Commentary on Genesis and Exodus, Chapter 33 · Questions · Question 37 – Question 38
QUEST. XXXVII. What the Lord meaneth by All my good.
Vers. 19. I Will make all my good goe before thee. 1. Some by all my good, understand all Gods creatures, which he saw in the creating of them to be good, and those hee caused to come before Moses, that in them hee might behold the glorie of God, ex Simlero. But Moses which had writ the storie of the creation, therein had seene and considered Gods power before: and this is a common and ordinarie knowledge of God by his creatures: but here Moses craveth an extraordinarie demonstration of his glorie.
2. Tostatus by all the Lords good, understandeth the divers kindes of good things, bonum spirituale, both the spirituall good, which was the divine essence of God, & bonum corporale, a corporall good, which was a most glorious lightsome body, both which the Lord shewed unto Moses, quest. 18. But although it bee true, that Moses both inwardly in his minde, and outwardly with the eyes of his body, did see Gods glorie, yet the Divine Essence hee saw not; for no man can see God and live, as the Lord himselfe saith.
3. Ferus giveth this sense: thou needest not looke so high as unto my essence, inspice opera mea, inspice bon…, quae tibi feci & faciam, looke unto my workes, looke unto those good things which I have done for thee, and meane yet to doe, &c. But this sight and experience Moses had of the Lord before: he desireth to see him now in an extraordinarie manner and measure.
4. Lippoman followeth the same sense: Omne bonum meum, quote donabo & istum populum, oculis tui… videbis; All my good, which I will bestow upon thee and this people, thou shalt see with thine eyes. But the demonstration here made of Gods glorie, was presently done: it cannot therefore bee referred to the benefits which the Lord intended afterward to bestow.
5. Some doe understand it of the life to come; Requiem aternam dabo tibi, in qua est omne bonum in visione Dei, &c. I will give thee everlasting rest, wherein there is all good in the sight of God, Gloss. interlin. Hugo de S. Victor.
Lib. 3. cont. Gent. cap. 63.So also Thomas Aquinas sheweth at large, how in illa foelicitate, quae provenit ex divina visione, &c. in that felicitie and happinesse, which commeth of the vision of God, all humane desire shall bee satisfied, and so God will shew them all his good: 1. Est quoddam hamanum desiderium intellectuale; There is a certaine intellectuall desire of man in the knowledge of the truth which shall then be satisfied. 2. Est quoddam desiderium rationale; A certaine desire grounded on reason, as in attaining unto morall vertues: this shall also then be filled, when as reason shall be perfect without errour. 3. There is in a civill life desired honour, and then shall they reigne with Christ. 4. And another thing is here desired, fama celebritas, renowne and fame: and then the blessed Saints shall be famous in heaven. 5. Another thing here desired is riches: and that blessed estate, est omnium bonorum sufficientia, there is a sufficiencie of all good things. 6. There is also delectatio perfectissi…, most perfect delight, which is another thing sought for here. 7. There is also a common naturall desire in everie thing to desire it owne conservation, which then shall most abundantly be satisfied in everlasting perpetuitie, which is subject to no change. In this manner he sheweth how the Lord will shew all his good in the next life. But the Lords promise being here presently performed, that what Moses desired, the Lord in part promised, and what he promised, he at this time shewed and effected: it cannot conveniently be put off to the future time.
6. Cajetan understandeth all this good, to be all those good things, qua continentur in ipso Deo, which are contained in God, as his power, wisdome, goodnesse, justice, which the Lord proclaimed before Moses: as all those epithets are ascribed unto God in the next chapter, vers. 6. So also Osiander: Revelabo tibi in verbo bonita…em; I will reveale unto t…e my goodnesse in word: that by his eares; rather than his eyes, hee should know God. But it is evident in that the Lord granted Moses to see his backe parts, vers. 23. though hee could not see his face: that hee saw as well a vision with his eyes, as heard a voice with his eares.
7. Therefore by Gods goodnesse here is understood his glorie, as vers. 22. while my glorie passeth by: so the Septuagint and Chalde translate here: so expound R. Salom. Procop. Lyranus, Iun. Borrh. Oleaster giveth this interpretation, I will cause to passe by all my good, that is, meipsum, in quo sunt omnia b…na, my selfe, in whom all good things are, which also shall be expressed by voice, &c. So that as Calvin well noteth: Quamvis exhibita fuerit oculis visio, praecipuas tamen partes fuisse in voce; Although there was a vision exhibited to the sight, yet the greatest matter was the voice, &c. Therefore God both to the sight and hearing of Moses made some demonstration of his goodnesse and glorie, ut omnes ejus sensus percellantur, that all his senses might bee moved, Marbach. Cum oculis Mosis se signum objecturum promi…tit, tum additurum vocem, &c. He promiseth both to object some visible signe to his eye, and beside to adde a voice, Gallas.
QUEST. XXXVIII. How the Lord is said to passe by, and why.
Vers. 19. I Will cause all my good to passe before thy face. 1. The Latine Translator readeth: Ego ostendam, I will shew all my good: but the Lord saith not so, for he did not shew unto Moses all his goodnesse; his face he did not shew, neither was Moses able to see it. The Lord only saith, I will cause to passe by, that is, I will shew, vestigia tantum meorum bonorum, onelyonly certaine footsteps, and markes or signes of my goodnesse, Vatab.
2. In that he saith, I will cause to passe by, it sheweth that it was but a transitorie vision; Transitus significat visionem exigui temporis; The passing by signifieth, that it should bee but a vision of a short time, Calvin. Non sic, ut in illud figi posset intuitus videntis; not so, as if he that seeth could fasten his eyes upon it, but as one that hastily passeth by, Cajetan.
3. Who further noteth another circumstance, the preposition here used, gnal ▪ signifieth above thy face, rather than before: those things which are above us, we see onelyonly on the one side, that which is next below: a full sight we cannot have of those things which are above.
4. The like transitorie sight and glimpse, as it were of the divine glorie, is set forth afterward by the like circumstances, as that God will put Moses in a cleft of a rocke, hee shall see but as thorow a crevie or small hole; then God will cover him with his hand, and he will speedily passe by, and in this manner hee will but see his back-parts: all this sheweth that Moses should not have a full and perfect sight of Gods glorie, but in part onelyonly, and in some small measure.
5. Procopius straineth this sense, I will cause my glorie to passe before thee: Tu post gloriam meam, quae ab aeterna est, creatus es; Thou wast created after my glorie, which was from all eternitie: or I will goe before with my glorie, & tu sequeris ut famulum decet, &c. and thou shalt follow as it becommeth a servant. But the Lord speaketh not here of any such transition of his glorie from the beginning, but his passing by at this time: neither did Moses follow when God passed by, but was still in the cleft of the rocke.
6. Augustine understandeth it mystically, of Christs passing out of this world to his Father:Qu…st. 154. in Exod. Ipse anto omnes Sanctos transit ad Patrem; He before all his Saints passed out of this world to his Father: although this may be typically so applyed, yet there is beside an historicall sense, how at this time the Lord passed by Moses in his glorie.