I'd like to turn in your Bibles
to Exodus chapter 33. In Exodus 33, in our quest to
consider the attributes of God, we see that the names of God
reveal something about him. something about himself. And
so the names of God are the self-revelations of God that he gives to those
he reveals himself to. And these names that he gives
are vitally linked to his glory and with his fame. In verse 17
of Exodus 33, Moses is speaking to the Lord and he petitions
the Lord on the basis of grace. Grace is always the basis by
which we approach our God. If our appeal is on the basis
of grace, then we are appealing on the grounds of His character.
Our God is a God of grace. Moses had found grace in the
eyes of the Lord, not from anything he'd done. Moses was a meek man. Angus spoke about this a few
weeks ago. Meek above all men, the scripture
says. But still he was a sinner like
any other sinner, a sinner like us, saved by grace. And here
Moses is requesting that the presence of the Lord go with
them. He says to the Lord, if I have
found grace in thy sight, and he had, don't let us go anywhere
if your presence is not with us. Isn't that our desire here
in this congregation? Lord, don't let us do anything. Don't let us be anything. Don't
let us go anywhere if your presence is not with us. And the Lord said unto Moses,
I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken, for thou hast
found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. And then
look at what happens. Moses asks a very, very bold,
he has a very bold request. In verse 18 he said, I beseech
thee, show me thy glory. And Moses had seen so much of
the glory of God, hadn't he? You recall his meeting with God
in Genesis chapter three where he encountered that burning bush.
And he saw that the bush was on a fire and wasn't consumed. And the Lord spoke to him out
of that bush, didn't he? Called him by name. And when
the Lord called him by name, Moses hid his face. He hid his
face for he was afraid, afraid to look upon God. He was a glory, a glory beyond
his comprehension. Moses had seen so much, hadn't
he, of the Lord. All that transpired from Egypt
when the Lord performed those miracles and brought those plagues
on Egypt. And he saw how the Lord graciously
passed over the dwellings of the Israelites. When they had
the blood, when the angel of death passed over, when I see
the blood, I will pass over. And he saw how the people were
delivered, didn't he? Moses saw all these things. He
saw how they were delivered out of Egypt. They couldn't wait
to get rid of them, actually, after all those plagues. Moses
saw how the Lord went before them in that pillar of cloud
by day and pillar of fire by night to light their way. Amazing
things, wondrous things. He saw the parting of the sea. the Red Sea and saw the might
of the Lord firsthand in the destruction of the Egyptian army,
600 chosen chariots and all the chariots of Egypt along with
their soldiers, the sea swallowed them in an instant. And they
walked across on dry land. And even in those wanderings
in the wilderness, Moses saw the glory of God, didn't he?
Moses saw God keep them, keep them in that desert, keep them
in that wilderness, that hostile place with food and water. But even so, Moses knows that
everything he's seen, all these wondrous things, everything he's
seen, glory of the Lord. And as mighty
and as miraculous as these deeds were, he knows that the one who
performed them is infinitely more glorious than he'd witnessed.
And so he has this desire to see more of the glory of the
Lord. What boldness he had to ask such
a thing. In verse 18 Moses says, I beseech
thee, I pray thee, show me thy glory. I pray, Lord, show me
your glory. And look at this remarkable response
of the Lord in verse 19. He said, I will make all my goodness
pass before thee. The goodness of God. Yet another
wonderful attribute we'll contemplate more fully in a future message,
Lord willing. But God is good. God is good,
even in the gravest of circumstances of this life. That is always
the believer's confession, is it not? God is good. He is immutably
good. Immutably good. He is eternally
good. He is the source and the essence And he said in verse 19, I will
make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the
name of the Lord before thee. I will proclaim the name of the
Lord before thee, all his goodness. I will proclaim my name, the
name of Jehovah, the self-existent one. the Eternal One. I will
proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will
show mercy. God would make all his goodness
to pass before Moses and he would proclaim the name of the Lord.
And this And in this proclamation, the Lord declares those wonderful
characteristics of himself, to be gracious to whom he will and
show mercy on whom he will. And so we can see here how God
associates his name with his grace and his mercy. He associates
his name with grace and mercy. His name and his glorious attributes
of grace and mercy, they go together, don't they? cannot be separated. He is declaring himself as he
passes before Moses. What did Moses see? Have you
ever wondered that? Rather we should ask, who did he see? We know from John, John said
it was the Lord Jesus Christ. You might recall in John chapter
12, the Lord was teaching the people and many did not believe
on him. And then John quotes the words
of Isaiah to the Lord of the Lord Jesus. And those words of Isaiah say,
who have believed our report and to whom have the arm of the
Lord been revealed? Then he says, these things said
Isaiah, What did Isaiah see? We're talking
about Isaiah chapter six. He saw the glory of the Lord,
didn't he? Sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train
filled the temple, and those seraphim crying, holy, holy,
holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of his
glory. And so Moses is seeing that same
one, that very same one that Isaiah saw in the temple. It's one of the Lord Jesus' pre-incarnate
appearances. The Lord said to Philip, Philip,
if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. I and the Father
are one. All you're ever going to see
of God is him. That's the truth, isn't it? All
you are ever going to see of God is him. Colossians 2 verse 9 says, In
him, in the Lord Jesus, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead
bodily. Moses saw the glory of God in
the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn with me to John chapter
17 before we close. Of course we often go to this
chapter which is the Lord's high priestly prayer, but I want us
to see something in light of the Lord's declaration when the
Lord said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee and
I will claim the name of the Lord before thee. In John chapter
17 verse 4, the Lord Jesus says these words, I have glorified
thee on the earth. The Lord Jesus has glorified
God on the earth. Moses prayed to the Lord, show
me thy glory. The Lord Jesus Christ showed
his glory, didn't he? The glory of God, all the days
of his earthly ministry. Though he was cloaked, wasn't
he? That glory was cloaked for a time in a body of flesh. John said the word was made flesh
and dwelled among us and we beheld his glory. The glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The
Lord said to Moses, I will make all my goodness pass before thee.
Brethren, we need to understand that all the attributes of God
are exhibited in the Lord Jesus Christ. The attributes of God are the
attributes of the Lord Jesus Christ. God said to Moses, I
will make all my goodness pass before thee. For 33 years, the
goodness of God in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ passed
by this world. Every time we open this word
and we read of him, do we not see the goodness of God passing
by our very eyes? God placed Moses in a cleft,
in the cleft of a rock. in order for all his goodness
to pass by. Isn't that where you're sitting
now? Here in this place today, just as Moses did, placed in
a safe place. This is a safe place. And witnessing
the goodness of God pass you and preaching of the gospel of
his son. Psalm 107 says, Oh, that men
would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful
works to the children of men. John 17 verse 5 goes on, and
now, O Father, the Lord Jesus says, glorify thou me with thine
own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world
was. Our Lord Jesus Christ always
owned that glory, the glory of God. He was always God. I have manifested thy name unto
the men which thou gavest me out of the world, thine they
were, and thou gavest them me, and they have kept thy word. And there again we see in the
scriptures the importance of the name. I have manifested thy
name. The Lord Jesus Christ manifested
the name of God in himself. He himself is the manifestation
of God to us. There is no other name, is there?
There's no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must
be saved. That's the name, the name of
God in the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord reveal his goodness
to us in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do come to
you pleading the merits of thy dear Son. Heavenly Father, who
entered that holy place with his own blood, having obtained
eternal redemption for all his people, We thank you, Heavenly
Father, for these elements that we're about to partake in. May
they remind us of Him, Heavenly Father, as we come to the Lord's
Table and remember the words of our Lord. from Luke 22, as he took bread
and gave thanks and break it and gave it unto them, saying,
this is my body which is given for you, this do in remembrance
of me. Likewise, also the cup after
supper, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood which
is shed for you. Do this in remembrance of me. Let's do this in remembrance
of him. May these emblems remind us of
his finished work on behalf of his people. Amen.