Albert Barnes Commentary Exodus 33:19-20

"And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of Jehovah before thee; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me and live." — Exodus 33:19-20 (ASV)

But his request could not be granted in accordance with the conditions of human existence. The glory of the Almighty in its fullness is not to be revealed to the eyes of man (Isaiah 6:5). A further revelation of the divine goodness was, however, possible .

It was granted to Paul, as it had been to Moses, to have special visions and revelations of the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:1–4). But he, also like Moses, had to recognize the narrow reach of human intellect in the region of the Godhead (1 Timothy 6:16). However intimate our communion with the Holy One may be, as long as we are in the flesh, we are still to see through a glass darkly, waiting for the time when we shall see, with no figure of speech, face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12). Then we know that we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

Will be gracious... (Exodus 33:19) — Yahweh declares His own will to be the ground of the grace which He is going to show the nation. Paul applies these words to the election of Jacob in order to overthrow the self-righteous boasting of the Jews (Romans 9:15).

Referring to Exodus 33:20: Such passages as this, being clearly in accordance with what we know of the relation of spiritual existence to human senses, show how we are to interpret expressions like face to face (Exodus 33:11; Deuteronomy 34:10), mouth to mouth (Numbers 12:8), and others of a similar kind. (Isaiah 6:1; and compare to John 14:9).