The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 2 — Section 332

HOMILms BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 18-23.-" Shew me thy g'lory." On this incident, remark- I. THE GOOD MAN THIRSTS FOB EVER FULLER IU.NIFEBTATIONS OF THE DIVINE GLORY, The more he knoWI! of God, the more he would know. The nearer he gets, he presses nearer still. He " longs" to see God's power and glory" (Ps. lxiii. 2). He prays to see a:; much of it as may be poBBible to him on earth. He will only be satisfied when ad- mitted to the full vision of it in heaven (Ps. xvi. 11; xvii. 15; 1 John iii. 2). IL Gon's GLORY I8 TWOFOLD-E88ENTIA.L A.ND ETBIOA.L. 1. God's essential glory. Thi~ i~ the glory which pertains to his ~tenu. It is compared in Scripture to the white dav.zling light-" light which no ma.n can e.pproach unto'' (1 Tim. vi. 16). 2. God's etl.wal, glory. This is the glory of his cl.aracter. It was revealed when God proclaimed his" name" to Moses (ver. 19; eh. ][][Xiv. 5-8). Ill. MAN, IN HIS PRESENT STA.TE OF EXISTENCE, CA.N RECEIVE THE VISION OF GoD's ESSKl>TIAL 01.oRY ONl,Y UNDER liBE.i.T LDilITATIONS. The full discovery of it would slay him (ver. 20). Moses beheld it but parti,al,ly, hid in a clift of the rock-se.w but its reflection (vers. 21-23). Even thus to perceive it implied e.n exaltation of the con- sciousness-an opening of the spiritual eyes-not vouchsafed to ordinary men. A medi,at,e revelation is e.t present all that is possible to us. We have this in the reflec- tion of the Creator's glory in creation (Ps. xix. 1, 2). IV. Gon's ETBICAL GLORY A.DIIIITS OF BEING B.EVEA.LED WITH MUCH GREA.TEB FULNEBS. 1. No barrier, either to the revelation or the perception of it, exists in physical conditions. It is glory of ckarader. It is discerned by the same faculties by which we discern spiritual beauty e.nd goodDess in the characters of our fellow-men. 2. God has revealed it. We are not strahened in him. Be has kept nothing back. He has me.de his good- ness pass before us. He has revealed his na.me. The Divine Son is a perfect embodi- ment of the moral glory of the Fe.ther (John i. 14). 3. The sole be.rrier to the percep- tion of it is the limitation of morel cape.city in ourselves. It is in ourselves we are straitened. We lack the purity of heart necessary to give right spiritual discernment. Our perception of the glory of truth, right.eousness, holiness, love, and mercy in God, will he in precise proportion to the degree in which these qualities are formed in our own natures..:....J. 0. Ver. 19.-Divine ~ - On this not.e--- I. Go» IS SOVEREIGN IN THE EXERCISE OF BIB KERCY. He dispenses it to whom he will He is free and unconstrained in its bestowal. The sinner ca.nnot claim it as a right. He is not entitled to reckon upon it, save as the free promise of God gives him a wa.rre.nt to do eo. He dare not dictate to God what he shall do. God is sovereign as respects (1) The objects, (2) The time, (3) The manner, (4) The measure of his mercy. He gives no e.ccount of his me.tt.ers to e.ny one. He allows none to challenge him. IL Go»'s SOVEREIGNTY IS BEST STUDIED ON ITS SIDE OF llEBCY. This is the easier and more e.pproe.che.ble side. It is the least disputable. It does not raise the same dark and knotty problems as the other side-" Whom he will he hardeneth" (Rom. ix. 18). The contemplation of it is purely delightful e.nd coniOlatory. It is, besides, the side to which the other-the side of jud.gm.ent-is subordinate. See this sovereignty of God illus- trated in the history of Isra.el-(1) In the initial choice of the nation in Abraham. (2) In th• deliverance from Egypt, with its attendant circumstances. (3) In the forming of the covenant at Sinai. ( 4) In the restoration of the people to favour after the covenant bad been broken. cn. nxm. 1-32,] THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 357