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1. That which alone is worth seeing, which gladdens the soul, which Moses prayed to see, which holy men of old saw only in glimpses, which heaven and earth were intended to reveal, for the beholding of which our eyes were formed, for the appreciation of which our minds were made, for the revelation of which Christ lived and died, is "the glory of God."

2. Christ does not speak of God Himself, but of some visible display of His invisible excellencies. The glory of God is that which shows Him to be the glorious Being He is, and through it we reach the knowledge of Himself; but the special glory here is that of the bringer of life out of death. That Lazarus's resurrection was a signal display of Divine glory is evident from the greatness of the thing itself. To remove the penalty of death, to undo its work, to swallow it up in victory, are things in which man can have no share, and the glory God is to get from it is the greatest next to Christ's resurrection. One man raised was to show His glory; what will not myriads do?

I. GOD'S PURPOSE TO REVEAL HIS GLORY. Man may hide himself because he has nothing of his own; God cannot, because all His fulness is His own. For His own sake and the creature's He must show Himself. For the sun to withdraw its shining would not be half so terrible as God's refusal to reveal Himself.

II. CHRIST'S DESIRE IS THAT WE SHOULD SEE THE GLORY OF GOD. Sin had hidden the Father, Christ came to roll off the clouds. Love for the Father makes Him desirous of this, for He desires the Father's glory; and love to us, for He desires our blessedness; and all our life, consolation, holiness, heaven, lie in this.

III. UNBELIEF HINDERS OUR SEEING HIS GLORY.

1. It hinders Christ from working those works which show the glory (Matthew 13:58; Matthew 6:5, 6; Mark 9:23, 24).

2. It hinders us from perceiving the glory that is in the works even when they are wrought (John 6:26). To unbelief the miracles appeared only striking things in which there was little meaning; it was faith that drew aside the veil.

3. It hinders us from enjoying the glory even after we have in some measure seen it. We only get rays at intervals when we should see the whole sun continuously.

IV. CHRIST'S REPROOF OF UNBELIEF AND CALL TO FAITH. Let Christ's words shame us out of our unbelief. Trust Him in your sorrows as well as your joys, and you will see the glory of God in both.

(H. Bonar, D. D.)

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KJV: Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

WEB: Jesus said to her, "Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see God's glory?"