But if the salt have lost, &c.— But if the salt is become insipid. See on Matthew 5:13 and on Leviticus 2:13. The ancients looked upon salt, as the symbol of friendship and peace; in reference to which Eschines speaks of the salt of the city, meaning thereby the public peace and prosperity; and hence, says Eustathius, to imitate the peace and friendship which should subsist between all those who partook of the same feast, salt, before all other, was set before the guests; for, continues he, as salt things, being compacted in many drops of water, every one in itself fluid and unsteady, becomes one solid body; so they, who from distant places unite in a league of friendship, meet together both in the same place and in the same friendly disposition. See Hammond.
Inferences drawn from the transfiguration of Christ on the Mount. How glorious and delightful must have been the view which the apostles had of our blessed Redeemer, when he was transfigured before them; clothed, as it were, with the divine Schechinah, and shining with a lustre like that of the sun! how pleasing and how edifying must it have been to them, to see with him Moses and Elijah, those two eminent saints, who had so many ages ago quitted our world, and whose names they had often read in the sacred records with wonder and reverence! and how great a happiness was it for these two illustrious prophets to see that glorified Saviour, who before his incarnation had spoken to them! to speak to that Man of God by whom they were glorified, and to become prophets, not to men, but in some sense to God: and what consolation, what confirmation was it to the disciples, to behold such examples of their future glory! They saw in Moses and Elijah what they themselves should be: how could they ever fear to be miserable, who saw such precedents of their ensuing happiness! How could they fear to die, who saw in others the blessedness of their own change! In this believing view, how truly may we say to death, Rejoice not mine enemy; though I fall, yet shall I rise; yea, I shall rise in falling! We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, says St. Paul: Elijah was changed, Moses slept. When therefore, O faithful Christian, thou shalt receive the sentence of death on mount Nebo; or when the fiery chariot shall come, and sweep thee from this vale of mortality; remember thy glorious and future appearance with thy Saviour, and thou canst not but be comforted, and cheerfully triumph over that last enemy.
This transfiguration of our Lord is one of the most surprising occurrences that ever befel him: the four following may be reckoned up as the principal wonders of his life; his incarnation, temptation, transfiguration, and agony.—The first, worthy of all admiration, that God should become also man; the second, that the God-man should be tempted, and transported by Satan; the third, that man should be glorified upon earth; the last, that he who was man and God, should sweat blood, under the sense of God's wrath for man: and all these either had the angels for witnesses, or the immediate voice of God; that it may be no wonder that the earth marvels at those things whereat the angels of heaven stand amazed.
O Saviour! if thou wert such in Tabor, what art thou in heaven? If this were the glory of thy humanity, what is the presence of thy Godhead? But how glorious the reflection! he shall change our vile bodies, that they may be like his glorified body: Behold thy pattern, faithful soul, and rejoice. These very bodies, that are now like the earth, shall, if we be faithful, be bright as the sun; and we, who now see clay in one another's faces, shall then see nothing but heaven in each other's countenances. We who now adorn our perishing bodies with clothes, shall then be clothed upon with immortality, out of the wardrobe of heaven. Let us therefore look upon this flesh, not so much with contempt of what it was and is, as with a joyful hope of what it shall be; and when our courage is assaulted with a change of these bodies, from healthful to weak, from living to dead, let us comfort ourselves with the assurance of this change from dull to incorruption for every persevering believer. The faithful are not so sure of death, as of transfiguration.
Well might St. Peter say, It is good for us to be here! well might he be contented to resign his entertainments and his hopes elsewhere, that they might prolong these delightful moments, feasting their eyes with these divine visions, and their minds with these more than human discourses. But if a glimpse of this heavenly glory did so ravish this great disciple, how shall the faithful be affected with the contemplation, yea, fruition of the divine presence! here was but Tabor, there is heaven; here were but two saints, there many millions of saints and angels; here was Christ transfigured, there he sits at the right hand of Majesty; here was a representation, there a gift and possession of blessedness. Oh that we could now forget the world, and, fixing our eyes upon this better Tabor, say, It is good to be here! Alas, how has our corruption bewitched us, to be affected with the shipwrecks of this world, to doat upon the misery of this fading life, rather than fly up to that blessed contemplation, wherein we shall see God in himself; God in us; ourselves in Him. There shall be no sorrow, no pain, no complaint, no fear, no death. There will be no malice to rise against us, no misery to afflict us. There, O there, one day is better than a thousand: there is rest from our labours, peace from our enemies, freedom from the possibility of sinning. How many clouds of discontent, in regard to too many of us, darken the sunshine of our joy, while we are here below: complaint of evils past, sense of present, fear of future, have too much shared our lives among them. There the saints shall be always joyful, always satisfied with the vision of that God, in whose presence there is fullness of joy. Shall we see that heathen Cleombrotus abandoning his life, and casting himself down from the rock, upon an uncertain notion of immortality?—And shall not we, Christians, abandon the tempting superfluities of life and the pleasures of sin, for that life which we are most assured the righteous shall obtain? At what do we hesitate?—Is there a heaven, or is there none?—Have we a Saviour there, or have we none?—We know that there is a heaven, as sure as that there is an earth below us; we know we have a Saviour there, as sure as there are men whom we converse with upon earth. Miserable then will be our folly and infidelity, if we do not despise the best offers of the world, and, lifting up our eyes and hearts to heaven, say, It is good to be there.
We may easily conceive with what astonishment the three disciples stood compassed in the bright cloud, expecting some miraculous event from so heavenly a vision; (Mark 9:7.) when suddenly they heard a voice sounding out of that cloud, This is my beloved Son: hear him. They need not be told whose that voice was; the place, the matter evinced it; no angel in heaven could or durst have said so. How gladly does St. Peter, many years after, and but a little before his death, speak of it! 2 Peter 1:16-18. Twice had God spoken these words to his Son from heaven, once in his baptism, and now again in his transfiguration. Other sons are beloved as of favour; this is the beloved, as in the unity of his essence. O incomprehensible and extensive love of God the Father to the Son, that for his sake he is pleased with all that believe! O happy complaisance! out of Christ, there is nothing but enmity betwixt God and the soul; in him there can be nothing but peace: when the beams are met in one centre, they do not only heat but burn. Our weak love is diffused to many; God hath some of it; the world perhaps some, and generally too much; and therein wives, children, and friends; but this infinite love of God has all the beams united in one infinite object, the Son of his love; neither does he love any thing but in the participation of his love, or in the derivation from him. O God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, let me be found in thy beloved Son, and how canst thou but be pleased with me?
This one voice proclaims Christ at once the Son of God, the Reconciler of the world, the teacher and lawgiver of his church: as the Son of God, he is essentially interested in his love; as the Reconciler of the world, in whom God is well pleased, he most justly demands our love and adherence; as the teacher and lawgiver, he justly claims our attention, our obedience: even so, Lord, teach us, to hear and obey thee as our teacher, to love and believe in thee as our Redeemer, and to adore thee as the eternal Son of the Father!
Suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man, save Jesus only, Mark 9:8 and that doubtless in his usual form; all was now gone; Moses, Elias, the cloud, the voice, the glory. Tabor itself cannot be long blessed with that divine light, and those shining guests. Heaven will not allow earth any long continuance of glory: only above is constant glory to be looked for and enjoyed, where the faithful shall ever see their Saviour in his unchangeable brightness, where the light shall never be either clouded or varied. Moses and Elias are gone; only Christ is left. The glory of the law and the prophets was but temporary, that only Christ may remain unto us entire and conspicuous. They came but to give testimony to Christ; when that is done, they are vanished.
Neither could these disciples find any loss of Moses and Elias, when they had Christ still with them. Had Jesus been gone, and left either Moses or Elias, or both, that pretence, though glorious, could not have comforted them. Now that they are gone, and he is left, they ought not to be discomforted. O Saviour, it matters not who is away, while thou art with us. Thou art God all-sufficient; what can we want, when we want not thee? Thy presence shall make Tabor itself a heaven; yea, no place of deepest distress can make us miserable, if accompanied with the fruition of thee.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, The first verse of this chapter should properly, as in St. Matthew, have closed the preceding; as it is the conclusion of that discourse, and an argument to engage the fidelity of Christ's disciples, from the view of the nearness of his coming with power and glory, to punish the persecutors of his people by the destruction of the Jewish state and nation; and, by the mighty effusion of his spirit, to erect his church in the world, and bless the labours of his faithful ministers with the most astonishing success: and these events some of those then present should live to see.
Six days after the former discourse, we have an account,
1. Of his transfiguration on the Mount, in the presence of three of his disciples, (see Matthew 17:1-2.) This glimpse of his glory would serve to prevent the offence of the cross, and enable them, when they reflected on what they how saw and heard, to stand fast, unmoved under all the discouragements which their faith might afterwards encounter.
2. Of the discourse which passed between Christ and his disciples as they came down from the mountain. However desirous Peter was of dwelling there, the glorious scene was transient. Our Lord, as they returned from the mount, particularly charged them to take no notice of what they had seen and heard; at least, not till after his resurrection from the dead, when this vision would gain the more ready credence, and serve to prove his divine glory even in the midst of his humiliations. What this resurrection from the dead should mean, they were at a loss to conceive; whether it was to be taken literally, or to be applied metaphorically to his exaltation from his present state of poverty and indigence, to the throne of that glorious temporal kingdom which their prejudices still expected. And as they had been taught by their scribes, that Elias was to prepare the way for the Messiah's coming and kingdom, they inquired of him whether there was any real ground for such an expectation, especially as Elias had made so short a stay with them on the mount, and had not appeared at all in public. Christ clears up their doubts: the person spoken of by the prophet Malachi, was not to be Elias personally, according to the traditions taught by the scribes, but one in his spirit and power; and he had already appeared, and been rejected; plainly pointing them to John the Baptist, in whom the prophesy was fulfilled. And the same inspired writings that foretold the coming of John, predicted also the sufferings and indignities which the Messiah should suffer; these therefore also they may assuredly expect to see accomplished in their season.
2nd, At the return of Jesus with his three disciples from the mount, he found their companions in no small perplexity:
1. The cause of it was, their being unable to heal a youth possessed of a devil, who was brought to them for cure, during their Master's absence; whereupon the scribes triumphed over them, and probably were now disputing against them concerning their Master's doctrine and miracles, and the authority which they pretended to derive from him. In this juncture Jesus himself appeared; and, struck with surprise at his critical arrival, the people with eagerness ran to him, congratulating him on his return, and giving him a hearty welcome. Note; (1.) They who have ever tasted the sweetness of communion with Jesus, cannot but mourn his absence, and welcome his return. (2.) Frequently when we are most at a loss what to say or do, the Lord then appears peculiarly gracious in coming to our help, and ordering our goings.
2. Addressing himself to the scribes on the cause of the dispute, they dared not answer him; but the father of the youth represented the piteous case, and the unsuccessfulness of his application to the disciples. His son was possessed of a dumb spirit, under whose malicious influence he was often thrown into terrible convulsions, foaming at the mouth, gnashing his teeth, and pining away under the frequent and violent returns of these diabolical agitations. And he had brought him to the disciples, who had in vain attempted to cure him.
3. With a sharp rebuke to the malicious scribes, and all others who had joined them in their dispute with the disciples, (among whom probably the father of the youth might be included, on being disappointed in his application) he brands them as a faithless generation, wilfully blind to all the stupendous evidences of his power which he had shewn, a people who wearied out his patience; but he would give them, notwithstanding, a fresh evidence of that divine mission which they disputed, and therefore bids the father bring his son to him. If they will not believe, they shall, at least, be left without excuse.
4. No sooner was the lad brought within sight of Jesus, than the spirit, enraged at being about to be dispossessed, threw him to the ground in the most violent agonies, as if he would have torn him in pieces; and there he lay wallowing and foaming. To make the cure appear more singular, Jesus hereupon asked, how long he had been thus afflicted? The father answered, from his very infancy; and representing the imminent dangers to which he was frequently exposed, of being drowned or burnt, by this malicious spirit, who had often cast him into the fire, and into the water, he importunately begs, if this be not a case beyond the power of Jesus, that he would compassionate a parent as well as a child so distressed, and help them out of their miseries. Note; (1.) The possession of inveterate corruption is from the womb, and nothing but the Almighty grace of Jesus can cure the deeply-rooted evil. (2.) Sometimes we doubt Christ's power, sometimes his willingness to help us, and both shew the unbelief of our hearts: this is the case, more or less, with all believers who do not live up to the glorious privileges of their dispensation.
5. In answer to his suggestion, Christ replied, If thou canst believe, all things are possible, &c. He had said, If thou canst do, as if he suspected Christ's want of power; therefore our Lord retorts upon him:, and bids him suspect his want of faith; yet, to encourage his trust, assures him, that this and every other case is possible, when the application is made in faith. With eagerness and tears, between fear and hope, the afflicted father cried out, Lord, I believe thy all-sufficiency, and, grieving over the hardness and infidelity of my heart, beg thee to help mine unbelief, and enable me confidently to trust thee. Note; (1.) If ever we come short of any of our requests for the good of our souls, we may assuredly impute it to our unbelief. (2.) It is a sure sign of some faith, when a man is convinced of, and realty cries to be delivered from, the unbelief of his heart. (3.) The strongest in faith need every day to pray for an increase of this most necessary grace.
6. Christ performs the wondrous cure. The people came running to see how the affair would end, and whether Jesus or Satan would prevail; when with a voice of authority our Lord bids the foul fiend, who had made the child dumb and deaf, to depart, and never more return to him: nor dared the devil disobey, though with the deepest reluctance and most violent struggles quitting his hold, insomuch that the lad lay breathless and motionless, so that many verily thought him dead. But Jesus, stretching out his hand, lifted him up; and immediately he arose perfectly well.
7. When the disciples inquired privately why they had miscarried, our Lord lets them know that it was through want of this kind of faith, and their having neglected the instituted means for obtaining it—prayer and fasting. Note; If we continue to neglect the means, our graces will necessarily decay, languish, and die away.
3rdly, Being in haste to go towards Jerusalem, and designing to be alone with his disciples, he travelled through Galilee with all secrecy, to prevent any interruption from the people assembled around him. And by the way, we are told,
1. The repeated notices which he gave to his disciples of his approaching sufferings, death, and resurrection; but they understood not his meaning, clear as the words were. Their prejudices concerning his temporal kingdom spread a veil over their hearts, and they were ashamed and afraid to ask him, lest they should meet with a rebuke for their dulness. Note; Many live and die in ignorance, because they are ashamed to own it, and to inquire of those who would instruct them.
2. He reproves them for their pride and affectation of superiority. He knew that the subject of their disputes in the way had been, who should possess the first honours in his kingdom; but he put a question, as if he wanted to be informed concerning it; to which, ashamed of what had passed, they returned no answer. But Jesus, to shew them that he knew the secrets of all hearts, and to check these most unbecoming desires of temporal grandeur, assured them, that this ambitious affectation of pre-eminence would be punished with the lowest degradation: while the surest way to rise, would be by entertaining the lowest thoughts of themselves, and studying how to be most serviceable to the meanest of his disciples. And to impress what he had spoken the more deeply, he took a little child into his arms, whose humility, teachableness, and unambitious simplicity they ought to imitate; assuring them, that whoever shewed regard to the lowest of his people, because of such a spirit in them, for the sake of their resemblance and relation to him, he would regard it as done to himself; yea, God the Father, who sent him, would requite it. Note; (1.) Christ observes, and is displeased with the angry disputes of his disciples, and will call them to account for them. (2.) Nothing is so contrary to the spirit of Christianity, as the affectation of pre-eminence.
3. He checks the jealousy and rashness of the beloved disciple. John, in his travels, when he was sent forth with his fellow-labourers to preach the Gospel, had seen a man casting out devils in Christ's name, perhaps one of the Baptist's disciples, who, though a believer in Jesus as the Messiah, had not constantly attended him as they had done, nor been invested with any particular commission from him. Jealous therefore for their Master's honour, or perhaps rather for their own; unwilling that others should share these miraculous powers with them, they had forbidden him, because he had not been a professed disciple, or invested with any such commission as they had received. But Jesus said, Forbid him not. One who had such faith in his name, would not easily be brought to say or do any thing dishonourable to his cause. Such a one ought rather to be countenanced than discouraged; and, as he took not part with the enemy, but rather the contrary, he was to be regarded as a friend. Note; (1.) Partial to our own opinions and party, we are apt to monopolize Christ, and to think our cause is for much his, that all who follow not with us are to be regarded as separated from him: but there may be a great diversity of opinion in lesser matters among those who together hold the Head; and therefore we should bear and forbear, think and let think, without rash and rigid censures of those who differ from us. (2.) Wherever real good is done, where Christ is preached, and souls rescued from the power of Satan, though we may count the methods pursued irregular and unauthorised, we must leave every man to stand or fall to his own Master, and beware how we oppose what is attended with a blessing from God. (3.) Where nothing appears contradictory to the faith of the gospel, Christian love ever bids us hope the best.
4thly, Christ will not suffer the least kindness done to his poorest disciples to be unrewarded, nor the least offence given to them to go unpunished. The heaviest of all judgments hangs over that guilty head which shall hinder, discourage, or grieve the weak, or do ought to turn them back from Christ. And if any corruption in our hearts, or allurement from the world, or darling idol, would se-duce us from the path of duty, and lead us and others into sin, though they were near and dear to us as a hand, a foot, or an eye, they must be cut off without pity. Eternity is at stake; and as a life of everlasting glory will amply repay us for every such sacrifice that we make, so will the endless torments in hell make us rue the indulgence of our sins, when, for a momentary gratification, we should be doomed to endure the gnashings of a guilty conscience, filled with the wrath of God, and the intolerable agonies of burnings unquenchable and eternal. For as, under the law, every burnt-offering was salted before it was laid on the altar, where the fire never went out; so every apostate shall fall a sacrifice to divine justice, and be cast into the fire of hell, preserved by the power of God from an extinction of their being, to suffer that wrath of God which is for ever wrath to come. And, on the other hand, the soul which is seasoned with divine grace, and offered daily and perseveringly as a living sacrifice to God, shall be preserved incorruptible, separated from the taint of this world's pollutions, and kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. For, as salt is good to preserve meat from putrefaction, and renders it savoury, so does the grace of God preserve the soul from the corruption of sin, and renders those who possess this inestimable gift blessings to others, by spreading the sweet savour of Christ in the world. But if the salt have lost its saltness, and they, whose hearts, lips, and lives, should be seasoned with this salt of grace, prove destitute of it, and apostatize from their profession, their fall is usually irrecoverable, and their ruin inevitable. Therefore, see that ye have salt in yourselves, the life of grace in your souls, subduing the corruptions within, and shewing itself in a savoury conversation, in every good word and work that may minister edification to others; and have peace one with another, united in the closest bonds of love and friendship, laying aside all disputes and envyings, and concurring to promote and propagate the gospel through the world. Note; (1.) The terrors and eternity of the torments of hell, if really believed, will be a powerful check to the raging passions of the soul. (2.) They who have the salt of grace, must shew it in their lips and in their lives.