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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrato the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre fiim6s d des taux de rMuction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seul cliche, 11 est filmi A partir de Tangle sup^rleur gauche, de gauche i droite, et de haut en bas, nn prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diap'ammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 m • ^ 1 # .«> # ^0VASC0TJ4 PROVINCE HOUSE r J ■^K. >^ S-r. ^^^< >v>^-^-^ p x m T-L ^ ■ ■ „,|»--r;^>,^f jn ON THE TRANSFIGURATION, A SERMON, Delivered on the 6th March, 1864, in the Old Presbyterian Charoh, South Coruwallis, ON THE OCCASION OP THE DltPENSATIOIT 0» THE LOKD'S SUPPER. BY THE REV. WILLIAM FORLONG, Pinbitr of i^t 4longregatiott. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE CONGREGATION. HALIFAX, N.S.: JAMES BARNES, 142 HOLUS STREET. 1864. '■mmmigm^immm' ' <^^^^sa - g"'*^-^ J F ^ -> J r; i 9^^^<^ CORRESPONDENCE. , SoDTH Cohnwalms, March 16th 1864. Rev^ and Dear Sir, As many friends in your Congregation have expressed iome an earnest desire that you would publish the discourse on the Transfigurntion, preached by you on the late Sacramental occasion in the old Church, Co.nwallis, I beg to be regarded now as their organ in asking this favour, and in the full hope that you will accede to our wishes in this matter, I would avail myself of this opportunity, not to make any ren>arks upon your excellent Sermon, wliich, ns we are w.-'ll aware, was just one of your ordinary preparations for the I'ulpit,— but of offering a few observations upon the history of the Church of wliich you are now the Pastor. The District of Cornwallis, besides its many natural beauties and advantages, has long enjoyed a faithfully preached Gospel— a piivilege, we fear, that is not sufficiently appreciated in our day. I think I may still say that our people love the manly old Scotch Theology when fervently proclaimed — tliat theology which most abases the siiinCT and exalt« the free sovereign grace of God in salvation. Many persons mar not be aware that the old Church in which we still worship, owes its origin and exis- tence to the piety of the " Pilgrim Fathers, who were driven by high-handed tyranny ' to seek freedom of conscience and liberty of worship in foreign lands, and who arrived by the schooner " Mayflower," and landed on Plymouth Rock, A.D. 1620." It appears from the town records of licbanon, that their immediate descendants eame to CornwaUis in 1760 or 1762. Immediately upon their aiTival — following the worthy example of their fathers who founded Churches in New England — they, with most com- mendable zeal, set about the erection of a " House" (to use their own language) *'for the worship of Almighty God." Our Church edifice is, therefore, a Puritan erec- tion — and about one hundred years old — the oldest indeed within the Township.- On completion of tlie building, the congregation followed the practice which was generally adopted in those days of selecting a minister, when the people were partly Presbvterian and partly Congregationalist ; in which case they chose a Pastor belonging to the larger body. The first minister of the Church in Cornwallis therefore, was the Rev. Mr. Phelps, Congregationalist. He remained in the country but a short time, and was succeeded by the Rev. Hugh Graham, a Secession minister from Scotland. He commenced his labours here in 1785. In 1 799 he received a call from Stewiacke, and removed to that place, and continued to labour there with much acceptance to the period of his vleath, which event occurred in the year 1829. Mr. Graham was fol- lowed by the R«r. Wm. Forsyth, a lycentiate of the Church of Scotland, and who was ordained in the United States. His ministry in Cornwailis extended over a period of u about thirty-six years. He died, A.D., 1840. A few years previous to his death he was succedwl hy his soi'-iu-law, tlic Ucv. Ocorfxe Struthers. He, and the Ucv. Mr. Morrison, late of nermuda, were tho flrst Missionaries sent out by the Lay Associa- tion of the Church of Scotland. They arrived in this country in the year 1827 Mr. Morrison proceeded to Dartmouth, N.S., and Mr. StnUhers to Horton. A few jears previous to Mr. Forsyth's death,, Mr. S. went to Deniarara; hut, receiving an invitation from the (^on^regafion in Cornwallis, ho returned to tliis country and ministered here until his death, wfilch occurred on the 19th March, 1857, The mortal remains both of Mr. S. and of his predecessor lie buried in our old church yanl, and their ashes mingle with the dust of our fiircfathcrs, who for neatly a century past have worshiped in the edifice erected by tlie original ruritana. The aspect of Presbyterianism in Cornwallis i.s upon the whole encouraging. There are now four rrcsbytcrian ministers having settled charges within the Township — three belonging to our own Synod, and one to the Keformcd Presbyterian body. Our adherents in this county have made praise-worthy ettbrts in the way of Church building, as well aa for the support of the Gospel both at home and abroad. Within a period of seven or eight years, thioc bandsome Church edifices have been built — ct Kentville. Canard, and Lakcville — which are no.v nearly free of debt; and the one at WaterviUe has been finished and comfortably seated. Although our number in Cornwallis is yet small, we have reason to feci thankful at the progress which has been already made; and we trust and pray that a rich blessing may accompany the preaching of the Gospel by the Lord's Ministering Servants, and tbat you, our Pastor, may be long spared to break among us the Bread of Blemal lAfe ia the fervent wish of your attached Congregation. I remain, &c., To the Rev. Wm. Forlong. JOIIN S. NEWCOMB. [keplt.] Cornwallis, March 18, 1864. Dear Sir, I have acceded to your request that I should publish my Sermon on the Transfiguration. I have done so however somewhat reluctantly, as I had not the remotest idea of exhibiting it in print when I composed it. You must not be disap- pointed therefore, if when on reading it, you do not find it a finished production ; and I hope general readers also will bear this in mind, and think less of Ae composition than of the Divine truths it inculcates. I remain, Dear Sir, Yours faithfully.. WILLIAM FORLONG. Mr. John Newcomb, Elder. T ON THE TEANSFIGURATION. A. SERMON". " And it came to pasn about an riyJd daijs after these sayings, he took Peter, and John, and Jiunea, and went up into amntntain to ;< '.>/. And, as he. prayed, the fashion of his countenance wa. alterexl, and hia raiment was white and (/listening, ^c. — L»JKK ix. 28-36. The Scene which in these verses is presented to our notice is undoubt- edly a remarkably glorious one, and fitted to teach us many great and im- portant truths — not only with respect to the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Clirist — but also with respect lo the present condition of those who have in different ages died in the faith of Jesus. We have three several accounts of it by three evangelists, and moreover their accounts are con- firmed by the Apostle Peter himself, who was one of the eye-witnesses of it, in his second epistle, in tn* e words : " We have not followed cunning- ly 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, tliis 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.' It is not certainly known to what holy mount the apostle alludes, but ancient tradition makes it the eastern side of Mount Tabor, because we are told that eight days before Christ was at Caesarea Philippi, which was about twenty-five leagues distant. Matt. (xvii. 1.) and Mark (ix. 2,) call it "a high mountain", and Tabor is only about a mile in height, although the Jewish historian reckoned it *«S»-i^«B»!"' ^^^^K^^^^H — *- about four milc.i. If this was tlm mount, .Toscphus was probably deceived by its ronicul form, and by itsi lonely situation in tho great plain of Esdrae- lon. We may however state tliat the learned are not now of opinion that the event tot)k place on Mount Tabor, but on some high raciintain nearer to Cwsarea Ph!lip|)i. We may notice, in passing, that there ap{)cara to be a slif^ht dift-Tcnce between Luke and the other evangelists about the time when Chiist went to this mountain. He calk it ei(fht days, and they only six days, after Ciiriist had been preaebing in Csie.-iarea. Dut the difVerence is .lot a real one, as he only calculates the time inclusive!}', or reckons the day on which Christ last preached in Civsar?a and the day of the transfiguration, a mode of reckoning common in Scripture. The apparent discrepancy only shows more t>;arly the correct.iess of the in- gpired writers. 13ut passing from these minor mat^.en, let us now in de- pendance on the Divine blessing consider : / The sublime event itself, with the Divine testimony home to Omst^ II. The appearance of Moses and Ulias, uri the theme on which they converged with Christ. III. Some of the practical lesso?is whi'h the whole furnishes. I. fnE SUHLIME EVKNT ITSELF, WITH THE DiVINE TESTIMONT BOIINB TO Christ. As Christ was praying, we read that he was transfigured before his dis- ciples. Not merely did a Divine glory shine round about him, but He himself appeared as a fountain of light, sending forth an effulgence of glory. He seemed as if he had suddenly thrown away his tabernacle of flesh and blood, and put on a glorified body, whose beauty and majesty were too dazzling for mortal eye. "• The fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistening," literally ^^ flashing as iightnino.'^ Matthew says : " his face d'd shine as the sun, and his rui. ment was white as the light." Mark says : " his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them." These accounts show us that the Person of Christ had indeed undernfone a very remarkable and glorious change. It was nothing extraordinary to ece the glory of Heaven surrounding Moses and Elias, but to see the hum- ble, despised, pe.-secuted Jesus of Nazareth who had not yet left this world of sin and suffering, to see him exhibited in such glory and majesty was indeed astonishing He had wrought many mighty works upon the bodies of others, but never until now had His own personal appearance undergone any change ; and we can readily imagine the overwhelming effect which »^rmm it must havo produced upoD the minds of the disciples, from the account wl'ich we have of Daniel'd experience when he saw a very similar vision. We read in the tenth chapter of his prophecy, at the fifth verse, Sec. : " Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clolhed in linen, whose loins wore girded with fine gold of Uphaz His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the uppearance of lightning, and his eyes like lamps oi fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision : for the men that were with me saw not the vision ; but a great ijuaking fell upon them, so that t'lcy fled to hide them- selves. Therefore I was left alone and saw this great vision, and there r'^'nained no more strength in me ; for my comeliness was turned in me it ciorrupiion^ and I retained no strength. Yet heard I the voice of his words, tutn was I in a deep sleep or. my face, and my face toward the ground." This was evidently a vision of Christ which the Prophet had ; ur ^he description is almost precisely the same as the ontj we have c him as the glorified Saviour; in ihe 1st i' oter of the Revelation, and the ef- fect of it upon the Prophet is ver» sirv'iiai to that which it produced upon John. Now we may justly f'sppose that the vision of the glory of Christ with which the disciples were at this time favored had a powerful effect, not only upon their mental but also upon their bodily powers. Does Da- niel retain no strength and iall inco a deep sleep r Dees John sink down upon the ground as one dead ? How probable is it that the disciples also should be rendered powerless, and be " oppressed with sleep." It is thus we would explain the incident mentioned by Luke only, and very briefly, that the disciples " were heavy (or overpov. ed) with sleep, and when they vfarefuUy awake (as the word signifies) they saw his glory." The narrative does not say that they were really asleep, nor doea it tell us of the cause producing the desire to sleep. It might have been merely a natural one, for we may judge froip what is said in verse 37th, that the vision occurred during the night, but looking at iae passage in the liglxt of the other two, we incline to the opinion that it wa J a supernatural effect produced by the glory of tl e vision, which we find from Mark had pro- duced a great fear in tUera befui'e they heard the voice of God out of the bright cl6'id. In their great weakness and terror we read '* there canie a bright cloud and overshadcwpd them." This was plainly a great mercy to them, as it hid the vision from them ; I ^ it produced, we are -.foimjd, a ne\'. dcise of terror, for in it they heard the voii e of God. When they h^ard this voice, we read in the naivutive by Matthew, '• they fell on their face, and were sore afraid." They were not however, so entirely prostrated as not a to know what the voice of God uttered, for they heard Him say, " this is my beloved J!!on, hear Him ;" or as Matthew reports it : " this is my be- loved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him." Now when we con* aider the impression which the vision of the glory of Christ must have al- ready made upon their minds respectino; hia Divinity, we must conclude that this testimony which the Father bore to Christ would greatly confirm their faith in him as the Son of God. With this testimony from Heaven, they could not but view Christ as giving them in his transfiguration, a gra- cious manifestation of His own essential glory as a Divine Person, in or- der that they might be led to entertain more spiritual and exalted views of the kingdom which he was about to set up on earth, and which is em- phatically called " the Kingdom of God." l"he glory and majesty of Christ's appearance, and the voice of the Father instructing them to give all glory to Christ ^ his Beloved Son, was quite sufficient to teach them that Christ had advanced no unwarrantable claim, when he made himself eg-wa/ to God by calling him his Father — that he was truly by nature the Son of God, and had come for purely spiritual ends. But the glimpse of Christ's Di- vine glory now affijrded must not lead us to imagine that his appearance was exactly such as he now wears in heaven, or such as he shall wear when he comes the second time as the great " Judge of the quick and the dead," for allowing that he appeared as possessed of the " form of God,'' that is, as partaking of the Divine nature, or as being the eternal " Word that was with God, and was God," •' the express image of the Father's person," — allowing this, yet while his essential Godhead was made visible, it was only in a way adapted to our present condition. John, one ol the witnesses of Christ's glory on this occasion, and who says in his 1st epistle that he had seen Christ's glory as ' the Word of eternal life," yet lets us know that he will not be seen by us " as he is" until we are " like him," —a condition in which the disciples were not either at this time, or dur- ing their lifetime; therefore we are to conclude that Christ's appearance on the Mount was no more than a bright prelude of what he will appear hereafter, a striking exhibition of his Divine glory as the exalted Prophet, Priest, and King of Israel. But the spiritual truth illustraied by the sublime vision of Christ here recorded will appear with greater distinctness, if we view the scene in the light of the Old Testament dispenration. Let us suppose ourselves Jews, i^aiting on the Temple service. There the tj , ical lamb of atonement was offered — there the blood was carried on the great day of ♦he Passover in- to the holy of Holies by the High Priest — there God made known his gracious presence as Israel's covenant God, in the appearance of the She- kinah, or cloud of^glory, over the mercy seat, under which was the Ark . A\ . tt of the Covenant, the visible pledge that God had made the Temple his peculiar habitation. We are there, but where is the token or Jehovah's presence ? Alas ! why does the Temple now seem deserted by its Great Possessor ? Why look we in vain for the appearance of the Glory ? Why It we would find it, must we go to a distant mountain of Galilee, and see it encircling One who belongs to the tribe of Judah, of which Moses spake nothing concerning the priesthood, and one, moreover, who is offering no atoning sacrifice ? Why is all this, we ask in wonder ? We search the Scriptures anew, and find that this is the exact time predicted when " Mes- siah the Prince" should appear to take away sin ; and we can arrive at no other conclusion than that "this is Be of whom Moses and the Pro- phets did write." Such is pl-^inly the instruction contained in the simple fact, that the vi^jible presence of God is now resting on " the Man Christ Jesus." It teaches us to regard Him as God's appointed mercy-seat, and also as his true High Priest to offer up the real atonement for sin. But further. Do we enjoy the special privilege of beholding His glory on the Mount ? Do we see Him as the great object of Divine love, with His face shining as the sun in its strength, and with an effulgence of glory up- on all his garments ? Do we see Moses and Elias as two great represen- tatives of the Church triumphant waiting upon Him ? Above all, do we, while prostrate in the dust under a sense of God's immediate presence, hear Him audibly pointing us to Jesus as his beloved Son, in whom he is well pleaj sd ? Do we see and hear all this ? Then to what other pos- sible conclusion can we come, than that Jesus is the great and glorious Redeemer that was promised, the great Antitype prefigured by all the hosts cf Prophets and Priests, in a word, God's eternal and only begotten Son whom He hath sent into the world *' in the likeness of sinful flesh," according to the ancient prophecy : " unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given ; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall b3 called, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the ever- lasting Father, the Prince of Peace." But while, to a thoughtful Jewish mind, the transfiguration of Christ, and the Father's testimony from " the excellent glory," might well lead to the conclusion that Jesus was a Divine Person, and the true High Priest that should offer upon the lofty Altar of his Divinty the real sacrifice for sin, the vision spoke yet more clearly upon these points by giving a glimpse of Moses and Elias, and by letting us know the grand subject of their conversation with Christ on this important occasion. Let us therefore biiefly consider, 10 II. The ArPEARANCK op Moses and Elias, and the theme ojc VfHICH THEY C0NVEH3ED WITH THE GLORIFIED JeSUS. These two men, we are told, appeared to the disciples "in glory." We • are a'so told diat they talked with Jesus only, and that their single sub- ject was, " his deoease (literally exodus or departure) which he should ac- complish at Jerusalem." Now, had Jesus Christ been merely a good man who was to die a martyr's death, and furnish the world by his resurrection only with a proof of the soul's immortality, as is sometimes represented, we cannot see any good reason for Moses and Elias being sent from glory to converse with him upon the subject of his death. This was an event common to all mankind, and certainly Jesus could no more require com- fort from glorified men than other good men that had died before him. — But if He did, we cannot see any propriety in Moses and Elias being spe- cially selected to give it, for neither ol them bad suffered martyrdom, nay> one of them had not even tasted death. On the supposition, then, that Je- sus was only a good man, we cannot see any valid reason why he sliould receive a visit from Moses and Elias ; nay, such a peculiar favor would lead us to conclude that his faith was not so eminent as that of any of the martyrs, and that he was unworthy even of the high privilege conferred upon Elias of not passing through the sufferings of death, — an idea utter- ly inconsistent with the Divine honour which wa" now conferred upon him. But let us humbly receive the doctrine of Scripture, that Jesus Christ was the Divine Redeemer, in the faith of whose atonement, believers had in all ages lived and died ; that He was the Father's eternal and only be- gotten Son whose servants only the Prophets were, when, illuminated by his Holy Sjjirit, they foretold his advent, " his sufferings, and the glory which should follow." Let us view Him as the grand foundation of all their hopes, and the lofty source of all that strength whereby they v/ere enabled to brave the bitterest persecution, and the most cruel deaths ; in a word, let us look at Jesus Christ as the great and only Mediator between God and our sinful world from the beginning, with whose suretyship the Father was well pleased when He called him to be his servant, and gave him many " many sons" to redeem and to bring to glory ; let us look at Christ's transfiguration in this light, and then not only does the glory of Christ upon this occasion, and the voice of the Father testifying of him as his *' Beloved Son," and calling on the disciples to " hear Him," become full of meaning ; but the death of Christ, on which Moses and Elias con- versed with him, becomes a subject invested with importance infinitely above all others, even as it was hy it that the eternal covenant wa& to be really sealed, through the mercy of which believers obtained salvntJ a be- L 11 fore Christ crme, even as they do now after his coming. On what more vital subject, then, could Moses and Elias njpre properly converse with Jesus ? To it they owed entirely their own eternal felicity ; hence Paul affirms that the redeemed in glory, as they only obtained salvation through faith in a Saviour to come, whom they laid hold of in a promise, — so, they were " not made perfect without us" to whom He has come. But we must view Moses and Elias as sent by God, not to speak as pri- vate individuals, but to instruct the disciples respecting the nature of their faith when upon earth, and whilst executing the commissions which they had received. They come before us then to testify solemnly that Chrisk is the Messiah whose salvation they proclaimed on earth ; and moreover, we must view them as unitedly testifying to the truth J all the Law and the Prophets, that is, in Jewish phraseology, of all the Old Testament. Moses the Lawgive.- here, then, tells us the true meaning and design of all the legal ceremonies, and that all the Priesthood pointed to Christ ; while Elias, than whom Christ declares a greater Prophet did not arise, stands as the chosen representative of all the Prophets and thus shews that Christ's salvation is the grand theme of them all. When, then, we contemplate the presence and the discourse of Moses and Elias in glory on tbe Mount, in its proper Scripture light, we have indubitable evidence not only of the immortality of the soul, and of the resurrection of the body of believers in the image of Christ's glorified body, but of the important truth that salvation has been proclaimed in all ages by grace through fi\itii in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and only Re- deemer. For here, in the persons of Moses and Elias, we have the whole of the old Testament church, with all its array of ceremonies. Priests and Prophets, coming forward before the disciples as the chosen representatives of the New Testament church to declare that Christ was the grand object to which they all pointed, that tiiey were all but the shadows of which Christ is the substance, and tlierefore that they were now destined to van- ish away forever as the mists of morning when the sun arises in his glory. How ought we then to adore the Divine Wisdom and mercy, in send- ing two such eminent individuals as Moses and Elias to point the Christian church to Christ as the true Messiah, who was come " in the fulness of time" to fulfil all that they and others had declared concern>»-g him ages before. Their testimony is very precious, for in testifying to this truth they .lot only confirm our faith in it, but virtuall)' in the inspiration of the whole of the Old Testament canon, a circumstance which ought not to be over- looked, especially in our day, when infidel writers in high places even in the ecclesiastical world are assailing not only its verbal inspiration, but even its historical accuracy, and thus doing their utmost to sap the foundations of mmmimmi 12 our faith. But, passing from this, we conclude this part of our subject by observing, that we must nof suppose that the disciples when on the Mount saw all the spiritual glory of the vision of which we have now spoken. To suppose this would be to fall into a great mistake. Their faith we must remember was yet under a cloud, and the time had not yet arrived when the glory of Christ as the Foundation and Head of his Church from the beginning, "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," should arise upon their minds in all its meridian splendour. No! "The Holy Ghost was not yet given, because Christ was not yet glorified." They beheld Christ's glory, but they understood not the vision. Hence we read that Peter spoke as one that " knew not 'vhat he said," when he proposed to Jesus, as he saw Moses and P^lias about to depart, to build tabernacles for the three, sjfying : " Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias." When afterwards the vision spoke to the mind of this apostle and the other dis- ciples with power and distinctness, how it would confirm their faith in Christ's Divinity, and in the grand design of the decease which he accom- plished at Jerusalem. III. Let us now consider some of the practical lessons which the whole scbject furnishes. • 1. We ought to be confirmed by it in the vitally important truth of the essential Godhead of Christ as the Son. If this had not been the testimony of all Scripture, we admit that the visible glory of His Person on the mount would not have sanctioned our belief in such a wonderful truth. But with the plain and reiterated teaching of Scripture to this effect, the glory in which Christ appeared cannot but be admitted by us as expressly designed to cimrtrm our faith in Him as a Divine Person, even as " God manifest in the flesh." To bring before ue the infinite perfections of God. especially his omniscience and infinite pu- rity, Scripture describes God as " Light in whom is no darkness at all ;" or as '* covering Himself with light as with a garment." Now observe, that in most perfect harmony with this representation, the prophet IMala- chi foretells Christ's advent as " the Sun of righteousness that should arise with healing in his wings ;'' and Christ himself declares : " I am the light of the world, and he that believeth in me shall not walk in darkness, but '■hall have the light of life." John asserts that Christ was " the true Light" that made the World, yea all things, and by whom only the Fa- ther was declared." Paul also, while declaring that Christ is the Creator of all things, calls him *' the image of the invisible God," the " brightness" 13 (radiation or efulgence) "of the Father's glory and the express (or exact) image of his Person (or Substance)." Now with these plain testimonies before us, we must affirm that Christ's appearing on the mount in an efTul- geuce of glory as the Sun shining in its strength, is just such an appearance as we should have expected if he meant to assure us of hiB true Divinity. But Christ's appearance on the Mount furnishes us with more than a mere conjecture that he was the eternal Son. For when we compart it closely with the second vision which John had of h\ia as the exalted and glorified Redeemer, and listen to the '.ofty language in which the Lord Jesus addres- ses John on that occasion, we ought to have a full conviction that it was the Divine Majesty of Christ as the Son that was exhibited to the disciples. Let us read the account : " and I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks,one like unto the Son of Man,clothed with a garmentdown to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle (the sign of office). His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow;and his eyes were as a flame of fire; andhisfeethke untofine brass as if they burned in a furnace (the symbol of strength) ; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars : and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword : and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength." If this is a vision which represents Christ as " the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," the name by which he announces his presence to John, then certainly it is one in which he is exhibiting his Divine glory. We therefore conclude that the transfiguration of Christ was a real manifestation of His Godhead. Let us therefore endeavour to lift to Christ the eye of faith, saying to him as Thomas of old : " My Lord and my God;" or as Peter : '' Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." If Brethren you have this faith, you will behold a loftier glory in the Person of Christ than the disciples saw on the Mount. You will see Him as novf present a.s your Prophet, Priest and King, according to His promise : " where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." By this divine faith you will have fellowship with ihe Father, so that you may say from a more blessed experience than that of Peter, " It is good for us to be here." O glorious faith, that brings an invisible Christ in all his Divine glory into the soul, to fill it with Heaven's own joy ! O glorious faith that makes the church militant one body with the church triumphant, by uniting us to Christ our mystical Head ! Cultivate this faith, believers. Endeavour to realize your union to the Person of Christ. " Without HinT," or apart from Him, he declares "you can do nothing." As by faith in Him we have eternal life, so by the exercise of this faith we grow u In spiritual strength, and in a holy meetnets for the inheritance of the saints in light. 2. Let us learn from the Father's voice and testimony on this occasion, that there is a distinction of Persons in the Godhead. A plurality of Per- sons in the Godhead is a truth advanced in the very first page of the Bi- ble, but it is only gradually that the sublime truth of a Trinity in unity is made to dawn upon our mind,?. It is only presented to us fully in the New Testament after Christ had risen from the dead, even after that event which "declared hira to be the Son of God witl^ power," or {powerfully) That the Father is a Divine Person distinct from the Son,. is plainly seen in this voice " from the excellent glory," and in such announcements as these, that the Father sent the Son into the world — that He gave Ilim up unto death — that He spared not his own and only Son. The doctrine of a Trinity in unity is indeed a great and an adorable mystery, and we must beware of profanely lifting the veil which Jehovah has thrown around the lofty subject of His subsistence in the Three Persons of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Their distinct actings in the plan of redemption is revealed and this is what we have to consider. On this our faith must be exer- cised, and blessed is he that hears .the voice of the Son of God. By this we rise from the grave of trespasses and sins, and have the Spirit of the Son sent forth into our hearts teaching us to cry " Abba, Father," by which we know that we are the sons of God. 3. Let us learn from this passage the entirely voluntary character of all Christ's sufferings and of his death on Calvary. Did the glory and majesty in which Christ here appeared to his amazed disciples prove that he was " God manifest in the flesh" then it no less evinces that whatever he endured of sorrow, misery, and pain, in his Humanity, was endured out of the freest love. Men evidently could have had no power whatever to inflict on him a moment's pain, far less to rob him of life, had he not been most freely pleased to permit them to do whatever their malice and cruelty prompted them to do— and we think that the abundant exhibition of his Divine power which his miracles furnished must have convinced his disciples of this fact, altnough they covld not at that time account for it. And with respect to God, nothing can be plainer than that Christ could be under no obligation to endure the fearful wrath due to trans- gressors of his own holy law. All his « obedience" unto death was, there- fore a perfect free-will offering to God's justice in the room and stead of others, even of all that believe in him. And this blessed truth must have appeared in the most convincing light, when he by his own Divine power raised himself from the dead as he had predicted. The purely voluntary and vicarious character of all that he endured, up to the moment when he I ■1.- I HW I J IPIWH mm mm. 16 suffered that fearful hcrror of darkness which made him cry aloud " My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me ?" is what made it a rigliteouc thing in God to take full satistaction for sin upon him, as he really did ; and it is this consideration also which makes his whole sufferings and sa. orifice a .subject full of the sweetest comfort to every broken-hearted be« liever. Behold then, believers, " the Lord of glory" freely crucified for you, loving you and freely giving himself for you. Behold your hell- deserving iniquities all laid upon the head oi God's beloved Son, as your willing Surety ; behold him paying your whole mighty debt of obedience and punishment, by giving himseL" a sacrifice for your sins; and then think whether his sufferings and death ought not to form c subject of frequent and penitential meditation ! Moses and Elias, as we have seen, were de- lighted to talk to Him df His wondrous love in consenting to die for us vile sinners ; and if they came from glory to do this ; if they left for a Season the realms of unspeakable joy to hold converse with Jesus on His love in dying for guilty men, — how ought His love to attract our hearts, aad His death to be meditated upon by us ! reflect, then, frequently upon his dying love. This duty, rightly engaged in, will give a more fa- tal blow to the love of sin and of the world in you than anything else. 1. will bring Christ more sensibly nearer to you, and make you long to be with him, and to see him cs he is. Such was the rapturous feeling of Paul when he wrote to the Phillipian church that he " had a desire to depart, and to be with Christ." 4. We are taught by this passage, that it is the immediate duty of every sinner to fly to Christ from the wrath to come. It is the express com- mand of the Father that we hear the Son, hear him as God-man, Media- tor, who hath freely paid the infinite ransom-price of redemption, and thus secured eternal happiness for all that believe in him. Him hath the Fa* ther anointed with all the fulness of h"-! Spirit as his great Prophet, Priest, and King on his holy hill of Zion, and beside him there is no Saviour. He is the only Ark of refuge, and into this blessed Ark all are invited, yea, commanded to enter. Have each of you then submitted to God's authority, and closed with the Gospel call, a call addressed to all by the Lord Jesus himself? Not to comply, is to throw contempt upon God's beloved Son, and directly to fight against the Holy Spirit, than which n<^ sin can be greater or more dangerous. surrender yourself this day then to Christ, if you have not yet done so. If you have, you are called to prove it this day to the Church and to the world by reverently complying with his authority. He calls upon you to observe diligently all his holy ordinances. He leaves you no liberty to reject any one of his commands, and he expressly requires that you publicly tostify your faith in Him, and 16 your deep sense of his dving love, and your solemn determination to fol- low Ilirn, and to live for Him by observing His last loving, dying com- mand, namely, by fitting down at His holyjable, on which are the lively emblems of his bleeding Sacrifice for you. Hear Him, then, saving to you, as your Lord and Master : « Do this in remembrance of Me." Take this seal of my covenant, and say by doing so that I am thy Saviour thy Beloved, and that thou art mine, mine to serve me henceforth, yea to suffer and to die for me if need be. ' 5. Lastly, believers, as Christ was engaged m solemn prayer before h.s transfiguration on the Mount, so follow His example. Engage in fer- vent prayer on the Sacramental Mount. Make it a mount of prayer be- seeching God that he would graciously give you a u?.w glimpse of 'the glory of Imraanuel, not only as the crucified One, but also as the rigen and exalted Redeemer, and your all-prevailing Intercessor within the veil.— It is onl> the sight of Christ by faith that canmake this Table of Commu- nion the Table of the Lord to you, and so make this holy ordinance quick- enmg sanctifying and comforting to you. Ask then that you may receive, seek that you may find what is freely offered, so shall you be enabled to say with the spouse ; « I sat down under his shadow with great deli-ht and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house and his banner over me was love." Amen. i^*»d'i*-,^^» ^jn^-^K^iimjJtiimif^ li