that were due to himself.  And, in connection with this event, an incident occurred which led the emperor to see how wrong the view was which he held respecting the character of Christ, and to give it up.  When Arcadius was proclaimed the partner of his father in the empire, the officers of the government, and other prominent persons, called on the emperor in his palace, to congratulate him on the occasion, and to pay their respects to his son.

Among those who thus came, was a celebrated bishop of the church.  He was very decided in the views he held about the real divinity of Christ, and very much opposed to all who denied this divinity.

Coming into the presence of the emperor, the bishop paid his respects to him, in the most polite and proper manner.  Then he was about to retire from the palace, without taking any special notice of the emperor’s son.  This made the father angry.  He said to the bishop, “Do you take no notice of my son?  Have you not heard that I have made him a partner with myself in the government of the empire?”

The good old bishop made no reply to this, but going to Arcadius, he laid his hand on his head, saying, as he did so—­“The Lord bless thee, my son!” and was again turning to retire.

Even this did not satisfy the emperor, who asked, in a tone of surprise and displeasure, “Is this all the respect you pay to a prince whom I have made equal in dignity with myself?”

With great warmth the bishop answered—­“Does your majesty resent so highly my apparent neglect of your son, because I do not treat him with equal honor to yourself?  What, then, must the Eternal God—­the King of heaven—­think of you, who refuse to render to his only begotten Son, the honor and the worship that he claims for him?”

This had such an effect upon the emperor that he changed his views on this subject, and ever afterwards took part with those who acknowledged the divinity of Christ, and honored the Son, even as they honored the Father.

And so we see that the second lesson taught by the Transfiguration was the lesson of instruction.  We must learn to think of Christ as the Father in heaven thinks of him.

And then there is—­A LESSON OF DUTY—­that comes to us from this Transfiguration scene.

We are taught this lesson by the last two words that were spoken, by the voice which the apostles heard from the cloud that overshadowed them.  These are the words:—­“Hear Him." “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased:  Hear Him.”  This is God’s command to every one of us.  To hear Jesus, means to listen attentively to what he has to say, and to do it.  And what does Jesus say to us?  He says many things.  But the most important thing he has to say to the young, is what we find in St. Matt, vi:  33:  “Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God.”  This means that we must give our hearts to Jesus, and serve him while we are young.  We must do this first,—­before we do anything else.  We cannot hear or obey Jesus in anything, till we hear and obey him in this.  And there are three good reasons why we should do this.