idea of His subjection! and it
began, and His time of glory ended, when He was twelve years old.

Solomon, the great type of the Prince of Peace, reigned forty years,
and his name and greatness was known far and wide through the East.
Joseph, the much-loved son of Jacob, who in an earlier age of the
Church, was a type of Christ in His kingdom, was in power and favour
eighty years, twice as long as Solomon. But Christ, the true Revealer
of secrets, and the Dispenser of the bread of life, the true wisdom and
majesty of the Father, manifested His glory but in His early years, and
then the Sun of Righteousness was clouded. For He was not to reign
really, till He left the world. He has reigned ever since; nay,
reigned in the world, though He is not in sensible presence in it--the
invisible King of a visible kingdom--for He came on earth but to show
what His reign would be, after He had left it, and to submit to
suffering and dishonour, that He _might_ reign.

It often happens, that when persons are in serious illnesses, and in
delirium in consequence, or other disturbance of mind, they have some
few minutes of respite in the midst of it, when they are even more than
themselves, as if to show us what they really are, and to interpret for
us what else would be dreary. And again, some have thought that the
minds of children have on them traces of something more than earthly,
which fade away as life goes on, but are the promise of what is
intended for them hereafter. And somewhat in this way, if we may dare
compare ourselves with our gracious Lord, in a parallel though higher
way, Christ descends to the shadows of this world, with the transitory
tokens on Him of that future glory into which He could not enter till
He had suffered. The star burned brightly over Him for awhile, though
it then faded away.

We see the same law, as it may be called, of Divine Providence in other
cases also. Consider, for instance, how the prospect of our Lord's
passion opens upon the Apostles in the sacred history. Where did they
hear of it? "Moses and Elias on the mountain appeared with Him in
glory, and spake of His decease, which He should accomplish at
Jerusalem[4]." That is, the season of His bitter trial was preceded by
a short gleam of the glory which was to be, when He was suddenly
transfigured, "and the fashion of His countenance was altered, and His
raiment was white and glistering[5]." And with this glory in prospect,
our Lo