These lines in Macbeth are spoken by King Duncan to his son Malcolm after Malcolm comments on the noble nature of Cawdor's death and just before Macbeth arrives on the scene. Duncan is saying that there is no way to tell what a man is thinking by looking at his face. If you could tell what someone is thinking then he would have known Cawdor was going to betray him. Duncan is also suggesting that Malcolm cannot know what Cawdor was thinking just because he died in a noble manner. The entire quote follows:
...There's no art
To find the mind's construction in the face.
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust. (12-15)
The irony in the lines points backward and forward. Backward to Cawdor, because the king trusted him and he turned out to be a traitor, and forward because Macbeth is about to enter the scene and to be given the now vacant title of Cawdor by Duncan. Macbeth, too, of course, will become a traitor. Duncan will not see this betrayal coming, either.
The juxtaposition of Cawdor's noble death, Duncan's admittance that he cannot tell what is on his men's minds, and Macbeth's entrance into the scene create interest and anticipation in the audience.
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