O Word of God Incarnate – William Walsham How (1867)

O Word of God incarnate, O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth, unchanged, unchanging, O Light of our dark sky,
We praise Thee for the radiance that from the hallowed page,
A lantern to our footsteps, shines on from age to age.

The Church from her dear Master, received this gift divine,
And still that light is lifted o’er all the earth to shine.
It is the golden casket, where gems of truth are stored;
It is the Heav’n-drawn picture of Christ, the living Word.

The Scripture is a banner before God’s host unfurled;
It is a shining beacon above the darkling world.
It is the chart and compass that o’er life’s surging sea,
‘Mid mists and rocks and quicksands, still guides, O Christ, to Thee.

O make Thy Church, dear Saviour, a lamp of purest gold,
To bear before the nations Your true light as of old.
O teach Your wand’ring pilgrims by this, our path to trace,
‘Til, clouds and darkness ended, we see Thee face to face!

The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130)

Lifting the Veil on Sanctification

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Exodus 32-34 details Moses’ response to Israel’s worship of the golden calf. In their false worship, Israel broke the Ten Commandments they’d twice previously agreed to obey. In his anger at their sin, Moses slammed the two tablets of stone to the ground, illustrating Israel’s disobedience.

One result of Israel’s sin was God’s refusal to dwell in the midst of His people. Instead He’d remain far off (Exodus 33:7). Sin separated God and man.

From outside the camp, Moses would enter the tabernacle of meeting to hear from God and then bring God’s message to the people. Moses became the mediator between God and man.

Whenever Moses met with God, his face shone like a lamp, reflecting the majesty and glory of God. The glow terrified the people because it revealed God’s perfect holiness and the darkness of their sin-corrupted hearts. After delivering God’s word, Moses would veil his face – not to hide the glory of God – but to hide the fact that the glory quickly faded from his own face (Exodus 34:30; 2 Corinthians 3:13). Moses’ veil protected the people from God’s judgment but also kept them from being transformed by God’s glory.

In Second Corinthians 3, Paul uses the shining face of Moses as an illustration. Many people only see the Bible as a series of stories, God’s wrath, commandments impossible to comprehend or comply with, and difficult sayings. Sin veils the heart from seeing Jesus in Scripture, the primary reason Scripture exists!

But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (2 Corinthians 3:16). When we follow where the Scripture leads – which is always to Jesus – we see Him in all His glory and can’t but help to love, adore, obey, and worship Him alone.

Now we all, we who trust in Jesus by faith, have the veil of separation removed and we find ourselves looking in a mirror. The shadows are replaced by a crystal clear revelation of Jesus. As we lovingly gaze at His image revealed in Scripture, something remarkable happens to us: the Bible becomes ever clearer and we find our own image being transformed bit by bit, from glory to glory, into Christ’s moral likeness and character. This is sanctification!

Playing Hide and Seek

My son enjoyed playing the game “hide and seek” when he was very little, but he had an unusual way of playing. I would count to ten while he would hide – by covering his own head with a blanket. He assumed that if he couldn’t see me, I couldn’t see him. He was “hiding” right in front of me.

Of course, as a good father, I played along with him.

Today, when most people read the Bible they are looking for answers to life’s problems. In fact, that’s the way most pastors preach. It’s called “relevant” or “practical” preaching. You’ll hear sermons on how to raise your children, experience good sex, speaking in tongues, resolving conflict, balancing your checkbook, and the Beattitudes. Listening to the radio this morning, I heard a well-known national pastor preaching his Sunday sermon on the dangers of sugary foods.

I’d like to suggest that these “practical” talkings are not the point of the Scriptures, and for the most part are distractions. I’d also like to suggest that you refine your own reading and understanding of the Bible.

Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day: If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? (John 5:46-47). Jesus claimed that the writings of Moses (and the whole of the Old Testament) were written to reveal Him.

If the religious leaders missed the point of the Bible, how about you? We may sing, “It’s all about Jesus …” but is He the One we are looking for in the pages of the Bible? It’s like He’s hiding right in front of us and we don’t see Him.