The words to which I should like to call your attention this morning are to be found in the book of Exodus in the 33rd chapter. And reading from verse 18 to the end, verse 18 to verse 23 in the 33rd chapter of the Book of Exodus. And he Moses said, I beseech thee, show me thy glory. 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 show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, thou canst not see my face, for there shall no men see me and live. And the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back paths, but my face shall not be seen. We return once more to a consideration of this extraordinary incident, which is here recorded in the life and ministry and experience of Moses, the servant of God. And we are looking at it because of the instruction that it gives us with regard to what is possible for us as people of God, even while we are in this world of time. It is an account, of course, of something unusual, something exceptional. And that is our interest in it, because our general theme is that of revival, revivals of religion. And they, by definition, are exceptional. They are unusual, but in God's grace and mercy. As he granted this request to Moses, who here asked him to show him his glory, so God, from time to time does grant these visitations of his spirit to his people, and so makes known his glory in an unusual manner. In other words, we last Sunday morning, in looking at this particular section, described Revival as being a passing by of God's glory, a manifestation of it, as Moses did not see the face of God, but did see his back, as it were. So the church, at a time of revival and of a special visitation from God's spirit, is enabled to have this unusual view of the glory of God, God passing by God, giving us some glimpse, some indication of himself and of his glory, and thus giving us an assurance of his interest in us and of his gracious purposes with respect to us. Well, now we dealt with it in general last Sunday morning. The answer that God gave to Moses, therefore, does include some sensible realization of the presence and the glory of God. And when I say sensible, I mean something that one feels something that one is conscious of experimentally, not only, not merely something that one deduces from the word and receives from the word, which we should always do, but something over and above that, some sensible realization of the glory and the power, the presence of God. That is a testimony which is quite universal in the church at all times and in all places when God graciously visits in revival. But you notice that the record tells us that God didn't stop at that. He did give Moses this view, this glimpse, this sensible realization. But in particular, he went on to do certain other things, and it is to them. I'm calling your attention this morning because you notice that the answer that was actually given to Moses was this, I will make my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Now then, this is the subject that we have to analyze and consider together this morning. It's not merely this sensible realization of the nearness and the presence of God that is given to Moses, but this particular special manifestation of what God calls his goodness. I will make all my goodness pass before thee. What does this mean? Well, what it really means, obviously, is this, that God's glory is mainly and chiefly manifested to us in and through his goodness. And that, of course, means that we are given a manifestation and an understanding of the character of God, the attributes of God. For God's goodness is something that is a manifestation of his character, his person, his attributes, and in particular, certain of his attributes, as we shall be indicating in a moment. And therefore, the teaching here is this, that our supreme need is a knowledge of the character of God. It's an astonishing thing to have to say, but it is nevertheless the truth. All our troubles in this christian life ultimately arise from our ignorance of the character of God. If only we knew God as he is, we then, of course, would be like the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who lived in this world as we do, was subject to the same difficulties and trials, indeed subject to all the same temptations as we are. And yet, how different was his life? Why? Well, because he knew God. He knew the character of God. He knew the goodness of God. There can be no question at all. But that God emphasizes this at this point to Moses, for a very good and a special reason. It seems to me there can be no question but that Moses here was tending to be a little bit too interested in what we may call the spectacular. It's very natural. We're all aware of it. God had given Moses some very wonderful answers. He'd already given him some extraordinary revelations of himself. He'd been up on the mountain with him for 40 days and 40 nights, and he had heard things, and he had seen things. Yet Moses, encouraged by God's gracious dealings with him and God's kindness to him in answering his prayers, ventures yet a step further and says, show me now thy glory. And I'm sure that here there was included some desire for some spectacle, something visible to the naked eye. Now, this is innate in our characters, and I have no doubt that it is essentially a result of the fall and of sin in us. We are always asking for the spectacular. We all, I am certain, have got a feeling within us that if only the heavens could open and we could see God, how wonderful it would be. We want some visible demonstration. Now, I say that this is the result of sin. And I'm fortified in saying that, by the way, in which the Devil tempted our Lord. You remember, on the three special occasions, and each time he called for something spectacular, something striking. That is always the tendency of men in sin is to demand something in that realm. People are always seeking visions, and they talk about them, and they tend to rest their faith upon them. Something unusual, some spectacle, some vision, some dream, some peculiar ecstasy. And I feel that Moses here was animated by some such idea. So God deals with him very tenderly. He says, all right, I will grant you something along the lines that you're asking. You shan't see my face. That's impossible. For no men shall see my face and live. But I will stoop to your weakness. I'll let you see something. But much more important than that is this. I will cause all my goodness to pass before thee. I'll give you a deeper insight and understanding into myself, into my character, into what I am. That is what you really need to know. And as I'm saying, this is still our greatest need. Over and above all that we might see of the miraculous power of God in demonstration is the character of God himself. Miracles, things of that kind. God uses them when he feels the time is appropriate. But men and women are always demanding. And there are those in the church today who are so interested in faith healing for this reason. They say, if only we could do that, then the people would be interested. But, you see, God doesn't grant it. No, we mustn't be interested in God's activities at the expense of God himself. And our ultimate need is to know God himself. And this is possible to us in and through his goodness. And so he tells Moses, yet I will cause all my goodness to pass before thee. Now, there is an emphasis, I believe, upon that word all. And I think the reason for that again is perfectly clear. God had already revealed to Moses a great deal of his goodness, but now he is promising him. I'm going to give you a deeper view of it, a deeper insight into it. I'm going to display it before you in a manner that you've never seen before, as if God were saying to Moses, you seem to be uncertain about me. I've promised that I'm going to come with you. I've promised you various things that you've asked of me, but you still seem to be uncertain. You ask, show me now thy glory. Now, Moses, what you need is rarely to know. So I'm going to cause all my goodness to pass before thee. And therefore I am suggesting to you this morning that the supreme blessing that comes to the church in a time of revival is this deeper knowledge of God in his goodness toward us. Now, then, how does God make this known to us? The answer is this. He does it in the proclamation of his name, he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. Now, all who are familiar with their old testaments will know that God manifested himself to the children of Israel through his various names. The name conveys the character. And as God was stooping to men's weakness and granting revelations of himself, he did so by saying, I am this and that and the other through his name. The power of the personality is in the name. Now, even we today use this expression. In a sense, you talk about a man, a professional men, if you like, a doctor or a solicitor, a barrister or something. You say, he's got a great name. What you mean by that is that he's a very successful man, he's a very good man at his work, and people are talking about him, but we say he's got a great name. In other words, the character of the men and his work is conveyed to us by this name, and it is exactly the same with regard to God. And so he tells Moses here. Now, then, I'm going to let you know the real truth about myself. I'm going to proclaim my goodness, and I'm going to do so by proclaiming my name before thee. And he proceeded to do so. Now, what was it that he told Moses? Well, very fortunately, the next chapter gives us an answer to the question in verses six and seven. Listen. And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, heaping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. And that will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children unto the third and the fourth generation. That's the proclamation of the name. And we read that Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshipped. God has been revealing his goodness to him through the medium of these words, telling the truth about himself. Well, now then, let us consider what this means. What is this knowledge of God that we stand in need of? I am addressing christian people. Have you come to this service burdened and weary and tired? Have you come, perchance, unhappy? Have you come in perplexity? Have you come full of doubts and of uncertainties? Do you find the christian life a hard one and a grievous one? Well, my answer is that if you do, it is because you don't know God. You've never really understood what he has revealed concerning himself in his name. Let's listen to what he has said himself about himself. The Lord, the Lord God. Jehovah, Elohim. It's a compound name. What does it mean? Well, let me tell you some of the things that it teaches us so clearly. This term, God. This is the term that is used of God as all powerful, of God as the creator. When God said, let us create men, that was the term. Heul. It's a plural term. It's suggesting immediately the Trinity. Let us make men. It's a plural, suggesting the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Yes, but particularly conveying to us this idea of power. It is the God who said, let there be light, and there was light. There is no limit to his power. It is eternal. He is omnipotent. That's the first thing. But then, you see, this other term is added to it. The Lord, the Lord God. Here's the name. Jehovah. Here is the name, I say, on which we must concentrate, because it is in this name that God has always chosen to reveal the most precious truths concerning himself. What is the meaning of this term? The Lord Jehovah. And you noticed its repetition. The Lord, the Lord God. You know, my friends, if you and I only realized something of the meaning of that, the whole situation would be transformed. Our personal lives would be transformed. The whole condition of the church would be transformed. You see, it's because the church doesn't know him as Jehovah that she's fearful and anxious and apprehensive and so busily trying to save herself and the whole situation if we but realized who he is. Jehovah, what's it mean? Well, God in this name is revealing his own essential character. And what the term means is the self existent one. It means I am. Indeed, it means more. You remember how you will read in the third chapter of this book of Exodus when God called Moses, there he was as a shepherd. God called him and said, now, look here, I want you to lead my people out of Egypt and to take them to Canaan. Ah, said Moses, who am I to do a thing like that? When I go to them and I say, you're going to be led out from the captivity and taken to Canaan, they'll say, who sent you? How do we know? Tell them, said God to Moses, that I am hath sent you. I am that I am. What a statement that is. I say, the essential character of God he is, and God alone is no beginning, no end. This term suggests to us the eternity of God, the everlasting character of God. He is the everlasting God from eternity to eternity, self existent in and of himself. So it also suggests his unchangeableness. It's very difficult for us to grasp these notions, isn't it? We belong to time and are so subject to time. It's very difficult for us to grasp this blessed truth that the God whom we worship and to whom we belong is unchangeable. The father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. He's not under the sun, he's above it. Everything is under him. And he is. He always was, he always will be. I am that I am. Eternal, unchangeable, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent. He is, and he's everywhere. Now, this great term, Jehovah, conveys all that meaning to us, and there is nothing more glorious than that. Show me now thy glory, says Moses. All right, says God. That's my glory. That I am. That I am. Had you realized it? He is not like the gods of the nations, made by men. There was a time when they were not. Then they were made and they were set up and they went and others came. No, no, he's all together, different, alone. But then in this term, there is also another wonderful suggestion. This is the term that God always uses about himself when he is revealing himself. He is the self existent one. But he deigns to make himself known. He reveals himself. He did it, you see, to the children of Israel. And that is what I say you'll find in the third chapter and in the 6th chapter of this book. Listen to chapter six, verse two. And God spake unto Moses and said unto him, I am the Lord. I am Jehovah. And I appeared unto Abram and Isaac and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty. That's God, Elohim. But by my name, Jehovah. Was I not known unto them? No. That means this, that whereas he had used that name to them, he had never given it this special connotation and significance. It is at this point when he is giving this unusual revelation of himself that he defines the term, shows its content, gives it its full meaning. Sir, we must remember this, that this self existent and eternal and omniscient God has chosen to reveal himself to us and has come down to our level. He's manifesting himself. That's what I'm going to show. You said God to Moses. That's my goodness. It is God revealing himself to men whom he has created. But you know, it goes even further than that. This is always the name that God uses with regard to himself when he makes a covenant with men. A covenant, as you know, is in an agreement. And God, this is the whole glory of the gospel, that God, this self existent God who could be independent of men, has humbled himself, as it were, and has made an agreement with men. He's made a covenant. He made a covenant, you remember, with Abraham. We are reminded of it there in that 6th chapter of this book of Exodus, in verse three. He made an agreement with him. He pledged himself, he took an oath. That's an agreement, a covenant. Now then, God was making a special covenant here with the children of Israel. And the covenant was that he would be their God and they should be his people. And that is the position of every Christian. He has come into God's covenant. Do you remember how Paul puts it in writing to the Ephesians? He says, you know, before you were strangers from the Covenant of Israel and aliens and enemies outside the Commonwealth, but you've been brought in. And he says, the wonderful thing that has been revealed in Christ is this, that the Gentiles are going to be made fellow heirs and of the Household of God. They've been brought into the covenant. So God was reminding Moses here of this covenant relationship. God has pledged himself to save his own people. So that brings me to the last great idea here, which is contained in this term, which is that God is the Redeemer. He's not only the creator and the sustainer of everything. That is the term, Elohim. God suggests all. No, no, Jehovah goes further. God the Redeemer. Do you remember what he said to Moses at the burning bush? I have seen the affliction of my people, and I am come down. That's it. And there's the whole of the christian gospel. God coming down, God descending, God the Redeemer, God saving his own people. Now, this is the term that God elaborated as he spoke to Moses on this great and famous occasion. What is it that is true of God as our Redeemer? Well, let me notice the things that he emphasizes. The first thing he emphasizes is his own holiness. He says he will by no means clear the guilty visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, and to the third and to the fourth generation. So as God was revealing his goodness to Moses, the first thing Moses was aware of, in addition to the power and the might and the glory, was the holiness of God. So we read that he bowed himself to the earth and worshipped the holiness of God. Now, every man, as you read your Bible, you will find that many people have been given these glimpses of God's glory. And you notice they all react in the same way. You remember Isaiah, when he was given this vision. You read it in chapter six of his prophecy. The moment he saw this glimpse of the glory of God, you remember what happened. He said, woe is unto me, for I am a man of unclean lips. It was the holiness of God that made him feel that. And there has never yet been a revival of religion. But that God's people, those who'd been christians for years and years, the moment they have this experience, they feel utterly unworthy. They feel that they see themselves as sinners as they'd never done before. Some of them have even doubted whether they'd ever been christian. They were wrong, of course. But the sight of the holiness of God, the realization of it, has made them see their own sinfulness and their own unworthiness. It's invariable. It is our blessed Lord himself who always prayed, saying, holy Father, he knew him. He was the only begotten son. He is the son in this unique sense. But he prays, holy Father. The holiness of God, my friends, is the first thing that we understand when we are confronting God the Redeemer. And then the next thing, his hatred of sin and his judgment upon it. Let there be no mistake about this. God said to Moses, I'm going to show you my goodness. And yet this is what he says. He will by no means clear the guilty. He will visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children unto the third and fourth generation. He is righteous. He hates sin, and he will punish sin. Don't you have a feeling that this is the one thing that this modern world of ours needs to know? This world that feels it can dismiss God and laugh at him and break all his laws with impunity? My friends, is not this the thing we need to preach to the world that God is holy, that God is righteous, that he hates sin with an eternal hatred and will punish them. He is a righteous God. That's his own revelation of himself. But thank God. Having revealed that, he goes on to reveal something else. And that is his love for and his purpose, to redeem his own. Listen to the terms. The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. That is who I am, said God to Moses. You don't need some spectacle. You just need to know my heart of love. You just need to know that it is my purpose to redeem. This is my character. But you notice that he even qualifies that immediately, lest we might misunderstand it. Having reminded him of his mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, he adds this and that will by no means clear the guilty. Now, this is of tremendous significance. It is here you see the cross of Christ. In the revelation of the names of God, as given to Moses. God will never clear the guilty. God only shows his love and his forgiveness, his mercy and his compassion to those who are no longer guilty. And this is the whole tragedy, isn't it, that we've been separating these things in the character of God. I've often asserted, and I repeated this morning from this pulpit, that the condition of the church today is due to one major factor. And that is that during the last century, from about the last century, that new attitude toward the scripture came in, in which men decided that they knew more about the character of God than what was revealed in this book. And you see, what they did was to say that God is love and nothing else. And they put out the wrath. They put out the justice and the righteousness and all that God has revealed about himself. And they have said that God will clear the guilty. God, they say, is love. Doesn't matter what you do. Go and tell him you're sorry. Ask for forgiveness. All is well. But it's a lie. And the lawlessness that we are witnessing in the world and the lawlessness in the church arise from that and from nothing else. But God will by no means clear the guilty. He is our God of compassion and of mercy and of kindness and of all that he says here. Yes, but he's still the holy God. Remember, he's still the righteous God. And when he forgives, he forgives in a righteous manner. He has made a way of taking away our guilt. That is the central glory of his revelation. What he's really saying in embryo here to Moses is this, I'm going to send my only son into the world. I'm going to put their guilt upon him. I'm going to punish him, and then the guilt will have been removed and I will be compassionate and merciful and gracious to them, and I will forgive all their sins, but only in that way. And that is the revelation of God. And that is the thing that always stands out in every period of revival. This amazing combination of all the glorious attributes of God. You must never divide them. They're all there and they're all there together and they're all there at the same time. God isn't at one time loving and at another time righteous. No, he's always the same. He's loving and righteous at the same time. He's holy and loving at the same time. You can't divide these things. God is one, and all his glorious attributes are revealed together, and they're all here. And that is his goodness toward men. And there is no more wonderful discovery that a human being can ever make than this, that that self existent God who is all powerful in his glory and majesty, who is light and in whom is no darkness at all, who is a consuming fire, has so loved you that in his holy righteousness he has put your sins upon his own beloved son and given to him to bear the anguish and the suffering and the shame and the punishment of them all, that you and I might be forgiven and delivered and might become the sons of God. Yes, but there's one other thing I've got to add, and it's this. God reveals himself in all these terms, but there is yet one other term I must add. Did you notice it there in this 33rd chapter in verse 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 show mercy. To whom I will show mercy. What is this? Oh, this is the sovereignty of God. The sovereignty of God. Here he is, the self existent and the eternal one, the righteous, the holy God, and yet the merciful and the compassionate. And he is going to forgive sins. Whose sins is he going to forgive? And here's his own answer. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy to whom I will show mercy. And this is an essential part of the revelation. This is as much a part of God as everything else. And you mustn't leave it out. Here it is. What does it mean? It means this. That our salvation is entirely and altogether by grace of the grace of God. It is not in any sense dependent upon anything in us. It is indeed in spite of us. It is entirely of God's own will. He's not under obligation to anybody. He's never consulted anybody. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and have passion. Upon whom I will have compassion, will show mercy to whom I will show mercy. It is the free and the sovereign grace of God. He himself revealed it. This is a great mystery. And men in sin doesn't like it and pits his little puny mind against it. But God has said this Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated before they were born, while they were yet in the womb. But how can that be? Says someone. And there is only one answer. The answer given by Paul. Who art thou, o man, that repliest against God? You say, I don't understand this. Of course you don't understand it. Did you ever imagine that your puny mind or mine was sufficient to understand this eternal God, this I am, that I am. You don't understand. Of course you don't. Your mind is not only small, but it'sinful, it's twisted, it's perverted, it's selfish and self centered. Are you trying to understand? Be careful what you're doing, my friend. You are entirely in God's hands. You know nothing about him apart from that which he has graciously been pleased to reveal. And this is what he has revealed. What men would ever dare say a thing like this. I wouldn't. No men in his senses would. I don't understand it. But here is the revelation. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And here I am. I have nothing to say. He is the potter, I am the clay. Salvation is entirely and together in God's own sovereign will. He chose Israel for his own possession and not any of the other nations. Why? Don't ask me. He knows I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. If you don't feel this morning that you are what you are by the grace of God alone and in spite of yourself. Well, all I can say is I don't understand you. I know that if I had what I deserved, it would be hell. No, we haven't chosen him. He's chosen us. Why? I don't know. It's just this great principle of his sovereignty. Why did he ever look upon me? I am the last man to know why. It baffles me increasingly, but I am what I am by the grace of God. That's his revelation. And, you know, there is no one feature, I sometimes think, that comes out so prominently in times of revival as just this question of the sovereignty of God. I sometimes think, you know, that this is the supreme manifestation of the sovereignty of God revival. And he shows it like this. Take the timing of revivals. When does a revival come? And the answer is, in God's own time and never at any other time. That, of course, was the tragic blunder of Finney in his lectures on revival. Who teaches that you can have a revival whenever you like if you only do certain things and fulfill certain conditions? It is a complete denial of the sovereignty of God. Not only that, it is proved by history to be wrong. I in my own lifetime have known numbers of ministers who have taken Finney's lectures on revival and have honestly put them into practice in their preaching and in their churches and have persuaded their people to do them. But they haven't had a revival. Thank God they haven't. You'll never organize a revival. It's God who gives revival, and you see, he does it in his own time. He does it when you least expect him. When you think it's coming, it generally doesn't come. He keeps it in his own hands. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. I'll do it in my own time. He does it in strange places. I've been emphasizing this before. You never know where a revival is going to break out. That's glorious. That's marvelous to me. You see? And I say this with trembling and almost with shame. I'm afraid of the thing. The next revival will probably not break out in a big congregation like this, but in some little village church where there are only two or three people. Thank God for this. It's God's. He chooses the place as well as the time. And you never know where it's going to be. You can't find any rules. People have been trying to do this. Haven't you noticed them? They read the history of revivals in the past. Now they say, I noticed this, that before that revival, a number of people had been praying right through the night. So they decide to pray right through the night. Then they notice they'll do this, and they repeat these. But the revival doesn't come. Of course not. If it did, they'd say it was our all night of prayer that did it. And so the glory would be taken from God. You see? No, it's the sovereignty of God as regards time, as regards place, and then how he does it. Have you noticed the persons whom he chooses? Have you noticed the variations in the methods that he implies? You'll never be able to draw up rules with respect to revival. No, no. The sovereign Lord God does something new every time, and it's always a change, something different. Lest man may say, now, then, I'm going to do it. No, it's God and it's sovereignty. And perhaps supremely you see it in the way in which a revival stops. A revival may have been going for a number of months. And the people are rejoicing. It's wonderful, full. And they really think now they can keep it going. Suddenly God stops it. And the foolish people try to keep it going, but they can't keep it going. They try to work themselves up. They try to pray as they did before. They try to sing, but suddenly it's gone. The spirit that was given was taken back. That's the sovereignty of God. You know, you can't stop a revival any more than you can start it. It's all together in the hands of God. It is the sovereignty of God who says, my glory I will not give to another. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and will show mercy. Upon whom I will show mercy. What have we got to say to these things? There's only one thing to say we must repeat with the apostle Paul. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and his ways past finding out for who hath known the mind of the Lord or who hath been his counselor, or who hath first given to him. And it shall be recompensed unto him again for of him and through him and to him are all things, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Who hath known the mind of the Lord? Who has been his counselor? Who has ever suggested anything to him? Man in his folly has done it frequently, but the suggestion has never been accepted of him. Through him, to him are all things. There is no greater madness than to attempt to pin pit our puny, sinful minds against this Lord, Lord God, Jehovah, great I am, under whom, and by whom are all things, and who in his own eternal wisdom hath deigned to look upon us, and to be gracious unto us, and to be merciful unto us, o the wonder of his grace. Amen. We do hope that you've been helped by the preaching of Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones. All of the sermons contained within the MLJ Trust audio library are now available for free download. You may share the sermons or broadcast them, however, because of international copyright, please be advised that we are asking, first, that these sermons never be offered for sale by a third party and second, that these sermons will not be edited in any way for length or to use as audio clips. You can find our contact information on our [email protected], that's mljtrust.org.