with the children of Belial, yea, must perhaps call them father, mother, sister, brother. Here in this world the Christian, while wearily wending his way to heaven, must often see his own bodily offspring walk in the way of destruction. In this life the true believer must frequently approach the Lord's table with those of whom he is convinced that they are not Christians, or must kneel with those of whom he knows that their prayers are abomination to the Lord. But the day is coming when the weeds will be separated and the pure wheat will be stored in the house with many mansions. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."

O happy day, and yet far happier hour,

When wilt thou come at last?

When fearless to my Father's love and power,

Whose promise standeth fast,

My soul I gladly render,

For surely will His hand

Lead her, with guidance tender,

To heaven, her fatherland. Amen.

VI. SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.

TEXT: And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfgured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus. Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said. This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. And as they came down from the mountain. Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. Matt. 17, 1-9.

The object for which the Son of God was made flesh and dwelt on this earth in the form of a servant, patiently enduring mockeries, bonds, stripes, wounds and death, the object of all this was, to restore again to us what we had lost by the envy of Satan and by the sin of our first parents. "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3, S. He came to take away sin and to destroy all the evil which the devil has brought into the world. Therefore He before said by the prophet: "I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds." Jer. 30, 17. The wounds which Satan inflicted on us, the running sores of sin which bring death to soul and body, all these the Son of God came to heal. He came to take away the evils which beset and oppress us, and to restore unto us in body and soul that pristine health which man had when he was formed by the hand of Lis Maker. This healing the Lord begins in us in this life by forgiving us our sins, by burdening us with the cross that the

old Adam may be mortified in us together with all evil lusts, and by prompting us through His Word and Spirit unto a holy life, and He will finish our healing on the day of our resurrection, when He will call our bodies from the dust of the earth purified from sin, that we, healed in soul and body, may "live under Him in His kingdom, in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness."

This healing which costs us nothing cost the Son of God dearly. He had to purchase it for us in a hard servitude, by lowliness, meekness, suffering, bleeding and dying. He verily had to become what the prophet had foretold, "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief." Is. 53, 3. Yet even in the days of His flesh it was already manifested in many ways, that His servitude could not be in vain, but would bring forth for man the fruit of everlasting salvation and blessedness. When He cast out devils He betokened that He was come to break the fetters with which Satan had bound us. When He healed the sick He gave evidence that He is come to heal our sicknesses. When He quieted the raging winds and calmed the surging waves He indicated, that He quiets the billows of an uneasy conscience and gives peace to the heart. When He raised up dead He exemplified that He was come to abolish death and to bring life and immortality to light. But it was on the Mount of His transfiguration where the Lord gave to three of His disciples the highest and brightest sample or figure of the salvation and glory which we obtain by His servitude. As He was transfigured so that no more the form of a servant, but only the glory of divine majesty was seen in Him, so shall we be transformed that no more wounds and bruises, weaknesses and death will be found in us, but all will be health, strength and beauty; for He "shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body." Phil. 3, 21. "We shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3, 2.

Therefore in our labors, trials, struggles and weaknesses, in the death of this present life, the Lord's transfiguration should be to us a shining star of hope. To awaken and refresh our hope let us to-day in the spirit of our mind joyfully witness:

I.

II.

THE LORD'S TRANSFIGURATION ON THE MOUNT.

How it transpired;

What effect it had on the disciples; and

III. How we are made partakers of His glory.

I.

The transfiguration of Christ took place a week after He first told His disciples that He must suffer and die at Jerusalem. This prediction of His suffering and death was very offensive to them, so much so that Peter took Him aside and said unto Him: "Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee." Peter, not yet rightly understanding the Lord's mission, thought He should be spared such shame and suffering, but Jesus replied: "Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offense unto me; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." His transfiguration so soon after this occurrence was to show the disciples that His suffering and death were not against His glory, but rather through dishonor He would obtain the highest honor; for from that same body, which was to be spitted on, stripped and nailed to the cross, divine glory shone forth.

"And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart."

Matthew says "after six days," Luke says: "And it came to

pass, about an eight days after these sayings." There are different ways of computing time. From Sunday to Sunday, the Sundays excluded, is six days; from Sunday to Sunday, the Sundays included, is eight days. To say "after six days," and again "about an eight days after" is not a contradiction.

For witnesses of His transfiguration Jesus chose the three most prominent of His disciples, Peter, James and John. Peter had taken special exception to the Lord's saying that He must die at Jerusalem, James was to become the first martyr among the apostles being put to death by Herod at Jerusalem, and John was to become the principal defender of Christ's divinity. With these three the Lord went up into a high mountain. This mountain is not named by the Evangelists, but the earliest

church fathers agree in saying, and it is generally accepted, that it was mount Tabor, the highest mountain in Galilee and a secluded place. When they had arrived on the mountain Jesus betook Himself to prayer and while He prayed He“ was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light."

The apostles compare the glory shining forth from the Lord with the brightest visible creatures. We mortals know of ncing and can imagine nothing brighter than the sun or more shining than the light. Human language lacks the words fully to express the glory of the invisible God, and the Scriptures speak to us by way of comparison to convey to our minds some idea of what it is. Yet we must not think that the Lord's countenance shone with a glaring light which would have blinded the eyes like the noonday light of the sun. It was a lovely, beatifying light; for ravished with delight did the disciples look upon the Lord. But you will not expect me to describe to you the glory of Christ transfigured. To such a request I could only reply: Let us see that we die in the Lord; then we will know His glory, when we shall see Him face to face. Coming down the mountain the Lord charged the disciples, saying: “Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead." His transfiguration was not yet to be made public, because it was something which belonged to His state of exaltation. Hence we should content ourselves to walk by faith until the day of our exaltation, when we shall “meet the Lord in the air."

But this we may ask: Whence came the glory visible in Him? It came not from without, but from within. In the Old Testament there was one man of whom, in a certain sense, we may say that he was transfigured. It was Moses. When he came down from the mount, where he had conversed with God, his face shone that the children of Israel could not bear to look on him. That light shining in the countenance of Moses was impressed on him by his intercourse with God. It was from without and not from within. But it was not so with Jesus Christ. He was God. In Him dwelt all the fulness of the