Twenty-Five Village Sermons Part 5

What a storm of doubt it must have raised in Abraham's mind! How unable he must have been to say whether that message came from a good or bad spirit, or commanded him to do a good action or a bad one; that the same G.o.d who had said, "Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed;" who had forbidden murder as the very highest of crimes, should command him to shed the blood of his own son; that the same G.o.d who had promised him that in Isaac all the nations of the earth should be blessed, should command him to put to death that very son upon whom all his hopes depended! Fearful, indeed, must have been the struggle in Abraham's mind, but the good and the right thought conquered at last. His feeling was, no doubt, 'This G.o.d who has blessed me so long, who has guided me so long, whom I have obeyed so long, shall I not trust Him a little further yet? how can I believe that He will do wrong? how can I believe that He will lead me wrong? If it is really wrong that I should kill my son, He will not let me do it: if it really is His will that I should kill my son, I WILL DO IT. Whatever He says must be right; it is agony and misery to me, but what of that? Do I not owe Him a thousand daily and hourly blessings? Has He not led me hither, preserved me, guided me, taught me the knowledge of Himself,--chosen me to be the father of a great nation? Do I not owe Him everything?

and shall I not bear this sharp sorrow for His sake? I know, too, that if Isaac dies, all my hope, all my joy, will die with him; that I shall have nothing left to look for, nothing left to work for in this world. Nothing! shall I not have G.o.d left to me? When Isaac is dead will the Lord die? will the Lord change? will He grow weak?-- Never! Years ago did He declare to me that He was the Almighty G.o.d; I will believe that He will be always Almighty; I will believe that though I kill my son, my son will be still in G.o.d's hands, and I shall be still in G.o.d's hands, and that G.o.d is able to raise him again, even from the dead. G.o.d can give him back to me, and if He will NOT give him back to me, He can fulfil His promises in a thousand other ways. Ay, and He will fulfil His promises, for in Him is neither deceit, nor fickleness, nor weakness, nor unrighteousness of any kind; and, come what will, I will believe His promise and I will obey His will.'

Some such thoughts as these, I suppose, pa.s.sed through Abraham's mind. He could not have had a man's heart in him indeed, if not only those thoughts, but ten thousand more, sadder, and stranger, and more pitiful than my weak brain can imagine, did not sweep like a storm through his soul at that last and terrible temptation, but the Bible tells us nothing of them: why should the Bible tell us anything of them? the Bible sets forth Abraham as the faithful man, and therefore it simply tells us of his faith, without telling us of his doubts and struggles before he settled down into faith. It tells us, as it were, not how often the wind s.h.i.+fted and twisted about during the tempest, but in what quarter the wind settled when the tempest was over, and it began to blow steadily, and fixedly, and gently, and all was bright, and mild, and still in Abraham's bosom again, just as a man's mind will be bright, and gentle, and calm, even at the moment he is going to certain death or fearful misery, if he does but know that his suffering is his duty, and that his trial is his heavenly Father's will: and so all we read in the Old-Testament account is simply, "And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his a.s.s, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt-offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which G.o.d had told him.

Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the a.s.s; and I and the lad will go yonder and wors.h.i.+p, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son: and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father, and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering? and Abraham said, My son, G.o.d will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering. So they went both of them together. And they came to the place which G.o.d had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.

And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son."

Really if one is to consider the whole circ.u.mstances of Abraham's trials, they seem to have been infinite, more than mortal man could bear; more than he could have borne, no doubt, if the same G.o.d who tried had not rewarded his strength of mind by strengthening him still more, and rewarded his faith by increasing his faith; when we consider the struggle he must have had to keep the dreadful secret from the young man's mother, the tremendous effort of controlling himself, the long and frightful journey, the necessity, and yet the difficulty he seems to have felt of keeping the truth from his son, and yet of telling him the truth, which he did in those wonderful words, "G.o.d shall provide Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering" (on which I shall have occasion to speak presently); and, last and worst of all, the perfect obedience and submission of his son; for Isaac was not a child then, he was a young man of nearly thirty years of age; strong and able enough, no doubt, to have resisted his aged father, if he had chosen. But the very excellence of Isaac seems to have been, that he did not resist, that he shewed the same perfect trust and obedience to Abraham that Abraham did towards G.o.d; for he was led "as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth," for we read, "Abraham bound Isaac his son and laid him on the wood." Surely that was the bitterest pang of all, to see the excellence of his son s.h.i.+ne forth just when it was too late for him to enjoy him--to find out what a perfect child he had, in simple trust and utter obedience, just at the very moment when he was going to lose him: "And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son."

At that point Abraham's trial finished. He had shewn the completeness of his faith by the completeness of his works, that is, by the completeness of his obedience. He had utterly given up all for G.o.d. He had submitted his will completely to G.o.d's will. He had said in heart, as our Blessed Lord said, "Father, if it be possible, let this woe pa.s.s from me, nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt;" and thus I say, he was justified by his works, by his actions; that is, by this faithful action he proved the faithfulness of his heart, as the Angel said to him, "Now I know that thou fearest G.o.d, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me:" for as St. James says, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou," says he, "how his faith wrought with his works;" how his works were the tool or instrument which his faith used; and by his works his faith was brought to perfection, as a tree is brought to perfection when it bears fruit. "And so," St.

James continues, "the scripture was fulfilled, which says, Abraham believed G.o.d, and it was imputed to him for righteousness; and he was called the friend of G.o.d. Ye see then," he says, "how that by works a man is justified," or shewn to be righteous and faithful, "and not by faith only;" that is, not by the mere feeling of faith, for, as he says, "as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." For what is the sign of a being dead?

It is its not being able to do anything, not being able to work; because there is no living and moving spirit in it. And what is the sign of a man's faith being dead? his faith not being able to WORK, because there is no living spirit in it, but it is a mere dead, empty sh.e.l.l and form of words,--a mere notion and thought about believing in a man's head, but not a living trust and loyalty to G.o.d in his heart. Therefore, says St. James, "shew me thy faith without thy works," if thou canst, "and I will shew thee my faith by my works," as Abraham did by offering up Isaac his son.

Oh! my friends, when people are talking about faith and works, and trying to reconcile St. Paul and St. James, as they call it, because St. Paul says Abraham was justified by faith, and St. James says Abraham was justified by works, if they would but pray for the simple, childlike heart, and the head of common sense, and look at their own children, who, every time they go on a message for them, settle, without knowing it, this mighty difference of man's making between faith and works. You tell a little child daily to do many things the meaning and use of which it cannot understand; and the child has faith in what you tell it; and, therefore, it does what you tell it, and so it shews its faith in you by obedience in working for you.

But to go on with the verses: "And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-sh.o.r.e; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."

Now, here remark two things; first, that it was Abraham's obedience in giving up all to G.o.d, which called forth from G.o.d this confirmation of G.o.d's promises to him; and next, that G.o.d here promised him nothing new; G.o.d did not say to him, 'Because thou hast obeyed me in this great matter, I will give thee some great reward over and above what I promised thee.' No; G.o.d merely promises him over again, but more solemnly than ever, what He had promised him many years before.

And so it will be with us, my friends, we must not expect to BUY G.o.d's favour by obeying Him,--we must not expect that the more we do for G.o.d, the more G.o.d will be bound to do for us, as the Papists do.

No; G.o.d has done for us all that He will do. He has promised us all that He will promise. He has provided us, as He provided Abraham, a lamb for the burnt-offering, the Lamb without blemish and without spot, which taketh away the sins of the world. We are His redeemed people--we HAVE a share in His promises--He bids us believe THAT, and shew that we believe it by living as redeemed men, not our own, but bought with a price, and created anew in Christ Jesus to do good works; not that we may buy forgiveness by them, but that we may shew by them that we believe that G.o.d HAS forgiven us already, and that when we have done all that is commanded us, we are still unprofitable servants; for though we should give up at G.o.d's bidding our children, our wives, and our own limbs and lives, and shew as utter faith in G.o.d, and complete obedience to G.o.d, as Abraham did, we should only have done just what it was already our duty to do.

SERMON XIV. OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN

1 JOHN, ii. 13.

"I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father."

I preached some time ago a sermon on the whole of these most deep and blessed verses of St. John.

I now wish to speak to those who are of age to be confirmed three separate sermons on three separate parts of these verses. First to those whom St. John calls little children; next, to those whom He calls grown men. To the first I will speak to-day; to the latter, by G.o.d's help, next Sunday. And may the Blessed One bring home my weak words to all your hearts!

Now for the meaning of "little children." There are those who will tell you that those words mean merely "weak believers," "babes in grace," and so on. They mean that, no doubt; but they mean much more. They mean, first of all, be sure, what they say. St. John would not have said "little children," if he had not meant little children. Surely G.o.d's apostle did not throw about his words at random, so as to leave them open to mistakes, and want some one to step in and tell us that they do not mean their plain, common-sense meaning, but something else. Holy Scripture is too wisely written, and too awful a matter, to be trifled with in that way, and cut and squared to suit our own fancies, and explained away, till its blessed promises are made to mean anything or nothing.

No! By little children, St. John means here children in age,--of course CHRISTIAN children and young people, for he was writing only to Christians. He speaks to those who have been christened, and brought up, more or less, as christened children should be. But, no doubt, when he says little children, he means also all Christian people, whether they be young or old, whose souls are still young, and weak, and unlearned. All, however old they may be, who have not been confirmed--I do not merely mean confirmed by the bishop, but confirmed by G.o.d's grace,--all those who have not yet come to a full knowledge of their own sins,--all who have not yet been converted, and turned to G.o.d with their whole hearts and wills, who have not yet made their full choice between G.o.d and sin,--all who have not yet fought for themselves the battle which no man or angel can fight for them--I mean the battle between their selfishness and their duty--the battle between their love of pleasure and their fear of sin--the battle, in short, between the devil and his temptations to darkness and shame, and G.o.d and His promises of light, and strength, and glory,--all who have not been converted to G.o.d, to them St. John speaks as little children--people who are not yet strong enough to stand alone, and do their duty on G.o.d's side against sin, the world, and the devil. And all of you here who have not yet made up your minds, who have not yet been confirmed in soul,--whether you were confirmed by the bishop or not,--to you I speak this day.

Now, first of all, consider this,--that though St. John calls you "little children," because you are still weak, and your souls have not grown to manhood, yet he does not speak to you as if you were heathens and knew nothing about G.o.d; he says, "I have written unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father." Consider that; that was his reason for all that he had written to them before; that they had known the Father, the G.o.d who made heaven and earth--the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ--the Father of little children--my Father and your Father, my friends, little as we may behave like what we are, sons of the Almighty G.o.d. That was St.

John's reason for speaking to little children, because they had already known the Father. So he does not speak to them as if they were heathens; and I dare not speak to you, young people, as if you were heathens, however foolish and sinful some of you may be; I dare not do it, whatever many preachers may do nowadays; not because I should be unfair and hard upon you merely, but because I should lie, and deny the great grace and mercy which G.o.d has shewn you, and count the blood of the covenant, with which you were sprinkled at baptism, an unholy thing; and do despite to the spirit of grace which has been struggling in your hearts, trying to lead you out of sin into good, out of light into darkness, ever since you were born.

Therefore, as St. John said, I say, I preach this day to you, young people, because you have known your Father in heaven!

But some of you may say to me, 'You put a great honour on us; but we do not see that we have any right to it. You tell us that we have a very n.o.ble and awful knowledge--that we know the Father. We are afraid that we do not know Him; we do not even rightly understand of whom or what you preach.'

Well, my young friends, these are very awful words of St. John; such blessed and wonderful words, that if we did not find them in the Bible, it would be madness and insolence to G.o.d of us to say such a thing, not merely of little children, but even of the greatest, and wisest, and holiest man who ever lived; but there they are in the Bible--the blessed Lord Himself has told us all, "When ye pray, say, Our Father in heaven;"--and I dare not keep them back because they sound strange. They may SOUND strange, but they ARE NOT strange.

Any one who has ever watched a young child's heart, and seen how naturally and at once the little innocent takes in the thought of his Father which is in heaven, knows that it is not a strange thought--that it comes to a little child almost by instinct--that his Father in heaven seems often to be just the thought which fills his heart most completely, has most power over him,--the thought which has been lying ready in his heart all the time, only waiting for some one to awaken it, and put it into words for him; that he will do right when you put him in mind of his Father above the skies sooner than he will for a hundred punishments. For truly says the poet,--

"Heaven lies about us in our infancy, Not in complete forgetfulness, Nor yet in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come, From G.o.d who is our home!"

And yet more truly said the Blessed One Himself, "That children's angels always behold the face of our Father which is in heaven;" and that "of such is the kingdom of heaven." Yet you say, some of you, perhaps, 'Whatever knowledge of our Father in heaven we had, or ought to have had, when we were young, we have lost it now. We have forgotten what we learnt at school. We have been what you would call sinful; at all events, we have been thinking all our time about a great many things beside religion, and they have quite put out of our head the thought that G.o.d is our Father. So how have we known our Father in heaven?'

Well, then, to answer that,--consider the case of your earthly fathers, the men who begot you and brought you up. Now there might be one of you who had never seen his father since he was born, but all he knows of him is, that his name is so and so, and that he is such and such a sort of man, as the case might be; and that he lives in such and such a place, far away, and that now and then he hears talk of his father, or receives letters or presents from him.

Suppose I asked that young man, Do you know your father? would he not answer--would he not have a right to answer, 'Yes, I know him.

I never saw him, or was acquainted with him, but I know him well enough; I know who he is, and where to find him, and what sort of a man he is.' That young man might not know his father's face, or love him, or care for him at all. He might have been disobedient to his father; he might have forgotten for years that he had a father at all, and might have lived on his own way, just as if he had no father. But when he was put in mind of it all, would he not say at once, 'Yes, I know my father well enough; his name is so and so, and he lives at such and such a place. I know my father.'

Well, my young friends, and if this would be true of your fathers on earth, it is just as true of your Father in heaven. You have never seen Him--you may have forgotten Him--you may have disobeyed Him-- you may have lived on your own way, as if you had no Father in heaven; still you know that you have a Father in heaven. You pray, surely, sometimes. What do you say? "Our Father which art in heaven." So you have a Father in heaven, else what right have you to use those words,--what right have you to say to G.o.d, "Our Father in heaven," if you believe that you have no Father there? That would be only blasphemy and mockery. I can well understand that you have often said those words without thinking of them--without thinking what a blessed, glorious, soul-saving meaning there was in them; but I will not believe that you never once in your whole lives said, "Our Father which art in heaven," without believing them to be true words. What I want is, for you ALWAYS to believe them to be true. Oh young men and young women, boys and girls--believe those words, believe that when you say, "Our Father which art in heaven,"

you speak G.o.d's truth about yourselves; that the evil devil rages when he hears you speak those words, because they are the words which prove that you do not belong to him and to h.e.l.l, but to G.o.d and the kingdom of heaven. Oh, believe those words--behave as if you believed those words, and you shall see what will come of them, through all eternity for ever.

Well, but you will ask, What has all this to do with confirmation?

It has all to do with confirmation. Because you are G.o.d's children, and know that you are G.o.d's children, you are to go and confirm before the bishop your right to be called G.o.d's children. You are to go and claim your share in G.o.d's kingdom. If you were heir to an estate, you would go and claim your estate from those who held it.

You are heirs to an estate--you are heirs to the kingdom of heaven; go to confirmation, and claim that kingdom, say, 'I am a citizen of G.o.d's kingdom. Before the bishop and the congregation, here I proclaim the honour which G.o.d has put upon me.' If you have a father, you will surely not be ashamed to own him! How much more when the Almighty G.o.d of heaven is your Father! You will not be ashamed to own Him? Then go to confirmation; for by doing so you own G.o.d for your Father. If you have an earthly father, you will not be ashamed to say, 'I know I ought to honour him and obey him;'

how much more when your father is the Almighty G.o.d of heaven, who sent His own Son into the world to die for you, who is daily heaping you with blessings body and soul! You will not be ashamed to confess that you ought to honour and obey Him? Then go to confirmation, and say, 'I here take upon myself the vow and promise made for me at my baptism. I am G.o.d's child, and therefore I will honour, love, and obey Him. It is my duty; and it shall be my delight henceforward to work for G.o.d, to do all the good I can to my life's end, because my Father in heaven loves the good, and has commanded me, poor, weak countryman though I be, to work for Him in well-doing.' So I say, If G.o.d is your Father, go and own Him at confirmation. If G.o.d is your Father, go and promise to love and obey Him at confirmation; and see if He does not, like a strong and loving Father as He is, confirm you in return,--see if He does not give you strength of heart, and peace of mind, and clear, quiet, pure thoughts, such as a man or woman ought to have who considers that the great G.o.d, who made the sky and stars above their heads, is their Father. But, perhaps, there are some of you, young people, who do not wish to be confirmed. And why? Now, look honestly into your own hearts and see the reason. Is it not, after all, because you don't like the TROUBLE? Because you are afraid that being confirmed will force you to think seriously and be religious; and you had rather not take all that trouble yet? Is it not because you do not like to look your ownselves in the face, and see how foolishly you have been living, and how many bad habits you will have to give up, and what a thorough conversion and change you must make, if you are to be confirmed in earnest? Is not this why you do not wish to be confirmed? And what does that all come to? That though you know you are G.o.d's children, you do not like to tell people publicly that you are G.o.d's children, lest they should expect you to behave like G.o.d's children--that is it. Now, young men and young women, think seriously once for all--if you have any common SENSE--I do not say grace, left in you--think! Are you not playing a fearful game? You would not dare to deny your fathers on earth-- to refuse to obey them, because you know well enough that they would punish you--that if you were too old for punishment, your neighbours, at least, would despise you for mean, ungrateful, and rebellious children! But because you cannot SEE G.o.d your Father, because you have not some sign or wonder hanging in the sky to frighten you into good behaviour, therefore you are not afraid to turn your backs on him. My friends, it is ill mocking the living G.o.d. Mark my words! If a man will not turn He will whet His sword, and make us feel it. You who can be confirmed, and know in your hearts that you ought to be confirmed, and ought to be REALLY converted and confirmed in soul, and make no mockery of it,--mark my words! If you will not be converted and confirmed of your own good will, G.o.d, if He has any love left for you, will convert and confirm you against your will. He will let you go your own ways till you find out your own folly. He will bring you low with affliction perhaps, with sickness, with ill-luck, with shame. Some way or other, He will chastise you, again and again, till you are forced to come back to Him, and take His service on you. If He loves you, He will drive you home to your Father's house. You may laugh at my words now, see if you laugh at them when your hairs are grey. Oh, young people, if you wish in after-life to save yourselves shame and sorrow, and perhaps, in the world to come eternal death, come to confirmation, acknowledge G.o.d for your Father, promise to come and serve Him faithfully, make those blessed words of the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father in heaven," your glory and your honour, your guide and guard through life, your t.i.tle-deeds to heaven. You who know that the Great G.o.d is your Father, will you be ashamed to own yourselves His sons?

SERMON XV. THE TRANSFIGURATION

MARK, ix. 2.

"Jesus taketh Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them."

The second lesson for this morning service brings us to one of the most wonderful pa.s.sages in our blessed Saviour's whole stay on earth, namely, His transfiguration. The story, as told by the different Evangelists, is this,--That our Lord took Peter, and John, and James his brother, and led them up into a high mountain apart, which mountain may be seen to this very day. It is a high peaked hill, standing apart from all the hills around it, with a small smooth s.p.a.ce of ground upon the top, very fit, from its height and its loneliness, for a transaction like the transfiguration, which our Lord wished no one but these three to behold. There the apostles fell asleep; while our blessed Lord, who had deeper thoughts in His heart than they had, knelt down and prayed to HIS Father and OUR Father, which is in heaven. And as He prayed, the form of His countenance was changed, and His raiment became s.h.i.+ning, white as the light; and there appeared Moses and Elijah talking with Him. They talked of matters which the angels desire to look into, of the greatest matters that ever happened in this earth since it was made; of the redemption of the world, and of the death which Christ was to undergo at Jerusalem. And as they were talking, the apostles awoke, and found into what glorious company they had fallen while they slept. What they felt no mortal man can tell--that moment was worth to them all the years they had lived before. When they had gone up with Jesus into the mount, He was but the poor carpenter's son, wonderful enough to THEM, no doubt, with His wise, searching words, and His gentle, loving looks, that drew to Him all men who had hearts left in them, and wonderful enough, too, from all the mighty miracles which they had seen Him do, but still He was merely a man like themselves, poor, and young, and homeless, who felt the heat, and the cold, and the rough roads, as much as they did. They could feel that He spake as never man spake--they could see that G.o.d's spirit and power was on Him as it had never been on any man in their time. G.o.d had even enlightened their reason by His Spirit, to know that He was the Christ, the Son of the living G.o.d.

But still it does seem they did not fully understand who and what He was; they could not understand how the Son of G.o.d should come in the form of a despised and humble man; they did not understand that His glory was to be a spiritual glory. They expected His kingdom to be a kingdom of this world--they expected His glory to consist in palaces, and armies, and riches, and jewels, and all the magnificence with which Solomon and the old Jewish kings were adorned; they thought that He was to conquer back again from the Roman emperor all the inestimable treasures of which the Romans had robbed the Jews, and that He was to make the Jewish nation, like the Roman, the conquerors and masters of all the nations of the earth.

So that it was a puzzling thing to their minds why He should be King of the Jews at the very time that He was but a poor tradesman's son, living on charity. It was to shew them that His kingdom was the kingdom of heaven that He was transfigured before them.

They saw His glory--the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The form of His countenance was changed; all the majesty, and courage, and wisdom, and love, and resignation, and pity, that lay in His n.o.ble heart, shone out through His face, while He spoke of His death which He should accomplish at Jerusalem-- the Holy Ghost that was upon Him, the spirit of wisdom, and love, and beauty--the spirit which produces every thing that is lovely in heaven and earth: in soul and body, blazed out through His eyes, and all His glorious countenance, and made Him look like what He was--a G.o.d. My friends, what a sight! Would it not be worth while to journey thousands of miles--to go through all difficulties, dangers, that man ever heard of, for one sight of that glorious face, that we might fall down upon our knees before it, and, if it were but for a moment, give way to the delight of finding something that we could utterly love and utterly adore? I say, the delight of finding something to wors.h.i.+p; for if there is a n.o.ble, if there is a holy, if there is a spiritual feeling in man, it is the feeling which bows him down before those who are greater, and wiser, and holier than himself. I say, that feeling of respect for what is n.o.ble is a heavenly feeling. The man who has lost it--the man who feels no respect for those who are above him in age, above him in knowledge, above him in wisdom, above him in goodness,--THAT man shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is only the man who is like a little child, and feels the delight of having some one to look up to, who will ever feel delight in looking up to Jesus Christ, who is the Lord of lords and King of kings. It was the want of respect, it was the dislike of feeling any one superior to himself, which made the devil rebel against G.o.d, and fall from heaven. It will be the feeling of complete respect--the feeling of kneeling at the feet of one who is immeasurably superior to ourselves in every thing, that will make up the greatest happiness of heaven. This is a hard saying, and no man can understand it, save he to whom it is given by the Spirit of G.o.d.

That the apostles HAD this feeling of immeasurable respect for Christ there is no doubt, else they would never have been apostles.

But they felt more than this. There were other wonders in that glorious vision besides the countenance of our Lord. His raiment, too, was changed, and became all brilliant, white as the light itself. Was not THAT a lesson to them? Was it not as if our Lord had said to them, 'I am a king, and have put on glorious apparel, but whence does the glory of my raiment come? _I_ have no need of fine linen, and purple, and embroidery, the work of men's hands; _I_ have no need to send my subjects to mines and caves to dig gold and jewels to adorn my crown: the earth is mine and the fulness thereof. All this glorious earth, with its trees and its flowers, its sunbeams and its storms, is MINE. _I_ made it--_I_ can do what I will with it. All the mysterious laws by which the light and the heat flow out for ever from G.o.d's throne, to lighten the sun, and the moon, and the stars of heaven--they are mine. _I_ am the light of the world--the light of men's bodies as well of their souls; and here is my proof of it. Look at Me. I am He that "decketh Himself with light as it were with a garment, who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters, and walketh upon the wings of the wind."

This was the message which Christ's glory brought the apostles--a message which they could never forget. The spiritual glory of His countenance had shewn them that He was a spiritual king--that His strength lay in the spirit of power, and wisdom, and beauty, and love, which G.o.d had given Him without measure; and it shewed them, too, that there was such a thing as a spiritual body, such a body as each of us some day shall have if we be found in Christ at the resurrection of the just--a body which shall not hide a man's spirit, when it becomes subject to the wear and tear of life, and disease, and decay; but a spiritual body--a body which shall be filled with our spirits, which shall be perfectly obedient to our spirits--a body through which the glory of our spirits shall s.h.i.+ne out, as the glory of Christ's spirit shone out through His body at the transfiguration. "Brethren, we know not yet what we shall be, but this we do know, that when He shall appear, we shall be LIKE HIM, for we shall see Him as He is." (1 John, iii. 3.)

Thus our Lord taught them by His appearance that there is such a thing as a spiritual body, while, by the glory of His raiment, in addition to His other miracles, He taught them that He had power over the laws of nature, and could, in His own good time, "change the bodies of their humiliation, that they might be made like unto His glorious body, according to the mighty working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself."

But there was yet another lesson which the apostles learnt from the transfiguration of our Lord. They beheld Moses and Elijah talking with Him:--Moses the great lawgiver of their nation, Elijah the chief of all the Jewish prophets. We must consider this a little to find out the whole depth of its meaning. You remember how Christ had spoken of Himself as having come, not to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfil them. You remember, too, how He had always said that He was the person of whom the Law and the Prophets had spoken.

Here was an actual sign and witness that His words were true--here was Moses, the giver of the Law, and Elijah, the chief of the Prophets, talking with Him, bearing witness to Him in their own persons, and shewing, too, that it was His death and His perfect sacrifice that they had been shadowing forth in the sacrifices of the law and in the dark speeches of prophecy. For they talked with Him of His death, which He was to accomplish at Jerusalem. What more perfect testimony could the apostles have had to shew them that Jesus of Nazareth, their Master, was He of whom the Law and the Prophets spoke--that He was indeed the Christ for whom Moses and Elijah, and all the saints of old, had looked; and that He was come not to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfil them? We can hardly understand the awe and the delight with which the disciples must have beheld those blessed Three--Moses, and Elias, and Jesus Christ, their Lord, talking together before their very eyes. For of all men in the world, Moses and Elias were to them the greatest.

All true-hearted Israelites, who knew the history of their nation, and understood the promises of G.o.d, must have felt that Moses and Elias were the two greatest heroes and saviours of their nation, whom G.o.d had ever yet raised up. And the joy and the honour of thus seeing them face to face, the very men whom they had loved and reverenced in their thoughts, whom they had heard and read of from their childhood, as the greatest ornaments and glories of their nation--the joy and the honour, I say, of that unexpected sight, added to the wonderful majesty which was suddenly revealed to their transfigured Lord, seemed to have been too much for them--they knew not what to say. Such company seemed to them for the moment heaven enough; and St. Peter first finding words exclaimed, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If thou wilt let us build three tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias."

Not, I fancy, that they intended to wors.h.i.+p Moses and Elias, but that they felt that Moses and Elias, as well as Christ, had each a divine message, which must be listened to; and therefore, they wished that each of them might have his own tabernacle, and dwell among men, and each teach his own particular doctrine and wisdom in his own school. It may seem strange that they should put Moses and Elias so on an equality with Christ, but the truth was, that as yet they understood Moses and Elias better than they did Christ. They had heard and read of Moses and Elijah all their lives--they were acquainted with all their actions and words--they knew thoroughly what great and n.o.ble men the Spirit of G.o.d had made them, but they did NOT understand Christ in like manner. They did not yet FEEL that G.o.d had given Him the Spirit without measure--they did not understand that He was not only to be a lawgiver and a prophet, but a sacrifice for sin, the conqueror of death and h.e.l.l, who was to lead captivity captive, and receive inestimable gifts for men. Much less did they think that Moses and Elijah were but His servants-- that all THEIR spirit and THEIR power had been given by Him. But this also they were taught a moment afterwards; for a bright cloud overshadowed them, hiding from them the glory of G.o.d the Father, whom no man hath seen or can see, who dwells in the light which no man can approach unto; and out of that cloud, a voice saying, "This is my beloved Son; hear ye Him;" and then, hiding their faces in fear and wonder, they fell to the ground; and when they looked up, the vision and the voice had alike pa.s.sed away, and they saw no man but Christ alone. Was not that enough for them? Must not the meaning of the vision have been plain to them? They surely understood from it that Moses and Elijah were, as they had ever believed them to be, great and good, true messengers of the living G.o.d; but that their message and their work was done--that Christ, whom they had looked for, was come--that all the types of the law were realised, and all the prophecies fulfilled, and that henceforward Christ, and Christ alone, was to be their Prophet and their Lawgiver. Was not this plainly the meaning of the Divine voice? For when they wished to build three tabernacles, and to honour Moses and Elijah, the Law and the Prophets, as separate from Christ--that moment the heavenly voice warned them: 'THIS--THIS is my beloved Son--hear ye HIM, and Him only, henceforward.' And Moses and Elijah, their work being done, forthwith vanished away, leaving Christ alone to fulfil the Law and the prophets, and all other wisdom and righteousness that ever was or shall be. This is another lesson which Christ's transfiguration was meant to teach and us, that Christ alone is to be henceforward our guide; that no philosophies or doctrines of any sort which are not founded on a true faith in Jesus Christ, and His life and death, are worth listening to; that G.o.d has manifested forth His beloved Son, and that Him, and Him only, we are to hear. I do not mean to say that Christ came into the world to put down human learning. I do not mean that we are to despise human learning, as so many are apt to do nowadays; for Christ came into the world not to destroy human learning, but to fulfil it--to sanctify it--to make human learning true, and strong, and useful, by giving it a sure foundation to stand upon, which is the belief and knowledge of His blessed self.

Just as Christ came not to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfil them--to give them a spirit and a depth in men's eyes which they never had before--just so, He came to fulfil all true philosophies, all the deep thoughts which men had ever thought about this wonderful world and their own souls, by giving THEM a spirit and a depth which THEY never had before. Therefore let no man tempt you to despise learning, for it is holy to the Lord.

There is one more lesson which we may learn from our Lord's transfiguration; when St. Peter said, "LORD! it is good for us to be here," he spoke a truth. It WAS good for him to be there; nevertheless, Christ did not listen to his prayer. He and his two companions were not allowed to STAY in that glorious company. And why? Because they had a work to do. They had glad tidings of great joy to proclaim to every creature, and it was, after all, but a selfish prayer, to wish to be allowed to stay in ease and glory on the mount while the whole world was struggling in sin and wickedness below them: for there is no meaning in a man's calling himself a Christian, or saying that he loves G.o.d, unless he is ready to hate what G.o.d hates, and to fight against that which Christ fought against, that is, sin. No one has any right to call himself a servant of G.o.d, who is not trying to do away with some of the evil in the world around him. And, therefore, Christ was merciful, when, instead of listening to St. Peter's prayer, He led the apostles down again from the mount, and sent them forth, as He did afterwards, to preach the Gospel of the kingdom to all nations. For Christ put a higher honour on St. Peter by that than if He had let him stay on the mount all his life, to behold His glory, and wors.h.i.+p and adore.

And He made St. Peter more like Himself by doing so. For what was Christ's life? Not one of deep speculations, quiet thoughts, and bright visions, such as St. Peter wished to lead; but a life of fighting against evil; earnest, awful prayers and struggles within, continual labour of body and mind without, insult and danger, and confusion, and violent exertion, and bitter sorrow. This was Christ's life--this is the life of almost every good man I ever heard of;--this was St. Peter, and St. James, and St. John's life afterwards. This was Christ's cup, which they were to drink of as well as He;--this was the baptism of fire with which they were to be baptised of as well as He;--this was to be their fight of faith;-- this was the tribulation through which they, like all other great saints, were to enter into the kingdom of heaven; for it is certain that the harder a man fights against evil, the harder evil will fight against him in return: but it is certain, too, that the harder a man fights against evil, the more he is like his Saviour Christ, and the more glorious will be his reward in heaven. It is certain, too, that what was good for St. Peter is good for us. It is good for a man to have holy and quiet thoughts, and at moments to see into the very deepest meaning of G.o.d's word and G.o.d's earth, and to have, as it were, heaven opened before his eyes; and it is good for a man sometimes actually to FEEL his heart overpowered with the glorious majesty of G.o.d, and to FEEL it gus.h.i.+ng out with love to his blessed Saviour: but it is not good for him to stop there, any more than it was for the apostles; they had to leave that glorious vision and come down from the mount, and do Christ's work; and SO HAVE WE; for, believe me, one word of warning spoken to keep a little child out of sin,--one crust of bread given to a beggar-man, because he is your brother, for whom Christ died,--one angry word checked, when it is on your lips, for the sake of Him who was meek and lowly in heart; in short, any, the smallest endeavour of this kind to lessen the quant.i.ty of evil, which is in yourselves, and in those around you, is worth all the speculations, and raptures, and visions, and frames, and feelings in the world; for those are the good FRUITS of faith, whereby alone the tree shall be known whether it be good or evil.