LECTURE XLVII.

LUKE IX. 28-36.

"And it came to pass, about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter, and John, and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. 29. And, as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. 30. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias. 31. Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem. 32. But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. 33. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said. 34. While he thus spake, there came a cloud and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. 35. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved son; hear him. 36. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen."

THE circumstances of our Redeemer's life on earth were, for the most part, obscure and sorrowful. Though he was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God, he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself." He laid aside his divine glory, so as not to exhibit it before men; a veil was thrown over it, to hide it from human view; nay, he submitted to shame and sorrow in almost every shape. "He had no form nor comeliness," as the world judged-" no beauty that they should desire him. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; they hid, as it were, their faces from him: he was despised, and they esteemed him not." Yet there were a few passages in his history which formed an exception to this rule, and in which the splendour of the appearance demonstrated, even to the outward eye, the lustre of his character, and his connection with heaven. At the commencement of his humiliation, when he was born into this world of suffering, the angel of the Lord came upon the shepherds of Bethlehem, and the

glory of the Lord shone round about them; and, when the angel had informed them of the glad tidings of a Saviour's birth, "suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men." At the close of his humiliation, too, his glory shone forth illustriously in all the circumstances of his resurrection, particularly the ministration of angels on the occasion; and more illustriously still, in his ascension, when, as two angels in white stood by, his wondering disciples saw him taken up into heaven, till a cloud received him out of their sight. So also, in the middle of his public ministry, there was given one signal, visible display of his glory, which must have been most refreshing and instructive to those who actually witnessed it, and which, it is to be hoped, will, by the blessing of God, prove refreshing and instructive to us, while we are, as it were, still accompanying our Lord in a course of meditations on the different parts of his history-that display was his transfiguration on the

mount.

The parallel passages, to both of which we shall occasionally refer, are in the 17th chapter of Matthew, and the 9th chapter of Mark.

"And it came to pass,” says Luke, “about an eight days after these sayings," that is, after he had spoken what is contained in the preceding verses, concerning his own sufferings, the self-denial and faithfulness required of his disciples, and the coming of his kingdom. Matthew and Mark say that it was "after six days;" the period may have been, as we formerly noticed, six full days, or eight including the extremes; and this is here said by Luke to have been about eight days.

It came to pass that Jesus "took Peter, and John, and James." It has been objected to revelation, by infidels, that it does not inculcate the virtue of friendship. But the objection is groundless; nay, the way in which the Scriptures treat of friendship, is one of the many proofs that they proceed from him who formed and perfectly knows human nature. An express command, laid on all men, to form what are commonly called friendships, or peculiarly strong attachments and close intimacies with each other, would have been unsuitable to our mental constitution, and, in many cases, impracticable; because friendships are generally the result, not of premeditated design, or of efforts of

will, but of similarities of temper and likings, and other circumstances not under human control. Scripture does, therefore, all that is proper, and nothing more, in this case. It lays the true foundation for friendship, in that principle of universal love, which is ready to go out with peculiar strength towards those who have a peculiar claim on it, or with whom we are brought into peculiarly close contact. It does positively inculcate the duties of friendship when it is once formed, for, it says, "He that hath friends must show himself friendly;" and again, "Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not." And it gives us beautiful examples of friendship, as in the case of David and Jonathan, but especially, in the case of Jesus Christ towards some of his disciples. Of his disciples, the three here mentioned, were plainly treated with more favour, and admitted to greater intimacy, than the rest and even of these three, there was one to whom he was more tenderly attached, than to the other two; for, John was called, by way of eminence, " the disciple whom Jesus loved." These three, Peter, John, and James, were the three who were favoured to be present, also, at the raising of Jairus' daughter, and at our Lord's agony in the garden. The sight of the two glorious scenes may have prepared them for bearing the awful night of Gethsemane. In like manner still, a believing view of the glory of the Saviour's person, character, and work, enables us to contemplate, not only without offence, or dismay, but with admiring wonder, his sufferings and death, and is the best preparation for those scenes of distress through which we ourselves may have to pass. We may also observe that our Lord took with him, on this memorable occasion, a competent number to bear testimony to the scene; for, it is at the mouth of two or three witnesses, that every thing must be established.

Accompanied by these three disciples, our Lord "went up into a mountain." Tradition says that the particular mountain was Tabor. Tabor is situated in the north of Galilee; and it is a very lofty mountain, with a plain on its summit. Several of the most remarkable events in our Lord's history took place on mountains. It was on a mount that he preached that long and interesting sermon which is commonly designated from the circumstance. He was transfigured, as is commonly believed, on mount Tabor; he was crucified on mount Calvary, and he ascended from the

mount of Olives. A mountain was a very suitable place for this exhibition of his glory; and it was also a suitable place of retirement for that devotion in which he previously engaged. He went up, we are told, into the mountain "to pray." We frequently read of his retiring for this exercise. If it be asked, Why did our Lord pray at all, seeing he was the true God? we reply, He was also man, and, as a human creature, prayer was his duty: he prayed, too, as an example to us; he prayed, as it behoved him to fulfil all righteousness; and he prayed as our great Intercessor. The Father saith to the Son, "Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." Our Lord went up to the mountain to pray, and probably (as he frequently did) to spend the night in prayer.

It was "as he prayed," that his transfiguration took place. God has often manifested his signal regard to prayer. Thus, Daniel writes: "And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin, and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God, for the holy mountain of my God; yea, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel" "touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." The Lord said to Ananias, the disciple, "Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus; for, behold, he prayeth." So, on all the three occasions in which an audible voice from heaven bore testimony to our Lord, he was engaged in prayer, namely, at his baptism-at this time—and, as in John xii. 28, where we are told, that when Jesus had prayed, "Father, glorify thy name, there came a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again." Ought we not to consider this as greatly encouraging us to the duty of prayer? Though we are not to look for miraculous manifestations, we may rest assured that, as to all needful supplies of grace, our heavenly Father will "give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." Is it not, also, most commonly when believers are in the actual exercise of prayer, under the influence of the Spirit of adoption, that the Holy Spirit bears witness with their spirits that they are the children of God? But let us consider the circumstances of the transfiguration. Matthew and Mark say, in one word, that Jesus was

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transfigured," or metamorphosed. His general appearance was that of an ordinary person. According to the passage already quoted, he " took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, being found in fashion as a man." But now, there was a glorious change in his appearance; and, in describing that change, two circumstancs are noticed, his countenance and his raiment. Luke says, "the fashion," or more correctly, the appearance, of his countenance was altered." Matthew says, "his face did shine as the sun." Something similar to this occurred in the case of Moses, when he came down from the mount; his face shone, and the people being afraid to come nigh, he put a veil on it. The Lord, then, doubtless put high honour on Moses: but that prophet's honour was derived, he shone with borrowed lustre, with a lustre inferior to that of Christ, and only as a type of Christ. The Son of God's face now shone with a brightness as of the sun, which no veil could hide; it shone with underived and divine splendour. What a display of glory was this! and how astonishing to think of the appearance which the very same countenance afterwards assumed! How amazing the condescension and love he displayed, when in him were fulfilled the words, "His visage was more marred than that of any man, and his form than the sons of men"-" He hid not his face from shame and spitting!"

But the appearance of "his raiment," also, was altered, and, according to Luke, "was white and glistering." According to Matthew, "his raiment was white as the light;" and according to Mark, "his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller," or bleacher, on earth can white them." These are most striking descriptions of celestial splendour. Of the angel at the sepulchre, it is said that "his countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow." All the saints in heaven are represented as arrayed in white, to teach us their purity and glory. Still, of all the angels and saints it must be remembered that their glory is derived; and of the redeemed in heaven, it is expressly said, that they "have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Christ's glory, we repeat, was essential and divine, and far surpassing that of any creature. The appearance which the Son of man made in vision to John, as described in the first chapter of the Revelation, was similar to what he assumed on the mount: "His head and his hairs were white like