Evening journal., 1894-10-15
ORATORY AT EPWORTH
Christ's TRANSPORTATION on the
Mount the Subject
OF REV. L. ". LAYFIRLDs DISCOURSE

lily Larger and Much Interest Is Mani.
tested.
Despite thefact that financial distress
has settled upon the people of Epworth
NJ. Church, the spiritual interest is
constantly on the increase, and congre.
cations are growing larger each succeed
ing Sunday The attendance yesterday
morning was no exec ption to the rule,
and an eloquent sermon was preached by
the pastor, Rev. Il w. Layfield, from the
text "And, behold, there talked with
Him two men, which were Moses and
Elias: who appeared 10 glory, aud spake
of his decsase which He should accom-
plish at Jerusalem"
He said ia part; "Eyangelsts In por
traying Incidents which occurred in the
life of Jesus, always referred to pre-
ceding incident, thus connecting the
narrative. For the first time In His life,
Christ began to tell His twelve disciples
of His death. He had taken with Him
upon the Mount of TRANSPORTATION the
three disciples, Peter, James and john
the same disciples having accompanied
Jesus into the upper chamber where the
daughter of Jairus was raised to life
and who were His close companions even
to Gethsemane's garden. While he pray ed,
anguish. was pictured upon His face, which
shortly yielded to serenity and finally
calmness of countenanee. He had be-
come transhgured. Not the trans6gur-
alton which John saw upon the Isle Of
Patmos, for that caused him to fall as
one dead, but tho overshadowing in.
fuence of the spiritual nature, trans
forming the face, and making Him so
NO 4 10 hnn F,,I IoA
strained to say Master, it is good to be
here The disciples were drawn closer
to Him instead of being made afraid
the disciples fall asleep, and while
they slept, Moses, the. representative Of
the law, and Elias, the representative Of
prophecy, come down on Tabor's table
land and talk with Jesus. We believe
that one of the severest trials ito which
Christ was subjected occurred while
here. He was the second Adam. and had
taken up the work which Adam had laid
down, and had up to this time conducted
the campaign In the world without sin.
IL was part of the natural history of
the life Of Jesus The transition OF
Moses from probation to reward from
Mt Nebo, aud the entrance of Elias into
heaven without tasting death, were but
the evidences of the fact that the
transition of Jesus would be of the
same nature.
Moses, as the apostle of law, judged
Jesus's life and found nothing left
undone; Elias, as the apostle Of prophecy,
judged from that sndpoinb and found
all fulfilled, and to crown all, the voice
of God from out the cloud which over
sbadowed the mountain and before which
the dieiples fell down, was heard saying,
This is my beloved son, hear him We
believe that Jesus could have left this
guilty world that night from Tabor's
heights and entered into Heaven, for as
He told the Jews, He could lay his life
down and take It up, and to PLATE that
be had no power over Him except such
as he received from Jesus But II Jesus
had gone the gate of Heaven would have
closed In, and the world would have been
shut out. Jesus chose the way to Heaven
by the cross. and millions are going up
the shining way by the cross into the
glory-land
Adam was as pure IS Jesus, when he
was placed in Eden, bat, he fell-and
death came because OF it, We believe
that it was Gods intention to make
our transition from labor to reward,
painless and as peaceful as that of Elias
or Moses Jesus was exempt from death
because He never sinned, but kept the
body under while the spiritual nature
prospered. The chrysalis used by speak
ers at times as an illustration of the
resurrection is not suitable 1t seems to
us to apply more to the TRANSPORTATION,
because Of the fact that transition Of
Jesus began at this time to be mani
| fssted-and was completed forty days
after the crucifxion when ne sscended to
heaven-leaviDg the gate wide open, not
'ajar as we sing sometimes, and all
who may, can enter in the haven of the
blest
''Bnt we find ALTHOUGH Peter wanted
them to stay on the mountain Jesus
hurried them down, and they met work
at the base Of the mountain for there
they saw boy possessed of a devil, and
Jesus promptly rebuked the evil spirit,
ard it departed So we find that when
we receive blessings they only prepare
us for new work, arduous 1t may be, but
nevertheless work that has to be accom-.
| plished Then when our spiritual
natures have grown go much that our
temples Of earth will not hold them, they
| shake off the tenement of clay and rise
to join the spirits made perfect, and when
1 On tuo ahJ VI EtcuhitGNlDH, JESUS G0utH,
those redeemed spirits OF ours will seek
out each its tenement, all crumbled into
dust, it may be, and Jesus will purge 1t,
and soul and body, reunited, in the image
and likeness of Jesus, will dwell with
Him forever and be at rest.
Rest is our reward for this life of toll.
II Peter was satisfied to remain amid the
cold damps of the mountain, what will
be our experience when we enter The
gates to meet those who have gone
before, and to sweep the strings of the
Tyre and harp and sing the songs OF
Moses and the Lamb forever2 Thanks
be to Jesus that he chose the way of the
cross from Golgoths's summit, rather
than the chariot from Tabel's height
for we are all now included in the gospel
salvation, offered by the atonement made
as the result of that decision"
Laying the Corner-stone'
Yesterday afternoon Presiding E'dei
w. H Davis, of the Wilmington dis