Beholding As in a Mirror.
By H. E. Brooke
You may remember that the mirrors of old were of polished metal, not like ours, of glass, and therefore they had this peculiarity, that, if a person looked into a mirror, he saw, probably less perfectly than we do now, his face; but if he used the mirror to look at any other object—as, for example, reflecting mirrors are used in telescopes, to see the stars and the moon—if he used the mirror for such a purpose, if the object was a brilliant one, it would not only show itself upon the surface of the polished mirror, but cast back its rays upon his face, so that a man who was using a mirror for this object would not only see what he wanted, but imperceptibly his face would be lit up with the glory of the object, if that object was one possessing brightness. I think that is the key to the right understanding of that passage: 'We all, with unveiled face, beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord.' We are told a little further on, that, 'in the face of Jesus Christ,' the glory of the Lord is revealed. We are gazing at him, and, as we gaze at him, there is this effect going on—the Spirit of the Lord is changing us from glory to glory. Here, then, is the advantage of gazing on Christ; that we are gazing at an object whom the Spirit of the Lord uses to this end; that he reflects back the glory of the object upon the countenances of those who gaze at him. May our thoughts be sanctified, and, as the Lord Jesus is the object of our contemplation, may our hearts have reflected back upon them some of the rays of this glory with transforming power.—Rev. H. E. Brooke.