t
there were two sets of people in the old triumph. There were those
who were conquered by force and unconquered in heart, and out of
their eyes gleamed unquenchable malice and hatred, though their
weapons were broken and their arms fettered. And there were those
who, having shared in the commander's fight, shared in his triumph
and rejoiced in his rule. And when the procession reached the gate of
the temple, some, at any rate, of the former class were put to death
before the gates. I pray you to remember that if we are dragged after
Him reluctantly, the word will come: 'These, mine enemies, which
would not that I should reign over them, bring hither and slay them
before Me.' Whereas, on the other hand, for those who have yielded
heart and soul to Him in love and submission born of the reception of
His great love, the blessed word will come: 'He that overcometh shall
inherit all things.' Which of the two parts of the procession do you
belong to, my friend? Make your choice where you shall march, and
whether you will be His loyal allies and soldiers who share in His
triumph, or His enemies, who, overcome by His power, are not melted
by His love. The one live, the other perish.

TRANSFORMATION BY BEHOLDING

'We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory
of the Lord, are changed into the same image.'--2 COR. iii. 18.

This whole section of the Epistle in which our text occurs is a
remarkable instance of the fervid richness of the Apostle's mind,
which acquires force by motion, and, like a chariot-wheel, catches
fire as it revolves. One of the most obvious peculiarities of his
style is his habit of 'going off at a word.' Each thought is, as it
were, barbed all round, and catches and draws into sight a multitude
of others, but slightly related to the main purpose in hand. And this
characteristic gives at first sight an appearance of confusion to his
writings. But it is not confusion, it is richness. The luxuriant
underwood which this fertile soil bears, as some tropical forest,
does not choke the great trees, though it drapes them.

Paul's immediate purpose seems to be to illustrate the frank openness
which ought to mark the ministry of Christianity. He does this by
reference to the veil which Moses wore when he came forth from
talking with God. There, he says in effect, we have a picture of the
Old Dispensation--a partial revelation, gleaming through a veil,
flashing through symbols, expressed