← Back to sermon library

[Music] welcome to everyone it's good to be back in the house of our God on this Lord's Day evening for our call to worship you can turn with me in your Bibles to psalm 119 psalm 119 I want to read the section verses 97 to 104 psalm 119 beginning in verse 97 oh how I love your law it is my meditation all the day you through your Commandments make me wiser than my enemies for they are ever with me I have more understanding than all my teachers for your testimonies are my meditation I understand more than the ancients because I keep your precepts I have restrained my feet from every evil way that I may keep your word I have not departed from your judgments for you yourself have taught me how sweet are your words to my taste sweeter than honey to my mouth through your precepts I get understanding therefore I hate every false way amen will please turn with me in your hymn books to number 210 hymn number 210 will stand as we sing together [Music] amen well let us pray our Blessed God and our holy father it is a privilege to gather again on this Sabbath evening to come into the house of the living and true God we thank you that the church is the pillar and the ground of truth we thank you it is the place that you have you've said that you would dwell with your people in a special way in this new covenant era we thank you for the blood of Jesus Christ your son that has cleansed us from all sin that has given us life that has given us blessing and has brought us together tonight God we know it's not just a common interest that brings us together but it's that that the work of redemption wrought out by Jesus Christ through his life his death and his resurrection on behalf of his elect and we pray tonight that as we sing as we pray as we look to Holy Scripture these things would be uppermost in our minds and in our hearts that God we would indeed cast out anything that is inappropriate to be to be dealt with at this time and that we would take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ because we confess that you are God Most High you are spirit infinite eternal and unchangeable and you are the God who is to be glorified and worshiped and praised and we would ask even now that your Holy Spirit would guide and enable and and help us father - to worship you in spirit and in truth we ask that you'd be exalted and enthroned upon the praises of your people here and that Christ would be found in the midst of this lamp stand and our God may you indeed cause us to approach you with that reverence and that that fear and trembling that is consistent with with you as a holy God but as well with that joyfulness and that gratitude and that thankfulness as those who have been bought by the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord God may you fill our hearts with praise and worship and adoration not just on the Sabbath but each and every day Lord God may we express that gratitude for that grace shown to us that that has overcome our guilt and may you indeed be all in all in our lives we confess our sins to you now Lord God as we look at your holy law we see your revelation of who you are and we see a revelation of who we are in that we are so prone to wander and so prone to leave the god that we love we confess our iniquities and our transgressions unto you asking for for fresh cleansing in that blood of the Lord Jesus praying for any and all who have come here this evening that are that are still dead in their trespasses and sins that you would awaken them by the power of your Holy Spirit that you would bring forth that conviction for sin and set forth the glory of Christ is the only Redeemer of God's elect we would ask as well Lord God that you would look with mercy and with grace and favour upon this congregation we think of our children and young people and we ask that they by grace would remember their Creator in their youth we pray father that through the preaching of your word the Spirit of God would write the word of God upon their hearts and that from an early age Lord God they would walk in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ we also pray for those in our myths that are not well physically God we just commit them to you and to the word of your grace knowing and praying that you are a God who is full of grace and comfort and mercy a God who not only looks on the inner man but on the outer man and so we pray father for dear brothers and sisters that are unable to be with us tonight those who are perhaps suffering on a sick bed we pray that nevertheless their thoughts would go heavenward their thoughts would be directed to the Savior for sinners we also pray for your blessing upon other churches we thank you for the the various churches in our community that are faithfully preaching your word thought it encourages us to know we're not alone in this city and we pray that you would bless and prosper these other places and that God you would cause that word preach to be the means of salvation for sinners that that gather together each and every Sunday we also pray for the church in Surrey we thank you for the work of Christ in that place we thank you for Pastor Mike and pray for him and for his family and for the Ministry of the word there that you would continue to bless that young man cause him to grow in ministerial faithfulness may his progress be evident to all as Paul told Timothy we also pray for the work in Vernon we know Lord God that that the church can exist and be without pastors but we know it is a great blessing when a man is stationed among them that will be given to the word and doctrine and so we pray to the Lord of the harvest that you would provide a man for that place and that father that church would indeed be a great location to reach sinners in that part of your world we also pray for the persecuted church our hearts go out to the various situations throughout the earth where the people of God face great hardship and great affliction for being the people of God we pray that they would have that perseverance they would have that endurance that they would have that line to look unto Jesus the author and finisher of faith and that God you would sustain and bless and even increase and progress your your churches throughout the earth thought it is encouraging to know that the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea it is encouraging to know that Christ shall have dominion from sea to sea and yet father we know that time is not present and so we pray that the word of God would be proclaimed throughout the earth that it would run swiftly and be glorified that you and your mercy and in your grace would let the nation's be glad and call sinners from every tribe and tongue and people and nation unto yourself through the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray these things in his most blessed name amen well please turn with me again in your in your Trinity hymnal to number 470 hymn number 470 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we can turn in your Bibles to Genesis 14 for our scripture reading this evening Genesis chapter 14 I'll begin reading in verse 1 and it came to pass in the days of amraphel king of shinar arioch king of ellasar kate or lay omer king of elam and tidal king of nations that they made war with bera king of sodom bersia king of gomorrah shine ab king of admah remember king of zeboiim and the king of bela that is so are all these joined together in the valley of Siddim that is the salt sea twelve years they served gate or lay omer and in the thirteenth year they rebelled in the fourteenth year kate or lay omer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the reef aim in Ashtaroth car named the zeusie min ham the Emam in java kurt curio theme and the hor i'ts in their mountain of seer as far as el Paran which is by the wilderness then they turned back and came to n mish fat that is ke - and attacked all the country of the mala kites and also the amorite - dwelt in hassan Tamar and the king of Sodom the king of gomorrah the king of admah the king of zeboiim and the king of bela that is though our went out and joined together in battle in the valley of Siddim against kate ortley omer king of Elam tidal king of nations amraphel king of shinar and arioch king of ellasar four kings against five now the valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled some fell there and the remainder fled to the mountains then they took all the goods of sodom and gomorrah and all their provisions and went their way they also took lot Abrams brothers son who dwelt in Sodom and his Goods and departed then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite brother of Eshcol and brother of aina and they were allies with Abram now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive he armed his 318 trained servants who were born in his own house and he went in pursuit as far as Dan he divided his forces against them by night and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hoba which is north of Damascus so he brought back all the goods and also brought back his brother lot and his goods as well as the women and the people and the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the valley of shaveh that is sha vey that is the King's Valley after his return from the defeat of Kate ortley Omar and the Kings who were with them then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine he was the priest of God Most High and He blessed him and said blessed be Abram of God Most High possessor of heaven and earth and blessed be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hand and he gave him a tithes of all now the king of Sodom said to Abram give me the persons and take the goods for yourself but Abram said to the king of Sodom I have raised my hand to the Lord God Most High the possessor of heaven and earth that I will take nothing from a thread to a sandal strap and that I will not take anything that is yours lest you should say I have made abram rich except only what the young men have eaten and the portion of the men who went with me a nur eschol and mamrie let them take their portion amen well we see in the life of Abram that everything wasn't just rose petals and Happiness there was a lot of difficulty in his walk of faith and in this instance you have this coalition of Eastern Kings that basically exercise dominion over the other Kings Kate ortley Homer was the lead was the chief among these among this coalition and essentially the kings of these other other lands they rebelled they rejected they no longer wanted to pay tribute they wanted to no longer pay basically extortion money to Kate or lay Homer and so we see that this war breaks out and in the midst of this this coalition of Eastern Kings takes lot and they not only take lot but they also take prop they take persons they take a whole host of things and so Abram arms his servants his household servants and they go and they fetch lot he also fetches all the other things and the people that had been captured and then when this king of sodom comes to meet him we see how he then says to him that he wants him to have a portion of the goods and a portion of the booty but what we see from abram is most telling in verse 22 after he has contact with this king of sodom he says i he said to the king of a sodom i have raised my hand to the Lord God Most High the possessor of heaven and earth that I will take nothing from a thread to a sandal strap and that I will not take anything that is yours lest you should say I have made abram rich he didn't want that man to have the ability to say I am the source I'm I'm the backer I'm the one that caused Abram to be quite successful in the manner that he that he is though rather he wanted God to get glory he wanted the Lord to be exalted he did however make concession for the men that had joined him this these other forces that helped along with his household servants that's what he means in verse 24 except only what the young men have eaten and the portion of the men who went with me Eider eschol and Mamre let them take their portion and then of course we have this intriguing meeting with this man Melchizedek priest of God Most High he is referenced again in the Psalms in Psalm 110 and then he's also referenced again in the book of Hebrews he's certainly typical of our Lord Jesus Christ he is certainly a type of the Savior and in fact the Apostle in the book of Hebrews makes that connection to show that it is not untoward for a priest to serve that wasn't the Levite Melchizedek was not a Levite Christ himself from the tribe of Judah it was perfectly permissible and lawful Christ was appointed in the order of Melchizedek well let us close in a word of prayer our Father we thank you for the word we thank you for the consistency the consent of all the parts and we thank you that Christ is the scope of it all and God we thank you for giving us a saving interest in Christ we ask God in heaven that you would increase our faith that you would sustain us and cause us to persevere cause us to reflect upon the life of men like Abraham to see how you were there providentially in the midst of even great trial and affliction and nevertheless saw them through may this cause encouragement for the people of God in the church today and we pray through Christ Jesus our Lord amen we could turn with me again in your hymn book to number 119 m at psalm 119 M as in Mike and we'll stand and sing together [Music] [Music] Oh [Music] we could turn in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 5 we're gonna start a new series going through the Ten Commandments feel like I said everything I could say from the book of Proverbs and I do like to make sure that Sunday nights are devoted to practical stuff sort of practical Christianity and thought the Ten Commandments that I preached on them a few years ago certainly bears repetition every few years or so so I want to read Deuteronomy chapter 5 and our focus this evening will be on verses 1 to 6 so beginning in verse 1 and Moses called all Israel and said to them hear o Israel the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today that you may learn them and be careful to observe them the Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb the Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers but with us those who are here today all of us who are alive the Lord talked with you face-to-face on the mountain from the midst of the fire I stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the word of the Lord for you were afraid because of the fire and you did not go up the mountain he said I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage you shall have no other gods before me you shall not make for yourself a carved image any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth you shall not bow down to them nor serve them for I the Lord your God and the jealous God visiting the iniquity of the father's upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me but showing mercy to thousands to those who love me and keep my Commandments you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy as the Lord your God commanded you six days you shall labor and do all your work the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God in it you shall do no work you nor your son nor your daughter nor your male servant your female servant nor your ox nor your donkey nor any of your cattle nor your stranger who is within your gates that your male servant your female servant may rest as well as you and remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you that you that your days may be long and that it may be well with you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you you shall not murder you shall not commit adultery you shall not steal you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor you shall not covet your neighbor's wife and you shall not desire your neighbor's house his field his male servant his female servant his ox as donkey or anything that is your neighbors these words the Lord spoke to all your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice and he added no more and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me so it was when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was burning with fire that you came near to me all the heads of your tribes and your elders and you said surely the Lord our God has shown us his glory and his greatness and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire we have seen this day that God speaks with man yet he still lives now therefore why should we die for this great fire will consume us if we if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more than we shall die for who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the Living God speaking from the midst of the fire as we have and lived you go near and hear all that the Lord our God may say and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you and we will hear and do it then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me and the Lord said to me I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you they are right and all that they have spoken oh that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and always keep all my Commandments that it might be well with them and with their children forever go and say to them return to your tents but as for you stand here by me and I will speak to you all the commandments the statutes and the judgments which you shall teach them that they may observe them in the land which I am giving them to possess therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left you shall walk in all the ways which which the Lord your God has commanded you that you may live and that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess amen well let us pray my father we thank you for this written Word of the Living God we thank you for these Commandments and God help us to use them properly help us to understand their utility in the Christian life their function the threefold use of the law give us grace father to see this revelation of who you are in these 10 words and may it be the case that we would respond with this sort of fear before the living in true God as well may that be mingled always with great joy and Thanksgiving because you have saved us by your grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ you've called us to follow you've given us the Holy Spirit you've provided all the resources necessary so God again forgive us for our sins and our transgression now and help us as we study your word and we pray through Christ our Lord amen well I just want to take a moment just to sort of locate the book of Deuteronomy in and amongst the other books of Moses we know that he under the inspiration of the Spirit wrote Genesis Exodus Leviticus numbers and Deuteronomy essentially we have the book of Genesis which is the book of the beginnings the creation of the world the rebellion of man and then God's plan and purpose to bless the nations through the seed of Abraham and then the book of Exodus is composed of the book of Exodus the Exodus ultimately takes place in 1445 BC and then the tabernacle was completed one year later Exodus 40:17 tells us now Leviticus picks up where Leviticus leaves off to basically describe or define or or indicate how sinful man can dwell in the presence of God that's why Leviticus the emphasis is heavy on sacrifice on approach to God Exodus ends with God dwelling among the pea of Israel but no one can meet with him that's where Leviticus comes in and prescribes the rules by which the people of Israel can enjoy communion and fellowship with God so Leviticus takes about I'm sorry Leviticus there's no geographical movement in Leviticus they stay there at Sinai now numbers begins one month later at Sinai so the numbers then engages or shows or demonstrates the 40 years that the tilt children of Israel wandered in the wilderness Deuteronomy begins 40 years later after numbers in the plains of Moab in the time of the date is 1405 BC and essentially Deuteronomy this big book is three addresses or exhortations by Moses it's three addresses or exhortations by Moses to the children of Israel that second generation to prepare them for their tenure in the land for their entrance into the Promised Land obviously after Deuteronomy the passing of Moses the successor is Joshua and then the book of Joshua indicates the conquest of the land so Moab is preparatory the plains of Moab where Moses is getting them ready so that they can't embark on that conquest where they can dis possess the the land of Canaan from the Canaanites and then they can occupy the land as God had promised them so these speeches these instructions these exhortations the first one is sort of a historical rehearse review in chapter 1 to chapter 4 the end of chapter 4 to chapter xxviii the biggest of the addresses is a basic basically an exhortation to continental faithfulness fidelity to God and then the last one is from 29 to 30 where Moses is essentially calling them to summarizing and concluding all that he had said so as we look now at Deuteronomy chapter 5 it is a second giving of the law the law is initially given by God in Sinai at Exodus chapter 20 and then after Exodus chapter 20 of 21 to 23 where those pace laws or that judicial law is sort of explained for the children of Israel they're tied into the Decalogue of the ten words in chapter 20 but it defines for them the parameters on how their to function when they come into the land Exodus 24 is ratification of the covenant that's when the people swear that everything that Yahweh has commanded they will do that obviously does not last long by the time you get to Exodus 32 they're dancing around a calf and ascribing to it the power of having brought them out of Egypt so when we come to Deuteronomy we've know or we know that the first generation passed away they were judged by God they were told they would not enter the land this is the second generation there's a couple of differences in the Decalogue not differences in terms of contradiction but in terms of amplification or a bit of a different emphasis that we'll note as we move through the commandments but tonight I want to consider first the the command to observe the law in verses 1 to 5 and then secondly the preface to the Decalogue we don't just jump into the first commandment but we need to see the preface that's found in verse 6 so we have the command to observe the law in verses 1 to 5 we have the preface to the Decalogue in verse 6 and then we have the uniqueness of the Decalogue now Decalogue simply means 10 words that's all it means if I say 10 or if I say Decalogue that means 10 words I guess if I say 10 words that means Decalogue so so the same is true either way it just means the 10 commandments the commandments are called the Ten Commandments in a couple of places they're called 10 words in a couple of places and over the history of interpretation just a helpful identifier to sort of put on the Ten Commandments has been the Decalogue so if I say Decalogue everybody knows that I'm talking about the Ten Commandments but note first this command to observe the law all Israel is called upon here notice in verse one Moses called all Israel and said to them hear o Israel the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today that you may learn them and be careful to observe that so all Israel is summoned to Moses on the plains of Moab to instruct them in their responsibilities to their covenant God so it is heavy law the emphasis is heavy on how God wants them to conduct themselves in a general sense with reference to the 10 commandments and then in a specific concrete way with reference to the rest of this sachet as they go into the land they need to function the way the Lord of the Covenant has called them to and when he says here when he says hear o Israel the idea is here understand but also observe and do that's the emphasis in the sachet Meredith Klein says here learn keep do this chapter opens and closes with a charge to follow carefully the divine stipulations of the covenant that was in the process of Solomon's a asanas Asia we need to observe not only what God says but we need to put it into practice and that's the emphasis here in verse 1 notice as well there is this emphasis on the ear go back for just a moment to chapter 4 in chapter 4 verses 10 to 14 we learned something interesting concerning Yahweh of Israel verse 10 especially concerning the date you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb when the Lord said to me gather the people to me and I will let them hear my words that they may learn to fear me all the days they live on the earth and that they may teach their children then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain in the mount and burned with fire in burned with fire to the midst of heaven with darkness cloud and thick darkness and the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire you heard the sound of the words but saw no form you only heard a voice see our religion the religion of God most high is one of hearing it's not of one of image-making it's not one of trying to capture what Yahweh looks like and bowing down to that the prohibition of the second commandment is absolutely crucial we see no form we haven't appreciated God looking at us or having this sort of apparition to us and then we fashioned an idol he goes on in verse 13 so he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform the ten commandments and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments that you might observe them in the land which cross over to possess in verses two and three in chapter 5 he reminds them of Horeb now I should tell you that Horeb is synonymous Sinai it's called Horeb in Deuteronomy but in the book of Exodus it's syenite it's Mount Sinai where God reveals his law to the children of Israel so anytime you're reading the book of Deuteronomy I think there is one mention of Sinai in Deuteronomy but for the most part Sinai is referred to as Horeb in the book of Deuteronomy it's the same place it's not different it's not contradictory it's simply the way that Moses chooses to reveal this in the book of Deuteronomy and then when he says in verse 3 the Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers I think we should understand what most commentators understand he didn't make this covenant with our fathers only it wasn't just with them but it was with us as well as Moses is saying in this particular instance it wasn't that they work without covenant it wasn't as if they didn't swear fidelity to Yahweh in Exodus chapter 24 I think the emphasis is specifically he didn't make this covenant with them only but middle of verse 3 with us those who are here today all of us who are alive and then in verses 4 and 5 we see the goodness of God to his people and this is something I think we under appreciate at times we don't always reflect on the the blessed fact that God has revealed himself God has given us Scripture God has given us his mind God has given us his word this is what produces in David that celebration of psalm 119 psalm 119 is essentially 176 verses of praise and adoration and worship to God for God's having spoken to us we shouldn't underappreciate the fact that we have the Bible in our lap we shouldn't underrepresented to Revelation a God inspired book that is infallible it is inerrant and therefore it is trustworthy in all its parts it is trustworthy in history and science and doctrine and ethics religious practice or any other topic we should praise God Almighty that he has given this word and while we ought to ought to certainly appreciate it as is consistent we ought to make use of it so notice in verse four the Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire and God is spirit that doesn't mean that we they're that they saw him they didn't see you know there's sort of big face up in the sky but as Gil says it means publicly audibly clearly and distinctly the children of Israel heard these ten words now it evoked in them great fear as we continue in Deuteronomy chapter five and they themselves cry out for a mediator who in the world could hear the very voice of God and live so then Moses is appointed as the mediator to communicate on behalf of God to the children of Israel the various statutes and judgments and laws that that sort of unfold the Ten Commandments but in terms of the Ten Commandments all Israel heard this and this is what they're being reminded in the plains of Moab the Lord talked with you face-to-face on the mountain from the midst of the fire I stood between the Lord and you at that time to declare to you the word of the Lord for you were afraid because of the fire and you did not go up the mountain the people feared God so Moses mediated between God and them and that certainly teaches us something that scripture everywhere affirms we don't just wander in to the presence of a thrice holy God we don't just sort of say what's up how are things going we need a mediator in Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant we come to the Father through the son in the power of the Holy Spirit that's not just to emphasize the tri-unity of our living and true God but it is to highlight the way of access sinful man cannot stand in the presence of a holy God without a mediator and the mediator is Christ he is prophet priest and King he is the one way alone by which sinners find themselves accepted in God's presence now let's move secondly to the preface of the Decalogue the preface of the Ten Commandments notice in verse sex it sort of sets the contacts for the law that is to follow and that context is one of grace in other words we see something at least consistent with New Covenant salvation were justified freely by God's grace and then God calls us to live in a particular manner in other words sanctification always follows after justification and that same sort of pattern is observed in this instance notice what we have in the preface it says I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage that is an act of grace that is an act of redemption that is an act of God's liberating his people this isn't liberation theology that the language certainly holds it is liberation in the sense that they were in bondage they were subject to the Egyptians they were in that state of slavery and God freely graciously and mercifully delivers them from that so this law code that follows is not now I want you to do this in order that I will redeem you know God's redeemed you now this then is how you ought to live it's not absolutely positively 100% consistent with our new covenant salvation but there's certainly a parallel to a degree so we've got grace first and then God calls them how they ought to function now with reference to the preface note the identity of the lawgiver he says I am the Lord your God the giver of the law is God now it's often called the law of Moses and that's not incorrect it's not heretical it's not bad to say it's the law of Moses insofar as Moses was a mediator insofar as Moses was a communicator but it's not Moses that wrote the law it's not Moses that came up with the law it's not Moses who put this law together it was God the Lord who gave it and that is highlighted in this particular preface he said I am the Lord your God this points to his authority the fact that the name Yahweh is utilized there and Ferg verse six highlights the fact that he is their covenantal Lord their coven ental got you'll know that this language Yahweh or this term our identifier comes from Exodus 3:14 when God said I am Who I am now how do we define that well we ask charnot terton and buffing Charnock says it signifies this name Yahweh his immutability as well as his eternity turret instead but since eternal existence omnipotent power and immutable truth belongs to God alone the name Jehovah which embraces all these three ought to be peculiar to him alone barfing says Yahweh describes him as the one who in His grace remains forever faithful now someday as we continue in our Wednesday night studies we're gonna get to Exodus 3 you know unless we all die or you know we're raptured before then little joke don't don't you know tar and feather me but we'll eventually get to Exodus 3:14 that is a huge statement in Holy Scripture one that demands the attention of God's people and one that demands accurate interpretation and articulation I think one of the things that as I'm musing on this series on the Ten Commandments a gift given by the Reformed faith to the rest of the Christian world is covenant and from covenant comes a proper understanding of the law of God I don't know how Lutheran's and I don't know how you know Anglicans and I don't know how Catholics really get into all these particulars in terms of the law but the reformed emphasis on the law in a proper covenantal context is absolutely brilliant it is absolutely consistent with what we find in Scripture and I commend it to you wholeheartedly our confession of faith chapter 19 is certainly a high point of Christian interpretation of the law of God I would suggest chapter 7 as well of God's covenant if Christians get their heads wrapped around those two chapters in particular I think a lot of questions concerning the law concerning application of that law would be answered so if you don't have a copy of that confession I would encourage you to take one but we see the giver of the law is God Almighty the authority of the lawgiver is highlighted and then notice the personal nature of this God he says I am the Lord your God I am the Lord your God we have a religion of personal pronouns we have a religion where the Apostle Paul can say that concerning the Lord Jesus Christ who loved me and who gave himself for me we have a religion where Thomas who at one time was was doubting one time was sort of incorrigible with reference to the resurrection of our Lord when he I laid his eyes upon the Savior he says my Lord and my god not some far removed nebulous concept of deity but he's my Lord and my god and the same obtains here on the plains of Horeb it obtained at exodus 20 it's cyanide I am the Lord your God now notice the activity of the lawgiver verse 6 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage his personal involvement with his people know I realized that we don't always appreciate this as well and I'm not chiding anybody I'm not saying you guys are all messed up you know in preaching on preaching to myself also but Psalm 103 David muses on the fact rehearses the Blessed truth that God pities his children God knows our frame he knows that we're but dust he is intimately familiar with each and every one of us and the same sort of thing is seen here in God's involvement with the children of Israel he saw their suffering you can turn to Exodus chapter 2 Exodus chapter 2 to see his personal involvement in the lives of his people and I hope that this is an encouragement to understand his personal involvement in the lives of his people didn't cease with the collapse of the theocracy of Israel it continues in this new covenant era he is personally involved in the lives of his people he knows us he cares for us and as Paul says he loved me and he gave himself for me but here is involvement as seen when he and observes the suffering of the children of Israel notice in Exodus 2:23 now it happened in the process of time that the king of Egypt died then the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage and they cried out and their cry came up to God because of the bondage so God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob and God looked upon the children of Israel and God acknowledged them same emphasis in verse 7 of chapter 3 in the Lord said I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters for I know their sorrows that's a blessed statement isn't it not just corporate Israel knew or God knew their sorrows but he knows the sorrows of his church he knows the heartaches of his people he knows the afflictions that we undergo and he does pity us he does remember us he does know our frame and he's there to sustain encourage and grant perseverance this is the same true and living God that is over us Exodus chapter 6 same emphasis emphasis in verse 5 Exodus chapter 6 and I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage and I have remembered my covenant Spurgeon says this is the Privy key of heaven heaven must act when we ask God or invoke God to remember his covenant this is what he is bound to do as well he acts on their behalf he not only observes imagine if I saw your suffering and your misery and your heartache and I said that's really too bad that you're going through those sorrows and then I just sort of walked away you'd say well you know that and five bucks can get me a cup of coffee at Starbucks I mean it's not really helpful you see God not only sees the sorrow God not only observes their suffering God not only remembers his covenant but he acts on their behalf and that act is personal again it is providential and it is most powerful look at sort of the end of the plagues in Exodus chapter 12 Exodus chapter 12 at verse 29 I think this underscores the providential powerful and personal act of God on behalf of his people with reference to his involvement in projects it is chapter 12 29 and it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the first point of the captain who was a captive who was in the dungeon and all the firstborn of livestock so Pharaoh rose in the night he all his servants and all the Egyptians and there was great a great cry in Egypt for there was not a house where there was not one debt turned in numbers 33 as well numbers 33 just to see God's personal involvement in the lives of his people the numbers 33 is basically a triptych it's basically a review of where they had been but there's this statement in verse 3 that I think should cause the people of God to stand in awe or 3 and 4 that should cause the people of God to stand in awe look at verse 1 of chapter 33 in numbers these are the journeys of the children of Israel who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the Lord and these are their journeys according to their starting points they departed from ramasees in the first month on the fifteenth day of the first month on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out notice with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians how did they go out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians well verse 4 tells us their God is God Almighty their God is in the language of Melchizedek and Abram God Most High he acts providentially he acts powerfully he acts personally for his people verse 4 for the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had killed among them also on their gods the Lord had executed judgments I realized that this is not something that would encourage an Egyptian that the Israelites would revel in this they would delight in this they would rejoice in this an act of judgment against the enemies of God and his people is an act of mercy to them the constant refrain in Psalm 136 for the mercy of the Lord endures forever one of the stanzas says that God destroyed Pharaoh and his armies for the mercy of the Lord endures forever not if you were an Egyptian but if you were an Israelite if you were the Covenant people of God your God acted on your behalf and he doesn't personally it's the Lord who killed these enemies of the church it was the Lord who dispatched these these persons that held them in bondage God works for his people and that is communicated to us in the preface of the ten commandments I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of being a of bondage and he does this for his glory turn to Exodus chapter 9 Exodus chapter 9 a passage that the Apostle Paul appeals to in Romans chapter 9 but in Exodus chapter 9 we see some of the sort of motivation I don't know if that's the correct language driving force God is concerned obviously with the sufferings of his people and he wants to vindicate them and free them from bondage but God as well is also communicating declaring and demonstrating his own glory to his creation and in verse 13 we see in chapter 9 of Exodus at the seventh plague then the Lord said to Moses rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him thus says the Lord God of the Hebrews let my people go that they may serve me for at this time I will send all my plagues to your very heart and on your servants and on your people that you may know that there is none like me and all the earth you see it was not only to deliver his people from bondage but it was also the execution of judgment against the gods of Egypt they had a pantheon they had a whole host of gods scholars and commentators tell us that each one of the plagues answered to a particular God that the Egyptians held near and dear and so God is showing them that he is supreme God is showing them that he is alone the true and the Living God as we continue on in this passage notice verse 15 now if I had stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence then that then you would have been then you would have been cut off from the earth but indeed for this purpose I have raised you up that I may show my power in you and that my name may be declared in all the earth we should never think that man's happiness man's Felicity man's beatitude and blessing is inconsistent with the glory of God God's glory is achieved in the vindication and salvation of his people this is why Paul ends Romans 11 with doxology having trafficked in the great truths of predestination sovereign grace and election he ends on that note four of him and through him and to him are all things to whom be glory forever God's glory is demonstrated in the salvation of his people and that's one of the driving forces in his liberation of the children of Israel from this house of bondage he does it as well consistent with his promise to Abraham we have been studying that promise to Abraham in our studies and in the book of Genesis and of course for their well-being now before we conclude this particular point again I want to highlight I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage think we ought to appreciate the commandments in this light okay at one point they were in a place where they couldn't freely worship Yahweh they were not free to engage in the worship of the living in the true God so when that first word comes to them you shall have no other gods before me I think we take the commandments at times and we we see them as burdensome we see them as oppressive we see them in a manner that they're just heavy and and and and they're just waiting this was a declaration of Liberty I have brought you out of that house now you shall have no other gods before me that's a blessing joy to the redeemed heart when God says don't make idols they in an idol factory this would be welcomed by that when God says don't blaspheme my name again it's not heavy it's not oppressive it's it's not burdensome when God says remember the Sabbath day the issue isn't oh I can't go to the lake oh I can't go to Tim Hortons oh that's the way we approach the law of the living and true God and it is fundamentally flawed John the Apostle tells us that His commandments are not burdensome they're not Grievous if you as a redeem sinner look at the law of God and find it to be anything other than a delight repent forsake your sin and embrace the truth as it is in Jesus Christ who says in John 14:15 if you love me you'll do what you'll keep my Commandments you won't whine grumble complain oh certainly there is remaining corruption certainly there is that proneness to wander and prone to us to leave the God that we love but the overarching concern of the people of God is oh how I love your law it is my meditation day and night when it comes to that fifth word that's not an act of oppressor oppression it ensures you know goodness and the lives of families and and and goodness in the life of society murder oh wow what an oppressive thing God doesn't want us to kill anybody I hope that's not our attitude you shall not commit adultery why any person with the Spirit of the Living God in their heart would ever ever even begin to think that way shows us how how I stood and the form we are God's given marriage and and and the marriage bad for for the the joy of his people and then that eighth word we're not supposed to steal in this idea that the commandments of God are Grievous or are burdensome or are heavy completely obliterates the reality that in a sense it's a declaration of Liberty I have brought you out of this and now I'm calling you to live in a particular manner I'm not preaching we could be saved by law I am preaching however that those saved by grace ought to have a keen appreciation for the law so remember the context that the preface affords to us as we move our way through the commandments and then want to just quote a couple of guys Walter Kaiser says the lawgiver places his law in the environment of grace for it was his gracious act of redemption and deliverance from Egypt that revealed his name Yahweh so please don't bypass the the declaration of liberation in verse six jumping right into the law and then saying wow this is oppressive wow this is a burden no we ought to pray or say with David oh how I love your law and then thirdly and finally in terms of the uniqueness of the Decalogue I mentioned this morning that there's a three-fold division of the law it's not only moral law but there's ceremonial law and there's judicial law the moral law abides the moral law does not depend upon the Covenant for its validity or utility it's transcontinental so if it's Old Covenant it's the moral law the Ten Commandments if it's New Covenant its its moral law the Ten Commandments we know this from Jeremiah 31 when Jeremiah under God says I will write my law in their hearts they didn't wonder what law is he talking about it's that law that they couldn't keep in their own strength but through the power of the holy spirit through the work of God most hard on the hearts of sinners regenerating them giving them faith giving them that knowledge of God giving them that forgiveness of sins and internalizing that law he makes them willing in the day of his power to do what He has called them to so moral law abides moral law is for us there is never a time when we are out from under the moral law the ceremonial law was fulfilled by Jesus we're no longer under that ceremonial law in terms of the food laws in terms of fibers and terms of the sacrificial system in terms of having to bring a goat on on a Saturday to the priest and cut its throat and offer it up and all that sort of thing those things prefigured and those things typifies the coming of the Lord Jesus so Christ fulfills that and then as I said this morning there is that judicial law those rules those statutes those judgments that would govern their life the land they were not supposed to be like the Canaanites there's this common sort of misconception out there that you know God just commanded Israel to go in and commit genocide go and obliterate all those those nice and innocent Canaanites I mean he's nice innocent Canaanites that that had their lands that had their families they had their businesses they were night not nice innocent Canaanites Leviticus 18 we learned that what God wants is for Israel to be his means of justice and judgment to bring to bear his wrath and his righteousness upon those wicked Canaanites now when Israel functions in a like manner when Israel takes the Canaanites and when Israel engages in idolatry and Israel engages in a rebellion against the living and true God he then raises up the Assyrians to drive out the Northern Kingdom he then raises up the Babylonians to drive out the southern kingdom you see this was to be a law that would govern them in the land that would distinct distinguish them from the pagans around them when there's the prohibition against bestiality for instance that's not given in a vacuum that's what Canaanites did not every Canaanite but that certainly was practiced witchcraft soothsaying all these particulars that God speaks against in the Old Testament it's not that he's just sort of making things up it's when they go into the Promised Land they are going to be confronted by these things and so that judicial law was to govern their conduct toward one another in the land in a manner that was consistent with the Decalogue and with who God is he didn't want them to go into the land and live like Canaanites he wanted them to go in the land and live like his covenant people he says as much in this particular chapter so the moral law abides our confession says the same law that was first written in the heart of man continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after the fall and was delivered by God upon Mount Sinai in Ten Commandments and written in two tablets the four first containing our duty towards God and the six our duty to man notice the consistency there it links it with Adam what law was Adam given Adam was given the same law John Lightfoot says Adam heard as much in the garden as Israel did at Sinai but only in fewer words and without thunder now when we talk about the two tables of the law it is very common to talk about the first table which is our duty to God those first four Commandments and then the second table which is our duty to our man now in terms of the two tablets themselves it probably wasn't 4 and then 6 it was probably 10 and 10 seeing a covenant in a contract in an agreement both parties to that contract get a copy both parties to that contract get a copy for their own records both of these are placed in the Ark of the Covenant God's copy and the people's copy to show that agreement is binding it is in fact a covenant that holds so don't think 4 then 6 think 10 and 10 and both are placed into the Ark of the Covenant the one copy is the Lord's the other copy is Israel's but the convention of speaking in the first table and second table that's good and consistent so the ceremonial law is abrogated because of Jesus Christ the judicial law again our confession to them also he gave sundry judicial laws which expired together with the state of that people not obliging any now by virtue of that institution their general equity only being of moral use now I would suggest that last phrase is loaded that last phrase is huge and it's certainly not in my place to to try and unfold it all tonight there general equity only being of moral use what exactly does that mean we'll ask five different theologians and you probably get five different answers but the point of the confession is simply this the judicial law expired with that Commonwealth the general equity means that the wisdom of God revealed that judicial law is for us today as I mentioned this morning if God says put a fence around your roof so people don't fall off and die we should certainly put fences around our swimming pools we should certainly make sure that we see the connection to the moral principles of the ten commandments that these case laws go back to and by God's grace we ought to follow those sorts of things because it's wise it's good and as John Gill has rightly pointed out it would certainly discourage the litigiousness of modern society now as we finalize this particular point one of the things that's intriguing about the Ten Commandments that set it sets it off from the ceremonial and from the judicial is that they're written with the finger of God this comes up often in fact there's a great book on the threefold division of the law for those so inclined by philip roth's and it's called the finger of God or from the finger of God anybody's interested in studying this stuff out further I can't recommend that book highly enough that is most excellent but there are several instances where we see that they are written with the finger of God notice in Exodus 34 just to see the uniqueness you don't get this in the prohibition against shellfish not that that isn't God's Word but there is a distinctiveness about the Decalogue of the Ten Commandments Exodus 34 verse 28 so he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights he neither ate bread nor drank water and he wrote on the tables the words of the Covenant the Ten Commandments I'm sorry this is the identification of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 34 28 and then Deuteronomy 4:13 for the finger of God go back to Exodus 24 Exodus 24 verse 12 then the Lord said to Moses come up to me on the mountain and be there and I will give you table or tablets of stone and the law and commandments which I have written that you may teach them the language of the finger of God is not there but I have written them again not that he's not the giver of the ceremonial and the judicial but the Ten Commandments are set apart that ten commandments are highlighted as directly coming from God himself and then we see it as well in 3118-3182 this and when he had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai he gave Moses two tablets of the testimony tablets of stone written with the finger of God Exodus 34 verse 1 and the Lord said to Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first ones and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke verse 28 so he was there with the Lord forty days there it is at the at the end and he wrote on the tablets the words of the Covenant the Ten Commandments Deuteronomy 4:13 Deuteronomy 4:13 again this idea that the commandments the Ten specifically are written by God written with the finger of God verse 13 of Deuteronomy 4 so he declared to you his covenant which he commanded you to perform the Ten Commandments and he wrote them on two tablets of stone you see it there in our chapter in chapter five at verse 22 and he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me again in Deuteronomy chapter 9 and verse 10 then the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God and then again in chapter 10 at verse 4 and he wrote on the tablets according to the first writing the Ten Commandments which the Lord had spoken to see again God is sovereign and the giver of the ceremonial and the judicial but specifically speaking with reference to the Decalogue he writes them it's his finger that pens them that shows that they are in some sense offset from the others it is abiding it is forever and then the placement of these tablets in the Ark of the Covenant Exodus chapter 40 you see it as well in Deuteronomy 10 and then Hebrews chapter 9 tells us that these are these tablets were placed in the Ark of the Covenant so there's a uniqueness to the Decalogue wood height which highlights its abiding perpetuity in the lives of God's people it is simply not the case as some would like to have it that the Ten Commandments were for Israel and not for the Gentile Church that is incorrect that is false that is not what the Bible teaches the Ten Commandments are always for God's people no matter what covenant they find themselves under if they're in the Old Covenant it's the Decalogue if they're in the New Covenant it's the Decalogue and we need to appreciate that consistency because it is in fact the revelation of who God is well in conclusion we need to first of all appreciate the threefold use of the law as we move our way through this there's three ways that persons use the law you've probably heard me say this before it bears repetition because that's how we're going to treat the law there is in the first place what's called the civil or the political use that means God's law is given to sort of restrain creatures if you lived in a society where there was no law I mean on the one hand that sounds good but on the other hand it's not good because men are law less men are wicked men do need restraint do they need the sort of restraint that we see in modern governments I would argue no but nevertheless we need restraint to some degree or other may amenities the the 12th century philosopher and exegete said there were 613 commandments in the Pentateuch now that may seem like a big number until you consider what modern states have in terms of laws there's a law prohibiting everything there's a lot you know demanding everything today I I can't even imagine how many new laws each year come out in bodies politic it may sound like a lot but it's really not but there is a sense where the law given by God functions as a force for the restraint of sin so the civil or political use that's the first use secondly there's what's called the pedagogical let me define that a pedagogue is a teacher a pedagogue is a child tutor a pedagogue is one who instructs little ones and the law functions that way and particularly to show us our sin so that we'll see our need for the Savior this second use of the law is Cruz for unbelievers we need to tell them how they have sinned and violated God's law so that we can press upon them the glorious truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord it's useful for the believer as well we need to be reminded that Christ is the end of the law that Christ is the one to whom we are to go as guilty vile helpless sinners the pedagogical use is most crucial in terms of handling the law as Muller says it's the use of the law for the confrontation and refutation of sin and for the purpose of pointing the way to Christ the heidelburgh asks the question how do you know your sin and misery how do you know by the law of God when I see that God demands love to him with all my heart soul mind and strength and when God demands love from me to my neighbor as myself I see how far short I have come and how much I need the Redeemer the mediator the Lord Jesus Christ Augustine says through the law God opens man's eyes so that he sees his helplessness and by faith takes refuge to his mercy and is healed John Bunyan said the man who does not know the nature of the law cannot know the nature of sin and he who does not know the nature of sin cannot know the nature of the Savior and I think this is one of the places where at least not maybe not hopefully in Reformed churches but in the evangelical world I wonder if the law is being preached as a pedagogue I wonder if people are being told that they're sinful they're guilty they're vile before a holy God and they need Jesus Christ as one as well pointed out today the church is all about telling people to be happy happy happy we need a righteousness that avails with God that is only through the gospel of our Lord Jesus and so we need to know of our unrighteousness of our lawlessness of our abject misery before we'll ever look to Christ it's a very simple thing isn't it you want to show somebody their need for a remedy you tell them their problem and if we're not telling them their problem if we're telling them their problem isn't that they're as happy as they could be that's the wrong then we're gonna prescribe the wrong remedy that second use of the law is vital and then the third use we call it the normative which simply means the normal day in day out use of God's law in the lives of his people see it kind of goes like this prior to our salvation the law comes and tells us how bad we are and how much we need Jesus by God's grace he gives us faith and repentance so that we believe with believe in Christ and close with Christ and then Christ gives us a spirit and points us to his law and says this is how I want you to live not that you're going to be perfect and not that you're going to be you know absolutely sinlessly great but this is the pattern for our sanctification sanctify them by thy truth thy Word is truth again Agustin says the law was given in order that we might seek grace grace was given in order that we might fulfill the law it's a really simple procedure civil use it restrains the abject wickedness of man pedagogical we published the law so that sinners see their need for Christ and by grace flee to Christ when they come to Christ Christ says okay this is how you're supposed to live and he gives us the spirit and he gives us this desire to comply turret instead the law was an instrument of the spirit of bondage to throw down in bruise man but afterwards it becomes the instrument of the spirit of adoption to promote sanctification thus the law leads to Christ and Christ leads us back to the law it leads to Christ as the Redeemer and Christ leads to the law as the leader and director of life so God willing as we move through these Commandments we're going to look at each of these uses how do we use the first commandment well there's the civil use there's the pedagogical and there's the normative and we need to understand those things hopefully so that will grow in the Grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus and be further conformed unto his glorious image now one final thing and I mean at this time the Westminster larger catechism along with several Reformed authors give us a list of rules on how to understand the law how to understand the commandment not a list of rules like you you know you're your fool and you need me to come just some hermeneutical help some principles of interpretation I think it's larger catechism number 99 Calvin deals with it at length turret n deals with it Hodge Dabney Brock oh and and again this is to me if I were anybody ever asked me what gift has the reformed world given to the church a good appreciation of God's law a good appreciation of how to deal with the various Commandments and statutes and judgments and and laws that we find in Scripture the one one the one that I'm gonna say that we're gonna follow I'm gonna try to follow all of them I don't want to give you eight or nine from the larger catechism and then have a quiz next week because I don't think any of us would pass but the one thing we need to appreciate where a duty is commanded the contrary sin is forbidden and whereas in is forbidden the contrary Duty is commanded so some of them are negative only you shall not murder but a proper interpretation of that law not only sees the prohibition against ending someone's life but positively we ought to promote life positively the confession for instance talks about a men should eat properly mention exercise I don't mean men alone men and women moderate use of the the various things that God has given so it's not only a prohibition against ending life but it's a positive statement on extending life and caring for oneself when it comes to not committing adultery yeah you're not supposed to actually go into the bed of another human being who's married but positively we're supposed to be chaste we're supposed to be moderate we're supposed to be modest we're supposed to engage in the sorts of things that are pleasing to God so that's what that rule specifies if it's a negative then the implication is there's a positive in verse and that's how we'll treat God willing the commandments as we move through them well let us close in a word of Prayer Father in Heaven we thank you for the Decalogue we thank you for these ten words written with the finger of God and I pray that you bless this study I pray that you would give us wisdom not only to hear and to under but to apply the things that are written in the scripture I asked that you would fill us with the Holy Spirit that you would keep us by your Sovereign Grace and even now go with us and cause your face to shine upon us help us to know your peace and your your involvement in our own lives and we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation you