As it says:"Moses hastened [to prostrate himself]"(Ex. 34:8), for he saw G-d attribute of Truth.
G-d's attribute of Truth is so awesome that even Moses could not stand erect in its revelation
There's a general inquiry about why G-d's attibute of Truth is included as one of the 13 Attributes of Mercy. On the one hand, Truth is quick to point out faults. On the other hand, sometimes you see a person walking in the street and to you he might look like a big tzaddik, "saintly person", dressed in a long jacket and a beard coming down to his knees. So if he's really a tzaddik so he must be judged very strictly in all his deeds. But then comes the attribute of Truth and points out that this person has merely an external saintly appearance but inside he's a rotten apple. This is the compassion side of Truth.
Similarly, when one sees only the external appearance of the world, of current events and politics, he might become angry about all that he hears. But when one examines these realities according to the attribute of Truth, one sees a list of empty words, made-up stories, and fairy tales of the Brother Grimm. For instance, if I see the Prime Minister as a state leader, I might be outraged to hear of his doings. But from the perspective of Truth I see he's after all only a small person so a small person can also steal a little bit sometimes...
So we see that it's possible to find merit in G-d's eyes even when He's looking at us with strict judgement. Our G-d always includes kindness and judgement together and always leaves a way for improving the situation and fixing mistakes.
(The text in italics are the words of Derech Mitzvosecha by the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek. The bolded words are Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz's commentary as heard on his shiurim on hashefa.co.il. The rest is my commentary.)
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