John 12:27-28: Show Me Your Glory!

Scripture Reading

Psalm 145:1–3, 8-9 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable…The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made…My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Intro

Who is God?

That’s the most important question you could ever ask.

Because If the chief end of man… our ultimate purpose… is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever… how do you worship a God you don’t even know?

That is what I hope to help us with today.

To look at who God is and who God has revealed Himself to be in Jesus Christ.

So that in knowing God, we can love Him… enjoy Him… and glorify Him for all that He’s worth.

Not just in our affections but with our lives where we live all of our lives for the glory of His Name.

I want us as a church to have a robust Theology… a knowledge of God… so that we might have a white-hot Doxology…

A love for God that worships and enjoys… delights in… glorifies… His Holy Name.

So who is God?

God to…

John 12:27–28 Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”

Now, Lord willing, we are going to get into some of the finer details of these verses next week.

What I want to do on Jesus’ prayer Father, glorify your name…

And the Father’s response: I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.

The hour Jesus is talking about is the hour of Jesus’ death and crucifixion.

A death that would ultimately lead to Jesus’ exaltation and the salvation of His people.

And in the face of that hour, Jesus prays that in His death God would glorify His Name.

That God would reveal His glory… reveal who He is and accomplish all His saving purposes.

And the Father says I have glorified it and will glorify it again.

With these words the Father sets His seal on Christ and His work.

His death and crucifixion would reveal… manifest… and exalt the glory of God.

But how?

To answer that, the first question we need to answer is What is God’s Glory?

Glory

In the Old Testament the word for glory is the Hebrew word Kabod… a word that literally means weight or significance.

A heaviness.

The idea God’s glory is the weight… significance… worthiness of all that God is.

When its used of men, it can refer to their wealth, splendor, honor, or reputation.

In the New Testament the word glory is the Greek word Doxa which has the primary meaning of splendor, brightness, or magnificence.

So God’s glory is the weightiness, the magnificence and the splendor of all that God is.

It is the infinity and totality of all His divine attributes and perfections.

Its His goodness, righteousness, love, holiness, justice, grace and mercy.

We get the sense of it in Psalm 104: Bless the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment…

Describing God’s holiness which is so total, and infinite, and perfect that the Bible says God is light, dwelling in unapproachable light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5, 1 Timothy 6:16).

When you think of God’s glory you can think of all the Awesomeness of God… the infinite greatness of all that God is!

Like a beautiful sunset or a terrifying storm its that thing that makes you stop and go… Wow!

But that’s still “up there” somewhere… it doesn’t really help us get a handle or a grasp on that.

Who is God? What is His glory?

God is glorious but what is so glorious about Him?

When we give God glory, what are we glorifying Him for?

Thankfully, the Bible gives us a clear answer…

And while the infinite glory of an infinitely glorious God cannot be contained in just a few short verses, this is the best definition of the glory of God in all the Bible…

The glory that is most fully and ultimately revealed in Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection.

Turn with me to Exodus 33 and 34.

We are going to look at this in two points.

Number 1. The Name of the LORD Reveals God’s Glory

And Number 2… The Goodness of the LORD Reveals God’s Glory.

I. The Name of the LORD Reveals God’s Glory

Exodus 33-34… this is perhaps my favorite passage in all of Scripture, and most of our time is going to be spent here in point number 1 this morning.

When who is God is the ultimate question of our own purpose and significance, I can’t think of a more important passage then one that describes to us who God is in all of His glory.

In…

Exodus 33:18-20 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

Show me who you are!

And God answered…

Verse 19…

And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.”

So don’t miss this!

Moses asked the Lord to show Him His glory!

And God’s answer was I will make all my goodness pass before you and proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’

So God’s glory is His goodness… and God’s goodness is His Name.

That’s important… we are going to look at it here in a moment.

God’s glory is tied to His Name… and we are going to look at that Name to see what it tells us about God.

For now, what I want you to see is God’s glory is His Name… and His goodness.

“But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”

This is because of our sin.

For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

God is so infinite and glorious in holiness…

And we are so unclean and evil in our sin that the very presence of God would destroy us and consume us in His wrath.

But God… as we saw… is gracious.

He provides a way.

Verse 21…

Exodus 33:21–23 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

Now when God says I will put you in the cleft of the rock and I will cover you with my hand, God is not a giant body with literal giant hands.

God is spirit (John 4:24).

The NT affirms He is invisible (Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 1:17, Hebrews 11:27).

What God is saying is that He would personally protect Moses from sin and death giving us a picture of God’s goodness.

Its the same Idea in Psalm 91 which says He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”…He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge.

Safety… salvation… protection.

A salvation worked and brought about by the Lord’s own hand!

This of course looks forward to Christ who shields us from the death and wrath our sin deserves by His blood on the cross.

And that takes us to Exodus 34 verse 5… where God answers Moses’ prayer, “Show me your glory!”

Exodus 34:5–7 The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

Calvin said this is as clear a definition of God that can be found in the Bible.

(Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology: Revelation and God, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019), 524).

Who is God?

This is it.

This is your answer.

Who do we worship?

The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

So what I want to do is work through this passage systematically… word by word… to see all the glory and goodness of God in all that He is and all that He’s revealed Himself to be.

The glory most fully seen in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Yahweh

First, the Lord, the Lord.

You’ll probably notice that the letters for the Lord are all capitalized.

This is to indicate that this is the Hebrew word Yahweh, which God’s true Name.

You might be thinking to yourself, I never knew God had a Name…

But God does have a Name.

And, His Name is not a random or an insignificant detail.

It carries weight and significance… glory!

So don’t miss this… God’s Name tells us His glory!

Its a Name used more than 6,800 times in the Old Testament, and like most names we find in the Bible, it tells us a great deal of who God is.

So let’s go there.

Let’s go to Exodus 3:13-15 to see what the Lord’s Name, Yahweh, means when God revealed it to Moses at the burning bush.

To give you the context, in Exodus 3:2, we are told that the angel of the Lord appeared to [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.

And when Moses drew near, God said Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground, and Moses was afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:5-6).

But God had called Moses for a purpose and that purpose was to save and deliver His people.

Verses 7-8: The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians (Exodus 3:7–8).

And Moses, I want you to go Pharoah and bring my people up out of Egypt (Exodus 3:11).

And that brings us to verse 13.

Exodus 3:13–15 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.”

The Name Yahweh is related to the Hebrew verb “to be.”

God says The LORD, Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.

So Yahweh is God’s Name, but its meaning and significance is explained in God saying to Moses I AM WHO I AM and I AM has sent me to you using the Hebrew verb “to be” or “exist.”

When God says my Name is Yahweh… I AM WHO I AM… He is simply saying He is the God who is.

Now that might seem simple but as I said its loaded with theological significance.

Now that might seem simple but as I said its loaded with theological significance.

1. Eternity

For one, it communicates His eternity.

God is.

He was not born or created.

He exists eternally with no beginning or ending, completely self-sufficient within Himself.

2. Self-sufficiency/Aseity

That takes us to His self-sufficiency.

God is.

He is not dependent on anyone or anything for His own self-existence.

This is what theologically we call God’s Aseity.

And this might be the most important theological doctrine you’ve never heard of.

MacArthur’s definition of Aseity is “God is independent of all things. He is perfectly self-sufficient, not depending on anything outside himself for anything, and is therefore the eternal, foundational being, the source of life and sustenance for all other beings” (MacArthur, Biblical Doctrine, 168).

As such, God is the source of all life.

He is the fountain of living waters.

All life, all breath, everything comes from Him and depends on Him for their existence.

Acts 17:28 In him we live and move and have our being.

So what is so significant in God’s Aseity or self-sufficiency is that God is the only one that exists in, of and for Himself.

Everything else depends on Him and exists for Him… most importantly including ourselves.

God is the giver of Life.

He is the only one that has life within Himself, and therefore… all of our life belongs to Him… depends on Him… exists for Him.

That means all your life… when we really understand God rightly… is not our own but belongs to Him.

And because it belongs to Him that means all of our life should be lived solely and wholeheartedly for His glory.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

3. Immutability

The Divine Name Yahweh also communicates God’s Immutability.

James 1:17 In Him there is no variation or shadow due to change.

God never changes. He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

He is constant and always the same.

That’s a great comfort to us because God’s love for us doesn’t wax or wane with time or the passing of the day.

Nor do His decrees change nor does God ever change His mind (Numbers 23:19).

He is absolutely true and absolutely trustworthy because He always remains the same.

He is the God who is.

4. Sovereignty

Yahweh speaks to God’s Sovereignty.

God is.

He is not limited by time but rules over it.

He also says I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

God is Almighty and Sovereign and able to accomplish all His holy will.

Isaiah 46:9–10 I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.

God is and because God is… God is absolutely sovereign.

5. Incomparable in Glory

Number 5… Yahweh reveals God’s incomparable glory.

This is from Calvin.

Yahweh means He is the God who is as opposed to the God who is not…

I am he; I am the first, and I am the last (Isaiah 48:12).

He is the one and only true God incomparable in glory and there is no God beside Him.

1 Samuel 2:2 There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

2 Samuel 7:22 Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you.

As the One True God incomparable in glory, this also speaks to God’s infinite perfections.

He is not lacking or growing in any of His divine attributes or character.

In all that He is… God is infinitely, perfectly, and fully.

He is infinitely and perfectly Holy.

Infinitely and perfectly Gracious.

Infinitely and perfectly Love.

Justice… mercy… kindness… and wrath.

The One True God incomparable in glory in all of His perfections.

6. Covenant Lord

Finally… Number 6. the Name Yahweh reveals God as Covenant Keeping Lord of Salvation.

This is seen in the context of Exodus 3-4.

The God who reveals Himself as Yahweh is the LORD the God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:15).

He is the God who keeps His covenant promises.

He is also the LORD who hears the cries of His people and comes down to deliver them (Exodus 3:7).

Yahweh is the God who is absolutely faithful to all His promises, and moves to deliver His people and draw them to Himself.

I will be your God and you will be my people.

That’s Yahweh, the Covenant Lord of our salvation.

Summary

So if we were going to summarize all that we’ve said about the Name Yahweh…

Who is God… what is the glory of all that He has revealed Himself to be?

Who are we worshiping when we come to worship Yahweh?

I would say Yahweh proclaims the glory of God as Sovereign, Almighty, Eternal God and Covenant Keeping Lord of Salvation.

Its a Name that all at once reflects God’s Lordship and Steadfast Love.

Who is God?

Sovereign, Almighty, Eternal God and Covenant Keeping Lord.

No wonder God says This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations (Exodus 3:15).

This gives whole new meaning to the 3rd commandment doesn’t it?

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain (Exodus 20:7).

Do you honor the Lord’s Name as Holy?

Sovereign, Almighty, Eternal God and Covenant Keeping Lord?

Is that the God you worship?

If it was… what would your life look like?

Burning Bush

This by the way is why I think God appeared to Moses in a burning bush.

(Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology: Revelation and God, vol. 1, 561).

Have you ever wondered that?

What did God speak to Moses in a burning bush?

I think God was showing him… I AM… Yahweh.

In the burning bush, there was a fire, but yet the bush was not consumed.

It was brilliantly bright… glorious… to where Moses had to hide His face.

And it burned of its own self-sufficient inexhaustible energy by its own Almighty power.

As long as the Lord was there it was an eternal flame.

Sovereign, Almighty, Eternal God.

And yet this bush did not appear in the heavens far off… but drew near.

At the burning bush… God met with a man.

And when God’s holiness kept him back… He provided away…

Remove your shoes for the place on which you stand is holy ground.

Promising to go with Moses to deliver His people.

Covenant Keeping Lord of our Salvation.

Compounds

And you want to know what’s really cool?

Like I said, Yahweh is the most common name for God in the Old Testament… and when you take God’s Name in the whole revelation of Scripture… both Old and New Testament together, Yahweh refers to the whole Trinity.

When we worship Yahweh we Worship the LORD, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The clearest place to see this is Matthew 28:19 Baptizing them in the Name (singular) of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (plural… all three).

But not only that… Throughout the Old Testament God reveals who He is through the compounds of His Name.

By taking His Name and combining it with something God is or God does (MacArthur, Biblical Doctrine, 156-157).

We don’t have time to look at them all in detail but you have:

The LORD of hosts… or the Lord of armies… the great Lord who governs and rules all things able to accomplish all His purposes (Psalm 24:10).

The LORD will provide referring to God providing a substitute for Isaac looking forward to Christ (Genesis 22:14).

The LORD your healer… who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases (Exodus 15:26 Psalm 103:3).

The LORD my Banner… the one who leads HIs people to victory over their enemies (Exodus 17:15).

The LORD who sanctifies his people (Exodus 31:13).

The LORD is Peace who delivers them into a life of wholeness… well being… and blessing (Judges 6:14).

The LORD is my Shepherd… the Good Shepherd who provides… guides… and protects the sheep of His fold.

The LORD our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5-6).

And the LORD is There (Ezekiel 48:35). Its wonky in English but basically God dwelling in the midst of HIs people… I will be your God and you will be my people.

Yahweh the LORD all things accomplished and fulled in Christ!

Its no coincidence Jesus said in John 8:58 Before Abraham was, I am.

He is Yahweh God incarnate in human flesh.

(Beeke, Reformed Systematic Theology: Revelation and God, vol. 1., 561).

If you’re in Christ this is who God is for you.

He is your Healer.

Your Banner leading you to victory over your enemies.

Your Peace. Shepherd. Lord of Hosts who can do and overcome all things.

And He is There. He is your God and you are His people all because of and in Christ.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature (Hebrews 1:3).

All this makes that verse carry a little more weight doesn’t it?

In Jesus we see all the glory of Yahweh!

And then Jesus Himself even gives us a picture of the glory of Yahweh.

I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35).

The Light of the World (John 8:12).

The Door of the Sheep (John 10:7,9).

The Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14).

The Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25).

The Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).

The True Vine who gives life to all who are in me (John 15:1, 5).

Transition

The glory of the LORD is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Remember how God said no man shall see my face and live?

In Christ we draw near to know, worship, and love the One True God.

The Sovereign Almighty Eternal God and Covenant Keeping Lord.

The Name of the LORD reveals God’s glory.

Number 2, going back to Exodus 34…

II. The Goodness of the LORD Reveals God’s Glory

God didn’t just say I will proclaim my Name before you but also I will make my goodness pass before you.

What is God’s goodness?

Exodus 34:6-7 “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.

The LORD, the LORD

The LORD, the LORD.

The double repetition of someone’s name is something that communicates nearness, intimacy, and relationship.

A personal concern, and loving care (Matthew 23:37, 2 Samuel 18:33).

And so when God proclaims His Name… the LORD, the LORD… He’s saying I’m your dear God.

Your Near God.

Your God! And your my people.

Merciful

And then He says a God Merciful and Gracious.

God’s mercy is His compassion and pity on those in a miserable state.

Think of the Good Samaritan who stops to help the man who is beaten, robbed, and left for dead.

That is God to us.

The word is related to the Hebrew word for Womb to express the love and care a mother, or a father… has for their child.

Its the idea of Psalm 103 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust (Psalm 103:13-14).

And God is so glorious in His mercyHe is called the Father of mercies and we are told that His mercy is so great that His mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning (2 Cor 1:3, Lam. 3:22).

Gracious

God is Gracious.

This is God’s unmerited kindness and favor.

His absolute goodness poured out on people who do not deserve it.

Its God’s love in action to bless those God’s love is set upon.

Slow to Anger

Slow to anger.

This is God’s long suffering.

Paul called it God’s perfect patience towards the elect (1 Timothy 1:16).

Even in the face of our sin, God’s keeps His steadfast love for us.

Abounding in Steadfast Love and Faithfulness

Abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Abounding is great… rich… overflowing steadfast love and faithfulness.

And Steadfast Love is ‌the Hebrew word for God’s covenant love… His enduring Love… …His forever and faithful love.

That’s faithfulness.

Trustworthy and true.

Absolutely dependable.

The One True Rock you can build your life on (Deuteronomy 32:4, 31, 37).

Keeping Steadfast Love

Keeping steadfast love.

Not only does God about in Steadfast Covenant Love but He continues in steadfast covenant love forever.

That’s the for thousands.

It can be a number signifying wholeness or completeness… as in God’s keeps steadfast love for all who trust in Him.

Or it can be God keeping steadfast love for a thousand generations… not in the sense that at a thousand and 1 its cut off… but forever and ever.

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Not Clearing the Guilty

And finally…. forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin… basically saying all of our sin no matter what they are.

Iniquity is the picture of ground in dirt.

Its our fallen sinful nature.

Transgression is our active and willful breaking of God’s law.

And Sin is a catch all for all the ways we fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

But who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.

This exalts God’s justice.

What this isn’t saying is that God punishes children and grandchildren from something their fathers did.

This would contradict God’s own Law in Deuteronomy 24 and Ezekiel 18:20 which says Ezekiel 18:20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself (Deuteronomy 24:16).

Rather looking at the parallel passage in Exodus 20:5–6 where God qualifies the third and fourth generation as those who hate me while showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

The third and fourth generation is a Hebrew idiom or figure or speech that simply means whatever number or however many generations who hate me and persist in the sins of their fathers refusing to come to repentance.

So what God is saying is He will surely judge and visit the iniquity on all those who hate Him and refuse to repent of their sin.

And everyone… every generation and every person in a generation will be accountable for their own sin no matter what they learned from their father.

Ignorance will not be an excuse.

No one will be able to go to God and say, “But I didn’t know any better.”

God will judge everyone in their sin

In contrast… for all those who repent… God will keep His steadfast love for a thousand generations…

Or in other words… forever and ever.

So what God is saying is God will surely forgive all those who repent and trust in Christ, but He will by no means clear the guilty and unrepentant (Joel 2:12-13, Jonah 3:10-4:2).

All who refuse to come to Him will surely perish in their sins.

Because God is holy, just, righteous, and good… sin must be paid.

He cannot just sweep it under the rug.

It must either be paid by Christ in His death on the cross or by the sinner in Hell for all eternity.

So God’s goodness… His glory… is His mercy, steadfast love, and grace in the salvation of sinners…

And His holiness, righteousness, and justice against sin.

Just/Justifier

And again a goodness that revealed and exalted in the person and work of Christ.

Just as Christ is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature in revealing the Name Yahweh…

He is also the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature in revealing His goodness.

His mercy, grace, forgiveness steadfast love and faithfulness towards sinners while at the same time upholding His perfect righteousness, holiness, and justice, in His death on the cross.

Jesus said Father glorify your Name with this Hour and God said I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.

At the Cross, Christ revealed the glory and the grace of the Father.

God is both Just and Justifier of the One who trusts in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

All that God is as Yahweh in all His goodness…

His kindness, love, mercy, and grace towards sinners is revealed In Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection.

At the cross God made Him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21).

All our sin was laid on Him and Jesus drank the cup of God’s wrath down to the dregs (Psalm 75:8, Luke 22:42-44)..

He became a curse for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Galatians 3:13, 2 Corinthians 5:21).

In Christ, the goodness of God forgave all our sins once and for all then clothes us Christ own perfect righteousness covering our nakedness and shame.

Hiding us in the cleft of the Rock and covering us with His Hand.

God is Just and justifier of the one who trusts in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

God punished sin, and gave us the fullness of salvation by grace through faith in Him.

In Christ and only in Christ can we know, love, and worship God the One True God…

And know Him personally as The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.

On the cross, at His, in His person and work… Jesus glorified God’s Name.

He revealed and exalted His holy righteousness, judgment and wrath.

He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:5-6).

And He revealed God’s love, mercy, and grace.

While we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

In Him God is both just [the One who punishes sin who will by no means clear the guilty] and justifier [the One who forgives it all our iniquity, and transgression and sin] for the one who has faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26).

And what was Moses’ response to seeing God’s glory?

Of God’s holiness, righteousness and justice and God’s mercy, grace, and steadfast love to sinners?

The same response that should be our all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength response.

And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped (Exodus 34:8).

Immediate… Humble… Heartfelt love and adoration for the One True God.

Conclusion

Show me your glory!

That’s the glory of God’s Name.

That’s the God we worship.

Yahweh God… Sovereign, Almighty, Eternal God and Covenant Keeping Lord.

Or as John said…

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Steadfast Love and Faithfulness.

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace (John 1:14-17).

The fullness of grace and salvation from all our sins.

The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Let’s Pray