in him, we shall have occasion hereafter to speak.) But in addition to all these, he himself possessed an evidence which had made the deepest impression on his own mind, an evidence, which no other human being, except James and John, was ever permitted to behold, and which he could not forbear to adduce on this occasion in confirmation of all that he had stated".
He had received the evidence of his senses respect- ing the power and coming of the Lord Jesus —
[He with James and John had been taken up to Mount Tabor by his divine Master, who had there been transfigured before them°. On that occasion the bright effulgence of the Deity had been made to shine forth in the person of the Lord Jesus, whose " face was as bright as the meridian sun, and whose raiment was as white as the light," " whiter far than any fuller on earth could make them p." This bright effulg- ence Peter had seen with his bodily eyes.
On that occasion too Moses had been raised from the dead, and Elijah brought dow^n from heaven, to bear their testi- mony to him. These two persons represented the law and the prophets, both of which had their full accomplishment in him : and they now, as it were, surrendered up their respec- tive offices to him, who was henceforth to be the great Pro- phet, Priest, and King of his Church and people. Of this also Peter had been " an eye witness."
But, in addition to this, God the Father had borne witness to his Son by an audible voice from heaven, saying, *' This is that my beloved son in Avhom I am well pleased : Hear ye him ''." In these words there was a direct reference to what God had before said to Moses, " A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto thee : him shall ye hear : and whosoever will not hear that Prophet, I will require it of him""." This voice declared, that that very Jesus was the Prophet so referred to, and the Prophet whom all must obey at the peril of their souls. And this voice Peter distinctly heard.]
This evidence fully confirmed all that he had as- serted respecting Christ —
[He had declared that Jesus Christ was the only begot- ten son of God, " the brightness of his glory, and the ex- press image of his person'," and of this, as far as it was
possible,
" ver. 17, 18. ° Matt. xvii. 1 — 5. p Mark ix. 3.
' This is the force of the article in Matt. xvii. 5. ■■ Deut. xviii. 18, ig. ' Heb. i. 3,
176 2 PETER, I. i5. [1171.
possible, he had been an eye, and ear witness. He had de- clared the sufliciency of his death for the redemption of the wliole world : and how could he doubt this when God had audibly proclaimed his acquiescence in it in that view? He liad declared, that the salvation or condemnation of every livin<r man would depend on his acceptance or rejection of this Saviour, who was the one Prophet, whom all must hear ; the one Priest, in whom all must trust ; and the one King, whom all must obey : and so strongly were these truths assured to him by all that he had seen and heard, that he could not doubt of them one moment, or hesitate to appeal to them, in proof that *' he had not followed any cunningly-devised fable," as igno- rant Gentiles, or superstitious Jews, were wont to do. And to these things do we also make our appeal : for in these things the three Apostles could not be defeeived : and their whole life and death shewed clearly enough, that they had no design or wisli to deceive.]
Application —
1 . Let not any of you then be moved by the im- pious and blasphemous attempts which are made to undermine the Gospel —