15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.

There are faces that are hard and cruel, others beastlike and brutish, or indifferent, austere. But Ecclesiastes describes the way in which the power of the Word, reflected in the demeanour and words of a man, may give his general appearance an aura of godliness:

"Who is as the wise man? And who knoweth the interpretation of a thing? Λ man's wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed" (Ecc. 8:1).

It is as though the serene light which shines in the mind makes itself visible in the outward appearance. The look, the bearing, the wise words which issue from the mouth, provide — when circumstances focus all attention upon such a person — a penetrating dignity associated with holiness.

The brain mirrors the proportion of divine influence upon a man, and this may be visibly discerned in the way he conducts himself and the words he speaks, together with an unmistakeable evidence of his absolute reverence for the Word of God.

Bro John Ullman