SUNDAY READING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 283, 22 April 1911, Page 10

SUNDAY READING.

(By Kev. John Laird).

"And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh."—Ex. xi.-ll). This is one of the passages of the Old Testament that presents a diiliculty to many of its renders. We read the Old Testament with the illumination of the new, and we cannot harmonise this sentence with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, but there it stands, and it is stated a number of times. We do not like to think of God deliberately hardening a man to do evil and thus work iiis ruin; indeed, we cannot. Yet this statement is true, and contains not only a p-yliolugical Imt a very soiemft truth, that we live iu a spiritual world in which jitritu;i 1 laws—laws of right-eousness--exist which we cannot break with impunity. We arc endowed with conscience, reason, moral and spiritual faculties. It is pos-ible to sear the conscience, blunt the, moral sense, destroy natural ailed ion—in a word, become hard, l'haraoli hardened his heart. He was cruel, disobedient; lie vowed obedience and promised to let Israel go, but broke his promises. God's laws punished him. God hardened his heart. In the world of .Nature we use similar language. We sometimes say of a beautiful garden that may once have been a rough patch of ground' that this is the work of the owner, and we praise his industry and sense of beauty. Looking at another time at this same garden we say this is the work of God. lie has beautified the rose and made rich and luscious the fruit. We are understood to speak rightly when we say at one time, "This is the work of man." and again that it is the work of God. And so it is written. "Pharaoh hardened liis heart"; "God hardened the heart of l'haraoli." The writers of the Old Testament sometimes adopt- the habit of writing ascribing the doing of a thing to God which was in the first place the conscious and determined act of man. This is one instance of it. Tf the witness of the Old Testament did not use modern terms about the laws of mind, this statement -hows they were not, ignorant of the relics- or actions of the doings of men. These two statements are in a sense the same, and yet one emphasises a phase of truth not contained in the other. "Pliaraoli hardened his heart"; then man has the power to do so. "God hardened the heart of Pharoh," brings the reign of law to our mind. The truth underlying my text is a solemn fact taught not only by the Bible but also by history and experience. God had made'man in His own image with powers —with great powers—of mind and son). He has also given him perfect freedom to think and set just as he chooses. He can do good or he can choose evil, but there are great laws of righteousness which he cannot violate without penalties ensuing any more than | we can escape the reign of natural law. I What we sow, that we reap. We are under law, also under grace. The hardening of the heart is the consequence of wrongdoing. Tf we took care to observe we would see this law at work every day. The newspaper bears witness to it in its columns again and again. The gambler become* hard. He continues in his busijicss even though he knows it is working the ruin of lives and homes. The uncomfortable feeling he has after winning at the beginning soon passes away. The' drink seller becomes so hardened bv the business that again and again he has been known to supply drink when he knows that he is causing misery and starvation. Yet it has happened that when all a man's money is in his drawer he flings the customer on to the street. A number of merchants onee went to D. L. Moody, the great evangelist, and asked him whv they could not get honest elerk=. Moody said, "It is because you teach them to cheat the customer and tell lies; then, having been made thieves and liars by you. they turn and steal your money and property." Sin always finds men out. Tie that sinneth against God, light, love and knowledge, wrongeth his"own soul. We have the making of -ourselves in our own hands, and the deciding of what life will be both here and in the world to come. Tf you look into the details of God's dealing with Pharaoh, you will see the path he took and the wav in which the hardening of i= heart manifested itself. Tt just illustrates how "the wrath of God against sin" is brought on man by himself. First there i.= 110 response to the will and command of f!od. God revealed His will in such a way that Pharaoh could understand. TTc promises and then breaks his vow. The path that he should take is clear, but he refuses to walk therein. Amid all the signs of God he adds to his disobedience. TTe acts in an unreasonable fashion. He first asked Moses, '•Who is .Tehovah that T should obey His voice?" By .signs and wonders he was taught that Jehovah was God. His own pTiests said to him. "This is the finger ot God." But even when he learnt that •Tehovah was God indeed he disobeys asrain, and each time it becomes easier to do the wrong as it always is. Each time he promise's and breaks his vow the voice of conscience is made to speak with lijs.s power and authority, until at last he can act without the consciousness of wrongdoing. He seared his conscience; he is King of Egypt, but a liar; he is made in the image of God but ha c sold himself to the devil; he is a keepei of slaves, and natural affection therebv goes to the wall; he is cruel and un thankful when the plague is removed false and hard. Because of his actions God. or God's law hardens his heart Bunyan in his "Pilgrim's Progress" ha; no more pathetic picture than "the mar in the iron case." The pilgrim asks win lie is there; he is told the man has sin ned away his day of grace and has now no desire to be saved. Alas! men ofter do. The desire for righteousness and Got and His salvation can be abolished, am' we can put ourselves into the iron cage Tf you look into this incident o; Pharaoh you will notice that God was doing many things working miracles t( prevent Pharaoh from hardening hi: heart. Tt is possible to turn the grac< and favor of God to our own d.-struc tion as Pharaoh did. God does arbitrary things to get men to he right and d( right. He did so with this King o: Egypt and He •.'M so when He s>?nt ilii Son to be tli l Saviour of men. Mo*'! to <h i inii'iTl wit'i siu-ns am vv--nde-.s. C'it■ s r th- Eternal >or tini been sent to us. The gospel is th( ;-i of life ir.'-o lih " of deatl un:-) .lentil. G.rl jeaks c:'i r le callto righteousness: "There is a way for man to rise To that .sublime abode An Offering and a Sacrifice, An Advicate with God."'

So. ;-:\s the write.- to the Hebrews, we refiisc'r.ot Him that ■f.a'a'th from liea- .■<••; it is nr>s:iv ( to In Gnsp-I hard en"! Y'.a: it is pes 1'" in think without !*>>■£.' move! of <v.> biond that sp.-al.et)' peace of the tr.om crowned S'iv'v:.- who seeks i . .-«icc-r.. R.i purifv and to c ave. No »• is the day of salvition. It is possible to deceive ourselves, to ■/!■■• •■ the fad of 0..' «■!>■ *«* neeil of the Saviour and Redeemer until the heart lie hardened and thus it be too late.