The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 71

in word or deed, do all in the Ni>.me of the Lord Jesus;•• And,if11 :growing excellen~ti'l!i i,een in this, that in harmony with its freedom and its development of spiritual con- sciousness and conscience, it has an unveiled face. 'l'he eye is open and unhindered. Nothing intervenes between it and the glory of the Lord. True, it sees only in a mirror; it sees by reflection; it sees the image merely-the imaae of God in Christ the imaae of humanity in Christ, the God-Man, the one perfect M~n of the human ra~e. We s;e him in the New Testament, in the Gospels and Epistles, in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Apocalypse, the acts of Provi<lence future and final. We see him in all bis rela- tions and aspects-the babe of Mary, the boy of Nazareth, the carpenter's son, the public Man, Teacher, Benefactor, Healer, Helper, Friend. Every page of the New Testament is as a burnished surface whereon he is presented to the eye of faith as a manifostation of God's righteousness and love, while be exhibits also the guilt and condemnation of-man. "The glory of the Lord " is thus brought to view amidst the scenes and circumstances that instruct us in daily life. It is on a level with our comprehension. It finds the same kind of access to our sympat.hies that human qualities have in ordinary intercourse. "I beseech thee, show me thy glory," was the prayer of Moses, and the Lord answered and made all his goodness pass before him. What Christ's glory was in Moses, in the Psalms and prophecies, in his incarnation and atoning death, in: his glorification; what it bas been, is now, and will be ;-all this we have in the Scriptures of the Spirit and in his Divine offices to sanctify the Word. If we behold as in a mirror, is the imaae dis- torted, confused, inoperative, ineffective? Nay; it is with "dpen face" that w; look, and the resnlt is we "are changed into the same image from glory to glory." Fait.h is the organ of vision, and faith is essentially transforming by its power to make what is an object of thought and feeling the most effectual or subjective influences. It takes the object from the outer world, separates it from the limitations of sense and intellect, dis- connects the object from whatever is darkening and enervating, and secures to it fulness of activity. Faith is the purest, truest, noblest, form of belief. It is belief of things unseen and eternal, revealed to us by God and testified unto by the most honest and faithful witnessess the human race could furnish. To give us a Peter; a John, a Paul, as testifiers, the world was under providential training for many centuries and especially its elect race, whose ancestor, Abraham, inaugurated the career of the nation by an act of faith the most pathetic, the most sublime, the most illustrious, in the annals of man- kind. It is not only a belief of things invisible as disclosed by a Revealer and assured by witnesses, but likewise a belief created, directod, and sustained in personal consciousness by the agency of the Holy Ghost. Hence its power to conform us to the Divine imago as diRplayed in Christ, and hence also its progressivo work. Not only arc we change,!, hut we are changed "from glory to glory." "The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith," so that we realize more and more clearly the consistency of the Divine righteousness in our justification, and the righteousness formed in our souls by the Spirit, We know why we are pardoned and by whom renewed, and, as we advance into new stages of experience, the past work of grace is rendered more and more intelligible. Uurrent experiences leave much unexplained. Infancy, childhood, youth, in religious life are not fully comprehended titl tbe interpretative light of manhood la thrown back upon them. "From glory to glory;" this is true of every Christian virtue. At first we are timid in confessing Christ before the world ; the cross is heavy ; self-denial is often very painful; the remains of the carnal mind are yet strong enough to resist when some onerous task iR put upon us; but in time we gain strength, and in time nre able to run and not weary, to walk and not faint. It is "from strength to strength," as the psalmist sang long ago. Take the virtue of patienco; what years are needed to acquire it in any large degree I St. Peter says, "Add to your faith, virtue," etc.; keep up the supply, and exercise all diligence in building up one virtue by means of another. Again, "lirow in grace;" if growth stops, grace stops. "From glory to glory." 'l'cmptations that bad t.o be fought against, and somctimeR incfTectually, twonty years ago, trouble us no longer. Infirmities are lees infirm. Mysteries that used to perplex havo ceased to disturb. People whose presence was an annoyance can be borne with. Irritatione, recurring daily, have lost their power to ruffle the temper. Many a crooked way has been made straight, many a rough place smooth, many a darkened spot bright, to our steps. "From glory to glory." Grace bas worked its way down into our instincts nnd begun their fuller development. 'l.'henco comes tho white light so grateful to sighi and en. m; 1-18.] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORIN'l'IIIANS. 71