God's voice, heart's echo

In what John Calvin calls 'a mutual conversation between God and the prophet,' the Lord declares, 'Seek my face.' This is a merciful invitation, a sovereign command, a glorious opportunity, and a true and sweet blessing.

The response of the wise and humble man - 'Your face, Lord, I will seek' - is earnest, immediate, obedient, resolved, and personal. By implied contrast, the careless and godless man imperils his soul through his disregard for the God who declares pre-eminently in Christ his willingness to be known and his readiness to bless.

In the Scriptures, at least three groups of men are described as seeking the Lord's face: repentant sinners, who obtain salvation; sincere supplicants, who obtain supplies of grace; and, true worshippers, who are sanctified in beholding the glory of God shining in the face of Christ, looking forward to the time when they shall see God face to face, as it were, and be like him.