when he should come in the glory of his Father

And then he adds, Impro

with the holy angels. bable as this may seem now, to those who see me "in form and fashion as a man," nay, as "a servant, and "of no reputation;" there are some that stand here which shall not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

The expression refers to something distant, and not belonging to the apostles in general: something which a few only shall live to witness. And this agrees with the destruction of Jerusalem, which John, and probably others of the apostles survived, and which, being the fulfilment of our Lord's prophecies, and the signal punishment of his rejection, is properly and frequently termed "the coming of the Son of man with power."

But in one sense, one very important sense, they all saw the kingdom of God come with power: when they saw the effect of the Holy Spirit, and many "receiving the word gladly:" when they saw "the Lord adding to the Church daily such as should be saved:" when they saw "a great company of the priests obedient to the faith :” when they saw "the Gentiles beseeching that the word might be preached unto them," and "turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven."

There was no less of divine power in this, no less to astonish a considerate mind, than even in the display of glory which is now to be related, and which some have supposed to explain the coming of the kingdom of God with power.

2. And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them.

3. And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.

4. And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.

5. And Peter answered and said to 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.

6. For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.

Peter spoke here from a sudden impulse, produced by the impression upon his mind of what he was witnessing. Master, it is good for us to be here. Here let us set up our tent; here let us dwell, and not leave this glorious scene. He found himself in the company of "saints in light;" how could he return to the world again?

St.

Faith, however, brings the Christian into this company, even whilst he remains in the world; for "faith is the evidence of things not seen." Paul reminds the Hebrew Christians, (Heb. xii. 23,) that they "are come unto an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and unto God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant." Let us ever remember the dignity of our "high calling" and think with the apostles, It is good for us to be here, and to be numbered with such an assembly. And the thought should have a favourable influence.

L L

"Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race which is set before us. "If we are thus employed, it will be good for us to be here, as long as God sees fit: and "to depart, and to be with Christ," will be "far better," when our appointed course is finished and our race is run.

7. And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.

The voice came for our sakes, as well as for the sake of the apostles; warning us of the danger of neglecting to hear Him, by whom "God hath in these last days spoken unto men. Is it not wonderful, that any should refuse to hear him? That God should have sent his Son into the world, and that men should confess that he has sent him, and yet should so often live as if no message had been delivered! As if it had not been commanded us, Hear him, for "he hath the words of eternal life."

Let us, at least, hear him with the hearing ear and the obedient heart. We talk of eternal life; we profess to desire it, and to look for it. But never forget, who is its "author." And never forget who they are, who shall really inherit it. He is the author of eternal life "to them that obey him."

8. And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.

9. And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.

10. And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should

mean.

11. And they asked him saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?

12. And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.

13. But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.'

If we place ourselves in the situation of the apostles here, we shall not be surprised at their state of mind. They had just They had just beheld a scene, which must have realized their highest hopes, and convinced them that they had not erred in believing Jesus to be the Christ of God. We learn from St. Peter that it did leave upon them that impression. (2 Pet. i. 16.) "We were eyewitnesses of his majesty;-For he received from God the Father honour and glory; and the voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount." holy mount." Such were his recollections, after the lapse of more than thirty years.

But the subject which Moses and Elias had discoursed of, was "the decease which he should ac

After this explanation, the disciples, as we learn from St. Matthew, understood that John the Baptist was the prophet spoken of by Malachi, under the type of Elijah, who should precede the Messiah. See Matt. xvii. 13; Mal. iv. 5.

complish at Jerusalem." And now they were charged to tell no man what they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead. He then, "the Prince of glory," must taste of death. What should this mean?

It was indeed written of the Son of man that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought. He was to be "despised and rejected of men:" he was to be "brought as a lamb to the slaughter;" he was to be "cut off out of the land of the living."

But, again, this was prophecy: it had not been explained by the fulfilment and we may well suppose that it would be hard for those to comprehend, who were daily witnessing superhuman power, and had just been spectators of superhuman "majesty."

The prophet, therefore, had not spoken too strongly, when he said, "Behold, and wonder: for I work a work in your days, which ye shall in no wise believe though a man declare it unto you." 2

To the " despisers" of this work the prophet says, "Behold, and wonder, and perish." May the Holy Spirit so open the eyes of our understandings, that we may behold, and wonder, and LIVE!

2 See Acts xiii. 41.