Here we have the privileges of the saints in contrast with their failure through unbelief. A mountain is the place of privilege, and a high mountain the place of great privilege, grace, or favor-special blessing. Such a place was the Mount of Transfiguration, or "the holy mount," as Peter calls it; covered as it was with the overwhelming glory of the Son of Man. Such glory as no human eyes had ever beheld was here shown forth; and in it, with Jesus, even Moses and Elias, God's holy ones of the by-gone age, still living and panoplied in glory with the Son of Man, and holding sweet fellowship and holy converse with Him there!

To the sight of this glory, Peter, James, and John only of the twelve apostles were admitted. Jesus "taketh" them, not the nine others. Mark says, "Jesus taketh and leadeth them up into a high mountain, apart by themselves"! It was up into the place of great privilege, and it was in separation from the other apostles. It was for these alone. Why? The narrative does not say why; but let the Holy Ghost answer to our hearts, as He will, if we are abiding in Christ. We know that "According to your faith, so be it unto you " is a principle of Christianity; also, " To him that hath shall more be given," are only accessible to the highest faith.

We find the nine below in the vale, where they had not faith to use the power that Jesus had so freely bestowed upon them. " I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him." In chap. 10:8, we see that the Lord had conferred upon them power for this very work; and even more:the power to cast out devils, and even to raise the dead; but here we find them unable to use the power. The Lord's rebuke gives the reason-" O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I bear with you?" But plainer still when they ask Him why they could not cast him out. He says, " Because of your unbelief."

How delightful it is to know that great privileges are still open to God's saints on the earth. Every thing in and of Christianity may be said to be gracious privilege. It is all of God, and all freely given to us of Him. It is a great privilege to know your sins all put away, that you are justified before God, and that in this grace you stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory! So also is it to know that in the cross of Jesus the old sin-nature is put away also, and that we have passed out of the old standing in Adam, over into the new creation in Christ Jesus-crucified with Him, dead and buried with Him, and raised up out of death with Him by the power of God, and in Him seated in the heavenlies! (Eph. 1:19-20; 2:6.) This is the high mountain up into which the Lord Jesus Christ, now seated in glory, "taketh" and "leadeth" His faithful and obedient saints. They are God's new creation, for an eternity of fellowship with His Son in the glory, where He is. He is gone to prepare a place for them; and if He goes and prepares a place for them, He will come again and take them to Himself, that where He is, there they may be also. The substance of this blessed hope is realized here in this wilderness-world by faith, and faith is the gift of God, as all things else in Christianity, and comes in power to the submissive ones-the obedient and faithful saints (Jno. 15:7).
Oh how much of blessing, privilege, and power we lose by our unbelief! Like the nine, we remain down in the valley, and cannot go up into the place of privilege, or even use here the power so freely given for testimony ! Is power lacking? It may be power for testimony, for preaching the gospel, for teaching, or even for thanksgiving and worship, If so, it is because of our unbelief (5:20).

" But this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." Prayer, true prayer, is in true dependence-a full consciousness of helplessness in ourselves, and power and grace in another. Fasting is self-denial-the end of self before God; no power, nothing good, in the flesh. The flesh done with- put away in the cross of Christ, brings us into the place of true dependence before God, where we can receive from Him. This is the place of prayer and fasting, and here alone is His power given. It is to the humble, submissive, dependent saints that power is granted for all things:it is to these that faith is given to do all things required to maintain a testimony for Him in the earth. Faith comes in the path of obedience, and our obedience is the precise and accurate measure of our faith. " And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." (i Jno. 3:22.)

The place of privilege-yea, even of high privilege, is therefore at our own command. Let us, then, by the help of God, yield ourselves up more unreservedly to Him, that He may the more freely and fully work in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure.