they concealed 2. A visible circumstance transacted before their eyes might sometimes serve to convey a profitable hint more forcibly than even line upon line and precept upon precept, to a people who had often remained unteachable, under the most solemn delivery of the word of God.

Of the same character was the transaction recorded by St. John, when Jesus condescended to wash the feet of his disciples before he partook with them of the feast of the passover. Though partly explained by our Lord immediately, so far as the thing signified consisted in the lesson of humility which the outward action was intended to convey, yet the more mysterious part of Christ's meaning was to be known hereafter. Believers would understand in future times, though not when the fact occurred, that it was principally intended as an emblem of the justifying blood of the Redeemer, and of the sanctifying power of the Spirit; and that so far

22 Kings, xiii. 15-19. Jer. xiii. 1—11. xviii. 2—6. xix. 1-12. xxvii. 2-8. Ezek. xii. 2-7. iv. 4, 5.

from having been designed as a literal injunction of a religious ordinance, its chief object was

to represent how Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water by the word.' If I wash thee not,' said he to Peter, excusing himself, thou hast no part in me.'

An example of another emblem used for at similar purpose is recorded by three of the Evangelists, and they all concur in reporting the sort of dramatic scene which took place on the occasion. The disciples had contended amongst themselves privately, who should be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and at last came to our Lord to decide the question. In order to impress on their minds more strongly the value of humility, and the necessity of their renouncing all views of an ambitious nature, "he called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, therefore, shall

humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea 3.

So too the transfiguration may be considered in the light of a representation vouchsafed for the sake of describing the future glory of our Lord in a manner intelligible to mortal understandings. When we read of his face shining as the sun, and of his raiment being white as the light, it conveys to the mind a notion of some most pure and ineffable brightness in which all his perfections were revealed, and all the heat venly excellencies of his character were unfolded and displayed without reserve. It tended to realize to the apprehensions of the beholders some faint image of the invisible world, and

3 Matt. xviii. 1–6. Mark, ix. 33-37. Luke, ix. 46–48.

painted to their imaginations the sun of righteousness, the light of the world, not as he appeared on the scene of his humiliation and sufferings, not in the likeness of sinful flesh and under the form of a servant, not without form or comeliness and with a visage marred more than any man, but with the fashion of his countenance altered, freed from those clouds which commonly obscured the brightness of his lustre, and which shrouded the majesty belonging to him of right as the only begotten of the Father. It discovered to them a glimpse of the state that he had voluntarily relinquished,--of the glory which was again in store for him when he should have finished his work, and of that gracious transformation which should finally be wrought in themselves, when this mortal should put on immortality, when, in virtue of his right as Saviour, he should change their vile body that it might be fashioned like unto his glorious body.

4 Phil. iii. 21.

Again, when our Lord saw fit, previously to working some of his miracles, to spit on the eyes of the blind man, and put his hands on them-Mark, viii. 23,-or to make clay of his spittle and anoint the eyes with it—John, ix. 6, -or to put his fingers into the deaf ears or touch the dumb tongue-Mark, vii. 33,—it cannot be supposed that these outward actions, some of which would seem to have a tendency rather to defeat than forward the object proposed, were intended to have any other effect than that of attracting attention to the cure about to be performed, or to signify by the use of the emblem, that the most unlikely means, under his blessing, might be productive of much good.

In the same way, when he breathed on his disciples after the resurrection 5, the action did not imply that he actually imparted the Holy Ghost in that manner, or by that channel, for in point of fact the effusion did not really take

5 John, xx. 22.