Exodus The Song of Moses

[0:00] that's this 15 and today we're looking at verses 1 through 21 then Moses and the people of Israel saying this song to the Lord saying I will sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider he is 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 is 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 oh Lord glorious in power your right hand oh 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 flood stood up in a heap the deep 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 oh Lord among the gods who is like you majestic and holiness awesome and 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 pains 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 to your people oh Lord pass by to the people pass by whom you have purchased you will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain the place of Lord which you have made your abode the sanctuary oh Lord which your hands have established the Lord will reign forever and ever for for when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and a horseman 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 saying to them sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider he is thrown into the sea let's pray together dear heavenly father we ask again that your spirit would be with us as your word is opened as we examine this song we pray that our response would be one of praise of you we ask this in Christ's name amen now those of you who know me well know that I don't really like singing don't like singing

[4:06] I do like songs I like to hear songs but singing I don't like and those of you who have stood near me when I sing understand why I don't like singing very much but there's a time and place for singing and here we see an expression of that in God's word in fact this is the first song that's recorded in scripture there is reference to singing beforehand but this is the first actual song recorded in scripture and as far as we know I went and looked and tried to find the oldest songs and it looks like that this may be the oldest at least lyrics of songs recorded in history previously Israel had groaned but now their groaning has become a song of praise to God think back all the way back to ets is to in verses 23 through 25 this is what we read there it says the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and they cried out for help their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God and God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with

[5:11] Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob God saw the people of Israel and God knew and so beforehand they cry out to God they groaned to God they pray for help now God has granted that what is the natural response but that of worship and in fact we talked about all along that this was really the purpose for which they were being rescued God was bringing them out so that they would no longer serve Pharaoh but serve God and we talked about all along that this service is really one of worship Pharaoh viewed himself as a God they were doing his bidding now God is saying he's rescuing them and calling them to his worship so they're redeemed they're rescued for the purpose of worship which they now begin to do together corporately so let's look together at the song and what we can learn from it it is a song of praise and we see in verse one that it is directed to God then Moses and the people of Israel saying this song to the Lord I thought there's really a good first application point for us to think about who are we singing for when we sing I told you I don't like to sing but I sing hymns because they're for God we know that from God's word that there are ways in which our corporate singing benefits all of us but the primary direction is to God we sing our praises to

[6:39] God we gather together to worship not foremost for our own benefit but for the worship of our God and so they sing to God this song it is praising him and it is directed toward him also in verse one the first word there says then then Moses and the people of Israel saying this song and you see even in the beginning of the song what the nature of the then is what is it referring to I will sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider he is thrown into the sea and so really the then is a response to what we see at the end of chapter 14 that we looked at last week just a reminder look back at verse 30 and 31 thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore Israel saw the great power that the

[7:41] Lord used against the Egyptians so the people feared the Lord and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song and so if we follow the flow and nor the chapter break for a second you see what's going on here God has rescued his people in the Red Sea they passed by on dry land we see that being recounted here but the Egyptians they see their bodies washing up on the shore and that leads them to praise their God their response is one of praise it's natural for us to sing praise to God when we behold his greatness when we see him for who he is back in chapter 14 verse 14 we saw that there was a time for silence the Lord will fight for you and you have only to be silent so be still be quiet just watch the salvation that God will bring but we understand as well there's a time for rejoicing and worship and praise of our God when we see that salvation accomplished throughout God's word we see people responding in worship when they behold the greatness of God Job 38 7 I said this this is the first song recorded but Job 38 7 tells us when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy and it's referring to the creation so when God made the world we're told the morning stars sang together and I believe the sons of God speaking here of angels shouted for joy and so there was praise when the creation was seen God's power his glory was manifested in the creation and what is the natural response for those who behold it it's one of worship we have multiple accounts of this at victories that Israel will accomplish by God's power God will deliver them God will defeat their enemies and often the response is one of praise one example would be when God delivered David from his enemies second Samuel 22 we read several psalms but Psalm 40 verse 3 he put a new song in my mouth a song of praise to our God many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord and so a new song comes to David as he sees the salvation of his God likewise we see that the returned exiles when they come back to Jerusalem they sing praises to God when Jesus was born we see both Mary and the angels giving praise to God and so their deliverance demanded a song of praise to God then they praise God we see it as well at the very end that Miriam and the women repeated the chorus and so really all of Israel is singing this song of praise the fact that it records what they sing sing to the Lord verse 21 for he has triumphed gloriously the horse and his rider he is thrown into the sea I said already it could be the chorus it's how it begins in 15 1 but Miriam she may be just recording the starting of the song maybe she re-singed the entire song they at least re-sing the chorus they danced and praised God and I've said already they were rescued to serve God they were rescued to serve God and really worship is that service to God that God calls us to render to him give to him the worship that's due his name psalm 106 verses 9 through 12 we see not just a recounting of or not just a praise of God for what he did in that moment but Israel will continue to sing God's praises for what he did there psalm 106 beginning verse 9 he rebuked the red sea and it became dry and he led them through the deep as through a desert so he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy

[11:48] and the waters covered their adversaries not one of them was left then they believed his words they sang his praise so in subsequent years Israel was sing his praise by recounting what God did there and the praise that they sang there and so too even now as we look at that we're continuing to give praise to our God for what he did in delivering Israel from Egypt we have another example of future generations continuing to sing God's praises for this salvation in psalm 66 1 through 7 the entire psalm is dedicated to this shout for joy to God all the earth sing the glory of his name give to him glorious praise say to God how awesome are your deeds so great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you all the earth worships you and sing praises to you they sing praises to your name come and see what God has done he is awesome in his deeds towards the children of man he turned the sea into dry land they passed through the river on foot there did we rejoice in him who rules by his might forever whose eyes keep watch on the nations let not the rebellious exalt themselves and so here's a psalm of praise it calls us to praise God praise God worship him recount his awesome deeds and when it gets down to it what is the awesome deed that they recount that they remember they look back to this moment that salvation that archetype of salvation how God will deliver his people by defeating their enemies and they worship God for it and he even includes in that song let not the rebellious exalt themselves is that not a reference to Pharaoh who is worshiped as God don't exalt yourself why unless you fall under the judgment of

[13:48] God and so likewise not just here in psalm 66 but we see all throughout God's word we're called to sing even those of us who don't like singing are called to sing praises to God he is worthy of that praise Colossians 3 16 let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your heart to God and so here we have a positive command we're to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in our heart to God what motivates what drives that worship thankfulness to God is exactly what we see happening here in the exodus are they not thankful they should have died what hope did they have against the egyptians none and yet God saved all of them and killed all the egyptians and so are they thankful yeah they're thankful if you've ever come close to dying and didn't you have a sense of the thankfulness that you have and how much more so when God miraculously delivers you from death philippians 4 4 tells us rejoice in the Lord always again I will say rejoice while not a command specifically to sing one expression of our rejoicing is that of song our joy in God overflows into song and again we see that rejoice in the Lord it's in God whom we are to rejoice which really leads us to our next point which is the object to praise let's look at what it says here about the object to praise

[15:42] I said already they sing to Yahweh but we also see that they sing about him they're singing to him and they're singing about him in the 18 verses of the song we have 51 references to God in those 18 verses 51 references there are 18 times in which the name Yahweh is mentioned and there are 33 now 33 times that a pronoun for Yahweh or for God is mentioned altogether 51 times his name is mentioned I think often we see songs coming out today Christian songs that are a lot about me and not a lot about God but this is one that even though they experience the deliverance we see a focus upon God we also see the idea of exaltation look at verse 2 the second half it says this is my God and I will praise him my father's God and I will exalt him really this is a purpose for which we exist we exist to glorify God and to enjoy him forever and also this is one of the purposes that we have stated for us as a church that our church exists that we would exalt the Lord and I think this is tied together with our understanding of what worship is and as we think about singing to God as we think about worship it's good for us to recount what have we said about worship here at Grace Fellowship Church well here at GFC we believe worship is a response to greatness and so we have defined worship as seeing and savoring the character and works of God as revealed in his word now if we think about what do we see happening here on the banks of the Red Sea they're worshiping God but what is that what is that worship it's a response to greatness what is the greatness that they've seen God has fully and finally defeated the Egyptians they can think that to all the pleads that took place all the miracles that he's rendered but ultimately this was the moment Pharaoh is drowned in the Red Sea the technological military advances are defeated in the Red Sea the greatest army the greatest empire in the world defeated in the Red Sea who is that great God is that great and how do we respond when we see that kind of greatness our response is one of worship I would even say this is true for us in all of life in all of life we respond to greatness by worship that's not always song but it's some form of praise I've said before when we see our favorite athletes do something that we know physically should be impossible I've thought all along that Messi somehow has a way to slow time down and he sees other people move faster superhero powers right you see these kind of things and maybe it's we applaud I told you I'm not a big singer I personally prefer the golf clap you know but whatever it is we're moved to praise to give some kind of expression of this is greatness that we're witnessing and so we have seen worship as a response to greatness and we said seeing and savoring the character and works of God that's what our worship leaders seek to do every Lord's day to point you either to the character of God or to some work of God that really expresses his character so that we can respond to greatness in worship so if that's true what is it that they're responding to what are they worshiping well we see in the song it's recounted what he did look at verse 11 the second half it says who is like you majestic and holiness awesome and glorious deeds doing wonders so as we begin looking at this we see that God is awesome and glorious deeds doing wonders

[19:47] why worship God it's because of his awesome deeds the wonders that he's done what are those wonders it's all the pleads it's the red sea it's everything that we've seen so far in the book of Exodus and so the pleads in Egypt are mentioned dry land and the red sea is specifically mentioned in verse 19 the drowning of the Egyptians becomes a major theme obviously for what they just beheld in verses 4 through 7 and they then again in verse 10 let's look there Pharaoh's chariots and his hosts 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 oh Lord glorious in power your right hand oh Lord shatters the enemy in the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries you send out your fury it consumes them like stubble and then look at verse 10 you blew with your wind the sea covered them they saint like lead in the mighty waters and so they're responding to a specific event the defeat of the Egyptians by drowning in the red sea we see as well in verse 9 that the enemies boasted it says 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 so all these absolutes this is what's going to happen there's not a doubt we're going to defeat them we're going to kill them they boasted but God proved himself to be far more powerful than them which again goes back to Psalm 66 and says don't exalt yourself why because there's someone greater no matter how great any of us ever will be

[21:35] God is far greater and far more worthy of our praise it's not just the defeating of them it's also redemption which includes that defeat but God redeemed them and he led them out of Egypt look at verse 13 you have led in your steadfast love that's your covenant love the people whom you have redeemed you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode so they're praising God for redemption what is redemption here well we're not talking at this point about the spiritual redemption they're talking specifically of they were redeemed from the bondage to slavery that they had in Egypt God has taken them from slaves and made them free he has redeemed them and as I've said before this becomes a type of the spiritual salvation that we experience as we're bound in sin and under Satan's dominion God redeems us from that and gives us new life in Christ Jesus but here they're rejoicing that God's brought them out of this and that he led them out of Egypt you have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode now think back to what we just saw in the previous chapter how did God lead them?

[22:54] not by the short way right? their divine GPS took them in a way that they never would have gone and it got them trapped in the Red Sea by the Red Sea surrounded by the Egyptian army were they praising God in chapter 14?

[23:15] what did they say? they were angry at God they were angry at Moses why did you bring us out here? were there not enough graves in Egypt that we couldn't have died there and been buried?

[23:26] why did we have to go in the desert to be buried? and now they've crossed the Red Sea and what's the response? praise God for the way he's led us boy I think isn't that true in our lives so often?

[23:44] we're shaking our fists at God we're upset for the providence that God has brought in our life why do I have to walk this path? why is this what I'm going through?

[23:56] maybe in the midst of suffering or in grief why has God brought me this way? only down the road to rejoice perhaps because we see maybe we never beholden this life but to rejoice that God's ways are higher than our ways he knows better than we do he was doing right all along believe it or not so now they've gone from complaining about God's leading thinking the GPS is broken to realizing no this is the way and even notice what it says he has guided them by your you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode what is the holy abode of which they speak?

[24:41] I have a feeling it's not the shores of the Red Sea it's not even Mount Sinai ultimately it's Zion it's Jerusalem it's the promised land which they're not going to enter for 40 more years and yet they're singing in the past tense you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode they believe now that God is going to do it God's leading them and so it's as good as done they're going to enter into the presence of God remember I've said all along that's really what we've tried to express in our sermon series on the book of Exodus and we talked about our theme there from bondage to glory on the front of your bulletin from bondage to glory God's brought them out of this and what's the glory ultimately that we said what is it that they desire remember ever since the fall man has longed to be in the presence of God again and they're rejoicing now not just that they have been redeemed from bondage in Egypt but also that they've been brought into

[25:46] God's holy abode they've been brought into the presence of God it's not yet fully realized but already they're rejoicing in it we've taught at Sinai God's presence will be manifested the tabernacle will be built and God will dwell in the midst of his people all around them and yet it's still not fully realized Christ will come to earth and dwell among us tabernacle among us and it's not yet fully realized we're still to this day longing for the day when Christ will return there'll be a new earth and a new heaven and we will dwell eternally in the heavenly abode but already we within can rejoice that God's leading us to that holy abode in verse 2 he specifically says my salvation speaking of God saying God is my salvation and so again God is praised for what he did he's redeemed them he's led them he has saved them but God is also praised for who he is which are really again the two things that we talked about in our worship here at GFC who he is and what he has done so what does it say about who he is

[26:59] I think we see in verse 6 his power his omnipotence his all powerfulness your right hand oh Lord glorious in power your right hand oh Lord shatters the enemy glorious in power and again how's that demonstrated he's defeated he's defeated not just Egypt but the gods of Egypt verse 7 says he is great in majesty in the greatness of your majesty he is majestic greatly majestic beyond anything else in this world that we behold to be majestic but notice also his wrath and justice are praised again the end of verse 6 into verse 7 your right hand oh Lord shatters the enemy in the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries you send out your fury it consumes them like stubble so why is God worship here this is so hard

[28:03] I think for us today in this culture the popular books that are selling on Christian bookstores are the ones who are denying that there's hell at all God is a God of love yes but we don't praise just one aspect of God we realize as well and they're praising God because God is a God of wrath just wrath God is a God of justice he has judged the Egyptians he shatters his enemies in the greatness of how is God's majesty manifested in the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries God shows us to be majestic in defeating anything else would put itself forward as being more majestic than him God overthrows his adversaries you send out your fury it consumes him like stubble it's like a fire when it hits the dry grass the hay the straw it just takes off you can't stop it

[29:06] God is like that he consumes in his fury those who would oppose him in verse 3 it says the Lord or Yahweh is a man of war Yahweh is his name and so it even ties together the idea of who is Yahweh remember the question that Pharaoh asked who is Yahweh that I should obey him I don't know who this God is I'm going to do what I want to do well now they're talking about who is Yahweh he is a man of war Yahweh is his name part of what it means to be Yahweh has to do with being a man of war I don't know if we think about God in those kind of terms when we think about who is God he is a God a man of war listen to Revelation 19 verses 1 through 3 after this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out hallelujah salvation and glory and power belong to our God for his judgments are true and just for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and has avenged on her the blood of his servants once more they cried out hallelujah the smoke from her goes up forever and ever and so in eternity in heaven there is worship of

[30:33] God for what for God's judgment upon his enemies and I think and I really I want to be careful in this but I prayed and thank God earlier for the supreme court decision I think we should be rejoicing in that decision and yet what was the response in our nation in many cities it was protest people people are angry that they can't kill children anymore or at least in some states they still can but the supreme court decision upset people that we're not able to do that and I think of the evil of those who would oppose God retribution justice is not ours it is God's we are to speak the truth in love desiring that things will change and I pray that this is a first step in that change but as I think about that those people who are so upset desiring to kill a child and I think of

[31:34] Revelation 19 this great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality God has avenged on her the blood of his servants hallelujah the smoke from her goes up forever there is a day of judgment that's coming and though it's hard for us and I think it almost be there's a way in which we could wrongly do this and rejoice in seeing harm done to those who would oppose God and that's not what God's called us to here God's called us to advance the kingdom through not the sword but through the gospel and yet I want you to understand that there will be a day in eternity where we will sing God's praises because he has judged those who have opposed him and his people those who put Christians to death those who spilled the blood of the martyrs and I know that's not easy for us now but I'm saying this is what we see in God's word and they even Israel experiences as they praise God for his judgment upon

[32:35] Egypt now along with that they also praise him because he is above the gods and I think we've done a good job as we've gone through and seen that in the book of Exodus so far but look at verse 11 who is like you who is like you majestic and holiness awesome and glorious deeds doing wonders who is like you it's a rhetorical question among the gods and what's the answer no god is like you how does Israel know this because in every plague God was defeating one or more of Egypt's gods he showed himself to be more powerful than the gods your gods cannot compete and then on top of it here's Pharaoh who's holding himself up as the god of Egypt to be worshipped and god just killed him like he was nothing he drowned him in the sea and so what's the response who can compare to this god who is like

[33:37] Yahweh among all the gods we're not just talking about people here we're talking about spiritual forces demons angels of all them who is like our god none of them can compare he's on a whole nother level he is their creator they bow down before him he rules in all sovereignty no one can stop his hand who is like you oh lord majestic in holiness awesome and glorious deeds doing wonders numbers 33 4 says while the egyptians were bearing all their firstborn whom the lord had struck down among them on their gods also the lord executed judgments god executed judgments on their gods he has shown himself to be more powerful deuteronomy 32 39 see now that I even I am he and there is no god beside me I kill and

[34:39] I make alive I wound and I heal and there is none that can deliver out of my hand the Israelites have seen that the Egyptians have seen this and so they're praising god because he's above all gods i wonder sometimes if christians don't think of god and satan is almost like the yin yin there's this balance this parallel between the two and you know they're our god is sovereign he is above all gods satan included it also says majestic and holiness it doesn't really elaborate but god something about all that has happened throughout the pledge in egypt and the red sea has communicated to god's people he is holy perhaps it's the fact that he would not tolerate the worship of false gods but whatever it is he has demonstrated himself to be holy and verse 13 also talks about his steadfast love you've led in your steadfast love that's his faithfulness to his promise his covenant love remember back in chapter 2 we looked at they groaned they cried out to god and god remembered his covenant with abraham and isaac and jacob he has shown his love for his people and his faithfulness to his promises i also want you to see in the psalm that there's a future element that's highlighted it's really our third point there's a future element verses 14 through 17 the peoples have heard they tremble pains have seized the inhabitants of

[36:19] Philistia now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed trembling seizes the leaders of Moab and 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 to your people o lord pass by to 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 and so they're rejoicing they're singing praises to god because of his judgment on other nations in particular that god's judgment on egypt resulted in fear of the israelites and their god amongst all the inhabitants of canaan the land that god would give them now as they recount this it's quite remarkable that it's going to be about a year before they get to the borders and when they send the spies in you remember the response we can't defeat them and how quickly do they forget that there they just trusted and believed and remember this god is the one who's going to fight this battle for you god will give you the land they're going to tremble they're going to melt away before you it's exactly what we read in god's word in deuteronomy 2 4 we see the edomites were afraid of them in numbers 22 3 the moabites are afraid of them the canaanites in

[37:54] Joshua 2 verse and so god sends his fear before them that they could have the land it's 23 27 god says i will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come and i will make all your enemies turn their backs to you and again god's done this and yet his people shrink back it's 18 10 through 11 jethro moses his father in law said blessed be the lord who has delivered you out of the hand of the egyptians and out of the hand of pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the egyptians now i know that the lord is greater than all gods because in this affair they dealt arrogantly with the people and then one more example Joshua 2 9 10 you guys remember Rahab as the spies come in

[38:55] Rahab says i know that the lord has given you the land and that the fear of you has fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you for we have heard how the lord dried up the water of the red sea before you when you came out of egypt so they're praising god for the fear that's going to go throughout the land and it does and you think how do they even know this they're on the shores yet how does word travel you know where's the news channel that they're turning to you know the phone buzz and say hey guess what just happened but word will travel and as the word reaches them what's the response want to fear but already they're rejoicing knowing that they're going to be afraid and then when they get there that's exactly what they see Rahab even testifies to the fact that all the people of the land have melted away we know that God's giving you this land they also rejoice in the fact that God is giving Israel the promised land you will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain the place of

[40:01] Lord which you have made for your abode which again is Mount Zion he says the sanctuary O Lord which your hands have established has the sanctuary been built the temple no but God has proclaimed that to be his holy abode the place where they would set up Jerusalem and the temple and so they're going to again God's leading them to dwell with him to his holy abode and that becomes a type and a figure for us of heaven and the reality that we too are being led to one day dwell with him and then verse 18 the Lord will reign forever and ever what an appropriate time to see that Pharaoh's reign has ended he's the ruler of the greatest empire it's over he's done for but who's still on the throne God is he will reign forever and if Pharaoh can't stop him who could possibly bring

[41:01] God's reign to an end Pharaoh's reign came to an end because God conquered him but there is no one powerful enough to conquer God and so he will reign forever and ever and of course we see the reality of that in Christ who is seated on the throne even now reigning from heaven one day to return and make that manifest and every knee will bow and tongue will confess him to be Lord revelation 512 speaks of the eternal reign of Christ as it praises him in heaven it says then I looked and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels numbering myriads and myriads and thousands of thousands saying with a loud voice worthy is a lamb who is slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing worthy is the lamb where are they at the surrounding the throne on which the lamb sits singing praises to him because he is worthy the lamb who is slain let's make some final application first

[42:12] I want you to see that Jesus has redeemed us those of you who are Christians today you have been redeemed by the blood of that lamb and that he is leading us to his holy abode even as we see in verse 13 guided them by your street to your holy abode this is exactly what we see God is doing for us in Christ 1 Peter 3 18 says for Christ also suffered once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God why the cross why did Christ have to suffer that he might bring us to God if there's ever going to be any chance that we could eternally forever dwell in God's holy abode it has to be through the blood of Jesus Christ and so through our trust in him we see Jesus is leading us to dwell with him and with God forever in the new earth and new heavens secondly the cross and the resurrection should cause us to sing even those of us who don't like singing we should overflow in praise when we think about the cross and what

[43:23] Jesus accomplished there we see this in Isaiah and I know Isaiah was before the cross but prophetically speaking of the day of Christ who would come from the stuff of Jesse just really means he is the descendant of David but that one who would come from David it says you will say in that day I will give thanks to you Lord for though you were angry with me your anger turned away that you might comfort me what's turned away God's anger in that day what day we're going to see the day of Christ God's anger is turned away that he might comfort us and then he says behold God is my salvation I will trust and will not be afraid for the Lord God is my strength and my song and he has become my salvation what is he quoting there he is quoting Moses song in the context of

[44:26] Jesus listen to verse three with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation and you will say in that day give thanks to the Lord call upon his name make known his deeds among the peoples proclaim that his name is exalted sing praises to the Lord for he has done gloriously let this be made known in all the earth shout and sing for joy oh inhabitant of Zion for great in your midst is the holy one of Israel and so sing praises to the holy one of Israel who is great in our midst why because we're drawing wells from the water of salvation why because God was angry with us rightly so because we're sinners and yet he turned his anger away how through the blood of the son that he might comfort us with the gospel again in revelation we have another glimpse of worship in heaven and we see something else interesting

[45:28] I showed you already that Isaiah quotes this song and ties it in with Jesus but we see this also in heaven where the song of Moses is combined with the song of the lamb the song of Jesus revelation 15 verses 3 through 4 and they 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 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 and so the song of Moses is sung in heaven with the song of Jesus with the song of the lamb and notice what it's about the salvation that Christ has rendered and notice also how it ends all nations will come and worship you for your righteous acts have been revealed God brings judgment upon

[46:29] Egypt God brings judgment upon the nations of Canaan but ultimately his goal is that all the nations of the world would turn to him and would come to him through the lamb thirdly I want you to see what a great expression of praise this is the Lord is my strength and my song and he has become my salvation I think that's something that we could all sing the Lord is my strength he is our daily strength he sustains us and holds us he ought to be our daily song again even though we may not like singing if we really consider the Lord is our strength and the Lord is our salvation our heart should be moved to his praise and to his worship even in song some of you are going to me later who love singing or just we have seen movies that are musicals I just don't get it like no one just starts singing and everybody joins in and we're all singing together in response to things happening and then

[47:36] I see in our family sometimes how song just comes up you know not quite like a musical but there are some of you who are like oh I love life the Lord is my strength and my salvation I will praise him if we see God to be our strength and our song our salvation our response ought to be one of praise Matthew Henry says when the mercy was fresh and they were much affected with it then they sang this song and then he applies it he says when we have received special mercy from God we ought to be quick and time and the deceitfulness of our own hearts destroy the good impressions that have been made do we sometimes delay praising God too long and we forget to do it at all we ought to be a people who are quick to give

[48:37] God praise for the things that he does in our life and in particular for the salvation that he's rendered to us in Jesus Christ each and every time we question who is like the Lord our God who is like the Lord among the gods maybe if we apply this to ourselves we could say how does God compare to the other objects of your worship how does God compare to your gods it probably not the demonic powers that the Egyptians worshipped but there may well be demonic powers behind the things that we do worship let me even say there are many legitimate pleasures that we delight in but they too can become idols if we place them above God and so who is like the

[49:37] Lord to you where does he rank how does he compare to everything else in your life that you enjoy in worship there is no one like God there ought to be no one like God in let's pray together dear heavenly father we thank you that you are God beyond above unlike all the other gods that though we would use the same word in English God we know it's far different that they are created beings spiritual forces but created beings by you and you are so far superior to them and Lord you have given us a world that's fallen that we struggle in but also in which we find much joy and pleasure Lord help us not to make those things in which we delight to become idols to place them above you help us to remember that there's no

[50:44] God who is like you Lord we ask that we would see you in all your glorious majesty and your holiness and that our hearts would respond in worship even now as we close this service that we would sing out to you praises the praises that are due your name oh glorious one we pray all this in Christ name amen remember our call to worship the apostle Paul was praying for this church in Ephesus and he's saying that you