IT I think the story of the radiance upon the face of Moses may remind us profitably that to forget ourselves is often the most efi*ective way of impressing others. Moses went up to the mountain with a burdened mind, the thought of his nation lying on his heart, and following him even in his moments of devotion. It was for their sake he prayed. He came down with a fresh zeal and insight to that people, but in the noble simplicity of his nature he was unconscious of how radiant and impressive his personality had become. He was not thinking about impressive- ness or popularity. What occupied him was a sheer sense of duty to God and man. He wist not that the skin of his face shone.^
S The change, says Sister Agatha, was so remarkable that she could scarcely believe her eyes. She heard what the man said, but her mind was dazed by the look in his face. It was not the same man. The very features were changed. "I shall never forget that moment, and neither will you, Mr. Taylor ! " she exclaims, turning to him with loving remembrance. "We prayed together, and we were very happy, were we not? It was a true case of ' Once I was blind, now I see.' The light
i J. MoOttt.
EXODUS XXXIV. 29 325
came suddenly, in a moment, and all was changed." She turns to me. " His face was transfigured. It was shining." *
2. We learn three things from Moses with regard to the beauty of holiness. First, it shines ; secondly, it shineg by reflec- tion ; and thirdly, it shines in a way of which the subject himself is unconscious.
(1) The beauty of holiness is a beauty which shines. — The truth is, of course, a familiar one. Over and over again we meet with the same thought in Scripture as denoting a fact which is at once the believer's high privilege and his bounden duty. " Arise, shine, for thy light is come " — so rims the herald message in Old Testament prophecy. "Let your light shine before men," said He who Himself was the world's light. "Among whom," says St. Paul, " ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life." In consistency with the same idea, ministers are called " stars," and the churches ** candlesticks " : so plain is it that this special aspect of the saint's life is never lost sight of — its power of self-evidence, its capacity to betray and dififuse itself, so that its existence may somehow be felt, and its influence be somehow recognized.
T The science of physiognomy tells ua how the various qualities of intellect and the difiFerent dispositions and emotions of the soul are expressed in the facial features ; so that you can, to some extent at least, read a man's temperament in his com- plexion and measure his intelligence by the gleam in his eye. And the spiritual nature infallibly expresses itself by signs and symbols not less legible. A rapture always bewrays itself. Faith is written upon the brow. Hope beams in every eye- glance. Patience is registered in the lips' placid repose. All happy people are beautiful while they are happy. The effect is unconsciouB to the subject of it, but it is not imperceptible to the observer. Sanctity can never be a secret. The holy life is a perpetual evangel, and a perennial benediction.*
^ Lady Westmoreland thus writes of Jenny Lind's singing : " When the time came for her song — I do not know what it was — my mother used to say it was the most extraordinary appearance she ever remembered. The wonderful notes came ringing out, but over and above that was the wonderful transfigwration, no other word could apply, which came over her entire face and figure, lighting them up with the whole fire and dignity of her
> Harold Begbie. /« the Hand of thf. PotUr, 266. ' J. Halaey.
326 UNCONSCIOUS GLORY
genius. The effect on the audience was simply marvellous, and to the last day of her life my mother used to recall it vividly and its effect upon her. When she reached home my father asked her, ' Well, what do you think of Meyerbeer's wonder ? ' She answered, ' She is simply an angel.' ' Is she so very handsome ? ' ' I saw a plain girl when I went in ; but when she began to sing her face literally shone like that of an angeL I never sav; anything or heard anything the least like it.' " ^
^ You have seen those porcelain transparencies which, when the light is on them, are only roughnesses and wrinkles, un- meaning ridges and deep dusty shadows. But when the light is through them, what a transformation ! Now, it is some " human face divine," or an exquisite landscape, or a group of lovely flowers. So there are faces which, when the light shines only on them, are what is called "plain." But when the light shines through them, it is " as though it had been the fauje of an angel."
(2) It is a beauty which shines by reflection. — Pass from the nature of this beauty to the secret of it. Once and again this phenomenon of a physical change is met with in Scripture, and nowhere is it mentioned save in connexion with one and the same fact as its reason — immediate communion with God. Take the case of the Saviour on the Mount. The fashion of His counten- ance was altered, and His raiment became white and glistering, till the glory da25zled the disciples above, and attracted the multitudes below. What had His occupation been? He had been holding fellowship with His Father in prayer. So, too, in Gethsemane. There was a transfiguration there, and a brightness all over His face ; for when He stepped from the shadow to con- front the mob, the vision was such that they all reeled backward, and fell to the ground. This was just when He had wreetled with God and attained, amid strong crying and tears, the blessing of a peace passing all understanding. So, too, with Stephen, whose face in the council chamber, and doubtless also in death, was to them that beheld as the face of an angel. The transfiguration took place while God gave him grace to look up and behold an open heaven and a waiting Christ. And so it was with Moses, He attained this beauty by looking on God ; his countenance was such that the Children of Israel could not steadfastly behold it, because it was the reflected glory of God. The radiance had