Moses says, I beseech thee, that
is, I pray, I pray thee, show me thy glory, and the Lord graciously. grants his request, but with
some limitations. In verse 19, the Lord says to
Moses, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and 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. And he said, thou cannot see
my face, for there shall no man see me and live. And the Lord
said, behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon
it, and it shall come to pass, while my glory is passing, that
I will put thee in the cleft of the rock, and will cover thee
with my hand while I pass by, and I will take away my hand,
and thou shalt see my back pass, but my face shall not be seen. Lord willing, I want us to consider
this subject of the glory of God as best we can. As best we can, of course, who
of us can truly fathom God. We are weak, finite, sinful creatures
of time, and our God is the all-powerful, infinite, holy God of eternity. How can we comprehend the glory
of God? In Job we read, Touching the
Almighty, we cannot find him out. God thundereth marvellously
with his voice. Great things doeth he, which
we cannot comprehend. like thee unto the Lord among
the gods, gods with a small g, who is like thee, glorious in
holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, doing wonders. How can we comprehend fully our
glorious God? When you want to describe someone
we know to someone else, we might say, well, he is like that fellow
over there, or he's like this fellow over here. not so with
our God. He has no rival. There is no
competitor. There is no challenger. There
is no one like him. He is other. He is other. Glorious
beyond their imagination. In Psalm 103 we learn that the
Israelites saw the wonders of God. They saw the acts of God But under Moses he made known
his ways. Moses knew what those glorious
acts of God represented. Every gracious act of God is
representative of his glorious character and his glorious person. Indeed, the whole earth is full
of his glory. Even in this full those who dwell upon the earth,
but especially, especially His glory is seen in the redemption
of His people. God in Christ, reconciling us
back to God, redeemed by blood, the blood of God, as we read
in Acts. And in times past, our God has
revealed His glory to mortal men. Before the Word became flesh,
before the Lord Jesus' birth in time, in the Old Testament
times we find instances, many instances, of the Lord of Glory
peering to certain ones. In Genesis 17, when Abram was
about 90 years old, the Lord peered to him, saying, with him, talking to Abraham
of the covenant that he would make with him and his descendants,
speaking the promises of God to him and his seed. Again, the Lord appeared to Abraham
in the Plains of Mamre. You might recall three men appeared
on their journey to Sodom and Gomorrah. In approaching these
men, Abraham bowed to the ground and addressed the So we are speaking
of the pre-incarnate appearances of our Lord Jesus Christ. In
Genesis 32, you remember how Jacob wrestled with a man. until
the break of day, and Jacob did not let him go until he was blessed.
And the scripture says that Jacob prevailed with God, and God named
Jacob Israel. And Jacob called the place, the
name of that place, Peniel, Peniel, which means face of God. And Jacob, obviously, in my mind,
must have been astonished, must have been astonished, astonished
that he was preserved. He said, I've seen God face to
face, and my life has been preserved. I've seen God, and I'm still
alive. And yet, the Apostle John said,
no man hath seen God at any time. So we have to understand, God
is spirit. God is spirit, he is the invisible
God. No man has seen him at any time,
but the verse continues in John 1, No man hath seen God at any
time, the only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father.
He hath declared Him. image of his person. And what
did the Lord say to his disciples? He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. I and the Father are one. The Lord
Jesus is the visible expression of God. So the Lord first appeared
to Moses from the burning bush. The bush was on fire, but it
was not consumed, and the Lord called Moses out by name. Moses,
Moses. The Lord declared himself, and
he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. And the scripture says, Moses
hid his face, hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God. But the Lord had chosen Moses
for his glorious purpose. Moses was a type of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Like the Saviour, Moses was an
intercessor and a deliverer of his people, interceding between
the people and God and delivering his people from their bondage
under Pharaoh. And Moses was given the very
oracles of God and performed great wonders. And yet with such
privilege before the God of Glory, the God of Creation, the God
of Glory, the King of Glory, Moses understood the fear of
the Lord. He revered God. Moses was a meek
man. In Numbers 12 we read that Moses
was very meek. above all the men that were upon
the face of the earth." Moses was a meek man, a humble man. God resists the proud but gives
grace to the humble. But notice the Lord in these
manifestations of himself must veil his glory to some extent. Manoa and his wife, if you recall
that story, were visited by the Lord, and they had no idea who
that visitor was until the Lord unveiled some of his glory in
the flame. And Manoa feared for his life when he realised who
it was. We've seen God, he said. We've
seen God. We're surely going to die. When Jacob wrestled the God-man,
I find myself wondering how easily the Lord could have overcome
Jacob, just by a glimpse of his glory. Just with a small unveiling
of his true glory, Jacob would have fallen dead, just as a dead
man. And just as the Apostle John
did in his encounter with the Lord, you might recall. Turn
with me there to Revelation, Revelation chapter 1. Verse 10. Remember, this is John,
who once leaned upon the Savior's breast, and he now records the
things he saw and heard, recording the glory of God. Revelation
1.10, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind
me a great voice as of a trumpet. saying, I am Alpha and Omega,
the first and the last. What thou seest, write in a book
and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia, unto Ephesus,
and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis,
and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turn to see the
voice that spake of me. And turning, being turned, I
saw seven golden candlesticks, and look at this amazing description
of the Lord. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment
down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white
like wool. Remember, John is witnessing
things that he's never seen, that none of you have seen. And
so he likens those things to things that he understands. His
hairs were white, like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes
were as a flame of fire. John is describing that which
has no earthly description. What he is seeing is indescribable
glory, and there are no words to fully convey his glory. And so the apostle is using earthly
things to describe heavenly things. And his feet, in verse 15, his
feet like under brass, as if they burned in a furnace, and
his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right
hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword, and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And John said, when I saw him,
I fell at his feet as dead. And so the Lord Jesus, come let's
sing. And he laid his right hand upon
me, saying, Fear not, I am first and the last. I am he that liveth
and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen, I have,
and have the keys of hell and death. Write these things which
thou seest, and the things which are, and the things which shall
be hereafter. We worship a glorious God, a
glorious God. Of course, transfiguration of the Lord Jesus.
And the scriptures say that the face of the Lord Jesus did shine
as the sun. Shine as the sun. Have you ever
tried to glimpse the sun? I wouldn't recommend it. I wouldn't
recommend it, but we all know something of its intensity. And
his raiment was as white as the light, whiter than snow, with
a purity And a bright cloud overshadowed
them, and a voice out of the cloud said, This is my beloved
son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. And when the disciples heard
that, they fell on their faces and were sore afraid. And again, as the Lord always
does for his people, the Lord comes to comfort his people.
And Jesus came and touched them and said, arise, be not afraid. What a great picture of salvation
when sinners are made to see who God is, his might and his
majesty and his holiness, and made to see what they themselves
are, full of sin and fearful of condemnation. Then the gospel
comes, and to those believing saints he says, arise, arise,
be not afraid. I know thee by name, and now
has found grace in my sight. I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. We have a
glorious gospel. And that's what it's all about,
isn't it? That's the foundational truth which all believers believe
and know and love. It's about His glory. It's about
His glorious person. It's about His glorious life,
His glorious death, His glorious resurrection, and the cross.
The cross being a majestic display of all the glorious attributes
of our God. but displaying all His glorious
mercy, all His glorious goodness, His glorious holiness, His justice,
and displaying His glorious grace, His glorious grace. It's all
about Him and His glory. And anything glorious you witness, You remember when Moses came
down from the mountain, just turn over to page, next to this
34, verse 29. And it came to pass when Moses
came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony
in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses
wist not that the skin of his face shone white. When Aaron and all the children
of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and
they were afraid to come nigh to him. Any glory you see in this earth
is derived from the law, and the church of God. because it's a glorious church
because of His glory. Ephesians 5 says, Church of God
is glorious. Doesn't look much on the outside,
doesn't look much to the man on the street. And it is a glorious
church. He sanctified the church and
he adorns the church with his glory. The glory of the church
is derived from him and all the glory for her salvation belongs
to him. So that God gets all the glory
in the saving of sins. The Lord gave himself for the
church. Christ and him crucified. gave himself to the church. That's
our message, that's our gospel. And in the gospel, in the cross,
the message of the cross, we see the fullness of the glory
of God and the salvation of his people. The preaching of the
cross is foolishness, though, to those who are perishing, but
unto us which are saved, it's the power of God. Lord Jesus made peace. He made
peace through the blood of his cross. Peace with God. Peace with God. Not on your terms.
He made peace. He's the peacemaker. And he blotted
out the handwriting of ordinances that were against us. The law
of God. They think that they can perform
laws that appease God. But the law, the law is contrary
to us in our flesh. They were contrary to us. And
the law of Jesus Christ took it out of the way. That's what
the scripture says, nailing it to his cross. Now passage, Moses. Show me thy glory. Show me thy glory. What boldness
before the Lord that Moses is motivated to ask it. The Lord had put this prayer
in his heart to ask it. Moses has spent many days walking
with the Lord, communing with him on the mount and also in
the tabernacle where God spoke to Moses as a man speaketh
unto his friend. As a man speaketh unto his friend.
Isn't that truly remarkable? Consider for a moment his commitment
to his brethren. Consider that union that exists. He is the great shepherd of the
sheep. He's the captain of our salvation. In Hebrews 2 we read,
For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are
all one. All are one. The Lord Jesus Christ
and his people are one. One with him. One in Christ. For which cause he is not ashamed
to call them brethren. Brethren. What a privilege that
the Lord should call us brothers and sisters. Moses enjoyed many
grace, and so he was emboldened to bring this petition before
the Lord. But look at how Moses approaches
the Lord in verse 12. Verse 12, Moses said unto the
Lord, See thou say unto me, Bring up this people, and thou hast
not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said,
I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. So what is Moses doing? He's
reminding the Lord of that which he said. Had the Lord forgotten
that he knew Moses by name? Had the Lord forgotten that Moses
had found grace in his sight? What's Moses doing? Well, he's
praying. He is praying in the manner that
the Lord taught us to pray. Listen to what the Lord says
in Isaiah 43. The Lord says, put me in remembrance. Put me in remembrance. Let us
plead together. When you talk to me, put me in
remembrance of what I've already told you. Put me in remembrance
of what I've done. Put me in remembrance of who
you are and what I am. Put me in remembrance of my covenant
promises. Declare thou, he says, declare
thou. Stay to your case, that thou
mayest be justified. If we put the Lord in remembrance
of that which he himself has said, we will be justified. Moses continues and says to the
Lord, thou hast said, thou hast said, you have said, you've said
you know me by my name, you've said you know me like no one
else. You've said that you know me distinctly, that you love
me and approve of me, and that you've chosen and ordained me,
and you've atoned for me. And thou hast said, I have found
grace in thy sight. That's our prayer, isn't it?
That's our prayer, that we might find grace in his sight. Not in our own estimation. It
has to be grace in his sight. Verse 13, it says, Now therefore, in the light
of the fact that you have said that you know me by name and
have found grace in thy sight, I pray thee, if I have found
grace in thy sight, Moses isn't questioning the Lord here. He's
not doubting God's word. We can read like this, since
I have found grace in thy sight, Show me now thy way. Show me now thy way. So Moses knows he has to take
these people through the wilderness and he has to guide them a long
time and guide them into the land of promise. But he says,
I can't do this without you, without your presence. I am utterly
helpless and hopeless and weak. Since I have found grace in my
sight, show me now thy way, show me your way of salvation, show
me your way of grace, show me now thy way, thy way, not my
way, thy way. And of course these words of
Moses find their highest meaning in the Saviour. The Saviour said,
not the Saviour said, He said, I am the way, I am the way, I
am the door, I am the way, the truth, The psalmist says, teach me thy
way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth. Show me now thy way, that I may
know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight. If you show me
your way, then I'll know. I'll know you. Show me your way,
then I may know you. We learn to depend on Him, don't
we, when He is the only one we can depend on. And we learn to
trust His faithfulness, don't we, when we may experience His
faithfulness. May we learn that His grace is
sufficient. May the Lord teach us, teach
us His way, His way, which is often, so often, not our way.
And again, look at the text. Again, Moses puts the Lord in
remembrance. He says, and consider that this
nation is thy people. These are your people. These
are your people, Lord. They're a stiff-necked people.
Yes, they are. They're still your people. They're obstinate
and often unbelieving. Yes, but they're your people. Consider that this nation is
thy people, people separated from all other peoples of the
earth, sanctified according to your purpose and grace. The people,
the church, are the people of God, separated, separated people,
separated from all other peoples by His doing, separated from
the unbelieving world and separated from all false religion, all
false religion. If we were preaching as in this
town, we'd have no reason to be here, we might as well join
with them. We are separated from all false religion and his presence
is with his church, only with his church. The Lord said, for
where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am
I in the midst of them. And so the Lord's pledged his
presence, hasn't he, to be with his people. The church is a glorious
church because the presence of the Lord You have no glory without Him.
And the Lord speaks in verse 14. I think it says it's 33. My presence shall go with thee
and I will give thee rest. And Moses continues his petition
of the Lord. In verse 15 he says, if thy presence
go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it
be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy
sight. Is it not that thou goest with us? Moses is praying, please
don't send us if your presence is not with us. And what a great
prayer that is for us on this day. If the Lord is not with
us, then we might as well go home. And if the gospel is not
preached, then we have no reason to believe that the Lord is with
us. This church has been gathered over 11 years now. And I believe we can testify
that God has been I believe His presence has been
manifestly with us all the way. But this prayer of Moses remains
our constant prayer, doesn't it? Thy presence, go not with
us, carry us not up hence. Isn't it the truth? Isn't it
the truth that without Christ, everything in this world is worthless
and insignificant and vain? No matter what you have, no matter
who you are, no matter where you are, without Christ it is
utterly worthless. Without Christ it is utterly
insignificant and meaningless. Without Christ this church would
have no authority and no blessing. May the Lord prevent us from
leaving a single step without his presence and may he keep
us firmly in the truth. The glory of God only accompanies
preaching of the true gospel, and if the true gospel is preached
faithfully, then the Lord promises to bless it, doesn't he? Promises
to bless it. And the Lord will bring his people
in to hear it. The Lord says that his word shall not return
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. And if you don't go with us,
Moses prays, then how will the nation see your grace upon us? If you're not with us, if your
presence is not with us, if your word is not proclaimed, then
we're no different. We're no different to anyone
else. Only if you go with us, Moses prays in verse 16, will
we be separated by and by people from all the people that are
upon the face of the earth. We're not separated because of anything other than the gospel. We don't think of ourselves as
higher or more spiritual than anyone else apart from the gospel.
We don't think of ourselves as any more worthy of His grace
apart from the gospel. Gospels are things that we need
and that we hold on to. Only if you go with us, Moses
prays in verse 16, we will be separated. We're approaching the throne
of grace. We're approaching the throne
of God, the great God for whom nothing is impossible. We ought
to expect great things. And in verse 18, he says, he
prays, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. And he said, I will
make all my goodness pass before thee. Look at the Lord's proclamation
in the next chapter as he passes by Moses, in verse 6 of chapter
34. And the Lord passed by before
him and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth. Our God is good. Our God is good. All the goodness that there is
in any creature, Mr. Pink writes, has been imparted
from the Creator. God's goodness is underrived. Where did God get his goodness
from? It's underrived. He was always
good. It's the essence of his nature. It is who he is. The glory of
the Lord lies in his goodness, in his character. The psalmist
says, O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness. The
earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Verse 19, And I will proclaim
the name of the Lord before thee. Chapter 33, And I will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy on whom I will
show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see
my face, for there shall no man see me and live. We see things
as through a glass darkroom. We see nothing perfectly. And
in this body of flesh, we cannot see all fullness of God's majestic
being. And the Lord said, behold, there
is a place by me and thou shalt stand upon a rock. Our friend,
Mr. Hawker, comments, Does not these cliffs mean the
wounded side of Jesus in which the church is sheltered? The Lord says in our verse, there
is a place by me. There is a place by me, just
one place. That place is the Lord Jesus Christ, that one seated
at the right hand of God. There is a place by me and thou
shalt stand upon a rock. Remembered in that parable that
the wise man built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that
house, and it fell not, for it was founded on the rock. The
Lord Jesus Christ is a rock of ages. To some, a stumbling stone,
and the rock of a fence. But whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed. He is a rock of ages. a rock upon which we are built. Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone, a rock on which we build. We build on that
rock. Here's the rock that followed
Israel. That rock was smitten. You remember from Exodus 17,
that rock was smitten and poured out, that rock and horror which
Moses struck. Perhaps we'll just turn there
for a moment and we'll just quickly read that. Verse 1, and all the congregation
of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of sin after
their journeys according to the commandment of the Lord and pitched
in rep for them. And there was no water for the
people to drink. Wherefore the people did chide
with Moses and said, Give us water that we may drink. And
Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? Wherefore do you
tempt the Lord? And the people thirsted there
for water, and the people murmured against Moses, and they said,
Wherefore is this, that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt
to kill us, and our children and our cattle with thirst? And
Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do unto this people?
They be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders
of Israel, and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take
in thine hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee
there upon the rock in horror, and thou shalt smite the rock,
and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink.
And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel, And
he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of
the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted
the Lord, saying, is the Lord among us or not? Moses struck
the rock at the command of God, and that rock was kept open. This is the Lord God smiting
the shepherd. That's the picture of it. That's
what it represents. Zechariah 13, a Waco sword against
my shepherd and against the man that is my fellow, saith the
Lord of hosts. Smite the shepherd. Smite the
shepherd. That's what that rock, smiting
of that rock represents. Isaiah says of the Savior in
Isaiah 53, surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten, smite the rock. The Lord commanded
Moses to smite the rock, and there shall come water out of
it that the people may drink. You recall that the Lord said
to that woman at the well and speaking of himself, whosoever
drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst,
but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of
water springing up into everlasting life. Let's go back to our chapter
in chapter 33 of Exodus. Verse 22, And it shall come to pass, while
my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft in the rock. The Lord Jesus was cleft, cleft
with people. And the Lord puts his people
in Christ. They don't put themselves there,
the Lord puts them there for his purpose and their good and
for their everlasting enjoyment. And the Lord says, There is much to say on the covering
that the Lord provides, perhaps for another time, but the saints
are covered, aren't they? They're covered and secure in
Christ. He covers them and protects them. And what is he covering them
from? He's covering them from himself. He's covering them from
himself. May the Lord make us see our
need for his covering, may he clothe us in his righteousness Verse 23, and I will take away
mine hand and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall
not be seen. Thou shalt see my back parts. What is the Lord saying? We know
that God is spirit. No man has seen God at any time. How is it that God should be
speaking to Moses and saying, thou shalt see my back parts? My thoughts go to that part of
the word of God spoken in Genesis chapter 3, where he says in verse
15, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between
thy seed and her seed, and it shall bruise thy heel, and thou
shalt bruise his head. The heel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The back parts of God. The heel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. The heel of God representing
the crucified saviour. The same heel which crushes the
serpent's head, his bruised heel, the glory of God is seen in his
great work of atonement, the glorious work of mercy. And look at the proclamation
of the Lord as he passes by in chapter 34, verse 5. Chapter 34, verse 5. And the
Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed
the name of the Lord And the Lord passed by before him and
proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord, merciful and gracious, long-suffering
and abundant in goodness and truth. The Lord has always been
merciful and gracious and long-suffering and abundant in goodness and
truth. These things are but a manifestation of his glorious person. But now
in time, they've been made manifest in the saving of his people. The Lord continues saying, keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity into transgression and
sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty. Perfect justice. Perfect justice
of God exercised in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ on our
behalf. We who are Christ's. We who belong
to the Lord Jesus Christ should never doubt his mercy and grace
towards us. He dealt with those things that
stood against us, that law which condemned us. Iniquity and transgression,
he says, and sin are fully injustice. We love that verse in the Turquoise
Inspire. The Lord hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. May the Lord place us in that
cleft and cover us with his glorious hand, and may he allow us to
see the glory of God and the salvation of his people, a blood-bought
people, The King of Glory. May the Lord bless these words
to us today. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we do thank
you for the revelation of your Son to us in the pages of Scripture. Grant us a sight of him, Lord,
that causes us to adore and worship him more and more. Grace your church with your glory,
Heavenly Father. and with your beauty. We thank
you that your people have found grace in thy sight. We thank
you that you are our God, the Lord God, merciful, gracious,
and abundant in goodness and in truth. Bless us and keep us,
we pray, for Christ's sake. Amen.