'He will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all
people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.'--ISAIAH xxv. 7.


The previous chapter closes with a prediction of the reign of Jehovah in
Mount Zion 'before His elders' in Glory. The allusion apparently is to
the elders being summoned up to the Mount and seeing the Glory, 'as the
body of heaven in its clearness.' The veil in this verse is probably a
similar allusion to that which covered Moses' face. It will then be an
emblem of that which obscures for 'all nations the face of God.' And
what is that but sin?

I. Sin veils God from men's sight.

It is not the necessary inadequacy of the finite mind to conceive of the
Infinite that most tragically hides God from us. That inadequacy is
compatible with true and sufficient knowledge of Him. Nor is it 'the
veils of flesh and sense,' as we often hear it said, that hide Him. But
it is our sinful moral nature that darkens His face and dulls our eyes.
'Knowledge' of God, being knowledge of a Person, is not merely an
intellectual process. It is much more truly acquaintance than
comprehension; and as such, requires, as all acquaintance does, some
foundation of sympathy and appreciation.

Every sin darkens the witness to God in ourselves, In a pure nature,
conscience would perfectly reveal God; but we all know too sadly and
intimately how it is gradually silenced, and fails to discriminate
between what pleases and what displeases God. In a pure nature, the
obedient Will would perfectly reveal God and the man's dependence on