Exodus 33:19

_AND HE SAID, I WILL MAKE ALL MY GOODNESS PASS BEFORE THEE, AND I WILL PROCLAIM THE NAME OF THE LORD BEFORE THEE; AND WILL BE GRACIOUS TO WHOM I WILL BE GRACIOUS, AND WILL SHEW MERCY ON WHOM I WILL SHEW MERCY._ I WILL MAKE ALL MY GOODNESS PASS BEFORE THEE, х_ TUWB_ (H2898) signifies often, when applied to God, His benignity (Psalms 25:7; Psalms 145:7; Isaiah 63:7); but here, where it is spoken of in answer to Moses' request (Exodus 33:18), it is used as synonymous with "glory;" and thus there was a distinct promise that the request would be granted-with this limitation, however, that

19._And he said, I will make all my goodness pass _At the outset He declares how far He has listened to Moses; but a limitation is presently added to prevent excess. Thus his prayer is not altogether rejected, but only so far as he was too eagerly set on beholding the perfection of God’s glory. The _passing by _signifies a vision of brief duration; as if He had said, Let it suffice thee to have seen once, as for a moment, my glory, when it shall pass before thine eyes. The word טוב, _tub, _which I have rendered beauty, _(decorem,) _others translate good, _(benum;) _and hence, some take it to mean goodness; but the expression beauty _(pulchritudinis, vel decoris) _is more suitable, in which sense we find it used more than once. Hence that which is pleasing and delectable is said to be good to be looked upon. “To call in the name of the Lord,” (371)

12-23 Moses is very earnest with God. Thus, by the intercession of Christ, we are not only saved from ruin, but become entitled to everlasting happiness. Observe here how he pleads. We find grace in God's sight, if we find grace in our hearts to guide and quicken us in the way of our duty. Moses speaks as one who dreaded the thought of going forward without the Lord's presence. God's gracious promises, and mercy towards us, should not only encourage our faith, but also excite our fervency in prayer. Observe how he speeds. See, in a type, Christ's intercession, which he ever lives to make for all that come to God by him; and that it is not by any thing in those for whom he intercedes. Moses then entreats a sight of God's glory, and is heard in that also. A full discovery of the glory of God, would overwhelm even Moses himself. Man is mean, and unworthy of it; weak, and could not bear it;...

Verse Exodus 33:19. _I WILL MAKE ALL MY GOODNESS PASS BEFORE THEE_] Thou shalt not have a sight of my _justice_, for thou couldst not bear the infinite splendour of my purity: but I shall show myself to thee as the fountain of inexhaustible _compassion_, the sovereign _Dispenser_ of my own mercy in my own way, being gracious to whom I will be gracious, and showing mercy on whom I will show mercy. _I WILL PROCLAIM THE NAME OF THE LORD._] Exodus 34:6, Exodus 34:6....

But his request could not be granted in accordance with the conditions of human existence. The glory of the Almighty in its fulness is not to be revealed to the eye of man. Compare Judges 6:22; Isaiah 6:5. A further revelation of the divine goodness was however possible (see Exodus 33:6). It was vouchsafed to Paul, as it had been to Moses, to have special “visions and revelations of the Lord” 2 Corinthians 12:1. But he had, also like Moses, to find the narrow reach of the intellect of man in the region of Godhead...

EXPOSITION THE REQUEST TO SEE GOD'S GLORY, AND THE REPLY TO IT. Having obtained the full restoration of the people to God's favour, Moses felt emboldened to ask a boon for himself. He had already been admitted to closer communion with God than any one of the race of man since Adam in Paradise. But what had been granted him, instead of satisfying, only made him desirous of something further, something closer, something than which nothing more close could be imagined. So he asks to see the unveiled glory of God (Exodus 33:18). He asks, that is, to see exactly that which man in the flesh cannot see, or at any rate cannot see and live. But, of course, he does not know this. God, in reply, tells hi

AND HE SAID, I WILL MAKE ALL MY GOODNESS PASS BEFORE THEE,.... Which is his glory; the glory of the Lord lies in his goodness, and that appears in the works of his hands, in the methods of his providence, especially in the distribution of his sovereign grace and mercy, and particularly in his pardoning grace and mercy, through the blood of Christ; for as it is "the glory" of a man "to pass over a transgression", Proverbs 19:11 much more it is the glory of God, of which this goodness is afterwards interpreted; and may be understood of Christ himself, who is the goodness of God itself, is not only good, but the Lord's good One, emphatically good; as he is called his holy One, so his good One; because all his goodness is laid up in him, is prevented and filled as Mediator, with the blessings of his goodness; all are proclaimed in him, displayed through him, and communicated by him; and he i

5. MOSES' INTERCESSION AND ITS RESULTS CHAPTER 33 Repentance and Intercession _ 1. The word of the Lord and the people's repentance (Exodus 33:1)_ 2. The tabernacle without the camp (Exodus 33:7) 3. Moses enters the tabernacle (Exodus 33:8) 4. Moses' prayer and Jehovah's answers (Exodus 33:12) 5. Moses' request (Exodus 33:18) The words of the Lord, with which this chapter begins, reveal Him as the covenant-keeping Jehovah. He remembers His covenant, though they are a stiff-necked people. Yet He is a holy Go

EXODUS 33:1 J, EXODUS 33:5 E, EXODUS 33:12 J. YAHWEH'S PRESENCE. The sections of 34 have been glossed and disarranged. In Exodus 33:1 J, Yahweh's refusal to go up in the midst of Israel leads the people to put off their ornaments. In Exodus 33:5 f. follows from E Yahweh's order to put off ornaments and its execution. This may have been connected with the construction of the sacred Tent which is assumed as known in Exodus 33:7, the details being dropped in view of Exodus

GOODNESS. The glory could not have been endured; _grace_ comes first, _glory_ is reserved for the future. I WILL PROCLAIM THE NAME. This is done in Exodus 34:5....