Sing To The LORD Our Salvation
Notes
Transcript
1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. 2 “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. 3 “The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name. 4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 “The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone. 6 “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. 7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff. 8 “At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be gratified against them; I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ 10 “You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 11 “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? 12 “You stretched out Your right hand, The earth swallowed them. 13 “In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation. 14 “The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 “Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16 “Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone; Until Your people pass over, O Lord, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. 17 “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, The place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. 18 “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” 19 For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea. 20 Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took the timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. 21 Miriam answered them, “Sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”
Intro
If you’ve ever played sports or even watched sports you tend to learn at some point that you never celebrate until the game is over. Only when the buzzer sounds, the whistle blows, or you’ve finally crossed the finished line is it ok to celebrate. The odds may be in your favor at some point, but if the game’s not over, early celebration might just turn into devastating defeat.
We come to a point in our narrative in Exodus where a very real battle has been won. God has laid waste to the army of the Egyptians before the eyes of Israel as they cross the red sea on dry ground, and Israel can’t help but celebrate! After all, they’ve been in captivity as slaves for over 400 years. They’re finally free and the enemies of God have been buried at the bottom of the sea. We would probably sing and celebrate too if we were the first to taste freedom after 10 generations. The interesting thing here is that Israel’s celebration doesn’t just look back it’s also looking ahead. Moses and Israel know that the battle has been won, but there’s still a war ahead, there’s still a wilderness ahead, and yet that doesn’t keep them from singing. I don’t know of any team that celebrates in the middle of the playoffs as if they’ve already won it all.
I’d like us to ask ourselves this morning, “Do we have reason to sing even when there’s still a war ahead of us?” When we face resistance of every kind in our Christian walk, what reasons do we have for singing?
The people of God always have reason to sing because we sing to God. We sing of our victory in Him, His majesty, and the promises yet to be fulfilled.
The people of God always have reason to sing because we sing to God. We sing of our victory in Him, His majesty, and the promises yet to be fulfilled.
We are singers
We sing to Lord of His victories
We sing to the Lord of His majesty
We sing to the Lord of His promises
We are singers
We are singers
Let’s remember before we we even look at verse 1 where we left off last week. Moses didn’t include the chapter number when he was writing and these would have been read seamlessly together. Just look at the previous verse.
31 When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in His servant Moses.
What is the people’s disposition toward God leading up to this song?
They fear Him and believe in Him. They’ve seen the glory of God before their eyes in His power. They’ve witnessed the fulfillment of His promises and His care for the people of Israel. The fear of the Lord and Faith in His person characterizes the entirety of our Christian lives, but it’s also the heart of worship. As Moses and Israel join together in song it is not heartless. True worship begins in our hearts and expresses itself in song. It begins with a clear view of who God is, our hearts responding in fear and faith, and expressing that heart of worship in singing.
That’s what Moses and Israel are doing here. Their hearts are full with awe and wonder at the power and glory of the Lord and so they sing!
1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. 2 “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him.
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If we just look at the song itself it comes across as a very personal expression of worship. This is me and God. It says, “I will sing...I will praise Him... I will extol Him.” It might appear that Moses is singing a solo before the people of Israel, that’s why it’s really important we see that little detail before even the song begins.
“Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang...”
The first song recorded in Scripture isn’t a solo. It’s a song for the whole of the people of God to sing together. They are intended to sing together those words, “I will sing to the LORD… I will praise Him… I will extol Him....”
This tends to go against some of our modern norms today if you think about it. If you go to a large gathering where there’s going to be music: a concert, the orchestra, maybe a choir, there’s a pretty clear division between the musicians or singers and the audience. It’s generally rare for the audience to be expected to join in with those on stage. Even if they do, those on stage are holding the primary instruments that everyone hears above everything else.
What we see here is quite different than your ordinary concert. Firstly, who’s the audience? Israel is not the audience to Moses... God is the audience to Israel. The first line of this song removes any ambiguity. “I will sing to the LORD.”
Secondly, what is the primary instrument? I should really ask, who is the primary instrument? Israel is the primary instrument. Their voices are the thing that is going to be heard above anything else! Moses might start this song, but if even 10 brothers join him there’s no hearing Moses anymore. There’s no speaker system to make him louder than everyone else. The voice of corporate Israel is the instrument to this song!
This may seem a bit elementary, but I think it’s important to our understanding of worship and how we sing as a church.
Firstly, we don’t gather together to be the audience to a worship team. We gather together before God as singers, all of us, so that He may hear all of our praises. Each of us intended to sing as Israel did, “I will praise Him… I will extol Him.”
Secondly, our voices together are the primary instrument!
If you were to go to an orchestra with a 100 piece orchestra on stage, but through the whole evening you only heard 8 pieces you’d kind of wonder where everybody else was. When we gather on Sunday morning we are all pieces in the orchestra because we are all worshippers. God is the audience and he wants to hear us! all of us!
We may not all play first violin, but we do have a part. With whatever we’ve been given in terms of talent, great or small, we bring it to the Lord in worship and he is pleased with it! If there is reverence in our hearts for the Lord and faith in Christ, we can bring before him the humblest of songs and it is pleasing to Him! Why?
For one our hearts are set aright. We sing in faith and in the fear of the Lord, but we also sing of Him!
What is the content of this song which Moses and Israel sing?
To put it plainly, Israel sings to the LORD about the LORD.
When we sing to God about God it’s pleasing to Him.
Specifically, Moses sings with Israel of His victories, His majesty, and His promises.
What He has done, Who He is, and What He will do!
We sing to the Lord of His victories
We sing to the Lord of His victories
Through the whole of this song, Israel is declaring the victory of the LORD. Verse one sings of the demise of Egypt which was right before their eyes, “The horse and rider He has hurled into the sea.” God is the actor here. God is the victor. He is the the one who is highly exalted. This is where the song begins and this is where it ends. All the way down in verse 21, Miriam answers in response, this time with a command. Not simply, “I will sing.” But rather, “Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted; The horse and his rider He has hurled into the sea.”
This victory which God has accomplished for Israel aren’t just these neat little bookends either. It’s the subject matter of much of the first half of this song. If you’d look with me at verse 4 and 5
4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; And the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 “The deeps cover them; They went down into the depths like a stone.
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Notice the finality of this victory. Three statements regarding Pharaoh’s army. First they’re drowned. Their lives have been taken from them. Next the deeps have covered them. But that’s not enough either. They’ve sunk to the bottom like a rock!
When God wins, He wins without question. There’s no overtime. There’s no challenge to be made. There is no next time! The LORD is the clear victor and His people will sing His praises.
We can all agree I hope that it’s good to sing of the LORD and His victories, but I find it noteworthy how readily Moses and Israel sing of the foe that’s been defeated. It’s a different way of celebrating a victory than maybe we’re used to.
If you’re watching the super bowl, the game comes to a close and there’s a clear victor all eyes are on the winning team. There’s confetti in the team colors. The trophies come out. The team gets up on the stage together for photos. There are speeches about how great the team is, how great the coaches are, how much work they put in to get there, so on and so forth, but very rarely do you get a lot of commentary about how bad the opposing team performed or how bad they lost.
It’s respectful isn’t it? No one wants to get dragged through the dust after a loss.
Notice the difference here? By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Moses and Israel is recounting the absolute failure of Egypt before holy God... There is no playing games with God. There is no respectful display after their defeat as if they were a worthy foe. The Creator God will not be trifled with in His plan to redeem the world through the nation of Israel, and when God defeats His enemies.. His people will sing about it.
Moses isn’t done yet either.
Look down at verse 8 with me.
8 “At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 “The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be gratified against them; I will draw out my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ 10 “You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
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Notice the contest going on here.
In three lines of verse 8, God in His power is bending the very sea to His will before the eyes of the Egyptians.
Every verb is in the past tense. It’s already been done!
The waters were piled up
the waters stood up like a heap
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea.
God has already prepared the field for His victory.
Egypt however is simply full of ambition. They think they can once again make Israel bend to their will, but it’s all just ambition.
Every verb is in the future. I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide… My desire shall be gratified… I will draw my sword.. I will destroy them.
The ambitions of the world, no matter how strong, are no match for the God who created the world and commands the seas to do His bidding.
And once again Israel will sing of the LORD’s victory
10 “You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
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As if God were blowing out a candle, the army of Egypt is sunk like lead to the bottom of the sea.
For the third time, in ten verses, Israel sings of the victory of the LORD while expressly mentioning the defeated enemy.
How might this serve as an example to us?
Firstly, let’s notice that Israel is singing about very real events that have happened right before their eyes. This is an event that God will remind the people of time and again in years and generations to come. It’s a foundational moment in the history of Israel, and it’s clearly worth singing about!
We don’t have such magnificent events occurring before our eyes, but we do have a historic faith!
The roots of our faith are grounded in very real historical events. They occurred in a very real place in a very real time and witnessed by very real people. Christ came, Christ died, Christ has risen, Christ has ascended to be seated at the right hand of God. And in these very real historical events a victory has been won: death was defeated! Isn’t it this gospel that has turned our hearts from fearing the world to fearing God just like Israel. Are not these events the good news in which we ground our faith in Christ? Hasn’t Christ won the victory over death once and for all in His death and Resurrection? We have real historical events, real victories of God in space and time to sing about when we gather together. Why wouldn’t we sing of them?
Maybe you’ve noticed, but so much of our music today is full of storytelling. There are songs of tragedy, triumph, revenge, and romance. They very often speak to the heart. They make us feel something because it speaks to a common experience or maybe a common desire. Throw in a nice tune to accompany a good story and you end up with a popular song, but at the root of so much music today is simply giving our hearts something to feel. I’m afraid Christian music has done some of the same. When we gather together to sing his praises, we have so much more to sing about than how we feel. We have very real events and history to sing about. A very real victory has been accomplished in the resurrection of Christ! The enemy of all humanity, death, has been defeated in Christ. What greater story is there to be told?
Just this morning we sang together
What grace, that You entered our brokenness;
You came in the fullness of time.
How far we had fallen from righteousness,
But not from the mercies of Christ.
Your cross is our door to redemption;
Your death is our fullness of life.
...
United in Your resurrection,
You lift us to infinite heights.
....
He came, he died, he rose. We sing to the Lord of His victories.
As Israel is singing of the victory that’s been won they put the majesty of the LORD on display.
We sing to the Lord of His majesty
We sing to the Lord of His majesty
In one sense, this point takes precedence over the others. It appears first after all.
1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea.
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Before Israel can speak of the victory that’s been won, they look to who God is. “He is highly exalted.” As much as it appears first, it really does tie the whole passage together. Because of who God is, He has conquered. Because of who He is, He will be faithful to His promises. Because of who He is, He is worthy of praise.
There’s a very clear event that inspires this song, an event that Israel clearly sings about, but the heartbeat of their song is driven by who God is. Keep in mind, there’s no law given to Israel at this point. All Israel has is the testimony of their ancestors and the events that have happened before their eyes to answer “Who is God?” And even with that their doctrine of God is comprehensive.
He’s highly exalted in verse 1 and by verse 2 He’s their Strength and Savior deserving of praise. Even here at a time when the fullness of redemption is relatively far off, the people of God recognize, the LORD is our salvation and they sing it!
There are those outside the church who look at the so called “God of the Old Testament” and find Him offensive. I’m afraid there are even people in churches who hesitate to look to the Old Testament for the way God is portrayed. If I may, how do the people in the Old Testament see God in their worship? Maybe that’s how we should see Him. No doubt God is a holy God, full of judgement for those who deny Him. He is perfectly just in all His ways, and yet amidst His great judgements He is the strength and song of Israel, the God of their salvation!
This is just the beginning!
He is a warrior, (vs. 3)
Majestic in power shattering his enemies (vs. 6)
The greatness of HIs excellence overthrows those who rise up against Him and in anger He consumes them.
All of His greatness revealed against His enemies culminates in verse 11.
11 “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?
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There is none like Him, and all of God’s magnificent dealings with sinful men is perfectly consistent with His majestic holiness. He deals justly with His enemies as holy God.
Perhaps we can agree to this truth of God preached in a sermon or taught in a classroom, but it doesn’t exactly seem like something to sing about if you think about it.
We sing the Psalms on Sunday morning, but it’s not very often that we find an artist putting Psalm 58 to music.
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 And men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely there is a God who judges on earth!”
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Aren’t we all sinners? Shouldn’t we fear a God of judgement? Who can so boldly sing of God’s judgement and destruction of sin when we ourselves know we are sinners? ... It’s when we see God as Israel does that we can sing of God’s justice.
Immediately after Israel sings of the earth swallowing Egypt, what do they sing of God?
13 “In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation.
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The reason Israel can sing of a just and holy God who buries His enemies is because they know they are His. They know there is redemption in the Lord and His lovingkindness is for them. Because they see God as their redeemer, they’re free to sing of the fullness of His majesty: His justice, His holiness, and His lovingkindness.
Israel’s song is instructive to us: If we are to sing of the fullness of the majesty of God then we do well to sing of the fullness of His character. Maybe there are certain aspects of God’s character that are more comfortable to us. They’re easy to sing about because they bring good news, yet maybe there are aspects of His character which may cause us some discomfort. Perhaps the thought of an all powerful holy judge sitting on the throne of heaven waiting to judge the living and the dead is an unnerving thought to some of us, yet doesn’t His power, holiness, justice, His rule and reign comprise His majesty? How do we sing of the majesty of God which strikes fear into the heart of godly men like Isaiah who having seen His majesty cried, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!”
If we don’t know God in Christ as our Redeemer we can never comfortably sing of the righteousness, holiness, and justice of God. If there is no redemption, the idea of a holy God who executes justice is a truly frightful thing, and there is certainly no reason to sing about it. If however, we know Christ as our redeemer - we believe that Christ has taken upon himself the wrath and justice which I deserved, then we know we belong to the Lord. We know His lovingkindness is ours. We know He will lead us to our holy habitation, and for today we are free to sing of the fullness of His majesty in righteousness, holiness, justice, and His lovingkindness. Should we find ourselves in the shoes of Isaiah, perhaps hesitant to sing of the majestic holiness of God, we look to Christ for our comfort and the heart to sing.
...
This song of Israel is truly extraordinary the longer you look at it, but it really does get better.
This is generally where you would imagine the celebration would stop. Here’s what’s been accomplished. The LORD is victorious. Here is the greatness of the LORD. We praise Him in all His majesty, and yet there’s more. The faith of Israel, looking to the things yet unseen, is put on display in song.
We sing to the Lord of His promises
We sing to the Lord of His promises
14 “The peoples have heard, they tremble; Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 “Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; The leaders of Moab, trembling grips them; All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. 16 “Terror and dread fall upon them; By the greatness of Your arm they are motionless as stone; Until Your people pass over, O Lord, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased.
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Before we do a little geography, let’s recall the significance of the land they’re going to. Moses and Israel are not ignorant of the promises that were given to Abraham, they’re forefather. That same promise that was given to Isaac and Jacob.
As Abram, soon to be Abraham, stands in the land of Canaan God said
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord who had appeared to him.
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There are very real events in Israel’s past to sing about, but there are also very real promises in the past to sing about. Israel knows they’re on there way to the land of Canaan, the land of promise, but there are some adversaries ahead.
We’re introduced to the Philistines, the Edomites, and the Moabites.
If you like geography, the Philistines inhabit the land to the Southwest of Canaan and the future land of Israel. The Edomites, the descendants of Esau, inhabit a land to the southeast, Moab inhabits the land East of of the Sea of Galilee, and there are of course all the peoples in the land of Canaan. The land isn’t exactly vacant waiting for Israel to take it. You might imagine a bit of sobriety at the thought of all that work ahead of them, but they’re already singing about their victory. They’re already singing about the fear and anguish of their enemies before the greatness of the arm of the LORD. (vs.16)
We’ll look at Israel more in a moment, but let’s say you’re a Philistine for a second. You’re not totally isolated to what’s going on in Egypt. You’ve likely heard about the plagues, and there’s some understanding of Israel’s departure from Egypt unscathed. Somehow this army of slaves has managed to kill the entire army of Egypt on their way out of Egypt and they’re coming your way. What are you thinking in that moment? … We’re next. That’s what they’re thinking, and rightfully so.
It says, terror and dread fall upon them such that they’re motionless like a stone. Have you noticed how all the enemies of God are characterized throughout the song? Stone and lead. They’re either sinking or still like rocks as the people of God are led by the mighty hand of God.
Is this presumptuous of Israel to sing of their future like this?
It’s never presumptuous to sing to God of His promises being fulfilled. If God said it, He will do it, and we should sing about it!
16 Until Your people pass over, O Lord, Until the people pass over whom You have purchased. 17 “You will bring them and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, The place, O Lord, which You have made for Your dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. 18 “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
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All of Israel’s hope is in God. Even as they consider themselves in song, they are His people, the people who He has purchased. Their very identity is rooted in His covenant promises which gives them the boldness to sing as they do.
God will bring them as a gardener would transplant a tree to be planted in the mount of God’s inheritance. Mount Zion. The mountain on which the temple would one day be built. The sanctuary which the hands of the LORD will establish.
The LORD is the gardener which plants His people. The LORD is the builder which established his house in which He will dwell, and the LORD is the king who will reign forever and ever. They sing of the hope they have in what God will accomplish for them!
Don’t we know of a new and better hope in Christ?
As Jesus was going to the cross he told His disciples
1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
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We have a home prepared for us this very day. We wander as strangers in this land for now, but Christ will bring us home one day.
In that place we will worship Him as His holy bride. There will be no more tabernacle, no more temple. We will all see Him, and the church which Christ built will be His dwelling place.
And in that final day, He will rule and reign having subjected all rulers and authorities beneath His feet.
All of it is sure, because He is faithful to His Word and we have every reason to sing of it today. It’s not boastful or presumptuous to declare in song with absolute faith of His promises fulfilled. It’s simply true! It will happen. It’s as good as done, and he would have us sing of it in faith.
The final line of our last song this morning says, “Gladly for aye we adore him.”
‘aye’ is in old way of saying forever. Gladly forever we’ll adore him.
There’s an eternity ahead of us full of the majesty of God for us who are redeemed in Christ, we’ve only lived a fraction of our eternal lives in Christ. For Israel the promises of God have only begun to be fulfilled. There’s a lot we haven’t seen yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t sing about it because we know we will see it. We know God will bring us, His people, to the end and welcome us into His holy habitation.
I’d like to close this morning by reading Psalm 100
A Psalm for Thanksgiving. 1 Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. 3 Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.
Let’s Pray
