December 28

12 And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people; and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.

13 Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight, and consider that this nation is thy people.

14 And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.

15 And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.

16 For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.

17 And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do

this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.

18 And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.

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 shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy.

20 And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

21 And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock:

22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by:

23 And I will take away nine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts; but my face shall not be seen.

"I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in My sight" (verse 12).

"God takes a living, personal, peculiar interest in each redeemed soul; bending over it continually with infinite tenderness; watching each doubt, each fear, each trial, each temptation, each fall, each rising again, each conflict, each victory, each defeat; watching each and all with a solicitude as special and particular as if it were upon it that the exclusive regards of His loving heart were fixed."—Hanna.

"And He said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest" (verse 14). No one can safely go through life, with its dangers, its enemies, its conflicts, its unknown future, without the abiding presence of God. But God is with those who trust in Him; and what or whom shall we fear when God is with us? Brother, when you do not know your way, ask your guide. Stand still and pray. If you cannot find the way upon the chart, commit yourself to the divine guidance of prayer. Down on your knees, and cry to the Lord!

"I beseech thee show me Thy glory." Moses had seen so much of God's glory, witnessed so much of His grace, that he thirsted for more. He prayed for an unveiled sight of God's glory. This is the boldest prayer on record. We can scarcely realize the magnitude of it. God was not displeased with this great prayer, though it was one that could not be fully answered, at least at that time. Some prayers are not possible of answers. This was one of them. Not because God is not willing to do "for us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think," but because we are not able to bear the answer.

In the last three verses of the chapter God shows him how He will reveal Himself. "Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock." That place "by" Him, and that "rock," is Christ. In Him only can we draw nigh to God, and only as we stand on Him can we see the vision of God's glory in grace. "I will put thee in a cleft in the rock." Alone, we could not live in the presence of God's glory; but hidden in Christ, we may live and behold the glory.

Closet Promise.—My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.—Ex. xxxiii. 14.

How shall we rest in God? By giving ourselves wholly to Him. If you give yourself by halves, you cannot find full rest; there will ever be a lurking disquiet in that half which is withheld. Martyrs, confessors, and saints have tasted this rest, and "counted themselves happy in that they endured." A countless host of God's faithful servants have drunk deeply of it under the daily burden of a weary life—dull, commonplace, painful, or desolate. All that God has been to them He is ready to be to you. The heart once fairly given to God, with a clear conscience, a fitting rule of life, and a steadfast purpose of obedience, you will find a wonderful sense of rest coming over you.—Jean Nicolas Grau.