500; THE GLORY OF CHRIST AS GOD -MAN. to him : And though it be said ; Deut. xxxiv. 10. "There arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face toface," yet we know that the same expression is used concerning the people of Israel ; Deut. v. 4. " The Lord talked with you face to face in the Mount out of the midst of the fire." Therefore this can mean no more than that God spake with Moses and with the people asone man does to another, when they mutually see each other's faces; though the favour and intimacy to which Moses was admitted, was much greater than what God bestowed on the people; because Moses held long dialogues with God several times, and could go and askhim anything, almostupon every occasion. But stillit seems proba- ble, Í think, that Moses never saw any human face inhis con- verses with God for when Moses in Exod. xxxiii. 18. desired to see the glory of God, God denied his request, and said, Thou carat not see mÿ face, for there shall no man see me and live Upon the whole therefore, this expression face to face, in these texts,, must signify no more, than a condescending manner of conversing with men by a voice, as one man converses with ano- ther, when they see each other's faces : though it is abundantly evident that some of the more ancient patriarchs conversed with God in the form of a man, and probably saw a human face at least in a confused vision, and as hasbeen before declared. Yet there remains some difficulty still in what sense God said, Thou canst not see my face for there shall no man see me and live, when it is probable that Abraham and Jacob long before, and afterward Joshua and Gideon saw the face of that angel who is called Jehovah : and my reason for it is this, because they took him to be a man when they first saw and spake with' him, and therefore at first perhaps there was no peculiar lustre of glory, or cloud to conceal his face and distinguish him from a common man. Answer 1. It is granted that this expression cannot signify that no living man should ever see an apparition of God with a human face, at least in a general glimpse, for the reasons which are just now, mentioned. 2. Nor can this awful expression of " not seeing the face of God and live," signify that,no living man can see theessence of God as he is a spirit, and invisibleto bodily eyes ; for in this sense angels and human souls are invi- sible as well as God himself. Therefore, 3. I think it must in- tend that no man in this mortal state can bear the sight of such intense rays of light and glory as perhaps he assumes in heaven, and as would become the great God to assume on earth, if he; appeared in all the corporeal splendor due to divine majesty appearing among men as in Christ's appeareance to John ;. Rev. . i. 17. he fell down as dead ; And this exposition is yet more pro bable, if we consider that St. Paul describes God, as dwelling in
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