Jesus Was the Shekinah Glory of God

JESUS WAS THE SHEKINAH GLORY OF GOD
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
THE SHEKINAH
THE GLORY CLOUD OF THE LORD
RelatedResources:
The Abiding PresenceofGod Tony Garland - on this page
Shekinah- summary - on this page
Shekinah-In Depth Discussionby James Murphy (1846);
The Shekinahby John Cumming (1854)
ShekinahSermon by Dave Roper
What is the Shekinahglory?
Sermons by C H Spurgeonrelated to God's glory…
Exodus 14:19,20,Isaiah58:8, Isaiah 52:12 The Glory In The Rear
John 1:14 The Glory Of Christ - Beheld
Exodus 33:18 A View Of God's Glory

In order to help understand the specific manifestations of God's glory it is
important to understand the frequently used term, Shekinah.
Shekinah(Shechinah) is a transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning “the one
who dwells” or “that which dwells” and was used to describe the light on the
mercy-seatof the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies, the Shekinah
symbolizing the Divine presence (Ex 25:8). Shekinahis not found in Scripture
but the root word shakan(07931)(to dwell, to settle down, to tabernacle with,
to have a habitation) and the related word mishkan (04909)(tabernacle)are
both frequently used and both are associatedwith the presence of God(and
His glory) dwelling with man.
The meaning of the word Shekinah(the One Who dwells) reminds us that we
did not seek to dwell with Godbut He with us and this truth should evoke
continual thanksgiving in those who have been brought into covenantwith
Him under the shelter of His wings. And so in Exodus, we see that it was God
Who first expressedHis desire to dwell among men, instructing Moses to tell
the people to
constructa sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell (shakan)among them.
According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle
(mishkan from shakan)and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall
constructit." (Ex 25:8; 25:9)
Comment: Even the Hebrew verb shakanunderscores the idea not of loftiness
but of nearness and closeness. This recalls the words of David who prays to
Jehovah"Oh draw near to my soul and redeemit. Ransomme because ofmy
enemies!" (Ps 69:18) Are you suffering even now dear believer? As Spurgeon
says "The near approachof God is all the sufferer needs;one smile of heaven
will still the rage of hell. It shall be redemption to me if Thou wilt appear to

comfort me. This is a deeply spiritual prayer, and one very suitable for a
desertedsoul. It is in renewedcommunion that we shall find redemption
realized."
Arnold Fruchtenbaum defines Shechinah Glory as…
the visible manifestation of the presence of God. It is the majestic presence or
manifestation of God in which He descendedto dwell among men. Whenever
the invisible God becomes visible, and wheneverthe omnipresence ofGod is
localized, this is the Shechinah Glory.
The usual title found in the Scriptures for the ShechinahGlory is: the glory of
the Lord. The Hebrew form is Kvod Adonai (word study), which means “the
glory of the Lord,” and describes whatthe Shechinah Glory is. The Greek
title, Doxa Kurion (kurios), is also translated as “the glory of the Lord.” Doxa
(word study) means “brightness,” “brilliance,” or“splendor” and it depicts
how the Shechinah Glory appears.
Other titles give it the sense of“dwelling,” which portrays what the Shechinah
Glory does. The Hebrew for Shechinah, from the root shachan, means “to
dwell.” The Greek word skeinei(see study of relatedwords - skenosand
skenoma)means “to tabernacle,” andis derived from the Hebrew Shechinah.
John Cumming writing on the pillar in Exodus 13:21-22…
The pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night, when it settledbetweenthe
cherubim, as a perpetual bright light, and tokenof the presence ofGod in the
temple, was named the “shechinah,” so calledfrom the Hebrew verb shakan,

which meant “to dwell.” Our Lord was thus the “Shechinah” incarnate (cf Jn
1:14); and when the Bible speaks ofhis SecondComing, it speaks ofhis
coming “in the cloud.” (Mt 24:30, Rev 1:7) The apostles were told that he
would come in like manner as they had seenhim go (Acts 1:9-11). So that this
pillar of cloud by day, and of fire by night, seems to have been the dwelling-
place, or the place of specialmanifestationof Godour Saviour before He
became Man, and was incarnate. (Sabbath Morning Readings onthe Old
TestamentBook ofExodus)
Shekinahoriginally was used in the JewishTargum (Aramaic translation of
Hebrew Bible) and rabbinic literature wheneverthe Hebrew text would
mention the presence ofGod in a way that implied certainhuman limitations.
The Targum Onkelos forexample paraphrases Jehovah's declarationin Ex
25:8 as
And they shall make before Me a sanctuary and I shall cause My Shekinah to
dwell (shakan)among them.
In summary, the term Shekinahas commonly used describes the visible
manifestation of God's presence and glory usually in the form of a cloud as
discussedbelow under PastGlory.
The picture of the Shekinah cloud of glory dwelling on the Temple has a
parallel "fulfillment" in the New Testament(obviously written by Jews
familiar with the Shekinah in the Old Testament)where John writes that
the Word became flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us, and we beheld His
glory, glory as of the Only begottenfrom the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John 1:14-note) (Spurgeon's sermon on -- John 1:14 The Glory Of Christ -
Beheld)
SpurgeonCommenting on John 1:14 observes believers have something
(Someone)far better than the Shekinah Glory Cloud of Israelin the Old
Testament:In and around the tent (The OT Tabernacle)whereinthe Lord
dwelt in the centerof the camp there was a manifestation of the presence of
God.
This was the glory of that house:
but how scantywas the revelation!
A bright light which I have already mentioned, the Shekinah, is said to have
shone over the Mercy-Seat;but the high priest only could see it, and he only
saw it once in the year when he entered with blood within the veil. Outside,
above the holy place, there was the manifest glory of the pillar of cloud by
day, and of fire by night. This sufficed to bear witness that God was there; but
still, cloud and fire are but physical appearances, andcannot conveya true
appearance ofGod, who is a spirit. God cannotbe perceivedby the senses;
and yet the fiery, cloudy pillar could appealto the eyes only. The excellence of
the indwelling of God in Christ is this — that there is in Him a glory as of the
only begottenof the Father, the moral and spiritual glory of Godhead.
This is to be seen, but not with the eyes — this is to be perceived, but not by
the carnalsenses:this is seen, and heard, and known, by spiritual men, whose
mental perceptions are keenerthan those of sight and hearing.

In the Personof the Lord there is a glory which is seenby our faith (2Cor 5:7,
2Cor4:18), which is discerned of our renewedspirits, and is made to operate
upon our hearts.
The glory of God in the sanctuary was seenonly by the priest of the house of
Aaron; the glory of God in the face of Christ is seenby all believers, who are
all priests unto God.
That glory the priest beheld but once in the year; but we steadily behold that
glory at all times, and are transformed by the sight (2Cor 3:18). The glory of
God in the face of Jesus Christ(2Cor 4:6) is not a thing of outward
appearance, to be beheld with the eyes, like the pillar of cloud and fire; but
there is an abiding, steady luster of holy, gracious, truthful characterabout
our Lord Jesus Christ, which is best seenby those who by reasonof
sanctificationare made fit to discern it.
Blessedare the pure in heart, for they shall see God(Mt 5:8); yea, they do see
Him in Christ Jesus. “No manhath seenGod at any time; the only begotten
Son, which is in the bosomof the Father, he hath declaredhim.” (John 1:18)
Many of us besides the apostles cansay, “We beheld his glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) We have
not seenJesus raise the dead; we have not seenHim castout devils; we have
not seenHim hush the winds and calm the waves;but we do see, with our
mind’s eye, His spotless holiness,His boundless love, His superlative truth, His
wondrous heavenliness;in a word, we have seen, and do see, His fullness of
grace and truth; and we rejoice in the fact that the tabernacling of God
among men in Christ Jesus is attended with a more real glory than the mere
brilliance of light and the glow of flame.

The condescensionofChrist’s love is to us more glorious than the pillar of
cloud, and the zeal of our Lord’s self-sacrificeis more excellentthan the pillar
of fire. As we think of the divine mysteries which meet in the personof our
Lord, we do not envy Israel the gracious manifestations vouchsafedher when
“a cloud coveredthe tent of the congregation, andthe glory of the Lord
coveredthe tabernacle” (Ex 40:34); for we have all this and more in our
incarnate God, Who is with us always, even to the end of the world. (The True
Tabernacle and Its Glory of Grace and Peace)
We see a manifestation of the ShekinahGlory at the Transfiguration…
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright (photeinos = splendid, full of
light, wellilluminated) cloud overshadowedthem; and behold, a voice out of
the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased;
listen to Him!” (Mt 17:5)
Petercomments…
For when He receivedhonor and glory from God the Father, such an
utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved
Son with whom I am well-pleased" (2Pe1:17)
Plumptre: This description(the Majestic Glory) relates to the transcendent
brightness of the Shekinah cloud and identifies the personof God the Father
with the glory which betokens his presence

Bigg:(The Majestic Glory) is a respectful paraphrase for God. It is probably
rightly identified as a reference to the ‘bright cloud’ (the Shekinah) of
Matthew 17:5
Green: The bright cloud which overshadowedJesus expressesin another way
the same reality, that is, none other than God Himself.
Christ is visible presentationof the Shekinah Glory, or as the writer of
Hebrews says…
the radiance (apaugasma)ofHis glory (doxa) (Hebrews 1:3-note)
Paul adds that…
it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Christ (Col
1:19-note) and that in Christ
all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form (in Christ) (Col2:9-note)
Paul writes that Christ is "the Lord of glory" (1Cor2:8). This same Shekinah
glory now rests (dwells) upon all those who are in Christ. Thus Paul records
that God made
known the riches of His glory upon vessels ofmercy, which He prepared
beforehand for glory (Ro 9:23-note)

He prays for the Ephesiansaints that
the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the
hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the
saints" (Ep 1:18-note)
Paul reminds the Colossiansaints that
God willed to make knownwhat is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the Gentiles, which is Christ ("dwelling")in you, the hope of glory.
(Col 1:27-note)
Comment: Ponder(meditate on) this truly awesome thoughtfor a moment -
the ShekinahGlory of Godin us as Christ followers!How can we comprehend
such mystery and majesty? And yet it is our privilege to show forth the
Shekinahglory for all the world to see!How?
Answer: Our "good(God) works" (Mt5:16-note, Phil 2:14,15-note, cf2Cor
2:14-17, 2Cor5:20), works initiated and wrought by the Holy Spirit in the
abiding (Jn 15:5), surrendered, yielded, filled (Eph 5:18-note), empowered
saint, the saint who is making the moment by moment choice to walk by the
Spirit (Gal 5:16-note)! (cp 2Cor3:5,6-note)
The presence ofthe Holy Spirit is also a representationof the Shekinahas
when the Spirit descendedand remained on Jesus (Jn 1:33) and at Pentecost
the Spirit came down and restedon the 120 disciples appearing

to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they restedon eachone
of them” (Acts 2:3)
William Barclayadds an interesting note regarding Shekinah writing that
There are two words totally different in meaning but similar in sound which
in early Christian thought became closelyconnected. Skēnē is one; and the
Hebrew shechinah, the glory of God, is the other. SKĒNĒ—SHECHINAH—
the connectionin sound brought it about that men could not hear the one
without thinking of the other. As a result, to say that the skēnē of God is to be
with men immediately brought the thought that the shechinah of God is to be
with men. In the ancient times the shechinah took the form of a luminous
cloud which came and went. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The
WestminsterPress or Logos)
OLD TESTAMENTMANIFESTATIONSOF
THE SHEKINAH GLORY:
A PROPOSED CHRONOLOGY
Genesis 3 - This instance is a possible manifestation of the Shekinah glory and
would be the first recordedinstance in Scripture…
Therefore the LORD God senthim (Adam) out from the garden of Eden, to
cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove the man out;
and at the eastof the garden of Eden He stationed(Hebrew = shakan= the
word related to Shekinah) the cherubim, and the flaming swordwhich turned
every direction, to guard the way to the tree of life. (Ge 3:23-24)

Comment: The definite article "the" is present before "flaming sword" which
makes this a very specific entity - the flame of the sword. It is possible that this
is the first manifestationof the Shekinahglory of the Lord. It is also worth
noting that Cherubim are elsewhereassociatedwith the appearance ofthe
ShekinahGlory (see below).
Genesis 15 - The Abrahamic Covenant(See Abrahamic versus Mosaic)
And it came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold,
there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passedbetween
these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenantwith Abram, saying,
“To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as
the greatriver, the river Euphrates (Ge 15:17, 18)
Comment: This example of a visible manifestation of the glory of God is in a
sense the ShekinahGlory. And it would only be fitting that the Shekinah
Glory of Godwould be present at what amounts to Jehovah's "signing" ofthe
unconditional Abrahamic Covenant.
ENTHRONED
ABOVE THE CHERUBIM
2Samuel6:2 And David arose and went with all the people who were with him
to Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God which is called by the
Name, the very name of the LORD of hosts Who is enthroned above the
cherubim.

Puritan Thomas Watsonrightly said that "A sight of God's glory humbles.
The stars vanish when the sun appears."
2Kings 19:15 And Hezekiahprayed before the LORD and said, "O LORD,
the Godof Israel, Who art enthroned above the cherubim, Thou art the God,
Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. Thou hast made heaven and
earth.
1Chronicles 13:6 And David and all Israelwent up to Baalah, that is, to
Kiriath-jearim, which belongs to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of
God, the LORD Who is enthroned above the cherubim, where His name is
called.
1Sa 4:21 And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, "The glory has departed
from Israel," because the ark of God was takenand because ofher father-in-
law and her husband.
Comment: Ichabod means "no glory." Phinehas sonwas named Ichabod
because the capture of Ark by Philistines resulted in departure of the glory
from Israel.
Ps 80:1 (For the choir director; set to El Shoshannim; Eduth. A Psalmof
Asaph.) Oh, give ear, Shepherd of Israel, Thou who dostlead Josephlike a
flock;Thou Who art enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
"Thou that dwellestbetweenthe cherubims, shine forth." The Lord's special
presence was revealedupon the mercyseatbetweenthe cherubim, and in all
our pleadings we should come to the Lord by this way: only upon the

mercyseatwill God reveal His grace, and only there can we hope to commune
with Him. Let us everplead the Name of Jesus, Who is our true Mercyseat, to
Whom we may come boldly, and through Whom we may look for a display of
the glory of the Lord on our behalf. Our greatestdreadis the withdrawal of
the Lord's presence, and our brightest hope is the prospect of His return. In
the darkesttimes of Israel, the light of her Shepherd's countenance is all she
needs. (see Spurgeon's note)
Comment: This psalm could be paraphrased"O Thou Who art the Shekinah
betweenthe cherubim, shine forth!" Or "O Thou who art the pillar
Ps 99:1 The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the
cherubim, let the earth shake!
He sitteth betweenthe cherubims. In grandeur of sublime glory, yet in
nearness ofmediatorial condescension, JehovahrevealedHimself above the
mercy seat, whereonstoodthe likeness ofthose flaming ones who gaze upon
his glory, and for ever cry, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts." The Lord
reigning on that throne of grace which is sprinkled with atoning blood, and
veiled with the covering wings of mediatorial love, is above all other
revelations wonderful, and fitted to excite emotion among all mankind, hence
it is added,
Our friend Mr. Charles Stanford, in his delicious work, "Symbols of Christ,"
has beautifully brought out the connectionbetweenMt 23:37 and Mt 23:38.
The house was left desolate because Christ, who was set forth by the symbol of
shelter, was rejectedby them, and was not permitted to coverthem with His
wings. It was customary for the Jews to say of a proselyte, "He has taken
refuge under the wings of the Shekinah." We now see that to take shelter
under the wings of the Shekinah is to hide beneath the wings of Christ.

Beneaththat living shield which beats back the destroying stroke, and is
broad enough to canopy a fugitive world, we take shelter, and there the
promise is fulfilled, "He shall coverthee with his feathers, and under his
wings shalt thou trust." (from Ps 91:4) (see Spurgeon's note)
Ps 132:8 Arise, O LORD, to Thy resting place;Thou and the ark of Thy
strength.
In essencewe have here a prayer by the psalmist for Jehovahto descendin the
Shekinah(the glory cloud) and dwell above the ark of the covenant.
Spurgeoncomments : In these three verses we see the finders of the ark
removing it to its appointed place, using a formula somewhatlike to that used
by Moses whenhe said, "Rise up, Lord", and again, "Return, O Lord, unto
the many thousands of Israel." The ark had been long upon the move, and no
fit place had been found for it in Canaan, but now devout men have prepared
a temple, and they sing, Arise, O Lord, into thy rest; thou, and the ark of thy
strength. They hoped that now the covenantsymbol had found a permanent
abode -- a rest, and they trusted that Jehovahwould now abide with it for
ever. Vain would it be for the ark to be settledif the Lord did not continue
with it, and perpetually shine forth from betweenthe cherubim. Unless the
Lord shall rest with us there is no rest for us; unless the ark of his strength
abide with us we are ourselves without strength. The ark of the covenantis
here mentioned by a name which it well deserved;for in its captivity it smote
its captors, and broke their gods, and when it was brought back it guarded its
own honour by the death of those who dared to treat it with disrespect. The
powerof God was thus connectedwith the sacredchest. Reverently, therefore,
did Solomonpray concerning it as he besought the living Godto consecrate
the temple by his presence. It is the Lord and the covenant, or rather say the
covenantJehovahwhose presence we desire in our assemblies,and this

presence is the strength of his people. Oh that the Lord would indeed abide in
all the churches, and cause his power to be revealed in Zion.
Isa 37:16 "O LORD of hosts, the Godof Israel, Who art enthroned above the
cherubim, Thou art the God, Thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth.
Thou hast made heaven and earth.
A devotional comment from F B Meyer on the Shekinah…
It should never be forgotten that nothing can afford to us protection and
succorbut vital union with Christ. We must hide in His secretplace if we
would abide under His shadow. We must dwell in the most holy place if we
would be shadowedby the wings of the Shekinah. There must be nothing
betweenus and God, if we are to walk together, and enjoy fellowshipwith the
Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ.
Dostthou know the hope of His calling to a life within the veil, with the veil
behind thee, and the light of the Shekinah ever on thy face?
Harry Ironside…
An uncreatedlight, the Shekinah glory, shone above the mercy seatbetween
the goldencherubim, whose wings were spread out over it. Into this sacred
enclosure, where the presence ofGOD was manifested, the ordinary priests
were not permitted to enter; only the High Priest, and that just once a year.
He went in carrying a golden basin filled with atoning blood, which he
sprinkled upon the mercy seatand before it, where he himself took his stand.

Commenting on Exodus 24:16 Robert Rayburn writes…
The verb the NIV translates “covered” is literally the verb ‫))ןכש‬ “dwelt.” The
glory of the Lord dwelt upon the mountain. It will be used later in a technical
sense ofGod’s Shekinah, the outward manifestationof his presence to men.
From this we get the idea of the God “tabernacling” with men in John 1:14.
“We have seenhis glory,” John says, whenthe Word dwelt among men.
In 1Cor10:1 Paul says "FOR (term of explanation which is explaining 1Cor
9:27) I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all
under the cloud, and all passedthrough the sea
Guzik: The cloud of Shekinahglory overshadowedIsraelthroughout their
journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. During the day, the cloud
shelteredthem from the brutal desertsun, and during the night, it burned as
a pillar of fire. It was a constant, ready reminder of God’s glory and presence
(Exodus 13:21-22).
Acts 1:9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were
looking on, and a cloud receivedHim out of their sight.
Steven Cole comments:Luke succinctlyrepeats the story of Jesus’ascension,
which he told at the end of his gospel. The cloud that receivedJesus out of
their sight was probably the Shekinahglory of God.
"The Indwelling of the Spirit" makes the believers body a temple for the
indwelling of the Lord Jesus Christ, the ShekinahGlory (Ro 8:9-11; 1 Cor.
3:16; 6:19-20;2 Cor. 6:16).

The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in order to provide a temple for the
indwelling of the Shekinah Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, which serves as the
principle of victory over the indwelling old sin nature. The Holy Spirit’s
purpose during the church is to indwell every believer in order to provide a
temple for the indwelling of the Shekinah Glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, which
serves as the principle of victory over the indwelling old sin nature and
provides the believer the spiritual capacityto understand the Word of God
since the Spirit serves as the believer’s true teacherand mentor in place of the
absent Christ. (William Wenstrom)
2Cor12:9-note And He has saidto me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for
poweris perfectedin weakness."Mostgladly, therefore, I will rather boast
about my weaknesses, thatthe powerof Christ may dwell (episkenoo)in me.
Comment: The verb episkenoo means literally to pitch a tent upon and thus to
descendand abide upon or rest upon. This is the only use of this verb in
Scripture. The picture as portrayed in Wuest's paraphrase reminds us of the
OT ShekinahGlory, depicting the presence ofJehovahupon the Mercy Seat
in the Holy of holies. A T Robertsonadds that episkenoo means:to fix a tent
upon, here upon Paul himself by a bold metaphor, as if the Shekinah of the
Lord was overshadowing him (cf. Lk 9:34), the power(dunamis) of the Lord
Jesus." "Maydwellin me" is picture similar to that which describes God
descending from heaven and dwelling in the tabernacle among the people of
Israel. And so here in 2Corinthians 12:9 Paul employs dramatic imagery
teaching NT believers that the glorious Christ “pitches His tent” with His
people in their weaknesses, notwith the "rich and famous and powerful"! As
Hughes says "Christ pitches his tent with the weak and the unknown, the
suffering shut-in, the anonymous pastor and missionary, the godly, quiet
servants in the home and the marketplace."

Wuest paraphrases Paul:And He has said to me, and His declarationstill
stands, My grace is enough for you, for power is moment by moment coming
to its full energy and complete operationin the sphere of weakness.Therefore,
most gladly will I the rather boastin my weaknessesin order that the power
of the Christ [like the ShekinahGlory in the Holy of Holies of the Tent of
Meeting]may take up its residence in me [working within me and giving me
help].
Hodge commenting on most gladly writes that Paul is saying: most sweetly,
with an acquiescencedelightful to himself. His sufferings thus became the
source of the purest and highestpleasure. I will rather boastabout my
weaknessesdoes not mean "I glory in the midst of infirmities", but on account
of them. This rejoicing on accountof his sufferings or those things which
implied his weaknessand dependence, was not a fanaticalfeeling, (but) it had
a rational and sufficient basis, viz., that the power of Christ may rest upon
me; i.e., dwell in me as in a tent, as the Shekinahdwelt in olden days on the
tabernacle. To be made thus the dwelling place of the powerof Christ, where
He reveals His glory, was a rational ground of rejoicing in those infirmities
which were the his presentcondition and the occasionfor the manifestation of
Christ's power. MostChristians are satisfied in trying to be resignedunder
suffering. They think it a great thing if they canbring themselves to submit to
be the dwelling-place of Christ's power. To rejoice in their afflictions because
thereby Christ is glorified, is more than they aspire to. Paul's experience was
far above that standard.
The powerof Christ is not only thus manifestedin the weaknessofHis people,
but in the means that He employs to achieve his purposes. Believers are in all
casesutterly inadequate in themselves and the means disproportionate to the
results to be obtained. This treasure is in clay jars so that the excellencyofthe
powermay be God’s. By the foolishness ofpreaching he saves those who
believe. By twelve illiterate men the church was establishedand extended over
the civilized world. By a few missionaries heathenlands are convertedinto

Christian countries. So in all cases the power of Christ is perfected in
weakness.(An expositionof the Secondepistle to the Corinthians. By Charles
Hodge.)
Peterwrites to believers…
If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of
glory and of God rests upon you. (1Peter4:14-note)
Wiersbe:Suffering Christians do not have to waitfor heaven in order to
experience His glory. Through the Holy Spirit, they can have the glory now.
This explains how martyrs could sing praises to God while bound in the midst
of blazing fires. It also explains how persecutedChristians (and there are
many in today’s world) can go to prison and to death without complaining or
resisting their captors.
MacArthur comments on the Spirit of glory: That is, the Spirit who has glory,
or Who is glorious. In the OT, the glory of God was representedby the
Shekinahlight, that luminous glow which signified the presence of God (Ex
33:15–34:9). Whena believer suffers, God’s presence speciallyrests and lifts
him to strength and endurance beyond the physical dimension (cf. Ac 6:8–
7:60; 2Co 12:7–10).
Constable:Their curses (1Pe 4:13) become blessings becausethe Holy Spirit,
Who is the Spirit of glory, already indwells us. Peter’s thought was that the
indwelling Holy Spirit is already part of our glorification, the first-fruits of
our inheritance. As the Israelites enjoyedthe presence ofGod in the fiery
pillar even during their wilderness testing, so we enjoy His presence during
our wilderness experience.

ESV Study Bible: the Spirit of glory, the Holy Spirit, rests upon believers in
an especiallypowerful way. Further, it is the same Spirit that rested on Jesus
(Isa. 11:2; cf. Matt. 3:16) who now rests upon the believer.
NelsonStudy Bible: New King James Version: When Christians suffer
unjustly on behalf of Christ, they will discoverthat the close relationship they
have with God during that period will refreshtheir spirit.
Adrian Rogers devotionalthoughts…
When King Solomondedicatedthat magnificent temple on Mount Moriah, it
was among other things an object lesson, anillustration of every believer in
the Lord Jesus Christ. For now, after Pentecost, atthe moment of our
salvationwe become temples of the Holy Spirit. God through His Holy Spirit
indwells us, just as His Spirit came and filled the holy of holies of Solomon’s
temple with Shekinahglory when it was fully dedicated to Him: “And it came
to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled
the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because
of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD”
(1Ki 8:10-11). Yet, some Christians appearnot to be filled with the Holy
Spirit. Glory does not fill their house. They have allowedthe self-life and the
cares ofthis world to move the Lord Jesus from that place of preeminence
that is rightfully His. They are no longerSpirit-filled but are what the Bible
calls “carnal” orfleshly. Therefore, we have this admonition of the Apostle
Paul: “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess;but be filled with the Spirit”
(Ephesians 5:18). (The PowerofHis Presence)
Anthony Garland commenting on the Book ofRevelationwrites…

The first question of the WestminsterConfessionasks:“What is the chief and
highest end of man?” To which the following answeris given: “Man’s chief
and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.” [emphasis
added] Like God’s sovereignty, the theme of God’s glory stretches from
Genesis to Revelation. His manifest presence among His people is represented
by His abiding glory (Shekinah , Ex. 14:10; 16:10;24:15-16;40:34; Lev. 9:23;
Num. 14:10;16:19, 42; Nu 20:6; 2Chr. 7:1; Isa. 4:5; 35:2; 40:5; Eze. 1:28;
3:23; 9:3; 10:18;Acts 9:3). Here in the lastbook of the Bible, God’s glory is
seenthrough the visions and choruses ofworship and praise offeredup to
God. From the first chapter, the glory of God and John’s response are clearly
revealed(Rev. 1:17). (A Testimony of Jesus Christ: A Commentary on the
Book ofRevelation)
From Nave's Topic…
SHEKINAH, the visible sign of God's presence onthe ark of testimony in the
Holy of holies, Ex 25:22;Lev 16:2; 2Sa 6:2; 2Ki 19:14, 15; Ps 80:1; Isa 37:16;
Eze 9:3; 10:18; He 9:5.
From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia…
SHEKINAH - ("that which dwells" from the verb shakan"to dwell,"
"reside"):This word is not found in the Bible, but there are allusions to it in
Isa 60:2; Mt 17:5; Lk 2:9; Ro 9:4. It is first found in the Targums.
The Abiding PresenceofGod
Tony Garland

Resource
At the heart of the idea of a Temple is the abiding presence of God. Although
God is omnipresent, He has chosento manifest His presence in certain
locations and at certain times within history. This physical manifestation of
God has come to be called the Shekinah.
the ShechinahGlory is the visible manifestationof the presence of God. It is
the majestic presence ormanifestation of God in which He descends to dwell
among men. Whenever the invisible God becomes visible, and whenever the
omnipresence of God is localized, this is the Shechinah Glory. The usual title
found in Scriptures for the Shechinah Glory is the glory of Jehovah, or the
glory of the Lord. The Hebrew form is Kvod Adonai, which means ‘the glory
of Jehovah’ and describes what the Shechinah Glory is. The Greek title, Doxa
Kurion, is translatedas ‘the glory of the Lord.’ Doxa means ‘brightness,’
‘brilliance,’ or ‘splendor,’ and it depicts how the Shechinah Glory appears.
Other titles give it the sense of‘dwelling,’ which portrays what the Shechinah
Glory does. The Hebrew word Shechinah, from the root shachan, means ‘to
dwell.’ The Greek word skeinei, whichis similar in sound as the Hebrew
Shechinah (Greek has no ‘sh’ sound), means ‘to tabernacle.’. . . In the Old
Testament, mostof these visible manifestations took the form of light, fire, or
cloud, or a combination of these. A new form appears in the New Testament:
the Incarnate Word [John 1:14].7
The conceptof the Shekinah is behind the wonder of the incarnation. The
very glory of God “tabernacled” within human flesh and was handled and
beheld. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (ἐσκήνωσεν
[eskēnōsen]), and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begottenof the
Father, full of grace and truth” [emphasis added] (John 1:14).

Σκηνή [Skēnē]was the word used by the translators of the Septuagint for the
Hebrew ‫שִׁן‬ ְ‫כּ‬ ָ‫ן‬ [miškān], “tabernacle”(Ex.25:9). During Israel’s pilgrimage
from Egypt to Canaanthe tabernacle was the place of worship for the people.
The tabernacle or tent in the wilderness was the “tent of Jehovah,” Himself a
pilgrim among His pilgrim people. In sound and meaning σκηνόω [skēnoō]
recalls the Hebrew verb ‫שָׁן‬ ִ‫כּ‬ [šākkan]meaning “to dwell,” which is sometimes
used of God’s dwelling with Israel(Ex. 25:8; 29:46). In postbiblical Hebrew
the Jews usedthe term ‫ִשׁ‬‫כ‬ִ ָ‫כ‬ ְ‫כּ‬ [šeḵînâ](“Shekinah,” literally, “presence”)of
the bright cloud of the presence ofGod that settled on the tabernacle. The
Shekinahglory was nothing less than the visible manifestation of God.8
The manifestationof the Shekinah is at the heart of understanding the
meeting of God with man. In the earliestcommunion of man with God, God is
said to have been “walking in the Garden in the coolof the day” (Gen. 3:8).
This must speak of a localizedpresence with which Adam and Eve could
interact—the Shekinah. The word itself embodies the notion of dwelling or
abiding. This emphasizes the single most important aspectconcerning God’s
localizedpresence:where is He abiding? Forwherever the Shekinah is, there
is relationship with God in a more intimate wayand all the benefits which
come from His specialpresence. This is the essenceofthe promise made to the
overcomerin Philadelphia, the fulfillment of that first love which was lacking
in Ephesus: to walk once againin full fellowship with God(Gen. 3:8; 5:24;
Rev. 21:3‣ , 22‣ ). This was the ultimate desire of the psalmist (Ps. 23:6; 65:4).
Thus, it is an incredible blessing to enjoy the presence ofGod.
This was the primary purpose of the Temple throughout history: to house the
Shekinahglory of God among men. It is in the Temple where God’s presence
“dwells betweenthe cherubim” over the mercy seatof the Ark of the
Covenant(Ex. 25:22;Num. 7:89; 1Sa. 4:4; 2Sa. 6:2; 1Ki. 7:29; 2Ki. 19:15;
1Chr. 13:6; 2Chr. 5:7; 6:41; Ps. 80:1; Ps. 99:1; Isa. 37:16; Eze. 41:18). Unless
the glory of God “inhabits” the Temple (1K. 8:10-11;2Chr. 7:1; Eze. 43:2-4;
44:1-2; Hag. 2:7-9; Mat. 20:12) it is just a dead architecturaledifice.9

Conversely, in the history of the Temple, there are grave consequenceswhen
the Shekinahdeparts from the Temple, for it indicates God’s displeasure with
those among whom He previously dwelt and the removal of His protection
and blessing in His departure. The Temple, the house of Israel, is left desolate
when the glory of God departs. In at leasttwo occasions inhistory, the result
has been the destruction of the Temple. When the Shekinah left Solomon’s
Temple in the days of Ezekiel’s prophecy(Eze. 10:18; 11:22-23), the eventual
result was the destruction of the Temple by Nebuchadnezzarof Babylon.
When the Shekinahleft the SecondTemple in the days of Jesus (Mat. 23:38),
the eventual result was the destruction of the Temple by Titus Vespasianof
Rome (Mat. 24:1-3). Whether God remains in His house is serious business!
Although it is beyond the scope ofour treatment here to consideran extensive
discussionof God’s abiding presence, it will be helpful to note some of the
most significant historicalevents relatedto the Shekinah.10 The Shekinah
glory:11
Illuminated the earth prior to the creationof the sun and moon (Gen. 1:3, 14).
Walkedwith Adam and Eve in the Garden (Gen. 3:8).
Ratified the Abrahamic covenant while Abraham slept (Gen. 15:17).
Descendedupon Mount Sinai at the giving of the law (Ex. 19:18;24:15-16;
33:18-23;34:5-6).
Filled the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Ex. 40:34).
Filled Solomon’s Temple upon its dedication (1Ki. 8:10-11;2Chr. 7:1).
Left Solomon’s Temple due to Israel’s sin (Eze. 8:4-6; 9:3; 10:4, 18-19;11:22-
23). The Temple is left unprotected.

Returned to the SecondTemple in the form of the incarnation of Messiah
Jesus (Mat. 12:6; 21:12; John 1:14; 2:15).
Left the SecondTemple desolate upon the departure of Jesus (Mat. 23:38;
24:2; Luke 13:35; 21:6). The Temple is left unprotected.
Appeared on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mat. 17:2; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:29).
Appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3; 22:11; 26:13;1Ti. 6:16).
Will return to the Millennial Temple (Isa. 60:3; Eze. 43:2-4).
Illuminates the New Jerusalem(Rev. 21:23‣ ;22:5‣ ).
The significance ofthe Mount of Olives derives from it associationwith the
departure and arrival of the glory of the Lord:
The mountain which is so clearly defined and locatedin this prophecy [Zec.
14:4] is already associatedwith many events and crises in Israel’s history. . . it
was from this mountain, which is before Jerusalemon the east, that the
prophet Ezekielsaw the glory of Jehovah finally taking its departure. It was
from this mountain also that He, who was not only the symbol, but the living
personalrevelation of the glory of Jehovah, finally took His departure from
the land, after He had been rejectedby the nation. He led His handful of
disciples out as far as Bethany (on the Mount of Olives), and He lifted up His
hands and blessedthem. ‘And it came to pass while He blessedthem, He was
parted from them, and carried up to heaven’ [Luke 24:50-51;Acts 1:9]; since
then a still darkerera in the long Ichabod period of Israel’s history
commenced. . . . And what is this but a prophecy in symbolic language of the
same event which the heavenly messengers announcedto the men of Galilee
[Acts 1:9-11]. We love to think that this same mountain on which He once
shed tears of sorrow over Jerusalem, the slope of which witnessedHis agony
and bloody sweat, shallbe the first also to witness His manifestationin glory;
and that His blessedfeet, which in the days of His flesh walkedwearily over
this mountain on the way to Bethany shall, ‘in that day,’ be planted here in
triumph and majesty.12

In summary, the Shekinahis the visible representationof the localized
presence ofGod. By God’s design, the Temple is the locationwhere His
abiding presence is intended to dwell and where He has put His name (Deu.
12:5, 11, 21;2Chr. 6:20; 7:16; 20:19; Ezra 6:12; Ne. 1:9; Mat. 21:13; Mark
11:17;Luke 19:46).
SHEKINAH
ARTICLE
SHEKINAH (Shechinah) - The word SHEKINAH is not found in the Bible
but is a rabbinical term used in the Targums (Aramaic paraphrase of the OT)
to describe the glorious divine light dwelling on the mercy seatof the Ark of
the Covenantin the Holy of Holies (Ex 25:8-note, cf Lev 26:11-note). As
discussedbelow, SHEKINAH was also usedto describe a number of other OT
manifestations of light, fire, and/or a cloud, eachmanifestationassociatedwith
the presence ofGod. SHEKINAH is from the verb SHAKAN which means to
settle down or dwell which in turn gives us a beautiful picture of "One Who
dwells", of the Holy God mercifully dwelling with undeserving people.
Fruchtenbaum notes that "The usual title found in Scriptures for the
ShekinahGlory is the GLORY OF THE LORD" adding that "Wheneverthe
invisible God becomes visible, and wheneverthe omnipresence of God is
localized, this is the SHEKINAH GLORY." As one ponders this incredible
picture of a God Who is described as "like a consuming fire" (Ex 24:17-note =
a Shekinah-like manifestation) and yet Who still seeksto dwell with those who
did not seek to dwell with Him (cf Ro 3:11-note; RecallGodcalling "Where
are you?" to Adam hiding in sin and shame!Ge 3:7, 8-9-note), this truth of
SHEKINAH should evoke continual gratitude in the hearts of all of us who
have been brought into the "everlasting covenant" (Heb 13:20KJV) with the
"Lord Christ Jesus, the LORD OF GLORY" (Jas 2:1ESV-note).

In the OT, the rabbis used SHEKINAH to describe “the LORD going before
(the children of Israelduring their 40 years of wilderness wandering in the
form of) a PILLAR OF CLOUD by day to lead them on the way and in a
PILLAR OF FIRE by night to give them light." (Ex 13:21-note, cfNu 9:17,
18, 22-note). Even as Israelexperienced the protection, presence and power of
the ShekinahGLORY OF THE LORD during their wilderness testings (See
Ex 14:9-note, Ex 14:19, 20-note), so too can we experience His protecting
presence and powerduring our times of wilderness testing! Indeed, in the New
TestamentPaul alludes to the presence and power of the Shekinah, the "One
Who dwells," when he prayed for removal of a thorn (2Cor12:7,8-note)and
Jesus answered“Mygrace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfectedin
your weakness,” to which Paul responded (as should we) "Mostgladly,
therefore, I will rather boastabout my weaknesses, that the power of Christ
may DWELL upon me "like the Shekinah Glory in the Holy of Holies of the
Tent of Meeting" (Wuestparaphrase of 2Cor12:9-note)
Robertsonexplains that in 2Cor12:9-note the Greek verb DWELL
(episkenoo)means "to pitch a tent upon Paul, as if the SHEKINAH OF THE
LORD were overshadowing him." And so as we "boast" (enabled by His
Spirit) in our weaknesses,the "LORD OF GLORY" (title of Jesus in 1Cor
2:8-note) Himself will "PITCHHIS TENT" upon us, enabling us to
experience His supernatural presence and powerin our time of need (which is
all the time!). Kent Hughes adds that "Christ PITCHES HIS TENT with the
weak and the unknown, the suffering shut-in, the anonymous pastor and
missionary, the godly, quiet servants in the home and the marketplace."
Hallelujah! Wiersbe reminds us that "Strength that knows itselfto be
strength is actually weakness, but weakness thatknows itself to be weaknessis
actually strength!" Spurgeonagrees that"Our weaknessshould be prized as
making room for divine strength. We might never have known the power of
grace if we had not felt the weaknessofour fallen nature. Just as the
SHEKINAH light dwelt in the tent of the wilderness beneath the rough
badger skins, so I boastto be a poor frail tent and tabernacle, that the
SHEKINAH of Jesus Christmay dwell upon my soul." John Piper adds
"What a tragic waste whenpeople turn awayfrom the Calvary road of love

and suffering. All the riches of the GLORY OF GOD IN CHRIST (cf
"Shekinah")are on that road. All the sweetestfellowshipwith Jesus is there.
All the treasures of assurance. All the ecstasiesofjoy. All the clearestsightings
of eternity. All the noblest camaraderie. All the humblest affections. All the
most tender acts of forgiving kindness. All the deepestdiscoveries ofGod’s
Word. All the most earnestprayers. They are all on the Calvary road where
Jesus (dwells)with His people. Take up your cross andfollow Jesus. Onthis
road, and this road alone, life is Christ and death is gain. Life on every other
road is wasted." In a parallel passage, Peterreminds us that "If you are
reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, becausethe SPIRIT OF
GLORY (cf Shekinah)and of God RESTS UPON upon you." (1Pe 4:14-note)
as it did on Spirit filled Stephen as he was being stoned (Acts 6:15-note, Acts
7:54-55, 56-note)!
At the completion of the OT Tabernacle "the (Shekinah) CLOUD coveredthe
tent of meeting, and the (Shekinah) GLORY OF THE LORD filled (Same Gk
verb in Acts 2:4-note Pentecost= "they were all FILLED with the Holy
Spirit"!) the tabernacle. And Moses was notable to enter the tent of meeting
because the CLOUD had settled (Hebrew = shakan= was dwelling) on it, and
the GLORY OF THE LORD filled the tabernacle (Heb = mishkan =
"dwelling place" from shakan)… throughout all their journeys, the
(Shekinah) CLOUD of the LORD was on the tabernacle by day, and there was
(Shekinah) FIRE in it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel." (Ex
40:34-35, 38-note)Similarly when King Solomon dedicatedthe Temple as “the
priests came out of the Holy Place, the (Shekinah)CLOUD filled the house of
the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister because ofthe cloud:
for the GLORY OF THE LORD had filled the house of the LORD” (1Ki 8:10-
11-note). Adrian Rogers remarks that this dramatic OT event “was anobject
lesson, anillustration of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. For now,
after Pentecost,atthe moment of our salvationwe become temples of the Holy
Spirit. God through His Holy Spirit indwells us, just as His Spirit came and
FILLED the Holy of Holies with SHEKINAH GLORY when it was FULLY
DEDICATED to Him. Yet, some Christians appearnot to be FILLED with
the Holy Spirit. GLORY does not fill their house. They have allowedthe

SELF-LIFE and the cares ofthis world to move the Lord Jesus from that
place of preeminence that is rightfully His. They are no longerSpirit-filled but
are what the Bible calls “carnal” or fleshly. Therefore, we have this
admonition of the Apostle Paul: “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess;
but be (being continually) filled with (controlled by) the Spirit (even as wine
controls the thoughts, words and deeds of a drunken man!)” (Eph 5:18-note).
Just before the destruction of Jerusalemand the Temple, the “(SHEKINAH)
GLORY OF THE GOD of Israel” departed from the Temple and “went up
from the midst of the city and stoodover the (Mt of Olives) which is eastof the
city." (Eze 11:23-note)The Shekinah, which throughout Israel's history had
been the visible symbol of the PRESENCEOF JEHOVAH was gone, gone
even from the rebuilt Temple (including Herod's). And yet some 400 years
later, "in the greatness of(God's)lovingkindness" (Ps 69:13-note), "whenthe
fullness of time came" (Gal4:4), John records "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… and the Word
became a human being and lived (literally "tabernacled" or"fixed His tent")
with us, and we saw His Shekinah(even as Israel had seenthe Shekinah
dwelling upon the first Tabernacle), the Shekinahof the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth." (Jn 1:1,14-note JewishNew Testamenttranslation)
Indeed, the incarnation of Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of all the OT shadows
of Shekinah, the ultimate visible manifestation of God’s presence, "Immanuel,
God with us." (Mt 1:23) "Pleased, as Man, with men to dwell, Jesus, our
Emmanuel! Hark! the herald angels sing, "Gloryto the newborn King!" (cf
Lk 2:14) Christ is the "King of GLORY" (Ps 24:7-10-note), the One Who "is
the radiance (brightness, effulgence)of His (Father's)GLORY and the exact
representationof His nature" (Heb 1:3-note) "for God Who said, "Let there
be light in the darkness," has made us understand that this light is the
(Shekinah) brightness of the GLORY OF GOD seenin the face of Jesus
Christ" (2Cor4:6NLT-note) Who Himself declaredthat "he who beholds Me
beholds the One Who sent Me." (Jn 12:45). Indeed, Jesus is the ultimate
answerto Moses'incredible prayer "LORD, show me Thy glory." (Ex 33:18-
note) As Spurgeonwrites today the SHEKINAH GLORY of JESUS "is to be
seen, but not with the eyes — this is to be perceived, but not by the carnal

senses:this is seen, and heard, and known, by spiritual men, whose mental
perceptions are keenerthan those of sight and hearing. (cf Mt 16:17-note)In
the Personofthe Lord Jesus there is a glory which is seenby our faith (2Cor
5:7-note, 2Cor4:18-note), which is discernedof our renewedspirits, and is
made to operate upon our hearts. Blessedare the pure in heart, for they shall
see God(Mt 5:8-note); yea, they do see Him in Christ Jesus."
Now that Jesus has ascendedto the right hand of Glory, where is the
"Shekinah"? Paulsays it is "Christin us, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27-note)
adding that that as we “with unveiled face are beholding as in a mirror the
glory of the Lord (His Word Jas 1:23-25-note), we are being transformed into
the same image (of God’s Son Ro 8:29-note) from GLORY to GLORY, just as
from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2Cor 3:18-note)Indeed, our “body is a temple of
the Holy Spirit (of Jesus, Acts 16:7-note) Who is in us, Whom we have from
God, and that we are not our own, for we have been bought with a price and
are therefore calledto GLORIFY God in our body." (1Cor 6:19-20-note).
Paul writes that "now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face;now I
know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully
known." (1Cor13:12-note)And so while it is difficult imagine what God’s
glory will look like when we see our Lord Jesus Christ, the various
descriptions in Scripture would indicate that His Glory will be the most
beautiful sight we will experience throughout eternity. All of the goodness and
beauty we see in the present will be nothing in comparisonto the refulgent
GLORY OF GOD. As we considerour future face to face (CoramDeo)
encounter with the ShekinahGlory of God, may we be motivated to reflect
His glory, living as “children of God above reproach, as lights in the world”
(Php 2:15-note) allowing "our light to shine before men in such a way that
they may see our goodworks, and GLORIFY our Father Who is in heaven.”
(Mt 5:16-note)

In the final manifestationof God's Shekinah, we read that "the tabernacle of
God is among men, and He shall dwell among them" in the New Jerusalem
which "has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine upon it, for the GLORY
OF GOD has illumined it, and its lamp is the LAMB." (Rev 21:3-note, Rev
21:23-note)And so in God's final manifestationof perfectcommunion and
oneness with His redeemed children, we will enter into the true HOLY OF
HOLIES illuminated by the SHEKINAH GLORY of the King of kings and
Lord of lords. And "In His temple everyone shouts, "GLORY!" (Ps 29:9NLT-
note)
Father by Thy Spirit strengthen us with power in our inner being (Eph 3:16-
note), so that as we hope for what we do not see, we will with perseverance
“waitexpectantly and in greatanticipation for” (Ro 8:25-note), the
appearance of“the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power
and GREAT (Shekinah) GLORY” (Mt 24:30). Amen.
Mediate on the greatness ofHis Shekinah Glory as you sing…
"King of Glory" (Third Day)
"Glorious One"
Glorious One (Steve Fee)
THE GLORY IN THE REAR
NO. 1793
A SERMON

DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, AUGUST 3, 1884,
BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,NEWINGTON.
“And the angelof God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and
went
behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face,
and stoodbehind them: and it came betweenthe camp of the
Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and
darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these:
so that the one came not near the other all the night.”
Exodus 14:19-20.
“The glory of the LORD shall be thy rearward.”
Isaiah58:8.
“Forthe LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your
rearward.”
Isaiah52:12.
WHEN the Israelites left the place of their bondage and came to the edge of
the wilderness, a visible
tokenof the Lord’s presence and leadershipwas granted to them. They saw
high in the air a pillar,
which by day might be compared to rising smoke, but at night became a flame
of fire. Such displays on
a small scale were usual in the march of armies, but this was of supernatural
origin. Where it moved, the

people were to follow, it was to be their companion, that they might not be
alone, their conductor, that
they might not go astray.
We have become familiar, by accounts of our own soldiers in Egypt, with the
extreme danger of the
oriental sun when men are marching over the fiery sand, this cloud would act
as a vast umbrella tent,
covering the whole of the greatcongregation, so that they could march
without being faint with the heat.
By night their canvas city was lighted up by this grand illumination. They
could march as well by night
as by day, for we are told at the close ofthe previous chapter that by night the
Lord went before them
“in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night.” Might they not
have said, “The LORD
God is a sun and shield”? Did they not realize the fulfillment of the promise
not yet spokenin words,
“The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night”? This sacred
symbol of the divine presence
must have been a very greatsolace to them in those early days, when their
pilgrim life was novel to
them, and their newly-found liberty was darkened by a terrible fear of
recapture.
The particular sign which the Lord promised them was very practical, it was
not only glorious, but
useful, it served them both for shade and light, and was both their guide and
guard. It was exceedingly

conspicuous, so that they could all see it. Any man of the millions who came
out of Egypt could stand at
his tent door and see this flaming signal high in heaven, floating over all as the
banner and oriflamme of
the GreatKing. It appears to have been continual, an abiding token, and not
an intermittent brightness.
Even thus has Moses written—“He took notawaythe pillar of the cloud by
day, nor the pillar of fire by
night, from before the people.”
Belovedfriends, God is always with those who are with Him. If we trust Him,
He has said, “I will
never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” There is a specialand familiar presence of
God with those who walk
uprightly, both in the night of their sorrow, and in the day of their joy. Yet we
do not always in the same
way perceive that presence so as to enjoy it. God never leaves us, but we
sometimes think He has done
2 The Glory in the RearSermon #1793
2 Volume 30
so. The sun shines on, but we do not always bask in his beams, we sometimes
mourn an absent God—it
is the bitterest of all our mourning. As He is the sum total of our joy, so, His
departure is the essenceof
our misery. If God does not smile upon us, who cancheer us? If He be not
with us, then the strong
helpers fail, and the mighty men are put to rout. It is concerning the presence
of God that I am going to

speak this morning. You and I know how joyous it is. May we never be made
to know its infinite value
experientially by the loss of it. If we see no cloud or flame, yet may we know
that God is with us, and
His poweris around us. In that sense we will pray,
“Coverus with Thy cloudy shrine,
And in Thy fiery column shine.”
Or in more familiar words we will sing,
“Let the fiery cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.”
I. In considering the subject of the Lord’s abiding with His people, I shall
first call attention to THE
DIVINE PRESENCE MYSTERIOUSLYREMOVED.
According to our text, “The angelof God, which went before the camp of
Israel, removed.” The
chosenof the Lord may lose the manifested presence ofGod, and indeed, often
they may miss it in the
particular form in which they have been accustomedto enjoy it.
The symbol of God’s presence removedfrom where it had usually been.
From the day when they
entered upon the desert, they had seenthe fiery, cloudy pillar well to the front,
but now suddenly it
wheeledabout, and left the van comparativelydim, because the glory had
departed. Those who looked
forward saw it no more.

So has it been with us at times, we have walkedday after day in the light of
God’s countenance, we
have enjoyed sweetfellowshipwith Jesus Christour Lord, and on a sudden
we have missed His glorious
manifestation. Like the spouse, we cried, “I soughthim, but I found him not.”
Aforetime everything had
seemedbright, and we expectedto go from strength to strength, from victory
to victory, till we came
unto the mount of God, to dwell forever in His rest, but now before us on a
sudden things look dark, we
do not feel so sure of heaven as we were, nor so certain of perpetual growth
and progress. The prospect
is darkened, the clouds return after the rain, and our soul out of the darkness
cries, “Oh that I knew
where I might find him!”
Moreover, they missedthe light from where they hoped it would always be.
They had been given to
understand, I do not doubt, that the Lord would always be with them, and yet
now, as they looked
forward, the bright light was gone from its place of leadership. They looked
for it as their guide, and
behold, that guidance was gone!The pillar might be behind them, but it was
not before them, they could
see nothing ahead to lead them into the land flowing with milk and honey,
which the Lord had promised
them. Sometimes you also may imagine that God’s promise is failing you, even
the word of God which

you had laid hold upon may appear to you to be contradictedby your
circumstances. Thenyour heart
sinks to the depths, for “if the foundations be destroyed, what can the
righteous do?” If everthe word of
God becomes a subject of doubt, where can any certainty remain? Where any
hope for the future? We
have said, “This God is our Godforever and ever: He will be our guide even
unto death,” but what if He
refuse to guide us? Then are we in an evil case. Canit be so? “Is his mercy
cleangone forever? Doth his
promise fail forevermore?”
The pillar of fire also removed from where it seemedmore than ever to be
needed. Now they were in
a cleft stick, how could they possibly escape?Pharaohwas behind them, with
all the horsemenof Egypt.
They could hear the noise of the chariots, and the neighing of the horses, and
the shouts of the armies,
eagerfor the prey. Before them the Red Sea rolled in its might. How could
there be a way through the
mighty waters? Now, ifever in their lives, they must have lookedanxiously for
the symbol of the Divine
Sermon #1793 The Gloryin the Rear3
Volume 30 3
presence. Whatcould they do if JEHOVAH did not lead their van? Yet the
tokenof His presence was
not there. Even thus is it with you, dear friend, who once walkedin the light of
God’s countenance, you

perhaps have fallen into temporal trouble, and at the same moment the
heavenly light has departed from
your soul.
Now, it is bad to be in the dark on the king’s highway, but it is worse to be in
the dark when you are
out on the open common, and do not know your road. It is well to have a guide
when the road is easy,
but you must have one when you are coming upon precipitous and dangerous
places. Is it so with any
child of God here, that he sees no light to shine before him, no star to guide
him on his road? On the
contrary, does his future become more and more clouded? Is the track quite
gone? Does the sea seem
shut in with an ironbound coastwithout a harbor? Does he
“See everyday new straits attend,
And wonder where the scene will end”?
Then let him trust, but he will need all the faith of which he can be master.
Oh, my Lord, if ever You
do leave me, forsake me not in the day of trouble. Yet what have I said? It is a
day of trouble when You
are gone, whatevermy condition may be. Yet, brethren, our Lord said, “Pray
ye that your flight be not in
the winter.” Pray that if you must for a while bewailthe Lord’s absence from
you, it may not be in a
time of dire and dark necessity.
Thus it did seema mysterious thing that the CovenantAngel should no
longerdirect the marches of

the hostof God, and I dare say that some of them beganto accountfor it by a
reasonwhich their fears
would suggest. Naturally, there was only one wayof accounting for this
removal of the guide, and that
way was a wrong one, but one to which the Lord’s people often refer their
trials. I should not wonder
that, if they had been askedwhy the blazing pillar was no longer in the van,
they would have replied,
“Because ofour murmurings againstthe Lord and His servant Moses. God
will not go before us because
of our sins.”
Now, it is true, and does happen, that the Lord often hides His face behind
the clouds of dust that His
own children make by their sins, but this is not always the case. Whenthe
consolations ofGodare small
with you, you may generallyconclude that there is some secretsin with you,
and then it is your duty to
cry, “Show me wherefore you contend with me.” But in this case Godwas not
punishing them for their
sins, as He did on later occasions.
He seems to have been very patient with their early murmurings, because
they were such feeble folk,
so unused to pilgrimage, and so unfit for anything heroic. Every trial was
severe to the raw,
undisciplined spirits of the tribes, and therefore the Lord winkedat their
follies. There was not a touch of

the rod about this withdrawing of His presence from the van, not even a trace
of anger, it was all done in
loving-kindness and tender mercy, and no sort of chastisementwas intended
by it. So, dear child of God,
you must not always conclude that trouble is sent because ofwrath, and that
the loss of consciousjoy is
necessarilya punishment for sin. Such thoughts will be a case ofknives
cutting your heart in pieces. Do
not make for yourself a needless pain. All trouble is not chastisement, it may
be a way of love for your
enriching and ennobling.
Upon the black horse of trouble the Lord sends His messengers oflove. It is a
goodthing for us to be
afflicted, for thus we learn patience, and attain to assurance.Shallthe
champion who is bidden to go to
the front of the battle think that he is being punished? No, verily, my
brethren, whom the Lord loves He
sets in the heatof the conflict, that they may earn the raresthonors. Great
suffering and heavy labor are
often rewards of faithfulness. Know you not how the poet puts it—
“If I find Him, if I follow,
What His guerdon here?
‘Many a labor, many a sorrow,
Many a tear’”?
4 Volume 30

Darknessofsoul is not always the fruit of divine anger, though it is often so.
Sometimes there is no
trace of wrath in it, it is sent for a test of faith, for the excitement of desire,
and for the increase ofour
sympathy with others who walk in darkness. Whenthe cloud of the divine
glory is no longerseenin
front it has gone behind, because it is more wantedthere, and it is no loss after
all, as we shall have to
show. When the Lord hides His face for a moment, it is to make us value His
face the more, to quicken
our diligence in following after Him, to try our faith, and to test our graces.
There are a thousand
precious uses in this adversity. Yet it is a mysterious thing when the light of
the future fades, and we
seemto be without a guide.
II. Now, secondly, all this while THE DIVINE PRESENCE WAS
GRACIOUSLY NEAR.
The angel of the Lord had removed, but it is added, He “removedand went
behind them,” and He
was just as close to them when He was in the rear, as when He led the van. He
might not seemto be
their guide, but He had all the more evidently become their guard. He might
not for the moment be their
Sun in before, but then He had become their Shield behind. “The glory of the
Lord was their rearward.”
The Lord may be very close to you, dear child, when you cannot see Him,
perhaps closerthan He ever

was when you could see Him.
The presence of God is not to be measured by your realization of it. When
you cannottell that He is
with you at all, and you are singing and crying after Him, those very sighs and
cries after Him are the
holy fruit of His secretpresence.It may be, the day shall come when you shall
think that He was more
near you when yours eyes were filled with weeping after Him, than when you
took yours ease, and
spoke confidently. Much of the creature, much of human excitement will mix
with our most spiritual
joy, our groanings and our sorrows, whenwe are pining after the Lord, are
often more purely spiritual
than our own delights, and therefore they are all the surer proofs of the work
of the Lord in our souls.
Oh, soul, the Lord may be very near you, and yet He may be behind you, so
that your outlook for the
future may not be filled with the vision of His glory.
Note in the text that it is said the pillar went, and “stoodbehind them.” I like
that, for it is a settled,
permanent matter. The Lord had removed, but He was not removing still. He
would stay as long as was
needful where He then was. Thatglorious angel, shrouded in the clouds, stood
with His drawn sword in
the rearof Israel, saying to Pharaoh, “You dare not come further, you can not
break in upon My

chosen.” He lifted up His vast shield of darkness, and held it up before the
tyrant king, so that he could
not strike, nay, could not see. All that night his horses champed their bits, but
could not pursue the flying
host. “Theywere as still as a stone till thy people passedover, O LORD, till
thy people passedover
whom thou hadst purchased.”
It is glorious to think that the Lord stoodthere, and the furious enemy was
compelled to halt. Even
thus the Lord remains with the dear child of God. You cannot see anything
before you to make you glad,
but the living Godstands behind you to ward off the adversary. He cannot
forsake you. He says to you
out of the pillar of cloud, “Cana woman forgether sucking child, that she
should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” He
stands fastas your rock,
steadfastas your safeguard, sleeplessas your watcher, valiant as your
champion—
“Godis near thee, therefore cheerthee,
Sad mind!
He’ll defend thee, all around thee,
And behind.”
What is more, these people had God so near that they could see Him if they
did but look back.
EarnestlyI desire you to think of this. If you cannot see the Lord bright
before you, and you are very

dull and heavy, then, I pray you, look back and see how the Lord has helped
you hitherto. Sit not down
with your eyes shut, but look back!Steadily observe the past! What do you see
there? Loving-kindness
and tender mercy, and nothing else.
Volume 30 5
As I look back upon my own past life—and I think I am not one by myself—I
cannot discover, even
with the quick eye of selfishness,anything of which I cancomplain of my God.
“Truly God is goodto
Israel.” “His mercy endures forever.” Notone goodthing has failed, He has
never left me, nor forsaken
me. I have receivedblessings through my joys, and even greaterblessings
through my sorrows. The
Lord’s wayhas been all goodness, undiluted goodness,allthe while. I look
back, and see the light of His
presence shining like the sun at noon, it is as a morning without clouds, I am
overwhelmed with the
boundless bounty of my God. I am unable to conceive ofanything more kind
than the heart of God
towards His unworthy child.
Well, then, God is not far away, if we look backwardHe is there. He has been
mindful of us, He will
bless us. He gave us mercies yesterday, and He is the same today and forever.
The blessings oflast night

we have not forgotten, the blessings ofthis morning, are they not still with us?
The fountain will not fail,
it has flowedtoo long for us to raise the question. If there be no light breaking
in the east, behold, it is
lighting up the westernsky. The Lord is evidently still behind us, and it is
enough, for we can sing, “The
LORD liveth; and blessedbe my rock;and let the God of my salvationbe
exalted.” “He is my rock, and
there is no unrighteousness in Him.”
A thoughtful personwould conclude the Lord to be all the more evidently
near because ofthe
change of His position. When a symbol of mercy comes to be usual and fixed,
we may be tempted to
think that it remains as a matter of routine. If the rainbow were always visible
it might not be so assuring
a tokenof the covenant. Hence the Lord often changes His hand, and blesses
His people in another way,
to let them see that He is thinking of them. If He always did the same by us,
every day and every night,
we should get to attribute His dealings to some fixed law operating apart from
God, just as our modern
philosophers dethrone the Lord to setup the calves of nature.
But now, when our God is sometimes before us, and sometimes behind us,
and makes those apparent
changes becauseofdeep and urgent reasons, we are compelled to feelthat we
are the objects of His

constantsolicitude. “I am poor and needy; yet the Lord thinketh of me.” He
deals with us in all wisdom
and prudence. His modes change, but the changes are all from the same
motive, and with the same
reason, all to make us sick of self and fond of Him. Blessedbe His name, the
change of His operations
makes us feelthe unchangeablenessofHis design, and the different ways in
which He visits us only
makes us value eachvisit the more.
III. Thirdly, let us see THE DIVINE PRESENCE WISELYREVEALED.
That the symbol of God’s presence shouldbe withdrawn from the front and
become visible behind
was a wise thing.
Observe, there was no fiery pillar of cloud before them, and that was wise, for
the going down into
the RedSea was intended to be an act of lofty faith. The more of the visible
the less is faith visible. The
more you have of conscious enjoymentthe less room there is for simple trust.
Faith performs her
greatestfeats in the darkestplaces. TheseIsraelites were to do what after all
was a grandly glorious
thing for them to do—to march right down into the heart of the sea. What
people everdid this before?
Modern haters of miracles may say that they passedoverthe sands at an
unusual tide and that an
extraordinarily strong wind drove back the waterand left a passage,but that
is not the notion of the Holy

Spirit. He says by His servant Moses, “The floods stoodupright as an heap,
and the depths were
congealedin the heart of the sea.” It is also written, “But the children of Israel
walkedupon dry land in
the midst of the sea;and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand,
and on their left.” The
tribes went down into the dread valley which remained when the waters dried
up, and they crossedover
betweentwo frowning walls of water. You and I would have needed great
faith to have gone down into
such an abyss as that, but they descendedwithout fear.
Moseslifted up his rod and the waters rolling apart to make them a
passageway, with no fiery cloudy
pillar in front of them, they calmly marched into the heart of the sea. That
was a grand act of faith. This
would not have been so clearly of faith had the waybeen made easierby
miracle and token. I know
some of you who are Christian people want to be always coddled and cuddled,
like weak babies. You
6 Volume 30
pine for love-visits and delights, and promises sealedhome to your heart. You
would live on sweetmeats
and be wheeledin a spiritual perambulator all the way to heaven, but your
heavenly Father is not going
to do anything of the sort. He will be with you, but He will try your manhood,
and so develop it. I have

seenchildren cossetedinto the grave by their fond mother, and I suppose that
a greatmany more will
follow in the same way, but Godnever spoils His children. He educates them
for nobler ends. He takes
visible guides awayfrom them that they may exercise faith in Him.
Why, Job would have been nobody if He had not lost everything. Who would
have heard of the
patriarch of Uz? What glory would he have brought to God with his camels
and his oxen and his
children? These were all takenaway, and then Job became famous. See how
he sits on the dunghill and
is much more noteworthy there than Solomonin all his glory. Where the word
of King Solomon was
there was power, but nothing to equal the powerof Job’s words when he
blessedthe God who takes
away. Solomonspoke many proverbs, and wrote many songs, but none of
them attained unto the glory
of that saying—“Thoughhe slay me, yet will I trust in him.” Here was a
triumph of faith! Beloved, you
and I lose the enjoyments of religion and the comforts of hope in order that we
may walk by faith and
not by sight, and may the more greatly glorify God.
Moreover, letus mark that the cloudy pillar was takenawayfrom the front
because the Lord meant
them simply to acceptHis word as their bestguidance. The Lord said to
Moses,“Speakunto the

children of Israel, that they go forward.” That word was sufficient guide.
Suppose they had said, “Lord,
we will go forward if the fiery pillar leads us forward, but not else.” What
then? Why, they would have
been rebels. We are to obey God’s Word as God’s Word.
I heard a brother saysome time ago that he would be baptized when it was
laid home to him. I
thought of what a father would say to his boy if he said, “Father, I will obey
you if it is laid home to
me.” In all probability the child would have it laid home to him more feelingly
than he desired. There
are some disobedient children in the Lord’s family who, if they do not mind,
will have scriptures laid
home to them in a way they do not quite reckonupon.
What have you and I to guide us but the word of the Lord? “Well,” says one,
“I guide myself by
outward providences.” Do you? You will get into a terrible maze one of these
days. Jonahwanted to flee
from the presence ofthe Lord, and therefore he went down to the seaside, and
lo, he found a ship going
to Tarshish. Might he not have said, “I must be in the right way of duty in
going to Tarshish, for no
soonerdid I go down to the wharf than I found a ship starting immediately,
and a cabin vacant for a
passenger. Ipaid my fare, and walkedon board at once. I had not to go off to
the shipping agent’s, and
wait for the next liner, but all was prepared for me.

Was not that a providence!” Yes, but if you get following providence, and
turning aside from the
Word, you may soonfind yourselfin the sea, and no whale prepared for you.
Our way is clearlyset
before us in the Word of God, and that most sure word of testimony should be
followed. I have knowna
brother wanting to go abroad to preach the Gospelto the heathen, but a great
many difficulties have
been thrown in his way, and therefore he has said, “I can see that I am not
calledto go.” Why not? Is no
man calledunless his way is easy? I should think myself all the more calledto
a service if I found
obstacles inmy way. The course of true service never did run smooth. I should
say, “The devil is trying
to hinder me, but I will do it in spite of all the devils in hell.”
Will you always be wanting to have your bread buttered for you on both
sides? Must your road be
graveled, and smoothedwith a garden roller? Are you a carpetknight, for
whom there is to be no
fighting? You are not worthy to be a soldierof Jesus Christ at all if you look
for ease.Go home! I dare
say, after all, it is the best thing you can do. True believers expectdifficulties.
It is ours to do what we
are bidden to do, not to act according to fanciedindications of providence.
When the Lord said,
“Forward!” forward Israelmust go, without a fiery cloudy pillar to cheerthe
way. Has not the Lord

spoken? Who shall ask for plainer guidance?
Moreover, Godwas teaching them another lesson, namely, that He may be
near His people when He
does not give them the usual tokens of His presence. Who shall saythat God
was not in the van of Israel
Volume 30 7
when they went down into the sea? Theycould not see the ensignof His
presence, but He could see their
obedience to His bidding. How else did the sea in fright draw back? Was it not
because the Lord
rebuked the sea? The strong eastwind did not of itself divide the sea, for a
wind naturally strong enough
for that would have blown all the people into the air. The wind was used of
God to move the waters, but
its chief objective was to dry up the dampness from the floor of the sea, and to
make marching the easier
for the vast host of Israel. Truly the Lord was there, triumphing gloriously.
No cloudy pillar was seenacrossthe waters as Israellookedforwardto the
shore, but yet the Lord
was there majestically, and you may have but little comfort of the Lord’s
presence atthis time, and yet
God may be with you wondrously. Do not so much set your heart upon
comfort, but rejoice in the fact
which gladdened Hagar in the wilderness, “ThouGod, seestme.” It does not
matter to the fire whether

the logs are castupon it from the front, or the oil poured upon it secretlyfrom
behind the wall, so long as
it finds its fuel. To you the daily supply of grace is more important than the
supply of comfort, and this
shall never fail you so long as you live.
Let me whisper to you one more word. After all, the host of Israel did not
require any guide in front
when they came to the sea. “How is that?” say you. Why, beloved, there were
no two ways to choose
from, they could not miss the way, for they must needs march through the sea.
No room for wandering
remained, their road was walledup, and they could not miss it. So when men
come into deep trouble,
and cannotget out of it, they scarcelyneeda guide, for their own plain path is
submission and patience.
Tried child of God, you have to bear your trouble, and when that is quite
clear, your way is no longer
doubtful. Castall your care on Him who cares for you, and in patience possess
your soul. “Oh, but I
thought I was going to find a way of escape made for me.” Listen! “Godis
faithful, who will not suffer
you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also
make a way to escape, thatye
may be able to bear it.” You have to bearit, you see. Your greatwant for the
present is faith in God,
who has said—“Iwill bring againfrom Bashan, I will bring my people again
from the depths of the

sea.” Thus, you see, the light for guidance was not needed just then.
What they did want was the pillar of cloud behind them, and that is where
they had it. What was the
cloud behind them for? Well, it was there for severalreasons, the first was to
shut out the sight of their
enemies from them. We read that Israel lifted up their eyes and saw the
Egyptians, and then they began
to tremble, and cry out, and so God drew the blinds down that His poor
children could not see their
frightful taskmasters.
It is a greatmercy when God does not let us see everything. What the eye
does not see, perhaps the
heart will not rue. May I ask you just to try and use your eyes a little now?
There are your sins, will you
look back on them for a minute? Look steadily. They are quite as dreadful as
the Egyptian horsemenand
chariots. I have lookedintently, and I cannot see a sin remaining. “What, have
you lived such a life that
you have never sinned?” Ah, no, beloved, I have to mourn over many offenses,
but I cannotsee one of
them now, for my sin is covered. I believe this text, “The blood of Jesus Christ
his Soncleansethus
from all sin.” If I am cleansed, whyshould I see spots, orspeak as if I did?
The Lord stands betweenHis people and their sins. Jesus, who veiled His
glory in the cloud of our
humanity, interposes betweenus and our transgressions.Is it not written,
“The iniquity of Israel shall be

sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not
be found; for I will pardon
them whom I reserve”? If God declares that our sins cannot be found, then I
am sure we need not look
for them, and if He says that Christ has made an end of sin, then there is an
end of it. The Egyptians
shall not come near us all the night of this life, and when the morning breaks
we shall see them dead
upon the shore. Then shall we sing unto the Lord, for He has triumphed
gloriously, and our
transgressions and iniquities has He castinto the depths of the sea.
“Ah,” says one, “I know that my sins are forgiven, but I am troubled about
my circumstances.” Will
you now look back with all your eyes? How about the circumstances you have
passedthrough? Do you
see anything wrong about them now? Oh, no, say you, they were all right. As
you look back you can
only see the glory of God, the Lord has led you by a right way. Very well,
learn to look at your
8 Volume 30
circumstances through the light God has setbetweenIsrael and the Egyptians.
Who is he that can harm
us? What is there to distress us? See your circumstances throughthe medium
of the love of Jesus, and
you perceive all things working for your good. Hitherto the Lord has been our
shield and our

exceedinglygreatreward. We see now no visible evil, He has turned for us the
curse into a blessing. The
Lord has causedus to be far from fear, and has put terror far away.
The cloudy pillar went behind for anotherreason, namely, that the Egyptians
might not see them.
Their enemies were made to stumble, and were compelled to come to a dead
stop. “The enemy said I
will pursue, I will overtake, Iwill divide the spoil, my lust shall be satisfied
upon them.” Why does he
halt? Why does the lion pause when about to spring? He is blindfolded. He
shivers in the dense
blackness,thinking of that former day when all the land of Mizraim quailed
beneath a darkness that
might be felt. Be calm, O child of God, for the Covenant Angel is dealing with
your adversaries, andhis
time is generallythe night. You will hear by and by of what He has done.
Meanwhile, remember what He did to Pharaohand Sennacherib. The Lord
may not be before you,
shedding delight upon your face, but He is behind you, holding back the foe.
He looks forth from the
cloud and discomforts your foes. “No weaponthat is formed againstthee shall
prosper; and every
tongue that shall rise againstyou in judgment thou shall condemn.”
Wherefore, stand still, and see the
salvationof God!
IV. Now, beloved, I must draw towards a conclusionby observing that THE
DIVINE PRESENCE

WILL ONE DAY BE MORE GLORIOUSLY REVEALED.
I have been speaking aboutthe Lord being the rearwardof His people, and so
explaining my second
text, but I must now refer you to my lasttext, in the fifty-second of Isaiah—
“The Lord will go before
you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward.” This is the condition into
which the Lord brings His
people when they depart from Babylon, and are no more conformed to this
present evil world. I trust He
has brought many of us into this all-surrounding light at this goodhour.
The Lord is behind us, we know, our sins and iniquities are covered, our past
mistakes are all erased,
we are acceptedin the Beloved. But we have not to look forward and say,
“The angelof Godhas
removed.” Oh, no, we can see the bright light before us still. Our ways are
ordered of the Lord, and none
of our steps shall slide. We glory in tribulations also, believing that we shall
glorify Godin them. We
look forward to the time of old age, believing that to hoar hairs He is the
same, and that in our days of
decline He will carry us. We look forward to the advent of our Lord with
delight, or, if that may not be
in our day, we look to falling asleepupon the bosomof our Savior.
Before us we see the resurrection morning and its entire splendor, we
anticipate the risen body, that
glorified fabric in which our pure and perfectspirit shall dwell forever, we
hear the voice of harpers

harping with their harps, saluting the reign of Christ and the glorificationof
His people with Him. Below
there is nothing before us now but that which is inexpressibly delightful, the
day has long dawned with
us, whose morning clouds have passedaway, a day which grows warmerand
brighter, and is nearing to
the perfectday. A few more months, a few more years, and we shall be in the
land of the unclouded sky.
What will it be to be there! What will it be to be there forever!
“Farfrom a world of grief and sin,
With God eternally shut in.”
How willingly would I fly awayand be at rest. I feelmy wings, they are not
strong enough, as yet, to
bear my soulaway, but they will be. Godis making His children ready to
depart, and He will only have
to beckonthem, and they will cry, “Here am I,” and then they shall be with
Him forever. Yes, the glory
of the Lord is above us and beneathus, on the right hand and on the left,
without us and within us. We
depart not from it, though it is behind us, we are going ever into the glorious
light, for it is before us,
too. The Lord shall be a wallof fire around about us, and the glory in the
midst. If you have come there,
Volume 30 9
dear brother, stopthere. If you have entered there, dear sister, never quit that
charmed circle, but abide

in full communion with the Lord your God.
V. But now I have a sorrowful word to say, and with that I have done. THIS
DIVINE PRESENCE
HAS A TWOFOLD ASPECT, thatsame glory which lit up the canvas city,
and made it bright as the
day, darkened all the camps of Egypt. They could see nothing, for the dark
side of God was turned to
them. I am afraid it is so with some of you.
Oh, dear friends, is it not a dreadful thing that to some men the most terrible
thing in the world
would be God? If you could get awayfrom God, how happy, how merry, how
jolly you would be! You
want to depart from Him, you are departing from Him. One of these days
Jesus will tell you to depart.
“Keepon as you were,” says He, “you were always departing from God, keep
on departing. Departfrom
me, ye cursed!” That will be the consummation of your life.
To some of us the thought of Godis joy, but to the ungodly nothing would be
such goodnews as to
hear that there was no God, indeed, they find a dreadful comfort in
endeavoring to be skepticaland
unbelieving. God has a dark side to sinners, His justice and His righteousness,
which are the comfortof
His people, are the despair of the wicked.
The Word of God has a dark side to sinners. I will tell you what they say, they
say, “We do not

understand this Book, it is so full of mystery. We find it full of dark sayings,
and hard things, and things
difficult to be believed. It is all knots and snarls.” Justso, you are an
Egyptian, it is dark to you. Let me
call up the smallestbabe in grace, and say, “Dearchild, is that what the Bible
is to you?” “Oh, no,” he
says, “it is my joy and my delight. I may not understand it all, but I love it all,
and I feed on it all.” Oh, it
is a goodthing when you cannot understand a revealedtruth to feed on it, and
when you find it to be
goodfor your soul, you will not complain of its mystery. The Bible is dark to
the Egyptians, but it is
light to Israel.
Now look at the Gospelitself. Why, there are many that sit and hear the
Gospel, and they say, “I do
not understand this believing, this atonement, and so on.” No, I know you do
not, you are an Egyptian, it
is dark to you. It is a savorof death unto death to you. I am afraid you will go
on quarrelling with it until
God ends the quarrel in your destruction. But if you are one of His, you will
quarrel no longer, you will
say, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. The blessedwayof salvationby
atoning blood I do
acceptwith avidity, and rejoice in it.” That will prove you to be an Israelite, it
will be a savorof life unto
life to you.

Why, even the blessedLord Jesus Christ has a dark side for sinners. If He
were to come here this
morning, oh, how gladly would I stand back to let Him come forward and
show His surpassing beauty.
Why, some of you would think it heavenif you could but see Him here and
look into His pierced hands
and side, and mark that blessed, marred, unutterably lovely visage. Yes, but it
could not bring any joy to
you who do not love Him. You do not trust Him, and if the news were given
out, “Christ has come,”
why, you would swoonwith fear in your pews, for you would say, “He has
come to judgment, and I am
unprepared. He that is not my Savior will be my judge, and sentence me to
everlasting woe.” There is a
dark side in the Mediatorto the Egyptians while there is a bright side to
Israel.
Oh that you would believe in Jesus Christ! Oh that you would “kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and ye
perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little,” for “Blessedare
all they that put their trust
in him.” You can come and be numbered with Israel, for the door into Israel
is Christ Himself. If you
come to Christ you have come to His people, you have come to safety, and
henceforth “the Lord will go
before you; and the God of Israelwill be your rearward.” Amen.

THE GLORY OF CHRIST—BEHELD!
NO. 414
A SERMON
DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER20, 1861,
BY THE REV. C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,NEWINGTON.
“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His
glory, the glory as
of the only-begottenof the Father), full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14.
I CANNOT refrain from mentioning an incident connectedwith the perusalof
the first chapter of
John. I suppose there is not a passagein God’s Word which has not at some
time or other been blessed
to the conversionof a soul. Even the fifth chapter of Genesis, whichis so
uninteresting to most readers,
because the verses continually end, “And he died,” “And he died,” “And he
died,” has been blessedto
one, who from the reiteration of the fact that men who lived 900 years
nevertheless died, was led to
think of his own death. Now, the first chapter of John was the means of the
conversionof a celebrated
writer, Junius the younger, who did goodservice in the church. His father,
perceiving him to be an ungodly young man, put in his way, as much as
possible, the New Testament, and the following is an extractfrom Junius’

accountof his own life. “My father, who was frequently reading the New
Testament,
and had long observed with grief the progress I had made in infidelity, put
that book in my way in his
library in order to attract my attention, if it might please Godto bless his
design, though without giving
me the leastintimation of it. Here, therefore, I unwittingly opened the New
Testamentthus providentially laid before me. At the very first view, although
I was deeply engagedin other thoughts, that grand
chapter of the evangelistand apostle presenteditself to me—‘In the beginning
was the Word, and the
Word was God.’ I read part of the chapter, and was so affectedthat I
instantly became struck with the
divinity of the argument, and the majesty and authority of the composition, as
infinitely surpassing the
highest flights of human eloquence. My body shuddered; my mind was in
amazement, and I was so agitatedthe whole day that I scarcelyknew who I
was. Nordid the agitation cease, but continued, till it was
at last soothedby a humble faith in Him who was made flesh and dwelt among
us.”
One of the Platonic philosophers who consideredall Christian writers to be
but barbarians, nevertheless saidof the first chapter of John, “This barbarian
has comprisedmore stupendous stuff in three lines,
than we have done in all our voluminous discourses.”And, we will, to this day,
glory in the powerof the
Holy Spirit that an unlearned and ignorant man like John, the son of Zebedee
the fisherman, should be

enabled to write a chapter which excels not only the highest flights of
eloquence, but the greatestdepths
of philosophy!
But now, for the verse before us; I think if you look attentively at it, and if you
are in some slender
measure acquainted with the original, you will perceive that John here
compares Christ to that which
was the greatestgloryof the Jewishchurch. Let me read it, giving another
translation—“The Wordwas
made flesh, and tabernacledamong us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as
of the only-begottenof the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
Now, you remember that in the Jewishchurch its greatestglorywas that God
tabernacledin its
midst; not the tent of Moses, notthe various pavilions of the princes of the 12
tribes, but the humble tabernacle in which God dwelt was the boastof Israel.
They had the King Himself in the midst of them, a
present God in their midst! The tabernacle was a tent to which men went
when they would commune
with God, and it was the spot to which God came manifestly when He would
commune with man. To
use Matthew Henry’s words, it was the “trysting place” betweenthe Creator
and the worshipper. Here
they met eachother through the slaughter of the bull and the lamb, and there
was reconciliationbetween
them. Now, Christ’s human flesh was God’s tabernacle, and it is in Christ that
God meets with man, and

The Glory of Christ—Beheld! Sermon #414
Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 7
2
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in Christ that man has dealings with God! The Jew of old went to God’s tent,
in the centerof the camp,
if he would worship—we come to Christ if we would pay our homage. If the
Jew would be released
from ceremonialuncleanness, afterhe had performed the rites, he went up to
the sanctuaryof his God,
that he might feelagainthat there was peace betweenGodand his soul. And
we, having been washedin
the precious blood of Christ, have accesswith boldness unto God, eventhe
Father, through Christ, who
is our tabernacle and the tabernacle of God among men.
Now, let us draw the parallel a little further. The greatestgloryof the
tabernacle itself was the most
holy place. In the most holy place there stoodthe Ark of the Covenant,
bearing its golden lid called the
mercy seat. Over the mercy seatstoodthe cherubim, whose wings met each
other, and beneath the wings
of the cherubim there was a bright light knownto the Hebrew believer by the
name of the Shekinah.
That light representedthe presence ofGod! Immediately above that light
there might be seenat night a
pillar of fire, and by day a spiral column of cloud rose from it, which no
doubt, expanded itself into one

vast cloud which coveredall the camp, and shielded all the Israelites from the
blaze of the broiling sun.
The glory of the tabernacle, I say, was the Shekinah. What does our text say?
Jesus Christ was God’s
tabernacle and, “We beheld His glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the
Father.” Jesus is not the
tabernacle without the glory; He is not as the temple when the voice was
heard with the rushing of winds
before the siege ofJerusalem, crying, “Arise, let us go.” But, it was a temple in
which God Himself
dwelt after a specialmanner; “Forin Him dwells all the fullness of the
Godheadbodily.”
The apostle however, points to a surpassing excellence inChrist the
tabernacle, by which He wondrously excels that of the Jewishchurch. “Full of
grace and truth.” The Jewishtabernacle was rather full
of law than full of grace. It is true there were in its rites and ceremonies a
foreshadowing ofgrace, but
still in repeatedsacrifice there was renewedremembrance of sin, and a man
had first to be obedient to
the law of ceremonies before he could have accessto the tabernacle at all; but
Christ is full of grace—
not a little of it, but abundance of it, is treasured up in Him! The tabernacle of
old was not full of truth,
but full of image and shadow, and symbol and picture. But Christ is full of
substance;He is not the picture, but the reality; He is not the shadow, but the
substance. Herein, O believer, do you rejoice with joy
unspeakable, foryou come unto Christ, the real tabernacle of God! You come
unto Him who is full of

the glory of the Father;and you come unto one in whom you have not the
representationof a grace
which you need, but the grace itself; not the shadow of a truth ultimately to be
revealed, but that very
truth by which your soul is acceptedin the sight of God! I put this forth as a
matter for you to think over
in your retirement. It might have constituted the divisions of the sermon, but
as I want more especiallyto
dwell upon the glory of Christ, we leave these observations as a preface, and
go more particularly to that
part of the subjectwhere the apostle says, “We beheld His glory, the glory of
the only-begottenof the
Father, full of grace and truth.”
I. In the first place, we have here A FAVORED PEOPLE. “We beheldHis
glory.”
And who are these—the “we” to whom the apostle here refers? They were
first of all an electcompany, for Jesus said, “I know whom I have chosen;”
“You have not chosenMe but I have chosenyou.”
He came unto His own, and His own receivedHim not; but they who did
receive Him are described as
men who were “born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of
man, but of God.” The
electin Christ’s day, though they were but a small remnant, nevertheless did
exist! There were a few,
else had that generationbeen as Sodom, and been made like Gomorrah. There
were twelves and seventies, andafterwards we read of 3,000 andthen of many
others who were added to the church of such as

should be saved. In Christ’s own day, however, the lines of manifest election
seemedto be but very narrow, for there were but few that followedHim, and
of those who followedHim it is said, many from that
day went back and walkedno more with Him; for His truth had sifted the
mere professors, andreduced
them but to a slender company who followedthe Lamb whereverHe went.
The “we,” then, who “beheld
Christ’s glory,” were a chosencompany!
They were also a calledcompany, for of many of them we read their special
calls. Of John himself
we read, that Jesus walkedby the sea and “saw othertwo brothers, James the
son of Zebedee, and John
his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He
calledthem. And they imme-
Sermon #414 The Glory of Christ—Beheld!
Volume 7 Tell someone todayhow much you love Jesus Christ.
3
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diately left the ship and their father, and followedHim.” Of most of the
apostles and immediate attendants upon Christ’s person, we have a record of
their divine and specialcall by Christ’s own voice;and in
the case ofthose respecting whom there was no record preserved, yet was it,
nevertheless, the fact, for
He had called them as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads
them out. Indeed, in all of us
who shall at any time perceive Christ’s glory, it must be because He has called
us unto this specialprivilege as the result of His electionof us!

Jesus Was the Shekinah Glory of God

Jesus Was the Shekinah Glory of God

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