This God declares to be his glory, Exod. xxxiii. 19. Moses desires to see the glory of God; this God calls his face, that is, the glory of God in itself. This, saith God, thou canst not see: 'Thou canst not see my face,' or the brightness of my essential glory, the splendour of my ex- cellencies and perfections. Well, what then; shall he have no acquaintance with it? After this God places him in a rock, and tells him, there he will shew him his glory; and this he doth under the name of his back parts; that is, he will declare to him wherein, and how, his glory is manifested. ' Now this rock that followed them was Christ;' 1 Cor. x.4. The Lord places Moses in that rock to shew him his glory, intimating that there is no glimpse of it to be obtained, but only by them who are placed in Christ Jesus. Now what is this glory of God, which he thus shewed to Moses ? That
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he declares, chap, xxxiv. 6. causing his majesty, or some visible signs of his presence, ' to pass before him,' he pro- claims the name of God with many gracious properties of his nature and blessedness. As if he should say, Moses, wouldst thou see my glory ? This is it, that I may be known to be ' the Lord, the Lord gracious and merciful ;' let me be known to be this, and thus, and this is the glory I aim at from the sons of men.
See now how steadfastness in believing gives glory to God. I.t^dvanceth and magnifieth all these properties of God, and gives all his attributes their due exaltation. An excellent estimation of them is included in it. Might I here descend to particulars, I could manifest, that there is not any property of God, whereby he hath made himself known to us, but steadfastness in believing gives it the glory which in some measure is due unto it; and that all doubting arises from our calling some divine attribute into question. It were easy to shew how this gives God the glory of his faith- fulness, truth, power, righteousness, grace, mercy, good- ness, love, patience, and whatever else God hath revealed himself to be.
This then is the force of this first testimony. If the glory of God be all that he requires at our hands, and this stead- fastness in believing gives him this glory, and this alone doth so, it must needs be acceptable unto him.
(2.) A testimony of the same impoi'tance is Heb. vi. 17, 18. 'The heirs of the promise,' those to whom it is made, the great promise of Christ, are believers ; these are said here, *to fly for refuge,' KaTa(l)vy6vTeQ, ' the fliers with speed ;' the expression is evidently metaphorical. The allusion, say some, is taken from those who ran in a race for a prize. This, they say, the word Kparriaai, that follows, which signifies ' to take fast hold on,' doth import. Men that run in a race, when they attain the end, seize on, and lay fast hold of, the prize.
Our translators, by rendering the word ' flying for refuge,' manifest that they had respect to the manslayers flyino- to the city of refuge under the Old Testament : and this way go sundry interpreters. And I am inclined to this accepta- tion of the metaphor upon a double account.
[I.] Because I think the apostle would more willingly
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allude to a Hebrew custom, writing to the Hebrews touch- ino- au institution of God, and that directly typical of the matter he had in hand ; than to a custom of the Greeks and Romans in their races, which hath not so much light in it, as to the business in hand, as the other.
[2.] Because the design of the place doth evidently hold out a flying- from something, as well as a flying to some- thing; in which regard it is said, that there is consolation provided for them, namely, in their deliverance from the evil which they feared and fled from. Now in a race there is indeed a prize proposed, but there is no evil avoided. It was otherwise with him that fled for refuge; for as he had a city of safety before him, so he had the avenger of blood behind him ; and he fled with speed and diligence to the one, that he might avoid the other. Now these cities of refuge were provided for the manslayer, who having slain a man at unawares, and being thereby surprised with an ap- prehension of danger, it being lawful for the avenger of blood to slay him, fled with all his strength to one of those cities, where he was to enjoy immunity and safety.
Thus a poor sinner finding himself in a condition of guilt, surprised with a sense of it, seeing death and destruc- tion ready to seize upon him, flies with all his strength to the bosom of the Lord Jesus, the only city of refuge, from the avenging justice of God, and curse of the law. Now this flying to the bosom of Christ, the hope set before us for relief and safety, is believing. It is here called flying by the Holy Ghost, to express the nature of it to the spi- ritual sense of believers. What now doth he declare him- self to be aftected with their ' flying for refuge,' that is, their believing? Why he hath taken all means possible to shew himself abundantly willing to receive them. He hath en- gaged his word and promise, that they may not in the least doubt or stagger, but know that he is ready to receive them, and give them 'strong consolation.' And what is this con- solation? Whence may it appear to arise? Whence did consolation arise to him, who having slain a man at un- awares should fly to a city of refuge? Must it not be from hence, the gates of the city would certainly be open to him, that he should find protection there, and be safe guarded from the revenger? Whence then must be our strong con-