Let's turn again tonight to Exodus
chapter 3. Exodus chapter 3. As you know, I'm working on my
commentary on this blessed, blessed book of Holy Scripture portraying
the salvation of God's elect by the deliverance of Israel
out of Egypt, them coming to the possession of the land of
Canaan by the hand of God. Here in Exodus 3 verse 19, when
the Lord God sent Moses to deliver Israel out of the land of Egypt,
he said, and I am sure, I am sure that the king of Egypt will
not let you go. No, not by a mighty hand. And I will stretch out my hand
and smite Egypt with all my wonders, which I will do in the midst
thereof. And after that, he will let you
go." The Lord God of the Hebrews sent Moses to Pharaoh, determined
to harden Pharaoh's heart. God was determined to harden
Pharaoh's heart. Yes, Pharaoh hardened his heart.
And the scripture declares plainly that God hardened Pharaoh's heart. He hardened Pharaoh's heart repeatedly
so that he might perform wonders in Egypt by which he would manifestly
display both to the Egyptians and to the children of Israel
and to the nations around Egypt, that God put a difference between
his people and all other people. God distinguishes his elect from
all other people. He distinguishes them in sovereign
election. He distinguishes them in redemption. He distinguishes them, calling
them by his grace. And he distinguishes them, separating
them from others, using all the events of time to do so. So that the very earth, which
was subject to ruin and destruction because of the sin of our father
Adam, that very earth itself is made always to help God's
people to the Redeemer. We don't have to believe that.
We don't have to believe that. Read the 12th chapter of the
book of Revelation, and you'll see that the earth opens up to
help the woman. The earth opens up to help the
woman. God Almighty so rules the universe
that he constantly performs wonders in this world, in all the affairs
of providence. bring his elect to life and faith
in Jesus Christ the Lord. The Lord God here determined
to perform his wonders in the land of Egypt. And in order to
do that, he hardens Pharaoh's heart, and hardens Pharaoh's
heart, and hardens Pharaoh's heart, and hardens Pharaoh's
heart. He said, Pharaoh will not let you go, no, not by a
mighty hand, until I have performed my wonders in the land of Egypt. Then he'll let you go. Then he'll
let you go. Now, this is my subject tonight.
Wonders in the land of Ham. Turn, if you will, to Psalm 105.
We're going to look at Scripture together. Psalm 105. You'll remember
in Genesis chapter 9 that Noah's three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth,
are set before us distinctly. Ham was cursed by Noah, cursed
by God, to be servant of servant to Shem and Japheth. Servant
of servants to God's elect, both among the Jews and among the
Gentiles. So that Ham's purpose for existence. Ham's purpose for existence. Are you listening? Ham represents
all the reprobate of this world. All of them. All the reprobate
of this world. Ham exists for just one reason. To be servant to God's elect. To help you and me toward glory. to help God's elect toward heaven,
to help God's elect forever. Ham exists only for that purpose. Now here in Psalm 105, the scripture
tells us plainly that the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt is that
which God accomplished performing his wonders in the land of Ham. Look at verse 23. Israel also
came into Egypt and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham, in the land
of that cursed people, the land of Ham. And he increased his
people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies.
He turned their heart to hate his people. He turned their heart
to hate his people. God, the Lord, Jehovah, turned
their heart to hate his people, to deal subtly with his servants. He sent Moses, his servant, and
Aaron, whom he had chosen. They showed his signs among them
and wonders in the land of Ham. Wonders in the land of Ham. Oh, God, teach us to read our
newspapers every day and to observe the affairs of this world every
hour as works of our God performing wonders in the land of Ham for
us. I just caught your eye, Daniel,
how God has arranged things in this world to cause you to hear
the gospel. How God has arranged things and
worked things by the hands of godless, reprobate, wicked men
so that you hear the gospel of his grace and believe on his
son. God is performing wonders in
the land of Ham all the time. That's all he does is wonderful
things. That's all he does. All his providence
wanders in the land of hell. This is held before us by Moses,
Nehemiah, David, Jeremiah, through the book of the Psalms, and in
the book of Acts. It's held before us as a subject
of constant unceasing praise. Don't forget, God performed wonders
in the land of Ham. God showed us wonders in the
land of Ham. God showed us wonders in the
land of Ham. Over and over again, we're told
to remember this, that we might give praise to His name, and
that we might be encouraged to walk before Him with confidence,
with faith, and with good hope of things everlasting. these
wonders in the land of hell. Look back at our text in Exodus
3, verse 19 and 20 again. The Lord said to Moses, I am
sure, I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go. No, not by a mighty hand. He was sure of it because God
had ordered it from eternity. For the Scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this 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. No hand could bow the heart of
Pharaoh. No hand could bend the will of
that obstinate king of Egypt except one, the omnipotent hand
of the omnipotent God. In fact, the opening words of
verse 19 might be translated this way. I am sure that the
king of Egypt will not let you go except by a mighty hand. And that seems to be the best
translation if you read it in connection with the next line.
The Lord God says, He doesn't say, but I will stretch out my
hand. He says, and I will stretch out
my hand. Pharaoh was raised up by God, set on a throne in Egypt by God,
exalted to power by God, over the children of Israel by God,
and his heart turned to hate the children of Israel by God,
and he dealt suddenly with the children of Israel by God, and
he did this because God was determined to harden Pharaoh's heart and
show in Pharaoh, God always has His way. God always saves His
people. None can stay His hand or say
unto Him, what doest thou? God Almighty was determined from
eternity to use this man Pharaoh to show His power upon him in
the deliverance of His people. And I am sure that the king of
Egypt will not let you go except by a mighty hand. And I will
stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with all my wonders, which
I will do in the midst thereof. And after that, he will let you
go. Now may God the Holy Ghost be
our teacher. In a few weeks, the weeks ahead,
in our Bible classes, Lindsay is going to be dealing with these
wonders God performed in Egypt. He'll be dealing with them through
chapter 7, 8, and 9 in the book of Exodus. But I want us to look
at these 10 plagues tonight and see some things in them. These 10 plagues, wonders God
performed in the land of Ham. Plagues upon Egypt, but God calls
them wonders. The psalmist calls them wonders
performed for us, performed upon the Egyptians, performed upon
the people of Egypt, performed upon Pharaoh, but performed for
us, for our people. Now, these plagues are held before
us in the book of Revelation, chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11,
as things which typified the wonders of God in the land of
Ham throughout the ages. things by which God brings judgment
upon the reprobate and displays his distinguishing grace upon
his elect. As our mighty Savior, the Lord
Jesus goes forth through the ages of time in all the world,
conquering and to conquer. He rides upon the stallion of
a mighty conqueror through all the ages of time in all history
Always conquering and to conquer. Never hindered, never halted,
never made to pause, never defeated. Always conquering and to conquer,
he rides forth in the saving of his elect. So Pastor, you
must see things differently than I see them. I hope not. I hope not. I'm not talking about
what you read with your natural eye in the newspaper. I'm not
talking about what you hear with your natural ear by the reports
of men. I'm talking about understanding
God and His ways in this world. Brother Scott Richardson, years
ago, made this statement. You've seen it in our bulletin
a few times. I'll put it back in there soon,
Lord willing. He said, if we had the power of God, we would
change everything. Had we the wisdom of God, we
would change nothing. Have you got that? Had we the
power of God, you and I would mess everything up. We'd change
everything, everything. Had we the wisdom of God, we
wouldn't change anything. It's caught Bill's eye. If I
had the power to do so, I would change what your wife's been
going through for so long. If I had the power to do it,
I'd change it. I'd change it right now. But
thank God I don't have the power. He who has the wisdom to do so
and the power to do so has ordered things just as they are. performing wonders in the land
of hell. And I don't have to see how God
brings deliverance to any of his chosen. I don't have to see
God accomplish the work for any of his chosen to believe him.
Seeing is not believing. Believing is seeing. Seeing is not believing. Believing
is seeing. Let's see his wonders. These
typical pictures of God's deliverance of his people by which the Lord
Jesus brings his elect to bow to his feet and ultimately will
bring all his foes to his footstool. These 10 wonders God performed
in Egypt, they came in succession, one after the other, with brief
space between them, each time giving Pharaoh and the Egyptians
space for repentance. But they refused to repent. And the Lord God hardened Pharaoh's
heart with more severe judgments following. You see, the fact
is judgment never brings repentance. It just doesn't do it. You see
somebody get sick, well, boy, that'll do it. No, it won't.
You go to the funeral home, and you see a woman standing beside
her husband's casket, and God's taken him. And she's so brokenhearted,
and she starts to express some religious thoughts. And she starts
to go to church for a little while. Ah, looks like the Lord's
done something for her now. No, judgment doesn't do it. Judgment
won't do it. Children lose their parents in
an accident, lose them both all of a sudden, and the children,
rebel kids, all of a sudden get a little religion and start to
act differently, cry, and they're all upset. Oh, how they change. No, judgment won't do it. Judgment
won't do it. When folks are cast into hell,
they still won't repent. Read the book of God. It doesn't
happen. It doesn't happen. That's one
reason you won't find a faithful preacher chasing ambulances.
Lawyers and hiring preachers do, not faithful men. Judgment
doesn't bring repentance. It's the goodness of God that
leads you to repentance. God brought wonders in the land
of Ham. Judgment after judgment after
judgment upon those reprobate people. And they heartened their
hearts time and time and time again. 10 times we see it. The
first wonder God performed in Egypt in chapter 7, look at it,
was turning the waters of the Nile River into blood and death. Look at verse 17, chapter 7.
Thus saith the Lord, in this thou shalt know that I am the
Lord. Behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand
upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be
turned to blood. And the fish that is in the river
shall die, and the river shall stink, and the Egyptians shall
loathe to drink the water of the river. I can't help pointing
out the fact that the first wonder wrought by Moses was turning
water into blood. He turned water, water. That's the essential, essential
thing of life. He turns it into blood, turns
it into death. Our Lord's first miracle, He
turned water into wine. You see, everything in the law,
just like the waters of the Nile River were turned into blood,
is made a source of condemnation and death to all men because
of sin. It is called a ministration of
death in 2 Corinthians 3. Everything in the law, everything
touched by the rod of Moses, everything that Moses handles
is a condemnation to all men because of sin. But everything
in the gospel brings forth life and vitality and liberty. That
which is touched by the rod of Moses is smitten with death. Everything's a curse under the
law. But that which is touched by the hand of Christ is made
to live. The Lord Jesus Christ makes everything
a blessing. He puts his blessing upon everything. He sanctifies everything so that
He commands us by the wise man to enjoy the wife of youth and
to go and rejoice because God accepts your works. God Almighty
in His grace, in His matchless free grace in His Son, accepts
us in the totality of our beings. Blessing us with his grace and
making his grace to bless everything Touching our lives the chapter
8 of Exodus Exodus chapter 8 the second plague in Egypt Was that
of frogs? We'll just look at verses 5 and
6 you can read the whole thing later But in Exodus 8 verses
5 and 6 the Lord spake unto Moses say unto Aaron Stretch forth
thy hand with thy rod over the streams over the rivers, over
the ponds, and caused frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand
over the waters of Egypt, and frogs came up and covered the
land of Egypt. There was a striking progression
in these plagues that God sent upon Egypt. The first was remote
and distant. It wasn't right next door. We
were confined to the rivers and to the water. But this second
plague is such that the plague came much closer to each person.
Frogs came into their houses. Frogs came into their bed chambers.
The psalmist says in Psalm 105, verse 30, their land brought
forth frogs in abundance in the chambers of their kings. So that
the frogs were everywhere, everywhere. When men hardened their hearts
and refused to hear God, warning them with judgment after judgment.
warning them with billow and wave after wave of judgment constantly
set before them, and they harden their hearts. God sends greater
judgment, greater darkness, and greater hardness. Third, look
at Exodus 8, 16. God sent lice to cover the Egyptians. so that all the dust of the land
was turned into lice. God forgive me. When I read what
we're about to read right now, I immediately start to think
there's got to be some kind of a way to say this differently. Surely, surely God didn't turn
every speck of dust in Egypt into lice. Let's see. Exodus
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 Moses stretched
out his hand, or Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and
smote the dust of the earth, And it became lice in man and
in beast. Now watch this. All the dust
of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. What a horrible, disgusting,
filthy plague. Other plagues were on water and
property. Here's a plague that comes directly
upon every man in the land. Every woman, every little boy,
every little girl, every animal in the land, covered with lice.
The sons of Ham were under the curse of God. And Pharaoh's magicians
were now stoked. They had imitated other wonders
that the Lord performed, but this, they couldn't even pretend
to imitate. They were compelled to confess
something that Pharaoh wouldn't hear, but they said, Pharaoh's
magician said, this is the finger of God. This is the finger of
God. Nobody could do this but God. But still, no change was wrought
in Pharaoh. Pharaoh's heart was hardened,
and he hearkened not, even to the voice of his own magicians,
as the Lord had said. Verse 19. Now look at verse 20,
Exodus 8, 20. The Lord sends swarms of flies. The Lord said unto Moses, rise
up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, lo, he
cometh forth to the water, and saying to him, thus saith the
Lord, let my people go. that they may serve me. Else,
if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms
of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people,
and into thy houses. And the houses of the Egyptians
shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they
are." Flies everywhere. Flies filling every part of the
land. Flies filling every house, every
cupboard. Flies so thoroughly covering
the land that the ground is covered with the stinking, dirty flies. What a stench the land must have
been. But those flies, those flies, Pharaoh looked at and
was apparently affected. He finally gets the message. Not really. His heart was unchanged. But in order to get some relief
from the torment, he consented to let Israel go. And then as
soon as the torment was over, he hardened his heart and refused
to let Israel go, we're told in verse 32. Flies were everywhere,
but that's not exactly right. That's not exactly right. You
read these chapters, chapter 7 through chapter 9. Actually,
get over to chapter 10. And you find that there was always
an exception. Flies were everywhere except
in the land of Goshen. Everywhere else in Egypt except
where the Israelites lived. Flies were everywhere. You can't
believe that unless you believe this book. Flies were everywhere,
but there wasn't any in the land of Goshen. None there. The Lord
God of the Hebrews thereby made an open, miraculous display of
discriminating grace, mercy, and love. He put an invisible
but a very clearly obvious net over the land of Goshen. And
while it plagued the land of Ham, let's say this whole building
here, this is the land of Egypt. And right here, right here, this
pulpit, this is the land of Goshen. God just put a net over this
thing here, and it flies everywhere else. But no flies here. No flies
here. How can that be? How can that
be? God Almighty graciously, constantly preserves His own. He performs wonders. Wonders
for us. Look at verse 22. And I will
sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell,
that no swarms of flies shall be there, to the end that thou
mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. And
I will put a division between my people and thy people. Tomorrow shall this sign be.
He said, he said, Moses, you go tell Pharaoh, I'm going to
send swarms of flies everywhere, except in Goshen. And my people
won't need a fly swatter anywhere in the land. And I'm going to
do it tomorrow. Not day after tomorrow, not tonight,
not three days. Tomorrow, this ain't coming to
pass. How wondrously God protected and blessed the children of Israel.
How wonderfully. God protects and blesses his
elect in this world. Every day, every day is the witness
of God's hand, of God's promise, of God's purpose, of God's goodness
to his elect. Fifth, the fifth plague in the
land of Ham, the fifth wonder in Egypt, was even more severe
and terrifying. Because Pharaoh still hardened
his heart and refused to let Israel go, at an appointed time,
the Lord God sent pestilence, pestilence upon all the cattle
of the Egyptians, identifying it as the work of his own hand
in an undeniable way. Look at chapter nine, verse one.
He again makes an obvious display of distinguishing grace toward
his people. Not one calf, not one lamb in
all the flocks and herds of the Hebrews was found dead. Exodus
chapter 9, verse 1. Then the Lord said unto Moses,
go in unto Pharaoh and tell him, thus saith the Lord God of the
Hebrews, let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou
refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, behold, the
hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle, which is in the field,
and upon the horses, and upon the asses, upon the camels, and
upon the oxen, and upon the sheep, there shall be very grievous
berain. And the Lord shall sever between
the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and there shall
nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel. And the
Lord appointed a set time, saying, tomorrow the Lord shall do this
thing in the land. And the Lord did that thing on
the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died, but of the cattle
of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and
behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites
dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was heartened, and he did not
let the people go. Oh, children of God, how we ought
to rejoice in God's constant discriminating grace. Turn to
the 91st Psalm. Let's read it together. Psalm
91. He that dwelleth in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the
Almighty. I will say of the Lord, he is
my refuge and my fortress, my God. In him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee
from the snare of the fowler and from the Norse and pestilence.
He shall cover thee with his feathers. And under his wing
shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield
and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for
the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flyeth by day,
nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction
that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy
side, and 10,000 at thy right hand." Now watch this. Watch
this. The arrow, the pestilence, the
darkness, the destruction, it shall not come nigh thee. What's that mean? Brother Don,
you surely can't believe that's talking about those things in
a physical way. You've been sick. You've been
in hospital. You know what that is. Oh, it hadn't touched me. It hadn't
touched me. It brings some pain to this body,
brings some weakness to this body. It hadn't touched me. Oh,
no. Nothing harmful has ever touched
me and never can. You see, I abide
under the shadow of the Almighty. And when God Almighty has finished
with all things in this world for me, these shall be just instruments
in His hand by which He brings me at last to glory. Look at
verse 8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou
behold and see the reward of the wicked. For this shall everyone
that is godly pray. Pray for God ever. to hide you
under the shadow of his wings. As the earth bore parts in the
curse, I repeat what I said in the beginning. God causes the
earth to have a hand in the deliverance of his elect. Got to hurry. Look
at chapter 9 of Exodus, verse 8. The sixth plague upon the Egyptians,
the sixth wonder performed by God in the land of Ham, was boils
breaking forth with blames upon man and beast. Exodus 9 verse
8, and the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, take you two
handfuls of ashes of the furnace and let Moses sprinkle it toward
heaven in the sight of Pharaoh and it shall become small dust
in the land of Egypt and shall be a boil breaking forth with
blazes upon man and upon beast throughout all the land of Egypt.
And they took the ashes of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh,
and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven, and it became a boil,
breaking forth with blades upon man and upon beast. And the magicians
could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the
boil was upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. And the
Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them
as the Lord had spoken to Moses. Throughout the land, universal
epidemic broke out. Things that had never been heard
of before. Their bodies were covered with
running sores. Who can imagine such a thing?
But there it stands, and it's the work of God. Some of you here may yet Be without God, and without life,
and without faith, and your hearts hardened against God. Oh, what a dreadful, horrible
thing it is to have the God, the Lord God of the Hebrews for
your enemy. Hold your hands here and turn
to Deuteronomy 28. I want you to read this with me. Deuteronomy
28. You look at a man who's worked
hard and he's gotten a lot, man, he's just, he's really really
achieve things. He's wealthy and he's prosperous.
It looked like he didn't have a chance. It looked like if there's
anybody that's going to wind up spending his life either in
prison or on welfare or just bumming around, it'd be him.
But he worked hard, and he's with diligence, acquired much.
And you look at him, and he's got his children all around him,
his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren. Not one of them ever caused him
any trouble. All of them get along just fine. And folks look
at him and say, boy, he's so blessed of God. Not hardly. Not hardly. Not if he doesn't know God, he's
not. Not if he's under the wrath of God, he's not. Those things
are but like taking a calf and putting him in a stall and shoving
feed at him 24 hours a day. Just keep shoving the feed at
him. Shoving the feed at him. Those other cattle out there,
if they knew what it was to envy, they'd envy that cattle. He's
shoving the feed at him. But there's a reason for it.
You're getting ready to kill it. You're getting ready to kill
it. Listen to this. Listen. Deuteronomy 28, verse
15. It shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken to the
voice of the Lord thy God, to observe, to do all his commandments
and his statutes which I command thee this day, that all these
curses shall come upon thee and overtake thee. If you refuse
to trust the Son of God, that's the only way you keep His commandments.
If you refuse to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, these curses
shall come upon you. They're going to chase you down.
They're going to chase you down and overtake you. Cursed shalt
thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed
shalt thou shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be
the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, and the increase
of thy kind, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou
be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest
out. The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke,
in all that thou settest thine hand for to do, until thou be
destroyed, and until thou perish quickly, because of the wickedness
of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. Verse 22. The Lord
shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an
inflammation, and with extreme burning, just like He did the
Egyptians. And with an extreme burning,
and with a sword, and with blasting, and with mildew, and they shall
pursue thee until thou perish. Verse 28. The Lord shall smite
thee with madness and blindness and astonishment of heart. And
thou shalt grope at noonday as the blind grope within darkness.
And thou shalt not prosper in thy ways. And thou shalt be only
oppressed and spoiled evermore. And no man shall save thee."
All right, back here next to us. The seventh wonder God performed
in Egypt The seventh plague he accomplished in the land of Ham
was the thunder, lightning, rain, and hail described in chapter
9, verses 13 through 35. Let's start at verse 22. The Lord said to Moses, stretch
forth thine hand toward heaven. and that there may be hail in
all the land of Egypt, upon man and upon beast, and every herb
of the field throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched
forth his rod toward heaven. And the Lord sent thunder and
hail, and fire ran along upon the ground, and the Lord rained
hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail and fire mingled
with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it
in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail
smote throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the
field, both man and beast. And the hail smote every herb
of the field and break every tree of the field. Now watch
verse 26. Only in the land of Goshen, where
the children of Israel were, was there no hail. Oh, what distinguishing grace.
And there were some among the Egyptians, we're told in verse
20, who feared the Word of the Lord. They heard what was going
on. They heard judgments coming.
And they must have heard something about mercy and grace, because
they went out and gathered their sheep and their cattle indoors.
They brought them in. Just a few, just a few, and not
one of them died. They believed God, and they too
obtained the blessing of God upon Israel in the land of Goshen. When Israel went out of Egypt,
you remember they went out a mixed multitude. That is, some of the
Egyptians were converted, picturing God's elects scattered among
the nations of the world. You and me too. Christ, he said
he would give for light to the Gentiles, because Gentiles as
well as Jews are saved by his free grace in Christ the Lord.
The eighth plague was a plague of locusts covering the land,
devouring all the vegetation of the land. Look at chapter
10. And the Lord said to Moses, go in and to Pharaoh, for I have
hardened his hearts. and the heart of his servants,
that I might show these my signs before him, and that thou mayest
tell in the ears of thy son and of thy son's son what things
I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among
them, that you may know that I am the Lord." Moses, the man
of God, was commended to tell Israel that the Lord God had hardened
Pharaoh's heart, that he might openly display before Israel
and Egypt his distinct choice of Israel, his special care for his own,
his mighty grace, his mighty power in saving his own. And
he says, be sure to tell your boys Moses, tell your sons, tell
your sons, tell your sons, tell your sons and daughters, tell
them and tell them and tell them and tell them and tell them again.
This is what God does in all the world. He performs wonders
in the land of Ham for the saving of his elect. Then the Lord brought
darkness, such darkness as could be felt. For three days, for
three days, no human being in the land of Egypt saw another
human being. That's darkness. That's darkness. Oh, so dark. Not a star in the
sky. Not a light in the heavens. Darkness
such that a man dealt with fear. Such is the darkness of fallen
humanity. Such is the darkness of man's
heart, of his soul, of his mind by nature. So dark that no man
can see another. Not one. But in the land of Goshen,
There was nothing but light. For God's elect, nothing but
light. They didn't feel any darkness. They didn't see any darkness,
just light, the light of grace, the light of day and the light
of life. And then in chapter 12, there
came another plague. another great wonder in the land
of Egypt. It came to pass, verse 29, that
at midnight, the Lord smote the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto
the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon. And
all the firstborn of the cattle And Pharaoh rose up in the night,
he and all his servants, and all the Egyptians. And there
was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there
was not one dead." There was not a house where there was not
one dead. Now, if you go back and read
beginning at chapter 7 and get through this 10th chapter, In
all the other plagues, they all took place on the Egyptians. But in the land of Goshen, the
judgment didn't come. But here, the land of Goshen
is not accepted. The firstborn in every house
in the land of Egypt, Goshen included, died that night. They all died under the hand
of divine judgment according to the word of God, either each
one personally, the firstborn of every house, or in a lamb,
a substitute, who bore death. and judgment and wrath in the
stead of the firstborn. The firstling of the flock died
that night for the firstborn of all the chosen people of God. So Christ our Passover, the firstborn,
the firstling of the flock, bore all the wrath of God in our room
and in our stead. And every one of those in the land
of Egypt where there was blood sprinkled, where judgment was satisfied,
where God passed by with his eye on the blood, every one of
them, every blessed one of them, every one of them, no matter
what he did, no matter where he'd been, no matter what he'd
done, every one of them came out of Egypt by the price of
blood atonement and the power of God's outstretched hand, because
our God performs wonders in the land of Ham. Oh, God, give us
grace. Give us grace. Give us grace. to observe your doings and give
praise to you for everything. Oh, Lord God, this moment, this
hour, not one of us here would change anything. We recognize
how good, how gracious, how wise, how kind, how loving, how beneficial
you are to our souls. But before the night's over,
tomorrow, Our carnal minds and our foolish hearts and our depraved
souls will again dismiss your wonders. And for that, too, we ask your
forgiveness, and we ask our God for grace. that we may indeed
walk through this world believing God and believing you, seeing your
wonders every day in the land of heaven. Amen. Let's sit down. Take your handbook and turn to
number 10. Number 10, oh God, our help in
ages past.