The Oberlin Evangelist

December 20, 1843

REVELATION OF GOD'S GLORY.

By The Rev. CHARLES G. FINNEY

Modernized by Cliff Collins

 

“Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people’.  But You have not let me know whom You will send with me.  Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight’.  Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.  And consider that this nation is Your people.’  And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest’.  Then he said to Him, ‘If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.  For how then will it be known that Your people and I have found grace in Your sight, except You go with us?  So we shall be separate, Your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth.’

Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.’  And he said, ‘Please, show me Your glory.’  Then He said, ‘I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.  I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.’  But He said, ‘You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.’  

And the Lord said, ‘Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock.  So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by.  Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen’.” (Ex 33: 12-23)

 

In this message I will show,

I. What does the glory of God mean?

II. What is implied in Moses’ prayer?

III. What is implied in God’s answer to Moses?

 

I. What does the glory of God mean?

The original meaning of the word glory was, ‘brightness, clearness, a brilliant radiance’.  From its original meaning, glory has come to mean ‘honor, renown’.  Glory also means ‘that which renders honorable, or demands honor, or that which demands renown, reverence, adoration, and worship’.  It means ‘that which is worthy of confidence and trust’.  God has two kinds of glory.  God’s glory is both essential and declarative.  When we talk about God’s essential glory, we are talking about everything that’s in Him that is glorious, all that is in His character that demands honor, worship, and adoration.  When we talk about His declarative glory, we are talking about the glory of His character that He reveals and manifests to us.  His declarative glory is the manifesting of His essential glory to His creatures.  His declarative glory is revealing His glory to our understanding.  And this is what Moses meant.  Moses meant that God would reveal Himself to Moses so that he might know God, so that he might have a clear and powerful understanding of those things that constitute God’s glory.

 

II. What is implied in Moses’ prayer?

1. When Moses prayed, he revealed a desire to know more than he already knew about God.  He knew comparatively little about God.  True, Moses knew some things about God, but he wanted to know more.  Moses had a desire to know what makes God worthy of the homage and adoration of His creatures.  Moses especially desired that God would so subdue him by this knowledge; to have his heart so fixed in God’s confidence, that it would prepare him for his great work, the work of leading Israel to the Promised Land.  Moses wanted to be so subdued that his confidence might be perfect in God, so that he might never fail to trust in God and to lean on the Lord.  God had called him to a very difficult work, and Moses needed to get to know God very thoroughly.

2. Moses’ prayer implies that he had a feeling that he had a need for this knowledge of the glory of God.  This prayer implies that Moses greatly needed this prayer.

3. Moses’ prayer implies that he was unselfish in his desire.  All Moses wanted was God’s glory and what was best for God’s people, so he could succeed in the great work of setting God’s people free, and glorifying God’s name by establishing them in the land of Canaan.

4. Moses’ prayer implies a sense of his responsibility for the needs of the people, and the needs of God Himself.

5. Moses’ prayer implies that he believed that, from the call that he received from God to lead Israel out of Egypt, he had a right to expect this revelation to his soul.  God had called Moses to a work.  Moses saw that, in order to accomplish that work, he must have a clearer knowledge of God to sustain him in his difficult position, and to lift him up whenever he becomes discouraged.  Therefore, it appears as if Moses thought that he had a right to expect that God would not deny him his request to succeed.

 

III. What does God’s answer to Moses imply?

God said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you”.  God’s glory consists in His moral attributes; God’s glory consists in His goodness.

1. God’s answer implied that Moses’ request was completely unselfish; that Moses’ motives were right.  If mere curiosity led Moses to ask God, God would not have granted his request.  God saw the sincere and earnest consecration of Moses’ heart to the one goal he had in mind, which was the fulfillment of the work that God had given him.

2. God’s answer implied that God recognized the true needs of Moses and the people, and therefore, God testified that He thought that it was necessary to give Moses what he asked for.

3. God’s answer reveals that what Moses expected was reasonable.  Moses had a right to expect grace equal to his circumstances.

4. God’s answer reveals that God was willing to make Himself known to Moses.  God was willing to reveal His glory to Moses because Moses desired to see the Glory of God.

5. God’s answer reveals His regard for the frailties of Moses and the people.  God said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.  The glory of My presence is unspeakable.  It is too much for mortal eye to behold.  It would overwhelm you.  It would separate your soul from your body.  But I will hide you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand as I pass by.  And I will take away My hand and you shall see My back parts, but you shall not see My face.  You may see as much as you can bear, and no more.  You shall have as clear a revelation of My character as you can handle.  You will have as vivid a revelation of My holiness as your strength can endure and as much as you can possibly stand.”

6. God’s answer implies that God considers that His goodness, His moral attributes, makes up His essential glory.  His glory does not consist in His natural attributes.  His glory does not consist in His power, His wisdom, His omnipresence, and His eternity.  These are awesome!  They are fearful for us to behold.  But, His glory lies in His goodness.  His glory lies in His moral character, His justice, His love, His holiness, and His mercy.  All these are only some of the many forms of His love.  God respects Himself, and He demands the respect and honor of others for His holiness, because He willfully subjects Himself to the law of love, to the law of universal and impartial love. 

God’s glory does not consist in just one facet of His love, but His glory consists in every facet of His love, all combined and balanced in their proper proportions.  Listen to what God says, “I will make all My goodness pass before you.”  What a beautiful and awesome revelation that was!  “And the Lord passed by before Moses, and the Lord proclaimed that He, the Lord God, is merciful and gracious.  The Lord proclaimed that He is long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin.  The Lord also proclaimed that He will never clear the guilty (the impenitent).  “He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of those who hate God.”  (See Deut 5:9-10)  This was the goodness of God, forgiving the penitent, rewarding the obedient, being patient with the rebellious, fulfilling His promise for good to the faithful and confiding, and pouring the vials of His fiercest wrath on the incorrigible.  All of this is the goodness of God.  All of this is His love under different phases; and all of this, is the essential glory of the living God.

7. God’s answer implies His sovereignty in dispensing His mercies.  “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”  By God’s sovereign grace, I don’t mean that He acts arbitrarily, or without a good reason; but that He acts independently of everyone except Himself.  God obeys the dictates of His own infinite love, and consults no one but Himself for permission to do what He sees as the best thing to do.  “I will consult my own unsearchable wisdom, and that which to me seems best, I will do”.  That is His declaration to the universe.

 

REMARKS.

1. The circumstances and the prayer of Moses, were the conditions of the revelation that God made to him.  The circumstance that Moses was in was that he needed to know more of God.  His prayer was that God would teach him; that God would reveal more of Himself to him.  Circumstances alone were not enough.  Prayer alone was not enough.  But both circumstances and prayer together was enough.  Moses already had many manifestations of God’s presence and power as circumstances required.  Sometimes Moses was alone; sometimes he was in the full presence of all the people.  On mount Sinai, God moved in thunder and fire, and the congregation quaked at the terror of the Lord.  According to the urgent need of Moses and of the people, God dealt with them, and showed His glory to them.

2. God reveals a principle of His administration here.  This principle is that God will furnish whatever grace and whatever manifestation of His goodness that the circumstances demand.  God will furnish whatever grace and whatever manifestation of His goodness that your pressing needs require.  God is unchangeable.  His dealings are the same under the same circumstances.  The same God, who gave to His ancient servant an overwhelming view of His glory, who gave Moses such an awesome view, that in unspeakable awe, Moses bowed his head and worshiped, will, whenever necessary, grant the same or greater manifestations, if it is necessary to accomplish the same work today.

3. You can ask God to do the things that He needs to do for you, for His glory.  The Bible everywhere insists on this.  Moses prayed, and He prayed with great earnestness and sincerity.  “God show me Your glory.”  “Lord, if Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”  The universal example of the saints throughout the Bible is one continuous river of prayer, flowing onward in a broad and deep current, strong and resistless, to the great ocean of God’s boundless mercy and compassion.

4. We are to persevere in asking.  Was Moses going to be put off?  No indeed!  He cries,  “Show me Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight.”  God answers, “My presence shall go up with you, and I will give you rest.”  But a mere promise was not enough for Moses. “O Lord, surely You will go up with us, but O Lord, show me Your Glory, let me know You, let Your perfections come home with such power to my soul, that they will never depart from there.  Lord, show me Your glory!”  Moses reminded God that God had called him to bring the people up out of the land of Egypt, and yet he was not prepared.  “You told me to bring up this people, and yet You have not let me know whom You will send with me.” 

Moses persevered, and he received his request.  God did for him what he asked God for.  It is extremely important that we continue to press God for any grace that we need.  Let us learn what our duty is from the Bible.  Let us also turn to the Bible to see the relationships that we sustain with God and others.  Then, having settled the question that we are doing the work that God has called us to do, let us come to God with a full assurance of faith that He has promised to be with us always, and that what He has promised, He is also able to perform.  Press Him with your needs.  Say to Him,  “Oh Lord, You have placed me here, You have made me what I am, and I don’t have the strength for the work, I don’t have the proper knowledge for the labor.  Oh Lord, arm me for the contest, harness me for the battle, fit me for the work.  Oh Lord, Your name will be disgraced if I fail, for You have set me here.  Your honor is at stake.  What will become of Your great name?  Oh God, show me Your glory.” 

Whenever we find ourselves in need of something for the success of the work that God has called us to do, we have a right to go and ask for what we need, with perfect confidence and complete assurance, and we should not give up praying until God grants the request.  We should come asking repeatedly.  Do you remember how Moses spoke to God right after the Israelites made that golden calf?  He addressed his heavenly Father with tremendous confidence and holy familiarity!  When God was angry at the rebellious Israelites, He said, “Let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them”.  (Ex 32:10)  Moses pleaded with the Lord his God.  “Lord, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?  Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’?  Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people.  Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.”  (Exodus 32:11-13) 

Moses was so insistent, it seemed as though God could not deny him.  Therefore, can we come to God, and we cry, “are not all Your promises yes and amen in Christ Jesus.  Haven’t You promised us, and are You going to let Your own word fail Lord?”  Brethren, isn’t this direct?  Isn’t this to the point?  Can’t we come to God and ask anytime we want?  Isn’t He able to save to the uttermost?  Shall not “our strength be equal to our day”?  Oh, how strongly my experience testifies to this truth.  Many a time, I should have given up everything for lost, and sit down in despair, if it weren’t for such a wonderful revelation of God’s glory that would strengthen me for the work I had to accomplish.  Always, yes always, when I have gone to God, as Moses did, with the prayer, “Show me Your glory”.  He has never denied me, never, never.

5. It is reasonable to understand that when God calls us to any station in life, He is virtually pledging everything that we need to stand in that place, and meet those responsibilities.  If God calls us to do something, we can do it.  We can have what we need to accomplish it.  God is not a Pharaoh, commanding us to make bricks without straw.  Whenever God requires something, He always bestows everything that is necessary to fulfill that requirement.

6. The people always need one thing.  God calls every one of his children to represent Him, to be a teacher of God, to show forth to the world around him the character of God.  God calls every saint to do this.  Every Christian has a right to insist that God will give him grace to accomplish his calling, to do it fully and successfully.  He can say to God, “Lord, You have made me a Christian and put Your spirit within me.  You have called me to represent You, and to show the world who You are, and what Your character is like.  But how can I do this, except you show me by Your grace, except all your goodness passes before me and melts me into repentance and love”.  How long will it be, before Christians, feeling their weakness, will go to God like this and ask Him for what they need, and for what they must have, or they will perish.

7. Many people seem to have exceedingly narrow, partial, and obscure views of God.  Their notions and ideas of God are so shadow-like and dim, their views of God are so partial, one sided, and distorted, that their views are more like anything else than they are like God.  Perhaps Moses was somewhat in this condition.  He had seen God in the burning bush, he had heard God’s voice, saying, “Oh, lead My people Israel”, he had been the rod of Jehovah’s wrath on wicked Egypt, he had stood on Sinai and seen God in fire, smoke, and lightning; but he could not be satisfied.  He must know more.  And all along Moses had to ask for new revelations continually.

Many only know God as a lawgiver and a judge.  They apprehend His law, and they shrink back in terror and fear.  That’s all they know about God.  Others know nothing about Him but what they call His mercy and love.  They know nothing about His justice, His holiness, and His righteous indignation against sin.  None of them has any confidence in His word or His promises.  Now ever since God revealed Himself to Moses, Moses trusted firmly and unwaveringly in God’s truth.  God showed Moses His truth, and Moses never forgot it.  He never lost the feeling of God’s hand pressing on him.  The sight of God’s revelation to him was always present on his mind.  Moses always had confidence in God’s mercy after that. 

Can you see how, when God said, “Let me destroy this rebellious and stiff-necked people, and I will make of you a great nation”, Moses had such trust in God’s mercy.  He cried, “O Lord, save Your people, or blot out my name from Your book”.  “Oh God, what will become of Your great name?”  What a savor and a relish God’s revelation had left on his mind, a sweet and controlling sense of God’s mercy and goodness.  God’s Justice also rested with awful distinctness on Moses' understanding.  God was the great and terrible God, visiting the iniquities of them that hate Him, upon their own heads, and upon the heads of their children.  It is extremely important that men should have just and symmetrical views of God’s character; for whenever the revelation is partial, they don’t possess a well-proportioned piety; they show a lack of balance in their character.  If they haven’t seen the justice of God, they have no proper understanding of the guilt of sin.  If they haven’t seen His holiness, they haven’t seen the punishment that sin deserves, or seen God’s infinite hatred of sin.  They have no proper sense of the condition of sinners; they have no compassion, no ardent zeal, and no burning love for them.  On the other hand, if men don’t have revelations of the mercy, love, and compassion of God, they will be legal.  They will have very little confidence to pray for sinners.  Instead of grabbing a hold of God, as they should do, even in the most desperate cases, they slacken, and give up in despair.  The same is true with all of God’s attributes; if men have not sought and obtained a well-rounded and accurate view of God’s character, they will be like their inaccurate views of God.  Their own character be unbalanced and out of proportion.

8. It is also very important, that people should realize that all of God’s character is made up of His unselfish love, that is, His goodness.  See how God says, “All My goodness”.  God is not just talking about His mercy or His love.  But, God means all of His mercy, all of His justice, all of His holiness, all His hatred of sin, and all His settled purpose to punish sin, all of His tender compassion and pity, and all of His righteous vindictive justice.  Ministers should especially know all of God’s goodness this way, and they should be properly affected by every attribute.  If they don’t have such a revelation of God, they will introduce and foster an unnatural and ill proportioned piety in their congregation, and among the people that they minister to or counsel.  Their emphasis may be either lawless or legal, depending on the direction of the minister’s own mind.

9. The only thing that can make us stable Christians is to behold His glory, to behold a revelation of Him to us.  No amount of excitement, no amount of keen intellectual judgment, no amount of logic, nothing can secure us but a revelation of God to our souls.  Therefore, we should persevere and insist that God does this for us, that we see His glory, and that we become fixed on Him.  The Church should pray for ministers and for candidates for the ministry, that God would reveal to them the deep secrets of His love and mercy; that He would open to them the ever flowing fountains of exquisite and perennial blessedness to let them drink from there and never thirst any more.  Oh, do the churches really feel and realize how much they can do for their ministers, by praying the heavens open, and letting down on their hearts such rays of glory that will forever enrapture and hold them in awful apprehension of God’s presence and character?  Oh, that the spirit of the Highest shall come upon them, and the power of God shall overshadow them, and transform them from men of clay, to angels of mercy and power to a fallen world!  Why don’t they pray?  Brethren, why don’t you pray?  Why don’t you pray that God would show you, that God would show the students here at Oberlin, that God would show the community, and show the whole church in this land, and in the world, His glory?  Pray, and don’t let God rest, until He glorifies His people before the nations!

10. It is easy to see what made Moses’ face shine so brightly, when he came down from mount Sinai.  The manifestation of God’s glory has the same effect always and everywhere.  There was such a clearness, a glory, and a brightness in Moses’ countenance that the people could not look on him.  Jesus Christ was transfigured on the mountainside, when the glory of God appeared to Him.  His clothing was white as the light, and His face was like the sun.

11. Many cannot bear to receive very much of the revelation of God’s divine glory.  They are babies, and God must feed them with milk and not with meat; for they can’t eat meat.  Oh, how it deeply touched Isaiah, to behold the glory of the Lord!  Isaiah, that man of God!  Who could behold the glory of the Lord, if he could not?  One would think that Isaiah’s views of God were high and exalted.  But, let’s read about his vision. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.  Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two, he covered his face, with two, he covered his feet, and with two, he flew.  And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory’!”  (Isaiah 6:1-3)  Think of it!  This vision overcame Isaiah.  He cried out in despair, “Woe is me, for I am undone!  Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”  (v.5) He saw the holiness of God as he never saw it before.  He was completely overcome, he seemed unable to recover from it, until one of the seraphim came with a live coal from the altar, and laid it on his lips, saying, “your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is purged.”  (v.7) Oh, how much do we need such revelations!  How much do we need new revelations, revelations of great and mighty things which we have not known?  Then, we will be humbled; we will be subdued under His mighty hand.  Notice how Isaiah was subdued to the will of God.  When he heard the voice crying, “Who will go for us”?  With meek boldness he answered, “Here am I, send me”.  (v.8) And so shall we be humbled, and say, “Lord, glorify Your name in us.”

But often God has to hold back.  He has to cover Moses in the cleft in the rock, and hide His face from him.  Often Christians must say, “Hold Your hand, Oh Lord, it is enough.  Draw the curtain, and veil Your glory from my fainting, reeling senses.”

12. Sometimes young converts become proud, and they think that they know a great deal about God.  They imagine that, if they have never experienced God’s glory, it is fancy, and it cannot be true.  If what they know about God is not presented, they think that it is not the gospel.  But the truth is, like poor blind men, they know only one part of the gospel, and a very small part at that.  They must not think that they know everything about God.  There is a lot that we can’t know about God.  Many can’t bear to hear about God’s justice, about His sovereignty, or about His holiness.  Now, we should desire to have God’s entire character and goodness pass before us; to allow Him to shine upon our minds as bright and glorious a vision as we can possibly bear.

Brethren, isn’t it true, that we need new manifestations of God?  One revelation brings the need of new and more glorious revelations.  Don’t we need more glorious revelations of God?  My soul, from its depths, my heart from its very bottom, cries out, “O God, I beg you, show me Your glory.  Let me see and know more of You, Lord.”  Will you pray for me?  Will you pray for yourselves?  I say again, don’t we need a new manifestation of God?  Don’t we have important responsibilities?  Who has higher responsibilities than the Christian?  Please pray, right now, in view of your circumstances.  Besiege the throne of God.  Give God no rest.  Let Him have no peace, until He comes and revives His work, and makes His name glorious.