The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 78

changes occurring during the residence of the human family in the world. 1'hs old covenant was imperfect; it demanded ;;omething beyond itself; it was desi"'ned to do this. There is no such element in the nelV. lt is complete; it calls r:i. nothin"' outside of its own provisions. , "' IV. A COVENANT OF SURPASSING GLORY. 1'his arises largely from points already noticed. 1. Its spiritual character. 2. Its issues in bringing life, not death, to fallen men. 3. Its enduring character. 4. Its direct initiation and administration by the Son of God. "'!'he Law was given by Moses, hut grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John i. 17). 'l'hc inauguration of the old covenant saw the face of Moses illumined. The new covenant came with the transfiguration of Christ. 5. Its marvellous revelation of Divine love. The old covenant laid the emphasis upon Divine righteousness; the new, whilst displaying with untarnished lustre this attribute of Deity, exhibits pre-eminently the love of God.-H. Ver. 15.-The veil on the hea1-t. The veil which Moses put on his face (F:xod. xxxiv. 33) obscured its brightness. The apostle seizes upon the event, so familiar to readers of Jewish history, to illustrate moral blindness, and especially the moral blind- ness of Je1Vs in his own day. As moral blindness is subjective, he dpeaks of the veil not upon those things which are obscured, as in the case of the face of Moses, but a; upon the heart. l:ipon the heart, because in spiritual matters the inability docs not spring from the bead, but from the heart. This veil upon the heart- I. OBSCUBES THE GLORY OF THE OLD DISPENSATION. It did so to Jews in Paul's dA.y; it does so to Jews now. The true glory of the old eovem,nt lay in its foreshadowing of the new. It was a covenant ·of types aud shadows. Underlying its legality was a deep spirituality. The Law condemned, and only condemned, but the "Law" was not the whole of the old covenant. Associated with the Law was the embryo of the gospel. And unveiled hearts looked through condemnation and shadow and type to the delivering Messiah, by whom men could be justified by faith aud not by works. But the veil upon the heart caused the Jew to regard the old covenant WI complete in itself, and to disregard the deeper spiritual meanings of its provisions. From him its true glory was thus bidden. A rigid system became much more rigid. The win<>s of a dispensation rising to eomething higher were clipped. A hard, narrow cr;d was substituted for an expansive and noble theology. II. HmEs CHRIST. It did so when Christ came. When tbo Messinh appeared, veiled hearts failed to recognize him. The Jews would have wolcomcd a Messiah who ea.me to continue Judaism as Judaism was understood by them. But the dovelopment of Judaism into Christianity, the fruition of the old covenant in tho now, had no charms for them; on the contrary, it was obnoxious to them in the highest degree, as spirituality ia ever to a carnal nature. In the Christ they could not see tho Christ. He was not their Christ, and by facile logic was thus demonstrated to bo no Christ at all. "Their minds were blinded" (ver. 14). From many to-day Christ is thus hidden. To them "a root out of a dry ground" is as beautiful as he. They think the fault is in him, but it is in themselv68. Falso conceptions of the objects, duties, and plensurcs of lifo possess them, and are the coloured media through which Christ is looked at. 'l'hey see a darkened, shorn, maimed Christ; the trt1,11 Christ is hidden from thorn. Ill. CAUSES MEN TO BEST IN SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS. '!'his was the only way of justifi- cation which was apparent to the Jew upon whose heart the veil rested. '!'he veil shut out all, except legalism. So with many now. It is their righteousness, not tho righteousness of Christ, to which they look. They seek to eave themselves, not to be saved by another. Each is a Messiah to himself. But poor rest is secured. The voices of old sins make themselves heard, and to their clamour no satisfactory response is forthcoming. Present power to do right is found lacking. 'fhis is not to be won- dered at, seeing that the Source of all true spiritual power has been abandoned. Piety becomes either a vague dream of the future or & dismal formality of the present. IV. KEEPS MEN tJNDER CONDEMNATION, The Law of God condemns, and if only the bare Law is seen there is no deliverance. Self-righteousness, if attained to in perfection, would not cancel past sentences on sin. But self-righteousness practically is ever self-un- riahteousness and, instead of atoning for sin, continuously increases it. The most moral ru';..n has but the cheerless vision of a broken Law imperiously demanding its penalties. 78 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORIN'l'HIANS. [ce. m. 1-18,