THE FAMILY ALTAR

June 14.

"The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious

unto thee." Num. 6:25.

When Moses pleaded with God to show him His glory, God

answered Him: "Thou canst not see My face; for there shall no

man see Me and live." (Ex. 33, 20.) The reason is that God's

holiness is like consuming fire for sinful man. His holiness is

so great that even the angels are not stainless in His sight. God,

therefore, must veil His face for the sinner. He did so for Moses

and Israel, when He led them on their journey through the wilder-

ness in the cloud of smoke by day and the pillar of fire by night.

But who was it that thus led Israel in the wilderness and shed

His bright glory over their camp at night? It was none other

than God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as we gather from

Paul's own words, 1 Cor. 10:1 — 5. Christ is the brightness of God

the Father's glory and the express image of His person. (Heb. 1, 3.)

When Philip said to Him: "Lord, show us the Father, and it

sufficeth us," He could answer: "Philip, he that hath seen Me

hath seen the Father." (John 14, 8. 9.) When we, therefore, hear

the blessing: "The Lord make His face shine upon thee," we are

to know that it is God's gracious face shining on us in the person

of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, of whom John confesses: "We

beheld His glory, the glory as of the Only-begotten of the Father,

full of grace and truth." In Him, in Him alone, God is gracious

unto us and hears our plea when we repentantly pray with the

publican : "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Are we not blessed

when we thus have God's grace in Christ Jesus, our Lord? What

good thing can we lack, be it of body or soul, if the almighty

and everlasting God in heaven loves us, and pardons us, and blesses

us for Jesus' sake?

The Lord, my God, be praised,

My Trust, my Life from heaven,

The Father's own dear Son,

Whose life for me was given,

Who thus atoned for me

With His most precious blood,

Who giveth to my faith

The greatest heavenly good.