Unveiled
“Lord, this morning I read a chapter in the Bible, and therein observed a memorable passage whereof I never took notice before. Why now, and no sooner did I see it? Formerly my eyes were as open, and the letters were as legible. Is there not a thin veil laid over Thy Word, which is more rarefied by reading and at last wholly worn away? I see the oil of Thy Word will never leave increasing whilst any bring an empty barrel.”
~Thomas Fuller
“Here is a straw of hope for the patient persevering reader! But had Thomas Fuller turned his attention to the none-too-thin veil of timidity, lethargy, and preoccupation that is laid over the will of the reader, he might have come even nearer to the veil that must be rarefied and worn away before the eyes may truly be open. It must be worn away not only by continued reading but by the coincident work of the invisible companion who acts upon us at each instant of our lives. Upon the occasion of our life experiences of joy, of suffering, of creating, of failure, of trust kept, of betrayal, steadily and without a shadow of turning, this presence haunts us, pulverizes our pretences, heals our bruises, draws on our partial responses, and waits for us to awaken and respond to the everlasting mercy…”
~Douglas Steere
12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, 13 not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. 14 But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. 15 Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; 16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
~2 Corinthians 3:12-18
~Thomas Fuller
“Here is a straw of hope for the patient persevering reader! But had Thomas Fuller turned his attention to the none-too-thin veil of timidity, lethargy, and preoccupation that is laid over the will of the reader, he might have come even nearer to the veil that must be rarefied and worn away before the eyes may truly be open. It must be worn away not only by continued reading but by the coincident work of the invisible companion who acts upon us at each instant of our lives. Upon the occasion of our life experiences of joy, of suffering, of creating, of failure, of trust kept, of betrayal, steadily and without a shadow of turning, this presence haunts us, pulverizes our pretences, heals our bruises, draws on our partial responses, and waits for us to awaken and respond to the everlasting mercy…”
~Douglas Steere
12 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, 13 not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. 14 But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. 15 Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; 16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
~2 Corinthians 3:12-18
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