Michael Card
A Face That Shone
He ate the bread of heaven
Drank water from the rock
And the grumbling children followed
Like a misbegotten flock
He climbed up on a mountain
They couldn't even touch
Who'd have known that one encounter
Could have ever meant so much
And up upon that high place
In a cleft of solid stone
His face was set on fire
As the God of Glory shone
He alone had seen it
And had lived to tell the tale
But because they feared the fire
He had to hide behind a veil
A face that shone
With the radiance of the Father
Though it had known
And endured dark desert days
A face that shone
With the glory of Another
So the prophet would discover
As the glory was fading away
He was the Bread from Heaven
He would be the smitten Rock
He had twelve confused disciples
They were his bewildered flock
When he climbed upon the mountain
He took Peter, James and John
In the face of pending glory
They soon began to yawn
As he prayed while they were sleeping
He was transfigured into Light
His face a flash of lightning
His clothes so burning bright
So Moses finally saw the face
Before he'd hidden from
Then came a voice from heaven
"This is my beloved Son"
The face that shone
Is the Glory of the Father
And he had known
From the start that it was so
The face that shone
Had let the light shine out of darkness
And we're changed into His likeness
As we gaze upon the Son
But you and me
We tend to flee from shining faces
We see the glow and then we know
That we're undone
They shine His light
Into out emptiest of spaces
With their bright and shining faces
Reflect the radiance of the Son
The face that shone
Is the Glory of the Father
And he had known
From the start that it was so
The face that shone
Had let the light shine out of darkness
And we're changed into His likeness
As we gaze upon the Son