Exodus 10:20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. I. THE REALITY OF THE HUMAN WILL, and consequently of responsibility, IS ATTACHED ON DIFFERENT SIDES: HERE ON PHYSIOLOGICAL, AND THERE ON HISTORICAL GROUNDS. We are told that facts connected with the human will admit of exact calculation and prediction, according to what is termed the law of averages, and that consequently the doctrine of free-will, which was never capable of proof, must be displaced by a doctrine recognizing the certainty of human action. To this we answer: 1. The belief that man has the power to choose is so far from wanting proof, that it has all the force which universal consent can give it. 2. This average, which is supposed to rule the will like a rod of iron, is itself most variable. It yields under the hand like tempered clay. That which our will is now acting upon, which varies in different countries because the will of man has made different laws there, cannot be conclusive against the doctrine of free-will. II. THE WORDS OF THE TEXT ARE NOT WITHOUT THEIR WARNING. They mean that God, who punishes sin with death, sometimes punishes sin with sin. When man has repelled the voice of conscience, and the warning of his Bible, and the entreaties of friends, then grace is withdrawn from him, and sin puts on a judicial character, and is at once sin and punishment. (Abp. Thomson.) Parallel Verses KJV: But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.WEB: But Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he didn't let the children of Israel go. |
    |