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THE TRANSFIGURATION.

MATT. xvii. 1 to 10.

And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light, &c. &c.

Q. CAN you see any reason why Peter, James and John were selected, on this occasion, from the rest of the disciples to be present at the LORD's transfiguration?

A. The reason appears to be grounded in the figurative or representative character of those three apostles; for by Peter, as hath been before hinted, is figured or represented the faith of the church, particularly that faith which acknowledges the DIVINITY of the GREAT REDEEMER; by James again is figured or represented the principle of charity in the church, or that principle from God, by virtue whereof man is enabled to love his neighbour as himself; and by John is figured or represented the operation of

charity, or that application to good and useful works, which has a tendency at once to promote the glory of GoD, to increase the sum of human happiness, and to purify and strengthen by exercise the heavenly principle in which it is grounded. The reason then why the BLESSED JESUS selected these three disciples to be witnesses of His transfiguration was probably this, to teach the edifying and instructive lesson, that none are capable of beholding the glory of the GREAT SAVIOUR in His one-ness with the ETERNAL FATHER, but such as are principled in the faith represented by Peter, in the charity represented by James, and in the good works represented by John.

Q. And can you see any reason why this selection was made after six days, or why after six days the BLESSED JESUS was pleased to manifest His interior glory to those three disciples?

A. The reason appears to be grounded in the spiritual signification of six days, which imply a full state of previous labour, or spiritual combat, as a state preparative for admission to a nearer and closer conjunction with the principles of heavenly life, and thus with the LORD of HEAVEN, than could be attained without such labour or combat. Thus in the fourth commandment mention is made of six days' labour, as preparative of the seventh or sabbath-day, because by the six days' labour are there signified all the trials, conflicts and temptations necessary for man's purification before he can be qualified to enter into that holy rest signified by the sub

bath or seventh-day. creation, or of man's regeneration, as recorded in the first chapter of Genesis, is described as the work of six days, to denote again all the states of previous labour and conflict necessary to conduct man to the complete regeneration, or to that blessedness of divine order, life and peace signified by the seventh day.

Thus too the history of

Q. But it is written of the BLESSED JESUS and His disciples on this occasion, that He bringeth them up into a high mountainwhat do you understand here by bringing them up into a high mountain?

A. According to the sense of the letter, these words are to be understood literally, as teaching that the BLESSED JESUS brought the three disciples into a high mountain of the matter and measure of this lower world; but according to the spiritual idea of a high mountain, the expression is figurative, like the six days above spoken of, and the thing figured by it is a state of heavenly love, resulting from a near and close conjunction of life with the DIVINE FOUNTAIN of LIFE. Thus it is written in regard to this figurative meaning, O LORD, by Thy favour Thou hast made my mountain to stand strong, (Psal. xxx. 7;) and thus too the mountain of the LORD's house is said to be established in the top of the mountains, and to be exalted above the hills, (Isa. ii. 2;) in both which passages it is evidert that the term mountain is applied figuratively, as in numberless other parts of the sacred Scriptures, to denote a state of holy love, communi

cated from the MOST HIGH, and in conjunction with Him. Mountain, then as applied to the LORD HIMSELF, denotes the divine love, and as applied to His disciples, denotes love derived from the divine. The spiritual meaning, therefore, of the above words, as connected in a series, is this, that after the period of previous preparation, they who are principled in faith, in charity, and in works of charity, are exalted to a state of holy conjunction with JESUS CHRIST in the blessed principle of His love.

Q. And what do you learn from the words which follow, where it is written that He was transfigured before them; and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light?

A. The original word here rendered transfigured signifies more properly transformed, and the genuine idea of transformation, when applied to a person, is the presenting an aspect different from what he usually presents, thus, as applied in the present case to the BLESSED JESUS, it denotes His presenting the aspect of His DIVINITY, or of His DIVINE HUMANITY, in. stead of that infirm humanity, in which He was usually presented to view. It therefore follows, that His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light; because by His face is to be understood His interior mind or spirit, the face being the figure or index of the interiors, agreeable to which idea so frequent mention is made in the sacred Scriptures of the face or countenance of JEHOVAH and of God,

as denoting His divine mercy and love, thus His essential life. By this face then shining as the sun is to be understood, that the interior mind or soul of the BLESSED JESUS was seen to be DiVINE GOOD, the sun being a figure or emblem in outward nature of DIVINITY, and of His essential life, since what the sun is to the natural world and its inhabitants, that the DIVINITY is to the spiritual world and its inhabitants. It is accordingly added, that His raiment was white as the light, because as the face of the BLESSED JESUS is a figure or index of His interior mind or soul, in like manner His raiment is a figure or index equally striking of the external principle with which the internal is invested: and as the internal principle, agreeable to what was shown above, is His divine good or love, therefore the exter nal principle here denoted by raiment is His divine truth and wisdom, inasmuch as divine truth or wisdom is always proceeding from the divine good or love, and investing it as a garment; according to which idea it is written of JEHOVAH, That He covereth with light as with a garment, (Psal. civ. 2.) This garment, therefore, is here said to be white as the light, because whiteness is figurative of the purity of truth, and is con stantly so applied in the sacred Scriptures, and light is alike figurative of the truth itself, and is as constantly applied in the sacred Scriptures according to that figure. If the sense then of this verse be connected in a series with that of the foregoing verse, the whole will run thus, that they of the church, who are principled in faith,