Commentary on Genesis and Exodus, Chapter 33 · Questions · Question 49 – Question 53
QUEST. XLIX. Of the meaning of these words, No man shall see me and live.
Vers. 20. THere shall no man see me and live. 1. Gregorie Nyssenus giveth this sense of this place, not that the sight of that glorious face should be the cause of death: Nam quomodo vitae facies, causa mortis esse poterit? For how should the face of life be the cause of death to those that approach or come neere unto it? But to shew, because the divine nature exceedeth all knowledge, that he which thinketh God to be any of those things, which are seene and knowne, vitam non habet, hath no life: Non est ergo vita quod cognoscitur; That then is not life, which is seene or knowne, and so cannot give life, &c. Hee maketh then in effect, this to be the meaning of these words, No man shall see me and live: thinke not that, which thou seest of one, to be God able to give life. But the Lord speaketh here, not of any inward opinion, but of the present sight and contemplation of God, which Moses decreed: and by face, he meaneth not any thing beside himselfe, that is seene of him, but his essence and nature, that which himselfe is: no man can see that, and live.
2. Procopius seemeth to approve this sense, that they which live here according to the flesh, cannot see God: but they may see him, Non secundum carnem ambulantes; Which walke not according to the flesh.
But Procopius may answer himselfe by a distinction, that there is, prima Dei facies, the first face of God, which is his divine essence, which is indeed invisible, & ne…ini mortalium visa, and never seene of any mortall creature: there is, secunda Dei facies, as second face of God, which is his grace and favour, which is seene by faith: of this sight of God our blessed Saviour speaketh, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God, &c. But the Lord speaketh here of the sight of his first face, which is invisible, for Moses lived not according to the flesh, and yet he is denied this sight; and afterward he is granted to see the back-parts, which he could not have seene, if he had beene carnall, not spirituall.
3. Rupertus thinketh, that as before the Lord spake unto Moses in the person of the people, Pro parte electorum; In respect of the elect among them; I will cause all my good to goe before thee: so he speaketh this, pro parte reproborum, in regard of the reprobate and wicked among them, that they should not see Gods glorie, and live: because they were appointed to die.
So Rupertus maketh the force of this speech, to consist in the word Then, thou canst not see my face, that is, the wicked and unbeleevers among the people. But this exposition cannot stand. 1. Because the reason is generall, No man shall see me, and live: no man whatsoeve… 2. The emphasis lyeth in the word face, for his back-parts it is granted Moses to see. 3. And the Lord meaneth here Moses person, not in him the person of the people; as the whole narration following sheweth, how the Lord would put Moses in a cleft of a rocke, and cover him with his hand, while he passed by, &c.
4. Another exposition is this: Qui ex opposito Deum aspicit, non vivet; He which doth see Gods face, as opposite, and comming against him, shall not live: Discat homo Deum sequi; Let a man seeke to follow God, &c. not as it were to meet God in the face, or to oppose himselfe against him: for vice is opposite to vertue. So also Gregor. Nyssen.
Epis…l. 112.5. Augustine thus interpreteth: No man can see God and live: Nemo potest eum in hac vita videre vivens sicuti est; No man can see him while he liveth in this life, as he is,. So also Lyranus, Vatab. Iun. annot. But th…n this should onelyonly be a repetition of the same thing: Thou canst not see my face, for no man living can see my face. It better containeth a reason of the Lords former answer, why Moses could not see Gods face and glorie, Quia non expediebat; because it was not expedient, Iun. in Analys. quia exitiale foret; because it would be to his destruction, Calvin.
6. Wherefore, as Gallasius well noteth: Rationem subjungit, &c. God adjoyneth a reason, why Moses would not see Gods face, because such is the imbecillitie of mans nature, Vt pracelsam ejus splendorem sustinere neque…t, that it is not able to sustaine or indure his excellent brightnesse, &c. This then is set downe, as an effect or consequent of the seeing of Gods face, that it would so oppresse them, and astonish them, that they could not live after. And that this is the meaning, it appeareth both by Iacobs speech, that counted it as a singular benefit,Gen. 32.30. that he had seene God face to face, and yet his life was preserved: yet indeed Iacob had not seene the very divine essence at that time. So Manoah Sampsons father said to his wife, We shall surely die, Iud. 13.21.because we have seene God; they thought they had seene God, whereas it was an Angell onelyonly which they saw. But yet by these examples it appeareth, how they did understand this saying, No man can see God, and live: Neminem posse citra mortem Deum facie ad faciem videre; That no man without perill of death, can see God face to face, Oleaster.
Irenaeus also confirmeth this sense out of the new Testament, as Iohn saith, when he saw that vision, Apoc. 1. vers. 17.Lib. 4. advers. haeres. Valentin. cap. 37. I fell at his feet as dead, ut fieret, quod scriptum est; that it might be fulfilled, as it is written, No man can see God and live.
Ambrose well giveth the reason hereof: Si Solis radios oculi nostri ferre non possunt, &c. If our eyes cannot indure the sight of the Sun beames,Lib. de bon. mor. cap. 12. if one creature cannot behold another, sine offensione sui, without hurt of it selfe, how can any, fine periculo sui, without great danger unto himselfe, behold the glistring countenance of his Creator? Fulgor ille tantae Majestatis nos in nihilum redigeret; The brightnesse of so great a Majestie would bring us to nothing, Calvin. Simler.
7. Tostatus alloweth this sense: Immediate ut viderit, morietur; Whosoever should see Gods face, should immediately die after it. But he restraineth it onelyonly to the sight of the bodie, because the eye could not indure to behold such an excellent object: but he saith, it cannot be understood of the seeing of the divine essence in the soule: for that, Non causat aliquam passionem in corpore: for the inward and intellectuall sight, doth not cause such a passion in the bodie, as wherewith the harmonie thereof should be dissolved, qu. 18.
Contra. 1. As though the soule of man may not be as well oppressed, and astonished with an excellent intellectuall object, such as is the essence of God, as the bodily sight may be with a sensible object? 2. And the astonishment of the soule, may also worke upon the bodie; as we see, when the soule is with griefe and care oppressed, the bodie also is therewith affected. 3. Cajetan hereof thus noteth: Quamvis excellens intelligibile non corrumpat intellectum, sed confortet illum, est tamen illi improportionatum, & excedit capacitatem illius, & hoc est opprimere illum: Though an excellent intellectuall object, doe not corrupt or destroy the understanding, but comforteth it, yet it is unproportionable to it, and exceedeth the capacitie thereof, and so doth in a manner oppresse it, &c.
QUEST. L. What place this was in the rocke, which the Lord here speaketh of.
Vers. 21. BEhold there is a place by me, &c. Thou shalt stand upon a rocke, &c. 1. Cajetan understandeth this place in the rocke, in a spirituall sense: Moses erecta & fixa mente elevatus, that Moses as it were lifted up with a setled and upright minde, &c. should addresse himselfe to this vision.
2. Procopius thus understandeth, Petra est Christus, & hac petra est locus apud Deum; The rocke is Christ, and this rock is that place with God, as our blessed Saviour saith, He that seeth me, seeth my father.
3. Augustine will not have it understood of any materiall place: Qui enim locus non penes Deum est? Quaest. 154.For what place is there not with God? who is every where present: Ecclesiam ergo significat; He therefore hereby signifieth his Church.
4. But it is evident by this whole description, that the Lord meaneth the very rocke in Horeb, where Moses should be set, In rupe qua sole… apparere; in the rocke where I used to appeare unto thee, Vatab. In monte Sinai, ubi consuevi tibi loqui; In mount Sinai, where I use to speake unto thee, Lyran. Tostat. So also Chrysostom, Vidit & Moses, sed extra per cavernam & in petra; Moses also saw God,In Serm. de Spirit. sanct. but outwardly in a rocke thorow a cleft.
5. Fuit hac petra corporea; This was indeed a materiall rocke, in a cleft whereof Moses was put, but it signifieth the true rocke Christ, by whom we attaine to the true knowledge of God.
QUEST. LI. How the Lord is said to cover Moses with his hand.
Vers. 22. I Will cover thee with my hand, &c. 1. Gregorius Nyssenus thus expoundeth these words: Qui ad Christum pervenit manu Dei tectus est, manus autem Dei creatrix omnium rerum virtus; He that is come unto Christ is covered, as with Gods hand: and Gods hand is the power, wherewith all things are created: but this sense cannot stand; for the Lord doth not remove his hand or protection from them, which are placed in the true rocke Christ, as the Lord is said here to remove his hand from Moses.
2. Pelargus understandeth the removing of the hand, De collapsione politiae Mosaicae post adventum Christi, of the removing and falling of the politike state of Moses common-wealth, after the comming of Christ. But the text describeth a thing now presently done.
3. Simlerus thinketh it is but a phrase of speech, as we use to put our hand before our eyes, when we looke upon the Sun: Sic oculi Mosis teguntur; so Moses eyes are hid, that they should not be dazled with Gods glorie. So Iunius taketh it to be, humanitus dictum, to be spoken according to the use of men, I will hide thine eyes.
4. Tostatus thinketh it was, quaedam nubes densa, a certaine thicke cloud, which covered the hole of the rocke, till the Lord passed by, qu…st. 19. So also Calvin; Dei manus pro caligine accipitur, &c. The hand of God is taken for a mist, and darknesse put before Moses eyes, that they might not be intent curiously to looke further than was meet.
5. But there is nothing to the contrarie, why this may not be added further, that this cloud put before Moses eyes, might not also have as it were the fashion of an hand: Ponam quasi figuram manus mea super te; I will put as it were the figure of my hand upon thee and hide thine eyes, Lippom. not that the hand of that glorious bodie, the back-parts whereof Moses saw, did cover Moses eyes: for it being also lightsome like unto the rest of that heavenly bodie, could not hide his eyes: and Moses should first have seene the face and countenance of that bodie, before the hand had beene laid upon his eyes. But it was some cloud or thicknesse of the eyes, which might be spread upon Moses face as an hand.
QUEST. LII. Why the Lord covered Moses with hi… hand.
ANd though Moses was put into the cleft of the rocke, yet it was necessary that his eyes should be hid by such meanes, from seeing the glorious face of the bodie appearing: 1. For neither could the cleft of the rocke so hinder Moses sight, but that as the Lord passed by in tha… place where the hole was, his face also should have beene seene. 2. And if Moses had shadowed his eyes with his owne hand, it had not been so safe: for he might have removed it as soone as he heard the voice. 3. Neither was the hearing of the voice a sufficient direction, when Moses should looke out: for either he might have beheld this glorious fight too soone, before the Lord was passed by, or staied too long: therefore it was requisite that some such covering should be put before his eyes, that by the removing thereof hee might know when it was lawfull for him to looke, Tostat. qu. 20.
QUEST. LIII. Why the Lord put Moses in the cleft of the rocke.
BY the cleft of the rocke, wherein Moses was put: 1. Theodoret understandeth, fidei oculum; &c. the eye of faith, whereby we understand those things which cannot be seene with corporall eyes. 2. Rupertus thus interpreteth, Ponam te in foramine petra, id est, omnem verum Israelitum in fide passionis mea; I will put thee in the hole of the rocke, that is, every faithfull Israelite in the faith of my passion.
3. Hierom thus applieth it, Petra ref…gium leporibus est, &c. The rocke is a refuge to Gonies,In Matth. cap. …. and Hares: Timidum animal in petrae cavernas se recipit; A fearfull beast doth betake it selfe to the holes of the rocke. So Moses fleeing out of Egypt, Lepusculus Domini erat; was as the Lords Hare.
4. But that other application of Hierom is more fit: Vnaquaeque anima per foramen, & quosdam tenebrosas cavernat aspicit veritatem; Every soule by certaine holes and darke cranies seeth the truth.In Ecclesiast. cap. 12.
5. Lippoman maketh this collection: I will reveale my selfe before thee in great majestie: Ac ne prae ea concidas, ponam te inforamine petrae, ut firmus constes; And lest thou shouldest be cast downe by it, I will put thee in an hole of the rocke, that thou mayst stand strongly. And to the same purpose Gallasius: Deus apponit manum, ut infirmitatem sublevet; God putteth to his hand, to helpe his infirmitie. Simlerus addeth further, that he was put in the hole of the rocke, ne absorbeatur ab immensa Dei luce; lest he should be swallowed up of the exceeding great glorie of God, as he… passed by.
6. But the proper historicall meaning thereof was, because God would not have Moses to see the forepart of that glorious bodie, which should passe by: if he had beene abroad he might have chanced to see his glorious countenance; but being set in the rocke, Solum poterat videre ad unam differentiam positionis; he could but see one way, toward the cleft or hole of the rocke, Tost. q. 18. which sense is touched by Chrysostom before. qu. 50. And hereby mystically also is insinuated: Quod Dei cognitio continget exigua tantum ex parte, &c. that the knowledge of God is but in a very small part attained unto, while we live here, Siml.