tcllrnrds Jesus. In his humiliation our Lord was acknowledged as the cc beloved Son." a. Witness was also borne to the complacency with which the Father recrardcd the Son, 0 as fulfilling his will in the ministry and mediation he had undertaken. 4. 'l'he Trans- figuration was justly regarded by the apostles as a. bestowal upon their Lord of cc honour ancl glory." Not tha.t to them the outward splendour was everything; doubtless it \\'&~ the symbol of a spiritual glory. II. THE WIT1''ESS OF THE DISCIPLES TO TIIEm MASTER. This was a ma.ttor of faot, 11nd is to us matter of history. Place and time are duly specified. 1. The disciples, who were serious and credible men, declared themselves to be eye-witnesses of Christ's majesty. 2. And ear-witnesses of the Divine attestation borne to him. 3. They expressly asserted that in this matter they were neither deceivers nor deceived. And, indeed, the case of their being either the one or the other is utterly incredible, is scarcely to be constructed by the ima.gina.tion. They were not following cunningly devised fables; neither did they invent the incidents, nor did they adopt tho inventions of others. In accepting the gospel narrative we build upon a sure foundation of fact. Ill, THE PRACTICAL INFERENCE TO BE DRAWN BY THOSE WHO RECEIVE THIS TWO• FOLD WITKESS. Human nature is such that it is not possible for us to believe such facts as those which St. Peter here records, a.nd not be affected by such belief in our spirit and our conduct. 1. As regards Jesus himself, whosoever receives the gospel is coustrained to confess his power, presence, and coming. 2. As regards himself, he is bound to trust, love, honour, and serve the Saviour and Lord, who is thus made known to his spiritual nature by the revelation of the eternal Father, and by the testimony of his believing and devoted followers a.nd a.postles.-J. R. 'l'.
Ver. 19.-11ie l,amp and the dawn,. Notwithstanding Peter's personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus, a.nd the abundant evidence which had come before him, during Christ's ministry, of his Master's duty and authority, Peter was far from disparaging the value of those attestations to the authority and sway of the Messiah-Prince to be found in the Scriptures of the Old Testament. I. THE :KIGHT OF TIME. The world is, a.part from special illumination from above, a dark place. The human race, in this condition of being, are like wanderers in midnight gloom. Ignorance of what it most concerns us to know, sinful habits which cloud the reason a.nd even corrupt the conscience, hopelessness a.s to the future beyond this brief mortal existence,-such are the elements of moral darkness. The gloom is not unrelieved, but it is real and undeniable. II. THE LAMP OF REVEMTION. The darkness of man's moral condition has been to S'.lme extent dispelled and scattered by the light which God himself has kindled in the minds of holy and devout men, and which they have shed upon their fellow- mortals' path. In them has been verified the grand saying of tbe poet- " Heaven doth with 118, as we with torchea do, Not light them for tbemeclvee." The prophets, whose writings form a. large part of the sacred volume, have rendered a service to humauity which in our da.y is inadequately acknowledged. Certainly they have introduced into human thinking and literature many of our sublimest conceptions of God, of morality, of society. And certainly they have done much to tiustain the faith of men in a Divine rule, and to inspire the hope of men in a glorious future for tbe moral universe. Not only did they reveal the coming of the King whose way to empire should be through suffering and death; they revealed the prospect of a. kingdom which has yet to be realized, and which is to secure the highest welfare of man a.nd to exhibit the eternal glory of God. Ill. 'l'HE DAYBREAK OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM. 'l'he lamp ie well enough for the night; but how welcome and how precious to the watcher or the traveller ie the break of day I The day-star, the light-bringer, shines with rays of lustrous promise, Then the grey da.wn appears in the east, and reddens as tho sunrise approaches. •Soon the sun rises in his strength and floods the world with light. 'l'he process is o. picture of what happens in the spiritual history of humanity. 1. What the do.y is deserves to be considered. It is the da.y of knowledge, of holiness, of hope. 'l'hrough the shininz of the Sun of Righteousness, they who sometime were darkness nre now lisht ott. r, 1-21.] THE BEOOND EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 23