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BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

27. DIED, July 6th, 1845, at Huddersfield, aged forty-three years, Mrs. Elizabeth Haigh, whose maiden name was Statham. She sought and found the blessing of personal acceptance with God, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, at the age of about twenty; and she entered at the same period into the Wesleyan-Methodist society, of which she continued to be a circumspect and faithful member to the end of life. As a Christian, she was simple, sincere, and most "kindly affectioned," striving always "to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with her God." Her attachment to the Wesleyan body was strong and unwavering: she loved its doctrines and discipline; she regarded it as an inestimable privilege to share in its communion; she gratefully availed herself of the spiritual helps which its ordinances and provisions so plentifully supply; and she cherished a most affectionate esteem for its Ministers. It may be truly said of her, that she was not "given to change." For many years she assiduously exerted herself as a Teacher in the Sunday-school; and she had the happiness of seeing not a few whom she had herself instructed, become steady and consistent members of the same Christian society. As a visiter of the sick, she was also distinguished by regularity, diligence, and the truest sympathy. The course allotted to her was one of frequent and severe trial. In one year, she was deprived by death of her mother, and of a beloved brother; the latter of whom was snatched away by a sudden and unexpected stroke, though it was her unspeakable consolation to know that death did not find him unprepared. Other sorrows likewise awaited her, and contributed, for a long time, to the painful but sanctified exercise of her faith and patience. But the Lord was always her refuge in danger, and her rest in trouble.

When she was settled in domestic comfort and tranquillity, with the prospect of future years of conjugal felicity, it pleased God to visit her with an affliction, which she, from the first, considered as the forerunner and messenger of mortality. She instituted a strict examination into her spiritual state, and was for a season greatly humbled and distressed, by a review of her want of faithfulness to that God who had granted her so many benefits. "Is His mercy clean gone for ever?" she would sometimes say. But she renewed her application to the blood of atonement, and placed her whole trust in the Saviour, as crucified for her. "I can do nothing now," was her language: "I rest on Jesus." Nor did she so rest in vain. The clouds were soon dispersed by the brightness of the Lord's spiritual appearance. He graciously bestowed fresh manifestations of His favour and peace, and enabled his servant thankfully to own that "when she was weak, then was she strong." She could now "rejoice in the Lord." The day immediately preceding the one on which she died, was the Lord's day; and it was to her a day of blessed peace. She triumphantly ascribed glory to her God; and at length, by a calm and Christian death, passed into a better life. JOHN HANNAH.

DIVINITY.

THE TRANSFIGURATION OF CHRIST:

A SERMON:

BY THE REV. DANIEL M'AFEE.

"And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the Scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist.-Matthew xvii. 1-13.

:

THE transfiguration of Christ is the most remarkable, splendid, and mysterious occurrence recorded in his whole history. It is related by three Evangelists, with some varying circumstance supplied by each, which renders the whole more interesting. The circumstances which preceded and followed after this wondrous transaction are also minutely detailed. Its position, therefore, is calculated to cast considerable light on its main design. As Jesus was descending the mount with his disciples, he charged them to "tell no man of the vision until the Son of man be risen from the dead." Christ is now risen from the dead we are under the ministration of the Spirit: we are furnished with the writings of the Apostles, in connexion with those of Moses and the Prophets; and hence we may rationally expect some further development of this glorious and mysterious event. Let us hear St. Peter, one of the three witnesses: "For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount." We are now on the margin of this mount. Let us ascend its sides, and see this great sight. If the ancient " "Prophets searched diligently, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow;" surely we 4 I

VOL. IV.-FOURTH SERIES.

ought to follow their example, and with equal diligence and earnestness gaze on the glory now so conspicuously revealed and epitomized in the transfiguration of the Son of God. Let us, then, ascend this holy mount with reverence and godly fear, while we inquire into the circumstances, the nature, and design of this mysterious manifestation. Consider we,

I. The CIRCUMSTANCES. The contemplation of these is essential to a right knowledge of the event with which they are associated; and they will constitute an ascending path, whereby we may climb into a clear view of this sublime mystery of Deity. The time, the attendants, and the place, now claim our attention. We notice,

1. The time in which this event occurred. The text tells us, "And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John, into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them." Luke is more definite, and adds, "And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings." After what period or sayings, then, did Jesus take them up into the mount? This is accurately determined in the preceding chapter. The noted confession of Peter, the crude notions of the disciples respecting Christ's coming and kingdom, our Lord's first declaration of his sufferings and death, the severe rebuke given to Peter for dictating to him, and the memorable discourse delivered on that occasion, are all included in the period from which the transfiguration is dated. The great design of our Lord's discourses and miracles was to convince his disciples, that he was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, and also the Son of God. This is the primary object of the New-Testament writings to this day. "But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." The confession of Peter, (chap. xvi. 16,) when he spoke in behalf of his brethren, evidently proves, that they were inspired with this living faith. "Whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Having strongly approved of this confession, "he charged his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ." On descending from the mount, he said to Peter, James, and John, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.” This intimates a connexion between Peter's confession and the transfiguration. Then, in the 21st verse, we emphatically read, "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the Elders and Chief Priests and Scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day." Here, for the first time, Jesus informs them of the ignominious death he must suffer. Of this revelation they had no previous conception. It was designed to prevent surprise, try their newlyconfessed faith, and correct their false notions respecting his person, offices, and kingdom. Like the rest of their countrymen, they expected a Messiah who would appear as a mighty and magnificent temporal Prince, erect his throne in Jerusalem, subject the nations to his sway, and exalt the Jews above all people on the face of the earth.

As his immediate followers, no doubt they expected to be his chief ministers and court favourites. Peter, having received the promise of the "keys of the kingdom of heaven," expecting to be the greatest of the great, then "began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord this shall not happen unto thee." See how his ambition is laid low, and his rashness checked, by the severest reproof ever administered to any of our Lord's disciples. "Get thee behind me, Satan : thou art an offence unto me. For thou savourest not the things which be of God, but those that be of men." Then, as Mark informs us, "he called the multitude unto him," and warned all of the necessity of self-denial, denounced the folly of expecting worldly honour and advantage by following him, called upon them to renounce their dearest temporal interests, and, if required, to lay down even life itself, for his sake. If any man," saith he, "will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Nevertheless, to prevent discouragement, and show to all his faithful and self-denying followers the great honours and eternal advantages of his kingdom, and, at the same time, point out the ultimate shame and punishment of those who forsake and deny him, he makes another new and very important revelation : "The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." Here he indicates his return to his Father in heaven, asserts his prerogative as Judge of quick and dead, claims a rule superior to all earthly Monarchs, a glory which infinitely transcends the magnificence of human state, and shows that he shall have a retinue of attendants to which the mightiest Kings of earth can make no pretensions. The direct impression made by such declarations was, that his kingdom is not of this world. Hence, he adds, by way of proof and illustration, "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." This could not relate to his coming as Judge in the last day. True, some of those addressed might have lived to witness his coming, in his retributive providence, to destroy Jerusalem; and several no doubt witnessed the coming of his kingdom in the power of the Holy Ghost after his ascension into glory. But the words must have an immediate reference to the witnesses of his transfiguration, in which they beheld an illustrious display of the nature, power, and glory both of his person and kingdom.

To the period of these facts and sayings the three Evangelists allude in fixing the date of the transfiguration. The connexion here specified is of the utmost importance in understanding its primary design. Matthew and Mark say, "And after six days;" and Luke, "About an eight days after these sayings." The former speak exclusive, and the latter speaks inclusive, of the day in which these sayings were uttered, and the one in which the transfiguration took place. Luke mentions

one incident worthy of notice, as bearing on the exact time of this wonderful event. In chap. ix. 37, we read, "And it came to pass on the next day, when they were come down from the hill." Does not this show, that they went up to the mount on one day and came down on another, and intimate that this splendid scene occurred in the night or early in the morning, before the rising of the sun? The Jewish day began at six in the morning, and hence the transfiguration must have occurred on the day they went up; while part of the next day may have been occupied in coming down. Now, if our Lord uttered the sayings alluded to in the evening of the Jewish Sabbath, which no doubt was a very fitting time for such a solemn address, these, according to the statement of Luke, "about an eight days after," would indicate the transfiguration as having taken place after the next Jewish Sabbath had terminated, and place it at the same period as the resurrection afterwards took place. For this conclusion we have no sufficient data, however; and the idea is only suggested by the mode of expression, "about an eight days after." Having now adverted to the time, we come to notice,

2. The attendants on this occasion. These were Peter, James, and John. Jesus first chose twelve out of his followers, and now out of the twelve he selects three. These were formerly chosen to witness his power in raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead; and afterwards they only beheld his agony in the garden. Thus "in the mouth of two or three witnesses everything should be established,” according to the law of Moses. But, why were these three chosen in preference to their fellows? The reason is only fully known to the Sovereign Lord himself, who is not bound to give an account of his ways to man. Perhaps, the prejudices of these three were of a more violent and unconquerable character than those of the other disciples; so that a repetition of the highest evidence became necessary to subdue them. Or, were Peter, James, and John possessed of a sounder judgment, a quicker perception, and a more persuasive eloquence, than the other disciples, and, hence, better qualified to tell what they had seen and heard? Or, were the other disciples of such a disposition, that they would more readily receive the testimony of these three, than that of any others who might have been chosen? The great design of Jesus in coming into the world, in all that he said, did, or suffered, was to honour and establish testimony, elicit faith, and thereby produce salvation. In the choice of three, this end was more effectually accomplished, than if the twelve had been taken up into the mount; and if the nine had not the honour of seeing, they had the greater glory in believing, conferred upon them. "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." No injustice, therefore, was done to the disciples not chosen to witness this great sight; and no doubt the choice made by Jesus was one of infinite wisdom, founded on proper reasons, and calculated to effect the glorious purposes of his will. True, Peter is afterwards distinguished as the first Preacher to the Gentiles and Apostle of the circumcision; James, as the President