Day 2: Out of Bondage
He also brought them out [of Egypt's bondage] with silver and gold, And there was none feeble among His tribes (Psalm 105:37 – NKJV).
Egypt may very fairly represent those states of sorrow and sadness, depression and oppression, into which God’s people come far too frequently. Specially is the house of bondage a true picture of our condition when we are convinced of sin, but are ignorant of the way to escape from its guilt and power...Glory be to God, He has now brought us out from that state of slavery, and we can sing of freedom given by His own right hand!
It is... possible to go down again into Egypt by reason of our own depression of spirit, inward conflict, and despondency... When under temptations of the flesh, and memories of old sins, Satan himself comes in with his fiery darts, and you have a hard time of it. He will insinuate dark and dreadful thoughts, and you will be haunted by them, day after day, till you feel like the poor Israelites under the lash of the Egyptian taskmaster...
Your covenant God will bring you out of that state of anguish and distress; and when He does so, you will sing, “He brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes...”
First, the deliverances of God' s people are always wrought by divine power. Lay the stress on the first word: “HE brought them forth...” But this does not exclude the use of means. The Lord used Moses and Aaron, and Moses used his rod and his tongue.
Truly Jehovah brought forth Israel, and neither Moses nor Aaron nor the rod in Moses’ hand; but yet the Lord’s instruments were employed in the service... The use of instrumentality does not hide divine power, but even makes it the more apparent... The Lord took care to employ means which could not pretend to share the honour with Himself. Notwithstanding Moses, Aaron, and the rod, “HE brought them forth,” and HE alone...
Secondly, their deliverances are attended with enrichment... The tried and tempted man will... see clearly that salvation is all of grace. He feels that, if he ever rises from his despondency, he can never dare to take an atom of the honour of the deliverance to himself; it must be of free grace only. He can do nothing, and he knows it...
And, thirdly, their deliverances are accompanied by a remarkable degree of strength. “There was not one feeble person among their tribes...” When the Lord has once brought us forth from the world and all its troubles, then all sinful weakness shall be unknown...
Thank God that you are on the right road, even if you limp. It is better to enter into life [disabled], and maimed, and feeble, than to run and leap in the way of death... I would urge you to cry to the Lord to make you strong, and bid you trust in Christ for the power, which He alone can give, of faith to overcome doubts and fears.
~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon ~ A Stanza of Deliverance ~ July 31, 1890
