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PREACHING THE WORD
Edited by R. Kent Hughes
Genesis | R. Kent Hughes
Exodus | Philip Graham Ryken
Leviticus | Kenneth A. Mathews
Numbers | Iain M. Duguid
Deuteronomy | Ajith Fernando
Joshua | David Jackman
Judges and Ruth | Barry G. Webb
1 Samuel | John Woodhouse
2 Samuel | John Woodhouse
Job | Christopher Ash
Psalms, vol. 1 | James Johnston
Proverbs | Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.
Ecclesiastes | Philip Graham Ryken
Song of Solomon | Douglas Sean ODonnell
Isaiah | Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.
Jeremiah and Lamentations | Philip Graham Ryken
Daniel | Rodney D. Stortz
Matthew | Douglas Sean ODonnell
Mark | R. Kent Hughes
Luke | R. Kent Hughes
John | R. Kent Hughes
Acts | R. Kent Hughes
Romans | R. Kent Hughes
1 Corinthians | Stephen T. Um
2 Corinthians | R. Kent Hughes
Galatians | Todd Wilson
Ephesians | R. Kent Hughes
Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon | R. Kent Hughes
12 Thessalonians | James H. Grant Jr.
12 Timothy and Titus | R. Kent Hughes and Bryan Chapell
Hebrews | R. Kent Hughes
12 Peter and Jude | David R. Helm
13 John | David L. Allen
Revelation | James M. Hamilton Jr.
The Sermon on the Mount | R. Kent Hughes
Exodus
Copyright 2015 by Philip Graham Ryken
Published by Crossway
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway is a registered trademark in the United States of America.
Cover design: Jon McGrath, Simplicated Studio
Cover image: Adam Greene, illustrator
First printing 2005
Reprinted with new cover 2012
First printing, ESV edition 2015
Printed in the United States of America
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scripture references marked NLT are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL, 60189. All rights reserved.
All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-4872-7
ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-4875-8
PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-4873-4
Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-4874-1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ryken, Philip Graham, 1966
Exodus : saved for Gods glory / Philip Graham Ryken; R. Kent Hughes, general editor.
p. cm.(Preaching the word)
Includes indexes.
ISBN 1-58134-489-9 (hc : alk. paper)
1. Bible. O.T. ExodusCommentaries. I. Hughes, R. Kent. II. Title. III. Preaching the Word.
BS1245.53.R95 2005
222'.1107dc22 2005004629
Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
To
JAMES MAXWELL RYKEN
who brought joy to his fathers heart
while this book was being written
the whole first three years of his life
and to the
GREAT GOD OF THE EXODUS,
who alone can rescue us from the Egypt of our sin,
redeem us by the blood of the Lamb,
and receive us into his everlasting glory
I will get glory over Pharaoh
and all his host,
and the Egyptians shall know
that I am the LORD.
EXODUS 14:4
Contents
There are times when I am preaching that I have especially sensed the pleasure of God. I usually become aware of it through the unnatural silence. The ever-present coughing ceases, and the pews stop creaking, bringing an almost physical quiet to the sanctuarythrough which my words sail like arrows. I experience a heightened eloquence, so that the cadence and volume of my voice intensify the truth I am preaching.
There is nothing quite like itthe Holy Spirit filling ones sails, the sense of his pleasure, and the awareness that something is happening among ones hearers. This experience is, of course, not unique, for thousands of preachers have similar experiences, even greater ones.
What has happened when this takes place? How do we account for this sense of his smile? The answer for me has come from the ancient rhetorical categories of logos, ethos, and pathos.
The first reason for his smile is the logosin terms of preaching, Gods Word. This means that as we stand before Gods people to proclaim his Word, we have done our homework. We have exegeted the passage, mined the significance of its words in their context, and applied sound hermeneutical principles in interpreting the text so that we understand what its words meant to its hearers. And it means that we have labored long until we can express in a sentence what the theme of the text isso that our outline springs from the text. Then our preparation will be such that as we preach, we will not be preaching our own thoughts about Gods Word, but Gods actual Word, his logos. This is fundamental to pleasing him in preaching.
The second element in knowing Gods smile in preaching is ethoswhat you are as a person. There is a danger endemic to preaching, which is having your hands and heart cauterized by holy things. Phillips Brooks illustrated it by the analogy of a train conductor who comes to believe that he has been to the places he announces because of his long and loud heralding of them. And that is why Brooks insisted that preaching must be the bringing of truth through personality. Though we can never perfectly embody the truth we preach, we must be subject to it, long for it, and make it as much a part of our ethos as possible. As the Puritan William Ames said, Next to the Scriptures, nothing makes a sermon more to pierce, than when it comes out of the inward affection of the heart without any affectation. When a preachers