Well, it's a pleasant surprise.
Good to have Dooley Wade with us. Our text this morning is Psalm
105, if you want to turn there. Psalm 105. In this psalm, God the Holy Ghost
teaches us by his servant David to give thanks and sing praise
to our God, making his deeds known to all people. He specifically
tells us to do so because of his wonders in the land of Ham. This 105th Psalm describes God's,
the history of God's people, Israel in the Old Testament,
and God's continual deliverance of them, finally bringing them
into the land of promise. But it pictures, as do all those
deliverances, God's great salvation of his elect by Christ Jesus
the Lord in his matchless free grace. Let's begin reading at
verse 23, Psalm 105. Israel also came into Egypt and
Jacob sojourned in 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, 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. And notice in verse 25, we might
not have picked up on it in the earlier verses, Israel coming
to Egypt, Jacob sojourning in the land of Ham, and there God
increasing his people greatly. But then we get to verse 25 and
we're told he turned the heart of the Egyptians to hate his
people. He turned the heart of the Egyptians to deal subtly
with his servants. And then he sent Moses and Aaron,
whom he had chosen to deliver Israel out of Egyptian bondage. Now turn back to Exodus chapter
seven. I'm going to just sort of summarize the things that
Lindsay has been dealing with in the last several weeks with
regard to the miracles and things he'll be dealing with as he continues
through chapter 10. Exodus 7, 8, 9, and 10. are four of the most remarkable
chapters in the entire Bible. I say that because they sit before
us. an explosion of miracles, miracles
performed one after the other by Moses and Aaron against Pharaoh
and the Egyptians. They began with Aaron's rod that
Aaron cast on the ground and it became a serpent and then
proceed to describe the first nine plagues that God unleashed
on Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. Let's begin in verse one
of chapter seven. And the Lord said unto Moses,
See, I have made thee a God to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother
shall be thy prophet. Thou shalt speak all that I command
thee, and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send
the children of Israel out of Egypt. And 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 my
armies and my people, the children of Israel, out of the land of
Egypt by great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know
that I am the Lord when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and
bring out the children of Israel from among them. And Moses and
Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, so did they. Turn over to chapter 10, verse
27. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's
heart and he would not let them go. After all these miracles,
And Pharaoh said unto him, said to Moses, get thee from me, take
heed to thyself, see my face no more. For in that day that
thou seest my face, thou shalt die. And Moses said, thou hast
spoken well, I will see thy face again no more. The whole land
of Egypt was made to tremble before the successive strokes
of God's rod upon them. Everyone from Pharaoh in his
palace to the servant in the field was made to feel the horrible,
terrible weight of divine judgment. The Lord God of the Hebrews sent
Moses to Pharaoh, determined to harden Pharaoh's heart, that
he might perform his wonders in the land of Ham, by which
he would bring Israel out of Egypt by which he would manifestly
display his sovereignty and display his power over all things and
display his marvelous saving grace in Christ Jesus. That by
which he distinguishes himself as God is his sovereignty. His sovereignty in the exercise
of mercy in saving his elect. He constantly performs wonders
to distinguish Israel from Egypt. to distinguish his elect from
the reprobate, all the rest of Adam's fallen race. Now you remember,
if you recall the recordings in Genesis of the three sons
of Noah, that he had Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham is held
before us in Genesis as a representative of all the reprobate of Adam's
fallen race. Those whose existence, their
very existence, is that they should serve the people of God. that they should do that which
benefits God's elect, not because of any compassion or tenderness
in them. But we're told this to give us
encouragement, to understand that the ungodly, the wicked
shall never prevail over God or his people. They shall never
bring any harm to God's cause. In fact, if you'll read carefully
the 105th Psalm sometime this afternoon, you'll see a strange
statement. David said he suffered no one
to hurt them. He suffered no one to hurt them,
suffered no one to do them harm. And then he turns right around
and tells us how that Joseph's feet were made to hurt with irons.
They were hurt and injured as God's people often are by the
ungodly. Hurt and injured physically.
Hurt and injured in their current state of affairs. But the hurt
and the injury only served to bring Joseph at last to be the
prime minister of Egypt to save his people. God's enemies and
ours never prevail over God's purpose, God's will, and God's
people. Moses and David, Nehemiah and
Jeremiah, all hold these wonders performed by God in the land
of Ham as matters of praise to God, things for which we should
continually remember our God, give thanks to Him for His goodness,
offer praise to His name, and by these things make all men
see the wondrous work of our God in this world. In fact, the
very first of the New Testament martyrs, Stephen, just before
he died, spoke of these wonders, the wonders God performed for
his people. The Lord God said to Moses, 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 he
had ordered it from eternity. No mighty hand could bow the
heart and bend the will of the obstinate king of Egypt except
one, the omnipotent hand of the omnipotent God. I am sure, God
said, the king of Egypt will not let you go except by a mighty
hand. Pharaoh was raised up by God,
and his heart was hardened by God for this specific purpose,
that God might show his power in Pharaoh for the saving of
his people to the glory of his name. Well, what do we learn
from these miracles God performed in Egypt? Those things he did
by which he brought Israel out of Egypt and at last brought
them into the land of promise as he had made his promise in
his covenant with Abraham. What are we to learn from these
things? May God the Holy Spirit be our teacher. I want to call
your attention to several things that are clearly set before us
in these miracles. I want you to listen carefully.
These things, as you read the wonders in Egypt, you read about
the miracles performed by our God upon the ungodly, Always
seek to understand what the meaning is, what's the message. The miracles
mean nothing if all you see is just an astonishing display of
power. They mean something when you
understand their significance. First, the wonders of God that
he performed in the land of Ham show us the wonders of God's
distinguishing grace. In his arrogance of heart, in
his enmity against God, Pharaoh defied the Most High God. And
as a just consequence of his rebellion, he was given over
to judicial blindness and hardness of heart. And that wicked man,
in all of his obstinance, in all of his rebellion, was made
to be the very instrument by which Israel was pushed out of
Egypt. Pharaoh said, I will not let
them go. And before God was done, Pharaoh said, get out of my place,
get out of my land, get out of my sight. And the Egyptians gave
Israel everything they needed for their journey of 40 years
in the wilderness. The Lord God, by marvelous wonders
in this world, by marvelous wonders of providence, clearly made a
distinction between Israel and Egypt. When there was all darkness
in Egypt, there was light in Israel. When there were plagues
in Egypt, that one little section, the land of Goshen where Israel
dwelt, had no plague. God graciously, miraculously
made a distinction between His people and the Egyptians. So
it is this day. So it has been throughout history. So it shall be tomorrow. Who
maketh thee to differ from another? What hast thou that thou didst
not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hadst not received it? God makes
a distinction. He makes a distinction in election
and predestination before the world began. He made a distinction
in the preserving of his people and in the redemption of his
people by Christ Jesus the Lord. And he makes a distinction in
his grace and in his salvation. He makes his distinctions by
all his works of providence through which he brings to pass his wonders
of grace. The second thing that comes to
my mind as I read the book of Exodus is the fact that the salvation
of God's elect is sure. As I read about God's wonders
in the land of Ham, I'm reminded of John's visions given in the
book of Revelation. In that last book of the New
Testament, we see the last proud oppressor of Christ's people
bringing down upon himself and upon all who follow him the seven
vials of the wrath of God. It's God's purpose to save his
Israel. I'm talking about his church,
his elect, his redeemed. It is God's purpose to save all
whom he loved with an everlasting love. And all who dare oppose
the purpose of God and set himself against his church, his gospel
and his kingdom, he will take them out of the way. Divine grace
must find its object. and all who stand in the way
shall be taken out of the way. Doesn't matter whether you're
talking about Egypt or Babylon or the beast that was and is
not and yet he is, all shall be taken out of the way. God's
providence constantly clears the way for God's grace. God's
providence constantly is clearing the way for God's grace so that
everything that transpires in time, the Lord God Almighty brings
to pass in infinite wisdom, goodness, and grace to make a way of grace
for his people to bring at last his chosen into his kingdom. His enemies and ours shall reap
throughout the everlasting course of ages the bitter fruit of having
exalted themselves against the Lord God of the Hebrews. He has promised, no weapon that
is formed against thee shall prosper. And in his infallible
faithfulness, he fulfills his promise every day in all things. Every chosen redeemed sinner
shall be saved. Every saved sinner shall be kept
and brought at last to heavenly glory to possess the kingdom
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, in Pharaoh's case, when
he persisted in holding with an iron grasp the Israel of God,
the vials of wrath were poured upon him. The land of Egypt was
covered throughout its entire length and breadth with darkness,
disease, desolation, and death. And so it will be with the man
of sin, that last great oppressor of God's church, when the Lord
God has saved his elect, The man of sin shall be destroyed,
the foot of pride shall be broken, and the Lord Jesus, our King,
will cast Satan and the Prince of Darkness and this beast not
into the Red Sea, but into a lake that burns with fire and brimstone. And all those whose names are
found written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from
the foundation of the world, will be with Christ in his glory. Not one jot or tittle of God's
law, or of God's decree, or of God's word, or of God's purpose
shall fail or fall to the ground. He will accomplish everything.
No power in heaven, earth, or hell can thwart, reverse, or
even hinder slightly the purpose of God. Oh, how that ought to
make our hearts rejoice. No power in heaven, earth, or
hell can reverse, thwart, or even hinder the goodwill of him
that dwelleth in the bush. Turn back to the book of Deuteronomy,
chapter 33, or turn over to the book of Deuteronomy. Listen to
what we read in verses 26 through 29. Truly, there is none like
unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy
help, and in his excellence on the sky. The eternal God is thy
refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he shall
thrust out the enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy
them. Israel then shall dwell in safety
alone. The fountain of Jacob shall be
upon a land of corn and wine. Also his heaven shall drop down
due. Happy art thou, O Israel, who
is like unto thee? O people saved by the Lord, the
shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency?
And thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee, and thou shalt
tread upon their high places. Now here's the third thing. We're
talking about miracles. Miracles. Whenever we read about
these miracles performed by Moses and Aaron, or miracles spoken
of elsewhere in the Word of God, the question naturally arises,
should we expect such miracles today? The vast majority of people
who call themselves Christians deny that there were really any
supernatural miracles at all. And they say that they can all
be explained by science or by reason. There's various things
in history that can demonstrate how they can be explained. But
to deny that God rules the universe, absolutely, is to deny God altogether. There's no difference between
a denial of God's sovereignty, even over the elements of the
universe, than the denial of His existence. There's no difference
at all. Those who call themselves Christians
and deny the miraculous things revealed in scripture, defy God
and display what they are. They're mere religious folks
who have a conscience, a religion that soothes their consciences
for a while. But then there are many others
who are not hesitant to say that we should always expect miracles
like we see in the scriptures. That is an outward display of
power God gave to specific men to perform wonders in the earth. This modern charismatic age has
brought nonsense, just utter nonsense to men reading the scriptures. And they expect things from the
hand of God to heal sickness, and to take care of their bank
accounts, and to take care of their children, and take care
of their finances, all those things. hear what the scriptures
say. When you read in the scriptures
about miracles, they all fall into four very clear periods
of time. All the miracles recorded in
scripture were performed either during the days of Moses, or
during the days of Elijah and Elisha, or during the time of
the Babylonian captivity, or during the days of Christ and
his apostles. These were all times of crisis
in which God was moving in a marvelous way, showing wonders in the earth
to further his own cause. But if you put them all together,
these four periods of time take up just a very small piece of
the history revealed in scripture. Those who get caught up with
the performance of miracles miss the spiritual truths. They miss
the messages conveyed by the miracles performed. It's not
the miracle that's important, but the message conveyed by the
miracle. Now, having said that, let me
hasten to say once more, to assert dogmatically and with clarity,
No man today, no man since the death of the last of the apostles,
no man possesses apostolic prophetic powers to perform miracles in
the earth. Not from God. No man does. We
have a more sure word of prophecy. We won't turn there and look
at it again, but in first Peter, the apostle Peter tells us that
he was with James and John in the Mount of Transfiguration.
They saw the Lord Jesus transfigured before their eyes. They saw Moses
and Elijah standing on the Mount of Transfiguration, speaking
to the Redeemer about the decease he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
That's a miracle. That's a miracle. I dare say
not a greater miracle revealed anywhere in all of Holy Scripture. Not even when the sun stood still
in the days of Joshua. No miracle more marvelous than
the miracle that took place on the Mount of Transfiguration.
But Peter follows that up by saying this, but we have a more
sure word of prophecy. And he refers us to this book,
telling us holy men of old wrote as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost. This is the more sure word of
prophecy. The miracles all took place before
the complete revelation of God was given in Holy Scripture.
Now we have the full complete revelation of God from himself
to man in this book, This book, written by divine inspiration,
this book is authoritative. This book declares only truth,
absolute truth, always truth. So that whenever you read about
wonders performed by God, you read about the sun standing still.
Now, try to find somebody to explain that scientifically.
That couldn't have happened. The whole world would have been
destroyed. God created the world. He can cause the world to stop
spinning on its axis and not destroy anything. He upholds
all things by the word of his power. Our God reveals himself
in this book, and our faith is found in this book, not in what
we think or what we experience, but in the written revelation
of God in Holy Scripture. There's another thing we must
understand, clearly demonstrated in these wonders performed in
the land of Ham, and that is the marvelous, marvelous, infinite
sovereignty of God our Savior. The Lord God Almighty first demonstrated
His sovereignty when Pharaoh demanded that Moses give him
a sign. When he did, Aaron cast his rod
on the ground. And the magicians of Pharaoh,
by their enchantments, cast their rod on the ground. Aaron's rod
had suddenly become a serpent, and the Egyptians' rods became
serpents. What does that mean? What does
that mean? Well, they appeared to be serpents.
That's not what the scripture says. That may be the case, but
that's not what the scripture says. The scripture says they
became serpents too. You see, Satan is a master counterfeiter,
and he gives men in these days powers and signs and lying wonders
because God gives it to deceive those who will not receive the
revelation of God, the love of truth in the gospel. Satan sends
ministers to preach righteousness, not the righteousness of God
in Christ, but to preach to you that you must perform righteousness. And thus he deceives multitudes
with enchantments and wonders and so on. But remember, Aaron's
rod swallowed up the rods of the magicians in Egypt. That
serpent that Aaron's rod became swallowed up their serpents,
Serpents, one of the gods worshipped by Egypt. Pharaoh had a cobra
in his crown. The serpent was one of the gods
of Egypt. And in all the plagues, the Lord
God constantly took those very things that the Egyptians worshipped
and used them as instruments of judgment against the Egyptians.
demonstrating that he is God alone. Beside me, he says, there
is no God. We worship him who is God indeed. He who chose and predestined
us unto life everlasting. He who redeemed us by the blood
of his own darling son. He who called us by his grace
and gave us faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. rules the universe
to bring us at last into heavenly glory, and he will accomplish
that which he pleased. He who gave faith will sustain
faith in the midst of terrible difficulty, even in the midst
of our ungodly unbelief and sin. He who gave faith will sustain
faith and he will at last complete his work of grace in us by bringing
us into glory in the possession of our heavenly Canaan through
Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the message of God's
wonders in the land of Ham. God has a people whom he will
save, and nothing shall hurt or harm them or our God. Amen. Thank you. th th th th th th th Oh, she's just putting on now
because she's in church, you know. It went out? Oh, yeah. It just, it just went away. I
suspect it was, that was the real moist time. And probably
moisture got into one of the, one of the things. Huh? Ah, they
get back today.