Holiness and Glory.
'Who is like unto Thee, O Lord! among the gods?
Who is like unto Thee, _glorious in holiness_,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Thou in Thy mercy hast led Thy people which Thou hast redeemed:
Thou hast guided them in Thy strength to the habitation of
_Thy holiness_ ...
_The holy place_, O Lord, which Thy hands have established.'
--Ex. xv. 11-17.
In these words we have another step in advance in the revelation of
Holiness. We have here for the first time Holiness predicated of God
Himself. _He is_ glorious in holiness: and it is to the dwelling-place
of _His Holiness_ that He is guiding His people.
Let us first note the expression used here: glorious in holiness.
Throughout Scripture we find the glory and the holiness of God mentioned
together. In Ex. xxix. 43 we read, 'And the tent shall be _made holy_ by
my _glory_,' that glory of the Lord of which we afterwards read that it
filled the house. The glory of an object, of a thing or person, is its
intrinsic worth or excellence: to glorify is to remove everything that
could hinder the full revelation of that excellence. In the Holiness of
God His glory is hidden; in the glory of God His Holiness is manifested:
His glory, the revelation of Himself as the Holy One, would make the
house holy. In the same way the two are connected in Lev. x. 3, 'I will
be _sanctified_ in them that come nigh unto me, and before all the
people I will be _glorified_.' The acknowledgment of His Holiness in the
priests would be the manifestation of His glory to the people. So, too,
in the song of the Seraphim (Isa. vi. 3), '_Holy, holy, holy_, Lord God
of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His _glory_.' God is He who
dwelleth in a light that is unapproachable, whom no man hath seen or can
see: it is the _light_ of the knowledge of the _glory_ of God that He
gives into our hearts. The glory is that which can be seen and known of
the invisible and unapproachable light: that light itself, and the
glorious fire of which that light is the shining out, that light is the
Holiness of God. Holiness is not so much an attribute of God, as the
comprehensive summary of all His perfections.
It is on the shore of the Red Sea that Israel thus praises God: 'Who is
like unto Thee, O Lord! Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness?' He
is the Incomparable One, there is none like Him. And wherein has He
proved this, and revealed the glory of His Holiness? With Moses in
Horeb we saw God's glory in the fire, in its double aspect of salvation
and destruction: consuming what could not be purified, purifying what
was not consumed. We see it here too in the song of Moses: Israel sings
of judgment and of mercy. The pillar of fire and of the cloud came
between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel: it was a cloud
and darkness to those, but it gave light by night to these. The two
thoughts run through the whole song. But in the two verses that follow
the ascription of holiness, we find the sum of the whole. 'Thou
stretchedst out Thy right hand: the earth swallowed them.' 'The Lord
looked forth upon the host of the Egyptians from the pillar of fire and
discomfited them.' This is the glory of Holiness as judgment and
destruction of the enemy. 'Thou in Thy mercy hast led _Thy people_ which
thou hast redeemed. Thou hast guided _them_ in Thy strength to the
habitation of Thy Holiness.' This is the glory of Holiness in mercy and
redemption--a Holiness that not only delivers but guides to the
habitation of holiness, where the Holy One is to dwell with and in His
people. In the inspiration of the hour of triumph it is thus early
revealed that the great object and fruit of redemption, as wrought out
by the Holy One, is to be His indwelling: with nothing short of this can
the Holy One rest content, or the full glory of His Holiness be made
manifest.
And now, observe further, how, as it is in the redemption of His people
that God's Holiness is revealed, so it is in the song of redemption that
the personal ascription of Holiness to God is found. We know how in
Scripture, after some striking special interposition of God as Redeemer,
the special influence of the Spirit is manifested in some song of
praise. It is remarkable how it is in these outbursts of holy
enthusiasm, God is praised as the Holy One. See it in the song of Hannah
(1 Sam. ii. 2), 'There is none holy as the Lord.' The language of the
Seraphim (Isa. vi.) is that of a song of adoration. In the great day of
Israel's deliverance the song will be, 'The Lord Jehovah is become my
strength and song. Sing unto the Lord, for He hath done excellent
things. Cry aloud and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion, for great is _the
Holy One_ of Israel in the midst of thee.' Mary sings, 'For He that is
mighty hath done great things to me: and _holy_ is His name.' The book
of Revelation reveals the living creatures giving glory and honour and
thanks to Him that sitteth on the throne; 'and they have no rest day and
night, saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, which
was, and which is, and which is to come.' And when the song of Moses and
of the Lamb is sung by the sea of glass, it will still be, 'Who shall
not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy.' It is
in the moments of highest inspiration, under the fullest manifestation
of God's redeeming power, that His servants speak of His Holiness. In
Ps. xcvii. we read, 'Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous, and give thanks
at the remembrance of His Holiness.' And in Ps. xcix., which has, with
its thrice repeated holy, been called the echo on earth of the Thrice
Holy of heaven, we sing--
Let them praise Thy great and terrible name.
HOLY IS HE.
Exalt ye the Lord our God,
and worship at His footstool:
HOLY IS HE.
Exalt ye the Lord our God,
and worship at His holy hill:
For the Lord our God is HOLY.
It is only under the influence of high spiritual elevation and joy that
God's holiness can be fully apprehended or rightly worshipped. The
sentiment that becomes us as we worship the Holy One, that fits us for
knowing and worshipping Him aright, is the spirit of praise that sings
and shouts for joy in the experience of His full salvation.
But is not this at variance with the lesson we learnt at Horeb, when God
spake, 'Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes,' and where Moses feared
and hid his face? And is not this in very deed the posture that becomes
us as creatures and sinners? It is indeed: and yet the two sentiments
are not at variance: rather they are indispensable to each other; the
fear is the preparation for the praise and the glory. Or is it not that
same Moses who hid his face and feared to look upon God, who afterwards
beheld His glory until his own face shone with a brightness that men
could not bear to look upon? And is not the song that sings here of God
as glorious in holiness, also the song of Moses who feared and hid his
face? Have we not seen in the fire, and in God, and specially in His
Holiness, the twofold aspect; consuming and purifying, repelling and
attracting, judging and saving, with the latter in each case not only
the accompaniment but the result of the former? And so we shall find
that the deeper the humbling and the fear in God's Holy Presence, and
the more real and complete the putting off of all that is of self and of
nature, even to the putting off, the complete death of the old man and
his will, the more hearty the giving up to be consumed of what is
sinful, the deeper and fuller will be the praise and joy with which we
daily sing our song of redemption: 'Who is like unto Thee, O Lord,
glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?'
'_Glorious_ in holiness; _fearful_ in praises:' the song itself
harmonizes the apparently conflicting elements. Yes, I will sing of
judgment and of mercy. I will rejoice with trembling as I praise the
Holy One. As I look upon the two sides of His Holiness, as revealed to
the Egyptians and the Israelites, I remember that what was there
separated is in me united. By nature I am the Egyptian, an enemy doomed
to destruction; by grace, an Israelite chosen for redemption. In me the
fire must consume and destroy; only as judgment does its work, can mercy
fully save. It is only as I tremble before the Searching Light and the
Burning Fire and the Consuming Heat of the Holy One, as I yield the
Egyptian nature to be judged and condemned and slain, that the Israelite
will be redeemed to know aright his God as the God of salvation, and to
rejoice in Him.
Blessed be God! the judgment is past. In Christ, the burning bush, the
fire of the Divine Holiness did its double work: in Him sin was
condemned in the flesh; in Him we are free. In giving up His will to the
death, and doing God's will, Christ sanctified Himself; and in that will
we are sanctified too. His crucifixion, with its judgment of the flesh,
His death, with its entire putting off of what is of nature, is not only
for us, but is really ours; a life and a power working within us by His
Spirit. Day by day we abide in Him. Tremblingly but rejoicingly we take
our stand in Him, for the Power of Holiness as Judgment to vindicate
within us its fierce vengeance against what is sin and flesh, and so to
let the Power of Holiness as Redemption accomplish that glorious work
that makes us give thanks at the remembrance of His Holiness. And so the
shout of Salvation rings ever deeper and truer and louder through our
life, 'Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like unto
Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?'