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In the present day we hear and read a great deal concerning law. "The laws of nature" is a much more common expression now than in the days of our forefathers; for the study of nature, the investigation of its wonders, and the examination of its phenomena are now more thorough and general and successful than they used to be; and the progress of science has made this expression very familiar to us. All things are in subjection to law, in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath; all things, from a world to a sand grain, from a mighty constellation to a rounded pebble, from "the great and wide sea" to the tiny dew drop, from the giant banyan tree to the lowly shrub, from "behemoth" to the insect, are subject to law. "The laws of nature," instead of excluding the God of nature, are the beautiful expression of His thought and will. The order of the universe has originated ill the mind of Him who created it. As Hooker finely said, "Law has its seat in the bosom of God, and its voice is the harmony of the world." God's moral law was given to man as an intelligent and moral being. This law is written in man's nature. A philosopher said that two things "filled his soul with awe — the starry heaven above, and the moral law within." But if the law was already found in man's conscience, what need was there to proclaim it on Mount Sinai?

1. First, because the record was becoming obscure through growing depravity; the letters were defaced, the moral sense was blunted. Sir Walter Scott's "Old Mortality" renewed the inscriptions on the old moss-grown tombstones, cut out with his chisel and hammer the letters which time and decay had nearly obliterated. But there was no teacher among the heathen that could renew the inscription on man's nature, and restore the defaced letters, and remove the grime that had gathered around them. The conscience, like all the other faculties, needed education and training.

2. Secondly, it was necessary that Israel should have a Divine standard of conduct. Having just been delivered from the house of Egyptian bondage, and having been contaminated by the influence of Egyptian idolatry, it was necessary that they should have a rule of life that was clear and unmistakable. They needed a revealed and written standard of duty.

3. Thirdly, it was necessary, in order to preserve to all coming ages God's judgment of what man ought to be, God's ideal of man's life. A revelation by word of mouth would not suffice; for oral tradition would in time be corrupted. There are some human laws that are necessary for some peoples, and not for others; but this is the same in every climate and country — among the Esquimaux in the land of everlasting snows, and among the dusky tribes of Africa, among the civilised nations of Europe, and among savages, among rich and poor, learned and unlearned, Jew and Greek, "Barbarian, Scythian, bond and free." And this law is unchangeable in its character. Physical laws may be suspended by other or higher laws; as animal food is preserved by salt, and gravitation is overcome by life. "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." I fear that in the present age we are in danger of losing sight of God as our Ruler. We dwell, and rightly, on the revelation of the Fatherhood of God. "Our Father." What name so attractive and beautiful and helpful as this? But He is also King; He sways a sceptre of righteousness; He exercises dominion; He claims obedience; He demands service. "I will put My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts." "And God spake all these words." God is the Eternal Home of righteousness, and He has made known His righteous will to men. "God spake." Sin had put an end to the communications between earth and heaven; but God broke the silence. It would be terrible to think of God dwelling in the heavens, and not saying a word to us. The Psalmist's cry was, "Be not silent to me, lest I be like them that go down into the pit." In this introduction or preface to the words of the law we see the grounds on which He claims authority over men, and demands their obedience and homage and service; these grounds are — His relation to them, and His merciful deliverance of them.

I. HIS RELATION TO THEM. "I am the Lord thy God." He was the God of their fathers; He had called Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees from among idolaters; He was the fear of Isaac; He was the helper of Jacob. And here He says to their descendants, "I am the Lord thy God," or "I am Jehovah, thy God." This was the name by which He made Himself known to Moses from the burning bush. God was now about to unfold the meaning of the name in the history of His people. It denotes His eternal self-existence. "I am Jehovah, I change not." Change is essential to finite beings; to their glory, and blessedness, and peace. Without progress — and progress implies change — a man's life anywhere would be wretched. Thank God we may be changed; for to be fixed in our present state of ignorance and sin and weakness would be untold misery. But God changes not; and this is His glory. He is so perfect that no change could make Him wiser, or holier, or more blessed than He is. Like the fire in the bush, His glory is flaming through the universe; but it does not depend upon the universe for its existence. And this name not only denotes essential existence, but it was also the covenant name of God, and contained the promise of future manifestation; and this was very appropriate on the threshold of Jewish history, when the horde of Egyptian slaves were about to be converted into an army of brave men. "I am Jehovah, thy God." He was entering into a close relation to them. And He is now entering into a covenant relation with all who trust in His name. Our God. Jehovah, our God! The Self-existent, our God! The Ruler of all things, our God! The All-sufficient, the Eternal on our side! What grander revelation can we have than this? The unity of the nation is indicated in the use of the singular pronoun, "I am Jehovah, thy God, which have brought thee out." The Psalmist said, "I will sing praise to my God." And this was the keynote of many of the Psalms. "My God" — mine personally, mine consciously, mine forever. One man claiming God as his own! You may tell me that God is ruling the universe, guiding the stupendous worlds. But what about me? I have my sorrows, my burdens, my hopes, my grave before me. "Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none on the earth that I desire beside Thee."

II. The other ground on which He claims authority over men IS FOUND IN THE MERCIFUL DELIVERANCE HE HAS WROUGHT OUT ON THEIR BEHALF. "Which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Egypt was the home of civilisation, of culture, of art, of power. Into Egypt Abram came in his wanderings; the children of Jacob went down there in time of famine; Joseph ruled as prime minister there; it was the nursery of Abraham's race; and there they grew to be a great people. What was the object of mentioning this event in the introduction to the law? Was it not to show that God's claims to obedience are based on His faithfulness, and that love is the parent of law? The people were first freed, and then they received the law. God manifests Himself on our behalf, and then claims our obedience. We cannot liberate ourselves from the bondage of sin; for this is a slavery which neither millions of money nor the exploits on battlefields can destroy, a slavery which no Emancipation Act can terminate. But One has interposed for us; the Paschal Lamb has been offered; "Christ our passover was sacrificed for us." According to the course of history, the law precedes the Gospel; but in the experience of the saved sinner the Gospel precedes the law. There is gratitude felt for the redemption from bondage, and that gratitude leads to obedience and consecration. "His delight is in the law of the Lord."

(James Owen.)

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KJV: I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

WEB: "I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.