What Does "Glory" Mean?

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Ex 33:18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.

Ex 34:5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.

There are two components to God's glory. There is the visible which is overwhelming and then there is the proclamation which is meant to stir within us a feeling of awesomeness which causes us to exalt the Lord and submit ourselves to him. This second component is what Matt is referring to by weightiness. We speak of ideas and emotions as having weight. "I felt the weight of the world on me as I stepped into the batter's box."

The Glory of God shown all around. The shepherds that heard the announcement of the savior being born were seeing the same visible backside of God's glory that Moses saw. This visible glory accompanied the proclamation "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."

Moses was told that God punishes sin totally and also forgives totally. This is impossible until we behold the cross of Christ. The Cross is the front side of God's glory. The cross is the greatest representation of God's glory. In it we see God's nature, his purpose and his attributes focused into one point in history.

So think of glory as the full revelation of God's nature and attributes and the weightiness of the impact on our reason as we comprehend, (even with our finite capacity) the awesomeness of God. Glory is the full Weight of the full Truth of God in His fullness.
 
1. Great honor, praise, or distinction accorded by common consent; renown. 2. Something conferring honor or renown. 3. A highly praiseworthy asset: Your wit is your crowning glory. 4. Adoration, praise, and thanksgiving offered in worship. 5. Majestic beauty and splendor; resplendence: The sun set in a blaze of glory. 6. The splendor and bliss of heaven; perfect happiness. 7. A height of achievement, enjoyment, or prosperity: ancient Rome in its greatest glory. 8. A halo, nimbus, or aureole.

I think "renown" is a good synonym.
 
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