which Peter, and James, and John, were the representatives. To the Apostles, a short glimpse of the glories of the unseen world was given to strengthen their faith; but they were taught what their part was by the very shortness of the vision. They were to hear and to obey. Their time for close communion was not yet come, and they were taught by the fear that came upon them, taking from them every power as they fell upon their faces, that their feeble human nature was not able to press forward into that divine life, which is kept for the saints in glory. If this be true of Christ's holy Apostles, how much more true of us. We, simple and weak, must be contented to worship and to serve, as it were, in the outer courts of the Temple. If we attempt more, we shall but lose our powers of serving at The sense of our weakness and of our sin will overwhelm all. * Olshausen, Vol. II. 235. Matt. xxviii. 18. Called the Church Militant or fighting. us, and it is well for us that it is so, for thus we learn humility of heart, and child-like faith in our blessed Intercessor, who continually makes intercession for our weakness. Prayer. O holy God, we fall prostrate on our faces before thee, for we are not able to look upon thy glory, nor even upon the glorious state of the saints in light. We must wait and worship afar off; but let thy voice reach us even here. Thou hast said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear Him." May we so hear, that His word may guide us through every difficulty, and comfort us in every sorrow. And thou, O blessed Saviour, holy Jesus, have pity on our weakness, say unto us, "Be not afraid." Though we see thee not, lay thy hands upon us, raise us up and lead us, as thou didst thine Apostles, through the busy scenes of life, to serve thee in whatever lot thou hast appointed for us, so that at the last we may pass out of this our state of sin and weakness, and be received up into glory with Moses and Elias, and all thine own redeemed. Amen, and Amen. XII. MATT. XVII. MARK IX. LUKE IX. In the holy and mysterious scene of the transfiguration, we had, as it were, before us, brought together in one place, a wondrous assemblage,-all that has ever been seen of God the Father in the bright cloud-God the Son in the person of Jesus the glorified body of man in Elias who had been taken up alive into heaven-the glorified spirit of man separate from his body, in Moses who had died, been buried, and now appeared in glory. Man, in his state of earthly weakness, in the persons -- of the three Apostles, who, though longing to be admitted into close communion with God and heavenly things, were yet so overcome by fear, that they fell upon their faces, unable to bear it. Now they must "back to busy life again," and with them we must turn from this solemn and glorious scene, and follow our Lord as he went down from the mountain to finish the work He had come to do; but before He joined the rest of his disciples, He warned Peter, and James, and John, to be silent upon what they had seen, till the appointed time came, when it should be fully declared. Verse 9. "As they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, until the Son of Man be risen again from the dead." For a time, the wonderful appearance of our Lord in glory, speaking with the spirits of the blest, was to be a secret known only to the three favoured Apostles, who "kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen." The words of Jesus sunk deep into their minds. They could not for a moment doubt, after what they had seen, that He was the Lord of heaven and earth. What then did the words mean, rising from the dead?" Was the face they had seen shining as the sun, to grow pale in death? was the shining raiment, "white and glistering in the light of heaven, to be changed for the garments of the dead? was that glorious form indeed to be buried in the grave? What might it mean. They believed in the resurrection of the dead: but was their Lord indeed to die that he might rise again. MARK ix. 10. "And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.' We may think how closely Peter, and James, and John, must have been drawn together by this solemn secret, till the time came when they were to be allowed to tell all they had seen to the other disciples, and how often they would earnestly talk together, "questioning each other what the rising from the dead should mean;" but now, while they were yet on the mountain, they sought to know from our Lord how far what the Scribes taught of the coming of the Messiah was truth. It was clear to them that He (Jesus) was the Messiah. They had beheld his glory, very different indeed from what they had expected when they believed that the Messiah was to be an earthly prince; but so glorious had his appearance been, that their prejudices were gone; they were convinced, and now they desired better to understand what they had once been taught. MATTHEW 10. "And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the Scribes that Elias must first come? They had seen Elias in the vision, but the Scribes who explained the prophecies and the law to the people taught, that He was to come to prepare the way before the Messiah by restoring all things. What did this mean? Jesus, in his answer, shewed them that in this the Scribes had taught the truth, though it was a truth they did not themselves understand. Their worldly minds had prevented them from seeing that the work which had to be done to prepare the way for the Messiah, was, the "turning the disobedient to the wisdom of the just." * This had John the Baptist done. All who would listen to his call to "repent, for the kingdom of heaven was at hand," + had been made ready for the coming of the Lord. John had come "in the Spirit and power of Elias," but the Scribes had passed him over, without seeing that in him the ancient prophecy they taught to the people had been fulfilled. * Luke i. 17. VOL. III. E Matt. iii. 1-3. Verses 11-13. "And Jesus answered and said unto them, (that is, to Peter, and James, and John) Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. (In this the Scribes had expected nothing but what was right.) But I say unto you, that Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise also shall the Son of Man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spoke unto them of John the Baptist.” Prayer. O holy Saviour, we bless thee that thou hast not left us to the weakness of our own understandings, but that thou hast given us thy written word, wherein thou hast thyself explained to us all that is needful for us to know. Give us, we beseech thee, simple and believing hearts, that we may neither wish to know more than thou hast revealed, nor refuse to believe the sound truths of thy gospel, though they may be very different from the imaginations of our own wayward hearts. Grant us this, O holy Saviour, for thy dear love's sake, that we may be thine wholly and to our lives' end. Amen. XIII. MATT. XVII. MARK IX. LUKE IX. It seems to have been in the night, or rather in the early dawn of morning, that the glorious scene of the transfiguration took place. We have read that as Jesus and his disciples came down from the mountain they spoke together of what had passed, and that Jesus explained to them how the prophecy, that "Elias must first come to prepare the way of the Lord," had been fulfilled in the preaching of John the Baptist. * Mark ix. 2. Luke ix. 37. |