10578.“又说，你不能看见我的面”表教会、敬拜和圣言的内层神性事物不能向以色列民族透露。这从“耶和华的面”和“看见”它们的含义清楚可知：“耶和华的面”是指教会、敬拜和圣言的内层神性事物（参看10567，10568节）；“看见”它们是指透露它们。这些内层神性事物不可能透露给以色列民族，这一点从以下事实明显看出来：耶和华的话是向摩西说的，而摩西在此代表以色列民族的首领（10556节）。“耶和华的面”表示圣言、教会和敬拜的内层神性事物，这一点也可从以下事实明显看出来：“耶和华的面”和“耶和华的荣耀”具有相同的含义，因为摩西说“求你使我看见你的荣耀”，而耶和华说“你不能看见我的面”；而“耶和华的荣耀”表示圣言、教会和敬拜的内层神性事物（可参看10574节）。
这一切的情形从前面的频繁说明可以看出来，即：以色列民族根本不能看见敬拜、教会和圣言的内层事物，因为他们的兴趣在于与内在之物分离的外在事物，因此他们也不能看见“耶和华的面”。但那些兴趣在于并未与内在之物分离的外在事物之人都能看见圣言、教会和敬拜的内层事物，因此能看见“耶和华的面”。由此可推知，那些处于对主之爱的人，以及那些处于对邻之仁的人能看见它们；因为对主之爱和对邻之仁打开内在人，当内在人打开时，就其内层而言，人就在主所在的天上天使当中。
但必须在此简要说明什么叫对主之爱，或说什么叫爱主。人若以为他可以爱主，却不照主的诫命生活，就大错特错了，因为照主的诫命生活就是爱主。这些诫命就是从主所获得，因而拥有主在里面的真理。因此，这些诫命被爱，也就是一个人出于爱照它们生活到何等程度，主就在何等程度上被爱。原因在于，主爱人，并出于爱渴望他永远蒙福；若不照着祂的诫命生活，没有人能蒙福。因为一个人通过这些诫命重生，并变得属灵，以这种方式被提升到天堂。但爱主却不照祂的诫命生活并不是爱祂，因为这时，此人没有主能流入并将他提升到自己这里的任何东西在自己里面。他就像一个空虚的器皿，因为他的信里面根本没有任何生命，他的爱里面也没有任何生命。被称为永生的天堂生命不是直接，而是间接被注入任何人。由此可见什么叫爱主，什么叫见主或祂的面，即以这种信和爱看见祂。
照主的诫命生活京是照仁与信的教义生活，这教义可见于出埃及记各章节的开头部分。主也在约翰福音中教导，情况就是这样：
有了我的诫命又遵守的，那人是爱我的。爱我的必蒙我父爱他，我也要爱他，并且要向他显现。人若爱我，就必遵守我的话，我父也必爱他，我们要到他那里去，并要在他那里作我们的住处。不爱我的人就不遵守我的话。（约翰福音14:21，23-24）
接下来的章节将说明“耶和华的面”进一步的含义。
Potts(1905-1910) 10578
10578. And He said, thou canst not see My faces. That this signifies that the interior Divine things of the church, of worship, and of the Word cannot appear to the Israelitish nation, is evident from the signification of "the faces of Jehovah," as being the interior Divine things of the church, of worship, and of the Word (see above, n. 10567, 10568); and from the signification of "seeing them," as being to appear. That these interior Divine things cannot appear to the Israelitish nation, is evident from the fact that this is said to Moses, and Moses here bears relation as the head of the Israelitish nation (n. 10556). That the "faces of Jehovah" denote the interior Divine things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, is also evident from the fact that the like is signified by the "faces of Jehovah" as by the "glory of Jehovah," for Moses said, "Make me see I pray Thy glory;" and Jehovah said, "Thou canst not see My faces;" and by "the glory of Jehovah" are signified the interior Divine things of the Word, of the church, and of worship (as may be seen above, n. 10574). [2] How the case herein is can be seen from what has been frequently said before, namely, that the Israelitish nation could not possibly see the interior things of worship, of the church, and of the Word, because they were in external things separate from what is internal, thus neither could they "see the faces of Jehovah." But those who are in external things not separate from what is internal, can all see the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, thus they can "see the faces of Jehovah." From this it follows that those can see them who are in love to the Lord, and also those who are in charity toward the neighbor; for love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor open the internal man, and when this is open, the man in respect to his interiors is in heaven among the angels where the Lord is. [3] But it shall here be briefly told what love to the Lord is, or what it is to love the Lord. He who believes that he loves the Lord, and does not live according to His commandments, is very much mistaken, for to live according to the Lord's commandments is to love Him. These commandments are truths which are from the Lord, thus in which the Lord is; and therefore insofar as they are loved, that is, insofar as men live according to them from love, so far the Lord is loved. The reason is that the Lord loves man, and from love wills that he may be happy forever, and man cannot become happy except by a life according to His commandments, because by means of these a man is regenerated and becomes spiritual, and in this way can be raised into heaven. But to love the Lord without a life according to His commandments is not to love Him, for then there is not anything with the man into which the Lord may flow and raise him to Himself; because he is like an empty vessel; there being nothing of life in his faith, and nothing of life in his love. The life of heaven, which is called eternal life, is not poured into anyone immediately, but mediately. From all this it can be seen what it is to love the Lord, and also what it is to see the Lord, or His faces, namely, that He is seen from such faith and love. [4] To live according to the commandments of the Lord is to live according to the doctrine of charity and of faith, which doctrine may be seen in what is prefixed to the several chapters of the Book of Exodus. That this is the case the Lord also teaches in John:
He that hath My commandments, and doeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. If a man love Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. He that loveth Me not keepeth not My words (John 14:21, 23-24). What is further signified by "the faces of Jehovah" shall be told in the article which now follows.
Elliott(1983-1999) 10578
10578. 'And He said, You cannot see My face' means that things which are interior and Divine in the Church, worship, and the Word cannot be revealed to the Israelite nation. This is clear from the meaning of 'Jehovah's face' as things that are interior and Divine in the Church, worship, and the Word, dealt with above in 10567, 10568; and from the meaning of 'seeing' them as the revelation of them. The impossibility of their being revealed to the Israelite nation is clear from the consideration that Jehovah's words are addressed to Moses, and Moses here represents the head of the Israelite nation, 10556. The meaning of 'Jehovah's face' as things that are interior and Divine in the Word, the Church, and worship is also evident from the consideration that 'Jehovah's face' has a similar meaning to 'Jehovah's glory', since Moses said, 'Cause me, I beg You, to see Your glory', and Jehovah replied, 'You cannot see My face'; and 'Jehovah's glory' means things that are interior and Divine in the Word, the Church, and worship, see above in 10574.
[2] The situation with all this may be recognized from what has often been stated before, to the effect that the Israelite nation was not at all able to see the interior things of worship, the Church, and the Word because their interest lay in external things separated from what was internal, and so they were incapable of seeing Jehovah's face, either. But all those whose interest in external things does not exclude what is internal see the interior things of the Word, the Church, and worship, and so see Jehovah's face. From this it follows that those governed by love to the Lord and also those governed by charity towards the neighbour see them; for love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour open the internal man, and when this has been opened a person is, on the level of his interiors, in heaven among angels where the Lord is.
[3] But a brief statement of what love to the Lord or loving the Lord is must be made here. Anyone who supposes that he can love the Lord without leading a life in keeping with His commandments is very much mistaken; for leading a life in keeping with them is what constitutes loving the Lord. Those commandments are truths received from the Lord, and so are such as have the Lord within them. To the extent therefore that those commandments are loved, that is, to the extent that a person is inspired by love to lead a life in keeping with them, the Lord is loved. The reason why this should be so is that the Lord loves the person and in His love desires him to be eternally blessed; and no one can become blessed except through a life led in keeping with His commandments. For by means of these the person is being regenerated and made spiritual, and can then be raised to heaven. But loving the Lord without leading a life in keeping with His commandments does not constitute loving Him, for then the person has nothing within him into which the Lord can flow and raise him to Himself. He is like an empty vessel, in that there is no life at all in his faith, nor any life at all in his love. The life of heaven, called eternal life, is not poured into anyone directly but through some agency. From all this it may be recognized what loving the Lord is, and also what seeing the Lord or His face is, namely seeing Him with that kind of faith and love.
[4] Leading a life in keeping with the Lord's commandments consists in leading a life in keeping with the teachings about charity and faith, which you can see in the preliminary sections to each of the chapters of the Book of Exodus. The Lord Himself also teaches in John that this is what it consists in,
He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me. But he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. If anyone loves Me he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words. John 14:21,23,24.
What more is meant by 'Jehovah's face' will be stated in the paragraph immediately below.
Latin(1748-1756) 10578
10578. `Et dixit, Non potes videre facies Meas': quod significet quod Divina interiora Ecclesiae, cultus, et Verbi non apparere possint genti Israeliticae, constat ex significatione `facierum Jehovae' quod sint Divina interiora Ecclesiae, cultus, et Verbi, de qua supra n. 10,567 10,568, ex significatione `videre illa' quod sit apparere; quod illa non possint apparere genti Israeliticae, constat ex eo quod hoc dicatur ac Moschen, et Mosche hic refert caput gentis Israeliticae, n. 10,556. Quod `facies Jehovae' sint Divina interiora Verbi, Ecclesiae, et cultus, patet etiam ex eo quod simile per `facies Jehovae' significetur quod per `gloriam Jehovae'; dixit enim Mosche, `Fac videre mihi quaeso gloriam Tuam, et dixit Jehovah, Non potes videre facies Meas,' et per `gloriam Jehovae' significantur Divina interiora Verbi, Ecclesiae, et cultus, videatur supra n. 10,574. [2] Quomodo cum his se habet, constare potest ex illis quae prius saepe dicta sunt, quod nempe gens Israelitica nullatenus videre potuerit interiora cultus, Ecclesiae, et Verbi, quia in externis separatis ab interno erat, ita {1}nec potuit videre facies Jehovae; at qui in externis sunt non separatis ab interno, illi omnes possunt videre interiora Verbi, Ecclesiae, et cultus, ita facies Jehovae; inde sequitur quod qui in amore in Dominum sunt, et quoque qui in charitate erga proximum, illi videant, nam amor in Dominum et charitas erga proximum aperiunt internum hominem, quo aperto homo quoad interiora sua est in caelo inter angelos ubi Dominus. [3] Verum paucis hic dicetur quid sit amor in Dominum seu amare Dominum: qui credit quod amet Dominum, et non vivit secundum praecepta Ipsius, maxime fallitur, nam vivere secundum illa est amare Dominum; praecepta illa sunt vera quae a Domino, ita in quibus est Dominus, quapropter quantum illa amantur, {2}hoc est, quantum ex amore vivitur secundum illa, tantum amatur Dominus; causa est quia Dominus amat hominem, et ex amore vult ut felix sit in aeternum, et homo non felix (t)potest fieri nisi per vitam secundum praecepta Ipsius; per illa enim regeneratur homo et fit spiritualis, et sic potest {3} elevari in caelum; at amare Dominum absque vita secundum praecepta Ipsius, non est amare Ipsum, nam tunc non est aliquid apud hominem in quod influat Dominus et elevet illum ad Se, est enim sicut vas vacuum; quippe non est aliquid vitae in fide ejus, nec aliquid vitae in amore ejus, vita caeli, quae Vocatur vita aeterna, non {4} infunditur alicui immediate sed mediate. {5}Ex his constare potest quid sit amare Dominum, et quoque quid sit videre Dominum, aut facies Ipsius, {6}nempe quod ex fide et ex amore tali {7}videatur. Vivere secundum praecepta Domini est vivere secundum doctrinam {8}charitatis et fidei, quam videatis in praemissis ad singula capita libri Exodi. Quod ita sit, etiam docet Dominus apud Johannem, Qui habet praecepta Mea et facit illa, ille est qui amat Me; qui vero amat Me, amabitur a Patre Meo, et Ego amabo illum et manifestabo illi Me Ipsum: si quis amaverit Me, verbum Meum servabis, et Pater Meus amabit illum, et ad illum veniemus et mansionem apud illum faciemus. Qui non amat Me, verba Mea non servat, (x)xiv 21, 23, 24. Quid praeterea significatur per `facies Jehovae,' in articulo nunc sequente dicetur. @1 non$ @2 ita$ @3 i homo$ @4 i illis$ @5 inde$ @6 nam$ @7 videtur$ @8 fidei et charitatis$