We turn again to God's Word.
Turning now to the Old Testament Scriptures. We read there in
the New Testament in Luke chapter 11. I want to draw you back to
Exodus, in Exodus chapter 8. and read verses 16 to 19. There
we have the record of the third plague that the Lord God visited
upon the Egyptians. In Exodus chapter 8 verse 16,
And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy
rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice
throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so. For Aaron stretched
out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth,
and it became lice in man and in beast. All the dust of the
land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians
did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they
could not. So there were lice upon man and
upon beast. Then the magician said unto Pharaoh,
This is the finger of God. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened,
and he hearkened not unto them as the Lord had said. Now the words that I really want
to take for a text are these that we have in verse 19, where
the magicians say to Pharaoh, this is the finger of God. Those few words then form our
text, this is the finger of God they are strange and sudden days
of course in which we are living with COVID-19 as they now call
it this awful scourge is terrible plague that is upon the face
of the earth on Tuesday, which seems a long time ago now. Events
move on and things change so quickly. Last Tuesday some of
us, a few of us, were up at Cornbrook for a Sovereign Grace Union meeting
and an old friend, Edward McNaughton, was there and he was handing
out some photocopies that he'd done. And it was, I meant to
bring it this morning and I forgot, but it was something you'd see and I think
it was the parish church in Thatcham and on one of the outside walls
there was a plaque stating that back in 1832 something like 16
people had been struck down by what was then called the Asiatic
cholera. There was a terrible cholera
outbreak I know in the early 1830s that spread I think it
was from Sunderland in the north that's where it came in on some
of the boats that were coming into that port but it spread
right down through the nation of England and this plaque stated
that some 16 people had been buried in a plot of land just
at that side of the parish church but then he went on to say something
like until her, referring to God, said to the plague, thus
far and no further. And we are to remember then that
God, even with His finger, is able to stop the plague and to
stop even that that is taking place now that men obviously
have no control over at all. What is the thing in this morning
of that finger? The finger of God. It's in this
present plague that's upon us. It's in all these pandemics that
have ever occurred. It is, of course, in all things. What are we to understand by
the finger of God? What does it signify? What does
it point to? And I want to try to address
those questions this morning. And in doing so, to divide what
I'm going to say into some two parts. First of all, to say something
with regards to the work or the works of God, and then secondly,
to say something with regards to the way to God. First of all,
when we have such a statement as this coming from these heathen
magicians, in Pharaoh's Egypt. This, they say, is the finger
of God. Now, we know what the use of
our fingers is. We use our fingers, of course,
to work. We use our fingers, oftentimes,
to make things. And we say that some people are
very skillful with the way in which they are able to manufacture
things with their Fingers. You think of our friend Hendrik
van der Poel and some of the work that he was doing when he
was studying at West End College and some of us had the opportunity
to visit him there and to go into the various workshops. The
intricacy of some of the work that was being done in the restoration
of such fine furniture and other pieces. Fingers are used. and used to do remarkable work. And when we come to the scripture,
we read of the fingers of God. The psalmist says, when I consider
thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars
which thou hast ordained, what is man? Men's works can be very
grand, glorious, but what are the works of man in comparison
to the work of God? And yet though the scripture
speaks in this fashion of God's works in terms of him using his
fingers, we know that really God doesn't have fingers. God
doesn't have a body like we do. We're told how God is a spirit. the words of the Lord Jesus there
in John chapter 4 and Christ says the true worshippers worship
the Father in spirit and in truth. Why then is it that in scripture
we find bodily parts being attributed
to God. Well, God, of course, is simply
condescending to us. The theologians call these statements
in the Bible anthropomorphisms. Language appertaining to men
is being used in reference to God. It doesn't mean that God
has a body like men and women have. It simply is a gracious
God's speaking in such a manner that we can understand we know
that God works but God doesn't work like we work when it comes
to the great work of creation we see in Genesis chapter 1 that
God simply speaks the Lord said and it was so the Lord said and
it was so this is how God created by the word of the Lord, were
the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of
his mouth. He spake, and it was done. He
commanded, and it stood fast. Oh, this is the great God, then,
that is being referred to even by these heathen magicians. This
is the finger of God. And in this we see how the gods
Sovereignty extends everywhere. God's sovereignty even extends
to the very dust of the earth. And that's what we have in this
particular plague that's being spoken of, this third plague.
The Lord says to Moses, say unto Aaron, stretch out thy rod and
smite the dust of the land that it may become light throughout
all the land of Egypt. And they did so. For Aaron stressed
out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth,
and it became lice. In man and in beast, all the
dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt."
How remarkable is the sovereignty of God. The very dust is under
His control. This is the third plague, as
I've said, but there were two previous plagues, and what do
we see in those previous plagues? We see how God's sovereignty
extended over the River Nile, and of course the land of Egypt
ever so dependent upon that great Nile Delta. It was the waters
that cause the lands to be such a prosperous land, and at that
time Egypt was a great nation. And what does God do in the first
plague? He turns all the rivers in Egypt
into blood. His sovereignty extends to the
river. He can change the water into blood, just as the Lord
Jesus in the New Testament can change the water into wine. And then in the second plague,
what does God do? He brings frogs. out of the waters. I like the remark of Matthew
Henry when he says, Out of any part of creation God can fetch
a scourge, and all that our leaders might recognize the finger of
God in events. Out of any part of his creation
God is able to bring forth a scourge. Such is the sovereignty of God
it even extends to the very dust. Those tiny little particles,
we hardly see them. But of course on a bright day
we might see them in the atmosphere. And they settle all over the
place of course. The ladies know how necessary it is to the dusting
and so forth. But then here in this passage
we see that God's sovereignty extends even over the heathen. God's sovereignty extends over
these so-called magicians. Verse 18 we read how the magicians
did so with their enchantments, had their various tricks. They
did so to bring forth light, but they could not, it says. They could not. Now, previously,
they had been able to use their enchantments and to copy the work of God in a sense. In verse 7, the magicians did
so with their enchantments, it says, and brought up frogs upon
the land of Egypt. And again, back in the 7th chapter
there at verse 22, with regards to the magicians, We're told how they used their
enchantments. Pharaoh's heart was hardened.
It seemed that they were able also to do what God had done
in turning the river into blood. But this time, they're not able
to do as they please. And why is that? Because God
is the one who is sovereign. If he wills it, why the magicians
might hate God's works. And that would only add to the
distress of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. But now God has decreed that
they shall not be able to do what they wished with their enchantments. And when we come to the New Testament
we have reference in what Paul writes to Timothy to some of
the gods of the Egyptians. I think of those words that we
find in 2nd Timothy, the 2nd epistle to Timothy there in chapter
3, and verses 8 and 9 we have mention of the names of some
of these gods that these Egyptian enchanters would be looking to.
There was Janes and Jambres which stood Moses, so do these also
resist the truth. Men of corrupt minds reprobate
concerning the faith, but they shall proceed no further, for
their folly shall be manifest unto all men as theirs also was. Paul is speaking here of those
false teachers. And he compares them, you see,
to these heathen gods and their advocates. But God says, I shall
proceed no further. Or God is that one who is sovereign
not over the dust, but he is sovereign also over all the enchantments,
all the tricks. of those who are the advocates
of false gods. God, you see, is a sovereign
God. All the extensiveness of God's
sovereignty. Because also we see here that
He is sovereign over the great Pharaoh. In verse 19, when the
Egyptians say to Him, this is the finger of God, what do we
read? Pharaoh's heart was hardened. and he hearkened not unto them,
that is, unto either the magicians or Moses and Aaron, he hearkened
not unto them as the Lord had said." We know that God himself
certainly hardened the hearts of this man. We see it subsequently
in the language that we find in the 10th chapter. Pharaoh hardens his own heart,
God hardens his heart also. Verse 1 of chapter 10, the Lord
said unto Moses, go in unto Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart
and the heart of his servants that I might show these my signs
before him. Again at verse 20, the Lord hardened
Pharaoh's heart. so that he would not let the
children of Israel go." Verse 27, "...but the Lord hardened
Pharaoh's hearts and he would not let them go." Here we see
the sovereignty of God in hardening the heart of a man. This is that
dreadful doctrine of reprobation. We know that with God there is
a double predestination. There are those who are predestined
to eternal life. There are those who are foreordained
to eternal damnation. And how Paul brings it out. in the ninth chapter of his epistle
to the Romans. And there he refers quite specifically
to these events and to Pharaoh. Look at the language that we
have in that great ninth chapter. Verse 17, For the scripture saith
unto Pharaoh, Even for the same purpose have I raised thee up,
that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might
be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy
on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will harden." Now, I'm
aware that men don't like that, the doctrine of God's double
predestination, but it is plainly revealed in Scripture. There's
a mystery in all of these things. We have to bow before that mystery.
There is much that we cannot understand in the Word of God
and in the ways of God, but all for that grace of meekness, to
bow before the authority of God revealed to us here in His Word. The sovereignty of God then,
it's seen over the dust of the land, it's seen over all the
trickery of these magicians, It's seen there even in the heart
of the Pharaoh. In fact we see that God's sovereignty
is so absolute that it reaches Satan himself. Satan is no free
agent. In Jude verse 6 we see that the
devil is chained, he's kept under everlasting chains it says. Until that great day of judgment.
And in Job, in the opening two chapters, we see how that Satan
can do nothing in the case of Job except God permitted. There's a mystery. I cannot but
emphasize that fact. There is a mystery here. Because
God is not the author of sin. And yet, we recognize that all
things are under His control. Everything is subject to His
sovereign hand. He works, and He constantly works
even by His fingers, for the extent and of God's sovereignty.
But also here, with regards to the work of God, do we not see
the speed of His judgments? how they come and how they come
so quickly the judgments of God and how they come as it were
one upon the heels of the other in the previous verses, verse
13 God hears the prayer of Moses
and God stays his hand and the frogs cease to multiply Verse
13, the Lord did according to the word of Moses. He hears prayers.
The frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, out of the
fields, and they gathered them together upon heaps, and the
land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there
was respite, he hardened his heart and hearkened not unto
them. as the Lord had said. And the
Lord said unto Moses, say unto Pharaoh, stretch out thy rod
and smite the dust of the land. How these plagues come, one after
the other, ten plagues! Ten plagues in all, that's what
God visits upon these Egyptians. And we can think of the words
that we have in the book of the Revelation, there in Revelation
11 verse 14, the second woe is past And behold, the third woe
cometh quickly. Oh, how God works, you see. How
fast matters move on. And surely we've been very much
aware of that these past days, the week that has passed. How
things have changed with regard to this whole business of this
coronavirus. It seems to have been a very
long week. We can hardly believe some of the things that we were
doing in the first part of the week. And as the days have unfolded,
the situation has constantly changed, much quicker than ever
we could have imagined. And all of this is under God's
sovereign hand. And you know, ultimately, it
is the Lord Himself who is to come. and he's going to come
as a thief in the night. That's what it says in Peter.
The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. Oh,
there'll be wars and rumors of wars. There'll be earthquakes
and pestilences in all the earth. The hearts of men failing them
with fear. And then the Lord himself is
going to come. and he's going to come with all
haste, as a thief, in the night, so unexpected. But those who
are wise are such as are looking and waiting for that blessed
appearing of the Lord, or that these things then might cause
each and all of us to stop and to consider. All these Egyptians,
they say to Pharaoh, this is the finger of God, the extents
of God's sovereignty, the speeds of God's judgments. And then
the third thing here, I want to say something about with regards
to God's works, is the mystery. the mystery of the doings of
God when we think of our fingers they are such a small part of
our whole anatomy I know they are very important to us, of
course they are but aren't our fingers really so weak? small
things, weak things and here when we have this figure of God
having a finger we might say well that's a weak that's a weak
aspect of God but remember what Paul says right into the Corinthians
the foolishness of God he says is wiser than men and the weakness
of God is stronger than men the weakness of God is stronger than
men there is a weakness in God according to that verse Joseph
Hart brings it out in the hymn, he says, the strength of God
is owned by all, but who his weakness knows. And where do
we see that weakness? When we think of the Lord Jesus
Christ, who himself is God, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father,
very God of very God, begotten, not made of one substance with
the Father, He is equal to the Father, equal to the Holy Ghost, And we see him contracted to
a span, incomprehensibly made man, and a real man. And what do we read concerning
the Lord Jesus Christ and His life and His death? Those strange
words in 2 Corinthians 13, 4, He was crucified through weak
He was crucified through weakness. Recently we've been considering
something of His authority there at the end of John's Gospel.
His authority in His remarkable prayer of chapter 17, the high
priestly prayer. He has authority as He speaks
to the Father. And we thought also of His authority
when it comes to His death. They cannot lay a finger upon
Him, when they come to arrest Him, they fall back from Him.
He declares His deity, I am, He says. And they fall backwards. When He comes to die, His death
is a voluntary sacrifice. No man was able to take His life
from Him. He had power to lay that life
down, He had power to take that life again. That was the commandment
the Father had given to Him. And so upon the cross, what does
He do? He yields up the ghost. He commends his spirit, his soul,
into the hands of God. He makes a voluntary sacrifice,
and he has power, he has authority to do that. And yet, and yet
we have that statement there in 2 Corinthians 13, for he was
crucified through weakness. Oh, this is the great mystery.
The most wonderful of all the works of God that mystery of
the work of redemption. What does the Lord say in prophecy
concerning His dying? I am a worm and no man, a reproach
of men and despised of the people. He's speaking of Himself there
in Psalm 22. The mystery, you see, the mystery
not only of His coming into the world, the mystery of the incarnation, the miracle of the virgin birth,
but all the mystery of His dying. And you know the content of that
22nd, that remarkable 22nd Psalm, and the opening words, My God,
My God, why hast thou forsaken me? He cries, all the agonies
of His soul, as if there could be some separation between Him
as the Eternal Son and the Eternal Father. God is One, and God cannot
be divided. And yet, there is a truth of
it. All the mystery of God's doings, when we see it ultimately,
in that revelation that God gives of himself in the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that one who is the image of the invisible
God, and the work, the work that he came to accomplish here upon
the earth. The weakness. This is the finger,
of God, say these magicians unto Pharaoh. What blessed truths
are found when we come to consider the way in which God works, even
in judgments. And these plagues were a real
judgment upon the Egyptians. And I doubt not for a moment
that what is taking place, not only in this nation, but amongst
all the nations of the earth, it seems. It's a judgment. God has a controversy with the
earth. And it is not surprising to us
when we consider what men do, and what men have done. The millions
of little babies slaughtered in the womb. How evil it is. God doesn't wink at these things.
The perversions of men. And now all of that's now legalized. And now matters just grow worse
and worse. Gender identity, that's the latest
thing. And men think God doesn't take any account of these things.
God does take account. And God will visit his judgments
upon the earth, and we see it. We see it in the very day in
which we're living, and we're to pray surely that God would
open the eyes and the ears of those who are in places of authority
that they might see the folly of their sinful ways. Well, let
us turn in the second place to say something with regards to
the way to God. We don't only use our fingers
in order to manufacture and make things. We often use our fingers
to give direction. you can think of the evangelist
there at the beginning of Pilgrim's Progress, how he directs Christian,
he's there burdened in that city of destruction and he directs
him to the Wicked Guide. Do you see on the Wicked Guide,
he says. You know how the The book unfolds
really something of the wonder of the way of salvation, that
remarkable gift that was given to John Bunyan in writing that
wonderful allegory. But the evangelist points, and
he points to the way of salvation. Fingers are using to give directions. And doesn't God here, in the
plagues, really direct us to himself? Look at what we read
previously in chapter 7. Firstly, God says, I will harden
Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the
land of Egypt but Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you that I may
lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth mine armies and my people,
the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians, mark the words,
The Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord when I stretch
forth mine hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel
from among them. What is God doing? He's directing
them to himself. He's pointing to himself. Or
the prophet Micah says, The Lord's voice crieth unto the city, The
man of wisdom shall see thy name. Hear ye the rod, and who hath
appointed it? These events, they point to God. We know that all of providence
directs us to God. We think of such a psalm as that
that we find in the 107th. And it's a psalm, a longish psalm,
43 verses, it's unfolding God's providences in various areas
of our lives. And what does it say in the last
verse? Who so is wise? And we'll observe
these things. Even they shall understand the
loving kindness of the Lord. Are we wise? Do we observe these
things? God's people, they hear God's
voice not only as He comes and speaks in His Word, but they
They hear his voice in his doings, in his deeds, in his ways, in
his providences. Or are we amongst those who are
wise, observant people? Well here, thinking of the way
to God, do we not have to recognize that miracles very much point
to the Lord Jesus Christ? We read as I said at the beginning
there in the 11th chapter of Luke. Now the reason I read that
particular portion was simply because I wanted to bring to
your attention what Christ says in verse 20 of our reading. There the Lord says to the Jews,
If I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom
of God is come. upon you. We have the finger
of God there in the New Testament, words spoken by the Lord Jesus,
just as we have the finger of God here in the Old Testament,
words spoken by these heathen magicians. But it's the same
God. It's the same finger. The Lord
Jesus refers to the finger of God with regards to His works. His miracles, and amongst those
great miracles, of course, He is casting out the devils. And
what are those miracles? Are they not signs? Are they
not signs that direct us, that point us to Jesus of Nazareth,
and point us to the glorious truth of His deity? That Jesus
of Nazareth, as Peter confesses there, Caesarea Philippi thou
art the Christ, he says, the Son of the Living God. Oh, he is the Christ, he is God.
God's eternal Son, God's Son now manifest in the flesh. And you know, I've said it before
many a time, that in John's Gospel the The word that is constantly
being used, rendered miracles, in our authorized version, is
literally the Greek word for a sign. That's the basic meaning
of the word that is used. There at the beginning of John,
John 2.11, we're told this beginning of miracles, literally this beginning
of signs did Jesus, in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth
his glory. and His disciples believed in
Him all the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us and we beheld
His glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father He
is manifesting that glory that He is the only begotten the eternal
Son of God and it's a miracle it's a miracle that points to
the blessed truth of his diet. Again, think of the testimony
of a man like Nicodemus at the beginning of John chapter 3.
Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, for
no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be
with him. He's on the way, that man. He's
recognizing there is something so unique about this man. God
is with him. Why? God is with him he is in
fact God manifest in the flesh and so the Lord tells those Jews
who were accusing him of casting out demons by the very spirit
of Beelzebub well here you see they are implicated in that sin
against the Holy Ghost It is not by Beelzebub. No, he cast out demons by the
finger of God. But then, compare Scripture with
Scripture, and we must always do this, you know. This is the
best way to understand God's Word, not just sitting on a verse
as a sort of proof text, but seeing God's Word in the wholeness
of it. and interpreting one part of
scripture by another part of scripture. I've said this many
a time. How do we understand the Old Testament? We understand
the Old Testament in the light of the New Testament. There in the New Testament we
have the fullness, the finality of the revelation of God. We
have God now in these last days speaking unto us by his Son.
And so we bring the New Testament to bear on passages in the Old
Testament that we might rightly interpret and understand. And
we should constantly be comparing Scripture with Scripture. And
remember we have not just one Gospel but we have a fourfold
Gospel. And so we can compare the accounts
as we have them in each of those Gospels. And the point I make
is this, that there in Luke 11.20 we read of the finger of God.
But when you read the same occurrence in Matthew's account, Matthew
12.28, the Lord says, if I cast out
devils by the Spirit of God, if I cast out devils by the Spirit
of God, then is the kingdom of God come upon you. What is the finger of God? It's
the Spirit of God. It's the Spirit of God. Oh, and
isn't the Spirit that One who above and beyond all else directs
us, points us to the Lord Jesus Christ? He shall testify of me,
says the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, it is so remarkable. Who
is the Spirit? Who is the Holy Ghost? He is
God. He is the third person of the
Trinity. That's how we describe Him. God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is equal
to the Father, He is equal to the Son. But what do we read
when we come to John chapter 16, where the Lord
is very much speaking of Him and His coming. There in verse 13, Howbeit when
he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth,
for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear
that shall he speak, and he will show you things to come, he shall
glorify me. for he shall receive of mine
and shall show it unto you." Oh, this is his ministry, in
the outworking of God's great purpose of salvation, when he
comes, and he comes there in all his glory on the day of Pentecost
in Acts chapter 2, but he comes very much as the Spirit of Christ.
He doesn't come to draw any attention to himself, though he be God.
How self-effacing that ministry of the Spirit is, He directs
us to Christ. He points us to the Lord Jesus
Christ. And how is it that the Holy Ghost
does that? How is it that He directs us
to the Lord Jesus? Well, it begins, of course, with
that great work of conviction that He accomplishes in the soul
of the sinner. and we have it again there in
that 16th chapter of John at verse 8 following when He has
come He will reprove the world or the Margin says convince the
world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment of sin because you
believe not on me of righteousness because I go to the Father and
you see me no more or the vindication of Christ in all His righteousness
His resurrection is essential, of judgment, because the Prince
of this world is judged. Oh, Christ is that one, you see,
who has vanquished sin and Satan, death and the grave and the spirit. He reproves me of their unbelief. Oh, that accursed sin, the sin
which does so easily beset us. He comes to convince. And how
does he convince? He convinces really by the Word
of God, by the Law of God. By the Law of God. That's the
ministry of the Law, is it not? By the Law, Paul says, is the
knowledge of sin. We know that whatsoever things
the Law saith, it saith to them who are under the Law. that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before
God. That's the work of the Spirit.
Now, think of that law, those tables of the law. Deuteronomy
9.10 we read of two tables of stone written with the finger
of God. That law was written with the
finger of God. And Paul speaks of it, you know,
Therefore has that that is a ministration of death written and engraven
in stone. Oh, there's a permanence about
that law. And that's the ministry of the
law, the second great use of the law to convince the sinner
of his sins. And oh, when God does right with
His finger, it troubles me. Recently we were looking at the
experience of Darius there in remember in the fifth chapter
of the book of Daniel when he sees the writing upon the wall
and how that great haughty monarch, monarch of the Medes and the
Persians is brought to tremble before the finger of God. Let's turn into the passage. It's there in Daniel chapter
5 at verse 5. In the same hour came forth fingers
of a man's hand and wrote over against the candlestick upon
the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. And the king saw
the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was
changed and his thoughts troubled him. so that the joints of his
loins were loose and his knees smote one against another. And it's Daniel who comes and
interprets the writing and tells the king, verse 25, this is the
writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tikal, Uphazim. This is the interpretation of
the thing, Mene, God has numbered thy kingdom and finished it.
Tikal, now what? weighed in the balances, and
art found wanting, Perez, thy kingdom is divided and given
to the Medes and Persians." Oh, that great man you see, how he
lost his kingdom. The words aren't being spoken
to Darius, I was mistaken there, it's Belshazzar. Belshazzar is
the one that the writing appears to, it's Darius the Median who
then takes the kingdom. But the writing, you see, the
writing with the fingers of a man's hand, it's the hand of God. And
it's God bringing conviction into a man's heart, into his
soul. He trembles. Again, you can think
of those words at the beginning of John chapter 8. The Lord Jesus
there, they bring to Christ a woman and they say this woman was taken
in adultery in the very act. Now the Pharisees, you see, they
want to condemn her. And do you remember what the
Lord does? He writes with His fingers upon
the ground. Now what He wrote we don't know,
but He writes with His finger upon the ground. And He says
to them, the one without sin is to cast the first stone. And
they're all then troubled in their consciences. And they slink
off. They move away. None of them
cast a stone. Oh the Lord you see, He brings
that conviction. But the wonderful thing when
it comes to salvation, The great promise of salvation that we
have in Scripture is that God, in salvation, writes not upon
tables of stone, but He writes upon fleshy tables of the heart. That's the great promise of the
New Covenant. And there are various passages
that make that quite clear to us. But I think in particular
of words that we have there in the book of the Prophet Jeremiah,
In Jeremiah 31 and verse 33, God says, This shall
be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After
those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward paths,
and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they
shall be my people. And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord, for they shall all know Me, from the least of
them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. That's the
promise of the covenant, the new covenant, the covenant of
grace, the forgiveness of sins, and sins buried in the depths
of the sea, lost in forgetfulness, removed as far as the East is
from the West, from those who have this blessed experience
when the Lord comes and writes his law in the inward path. He
affects a change. The sinner is a new creation
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, see how the Apostle
in that third chapter of 2nd Corinthians, we've already referred
to it, but there in verse 3 he speaks of those Corinthians as
an epistle of Christ the epistle of Christ he says written not
with ink but with the spirit of the living God not in tables
of stone but in fleshy tables of the heart or when the Lord
comes with his finger as it were and when the Lord comes and begins
to deal with us maybe he has to finger our conscience and
he makes us to feel what we are as sinners or when he applies his word you
see that law that is holy and that commandment which is holy
and righteous and just and good when God applies that and we
see how we've sinned, how we've fallen but that is but the beginning
but he that begins a good work accomplishes all his work He
never aborts His works. He comes and He'll effect that
change in the heart of the sinner, He'll change the heart of the
sinner. And here is the mark, you know, when we know the Lord,
we not only delight in those promises, and what promises they
are, that great promise of the New Covenant, I will forgive
their iniquities, He says. I'll remember their sins no more.
But not only the the promises we also delight in all those
holy precepts or when God comes and writes his law upon our hearts
and it's all always directing us to the Lord Jesus Christ and
isn't that the calling of those who have tasted of that grace
of God I think of the hymn we're going to sing just now and those
final words of John Sennich then will I tell to sinners round
what a dear Saviour I have found I'll point to thy redeeming blood
and say behold the way to God that's the finger of God or that
the terrible events of these days men's hearts fail in them
with fear how many are anxious, worried, fearful that all that
these things might have a voice, and that men's eyes might be
directed to Him who is the only Saviour, the only hope of sinners,
even the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the finger of God. May the Lord be pleased to bless
His word to us. Amen. Let us sing as our concluding
hymn. And that's hymn of Senex, number 144. The tune is Meryton,
366. Jesus, my all to heaven is gone,
he whom I fix my hopes upon, his track I see, and I'll pursue
the narrow way till him I view. Hymn number 144.