beginning in verse 14. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he hath saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. 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. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will, he hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replyest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and that he may make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy? which he hath afore prepared unto glory, even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. Let us pray. Father, we thank you so much for your great salvation. And we also thank you much for giving us your very words. Father, give us ears to hear today and be with the teacher, the preacher. Father, as your word is preached and expounded and explained, it would be done so correctly and that your people, when they hear it, would be built up, be edified, you would be glorified, about your great salvation and your great, amazing grace. Father, we pray that you would be glorified through this, through your word, in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Well, good morning. Good to have us all gathered together once again by the Lord's good pleasure and certainly by His providential care for His people, amen, that He would have us gathered together. And I keep thinking, can this text get any deeper? And we're entering into some deep, deep waters this morning. We really are. And it's, as when we started the text, Romans chapter 9, as Spurgeon said, if one thinks that you just wrap this around your finger and it's just an everyday kind of occasional thing that we're looking at, it's anything but that. I like what one pastor said, and really it's something that when the Lord saved me, the pastor that he used taught me this. right from the very beginning. If you have this foundation, brethren, it certainly does indeed reach you and take you to a joy in God's Word like you can't begin to imagine. Listen to what he said. The sole criterion for understanding the nature of God's divine sovereignty is simply this. Listen how simple this is. Whatever God tells us in Scripture, about his lordship and sovereign rulership over all is what we should believe. Whatever he says. Why is that so important? Because this alone is the only infallible truth concerning his sovereignty. And again, brother, when we consider the finite, who again, as we're going to read this text that came from the infinite, All we can do is say, yes, Lord, I don't understand it all. I don't understand it. And certainly we do not, but we believe it because the Lord indeed has included it here through the apostle Paul in sacred scripture. The last Lord's day morning, the apostle Paul was indeed led by the spirit of God to broach a biblical truth that sets many people's teeth on edge. And again, if you remember from last Lord's Day morning, you really have to go back because that sets the whole stage for where we're at. It really does. You have to understand that before you can understand the rest of the text, which is quite amazing. But it sets many teeth on edge. The purpose of God according to election. And that's really the main theme that we're seeing here in the text. It's God's purpose according to His election. We remember that Paul is speaking to his Jewish kinsmen who were wondering if God's word had failed. That's really as we addressed that last Lord's Day morning. They were wondering, has God's promises failed? Has his word failed? And when you remember what Paul does is he does it again here. He takes them back, doesn't he, to the Pentateuch. He takes them back to the Word of God, back to that portion of Scripture that they believed. The Pentateuch. And He showed them, and us, that God indeed has not failed, but He has, as we say, infallibly fulfilled His promise to them by making His choice between first the sons of Abraham. God made a choice between the sons of Abraham. You remember that. He elected Isaac. Amen? He elected Isaac, the son of promise, over Ishmael, who the Bible says is the son of flesh. God chose Isaac over Ishmael. Remember, as the text flowed along, God then went from the sons of Abraham to the grandsons of Abraham. And there, too, he made a sovereign electing choice. You remember that he chose Jacob over Esau. God decreed that the older will serve the younger. God indeed made a sovereign choice among Abraham's grandsons. And he made that choice not based on the tunnels of time doctrine, you remember that. The scripture clearly told us that. But solely on God's determination to distribute his unmerited favor upon the vessels of his choice. And really, brethren, this is really what it boils down to. This is the foundation. You remember, their future actions had absolutely nothing to do with God's choice. Nothing whatsoever. In fact, you remember, before they were born, before they did anything good or evil, God made his divine, sovereign, electing choice. Why? so that the purpose of God according to election will stand. And again, brethren, this is a thing that you have to understand. As I said, God determined that the older would serve the younger. His selection, God's choice, His selection, bypassed Esau and rested upon Jacob. Paul was telling us and is saying that God is free to choose Isaac and reject Ishmael. He is free to love Jacob and hate Esau. God is completely free and autonomous. He is influenced by none, by no one, and by nothing but himself. And really this is what you see. So this again, brethren, is why the question in verse number 14 keeps getting asked over and over and over and over again. It was asked when Paul wrote this letter, when he sent it to the Jewish brethren. It's being asked today, as those of us who, again, are from the Reformed, the particular Baptist persuasion, if you will. It is asked all the time. Look at verse number 14. Look what becomes because of the foundation that's laid. God and His sovereign choosing. They ask this question, and again, it's a great question. Amen? It really is. It's one that we as believers and what God is doing and will do and has done must answer biblically and correctly. Look, look there at verse 14. Look what becomes of the kinsmen that Paul is speaking to. He says there in verse 14, what shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Again, You have to remember, as this is considering this, they're asking, is God fair? Is what we're seeing, is what's unfolding here before us, is what God doing, is that fair? And again, brethren, as we always say, and we're going to notice immediately, that God's fairness is the last thing you want from God. You do not want God to be fair to you. Because if he's fair, you know what he'd do? He would have tossed, well, as we consider it here, he would have tossed all, I mean, of the fathers. It's amazing, isn't it? He would have tossed all the fathers. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Paul, all of us would have been tossed directly into hell. And rightly and graciously so. You don't want God to be fair with you whatsoever. It's an amazing thing. So they ask, is there unrighteousness with God? Is it really fair? So what does Paul do? He again, he, in our text, he takes them back to the Pentateuch. He takes them back to that which they believe that was written by the finger of God. And you know what he does? God then makes another choice. And I want you to notice in the text who he chooses between. I want you to see this. And I want us again to understand the similarities between Moses and Pharaoh. You see some differences, but there are some similarities there. And so their actions from the time they were born and the actions that they've done had nothing to do with God's choice of Moses over Pharaoh. Look at verse 15 there. Look there if you would. Look at here, this choice that he makes. He says, for he saith to who? To Moses. I will have mercy on whom? I will have mercy, he says to him. Look at verse 17. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up. Now again, brethren, you ask yourself, you see here again, so that again, God's choice, so that His purpose and election will stand. You ask yourself, what did Moses and Pharaoh have in common? Well, I'm glad you asked. First of all, they were both sinners. Second of all, they were both murderers. You know that, right? Yeah. They were both murderers. They were sinners. They were both murderers. Remember? Moses killed somebody. He was a murderer. Just exactly like Pharaoh. And you know what else both of them, they had in common? Is that they both saw the miraculous. They were eyewitnesses to what God did in Egypt. They had all of those things in common. They were both sinners. They were both murderers. They both saw the miraculous working of God with their own eyes. And yet, what do we see? Before they were born, before either of them had done either good or evil, God indeed elected Moses over Pharaoh. Now let us consider this as we move forward. The issue is not fairness or the presumed rights of Moses or Pharaoh, of Isaac or Ishmael, of Jacob or Esau or any man. You have no rights. We live in America. We think we got rights. There is no presumed right here with any man. You want to know who has the right? God, who is sovereign, has the right to choose. And certainly this is what we see. Fairness has nothing to do with it. It has to do with the purpose of God according to election standing. Again, it points right back to him. Look at verse 14 there. Look at what Paul does as he begins the text. Look there. He begins with a question, and it's a very familiar one. It's one that he's asked over and over and over again. You remember how many questions we have in the book of Romans over and over again. But he uses this particular phrase. Look there if you would. What then shall we say? He says, he's asking that question. Well, what then shall we say about what? About what he has just written to them. The questions that are brought to their minds concerning what Paul has just said to them concerning God and his election. Is it fair? Is it really what is taking place? And this question, again, asked by Paul on numerous occasions in the book of Romans, he uses it to address the objections that his readers might have concerning, as I said, what he's just written to them. He asked it in Romans chapter 4, verse 1. He asked it in Romans 6 verse 1, 7 verse 7, chapter 7 verse 7, verse 8, 31, chapter 8, 31, here in verse 14 and in verse 30. Now again, it's important, it's imperative that we understand that the question is not, is election unjust? Brethren, you have to understand the Jews believed in God's election. Clearly and plainly, they believed in God's election. Why? Because he elected them above every other nation. He showed them favor above every other nation. They believed in God's election. That's not the question. Again, what's the question? What are they actually asking about? The question that Paul's kinsmen, is God unrighteous? Is he unrighteous to their covenant by electing some Israelites and not all? Brethren, does that sound familiar? I mean, it absolutely does because people today ask the same question. Is God unrighteous, electing some and not all? So the point here is he's speaking concerning Israel. God, is he unrighteous by electing some in Israel and not all of Israel? That's the question. That's what they're asking. That's what they are considering. Again, how does Paul then respond? God forbid. In other words, eradicate out of your mind, out of your finite mind and out of your finite hearts, any kind of unholy, ungodly thought as such as that, that God would ever be unrighteous in anything. And he's telling them and us, don't even go there. So what does he say? God forbid, may it never be. And in verses 15 and 16, what does Paul do? He does just that. He obliterates the fairness doctrine that most men clamor for. But that's not what men need. The lost sheep. Paul lays out here what God gives to the lost sheep. Not to the goats, to the lost sheep. The goats are clamoring for fairness. Paul here says, no, again, that's not what you want. What is it that the lost sheep, the lost child of God, should be clamoring for? Not fairness. Look there, if you would, in verses 15 and 16. This is what God's prescription for his lost sheep, that's what they're given. Not fairness. Two things, and of course, it encompasses a whole bunch of God's attributes. Listen to what he says. Look at verse 15. Look what it says there. For he saith unto Moses, I will have, what, fairness? On whom I will have fairness? I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. That is what the lost sheep, that's what they want, that's what they desire, not fairness, but God's mercy on them. It's amazing, isn't it, when you consider this. He says, I will have mercy, and I will have what? Compassion. I will have mercy. I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Double language there as you see. Mercy upon mercy. Compassion upon compassion. And I will have it on whom I choose to have it on. It's amazing, isn't it, when you consider this. When you understand what he's saying again. In fairness, he would have cast Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and David and Moses and Paul and all of us into the abyss of hell, and he would have done so righteously and fairly because we've earned it. Rather, he says, you want to have God's mercy. What is his mercy? Listen carefully to a biblical definition. Again, you probably all know it. What is God's mercy? It's his benevolence. It's His clemency. See, these things are tied together. This is what you want, His mercy, His clemency, His mildness and tenderness of heart that disposes Him to overlook the sinful injuries that you and I have caused. That's mercy. And to treat you and me, the offenders, way better than we deserve. That's what the lost sheep of God need. Not fairness, but mercy. That which disposes God to treat us way better than we deserve. Not only that, he says compassion. What is compassion biblically? His pity, his sympathy. Listen, his sensation of sorrow towards us in our distress. His taking action by coming to our aid. That is compassion. That is what we want. Mercy, compassion, of course, and mercy, there's grace, there's all of these things that are encompassed in that. That's what Paul is saying. In fact, we have a glorious example of this. We have a glorious example of one who wanders off, gets down in the pig pen, gets down in there. And I want us to turn together again. This same word is used as the Lord Jesus, again, is giving us an example what it means to be compassionate and merciful. God towards his people. Look with me to Luke chapter 15. Let's just look there quickly for just a moment. Again, a very familiar portion of scripture to us. Luke chapter 15. We'll begin in verse number 18 there. Again, you are familiar. There's the parables that he's speaking, the lost sheep, the lost silver coin. And we get here, if you will, to chapter, to verse number 18. We've now entered into the parable of the prodigal son. You know what prodigal means? It's one who spends their money lasciviously. One who just absolutely wasteful. One who's reckless. That's what we all are, brothers and sisters, in our natural state, in our natural, if you will, creaturely wills. We're reckless. Look at what Jesus says. All of it, as we remember, tied to rejoicing. Something that was lost was found. All three of the parables, all connected in that way. But look at verse number 18. Look what the Bible says. I will arise and go to my father. And I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee, and I am no more worthy to be called thy son. Make me one of thy hired servants. And he arose and came to his father. But when he was yet a great ways away, he was a great way off. His father saw him and had what? Compassion. This is exactly what we're talking about. It's the same word that Paul is talking about. The father was watching and caring and had pity and had this sorrow in his heart that he might act and come to his son's aid. This is what it means. He says, verse 20, and he arose and came and his father, but when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight I am no more worthy to be called thy son." Do you see a true believer when they are lost and they come to the realization who they are before God? I'm undone. And what do we see? The compassion of the Father who's watching and coming to the aid of the Son. It's amazing when you consider it. Hey, verse 22. But the father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found." Again, this is what we see. This is what Paul again is illustrating to the kinsmen of Israel. That God, again, you must indeed not seek fairness. You must seek compassion, God's compassion. His, if you will, mercy. These are the things that the true child of God must understand. Brethren, God's mercy and compassion. Why is it important? are not given to us because of what we wish to do. Remember what Paul said? To him what? That willeth. He doesn't distribute by his own divine choice to you and I because of what we do, because of what we think. Nor because of what we actually do, Paul says there in the text, to him that runneth. But simply, brethren, out of his sovereign desire and choice to do so. Remember what he told them? Remember what God told the nation of Israel? I did not set my love upon you because you're what? You're the greatest, you're the most, you're the best. I set my love on you in spite of you. As all of us, by his divine sovereign choice, he dispenses to each In both his corporate, remember we talked about that last week. Oh he's talking about corporate, yeah he is. But what in the world is a nation? A nation is full of people whom God then chooses within that nation. Personal election. His corporate election does not negate his personal election. A nation is made up of people, not dirt and buildings. It's nonsense to say, well, of course he's speaking. The Bible told us, remember Malachi, the Italian preacher? Pastor, he said, there's two nations in you. Of course he's talking about two nations. But here he's talking about individuals. He's talking about Isaac and Ishmael. He's talking about what God has done to them personally. The nation of Israel. His election is both national and personal. Amen? Can you imagine that God bestowing his love not on you because of what you wish to do, to him that willeth, nor because of what we actually do, him that runneth, but because, brethren, out of his sovereign desire, love, and choice to do so. Look back there now. Look at, if you would, Romans chapter 9. Look at verse 17. He speaks of Moses again, making his choice. And it's interesting here as the text gets deeper. It gets deeper and deeper and deeper. In fact, I was looking for some scuba gear, a couple of oxygen tanks. It was getting so deep. Brethren, it's amazing. It really is. Look at what he says there in verse 17. For my ideas, no, for scripture saith. What's he doing? He's taking him back to the Pentateuch. He's taking him back to the foundation. What does scripture say? Again, how do we start this out? We simply have to believe what God says about it. Just like this, look what he says there, 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. What an amazing, stunning thing we consider. Paul here again brings the Pentateuch into his kinsmen's view and reminds them that God brought Pharaoh into earthly time for his purposes. Again, you think Pharaoh just accidentally showed up in Egypt? No, he's saying according to scripture, God brought Pharaoh into existence at that perfect time that he might show his glory to all the world. Think of that for a moment. when you consider it. It was his sovereign act, not a mistake in history, that God's purposes advanced by what he did through Pharaoh's place in history. Again, you think it's just an act? We're just kind of floating along out here and we show up and we don't show up anymore? No, no. Brethren, we are here at the perfect time, at the perfect place, according to God's decreed will. Just exactly like Pharaoh, It's amazing. Moses and Pharaoh together. You think about that for just a moment. Now, you think of what he said. God said, I raise thee up. Literally, it means I cause you to stand. God said it's my sovereign activity in world history that matters. My choice, my sovereign will in history. In fact, as we consider this, I want us again to go back and to hear what Paul is quoting. I want us to go back to the time when God was speaking to Moses. And he's telling them this. This is my act in history that I'm going to glorify myself in for all the world to see. And brethren, didn't they see it? Amazing, isn't it? Turn with me back to Exodus. Let's just look at this quickly together. Exodus chapter 9. Again, we see this. Brother Dean was talking this morning. In church history, again, I would really encourage you to come to that. Here we had a man that shows up on the scene, and suddenly he's exegetically, verse by verse, going through the scriptures contextually. What did it mean to them? I mean, just exactly like we believe, only it was hundreds of years ago. This is what Paul is doing. He's exegetically telling the narrative. It's like I was talking to one brother this morning. He goes, yeah, the Lord just, he put it on my heart to read Leviticus and Hebrews. Well, what a glorious combination. The law, and then you go to Hebrews, and what do you have? You have the inspired, if you will, commentary on Leviticus. It's amazing. What a glorious thing to consider. So this is what Paul is doing. Back to the Pentateuch. Let's read this and consider what we see here. Sometimes we read things and we blow right over the top of them. And especially God's mercy in all of this. Again, when we get to the hardening of Pharaoh. Look there, if you would, Exodus chapter nine. Look at verse number 13. You know where we're at. We're right in the middle of God displaying his power. How did he do that? Well, ten times he displayed his power. By the plagues. Interesting, isn't it? Him protecting his people. Amen? He made a clear and sharp division between those who were in Egypt and those who were his people. And he's displaying his power. Not once, not twice, not three times, not four times, not five times, ten times he displayed his power for all the world to see. And right here we're in the, kind of in the, what should we say, in the crux of it. Look there, Exodus chapter 9. Look what he says there. Look at verse 13. And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, that thou mayest know that there's none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch my hand out, I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence, and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. Look at verse 16. And in very deed for this cause, what? What did he tell him? Have I raised thee up? I've raised Pharaoh up for this very purpose. That is, I'm displaying my power over a man who thinks he's God. Over a man who thinks he's ruling Egypt. Think of that for a moment. It's amazing when you consider that God says, nope, I'm just going to simply raise him up for my purpose. This is my purpose. When you consider it, right? Again, a man who believed he was a God. God displayed his power, as I said, ten times. so that his name would be glorified throughout all the earth." Now look what he does, again, Paul, this idea of mercy. Over and over again we see it. God's, if you will, pity, his feeling in his heart towards his people. Look what he says there again, Romans chapter 9, look at verse number 18. So, again, Paul is simply quoting Exodus chapter 9. Verses 13 through 16, this is what he says, I raise thee up. And he's again reminding his Jewish kinsmen of this through the Pentateuch. Look what he says there in verse number 18. Look at Romans chapter 9. Again, this thing just gets deeper and deeper and deeper. I raised up Pharaoh that I might show him my mercy. that I might indeed do this as well. Again, God is glorified, is he not, in everything he does. All of his purposes are right and good and just. What do we always remember? The text, right? Remember the verse, will not the judge of all the earth do what? Do right. Of course he will. Even though my finite mind can't grasp it, God will always do right. Look what he says there. Therefore, He says, hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and on whom he will he hardeneth. I want to make sure you understand this. There are those out in the Christian community who say he'll have mercy on who he's able to have mercy. No. He will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he will harden not who he's able to harden, who he hardens. As if God is a weak little God who has man overriding what he does. Sick, isn't it? It doesn't say whom he's able, he will. He will indeed have mercy upon whom he will have mercy and he will harden whom he will. Therefore, Paul says, because of what I've just rehearsed in your ears, It is crystal clear, brethren, that God, according to his divine distribution, according to his own choosing, glorifies himself by showing mercy. We talk about this, don't we? Brethren, think of how you were. Think of what your old friends could tell about you. Oh, my goodness. If my old buddies could tell about me, you'd be shocked. before God showed me mercy, before God saved me. Look what he says. Look what he says there, brethren. He does this according to his own choosing, and it glorifies himself by showing mercy. Look at verses 23, if you would, there in 24. Look what he says. And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of who? of mercy which he had aforeprepared unto glory, the vessels of mercy before you were born, before you did anything good, anything evil, God indeed shed his mercy upon you. Yes, the vessels of mercy aforetime, before you were ever thought of, before you were ever born. Think of this, brethren. In eternity, God already shed his mercy upon you. In earthly time, you believed. In earthly time, you came to know God, drew you the Spirit of God, or God drew you the Spirit of God, regenerated you, believed on the Lord Jesus Christ in real earthly time. Don't conflate that with what God did in eternity. All you did was live out in earthly time what God has decreed for you already. Don't take credit, brethren. Don't do it. Don't do it. This is what he says. that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had aforetime prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles." I want you to think of what people thought about Paul before his conversion. Oh yeah, you think they were all running around the early Christians in Rome and the early Christians running around the countryside were saying, that's an elect of God. No way. They were going, as I was talking to somebody Wednesday night, they were scared to death. If you remember, we went through the book of Acts. And they said, no, we don't want him to come here. And he had to have Barnabas speak for him. No, no, he's saved now. God saved him. He's OK to come in your building. He's not going to slaughter you. Think of that for a moment. The vessels of mercy, God prepared aforetime. No question about it. Before they were born, before we did anything good or evil, again, brother, let me quote it, that the purpose of God and election might what? Stand. Yes. This is the crux of the whole thing. That his purposes might stand. Now, you consider there, don't we, as we look at the text, Paul says, that God also at His own choosing, glorifies Himself through a man's hardness. Can I say that again? God also glorifies Himself through a man's hardness. He shows mercy to whom He's able, no, to whom He will, and He hardeneth those to whom He is able, no, who He will. He's glorified in both. And this is the thing that the finite mind and man with his cool Arminian thought, all this stuff, this is where it gets lost. This is where it makes no sense anymore to them. Look what he says in verse 22. I want you to notice something as we consider this. One of the things that we never probably think about too much is in the gist, in the midst of the plagues that are coming. It's amazing what we're going to see. Even to Pharaoh, in the midst of the plagues, God's mercy is right there. Even to Pharaoh, who in his unregenerate state rejected. But think about this for a moment. Look what he says there. He says this in verse 22, Again, a cleared division. There are those who are fitted for mercy. There are those who have their own free, well, let me not say that, creaturely will. Yes, who are fitted to destruction. Yes. Did you notice how I tried to throw that word free in there to throw you off a little bit? Free! Free will, there is none. It does not exist apart from God who is free and autonomous from all. When you consider what he says there, he endured much long suffering the vessels of wrath. I like what one pastor said, we should never think We should never ever think that God persuaded an unwilling, kind-hearted Pharaoh to be hard towards God and his people. In the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, God simply allowed Pharaoh, brethren, his heart to pursue its natural inclination. That's all he did. He simply allowed Pharaoh's unregenerate heart. Even in the mists as we're going to see, God even showed him mercy. And what does the Bible say? And Pharaoh hardened his heart. It's amazing, isn't it, when you consider it. God working all of this out. Look what we see there in Exodus chapter 4. Again, back to the Pentateuch. Let's read that together again just for a clear understanding of what Paul is saying to his Look at Exodus chapter 4, way back here again, we see here God again speaking with Moses. Look at verse number 19, And the Lord said unto Moses and Midian, Go, return into Egypt, for all the men are dead which sought thy life. And Moses took his wife and his sons and set them upon an ass. And he returned to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the rod of God in his hand. And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand. But what? I will harden his heart. Do you see that there again? It's a working of God. He says, I will harden his heart that he, what, shall not let my people go. Again, what is God doing? He's raised up Pharaoh. In this time of history in Egypt, He's made Him stand there for His purposes. I will make His heart hard. His heart hard. Amen? That's what He says. I will harden His heart. Look at Exodus chapter 7. Look just a couple of them here again. We're going to see this pattern again. Look at Exodus chapter 7. Look at verses 1 through 3. The Bible says, And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god unto Pharaoh. See, Pharaoh thought he was a god. And God here shows his mighty power to the man who thought he ruled Egypt, to the man who thought he was a god. I am God. I, there's none like me. The Bible says there, And Aaron thy brother shall be a 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 his hand. Verse three, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. Look at verse 13. And he hardened Pharaoh's heart that he hearkened not unto them as the Lord had said. On and on it goes. Look at verse 32. Look there if you would at verse number, let's see. On and on it goes. He hardens Pharaoh's heart. He hardens them over and over and over again. And these plagues are coming. And this is what you see. So Pharaoh pursued his heart's natural inclination to rebel against God. This is what happens, amen? And again, look at chapter 8. I want you to see this again. In his rebellion, I want you to see God, how he again does indeed show some mercy here. And what does the scripture say? All heart and his heart, all heart and his heart. Look what happens when God's mercy is bestowed. and clearly seen. Look at verse number 9. Look at Exodus chapter 8. Look at verse number 9. Look again as we're still in the throes of it. And the Bible says, and for thy servants and for thy people to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they remain in the river only. And he said, tomorrow. And he said, be it according to thy word that thou mayest know that there's none like unto the Lord our God. Again, God's purpose is. A man who thought he was God, a man who thought he was ruling Egypt, there's none like our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee and from thy houses and from thy servants and from thy people. They shall remain in the river only. And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh. And Moses cried unto the Lord, because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. Look at verse 14. And they gathered them together upon heaps, and the land stank. Now I want you to pay careful attention. Verse 15. What is he saying? What is Moses? What is he relaying here? What is he saying? But when Pharaoh saw that there was, what? A respite. God put it on hold. When he saw that there was a respite, even there he's showing some mercy. He stopped it. There's a respite here. And what does Pharaoh do? He just simply follows the inclination of his unrejetted heart. Look what it says. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart and hearkened not unto them as the Lord had said. Even in mercy, The unregenerate Pharaoh hardened his heart. God hardened his heart for his glory and for his purposes. The Bible says even now, Pharaoh, even in the mercy of God, as he stops what he was doing, he hardened his own heart. It's crazy, isn't it? Look there, if you would, at verse number 19. Again, just in chapter 8. Again, just to see. Then the magician said unto Pharaoh, this is the finger of God. And Pharaoh's heart was, what? Hardened. And he hearkened not unto them as the Lord had said. Look down at verse 32, if you will, of chapter 8. Look what he says. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. So again, we see God going along, doing what he's going to do, displaying his power over and over and over the man, again, who I have said a hundred times and will say it again, who thought he was a god, who thought he ruled Egypt. No, there is none like our God. This is what Paul is reminding his kinsmen. There's none like him. Look what he has done. Look at the glory in what he has done there. Again, Pharaoh's heart just followed its natural inclination to rebel against God's mercy. Remember the book of Revelation? We don't have time to go there. It always stuns me, brother. Doesn't it? The Bible says clearly, that the people during the tribulation, they know it's God heaving hailstones over 100 pounds down on top of them. And what are they doing? Oh, we're going to repent. Oh, we're going to believe. No, actually, they're even more rebellious, shaking their fists in God's face. And they know it's Him. Brethren, it is God's glorious, divine, Electing power. That's why you believe. That's why I believe. That's why Moses believed. That's why Pharaoh didn't. That's why he chose Jacob and Isaac and Abraham. Because it is his purpose. According to what? According to election. This is what Paul is saying. Isn't this glorious? I don't know why people run away from it. People run from it. I mean, we just saw Brother Howard's been teaching, you know, 1 Peter, right? I mean, in the first two verses, you have three major doctrines all together. The Trinity of God and people who deny election, they'll say, well, you know, we can't fully understand the Trinity of God and you need to just take your human reasoning outside and kneel outside this green door. Yes, we do. But also the doctrine of elections right there. And when it comes to that, they don't say the same thing. Suddenly we don't leave our, we don't go outside and kneel. I go outside and kneel. I don't completely understand it, but I know it's true because we're reading it. It's here. How can the finite possibly comprehend all that the infinite is saying? As soon as you understand God completely, you better find a different God. Right now, because it ain't the God, ain't ain't a word. It isn't the God of scripture. That is a fact. Amazing, isn't it? Brethren, we should not think that God persuaded an unwilling, kind-hearted Pharaoh to be hard towards him and his people. His natural inclination is to be that way, just like yours, just like mine, apart from his grace, his mercy, and his compassion. Amen? This is what he's saying. Fairness? No. Mercy and compassion? Yes. Amen? Look what he says there, if you will, again, as he addresses, again, more questions. And it's okay. I mean, how many times, brethren, have we seen in Psalms, as we're studying through there, that people will question some things? You'd be stunned at the number of times they did it. And it's okay to do that. It's okay to ask. I don't understand this. Neither do I. Join the club. Look there if you would, Romans chapter 9, look at verse 19, 20, and 21. Paul knew when he said it, this was going to come. Thou wilt say then unto me, why doth he find fault? How can God find fault? If it is His will, He hardens some and He saves others. Good question, right? Yeah. For who hath resisted his will? Oh, I love Paul's response. Nay, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Remember Job? I think about Job a lot. He's questioning God and what did God say to him? Who is this that darkeneth my door? Who is this? Who comes before me like this? Paul is saying, oh brothers, oh brothers, it's stunning when you consider the text. Nay, but oh man, who art thou that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made me this? Listen, hath not the potter power over the clay? You're clay. This is what we all are. This is what the nation of Israel was. Clay in the hands of the potter. Who has what? He has the power. He has the free and completely autonomous will to do what he wills. To what? To make, look what it says, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor. and the other under dishonor. It's amazing, isn't it, when you consider again these glorious questions. What is Paul doing? Well, he's setting man in contrast to God, the creator. He's setting men in contrast to God, the creator. Remember, he's the potter. We're the clay, we sing that song. It is his will to do whatever he wills with it. It's amazing, isn't it? He sets the greatest of antithesis between finite man and infinite God. Again, you think of Jehovah. Who is this that enters my, darkens my doorway? Who questions? We sing that song. How come I can't think of it right now, Isaac? I always forget the name of it. God's on his throne, right? And we're asking ourselves, singing that song, who can question anything? Who can question the one who has all knowledge? Who can do these things? And me and Howard are always saying at the end of it, no one. No one. You know what the elect child of God does? Listen, I love that. I love how those who are so man-centered with their salvation, with them contributing everything they have to their own salvation. I like how they accuse me of being pride-filled. You're pride-filled. No, brethren, nothing could be farther from the truth. When you understand that it's solely the election of God that your soul is saved, what do you do? You get on your knees. You bow before Him. He's the creator. He's the potter. You want to know who stands there like this, proud and, look how good I am? It's those who think they are contributing to their own salvation. God says, no, no. That's humbling when you consider it, that God would indeed set his love upon you. It is presumptuous, Paul says, for a finite man to think that he has the capacity to call God to account. Can you imagine calling God to account? It's like Wendy and I were talking about a friend of mine one time. We were talking about salvation. We're driving down the road, going to a golf course. And I wanted to get out and walk. Because we're driving down the road and I'm trying to instill in his mind that salvation is of God. And he looked at me and he goes, God didn't do what I did. I wanted to get out of the car. Where's the lightning bolt? Who are you to darken my doorway and question in your finite mind and in your finite heart what the infinite creator, the potter, is doing with the clay? It's stunning. This is what he's saying. God is the sovereign potter. He is free to make from the same lump of clay, Paul says, that which he deems best. Look with me for a couple more verses here and we'll finish this up. Look at Isaiah chapter 29. Look there with me if you would. Again, this is where Paul is bringing this out. You see, God hasn't changed. This is the thing that we see over and over again, just like the good brother this morning. He's reading Leviticus, goes over into Hebrews, which is a New Testament book and sees God hasn't changed. God hasn't changed. Look at Isaiah chapter 29. Look what the great prophet says. Look there if you would at verse 13. Wherefore the Lord said, for as much as the people draw near me with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men. Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Who is the wise man who will stand before God and question him? Look what it says there. The Bible says, verse 15, Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord, and their works are in the dark. And they say, Who seeth us? Who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay. For shall the work say to him that made it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed say to him that framed it, had he no, he had no understanding? And again, this is the point that Paul is trying to make. Brethren, as Spurgeon said, if I knew who all the elect were, I'd go to them and I'd just preach to them. We don't know. Vicki, I can never remember, but it's such a great illustration. Was it your sister? At college. Mm-hmm. Yep. Somebody sharing the gospel with somebody else. On the same bench. The same bench. And you know who the lost sheep was that day? It was the sister who was there walking and looking in the park. That is divine, sovereign election. She had nothing to do with it. Did she believe? Yes. Why did she believe? Because God changed her creaturely will to believe. She's listening to someone who's preaching to someone else and she gets saved. That is God's, can I say it again, divine sovereign election at work. Period. Think of it, how smart man thinks he is. If I can just trick them, just say the right word. You know what I mean? Hey, let's not preach from the Bible because it scares people. We need to make sure that they, you know, they understand that God loves them and has a good plan for their life. How do you know that, sir? Amazing, isn't it? This is precisely what Paul is saying to them. Is it fair? Is it fair? Is God being unrighteous concerning our covenant? And that he's saving some of Israel, but not all of Israel. God forbid. May it never be. May we never think of such a thing. In fact, I need to finish up. We'll look at Lamentations chapter 3. Again, I want to see this. This is really, this is where the fairness doctrine really comes home. This is where you earn what you get. Again, it's not fairness, it's mercy and compassion, grace, that the child of God seeks. Look here at Lamentations, again, speaking of complaining against God because He might not be fair. Look what happens here in Lamentations. Look there, if you would, at verse 37. Lamentations chapter 3, look at verse number 37. The Bible says, Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good. Wherefore, doth the living man complain? What's the man complaining about? A man for the punishment of his what? Of his sins. Do we have the right to complain before God for the punishment of our sins? No. Again, this is what man thinks. Man, in their self-centeredness, thinks that they do indeed have a right to complain and question God. You, when you consider fairness, you will get what God will fairly give you. You will get what you've earned. The wages of sin is what? Death. You don't want to earn those wages. You don't want God's fairness. In fact, in scripture, again, we need to finish, You realize that the only time fair is used in scripture is a description of David, who was tall and fair-looking. That's the only time it's used, speaking of him or, I can't remember who the lady was. The Bible says that she was fair. Has nothing to do with God. being equitable, being righteous, being good and holy, none of it. It's amazing. The question certainly here is legitimate that they asked. But man is in no position to ask it because of his fitness. He's not fit to ask it. The finite creature cannot challenge the creator because of our capacity problem. We have a capacity problem. We're finite. Who could have made up what happened to Vicki? No one could make that up. No one. That was directed by God. Same with you when you think along in your life if you lived a life like I did before I was saved. Brother Howard, I always think about you and Brother Dean too, all of us. Some of us grew up in a Christian home, some of us didn't, I didn't. And you think back at all the times in earthly history, in earthly time, where God spared you for the day of salvation. Yep. You think that happened by accident? You think that was something, a good decision you made? Brethren, before you and I were born, before we did anything good, that would cause us to think we can earn it. I mean, this is really the text. Before you've done anything good, to make you think you've earned something before God, or anything bad, to make you think you were so bad that God could never save you. He, by His divine, sovereign, election choice, Amen, showed you mercy, compassion, and grace. What an amazing thing, isn't it? Remember this, brethren, as we close. The sole criterion for understanding the nature of God's divine sovereignty is simply this. We could all say it together. Whatever God tells us in Scripture is what we believe. I mean, amen? Because Scripture alone is the only infallible truth concerning His sovereignty. It's the only way we know. Do we understand it? Nope. I'm finite, so are you. As Spurgeon said, you think you're gonna wrap that around your finger and it's just a common everyday thing that you think you're gonna just grasp and get a hold of? You better run from that preacher. It's not fairness we want from God. It is His mercy, His compassion that we desire. Let's pray. Father, we certainly have waded into some very, very deep, deep waters. And even the mind that's been regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God, it surpasses all of us. You do indeed Show mercy to whom you will, show mercy. You do indeed harden those whom you choose to harden. You say, well, how can we question, how can we go against His will? You simply allow their nature to and their hearts to do instinctively what their creaturely will has them to do. Father, there's no pride in understanding that it's all of you. Yeah, did I believe and did everyone who's ever been saved believe in earthly time? Yes. That was an action that was forged in eternity by you. It was indeed that you would draw us to yourself. Again, the Father's work. That you would give us the gift of belief. that the Spirit of God would regenerate our stony hearts and our minds that are in enmity with you, that you would change our creaturely wills in such a way, not that we're robots. People, oh, you think we're robots. No, not at all. It's all about the creaturely will. It's the slavery of the natural man versus the freedom from bondage in the new man. Yes, Lord, may you be glorified in all of it. And may we believe not because we always understand it because we don't, but because that is what scripture tells us about your lordship, about your sovereignty, your rulership over all. That is what we should believe. We should, as we're going to see here shortly, Lord willing, as we get into chapter 10 again, we see the work of God in chapter nine. laying the foundation for chapter 10 were men in their responsibility. Indeed, because they have been changed, gladly and willingly bring the gospel. How beautiful are the feet of them who bring good news. And Father, we thank you for it. We praise you now, and I pray that your people, whom the word here has been spoken to, That's all of us. We pray that it'll do its work deep down in that place where only you and the Spirit of God and the Word of God can see. May it change our hearts. May it make us filled with gladness and joy realizing that you set your love upon us if we're saved this morning. We pray for the lost sheep. Again, I use Paul as an example. No one would have ever believed in a gazillion years that Paul was an elect child of God. Until that day on the road to Damascus, he's heading to kill more Christians and put more in jail. And lo and behold, you went to him. You came to his aid. You sure did. You came to his aid and you changed him and you used him as a vessel for honor to take the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that is now spread and was spreading all across the world. Father, we praise you for it. And as John MacArthur said recently, brought tears to my eyes and my heart, you think of how you've used him over the years and you go listen to him as he says, I'm on my, I'm on my final lap. I started tearing up when I was listening to it yesterday and if you listen carefully how he describes his ministry and he thanks you for fulfilling Your Word. It wasn't nothing about Him. It was about You, about You fulfilling Your Word. And we pray, Father, that we too might have that type of humble attitude. We thank You, Father, now and pray these things all in Jesus' name and all God's people said, Amen. Amen.