El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-04-16

Stearns.
copyright, 1898. by D. M. Stearns.1
1. And after six days Jesus taketh Pc
ter, James and John, his brother, and
bringeth them up into an high mountain
after these savings duke tx, 2S), doubt
less including the day of the promise and
the day of the event, while Matthew and
Mark only mention the intervening days.
Mark says, He taketh and leadeth them.
How very beautiful! Does not your heart
say, Lord take me and lead me, and III
go with Thee all the way3' Well, be sure
that you mean it, and do not question His
love if He leads you in the valley These
three were with Him when He raised the
little girl and when He was in the garden.
willing to go apart from the many who
follow Him, and we will not enjoy His
fellowship unless we have something OF
His spirit of prayer, for Luke tx, %, says
that He went to pray AS we learn to live
alone with Him and for Him, we will find
ourselves increasingly given to communion
with Him
g. And was TRANSPORTED before them,
and His face did shine the sun, and His
railnent was white the light Mark
says that His raiment became shining, ex-
ceeding white as snow. Luke says that
the fashion of His countcnancc was altered
and His raiment was white and clustering
MARK tx, 8; Luke tx, 29) 1t makes one
think of Him as He afterward appeared to
John on Patmos some go years after His
ascension (ReY. i, 12-lO 1t is to me very
interesting to observe that the word trans
lated TRANSPORTED" is used outside of this
record in the gospels only in two other
places-Rom. xii 2, and II Cor. Iii, ID
In the one the translation Is "be trans
formed and in the other ''are changed,
but in each case it refers to the believer
and our being changed more and more in
to the image of Christ. In Romans 1t is
shown to be q work from within, by the
renewing Of our minds, and in Corinthi-
ans it Is said to be accomplished by behold
ing His glory in the glass or mirror of His
word 1t seems to me that the beginning
and development and contamination of
the Christian life has but one secret, and
that is ''beholding Him" When in that
fair morning we shall indeed see Him.
then We shall indeed be like Him.
3. And, behold, there appeared unto
them Moses and Elias, talking with Him.
We know that Moses died and was buried
in the land of Moab (Deut. 1xxiv, 8, g.,
over !, 400 years before this, and Elijah
was taken to heaven in q whirlwind and
probably in the chariot over 800 years be-
fore, the only man except Enoch who has
as yet over been excused from the appoint
ment of death Heb. TX, 27). Yet here they
are alive and well and talking with Christ
of His death, or decease, or exodus, which
He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem
luke ix, 31). Whether the believer dies
or is translated, in either case it means
instantly with the Lord in such life and
such bliss as we cannot imagine (Phil. i,
FL, %; ill., 20, 21), but all the blessedness
and reality Of that life are wholly due to
the work which our Lord Jesus finished
on Calvary.
i. t'Then answered Peter, and said unto
Jesus, Lord, IT is sqod for us to be here.
ernacles-one for Thee, and one for Moses,
and one for Elias. " I think we may con-
clude from Jude LIZ that Moses had his res
direction body. II SO, then ne represented
the risen saints, while Elijah represented
those VINO will not die, but be translated
at our Lord rs coming, the t.y9 representing
the whole heavenly company of the re-
deemed in the kingdom when 1t shall have
come, while Peter, James and John, three
righteous Jews represent all Israel, a
righteous nation on earth in the king
dom, and this revelation is what our Lord
promised in chapter xvi, s.
5. while he yet spake, behold, q bright
cloud oyershadowed them, and, Behold q
voice out of the cloud, which said, This is
My beloved Son, tp whom I am well
pleased Hear We Him" He ts the true
tabernacle and temple and pillar OF cloud.
He is the fulfiliment of all that Moses was
to Israel or wrote for them He is the
end Of the law for Righteousness to every
one that believeth. He is the Prophet of
all prophets, the Messenger Of God as none
Other eyer was or can be, and God said to
Moses concerning Hin, ''Whosoever will
not hearken unto ii 7 words, which He
shall speak in My name, will require it
Of him" (Deut. xviii, 10, 19). This is the
second time that the Father testified from
heaven as to His delight In His Son, but
bow He adds the Command. Hear ye
Him." We are not to hear what men think
that is to hear God Himself, for the Fa
Their told Him what to say John XII, 49,
6, z And when the disciples heard 1t
they fell on their face and were sore afraid.
And Jesus came and touched them and
said, Arise and be not afraid" So He or
His angel did to Daniel, and He Himself
surely did to John on Patmos dan. viii,
10; <, 8, 10; Rev. /, ~. He gives His
people no cause to fear: Why is it that we
Himl He says that He viii never re1nem-
Der our sins. 1t shows great lack Of con
fdence In Him for us to fear or to think
that He will He says that we are blessed
with all spiritual blessings in Him. It is
surely dishonoring to Him for us to ques-
ton It, He tells us that since He SO loved
us as to give Himself for us He can there
fore withhold no good thing. Faith just
believes it, and is happy because He says
SO.
8. And when they had lifted up their
eyes they saw no man save Jesus only"
What powerful life word this is. and
what peace and victory % see Jesus only
In redemption, and il. sanctifcation, as
we Will see Jesus only as the center of all
the glory of heavenl In redemption and
daily life our temptation is to see feelings |
and experiences and people, but thus there |
Is no rest, We must see that His finished |
work Is all that God asks and that we |
nead, and His word all the assurance that |
g necessary, and learn to sing always |
: Behold, God is my salvatiop.''>
8. 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" Even |
we may not fully understand, we may
70 sure that there was some very good
'eason for this charge (Ezek. xiv, 23) It |
S not always for us to understand, but al |
ways to Obcy lisa 1 10Y The other dis,