From the syllabus for ST601 – The Doctrine of God at Reformed Baptist Seminary. Lectures from a prior version of this class are available free in both audio and video.
“And Jehovah said to Moses, I will do this thing also that you have spoken; for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. And he said, Show me, I pray thee, thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before you.” (Exod.33:17,18)
Moses hungered to see the glory of God. He pleaded, “Show me, I pray thee, thy glory.” This should be our prayer as we approach and study the doctrine of God. Reverent hunger to see his glory should motivate all these studies and lectures. We must hunger to see the glory of his existence, the glory of his knowledge, the glory of his nature, the glory of his names, and the glory of his decree. Let our hearts hunger to know him, and thirst after the knowledge of him. Notice that the Lord promised to give Moses the desire of his heart, “I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Jehovah before you.” God also fulfilled this promise, as Exod.34:6,7 records, “And Jehovah passed by before him, and proclaimed, Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth; keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.” When we come with reverent hunger, God will fill our hungry hearts with the knowledge of himself. He will not disappoint us, but will surely show us his glory, and satisfy us with the display of all his Name. We know also that Moses came with reverent hunger, for when God answered his prayer we read, “And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.” The doctrine of God should not be approached in a detached or critical spirit, nor as a philosophical quest, with hunger for speculation. It is an abomination. If any course in theology should be pursued with spiritual hunger, this one should be. The doctrine of God should never be dull, dry, speculative, or philosophical. It should be pulsing with spiritual life and hunger. Few things are more grievous than a doctrine of God devoid of the spiritual reality that pleads, “Show me, I pray thee, thy glory.” Let us try with all our might approach this course with Moses’ disposition.
