_JESUS ONLY._
"And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus
only."--Matthew xvii. 8.
The visible glory has vanished; Moses and Elias have disappeared; the
cloud is gone; the Voice has been heard; and Jesus has assumed again
the form of His lowliness. A few moments ago Peter, in a
half-unconscious ecstasy, was saying: "Lord, it is good for us to be
here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for Thee,
one for Moses, and one for Elias." And now they are coming down from
the mountain to the turmoil at its foot, and they who wished to
tabernacle so gloriously above must descend again to their
fishing-nets below. The change seems sudden and sad. We feel inclined
to exclaim, "What a loss!" But though they come down, Jesus is with
them. Herein lies the substance of what I want now to develop. Our
life has its resting-places, exposed to startling, rude alternations;
but it has also, in the midst of all, its grand solace.
I. The first of these truths is one of such common experience, that
we have no need to do more in support of it than to point to
well-known facts. I shall try to generalize them by referring merely
to three points.
1. To our external personal circumstances. Sometimes we are
prosperous, cheerful, happy. We say, "The lines have fallen to me in
pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Incidents occur which
seem to transform our ordinary life. We succeed in our pursuits. We
are in health. Our domestic happiness is undisturbed. We have been
delivered from impending ill, and, instead of suffering what we have
feared, we realize more than we have hoped for. We are thankful; we
are content; and we want to build our tabernacle on the green mount of
our prosperity.
May we not indulge this feeling without any suspicion that our
prosperity may too much absorb and unspiritualise us? But the time for
disenchantment comes, and if we have grace enough in our hearts, we
find that a drawback is put in the way of our fancied happiness, the
tendency of which is proving a strong temptation to worldliness. And
then, though we do not court reverses--for they, too, have their
temptations--we begin to feel that this position of fancied happiness
is not so perfect as we thought. Besides, the novelty passes away, and
the satisfaction becomes less. We had forgotten our higher needs
whilst we were absorbed in our external well-being. And so we come to
acknowledge once more that this is not our rest. Sometimes, too, a
veritable reverse takes place; like the disciples, we have to come
down from the mount. The alternations of grief, disappointment, and
care follow our joy, and we get a further confirmation of the truth
that there is no resting-place to be found in any of the
circumstantials of life.
2. To our intercourse with men. We have reason to be thankful for all
the blessing which reaches us through this channel, and especially so
for all sanctified human relationships. To men of confiding, generous
natures, it is natural to repose in their contact with certain of
their fellow creatures. Some of our brethren wield a marvellous charm
over us. We trust their character; we are not conscious of their
defects; we are entirely at home with them.
But here, again, we find that we must come down from the mount. It
would be a sad story if we could all tell our surprises and
disappointments in this matter. How many apparently beautiful
friendships have passed away! How many defects have we discovered in
those whom we have implicitly trusted, when we have been brought into
a closer acquaintance with them? How many have others discovered in
us? Do we not see here one reason why men become cynical and
misanthropic? The greater the confidence, the greater the subsequent
distrust. The greater the joy, the deeper the grief which has followed
it. Let us thank God for the friendships that abide; but let us
remember that human love can never be a perfect resting-place for our
hearts.
3. To our Christian feeling. In the early days of our Christian life
especially, and often afterwards, all seems to be "transfigured"
before our eyes. We see a new earth and a new heaven. We breathe a
life-giving atmosphere as we ascend the hills from whence cometh our
help. Moses and Elias--the law and the prophets--have undergone the
same transformation. Desires which are earthly have given place to
desires which are spiritual. We seem to be in closest contact with the
Saviour, and we pity the small pre-occupations of the world. We say,
"Let us build here our tabernacle, and rest."
But changes await us! First the heights, then the depths! To-day, the
unutterable words from heaven; to-morrow, the thorn in the flesh and
the messenger of Satan to buffet! The one is not without the other.
Hence the lesson comes home to us: "Do not depend too much on your
heart-states." These high joys seldom last long. Jesus, so to speak,
loses His splendour, and comes down again from the mount, as a man, to
His humiliation.
II. The facts I have adverted to are such as only experience teaches.
The prosperous and the immature may suppose that I take too gloomy a
view of life. By no means. Life has brought its trials to me; and,
like many others, I have been again and again on the mount to come
down afterwards into the valley. And, were it not for one crowning
consideration, there has been enough of change to some of us to make
us sad and gloomy enough. What has prevented it? _This, that Jesus has
come down from the mount along with us._ We have learnt to prize Him
in proportion as we have learnt the deceptiveness of all beside!
As Jesus humbled Himself, so He humbles His own. He wants us to walk
by faith, not by sight, nor by sentiment. What should we become on
our Tabor, if we were allowed to build our tabernacles there?
Certainly proud; perhaps foolish; perhaps self-sufficient. Paul was in
danger of being exalted above measure by the glory of the revelations
which came to him; have we any reason to be more certain of ourselves?
The greater the height the more destructive the fall. We might also
mistake religious ecstasies for religious firmness or religious
growth. Yes, the true discipline is that which makes us come down.
All this looks like the disenchantment of our cherished illusions.
What have we to put in their place? Man does not live alone by what is
taken away from him, but by what is given to him. Have we taken away
all? Have we given nothing? We read that a Voice came out of the
cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;
hear ye Him.... And when the disciples had lifted up their eyes, they
saw no man, save Jesus only." What does that teach us?
It teaches that out of these ecstasies, which often hide the reality,
there comes a gift of God more precious than all--_Jesus Himself_.
Whatever form He may assume, He is still the same; still the same
whether He goes up the mountain with us, or comes down with us from
the mountain. Our illusions vanish, but Jesus does not disappear. It
is to Him that God directs us when the dreams of life are gone. Events
deceive us, men change, the joy of our own hearts subsides; but these
things happen that we may lift up our eyes and see Jesus only.
And so the illusions which depart give place to a permanent good. Do
not be afraid to descend from the mountain-tops into the low valleys
which lie beneath. Neither height nor depth need separate from the
love of Christ. A mighty and gracious Hand guides you, whether you see
it or not. Lay hold of it with confidence. Though your ecstacies
vanish, the great gain of your faith will be a sober, deep repose.
Do not confound this repose with a want of life or of interest. A
staid, strong, sober Christian is a man who has learnt in whatsoever
state he is therewith to be content. A staid, strong, sober Christian
is one who can do all things through Christ, who is ever near and ever
strengtheneth.
Is not such a condition a blessed one? It is that which gives to faith
its permanence and its calm. Instead of ascending to heaven and
descending to the abyss to find Christ, we find Him here, and remain
with Him in peace and assurance. Having found Him, and being united
to Him, we may, if need be, do without the rest. On the mount and in
the plain we have the same Saviour. In any case, our hearts are on a
sure foundation.
The tabernacles Peter wanted to erect on Tabor let us erect in the
valley. Let us keep near to Jesus; near to His law, near to His
promises, but emphatically near to Him. This, too, will be a
transfiguration, the transfiguration of our common life. The light of
the Divine glory will shine about us; and in the light, and out of the
cloud, the Voice will speak. We shall tabernacle with Moses and Elias
only above; but we may tabernacle with Jesus below. Let us tabernacle
with Him most at the cross; for it is there that we shall find most of
our holiness and our hope.