Now, says the

Moses had to pass through the interposing veil. apostle, "This veil is done away; is is lifted up, it is drawn aside. He further represents the various rays of the Divine glory, broken, and scattered, and refracted, amongst altars, priests, and sacrifices, and patterns of heavenly things, as collected into one focus, which he calls in the text, 66 a specular, a mirror, in which now with unveiled face we behold the glory of the Lord."

This is the principal object of the apostle in the chapter before us, and in this way it is that he shews the superior glory of the Christian to that of the Mosaic dispensation. He tells us that even that dispensation which was glorious, had no glory in comparison with the succeeding glory that excelleth. See, then, brethren, the superiority of our privileges to those of ancient believers. They saw the day of Christ glimmering in promises afar off; they were led through types and shadows, but we live in the meridian of the day which they saw afar off; the clouds are dispersed, the shadows have all retired, and the veil is removed; and we behold, as in a glass, with uncovered face, the glory of the Lord Jesus. While we have the light, oh that we may walk in the light, lest an horror of great darkness come upon us!

But the veil of Moses was also a symbol of the judicial blindness of the Jewish nation at the time of the Saviour's appearance; for the apostle tells us, that "they could not look to the end of those things that were to be abolished: but, even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart." This awful state of the Jewish nation was foretold by all the prophets, but especially by the prophet Isaiah, as we read in the sixth chapter of this prophecy : "In the year that king Uzziah died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. Then said I, Woe is me; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go and tell this people, Hear ye, indeed, but understand not; and see, ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. Then said I, Lord, how long?" — that is,

how long shall the Jewish nation remain shut up in this judicial blindness to the glories of the Lord?" Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away" among the nations, " and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land." Whom was it that the enraptured prophet saw upon his throne, surrounded by the cherubic and seraphic angels, crying" Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts and the whole earth is full of his glory;" and whose glory was concealed from the Jewish nation? Turn to the twelfth chapter of John's gospel for an answer to this question. Hear how the Saviour himself speaks: "I am the light of the world. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him; that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake. Therefore they could not believe, because he said, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw His glory"-the glory of the Messiah, the glory of the Prince of Glory-" when he saw His glory, and spake of Him." Their eyes were held that they knew him not. "He that made the world was in the world, but the world knew him not. He came to his own, but his own received him not." They traduced his character; they contemned his mission; they ascribed his miracles to satanic influence; they shed his blood, and trampled under foot the overtures of his mercy. They persevered in persecuting his apostles, even to the death, until their doom was sealed the sentence was passed: they were shut up in judicial blindness, and the word of prophecy received its accomplishment. This state has continued for nearly eighteen hundred years; but, blessed be God, the time of their long captivity and judicial blindness is running out; and, probably, the rising generation will see the latter part of our text fulfilled, when the Jewish heart shall turn to the Lord, and behold, as in a glass, the glory of Him whom they crucified, and be changed into the same image from glory unto glory.

But the Jews were not the only people from whom the glory of the Saviour was concealed by an impervious veil. How many are there in the city of London, who are as blind to the Saviour's glory as the heathen, who never heard his name! He is still despised and rejected of the Gentiles; and when they see him," there is no beauty, that they should desire him.” "The god of this world

hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." But blessed, Christian, blessed are you; for you see. The eyes of your understanding are opened; the film that obstructed your spiritual perception is removed; the veil is rent from your heart. "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.' With the apostle, therefore, and the whole body of the faithful, with unveiled face you behold the glory of the Lord. Remark,

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IV. THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE HEAVENLY VISION,Changed into the same image from glory to glory." This sublime expression denotes,

1st. The progressive sanctification of the believer. Holiness is the glory of an archangel; it is the glory of the spirits of just men made perfect in heaven; it is the glory of God himself; it sheds a loveliness on all his perfections. The gradual restoration to his image, then, is a transition from glory unto glory. And how is this change effected? By a believing view of the object,-beholding, we are changed. The mind of man naturally assimilates itself to those things with which it is habitually and familiarly conversant. If habitually conversant with things that are mean and trifling, it becomes mean and trifling too. Hence the worldliness of the human heart in general. In the presence of what is great and elevated, it acquires greatness and elevation. When Moses was in the radiance of the Sheckinah, his face shone with glory: when the Christian is in close converse with his God, he becomes like his God. Would you enjoy heaven upon earth-would you be heavenly-minded? Oh, then, keep your attention closely fixed upon the gospel mirror; behold to-day, as in a glass, the glory of the Lord. This sublime expression may refer,

2dly. To seasons of high enjoyment, dear to memory, in the experience of the Christian. Passing from glory unto glory, the joy of saints, of saints on earth, is an earnest and a pledge of that glory of which it is a view. Nor is there a single ingredient in the enjoyment of heaven, a portion of which is not enjoyed at least here below. Does the bliss of heaven consist in freedom from sin? "Being made free from sin," says the apostle, from its guilt and dominion, "we become the servants of God; having our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life."-In a union of spirit with the Father of spirits? "He that is joined to the Lord," even 'is of one spirit with the Lord."-In communion with God?

now,

"Truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."-In the society of that sacred place? "We are now come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels; to the general assembly and church of the first born, which are written in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and "--transporting thought!" to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling," the memorial of which shall be preserved in the heavenly temple to all eternity. Does it consist in the beatific vision? We now see the glory of the Lord in its transforming power. I cannot conceive a more lovely

or more captivating description of the heavenly state than that which is contained in our text- 66 - changed into the same image from glory unto glory."

"When I can say, my God is mine,

When I can feel thy glories shine,
I tread the world beneath my feet,
And all that earth calls good or great."

Grace is the commencement of glory; glory is the consummation of grace. What, then, is the death of the Christian, but a transit from glory to glory? Oh, who can conceive the change which the dying saint undergoes at that awful hour? He closes his eyes, and he beholds the God of glory! He rises from a bed of sickness to a throne of glory! He exchanges the society of weeping friends for the glorious company of heaven; and, before his remains are conveyed by his weeping friends to the silent tomb, what scenes of glory are unfolded to the disembodied spirit! And, will not this transformation be carrying on for ever? Doubtless. We shall never know so much of God, but we shall be capable of knowing more; and the more we know, the more we shall love; and the more we love, the more the sphere of our enjoyment will enlarge. Through all eternity, there will be something more to be known, something more to be enjoyed, and a glory still to be revealed. Our cup of bliss will be for ever flowing-for ever flowing overfor ever

full! Here, then, we close the scene, until eternity unveils the whole. But we cannot forget,

V. and Lastly, THE MIGHTY AGENCY BY WHICH THIS BLESSED TRANSFORMATION IS ACCOMPLISHED, -"Even by the Spirit of the

Lord."

He awakens the slumbering conscience by the thunders of the law, and alleviates its terrors by the still small voice of the gospel,

speaking peace through the blood of the atonement. He glorifies the Redeemer, by taking of the things that belong to him, and shewing them to his disciples. The family altar, the place of devout retirement, the sanctuary, the Lord's table, can testify how precious the Lord Jesus is to his people, when the Holy Spirit executes this part of his office. "He is the author and the finisher of our faith." He begins and carries on, and completes, the sanctification of the whole church. He will never abandon the objects of his love, until he hath made them all glorious like their great Pattern, within and without, and presented them before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

Before I part with you, my brethren, permit me to submit one question -a most momentous question-a question on which your eternal destiny hangs-to your serious consideration. What think ye of the Lord Jesus Christ? What place does the brightness of the Father's glory hold in your esteem? I never thought, perhaps says one man, -I never thought seriously of the Lord Jesus Christ. This may be the language of your heart, and of the habit of your mind; but how awful is your condition! Not think seriously of the Saviour of the world! Why, man, better you had never been born; or that you had been strangled in your infancy. Separated from an interest in Him, the whole creation wears the gloom of horror. To the man whose eyes are opened, your prosperity is a snare: your afflictions are the commencement of overwhelming calamities; death natural is the passage to death eternal,—and your immortality an everlasting curse! But, viewed through the medium of an interest in Christ, the whole creation instantly wears the aspect of cheerfulness; an hallowed splendour is shed through the universe; your daily mercies are pledges of blessings infinitely better, to be enjoyed hereafter; your afflictions are angels sent on errands full of love; death is the gate to endless life, and immortality an everlasting blessing!

What think ye of the Lord Jesus Christ? Oh, replies another, I remember the time when I was a rebel against his law, and a stranger to his gospel. I remember the time, too, when he stopped me in my callous career, and led me, weeping and trembling, to his cross. My heart then opened to receive the balm of Gilead; I had a glimpse of his glory; and never, while memory holds her seat, shall I forget that moment. I felt that I loved him; and, if I loved him not, I knew not what I loved. I have experienced great changes since that time. I lament the awful distance at which I am often found from him; but still I can appeal to him, that the remembrance of him is always welcome to my heart, that I esteem all things but