order, that every man that became a member of the Society of Jesus
was to be like as a staff in a man's hand, or like as a corpse. It
was a blasphemous and wicked claim, but it is but a poor fragmentary
statement of the truth about those of us who enter the real Society
of Jesus, and put ourselves in His hands to be wielded as His staff
and His rod, and submit ourselves to Him, not as a corpse, but yield
yourselves to our Christ 'as those that are alive from the dead.'

II. Now we have here, as part of the ideal of the Christian life, the
conquered captives partaking in the triumph of their general.

Two groups made up the triumphal procession--the one that of the
soldiers who had fought for, the other that of the prisoners who had
fought against, the leader. And some commentators are inclined to
believe that the Apostle is here thinking of himself and his fellows
as belonging to the conquering army, and not to the conquered enemy.
That seems to me to be less probable and in accordance with the whole
image than the explanation which I have adopted. But be that as it
may, it suggests to us this thought, that in the deepest reality in
that Christian life of which all this metaphor is but the expression,
they who are conquered foes become conquering allies. Or, to put it
into other words--to be triumphed over by Christ is to triumph with
Christ. And the praise which breaks from the Apostle's lips suggests
the same idea. He pours out his thanks for that which he recognises
as being no degradation but an honour, and a participation in his
Conqueror's triumph.

We may illustrate that thought, that to be triumphed over by Christ
is to triumph with Christ, by such considerations as these. This
submission of which I have been speaking, abject and unconditional,
extending to life and death, this submission and captivity is but
another name for liberty. The man who is absolutely dependent upon
Jesus Christ is absolutely independent of everything and everybody
besides, himself included. That is to say, to be His slave is to be
everybody else's master, and when we bow ourselves to Him, and take
upon us the chains of glad obedience, and life-deep as well as
life-long consecration, then He breaks off all other chains from our
hands, and will not suffer that any others should have a share with
Him in the possession of His servant. If you are His servants you are
free from all besides; if you give yourselves up to Jesus Christ, in
t