mh_parser/vol_split/2 - Exodus/Chapter 34.xml

<div2 id="Ex.xxxv" n="xxxv" next="Ex.xxxvi" prev="Ex.xxxiv" progress="48.28%" title="Chapter XXXIV">
<h2 id="Ex.xxxv-p0.1">E X O D U S</h2>
<h3 id="Ex.xxxv-p0.2">CHAP. XXXIV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ex.xxxv-p1">God having in the foregoing chapter intimated to
Moses his reconciliation to Israel, here gives proofs of it,
proceeding to settle his covenant and communion with them. Four
instances of the return of his favour we have in this chapter:—I.
The orders he gives to Moses to come up to the mount, the next
morning, and bring two tables of stone with him, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.1-Exod.34.4" parsed="|Exod|34|1|34|4" passage="Ex 34:1-4">ver. 1-4</scripRef>. II. His meeting him there, and the
proclamation of his name, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.5-Exod.34.9" parsed="|Exod|34|5|34|9" passage="Ex 34:5-9">ver.
5-9</scripRef>. III. The instructions he gave him there, and his
converse with him for forty days together, without intermission,
<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.10-Exod.34.28" parsed="|Exod|34|10|34|28" passage="Ex 34:10-28">ver. 10-28</scripRef>. IV. The
honour he put upon him when he sent him down with his face shining,
<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.29-Exod.34.35" parsed="|Exod|34|29|34|35" passage="Ex 34:29-35">ver. 29-35</scripRef>. In all this
God dealt with Moses as a public person, and mediator between him
and Israel, and a type of the great Mediator.</p>
<scripCom id="Ex.xxxv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34" parsed="|Exod|34|0|0|0" passage="Ex 34" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ex.xxxv-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.1-Exod.34.4" parsed="|Exod|34|1|34|4" passage="Ex 34:1-4" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Exod.34.1-Exod.34.4">
<h4 id="Ex.xxxv-p1.7">God's Proclamation of
Himself. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p1.8">b. c.</span> 1491.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ex.xxxv-p2">1 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p2.1">Lord</span>
said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first:
and I will write upon <i>these</i> tables the words that were in
the first tables, which thou brakest.   2 And be ready in the
morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai, and present
thyself there to me in the top of the mount.   3 And no man
shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all
the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount.
  4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and
Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai,
as the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p2.2">Lord</span> had commanded him, and
took in his hand the two tables of stone.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p3">The treaty that was on foot between God and
Israel being broken off abruptly, by their worshipping the golden
calf, when peace was made all must be begun anew, not where they
left off, but from the beginning. Thus backsliders must <i>repent,
and do their first works,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:Rev.2.5" parsed="|Rev|2|5|0|0" passage="Re 2:5">Rev. ii.
5</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p4">I. Moses must prepare for the renewing of
the tables, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.1" parsed="|Exod|34|1|0|0" passage="Ex 34:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>.
Before, God himself provided the tables, and wrote on them; now,
Moses must <i>hew out the tables,</i> and God would only write upon
them. Thus, in the first writing of the law upon the heart of man
in innocency, both the tables and the writing were the work of God;
but when those were broken and defaced by sin, and the divine law
was to be preserved in the scriptures, God therein made use of the
ministry of man, and Moses first. But the prophets and apostles did
only hew the tables, as it were; the writing was God's still, for
<i>all scripture is given by inspiration of God.</i> Observe, When
God was reconciled to them, he ordered the tables to be renewed,
and wrote his law in them, which plainly intimates to us, 1. That
even under the gospel of peace and reconciliation by Christ (of
which the intercession of Moses was typical) the moral law should
continue to bind believers. Though Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, yet not from the command of it, but still we are
<i>under the law to Christ;</i> when our Saviour, in his sermon on
the mount, expounded the moral law, and vindicated it from the
corrupt glosses with which the scribes and Pharisees had broken it
(<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.5.19" parsed="|Matt|5|19|0|0" passage="Mt 5:19">Matt. v. 19</scripRef>), he did in
effect renew the tables, and make them like the first, that is,
reduce the law to its primitive sense and intention. 2. That the
best evidence of the pardon of sin and peace with God is the
writing of the law in the heart. The first token God gave of his
reconciliation to Israel was the renewing of the tables of the law;
thus the first article of the new covenant is, <i>I will write my
law in their heart</i> (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.8.10" parsed="|Heb|8|10|0|0" passage="Heb 8:10">Heb. viii.
10</scripRef>), and it follows (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.12" parsed="|Exod|34|12|0|0" passage="Ex 34:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>), <i>for I will be merciful to
their unrighteousness.</i> 3. That, if we would have God to write
the law in our hearts, we must prepare our hearts for the reception
of it. The heart of stone must be hewn by conviction and
humiliation for sin (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p4.5" osisRef="Bible:Hos.6.5" parsed="|Hos|6|5|0|0" passage="Ho 6:5">Hos. vi.
5</scripRef>), the <i>superfluity of naughtiness</i> must be taken
off (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p4.6" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.21" parsed="|Jas|1|21|0|0" passage="Jam 1:21">James i. 21</scripRef>), the
heart made smooth, and laboured with, that the word may have a
place in it. Moses did accordingly hew out the <i>tables of
stone,</i> or slate, for they were so slight and thin that Moses
carried them both in his hand; and, for their dimensions, they must
have been somewhat less, and perhaps not much, than the ark in
which they were deposited, which was a yard and quarter long, and
three quarters broad. It should seem there was nothing particularly
curious in the framing of them, for there was no great time taken;
Moses had them ready presently, to take up with him, next morning.
They were to receive their beauty, not from the art of man, but
from the finger of God.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p5">II. Moses must attend again on the top of
Mount Sinai, and present himself to God there, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.2" parsed="|Exod|34|2|0|0" passage="Ex 34:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. Though the absence of Moses, and
his continuance so long on the mount, had lately occasioned their
making the golden calf, yet God did not therefore alter his
measures, but he shall come up and tarry as long as he had done, to
try whether they had learned to wait. To strike an awe upon the
people, they are directed to keep their distance, none must come up
with him, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.3" parsed="|Exod|34|3|0|0" passage="Ex 34:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. They
had said (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.32.1" parsed="|Exod|32|1|0|0" passage="Ex 32:1"><i>ch.</i> xxxii.
1</scripRef>), <i>We know not what has become of him,</i> and God
will not let them know. Moses, accordingly, <i>rose up early</i>
(<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.4" parsed="|Exod|34|4|0|0" passage="Ex 34:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>) to go to the
place appointed, to show how forward he was to present himself
before God and loth to lose time. It is good to be early at our
devotions. The morning is perhaps as good a friend to the graces as
it is to the muses.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ex.xxxv-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.5-Exod.34.9" parsed="|Exod|34|5|34|9" passage="Ex 34:5-9" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Exod.34.5-Exod.34.9">
<p class="passage" id="Ex.xxxv-p6">5 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p6.1">Lord</span>
descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed
the name of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p6.2">Lord</span>.   6 And
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p6.3">Lord</span> passed by before him, and
proclaimed, The <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p6.4">Lord</span>, The <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p6.5">Lord</span> God, merciful and gracious,
longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,   7 Keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
and that will by no means clear <i>the guilty;</i> visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's
children, unto the third and to the fourth <i>generation.</i>
  8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth,
and worshipped.   9 And he said, If now I have found grace in
thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it
<i>is</i> a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our
sin, and take us for thine inheritance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p7">No sooner had Moses got to the top of the
mount than God gave him the meeting (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.5" parsed="|Exod|34|5|0|0" passage="Ex 34:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): <i>The Lord descended,</i> by
some sensible token of his presence, and manifestation of his
glory. His descending bespeaks his condescension; he humbles
himself to take cognizance of those that humble themselves to walk
with him. <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.113.6" parsed="|Ps|113|6|0|0" passage="Ps 113:6">Ps. cxiii. 6</scripRef>,
<i>Lord, what is man, that he should be thus visited?</i> He
descended <i>in the cloud,</i> probably that pillar of cloud which
had hitherto gone before Israel, and had the day before met Moses
at the door of the tabernacle. This cloud was to strike an awe upon
Moses, that the familiarity he was admitted to might not breed
contempt. The disciples <i>feared, when they entered the cloud.</i>
His making a cloud his pavilion intimated that, though he made
known much of himself, yet there was much more concealed. Now
observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p8">I. How God proclaimed his name (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.6-Exod.34.7" parsed="|Exod|34|6|34|7" passage="Ex 34:6,7"><i>v.</i> 6, 7</scripRef>): he did it <i>in
transitu—as he passed by him.</i> Fixed views of God are reserved
for the future state; the best we have in this world are transient.
God now was performing what he had promised Moses, the day before,
that his glory should pass by, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.33.22" parsed="|Exod|33|22|0|0" passage="Ex 33:22"><i>ch.</i> xxxiii. 22</scripRef>. He <i>proclaimed the
name of the Lord,</i> by which he would make himself known. He had
made himself known to Moses in the glory of his self-existence and
self-sufficiency when he proclaimed that name, <i>I am that I
am;</i> now he makes himself known in the glory of his grace, and
goodness, and all-sufficiency to us. Now that God is about to
publish a second edition of the law he prefaces it with this
proclamation; for it is God's grace or goodness that gives the law,
especially the remedial law. The pardon of Israel's sin in
worshipping the calf was now to pass the seals; and God, by this
declaration, would let them know that he pardoned <i>ex mero
motu—merely out of his own good pleasure,</i> not for their
merits' sake, but from his own inclination to forgive. The
proclaiming of it denotes the universal extent of God's mercy. He
is not only good to Israel, but good to all; let all take notice of
it. He that hath an ear, let him hear, and know, and believe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p9">1. That the God with whom we have to do is
a great God. He is Jehovah, the Lord, who has his being of himself,
and is the fountain of all being, <i>Jehovah-El, the Lord, the
strong God,</i> a God of almighty power himself, and the original
of all power. This is prefixed before the display of his mercy, to
teach us to think and to speak even of God's grace and goodness
with great seriousness and a holy awe, and to encourage us to
depend upon these mercies; they are not the mercies of a man, that
is frail and feeble, false and fickle, but the mercies of the Lord,
the Lord God; therefore sure mercies, and sovereign mercies,
mercies that may be trusted, but not tempted.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p10">2. That he is a good God. His greatness and
goodness illustrate and set off each other. That the terror of his
greatness may not make us afraid, we are told how good he is; and,
that we may not presume upon his goodness, we are told how great he
is. Many words are here heaped up, to acquaint us with, and
convince us of, God's goodness, and to show how much his goodness
is both his glory and his delight, yet without any tautology. (1.)
He is <i>merciful.</i> This bespeaks his tender compassion, like
that of a father to his children. This is put first, because it is
the first wheel in all the instances of God's good-will to fallen
man, whose misery makes him an object of pity, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.10.16 Bible:Isa.63.9" parsed="|Judg|10|16|0|0;|Isa|63|9|0|0" passage="Jdg 10:16,Isa 63:9">Judg. x. 16; Isa. lxiii. 9</scripRef>. Let us
not then have either hard thoughts of God or hard hearts towards
our brethren. (2.) He is <i>gracious.</i> This bespeaks both
freeness and kindness; it intimates not only that he has a
compassion to his creatures, but a complacency in them and in doing
good to them, and this of his own good-will, and not for the sake
of any thing in them. His mercy is grace, free grace; this teaches
us to be not only pitiful, but courteous, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.3.8" parsed="|1Pet|3|8|0|0" passage="1Pe 3:8">1 Pet. iii. 8</scripRef>. (3.) He is
<i>long-suffering.</i> This is a branch of God's goodness which the
wickedness of sinners gives occasion for; that of Israel had done
so: they had tried his patience, and experienced it. He is
long-suffering, that is, he is slow to anger, and delays the
execution of his justice; he waits to be gracious, and lengthens
out the offers of his mercy. (4.) He is <i>abundant in goodness and
truth.</i> This bespeaks plentiful goodness, goodness abounding
above our deserts, above our conception and expression. The springs
of mercy are always full, the streams of mercy always flowing;
there is mercy enough in God, enough for all, enough for each,
enough for ever. It bespeaks promised goodness, goodness and truth
put together, goodness engaged by promise, and his faithfulness
pledged for the security of it. He not only does good, but by his
promise he raises our expectation of it, and even binds himself to
show mercy. (5.) He keepeth <i>mercy for thousands.</i> This
denotes, [1.] Mercy extended to thousands of persons. When he gives
to some, still he keeps for others, and is never exhausted; he has
mercy enough for all the thousands of Israel, when they shall
<i>multiply as the sand.</i> [2.] Mercy entailed upon thousands of
generations, even those upon whom the ends of the world have come;
nay, the line of it is drawn parallel with that of eternity itself.
(6.) He <i>for giveth iniquity, transgression, and sin.</i>
Pardoning mercy is specified, because in this divine grace is most
magnified, and because in this divine grace is most magnified, and
because it is this which opens the door to all other gifts of his
divine grace, and because of this he had lately given a very
pregnant proof. He forgives offences of all sorts—<i>iniquity,
transgression, and sin,</i> multiplies his pardons; and with him is
<i>plenteous redemption.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p11">3. That he is a just and holy God. For,
(1.) <i>He will by no means clear the guilty.</i> Some read it so
as to express a mitigation of wrath, even when he does punish:
<i>When he empties, he will not make quite desolate;</i> that is,
"He does not proceed to the greatest extremity, till there be no
remedy." As we read it, we must expound it that he will by no means
connive at the guilty, as if he took no notice of their sin. Or, he
will not clear the impenitently guilty, that go on still in their
trespasses: he will not clear the guilty without some satisfaction
to his justice, and necessary vindications of the honour of his
government. (2.) <i>He visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the
children.</i> He may justly do it, for all souls are his, and there
is a malignity in sin that taints the blood. He sometimes will do
it, especially for the punishment of idolaters. Thus he shows his
hatred to sin, and displeasure against it; yet he <i>keepeth not
his anger for ever,</i> but visits to the third and fourth
generation only, while he <i>keepeth his mercy for thousands.</i>
Well, this is God's name for ever, and this is his memorial unto
all generations.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p12">II. How Moses received this declaration
which God made of himself, and of his grace and mercy. It should
seem as if Moses accepted this as a sufficient answer to his
request that God would <i>show him his glory;</i> for we read not
that he went into the cleft of the rock, whence to gain a sight of
God's back parts. Perhaps this satisfied him, and he desired no
more; as we read not that Thomas did <i>thrust his hand into
Christ's side,</i> though Christ invited him to do it. God having
thus proclaimed his name, Moses says, "It is enough, I expect no
more till I come to heaven;" at least he did not think fit to
relate what he saw. Now we are here told,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p13">1. What impression it made upon him:
<i>Moses made haste, and bowed his head,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.8" parsed="|Exod|34|8|0|0" passage="Ex 34:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Thus he expressed, (1.) His
humble reverence and adoration of God's glory, giving him <i>the
honour due to that name</i> he had thus proclaimed. Even the
goodness of God must be looked upon by us with a profound
veneration and holy awe. (2.) His joy in this discovery which God
had made of himself, and his thankfulness for it. We have reason
gratefully to acknowledge God's goodness to us, not only in the
real instances of it, but in the declarations he has made of it by
his word; not only that he is, and will be, gracious to us, but
that he is pleased to let us know it. (3.) His holy submission to
the will of God, made known in this declaration, subscribing to his
justice as well as mercy, and putting himself and his people Israel
under the government and direction of such a God as Jehovah had now
proclaimed himself to be. Let this God be our God for ever and
ever.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p14">2. What improvement he made of it. He
immediately grounded a prayer upon it (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.9" parsed="|Exod|34|9|0|0" passage="Ex 34:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>); and a more earnest affectionate
prayer it is, (1.) For the presence of God with his people Israel
in the wilderness: "<i>I pray thee, go among us,</i> for thy
presence is all in all to our safety and success." (2.) For pardon
of sin: "<i>O pardon our iniquity and our sin,</i> else we cannot
expect thee to go among us." And, (3.) For the privileges of a
peculiar people: "Take us for <i>thy inheritance,</i> which thou
wilt have a particular eye to, and concern for, and delight in."
These things God had already promised, and given Moses assurances
of, and yet he prays for them, not as doubting the sincerity of
God's grants, but as one solicitous for the ratification of them.
God's promises are intended, not to supersede, but to direct and
encourage, prayer. Those who have some good hopes, through grace,
that their sins are pardoned, must yet continue to pray for pardon,
for the renewing of their pardon, and the clearing of it more and
more to their souls. The more we see of God's goodness the more
ashamed we should be of our own sins, and the more earnest for an
interest in it. God had said, in the close of the proclamation,
that he would <i>visit the iniquity upon the children;</i> and
Moses here deprecates that. "Lord, do not only pardon it to them,
but to their children, and let our covenant-relation to thee be
entailed upon our posterity, as an inheritance." Thus Moses, like a
man of a truly public spirit, intercedes even for the children that
should be born. But it is a strange plea he urges: <i>For it is a
stiff-necked people.</i> God had given this as a reason why he
would not go along with them, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.33.3" parsed="|Exod|33|3|0|0" passage="Ex 33:3"><i>ch.</i> xxxiii. 3</scripRef>. "Yea," says Moses, "the
rather go along with us; for the worse they are the more need they
have of thy presence and grace to make them better." Moses sees
them so stiff-necked that, for his part, he has neither patience
nor power enough to deal with them. "Therefore, Lord, do thou go
among us, else they will never be kept in awe. Thou wilt spare, and
bear with them, for thou art <i>God, and not man,</i>" <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Hos.11.9" parsed="|Hos|11|9|0|0" passage="Ho 11:9">Hos. xi. 9</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ex.xxxv-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34" parsed="|Exod|34|0|0|0" passage="Ex 34" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ex.xxxv-p14.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.10-Exod.34.17" parsed="|Exod|34|10|34|17" passage="Ex 34:10-17" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Exod.34.10-Exod.34.17">
<h4 id="Ex.xxxv-p14.6">A Caution Against Idolatry. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p14.7">b. c.</span> 1491.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ex.xxxv-p15">10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant:
before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done
in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which
thou <i>art</i> shall see the work of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p15.1">Lord</span>: for it <i>is</i> a terrible thing that I
will do with thee.   11 Observe thou that which I command thee
this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the
Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and
the Jebusite.   12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a
covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest
it be for a snare in the midst of thee:   13 But ye shall
destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their
groves:   14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p15.2">Lord</span>, whose name <i>is</i> Jealous,
<i>is</i> a jealous God:   15 Lest thou make a covenant with
the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their
gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and <i>one</i> call thee,
and thou eat of his sacrifice;   16 And thou take of their
daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after
their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods.  
17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p16">Reconciliation being made, a covenant of
friendship is here settled between God and Israel. The traitors are
not only pardoned, but preferred and made favourites again. Well
may the assurances of this be ushered in with a <i>behold,</i> a
word commanding attention and admiration: <i>Behold, I make a
covenant.</i> When the covenant was broken, it was Israel that
broke it; now that it comes to be renewed, it is God that makes it.
If there be quarrels, we must bear all the blame; if there be
peace, God must have all the glory. Here is,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p17">I. God's part of this covenant, what he
would do for them, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.10-Exod.34.11" parsed="|Exod|34|10|34|11" passage="Ex 34:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10,
11</scripRef>. 1. In general: <i>Before all thy people, I will do
marvels.</i> Note, Covenant-blessings are marvellous things
(<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.98.1" parsed="|Ps|98|1|0|0" passage="Ps 98:1">Ps. xcviii. 1</scripRef>), marvels in
the kingdom of grace; those mentioned here were marvels in the
kingdom of nature, the drying up of Jordan, the standing still of
the sun, &amp;c. Marvels indeed, for they were without precedent,
<i>such as have not been done in all the earth.</i> They were the
joy of Israel, and the confirmation of their faith: <i>Thy people
shall see,</i> and own <i>the work of the Lord.</i> And they were
the terror of their enemies: <i>It is a terrible thing that I will
do.</i> Nay, even God's own people should see them with
astonishment. 2. In particular: <i>I drive out before thee the
Amorite.</i> God, as King of nations, plucks up some, to plant
others, as it pleases him; as King of saints, he made room for the
vine he brought out of Egypt, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.80.8-Ps.80.9" parsed="|Ps|80|8|80|9" passage="Ps 80:8,9">Ps.
lxxx. 8, 9</scripRef>. Kingdoms are sacrificed to Israel's
interests, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p17.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.43.3-Isa.43.4" parsed="|Isa|43|3|43|4" passage="Isa 43:3,4">Isa. xliii. 3,
4</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p18">II. Their part of the covenant: <i>Observe
that which I command thee.</i> We cannot expect the benefit of the
promises unless we make conscience of the precepts.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p19">1. The two great precepts are, (1.) <i>Thou
shalt worship no other gods</i> (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p19.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.14" parsed="|Exod|34|14|0|0" passage="Ex 34:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>), not give divine honour to any
creature, or any name whatsoever, the creature of fancy. A good
reason is annexed. It is at thy peril if thou do: <i>For the Lord,
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,</i> as tender in the
matters of his worship as the husband is of the honour of the
marriage-bed. Jealousy is called the <i>rage of a man</i>
(<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p19.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.6.34" parsed="|Prov|6|34|0|0" passage="Pr 6:34">Prov. vi. 34</scripRef>), but it is
<i>God's holy and just displeasure.</i> Those cannot worship God
aright who do not worship him alone. (2.) "<i>Thou shalt make thee
no molten god</i> (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p19.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.17" parsed="|Exod|34|17|0|0" passage="Ex 34:17"><i>v.</i>
17</scripRef>); thou shalt not worship the true God by images."
This was the sin they had lately fallen into, which therefore they
are particularly cautioned against.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p20">2. Fences are here erected about these two
precepts by two others: (1.) That they might not be tempted to
worship other gods, they must not join in affinity or friendship
with those that did (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.12" parsed="|Exod|34|12|0|0" passage="Ex 34:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>): "<i>Take heed to thyself,</i> for thou art upon thy
good behaviour. It is a sin that thou art prone to and that will
easily beset thee, and therefore be very cautious, and carefully
abstain from all appearances of it and advances towards it. <i>Make
no covenant with the inhabitants of the land.</i>" If God, in
kindness to them, drove out the Canaanites, they ought, in duty to
God, not to harbour them. What could be insisted on more reasonable
than this? If God make war with the Canaanites, let not Israel make
peace with them. If God take care that the Canaanites be not their
lords, let them take care that they be not their snares. It was for
their civil interest to complete the conquest of the land; so much
does God consult our benefit in the laws he gives us. They must
particularly take heed of intermarrying with them, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.15-Exod.34.16" parsed="|Exod|34|15|34|16" passage="Ex 34:15,16"><i>v.</i> 15, 16</scripRef>. If they espoused
their children, they would be in danger of espousing their gods;
such is the corruption of nature that the bad are much more likely
to debauch the good than the good to reform the bad. The way of sin
is downhill: those that are in league with idolaters will come by
degrees to be in love with idolatry; and those that are prevailed
upon to eat of the idolatrous sacrifice will come at length to
offer it. <i>Obsta principiis—Nip the mischief in the bud.</i>
(2.) That they might not be tempted to make molten gods, they must
utterly destroy those they found and all that belong to them, the
altars and groves (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.13" parsed="|Exod|34|13|0|0" passage="Ex 34:13"><i>v.</i>
13</scripRef>), lest, if these were left standing, they should be
brought, in process of time, either to use them or to take pattern
by them, or to abate in their detestation and dread of idolatry.
The relics of idolatry ought to be abolished as affronts to the
holy God and a great reproach to human nature. Let it never be said
that men who pretend to reason were ever guilty of such absurdities
as to make gods of their own and worship them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ex.xxxv-p20.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34" parsed="|Exod|34|0|0|0" passage="Ex 34" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ex.xxxv-p20.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.18-Exod.34.27" parsed="|Exod|34|18|34|27" passage="Ex 34:18-27" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Exod.34.18-Exod.34.27">
<h4 id="Ex.xxxv-p20.6">Solemn Feasts Appointed. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p20.7">b. c.</span> 1491.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ex.xxxv-p21">18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou
keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded
thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou
camest out from Egypt.   19 All that openeth the matrix
<i>is</i> mine; and every firstling among thy cattle,
<i>whether</i> ox or sheep, <i>that is male.</i>   20 But the
firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou
redeem <i>him</i> not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the
firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear
before me empty.   21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the
seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou
shalt rest.   22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of
the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at
the year's end.   23 Thrice in the year shall all your men
children appear before the Lord <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p21.1">God</span>,
the God of Israel.   24 For I will cast out the nations before
thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy
land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p21.2">Lord</span> thy God thrice in the year.   25 Thou
shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither
shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the
morning.   26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou
shalt bring unto the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p21.3">Lord</span> thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his
mother's milk.   27 And the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p21.4">Lord</span> said unto Moses, Write thou these words:
for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee
and with Israel.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p22">Here is a repetition of several
appointments made before, especially relating to their solemn
feasts. When they had made the calf, they proclaimed a feast in
honour of it; now, that they might never do so again, they are here
charged with the observance of the feasts which God had instituted.
Note, Men need not be drawn from their religion by the temptation
of mirth, for we serve a Master that has abundantly provided for
the joy of his servants: serious godliness is a continual feast,
and joy in God always.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p23">I. Once a week they must rest (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.21" parsed="|Exod|34|21|0|0" passage="Ex 34:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>), <i>even in earing
time, and in harvest,</i> the most busy times of the year. All
worldly business must give way to that holy rest; harvest-work will
prosper the better for the religious observance of the sabbath-day
in harvest-time. Hereby we must show that we prefer our communion
with God, and our duty to him, before either the business or the
joy of harvest.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p24">II. Thrice a year they must feast
(<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p24.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.23" parsed="|Exod|34|23|0|0" passage="Ex 34:23"><i>v.</i> 23</scripRef>); they must
then appear <i>before the Lord, God, the God of Israel.</i> In all
our religious approaches to God, we must eye him as the Lord God,
infinitely blessed, great, and glorious, that we may worship him
with reverence and godly fear, as the God of Israel, a God in
covenant with us, that we may be encouraged to trust in him, and to
serve him cheerfully. We always are before God; but, in holy
duties, we present ourselves before him, as servants to receive
commands, as petitioners to sue for favours, and we have reason to
do both with joy. But it might be suggested that, when all the
males from every part of the country had gone up to worship in the
place that God should choose, the country would be left exposed to
the insults of their neighbours; and what would become of the poor
women and children, and sick and aged, that were left at home?
Trust God with them (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p24.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.24" parsed="|Exod|34|24|0|0" passage="Ex 34:24"><i>v.</i>
24</scripRef>): <i>Neither shall any man desire thy land;</i> not
only they shall not invade it, but they shall not so much as think
of invading it. Note, 1. All hearts are in God's hands, and under
his check; he can lay a restraint, not only upon men's actions, but
upon their desires. Canaan was a desirable land, and the
neighbouring nations were greedy enough; and yet God says, "They
shall not desire it." Let us check all sinful desires in our own
hearts against God and his glory, and then trust him to check all
sinful desires in the hearts of others against us and our interest.
2. The way of duty is the way of safety. If we serve God, he will
preserve us; and those that venture for him shall never lose by
him. While we are employed in God's work, and are attending upon
him, we are taken under special protection, as noblemen and members
of parliament are privileged from arrests.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p25">III. The three feasts are here mentioned,
with their appendages. 1. The passover, and the feast of unleavened
bread, in remembrance of their deliverance out of Egypt; and to
this is annexed the law of the redemption of the first-born,
<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.18-Exod.34.20" parsed="|Exod|34|18|34|20" passage="Ex 34:18-20"><i>v.</i> 18-20</scripRef>. This
feast was instituted, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.12.13" parsed="|Exod|12|13|0|0" passage="Ex 12:13"><i>ch.</i> xii.
13</scripRef>, and urged again, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.23.15" parsed="|Exod|23|15|0|0" passage="Ex 23:15"><i>ch.</i> xxiii. 15</scripRef>. 2. The feast of weeks,
that is, that of pentecost, seven weeks after the passover; and to
this is annexed the law of the first-fruits. 3. The feast of
in-gathering at the year's end, which was the feast of tabernacles
(<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.22" parsed="|Exod|34|22|0|0" passage="Ex 34:22"><i>v.</i> 22</scripRef>): of these
also he had spoken before, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.23.16" parsed="|Exod|23|16|0|0" passage="Ex 23:16"><i>ch.</i>
xxiii. 16</scripRef>. As to those laws repeated here (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p25.6" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.25-Exod.34.26" parsed="|Exod|34|25|34|26" passage="Ex 34:25,26"><i>v.</i> 25, 26</scripRef>), that against
leaven relates to the passover, that of the first-fruits to the
feast of pentecost, and therefore that against seething the kid in
his mother's milk in all probability relates to the feast of
in-gathering, at which God would not have them use that
superstitious ceremony, which probably they had seen the Egyptians,
or some other of the neighbouring nations, bless their harvests
with.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p26">IV. With these laws, here repeated, it is
probable all that was said to him when he was before upon the mount
was repeated likewise, and the model of the tabernacle shown him
again, lest the ruffle and discomposure, which the golden calf had
put him in to should have bereaved him of the ideas he had in mind
of what he had seen and heard; also in token of a complete
reconciliation, and to show that <i>not one jot or tittle of the
law should pass away,</i> but that all should be carefully
preserved by the great Mediator, who came not to destroy, but to
fulfil, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p26.1" osisRef="Bible:Matt.5.17-Matt.5.18" parsed="|Matt|5|17|5|18" passage="Mt 5:17,18">Matt. v. 17, 18</scripRef>.
And in the close, 1. Moses is ordered to write these words
(<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p26.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.27" parsed="|Exod|34|27|0|0" passage="Ex 34:27"><i>v.</i> 27</scripRef>), that the
people might be the better acquainted with them by a frequent
perusal, and that they might be transmitted to the generations to
come. We can never be enough thankful to God for the written word.
2. He is told that according to the tenour of these words God would
make a covenant with Moses and Israel; not with Israel immediately,
but with them in Moses a mediator. Thus the covenant of grace is
made with believers through Christ, who is <i>given for a covenant
to the people,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p26.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.49.8" parsed="|Isa|49|8|0|0" passage="Isa 49:8">Isa. xlix.
8</scripRef>. And, as here the covenant was made according to the
tenour of the command, so it is still; for we are by baptism
brought into covenant, that we may be <i>taught to observe all
things whatsoever Christ has commanded us,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p26.4" osisRef="Bible:Matt.28.19-Matt.28.20" parsed="|Matt|28|19|28|20" passage="Mt 28:19,20">Matt. xxviii. 19, 20</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ex.xxxv-p26.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.28-Exod.34.35" parsed="|Exod|34|28|34|35" passage="Ex 34:28-35" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Exod.34.28-Exod.34.35">
<h4 id="Ex.xxxv-p26.6">The Veil of Moses. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p26.7">b. c.</span> 1491.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ex.xxxv-p27">28 And he was there with the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p27.1">Lord</span> forty days and forty nights; he did neither
eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words
of the covenant, the ten commandments.   29 And it came to
pass, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tables of
testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that
Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with
him.   30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw
Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to
come nigh him.   31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and
all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses
talked with them.   32 And afterward all the children of
Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p27.2">Lord</span> had spoken with him in mount
Sinai.   33 And <i>till</i> Moses had done speaking with them,
he put a vail on his face.   34 But when Moses went in before
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ex.xxxv-p27.3">Lord</span> to speak with him, he took
the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto
the children of Israel <i>that</i> which he was commanded.  
35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin
of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again,
until he went in to speak with him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p28">Here is, I. The continuance of Moses in the
mount, where he was miraculously sustained, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p28.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.28" parsed="|Exod|34|28|0|0" passage="Ex 34:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>. He was there in very intimate
communion with God, without interruption, forty days and forty
nights, and did not think it long. When we are weary of an hour or
two spent in attendance upon God and adoration of him, we should
think how many days and nights Moses spent with him, and of the
eternal day we hope to spend in praising him. During all this time
Moses did neither eat nor drink. Though he had before been kept so
long fasting, yet he did not, this second time, take up so many
days' provision along with him, but believed that <i>man lives not
by bread alone,</i> and encouraged himself with the experience he
had of the truth of it. So long he continued without meat and drink
(and probably without sleep too), for, 1. The power of God
supported him, that he did not need it. He who made the body can
nourish it without ordinary means, which he uses, but is not tied
to. <i>The life is more than meat.</i> 2. His communion with God
entertained him, so that he did not desire it. He had meat to eat
which the world knew not of, for it was his meat and drink to hear
the word of God and pray. The abundant satisfaction his soul had in
the word of God and the visions of the Almighty made him forget the
body and the pleasures of it. When God would treat his favourite
Moses, it was not with meat and drink, but with his light, law, and
love, with the knowledge of himself and his will; then man did
indeed eat angels' food. See what we should value as the truest
pleasure. <i>The kingdom of God is not meat and drink,</i> neither
the abundance nor delicacy of food, but <i>righteousness and peace
and joy in the Holy Ghost.</i> As Moses, so Elijah and Christ,
fasted forty days and forty nights. The more dead we are to the
delights of sense the better prepared we are for the pleasures of
heaven.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p29">II. The coming down of Moses from the
mount, greatly enriched and miraculously adorned.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p30">1. He came down enriched with the best
treasure; for he brought in his hands the two tables of the law,
written with the finger of God, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p30.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.28-Exod.34.29" parsed="|Exod|34|28|34|29" passage="Ex 34:28,29"><i>v.</i> 28, 29</scripRef>. It is a great favour to
have the law given us; this favour was shown to Israel, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p30.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.147.19-Ps.147.20" parsed="|Ps|147|19|147|20" passage="Ps 147:19,20">Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20</scripRef>. It is a great
honour to be employed in delivering God's law to others; this
honour was done to Moses.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p31">2. He came down adorned with the best
beauty; for the <i>skin of his face shone,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p31.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.29" parsed="|Exod|34|29|0|0" passage="Ex 34:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. This time of his being in the
mount he heard only what he had heard before, but he saw more of
the glory of God, which having with open face beheld, he was in
some measure <i>changed into the same image from glory to
glory,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p31.2" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.3.18" parsed="|2Cor|3|18|0|0" passage="2Co 3:18">2 Cor. iii. 18</scripRef>.
The last time he came down from the mount with the glory of a
magistrate, to frown upon and chastise Israel's idolatry; now with
the glory of an angel, with tidings of peace and reconciliation.
Then he came with a rod, now with the spirit of meekness. Now,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p32">(1.) This may be looked upon, [1.] As a
great honour done to Moses, that the people might never again
question his mission nor think nor speak lightly of him. He carried
his credentials in his very countenance, which, some think,
retained, as long as he lived, some remainders of this glory, which
perhaps contributed to the vigour of his old age; that eye could
not wax dim which had seen God, nor that face become wrinkled which
had shone with his glory. The Israelites could not look him in the
face but they must there read his commission. Thus it was done to
the man whom the King of kings did delight to honour. Yet, after
this, they murmured against him; for the most sensible proofs will
not of themselves conquer an obstinate infidelity. The shining of
Moses's face was a great honour to him; yet that was no glory, in
comparison with the glory which excelled. We read of our Lord
Jesus, not only that <i>his face shone</i> as the sun, but his
whole body also, for his <i>raiment was white and glistering,</i>
<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p32.1" osisRef="Bible:Luke.9.29" parsed="|Luke|9|29|0|0" passage="Lu 9:29">Luke ix. 29</scripRef>. But, when he
came down from the mount, he quite laid aside that glory, it being
his will that we should <i>walk by faith, not by sight.</i> [2.] It
was also a great favour to the people, and an encouragement to
them, that God put this glory upon him, who was their intercessor,
thereby giving them assurance that he was accepted, and they
through him. Thus the advancement of Christ, our advocate with the
Father, is the great support of our faith. [3.] It was the effect
of his sight of God. Communion with God, <i>First,</i> Makes the
face to shine in true honour. Serious godliness puts a lustre upon
a man's countenance, such as commands esteem and affection.
<i>Secondly,</i> It should make the face to shine in universal
holiness. When we have been in the mount with God, we should let
our <i>light shine before men,</i> in humility, meekness, and all
the instances of a heavenly conversation; thus must the <i>beauty
of the Lord our God be upon us,</i> even the <i>beauty of
holiness,</i> that all we converse with may <i>take knowledge of us
that we have been with Jesus,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p32.2" osisRef="Bible:Acts.4.13" parsed="|Acts|4|13|0|0" passage="Ac 4:13">Acts
iv. 13</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ex.xxxv-p33">(2.) Concerning the shining of Moses's face
observe here, [1.] Moses was not aware of it himself: <i>He wist
not that the skin of his face shone,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p33.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.29" parsed="|Exod|34|29|0|0" passage="Ex 34:29"><i>v.</i> 29</scripRef>. Thus, <i>First,</i> It is the
infelicity of some that, though their faces shine in true grace,
yet they do not know it, to take the comfort of it. Their friends
see much of God in them, but they themselves are ready to think
they have no grace. <i>Secondly,</i> It is the humility of others
that, though their faces shine in eminent gifts and usefulness, yet
they do not know it, to be puffed up with it. Whatever beauty God
puts upon us, we should still be filled with a humble sense of our
own unworthiness, and manifold infirmities, as will make us even
overlook and forget that which makes our faces shine. [2.] Aaron
and the children of Israel saw it, and <i>were afraid,</i>
<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p33.2" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.30" parsed="|Exod|34|30|0|0" passage="Ex 34:30"><i>v.</i> 30</scripRef>. The truth of
it was attested by a multitude of witnesses, who were also
conscious of the terror of it. It not only dazzled their eyes, but
struck such an awe upon them as obliged them to retire. Probably
they doubted whether it were a token of God's favour or of his
displeasure; and, though it seemed most likely to be a good omen,
yet, being conscious of guilt, they feared the worst, especially
remembering the posture Moses found them in when he came last down
from the mount. Holiness will command reverence; but the sense of
sin makes men afraid of their friends, and even of that which
really is a favour to them. [3.] Moses put a <i>veil upon his
face,</i> when he perceived that it shone, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p33.3" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.33 Bible:Exod.34.35" parsed="|Exod|34|33|0|0;|Exod|34|35|0|0" passage="Ex 34:33,35"><i>v.</i> 33, 35</scripRef>. <i>First,</i> This
teaches us all a lesson of modesty and humility. We must be content
to have our excellences obscured, and a veil drawn over them, not
coveting to <i>make a fair show in the flesh.</i> Those that are
truly desirous to be owned and accepted of God will likewise desire
not to be taken notice of nor applauded by men. <i>Qui bene latuit,
bene vixit—There is a laudable concealment. Secondly,</i> It
teaches ministers to accommodate themselves to the capacities of
people, and to preach to them as they are able to bear it. Let all
that art and all that learning be veiled which tend to amusement
rather than edification, and let the strong condescend to the
infirmities of the weak. <i>Thirdly,</i> This veil signified the
darkness of that dispensation. The ceremonial institutions had in
them much of Christ, much of the grace of the gospel, but a veil
was drawn over it, so that the children of Israel could not
distinctly and <i>stedfastly see those good things to come which
the law had the shadow of.</i> It was beauty veiled, gold in the
mine, a pearl in the shell; but, thanks be to God, by the gospel
life and immortality are brought to light, the veil is taken away
from off the Old Testament; yet still it remains upon the hearts of
those who shut their eyes against the light. Thus the apostle
expounds this passage, <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p33.4" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.3.13-2Cor.3.15" parsed="|2Cor|3|13|3|15" passage="2Co 3:13-15">2 Cor. iii.
13-15</scripRef>. [4.] When Moses <i>went in before the Lord,</i>
to speak with him in the tabernacle of meeting, he <i>put off the
veil,</i> <scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p33.5" osisRef="Bible:Exod.34.34" parsed="|Exod|34|34|0|0" passage="Ex 34:34"><i>v.</i> 34</scripRef>.
Then there was no occasion for it, and, before God, every man does
and must appear unveiled; for <i>all things are naked and open
before the eyes of him with whom we have to do,</i> and it is folly
for us to think of concealing or disguising any thing. Every veil
must be thrown aside when we come to present ourselves unto the
Lord. This signified also, as it is explained (<scripRef id="Ex.xxxv-p33.6" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.3.16" parsed="|2Cor|3|16|0|0" passage="2Co 3:16">2 Cor. iii. 16</scripRef>), that when a soul turns to
the Lord the veil shall be taken away, and with open face it may
behold his glory. And when we shall come before the Lord in heaven,
to be there for ever speaking with him, the veil shall not only be
taken off from the divine glory, but from our hearts and eyes, that
we may see as we are seen, and know as we are known.</p>
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