Augustine of Hippo : The saintly Moses, his faithful servant, showed the flame of this desire of his when he said to God, with whom he spoke face to face as to a friend: "If I have found favor before you, show me yourself." What, then? Was it not himself? If it were not himself, he would not have said "Show me yourself" but "Show me God"; yet, if he really beheld his very nature and substance, he would have been far from saying "Show me yourself." It was himself, therefore, under that aspect in which he willed to appear (but he did not appear in his own very nature) which Moses longed to see, inasmuch as that is promised to the saints in another life. Hence the answer made to Moses is true that no one can see the face of God and live; that is, no one living in this life can see him as fully as he is. Many have seen, but they saw what his will chose, not what his nature formed … when he willed … not in his nature under which he lies hidden within himself even when he is seen. Peter Chrysologus : This is why love which longs to see God, even if it lacks judgment, does have the spirit of devotion. This is why Moses dares to say, "If I have found favor in your sight, show me your face." This is why another man says, "Show us your face." Finally, this is why the Gentiles fashioned idols. In their errors they wanted to see with their eyes what they were worshiping. — SERMON 147 Augustine of Hippo : When Moses asked the Lord: Show me your glory, the Lord answered him: I will come before you with my glory and I will call with the name of the Lord in your presence: and I will have mercy on whom I will have pity, and I will have mercy on whom I have had mercy (Exodus 33,19) , even though the Lord had told you shortly before: I myself will pass before you and give you rest (Exodus 33,14). The expression: I will pass in front of you seems to be that Moses understood it in the sense that God would not be present with him and with the people during the trip, and that is why he says: If you do not come with us, do not make me leave from here (Exodus 33,15), etc. However, God did not deny him this, but said to him: I will do to you also what you have asked me (Exodus 33,17). Therefore, when Moses said to him: Show me your glory, how does it seem to say to you again: I myself will pass before you, implying that I was going to precede you and I was not going to accompany you, unless it is something else? Because it is understood that he speaks to him and says: I will pass before you, the same one who says the gospel: The time has come to pass Jesus from this world to the Father (John 13,1). This step or transit is often interpreted as Easter. It is, therefore, a very great prophecy. For he, Jesus, before all the saints passed from this world to the Father to prepare the mansions of the kingdom of heaven, which he will give them in the resurrection of the dead, because he, who was to pass before all, became in the firstborn among the dead (Cf Colossians 1,18). At the same time he highlights his grace, saying: And I will call with the name of the Lord in your presence. As if it were done in the presence of the people of Israel, whose image represented Moses when he heard these words. Christ the Lord is called in all nations in the presence of his own nation scattered everywhere. And it is said: I will call (vocabo) and I will not be called (vocabor). The verb becomes active and not passive, using a genre of unusual expression, in which there is undoubtedly a great hidden sense. With this expression perhaps he wanted to indicate that he himself does this, that is to say, he does with his grace that the Lord be called (invoked) in all nations. And I will take pity on whom I will have pity and I will have mercy on whom I will have had mercy. By adding these words, he manifests in a much clearer way the vocation with which he called us to his kingdom and his glory, not by our merits, but by his mercy. And since God promised that he would bring the Gentiles into his kingdom, saying: "I will call with the name of the Lord in your presence, he came to tell us that this was done mercifully, as the Apostle says: For I say that Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises of the fathers, so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy (Rm 15,8.9). For he had predicted this: I will take pity on whom I will have pity and I will have mercy on whom I have had mercy. With these words he forbade man to glory, as if it were the merits of his own virtues, affirming that whoever boasts will boast in the Lord (2 Corinthians 10,17). He does not say: I will take pity on such and such, but on whom I will have pity, so that no one believes that he merited the mercy of such a great vocation for his previous good works. For Christ died for the ungodly (Rm 5,6). But I do not know if he wanted to repeat this when he said: And I will have mercy on whom I have had mercy - or as others translate: with whom I have been merciful - or if there is any difference between the two phrases. For what the Greek language expresses with two eleeso and oikteiréso verbs-words that seem to mean the same thing-the Latin translator could not express it with different words and repeated the same idea in two different ways. But if it had been said: "I will take pity on who gave me mercy" and "I will take pity on who gave me mercy" or "I will take pity on whom I will have pity," it would not seem that he had expressed himself well enough. And yet, that sense is stronger there, because God, with that repetition, or shows the firmness of his mercy-like "amen, amen," (Cf John 5,19.24.25; Sal 88,53; 71,19; Genesis 41,1-7) or "fiat, fiat," or like the repetition of Pharaoh's dream and many other similar examples, or God foretold in that way that he would have mercy on both peoples, the Gentiles and the Hebrews, which the Apostle expresses thus: For as you once did not believe in God, but now you have obtained mercy for cause of their unbelief, so they did not believe now on the occasion of your mercy, so that they too may obtain mercy. For God imprisoned all in unbelief, to have compassion on everyone (Rm 11,30-32). Then, after this affirmation of his mercy, God responds to what was asked of him: Show me your glory (Exodus 33,18). Or what Moses had asked before with these words: Show yourself to me, that I see you clearly (Exodus 33,13). And God responds: You will not be able to see my face; No one can see my face and live (Exodus 33,20). With these words the author shows that God can not appear as he is in this life, which is lived under the mortal senses of the corruptible flesh. That is to say, as it is, God can only be seen in that life in which, to be able to live it, one must die to it. Interposing a sentence, the Scripture says next: And the Lord said; and then he adds: Here is a place next to me (Exodus 33,21). But what place is not next to God, who is not absent from anywhere? With these words: Here is a place next to me, the Church is symbolized, as if referring to a temple, and continues saying: You will stand on the rock - because, as the Lord says: On this stone I will build my Church (Matthew 16,18) as soon as my glory passes, that is, as soon as my glory passes, he will stand on the rock, because after the passage of Christ, that is, after the passion and resurrection of Christ, the faithful people will be of foot on the rock. And it continues: And I will put you in the cave of the rock. This means a very strong defense. Others, on the other hand, translate: On the watchtower of the rock. But the Greek has open door, and this we translate more exactly by hole or cavern. And I will cover you with my hand until I pass, Then I will remove my hand and then you will see my back; but my face will not see it (Exodus 33,22.23). Since before he said: You will be standing on the rock as soon as my glory passes -text which means that after its passage God promises stability on the rock-, how is it necessary to interpret the words: I will put you in the cave of the rock and I will cover you with my hand until I pass. Then I will take my hand away and then you will see my back? Does it mean that once Moses is placed on the rock, God will cover him with his hand and then pass by, not being able to stand on the rock but after the passage of the Lord? In fact, it is necessary to see here a recapitulation of an omitted thing, as Scripture often does. In effect, he says later what in the order of time is earlier. The order would be as follows: I will cover you with my hand until I pass, and then you will see my backs; but my face you will not see it. And you will be standing on the rock as soon as my glory passes and I will put you in the rock cavern. This, indeed, happened with those whom the person of Moses meant, that is, with the Israelites, who later believed in the Lord Jesus, as the Acts of the Apostles say, that is, as soon as his glory passed (Cf Acts 2). For after rising from the dead and rising to heaven, as the apostles spoke the tongues of all nations by the coming of the Holy Spirit from heaven, many of those who had crucified Christ repented. As they did not recognize him and crucified the Lord of glory, partial blindness came to Israel (Rm 11,25), according to what had been said: I will cover you with my hand until I pass. And that's why the psalm says: Because day and night your hand has weighed on me. It calls day at the time when Christ worked miracles; and night, at the time when he died as a man, when those who had believed during the day hesitated. When it has passed, then you will see my back: this means that when I have passed from this world to the Father, then those whom you represent will believe in me. Because then, with deep hearts, they said: What shall we do? And the apostles commanded them to do penance and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that their sins would be forgiven (Cf Acts 2,37.38). In the quoted psalm, after the words: Day and night your hand has weighed on me - that is, so that I did not know; for if they had known him, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Corinthians 2,8) the author continues saying: "The grief has fallen on me, while the spine was stuck," (Ps. 31,4) that is, when I was pricked in my heart. Then he continues: I recognized my sin and I did not hide my evil (Ps.31,5). Then they understood with what great sin they crucified Christ. And since they accepted the advice to do penance and to receive in the baptism the forgiveness of sins, he says: I said: «I will confess the crime against the Lord against me», and you forgave the impiety of my heart. Reality itself sufficiently indicates that this prophecy was rather what the Lord said to Moses, since nothing is read that has happened after a visible way about his rock or his cave, or the placement of his hand or the vision of their backs. The Scripture, in effect, adds immediately, inserting a phrase: And the Lord said to Moses, when in fact the Lord also said those things that are before. And then interspersed what the Lord said: Wash two stone tablets like the first, etc. (Exodus 34,1) — QUESTIONS ON EXODUS, Q. 154 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)