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He is the Heir are our possession. 'All things are yours, and ye are
Christ's.' Thus His dominion is the dominion of all that love Him,
and His heritage is the heritage of all those that have joined
themselves to Him; and no sparkle of the glory that falls upon His
head but is reflected on the heads of His servants. The 'many crowns'
that He wears are the crowns with which He crowns His followers.

Thus, my brother, to be overcome by God is to overcome the world, to
be triumphed over by Christ is to share in His triumph; and he over
whom Incarnate Love wins the victory, like the patriarch of old in
his mystical struggle, conquers in the hour of surrender; and to him
it is said: 'As a prince thou hast power with God and hast
prevailed.'

III. Lastly, a further picture of the ideal of the Christian life is
set before us here in the thought of these conquered captives being
led as the trophies and the witnesses of His overcoming power.

That idea is suggested by both halves of our verse. Both the emblem
of the Apostle as marching in the triumphal procession, and the
emblem of the Apostle as yielding from his burning heart the fragrant
visible odour of the ascending incense, convey the same idea, viz.
that one great purpose which Jesus Christ has in conquering men for
Himself, and binding them to His chariot wheels, is that from them
may go forth the witness of His power and the knowledge of His name.

That opens very wide subjects for our consideration which I can only
very briefly touch upon. Let me just for an instant dwell upon some
of them. First, the fact that Jesus Christ, by His Cross and Passion,
is able to conquer men's wills, and to bind men's hearts to Him, is
the highest proof of His power. It is an entirely unique thing in the
history of the world. There is nothing the least like it anywhere
else. The passionate attachment which this dead Galilean peasant is
able to evoke in the hearts of people all these centuries after His
death, is an unheard of and an unparalleled thing. All other teachers
'serve their generations by the will of God,' and then their names
become speedily less and less powerful, and thicker and thicker mists
of oblivion wrap them round until they disappear. But time has no
power over Christ's influence. The bond which binds you and me to Him
nineteen centuries after His death is the very same in quality as,
and in degree is often far deeper and stronger than, the bond which
united t