The Shining of the Face of Moses

The Shining of the Face of Moses

A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD'S-DAY, MAY 18, 1890,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON. INTENDED FOR READING ON
LORD'S-DAY MORNING, MAY 4, 1890.

"And it came to pass when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two
tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came do wn from the mount,
that Moses knew not that the skin of his face shone while he talked
with Him. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses,
behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near
him. And Moses called unto them, and Aaron and all the rulers of the
congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. And
afterward all the children of Israel came near: and he gave them in
commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. And
till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But
when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took the veil
off, until he came out. And he came out, and spoke unto the children of
Israel that which he was commanded. And the children of Israel saw the
face of Moses, that the skin of Moses'face shone: and Moses put the
veil upon his face again, until he went in to speak with Him." Exodus
34:29-36.

A FAST of 40 days does not improve the appearance of a man's
countenance–he looks starved, wrinkled, old, haggard. Moses had fasted
40 days twice, at least, and, according to many competent authorities,
the 10th chapter of Deuteronomy seems to imply that he fasted 40 days
three times in quick succession. I will not assert or deny the third 40
days, but it is certain that, with a very slight interval, Moses fasted
40 days and then 40 days more–and it is probable that to these must be
added a third forty.

Small attractiveness would naturally remain in a face which had endured
so stern an ordeal, but the Lord whom he served made his face brilliant
with an unusual luster! The glory of the Light of God upon his
countenance may have been the reason why he remained so free from
infirmity in later years of old age. This man of 80 spent 40 more years
in guiding Israel and in the end his eyes had not dimmed nor his
natural force abated! He that could fast 40 days would be a hard morsel
for death. Those eyes which had looked upon the Glory of God were not
likely to wax dim amid earthly scenes– and that natural force which
had endured the vision of the Supernatural could well support the
fatigues of the wilderness.

God so sustained His servant that his long and repeated fasts, during
which he did not even drink water, did no harm to his physical
constitution! The abstinence, even from water, renders the fast the
more remarkable and lifts it out of similarity to modern feats of
fasting. Moses did not know, at the time, that his face was
shining–but he did know it afterwards–and he has here recorded it. He
gives in detail the fact of the brightness of his own face, how others
were struck with it and what he had to do in order to associate with
them. We are sure that this record was not made by reason of vanity,
for Moses writes about himself in great lowliness of spirit–it was
written under Divine direction–with a worthy object.

The man Moses was very meek and his meekness entered into his
authorship as into all the other acts of his life–we are therefore
sure that this record is for our profit. I am afraid, Brothers and
Sisters, that God could not afford to make our faces shine–we would
grow too proud. It needs a very meek and lowly spirit to bear the
brightness of God! We only read of two men whose faces shone–and both
were very meek. The one is Moses in the Old Testament–the other is

Stephen, in the New–whose last words proved his meekness for, when the
Jews were stoning him, he prayed, "Lord, lay not this sin to their
charge."

Gentleness of nature and lowliness of mind are a fine background on
which God may lay the brightness of His Glory! Where these things
abound it may be safe for the Lord not only to put His beauty upon a
man, but also to make a record of the fact. Moses wrote this record
with a reluctant pen. Since he did not write it out of vanity, let us
not read it out of curiosity. He wrote it for our learning. Let us
learn by it and may God the Holy Spirit cause our faces to shine,
today, as we read of the shining face of Moses!

It would appear, so far as we can make out the narrative, that his face
continued to shine long afterward. After Moses had come down from the
mountain the brightness began to diminish. Paul tells us that it was a
"glory to be done away"–but when he went into the holy place to
commune with God, the brightness was revived and he came out again and
spoke to the people with that same glowing Heaven upon his brow. When
he addressed the people in the name of God he took off the veil and let
them see the brightness of God in His ambassador. But as soon as he had
done speaking and fell back into his own private character, he drew a
veil over his face that none might be kept at a distance thereby.

The man Moses was as meek with the glory on his countenance as before
it gathered there. God put great honor upon him but Moses did not
desire to make a display of that honor, nor childishly wish that it
should be seen of men. For the people's sakes and for typical purposes,
he veiled his face while in ordinary conversation with the people and
only unveiled it when he spoke in the name of the Lord. Brethren, if
God honors you as preachers or teachers, accept the honor but do not
attribute it to your own worthiness, or even to your own
personality–ascribe it to the office to which the Lord has called you.

"I magnify my office," said Paul–but you never find Paul magnifying
himself! He wears the glory as an ambassador of God, not as a private
individual. The dignity that God gives to His servants is bestowed upon
their office, not upon themselves apart from it. They must never run
away with it into daily life and think that they themselves are
"reverend," because their Lord is so–nor may they claim for their own
thoughts the serious attention which they rightly demand for the Word
of the Lord.

Ministers do not pretend to be a class of sacred beings like the
Brahmins of India–the only vantage-ground they occupy is that the Lord
speaks through them according to the gift of His Holy Spirit. Unveiled
are our faces when we speak to God and for God–and among our Brethren
we would hide anything from which we might claim superiority for

ourselves.

I. With this as my preface I shall now come immediately to my subject.
Here is Moses with a strange glory upon his countenance. We will first
answer the question, HOW CAME THIS GLORY TO LIE THERE? The skin of
Moses' face shone–why? The answer is, first, it was a reflection of
the Glory which he had seen when he was with God in the holy mount. It
was the result of that partly-answered prayer, "I beseech You, show me
Your Glory." God could not, at that time, grant the prayer in its
fullness for Moses was not capable of the vision–and the Lord told
him, "You can not see My face and live." I look upon that prayer,
however, as a very wonderful one for this reason, that it was answered
to the full, 1,400 years after it was presented!

The glory of God is only to be seen in the face of Christ Jesus–and on
the top of Tabor Moses saw the Son of God transfigured–and his prayer
was then and there answered to its utmost bounds! In the
Transfiguration, God showed to Moses His full Glory, for he was then
made able to behold it. But though on the top of Mount Sinai he could
not see the full Glory of Jehovah, yet he had seen enough to make an
impression upon him of such a kind that the skin of his face shone. God
is Light and they that look upon Him are enlightened and reflect Light
around them! Moses spoke with God face to face as a man speaks with his
friend and this made his countenance glow. As the sun shining upon a
reflector has its light thrown back again, often in a most brilliant
fashion, so that the reflector looks like a minor sun, so was it with
the face of Moses when it reflected the Glory of the Lord.

The face of Moses was to God what the moon is to the sun. A saint
shines on men when God has shone on him. We are changed into the same
image, from glory to glory, as by the Presence of the Lord. Would you
shine in the valley?– first go up the mountain and commune with God!
Would you shine, my Brothers and Sisters, with superior radiance? Then
be this your fervent prayer, "Make Your face to shine upon Your
servant." If the Lord lifts upon you the Light of His Countenance there
will be no lack of Light in your countenance! In God's Light you shall
give Light. The Light on

the face of Moses was the result of fellowship with God. That
fellowship was of no common order. It was special and distinguished.

I do not doubt that Moses walked with God after the fashion of
believing men in the pursuit of his daily calling– but he spent two
periods of 40 days each in solitary fellowship with God. Everybody was
away–Aaron, Joshua and all the rest were far down below and Moses was
alone with God. His communion with God was intense, close and
familiar– and that not for one day but for 80 days at least!
Protracted fellowship brings a nearness which brief communion cannot
attain. Each morning's sun found him still in the Light of God. Each
evening's dew found his soul still saturated with the Divine influence.

What must be the effect of such whole-hearted, undisturbed fellowship
with God? He heard no hum of the camp below–not even the lowing of
cattle, or bleating of sheep came up from the foot of the mountain.
Moses had forgotten the world, save only as he pleaded for the people
in an agony of prayer. No interests, either personal or family,
disturbed his communion. He was oblivious of everything but Jehovah,
the Glorious One, who completely overshadowed him. Oh, for the
enjoyment of such heavenly communion! My Brothers and Sisters, have we
not lost a great deal by so seldom dwelling apart–so little seeking
continuous absorbing fellowship with the Most High? I am sure we have.
We snatch a hasty minute of prayer. We afford a hurried quarter of an
hour for Bible reading and we think we have done well.

Very far am I from saying that it is not well. But if for minutes we
had hours, the gain might increase in proportion! Oh, for nights of
prayer! Oh, for the close shutting of the closet door and a believing
drawing near to God! There is no limit to the power we might obtain if
such were the case. Though our faces might not be lit up with splendor,
our lives would shine, our characters would become more pure and
transparent–and our whole spirit would be so heavenly that men would
regard with wonder the brightness of our being!

Thus, you see, the face of Moses shone because he had long looked upon
the face of God. I would have you note that this communion with God
included intense intercession for the people. God will not have
fellowship with our selfishness. Moses came out of himself and became
an intense pleader for the people–and thus he became like the Son of
God and the Glory descended on him. How he pleaded! With what sighs and
cries he besought Jehovah not to destroy the men who had vexed His Holy
Spirit! They had degraded the Godhead by likening it unto a bullock
which eats grass! They made a calf in Horeb and bowed before it,
saying, "These are your gods, O Israel"!

Moses pleaded for the people down below and not for himself. Here is a
point in which, it may be, we fail. The Lord turned again the captivity
of Job when Moses prayed for his friends. The Lord loves intercessory
prayer! And if ever He makes a man's face to shine, it is when he, like
Christ, has made intercession for the transgressors and poured out his
soul, not for himself, but for a guilty company! More than that. In
that intercession Moses had exhibited a degree of self-abnegation
reaching to the sublime. God said to him, "Let Me alone, that I may
destroy them. I will make of you a great nation."

The Lord's covenant with Abraham was that Abraham's seed should possess
the land–but the Lord might have destroyed all the existing tribes
except Moses–and then have made of the family of Moses a race in which
the Covenant with Abraham could have been kept to the letter. What a
prospect was set before him! The children of Moses should grow into an
elect nation, heirs of all the promises of God. But no–Moses not only
goes the length of putting aside the proffered honor, but he cries,
"Blot me, I pray You, out of Your book which You have written." Instead
of his name being written in the place of the people, he would let
their names stand at the expense of his own! When a man can come to
that, he is the man, the skin of whose face is a fit parchment on which
God may write the Glory of His love! The less of self the more of God!
When we can renounce all for God's Glory and the good of His Church,
the Lord will not fail to smile upon us.

Yet once more. This man Moses not only obtained this brightness by his
long communion and his intercessory prayer and self-oblivion, but by
his faithfulness among the people. When he went down in the interval
between the two fasts and found the people worshipping the golden calf
he did not spare them. He loved them, but he did not keep back the
stern blow ofjustice. He said, "Who is on the Lord's side?" And there
came to him the tribe of Levi. And he said, "Go through the camp and
slay every man his brother who shall be found rebelling against the
Lord." At once they cut off the idolaters who were guilty of open
treason against the King of Israel!

But this was not enough–the whole nation must be chastened for its
great sin–and humbled by a symbolical punishment. I think I see Moses,
having broken the tablets in his holy wrath, now taking down their idol
god, grinding it, pounding it, dissolving it in water and sternly
compelling the tribes to drink of the water. He made a nauseous, bitter
draught out of their idol–and made them drink it so that their bellies
might be filled with their own iniquity and they might know what it was
to turn away from the Lord their God! Grand old Moses! Faithful servant
of God! Unbending executioner of Divine Justice!

Meek were you, Moses, but by no means indifferent to truth and
righteousness! God chooses not milksops, destitute of backbone, to wear
His Glory upon their faces! We have plenty of men made of sugar,
nowadays, that melt into the stream of popular opinion–but these shall
never ascend into the hill of the Lord, nor stand in His Holy Place,
nor wear the tokens of His Glory. O my Brothers and Sisters, it is
necessary that you be true to the Lord in public if you would have His
fellowship in private! If the Lord can challenge you for yours
unfaithfulness among men He will never honor you with His own peculiar
seal of Light. Moses was no trimmer, no hunter after popularity. He was
sternly true to his Lord and therefore he was such that the Lord could
safely make his face shine!

Enough of this, though much more might be said–learn the useful lesson
which this part of the subject teaches.

II. But, secondly, WHAT DID THIS SHINING OF HIS FACE MEAN? This
brightness on his face–what did it

signify? Very briefly it meant this–God's special favor for Moses. God
seemed to say, "This is My man. I have chosen him above all others.
Among those that are born of women there is no greater than he. I have
put a measure of My own Glory upon him and the token thereof shines in
his face."

Surely it also meant special favor for Israel. If they could but have
understood it they would not have been afraid, but conscience made them
cowards. God, in effect, said to them, by the shining of the face of
Moses, "I have had favor upon you for I have accepted your intercessor.
My servant Moses has been pleading for your lives and in proof that I
have accepted you and will spare you, I have written your pardon across
his shining brow." Favor to the Lord Jesus is favor to us.

Lord, when I hear You say, "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am
well-pleased," I rejoice that You are well-pleased with me in Christ
Jesus. When God looks on the face of His Anointed, He looks with favor
upon us. This brightness on the face of Moses was also God's witness to
his commission. He had sent him, for He had glorified him. The people
could not doubt his commission when they looked upon his shining face!
I suppose rays of light proceeded from it. Michael Angelo, in his
famous statue of Moses, represents him with horns–the strange fancy is
founded in the Vulgate version, which mistook the meaning of a Hebrew
word and translated it "horns."

Beams of light seemed to rise from that marvelous face! A halo of Glory
surrounded that solemn countenance and the people could not but
perceive that this was a man on whom God had looked! And more. It was
not only a witness of his office, but it was an increase of his power.
The people were overawed by this strange light. They dared, even after
this, to murmur against Moses for they dared to murmur against God
Himself–but still, to a people of such a temper as theirs, the
supernatural light must have been a source of wonder and of awe–

"They gazed and looked, and lo, on brow and face,

A glory and a brightness not of earth!

The eyes lit up with fire of heavenly birth,

The whole man bright with beams of God's great Grace."

It gave their Prophet authority with them–it made them tremble before
him. They would not dare to contradict one who looked on them with such
a face of Glory! His speech was as a flame of fire because his face was
on a blaze! The pith of the whole thing, I think, lies in this–the
face of Moses shone typically, to show that there is a great glory
about the Law of God. It has a glory all its own from its spirituality,
its holiness, its perfection, its justice, its immutability, its power
over the conscience and so forth. It has eminent glory because it has
been ordained of God Himself and therefore stands as the sacred Rule of
the universe.

But this is not what Paul understands by the glory of the Law. He makes
the glory "of that which was to be abolished," the glory of the
ceremonial Law, to lie in its end. The end of the Law for righteousness
is Christ. The Law is given to point us to Christ, to drive us to
Christ–to be our schoolmaster to whip us to Christ, to convince us of
our need of Christ–and to shut us out from every other hope but that
which begins and ends with Christ! The Glory of the Law is

Christ! And so Moses comes with a Glory on his face which the children
of Israel could not perceive, nor steadfastly look into–

"They looked and saw the Glory and they shrank From that dread vision,
dazzling man frail sight." Even as today men see outward rites that God
has given but see not their glorious meaning, so was it with Israel in
the wilderness–they saw sacrifices, but they knew not the Great
Sacrifice. They saw the oil and the water–but they knew not the Holy
Spirit. They saw 10,000 tokens dear and manifest of the ever-blessed
Messiah, but they did not perceive Him so as to know Him when He came.
Every type and ceremony might say, "Who has believed our report? And to
whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?" The Law is overlaid with the
Glory of Christ, as the face of Moses was covered with Light! This is
the deepest and innermost meaning of the sacred Light which glowed upon
the skin of the face of Moses.

III. And now, thirdly, this Glory upon the face of Moses–WHY DID NOT
MOSES KNOW OF IT? For we read that "Moses knew not that the skin of his
face shone." I answer, first, that it is not easy for a man to see his
own face unless he can borrow a looking-glass. Speaking in parable, the
meaning I intend is this–it is not easy for a man to form an accurate
judgment of his own character. There are people in the world who think
they see their own faces clearly and that they shine like suns–yet
they do not shine at all unless it is with brazen impudence and
self-conceit.

In other cases lowly men are afraid that their faces do not shine at
all–and yet they are brightness itself. It is no small part of the
shining of some faces that their owners are modest and humble. Brothers
and Sisters, you cannot see your own faces–and until you can do so you
must not imagine that you know your own characters. Upon study you may
arrive at something like a judgment, but it is not one which you may
safely rely upon. Since Moses had no looking-glass, how could he tell
that the skin of his face shone?

Our own judgment of our own character usually errs on the side of
partiality to ourselves. Nor is the evil so readily cured as some
suppose, for the gift of seeing ourselves, "as others see us," is not
so corrective as might be supposed. Some persist in seeing us through
the colored spectacles of prejudice and ill-will. And this injustice is
apt to create in us a further partiality to ourselves. If other men
make mistakes about us who can see us, they probably do not make such
great blunders about us as we do about ourselves, since we cannot see
our own faces! The truth is that we are very fond of ourselves and have
our own characters in high esteem–therefore we are unfair judges on
points of difficulty about ourselves.

Our temptation is to gross self-flattery! We dream of strength where
all is weakness–of wisdom where all is folly. A man does not need to
see his own face if that face is washed to purity–it will be enough
that God sees it and approves its beauty. But I will tell you, further,
why Moses did not see the Glory of his own face. It was because he had
seen the Glory of God. When a man gets a clear view of the holiness of
God it is all over with all claim of personal excellence. From that day
he abhors himself in dust and ashes. I might have thought myself pure,
but how can I be when I find that the heavens are not clean in God's
sight? I might have thought myself wise, but how can I be when I read
that He charged His angels

with folly?

How can I speak of perfect purity as a thing of which I am possessed
after I have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts? A vision of God is the
quietus of boasting! He that has looked into the face of the sun is
blinded to all other light. Having given one sufficient reason, I am,
perhaps, unwise to add another–but yet it may be profitable to
remember that Moses had not seen the shining of his own face because it
had never once entered his thoughts to wish that his face should shine.
That is true beauty of character which comes without being sought–I
mean unconscious excellence–a character which commands an admiration
which it has never desired.

Are we not too apt to wish to be bright that others may see us? Have we
not labored to grow in Grace that we might outgrow others? Does no man
pray for success in his ministry with a little squint of his eyes
towards an ambition to be thought "so useful"? Does no sister ever seek
the salvation of her class that she may be esteemed in the Church as a
remarkable soul-winner? Did you never pray for holiness and really mean
that you wished to be considered holy? Have you never prayed in public
with great fervor with a half-suppressed wish to be thought a special
man of God? Would it not have greatly gratified you to hear men cry,
"What a prayer that was"? Have you not ever labored to be humble that
you might rejoice in your humility?

I am afraid it is so. We are always praying, "Lord, make my face to
shine." But Moses never had such a wish and, therefore, when it did
shine, he did not know it. He had not laid his plans for such an honor.
Let us not set traps for personal reputation or even glance a thought
that way. Another reason why he had not thought of it was that he was
so much engaged in doing good for others. He gave himself up for those
stiff-necked Israelites! He actually lived for them and offered himself
before God to die for them! He carried the whole people in his bosom as
a nurse carries her child. He fed his flock like a shepherd and like
the Good Shepherd, he would have given his life for the sheep. Oh, the
self-sacrifice of the man Moses!

He never thought about his own face for he was thinking about their
faces. What would he have given if they had been capable of such
nearness to God as he himself enjoyed! Oh, to be so absorbed in doing
good that we have not a thought or a care for our own personal
reputation! Then a man may do good in self-forgetfulness and may find
himself famous to his own amazement! Once more, Moses could not very
well have thought of his own face shining, for he had no example of
such a thing to suggest the idea. Out of all those around him nobody
else's face shone. When you live with men whose faces shine, then you
enquire about yourself, for you naturally wish your face to shine like
theirs.

Aaron's face did not shine. Alas, poor Aaron! Nobody's face shone in
all that camp and so there was nothing to cause Moses to look for such
a radiance on his own brow. Mr. Bunyan, in his beautiful picture of
Christiana and Mercy and the children coming up from the bath,
represents the opposite state of things, for he says, "When the women
were thus adorned, they seemed to be a terror one to the other; for
that they could not see that Glory each one on herself which they could
see in each other.

"Now, therefore, they began to esteem each other better than
themselves. 'For you are fairer than I am,' said one. And, 'You are
more comely than I am,' said another. The children also stood amazed to
see into what fashion they were brought." It is a great treat to see
and admire the Christian virtues of our Brothers and Sisters in
Christ–every Christian delights to see his friends comely in all the
Graces of the Holy Spirit. Moses had but little to gratify him in that
way, especially at the period when he came down from the mountain and
found Aaron weakly yielding to the people's sin. Even the choicest of
the elders were far inferior to Moses and therefore it was not
suggested by his surroundings that his own face might shine.

It is well when men are not self-conscious. It is best, my beloved
Brothers and Sisters, that our faces should shine to others and not to
ourselves. If you might know your own excelling, do not know it–for
there is an ill savor about self-consciousness. To come forward and
say, "I am perfectly holy," is babyish. It is like a child who cries,
"See my new frock! Look at my pretty new frock!" I tremble to hear one
say, "I have quite passed out of the conflict mentioned in the seventh
of Romans. I have got this and I have got that." I am reminded of Jehu,
when he said, "Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord"–and yet Jehu
was not right at heart before the Lord. There is not much to see when
you wish men to see it. God save us from knowing too much about the
shining of our own faces! May the light of His Countenance fill the
whole circle of our being while we lie at His feet, mastered by a
reverent awe of Him!

IV. I must hasten on to another interesting point. WHY DID MOSES WEAR A
VEIL? Having this brightness on his face, why did he hide it? I answer,
in part the natural meekness of the man led him to do so. He was forced
into the position of leader. He never wished to be prominent, but the
Lord put great pressure upon him in the desert and drove him on to be
as king in Jeshurun. He had no ambitions. Though made to be as God to
Pharaoh, he never exalted himself in the Egyptian court.

Among the Israelites he did not monopolize power–he gladly yielded to
the chosen elders a portion of his magisterial dignity. The man Moses
was very meek and so to hide the brightness of his face was a pleasure
and not a trial to him. Like many a lovely woman, he shrank from the
public gaze. We shall do well to possess the Grace of humility. He
veiled his face in tender condescension to the people. When they ran
away from him, he called to them to know why they were afraid. "My
lord, we fear that splendor on your brow." "Then, let me veil it," says
he. "I would not terrify, but win." It was their fault that they could
not bear the brightness–their fault! I say again, their fault and yet
he does not upbraid, nor stand upon his rights.

He had compassion on their folly as well as on their weakness. It may
happen that a gracious man may be so evidently right that when others
are offended at him, the offense is to be greatly blamed–and yet he
will do well to yield in anything which does not involve principle.
There is a modest veiling of excellences which shows a Brother to be
still more

excellent than his excellences which have proven him. Quench not the
light of your sternest principle, but veil it with abounding love. He
always sinks himself, this man Moses. The God-given Glory of his face
he does not slight, nor seek to abate–but so far as it would bring him
honor from men–he puts it under a veil. That he may come closer to the
people whom he loves, he is content to hide his glory. Let us also seek
to bless the people and to keep in touch with them.

But, Beloved, the chief reason lies elsewhere. Why did Moses veil his
face? The answer is this–it was a judicial symbol, setting forth the
sentence of God upon the people. The Lord, by this token, as good as
said, "You are so rebellious, so given to your idolatries, so unwilling
to see that from now on you shall not see the brightness of My Glory in
the dispensation of the Law in which you live. Moses shall veil his
face because the veil is upon your hearts." It is a dreadful thing when
God gives men up to judicial blindness–when He permits the veil which
they have woven to abide over their minds, "that seeing they might not
see and hearing they might not understand."

As I told you in the reading, the veil was literally on Moses' face,
but spiritually it was on their hearts. From that time on they were not
to see because they had not wished to see. He that willfully shuts his
eyes will find that God takes away his sight. If you refuse to
understand, justice will make you foolish. The shadow of destruction is
insensibility. The eyes are blindfolded before the fatal volley is
fired. The practical warning I would earnestly apply. Do you not think
we have a great many people around us–may we not belong to them
ourselves?–whose foolish hearts are blinded so that the light of the
Glory of God in the face of Christ is veiled from them?

Are not many suffering from veiled hearts? In your circle there is a
rare man of God–you have heard of his faith– he walks with God. Many
have told you what beauties they see in his character. You cannot see
anything particular in him. You, on the contrary, despise him and avoid
his company. He wears a veil for you. Here is the Bible. "O Book,
exquisite sweetness!" Your dear mother calls it beyond all things
precious. Dear Soul, how her face brightens when she tells you how she
has been sustained by it in the day of trouble!

You read it now and then but you do not see anything remarkable in it,
certainly nothing that charms you–the Book is veiled to you. Here is
the glorious Gospel of the blessed God! You have heard us say what a
wonderful Gospel it is. We have been overjoyed in describing it. You
feel no enthusiasm. The Gospel is veiled to you. You have heard a
sermon on some grand doctrine. Believers are ready to leap for joy but
you are utterly indifferent. The Truth of God is veiled to you. This is
a sad omen of a lost estate. The veil is on your heart and your soul is
in darkness which may be felt.

Am I not speaking the truth about many of you? O my Friends, when you
hear about Christ and do not admire Him, conclude that you must be
blind! When you hear the glorious Gospel of the blessed God and it does
not charm you, conclude that the veil is on your hearts! Oh, that you
would turn unto the Lord! For when you turn to God, the veil shall be
taken away. Oh, that God the Holy Spirit would come and turn you by His
almighty power! May He constrain you to seek the Lord today–then shall
the veil be taken away and you shall see the beauty of the Lord Jesus
in His salvation!

Here is a little prayer for you–use it often–"Open my eyes, O God,
that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law." The wondrous things
are in the Law–may you behold them. The Holy Spirit must take the veil
away and remove the scales from your eyes–then you will see, but not
till then. This is why Moses wore the veil–as a testimony that God had
given them over to judicial blindness because they refused to know His
will. O Lord, deal not thus with this people!

V. I close with this question. WHAT OTHER LESSONS MAY WE LEARN FROM THE
FACE OF MOSES? First, learn the exceeding Glory of our lord Jesus
Christ. HOW SO? Well, this was, so to speak, in a minor degree, the
transfiguration of Moses and all it came to was that his face shone.
But when Christ came He was transfigured as to His whole Person! Not
only His face shone but His whole Person and His garments, also! Moses
could veil his face, but the shining of our Lord could not be thus
veiled for it streamed through His raiment which became "white like
snow."

The veil of Moses was, so to speak, a raiment for his face and it was
able to keep in the Glory–but our Lord was wearing His usual garment
without seam, woven from the top throughout, and the Light shone
through His raiment so that He and His clothing were, alike, bright.
Nothing could conceal the Glory of our Lord, which was so great that
whereas Israel saw it tremblingly, the disciples were cast into a deep
sleep thereby. A word is used by an instructive commentator in
reference to Christ's Transfiguration which expresses a forcible
idea–he speaks of it as incandescence. He was all brightness and
light–surpassing the mere shining of the skin even as the sun far
surpasses every form of its redaction.

The Glory of Christ is beyond all comparison–the glory which excels.
Oh, that I knew how to speak of it! But I feel like Paul when he said,
"I could not see for the Glory of that Light." It overpowers me! The
Lamb is the Light of Heaven itself–what more shall I say? John on the
rock of Patmos saw our Lord in vision and he said His "countenance was
as the sun shines in his strength. And when I saw Him I fell at His
feet as dead." Moses wore a light on his face that might be covered,
but Jesus was, and is, all Light and in Him is no darkness at all.
"That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the
world." "The Law was given by Moses, but Grace and Truth came by Jesus
Christ."

Another lesson is just this. See the possibilities of Glory which await
human nature. If Moses' face can shine here, I can understand how, in
the next state, when we are risen from the dead, our bodies may be all
light and bright and we ourselves like flames of fire. "This
corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on
immortality." Unless our Well-Beloved comes quickly, our bodies will be
sown in dishonor–and now I see how they can be raised in Glory. Then
shall we put on "the Glory of the celestial." We shall be among the
shining ones and shall, ourselves, shine forth as the sun in the
kingdom of our Father!

If the wrinkled face of the Patriarch Moses, bronzed and browned by 40
years in the Arabian desert and lined by the long fast on the top of
the mountain–if the dry parchment of his face could shine so
marvelously–why should not our bodies be endowed with Glory when God
shall raise them, again, from the grave? As a crocus bulb looks up from
the soil wherein it was buried and boldly lifts up a golden cup which
the sun fills with glory from the heavens, why should not we, also,
bloom into perfection? "Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it does
not yet appear what we shall be"– any more than it did appear what
Moses should be–"but we know that, when He shall appear"–whose
appearing is more glorious than that of Moses–"we shall be like He is
for we shall see Him as He is."

Lastly, here is one more lesson. What honor God may put upon any one of
us if we really put honor upon Him! My Brothers, my Sisters, if you are
consecrated to God as Moses was, He can give you an unconscious
influence which others will be compelled to recognize. Upon your brow
the heavenly Light of Divine Grace will rest! From your eyes the lamp
of the Truth of God will shine! Walk in the Light, as God is in the
Light, and have fellowship with Him–and then you, too, shall shine as
God's Light-bearers and your whole life shall be as the star which
guided the wise men to Christ! Influencing men for God, the gracious
will follow you and the wicked will be awed by you, even as "Herod
feared John, knowing that he was a just man and holy."

O Spirit of God, rest on every one of us according to our capacity to
endure the tongue of fire! Say unto us, O Savior, this morning, "Go
forth, My Friends and be burning and shining Lights to My praise."
Amen.

PORTIONS OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON– Exodus34:28-35; 2
Corinthians 3,4:1-6.