New Testament Reading: Revelation 15

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.’ After this I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, and out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues, clothed in pure, bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests. And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever, and the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.” (Revelation 15, ESV)

Old Testament Reading: Exodus 15:1-21

“Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, ‘I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’ You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The LORD will reign forever and ever.’ For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.’” (Exodus 15, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

Our text for today begins with these words: “Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD.” Because you and I are so accustomed to singing songs to the LORD, we might not think much of this statement. Again, the text says, “Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD.”      

Have you ever reflected on the ability that humans have to sing? It really is a marvelous thing to consider. Humans can sing. We have this ability to utter words in a musical way. No other creature, with the exception of the angels, can do this. We say that birds sing, and indeed that is true. But they do not sing in the way humans do. Humans have this capacity to put words to music, to compose songs, and to communicate complex things to God and to one another in this way. Humans and angels are the only rational creatures created by God. And both angels and humans were created with this ability. 

Why did God make us in this way? Well, I am not saying that this is the only reason, but I am confident that the supreme reason is so that we might give glory to God with our voices. Yes, we are to give glory to God with our words. We are to speak to him in prayer. We are to give thanks to him with our lips. We are to testify to his goodness. But there is something special about singing. Singing joins the heart and the head in a way that speaking cannot. This is why the Psalmist says, “My heart is steadfast, O God! I will sing and make melody with all my being!” (Psalm 108:1, ESV). And Paul the Apostle commands that believers “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:18–21, ESV). 

I think it is right to assume that God’s people have always sung praises to him. By that I mean, I think it is right to assume that God’s people, from the days of Adam to the days of Moses, sang songs of praise to God, though we do not have a record of it. But here is the thing that I want you to notice: the record of the songs sung by God’s people begins here in Exodus 15. This song – the Song of Moses – is the first song recorded in the pages of Holy Scripture. And it is a song sung in response to the great act of deliverance worked by God to deliver the Hebrews from Egyptians.    

Note this: all of the songs of praise uttered by God’s rational creatures, whether of angels or men, are in response to the works and revelation of God in creation and redemption. We sing because God has revealed himself to us. We sing in response to the marvelous things that God has done.  

Did you know that the angels sang praises to God when he created the earth? Genesis chapters 1 and 2 don’t speak to this, but Job 38 does. There the LORD questions Job saying, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4–7, ESV). The point is this: the angels sang together in response to God’s work of creation. 

And throughout the scriptures, God’s people compose songs in response to his works of creation and redemption. 

Here in Exodus 15 Moses and Israel sing in response to the LORD’s work of redemption. 

In Judges 5 we find the song of Deborah and Barak which they sang when the Lord gave them victory over the enemies of God’s people, Jabin and Sisera. 

In 2 Samuel 22 we find a song composed by David composed in response to his deliverance from the hand of Saul and of all his enemies. “The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.” (2 Samuel 22:1–3, ESV)

The entire Psalter may be described as a response to the self-revelation of God in creation and redemption.  

And take special notice of the songs of praise sung in heaven and on earth concerning the Christ at his birth, upon the completion of the work of redemption, at his resurrection and ascension to the Father’s right hand, and concerning his return, the final judgment, and consummation of all things. Read the Gospels to find an account of these praises. Read also the book of Revelation. 

One commentator (Rykan) has noted that the drama of redemption is a musical. I agree! And I will add that this musical comes to a crescendo in the finished work of Christ, his life, death, burial and resurrection, and his eventual return.

The point is this: God created humans with the capacity to sing. The highest use of this capacity is to give glory, honor, and praise to our Maker and our Redeemer. We are to sing praises to our God with all of our being. And the songs that we compose and sing to our God are in response to the revelation of himself in the work of creation and redemption. Here in Exodus chapter 15 we find the first recorded song in Holy Scripture. It functions as a paradigm of sorts for all other songs pertaining to the redemption of God’s elect. 

The song of Moses, as it is called, is divided into five parts. In verses 1-3 praise is offered up to the LORD. In verses 4-10 the defeat of the Egyptians is recounted. In verses 11-13 praise and thanks is again offered up to the LORD. In verses 14-16a something is said about the reaction of the future enemies of Israel – the nations will hear and tremble; dread will come upon the people of Philistia, Edom, and Moab; the people of Cannan will melt away as they hear of what the LORD did to the Egyptians. And then fifthly and finally, in verses 16b-18 a word is said about Israel coming into the land that God had promised to them and how the Lord would dwell in the midst of them in the sanctuary on his holy mountain. Our passage for today then concludes with a remark about Miriam. She was the sister of Aaron and Moses. She was probably the one who followed Moses down the Nile when he was placed in that miniature ark. She was the one who suggested to Pharaoh’s daughter that her mother nurse the child. Miriam, this sister of Moses and Aaron played a very significant role in the leadership of Israel. She is here called a prophetess. She, along with the other women, took tambourines and let Israel in the singing of this song.  “And Miriam sang to them: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea’” (Exodus 15:21, ESV).

These five parts of the song of Moses may be summarized in three points. We see that in this song which Moses composed on the day when God delivered Israel from the Egyptians through the Red Sea, one, thanks and praise is given to the LORD for his deliverance, two, thanks and praise is given to the LORD for his just judgments, and three, thanks and praise is given to the LORD for his personal presence with his people now and forever. These will be the three points of the sermon for today.

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Give Thanks And Praise To The LORD For His Deliverance

First of all, let us see that the song of Moses moves us to give thanks and praise to the LORD for his deliverance.

Moses’ song begins with praise to the LORD for his deliverance. “Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, ‘I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name” (Exodus 15:1–3, ESV).

Notice three things about these verses.  

One, notice the emphasis upon the divine name, the LORD. I have said before that the book of Exodus is really about the revelation of the divine name, YHWH. The meaning of this name was revealed to Moses by the LORD through words as he appeared to him in the bush that was burning yet not consumed. And we are to see that the Exodus event itself was a revelation of the divine name. In other words, not only did God tell Moses and Israel who he is with words, he showed them who is through his actions – through the outpouring of the ten plagues and through the parting of the sea. Here Moses sings about it. He recounts what God has done for us… “the LORD is his name.”

Two, Moses describes the LORD as a man of war. The LORD is likened to a warrior. He is a God of action, a God of power and strength, a God who fights for his people to deliver them from evil. 

Three, this song of praise is in response to the deliverance that the LORD accomplished for Israel. This is also the theme of verses 11-13, which is at the very heart, or center, of this five-part song: there we read, “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode” (Exodus 15:11–13, ESV).

Brothers and sisters, though you and I were not rescued from Egyptian bondage in the way that Old Covenant Israel was, this song of Moses may be sung by us in light of the redemption that Jesus Christ has earned for us. This is what Revelation 15 says. It is not those who were redeemed from Egypt, but those who have been redeemed from sin, Satan, and death, who “sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!” This is not the song of Moses unaltered,  but the song of Moses advanced in light of the finished work of Christ. If the song of Moses is the seed, the song of the Lamb is the flower. The two songs are related to one another in this way. The song of the Lamb sung by the Saints in heaven is the full-grown and mature version of the other. 

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Give Thanks and Praise To The LORD For His Just Judgements

Secondly, let us see that the song of Moses moves us to give thanks and praise to the LORD  for his just judgments. 

We are more accustomed to giving thanks and praise to God for his deliverance than we are for his just judgments. We love to sing songs about the salvation that is ours in Christ Jesus. And I think it is right that our singing is weighted in this direction. But notice the emphasis upon God’s judgments in the song of Moses. 

The people praised the LORD, saying, “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble”, etc.

These judgments of the LORD were just judgments. By that I mean, these judgments were right, for “the enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’”

And for this reason, the LORD “blew with [his] wind…” The Hebrew word translated as wind is rûaḥ. It can also mean “spirit”. The same word is translated as “Spirit” in Genesis 1:2: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” I think it is right to hear an echo of Genesis 1:2 in the words, the LORD “blew with [his] wind…” I continue… “the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.” 

This is a song about the just judgments of God. The people of Israel sang praises to God for the outpouring of his wrath upon the Egyptians. You would do well to notice that many of Psalms are about the outpouring of God’s wrath. And many of the songs found in the book of Revelation also carry this theme. 

What is my point? My point is that from Genesis to Revelation we see that God is a God of grace and he is also a God of wrath. God will be glorified now and for all eternity, not only for his grace but also for his just judgments.  This is what Paul famously says in Romans 9:24ff. “What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?” (Romans 9:22–24, ESV). Paul’s point is that God is right, and not wrong, to show mercy to some and to judge others. He would be right to judge all for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death (see Romans 3:23 and 6:23). And he is right to show mercy to some. He has this right, for he is God. And we know that he has maintained his justice while justifying sinners by sending Christ to pay for the sins of his elect. This is what Paul says in Romans 3:26.

Here is my question for you: I know that you are eager to give thanks and praise to God for our redemption in Christ Jesus, but do you also praise him for his just judgments? Moses did. Israel did. The Psalms do. The heavenly hosts sing praises to God day and night for his mercy and also his judgments. Consider the opening of the book of Revelation. In 1:7 we read, “Behold, he [Christ] is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Revelation 1:7, ESV). The theme of God being glorified for his wrath is too big to ignore, brothers and sisters. It must be given a proper place in our doctrine and also in our singing.

Is it right that we should grieve over the thought of a sinner being judged? Yes, I think this is right. It is a reflection of the character of God. In Ezekiel 18:32 we hear the LORD say, “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live” (Ezekiel 18:32, ESV). So there is a sense in which it is true that we, like God, should take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But there is another sense in which God’s people must believe and confess that God’s judgments are good because they are perfectly just, right, and true.

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Give Praise To The LORD For His Presence With Us Now And Forever

So then, as we consider the song of Moses we should be moved to thank and praise the LORD for his redemption and for his just judgments in Christ Jesus. Thirdly, we should be moved to give praise to the LORD for his presence with us now and forever. 

In my opinion, these lines in the Song of Moses regarding the LORD’s presence with his people are the most beautiful and insightful. 

Verse 13 says, “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.” 

Verse 17 says, “You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.” 

I say that these verses are the most insightful because they reveal the purpose of the work of redemption that the LORD had accomplished. The LORD rescued Israel from the Egyptians to dwell in the midst of them.  These people were redeemed to be God’s special possession. They would be his people and he would be their God in a special way. He would speak to them, give them his law, enter into covenant with them, and dwell in the midst of them, first in the tabernacle, and later in the temple which would be built on God’s holy mountain. God redeemed Israel to indwell them. 

But God’s indwelling of Old Covenant Israel was earthly and external. Yes, some had true faith in the promises of God. Yes, these enjoyed the internal operations of God’s Spirit just as we do under the New Covenant today. But God indwelt the nation in an external way. His glory filled the tabernacle and the temple, and the people were invited to draw near.

This principle of indwelling comes to a climax in the New Covenant. The members of the new covenant are those who believe. And all who believe truly are indwelled with the promised Holy Spirit. This is why Paul writes to Christians in Corinth saying, “What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, [now here are citations drawn from many Old Testament texts, including Leviticus 26:12 and Exodus 29:45] ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty’” (2 Corinthians 6:16–18, ESV).

The LORD rescued Israel from Egypt through Moses to dwell in the midst of them. 

This is even more true of the finished work of Christ. It is by virtue of the finished work of Christ and of the New Covenant, of which he is the mediator, that God dwells in the midst of his people, not externally in a temple of stone, but internally in the heart by his Spirit. 

Stated differently, the Exodus in the days of Moses and the Old Covenant that was transacted with Israel in those days brought about an external indwelling – the glory of God would be manifest in the pillar of cloud, on the mountain, and in the temple. But it is through the cross of Christ that sins were paid for and the Evil One was defeated so that God could dwell in the hearts of his people, making them into the temple of his Holy Spirit. All who had true faith in the Messiah in the Old Covenant and New, enjoyed this internal indwelling. 

The song of Moses was about this indwelling.  Again verse 13 says, “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.” And verse 17 says, “You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.” 

But listen to how this theme of indwelling is greatly advanced at the end of the book of Revelation. Chapter 21 verse 1 says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away’” (Revelation 21:1–4, ESV).

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Conclusion

Please allow me to conclude now with a few reflections and suggestions for application. 

One, we should take our singing very seriously, brothers and sisters. The New Testament is very clear that singing is to be an element of our worship. We are to “[address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with [our] heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Ephesians 5:19–20, ESV). I think it is right to say that the drama of redemption is a musical. God acts, and his rational creatures, both angels and men, respond to his works with songs of praise. We must sing, brothers and sisters. And when we sing, we must sing truth, from the heart, and in faith. 

Two, if we have not already done so we must make room in our minds and hearts for what the scriptures have to say regarding God’s wrath. Like God himself, we ought not “take pleasure” in the judgment of the wicked, but we must confess that it is good and right. In fact, the thought of God’s just judgments should bring a kind of comfort to the people of God. By that, I mean that God’s people should take comfort in the thought that God will judge with perfect justice and equity at the end of time. In other words, he will set everything straight, while at the same time showing mercy to undeserving sinners like you and me who are found in Christ Jesus. We must give praise to God for his just judgments, for this is right. 

Three, the Hebrews had good reason to sing this song which Moses composed given the marvelous act of redemption the Lord had accomplished for them. You and I have an even greater reason to sing, for Christ has come. He lived for us, died for us, rose for us, and ascended for us. He has promised to return for us, brothers and sisters. And so whenever we come to give God praise, let us sing to him being mindful of all that he has done for us through Jesus Christ. He has rescued us from the domain of darkness, has transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. He indwells us now and will dwell in the midst of us for all eternity. 

To God be the glory

Great things He has done

So loved He the world that He gave us His Son

Who yielded His life an atonement for sin

And opened the life-gate that all may go in…