SERMON XXX.

CHRIST'S Transfiguration.

LUKE ix. 28-36.

And it came to pafs about an eight days after thefe fayings, be took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his rayment was white and gliftering. And behold, there talked with him two men, which were Mofes and Elias: who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease, which be fhould accomplish at Jerufalem. But Peter and they that were with bim, were heavy with fleep: and when they were awake, they faw his glory, and the two men that flood with bim. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter faid unto JESUS, Mafter, it is good for us to be bere; and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Mofes, and one for Elias: not knowing what be faid. While be thus fpake, there came a cloud and overshadowed them, and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, faying, This is my beloved Son, hear him. And when the voice was past, JESUS was found alone; and they kept it close, and told no man in thofe days any of those things which they bad feen.

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HEN the angel was fent to the Redeemer's beloved difciple John, we are told that the angel faid unto him, "Come up hither :" He was to be exalted, to be brought nearer heaven, that his mind might be better prepared for thofe great manifeftations, which an infinitely great

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and condescending God intended to vouchsafe him. And on reading the verses that you have just now heard, when I also fee fuch a great and ferious affembly convened in the presence of GOD, I think I must addrefs you, as the angel addreffed John, and fay unto you, "Come up hither;" leave your worldly thoughts, for a time forget the carth. And as it is the Lord's-day, a time in which we ought more, particularly to think of heaven, I muft defire you to pray to God, that ye may get up on Pifgab's mount, and take a view of the promifed land. It is true, indeed, eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of any man to conceive the great and good things, which God hath prepared for his people here; much lefs, thofe infinitely greater and more glorious things, that he hath laid up for them that fear him, in the eternal world: but, bleffed be GOD! though we are not yet in heaven, unless to be in CHRIST may properly be termed heaven, and then all real christians are there already; yet, the bleffed JESUS has been pleased to leave upon record fome account of himself, of what happened to him in the days of his flesh, and of fome manifeftations he was pleafed to grant to a few of his difciples; that from what happened to them here below, we may form fome faint, though but a faint idea of that happiness that awaits his people in his kingdom above. If any of you enquire, in what part of our LORD's life thofe inftances are recorded, I have an answer ready: One of thefe inftances, and that a very remarkable one, is recorded in the verfes that I have now chosen for the fubject of your meditation.

The verfes give us an account of what is generally called our LORD's Transfiguration; his being wonderfully changed, and his being wonderfully owned by his Father upon the mount. Some think that this was done upon a fabbath-day; and the particular occafion of our blessed LORD's condefcending to let his fervants have such a fight as this, we may gather from the 27th verfe. It feems our bleffed LORD had been promifing a great reward to those who should not be afhamed of him: " Whofoever fhall be afhamed of me and "of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when be shall come in his own glory, and of his Father, and of the holy angels." In this threatening is implied, a reward to those

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who fhould not be ashamed of him: "But, (adds he) I tell you of a truth, there be fome ftanding here, who shall not tafte of death, till they fee the kingdom of GOD:" As much as to fay, There will be a day, when I will come in the glory of my Father and of his holy angels; but I tell you there are fome of my favourites; I tell you of a truth, though you may think it too good news, there are some of you that fhall not taste of death, till ye fhall fee the kingdom of God. Some divines think, that this promife has reference to our LORD's erecting a gospel church; and if we take it in this fense, it means that the Apoftles, who were then present, fome of them at least, should not die, till they faw Satan's kingdom in a great measure pulled down, and the Redeemer's gofpel-kingdom erected. Some think it has a peculiar reference to John, who it seems survived all the other Apostles, and lived till CHRIST came; that is, till he came to destroy Jerufalem. But it is the opinion of Mr. Henry, of Bishop Hall, of Burkit, and others, who have written upon this paffage, that our blessed LORD has a peculiar reference to the transfiguration upon the mount: "There be fome of you here, that shall not taste of death, till ye fee my transfiguration upon the mount; till ye fee fome glorified faint come down from heaven and pay me a vifit, and confequently fee a little of that kingdom of GOD, which ye fhall have a full fight of, when ye come to glory." This feems to be the right interpretation. If you will look to the margin of your Bibles, you will fee the parallel place in Matthew, where the account of our LORD's transfiguration is given, and there you will find it immediately follows upon this promife of our LORD.

Well, as CHRIST had told them, that they fhould not taste of death, till they had seen the kingdom of God, why the Evangelift, at the 28th verse, tells us, "It came to pafs about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter, and John, and James, and went up into a mountain to pray." About an eight days; that is, as Bishop Hall thinks, upon the fabbath-day; or, according to fome, the first day of the week, which was hereafter to be the chriftian fabbath; our blessed LORD takes Peter, John, and James: Why did not the LORD JESUS CHRIST take more of his difciples? Why three,

and these three? And why three only? Our bleffed LORD was pleased to take three and no more, to fhow us that he is a fovereign agent; to fhow us, that though he loved all his difciples, yet there are fome to whom he is pleased to allow peculiar vifits. He loved Peter, and all the, other disciples; yet John was the difciple that he peculiarly loved. And he took three rather than one, because three were fufficient to testify the truth of his being transfigured: "Out of the mouth of two or three witneffes every word fhall be eftablifhed." And he took no more than three, because these three were enough. And he took these three, Peter, John, and James, in particular, because these very persons that were now to fee CHRIST transfigured, were hereafter to fee him agonizing in the garden, sweating great drops of blood falling unto the ground. And had not these three difciples feen CHRIST upon the mount, the feeing him afterwards in the garden, might have staggered them exceedingly they might have doubted whether it was poffible for the Son of God to be in fuch doleful circumftances. Well, our LORD takes these three" up into a mountain." Why fo? Because CHRIST JESUS was to be like Mofes, who was taken up into a mountain, when GoD intended to deliver unto him the moral law And our bleffed LORD went up into a mountain, because a mountain befriended devotion. When he had a mind to retire to pray to his Father, he went to such places where he could be moft fecret, and give the greatest vent to his heart. Thus we are told, that once when Peter prayed, it was upon the house-top. And if we have a mind to be near Gop, we fhould choofe fuch places as are freeft from oftentation, and that moft befriend our communion with GOD, Aud what doth CHRIST, when he got up into a mountain? We are told, he went up into a mountain" to pray." CHRIST had no corruption to confefs, and he had but few wants of his own to be relieved; yet we hear of CHRIST being much in prayer; we hear of his going up to a mountain to pray; of his rifing up a great while before it was day to pray; and of his fpending a whole night in prayer to GOD.

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In the 29th verfe, you have an account of the effect of our LORD's praying: "As he prayed, the fashion of his counte

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nance was altered, and his raiment was white and gliftering." I would have you take notice, that our LORD was not changed in refpect of his body, while he was going up to the mount, but when he got upon the mount, and while engaged in prayer. It is fufficient that way for our fouls to be transformed the time we are more particularly to expect the influences of God's Spirit, is, when we are engaged in prayer. There seems to be a very great propriety in our LORD's being transfigured or changed upon the mount. I hope I need infarm none of you, that when Mofes went up to the mount of GOD, GOD was pleafed to fpeak to him face to face; and when he came down from the mount, the people of Ifrael obferved that Mofes's face fhone fo, that he was obliged to have a veil put upon his face. Now the fhining of Moses's face, was a proof to the people, that Mofes had been converfing with GOD. And Mofes told the people, "That the LORD would raife up unto them a prophet like unto him, whom the people were to hear." God the Father, in order to give his Son (confidering him as man) a testimony that he was a prophet, was pleafed not only to let his face glitter or fhine; but to fhow that he was a prophet far fuperior to Mofes, he was pleased to let his garment be white and gliftering, and "his countenance (as we are told by another Evangelift) did fhine as the fun." What a change was here! What a fight! Methinks I fee Peter, James, and John furprized and, indeed, well might the Evangelist, confidering what happened, ufher in the following part of the story with the word Behold; “Behold, there talked with him two men, Mofes and Elias: And in the 31ft verfe, you have an account of their drefs, "They appeared in glory;" and of their difcourfe," They fpake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem."

"Behold, two men, which were Mafes and Elias;" thefe were two very proper perfons to come upon this embassy to the Son of GOD. Mofes was the great lawgiver, Elias was the great reftorer of the law: The body of Mofes was hidden and never found, Elias's body was tranflated immediately, and carried up in a fiery chariot to heaven: And it may be that this was done particularly, because these two were here. after to have the honour of waiting upon the Son of God.

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