Exodus 34:9

“And he said, if now I have found grace in thy sight, etc.] Or “seeing now”, for he could have no doubt upon his mind but that he had found grace and favour in the sight of God, since he had caused his goodness and glory to pass before him, and made such a proclamation of his grace and mercy to him; but he takes it for granted, and improves it, and argues upon it, as follows: O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go amongst us; as the Lord had signified as if he would not go among them, but leave them to the conduct of a created angel; and Moses had before prayed that his presence or face might go with them, (<023303>Exodus 33:3,14) and now having some fresh tokens of the favour and good will of…”

“he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us--On this proclamation, he, in the overflowing benevolence of s heart, founded an earnest petition for the Divine Presence being continued with the people; and God was pleased to give His favorable answer to Moses' intercession by a renewal of His promise under the form of a covenant, repeating the leading points that formed the conditions of the former national compact.”

“This yearning struggle after assurance is like the often-repeated utterance of the heart, when it receives a blessing beyond its hopes, “can this be real?” return to 'Top of Page'”

“And he said, I pray thee go among us - For thy presence is all to our safety and success. And pardon our iniquity and our sin - Else we cannot expect thee to go among us. And take us for thine inheritance - Which thou wilt have a particular eye to, and concern for. These things God had already promised Moses; and yet he prays for them, not as doubting the sincerity of God's grants, but as one solicitous for the ratification of them. But it is a strange plea he urges, for it is a stiff - necked people - God had given this as a reason why he would not go along with them, Exo 33:3. Yea, saith Moses, the rather go along with us; for the worse they are, the more need they have of thy presence.…”

“If now: Exo 33:13, Exo 33:17 let my Lord: Exo 33:14-16; Mat 28:20 stiffnecked: Exo 32:9, Exo 33:3-5; Isa 48:4 pardon: Num 14:19; Psa 25:11 take us: Exo 19:5; Deu 32:9; Psa 28:9, Psa 33:12, Psa 78:62, Psa 94:14, Psa 135:4; Jer 10:16; Zac 2:12 Exodus 34:10”

“On this manifestation of mercy, Moses repeated the prayer that Jehovah would go in the midst of Israel. It is true the Lord had already promised that His face should go with them ( Exo 33:14); but as Moses had asked for a sign of the glory of the Lord as a seal to the promise, it was perfectly natural that, when this petition was granted, he should lay hold of the grace that had been revealed to him as it never had been before, and endeavour to give even greater stability to the covenant. To this end he repeated his former intercession on behalf of the nation, at the same time making this confession, "For it is a stiff-necked people; therefore forgive our iniquity and our sin, and make us…”