Who is Like You, O LORD?
Notes
Transcript
This morning’s text is a what is called the Song of Moses; it is the song he sang after the parting of the Red Sea. Because of the heat today, I am only going to read selected portions of it:
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.
“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.
At verse 11, we find one of life’s most important questions, “Who is Like You, O LORD?”
It is a question few are asking now days, much to their own harm, because without asking this question our sinful tendencies will lower God down to our own level and the “god” we worship is nothing more than an idol and idols have no power.
This is why prayer doesn’t work for them. They are praying to a powerless idol, not the real God!
Perhaps this is you? Perhaps you are not experiencing God’s power in your life.
If so, you need to ask this question and answer it according to the Word of God.
Therefore, lets take a closer look at the Song of Moses.
The first answer Moses’ gives is that God is...
Majestic in Holiness
Majestic in Holiness
When people think of holiness, they most commonly think of moral perfection. Holiness is most certainly this, but it has a deeper meaning upon which the idea of moral perfection is based. Holiness’ basic meaning is to be set apart. Consequently, the utensils used in the Tabernacle were called holy, because they were set apart for a special purpose. In reference to God, holiness means that God is “set apart” from everything and everybody else. He alone is the Creator and all else is His creation. He is in a category of one—there is no one else like Him, not even the heavenly beings.
Our text this morning says something that confuses many English readers of the Bible, it says, “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?” We know the Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God, so who are these “gods” with a small “g” that the Bible frequently mentions?
If we were Hebrew readers, the answer would be clear. The Hebrew word here is elohim, it is a general term which refers to beings from the heavenly realm. God and the angels are heavenly beings, they are not of the physical realm in which we live in. However, God is a heavenly being unlike any other heavenly being. Psalm 89, a parallel passage, makes this clearer:
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,
a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
Do you see what the psalmist is doing, he is comparing God to the highest of the angels, the members of God’s divine counsel, and he is saying God is so high above them there is no comparison!
How big is your God?
I am afraid that for most people the answer is pretty small. Apart from Scripture, our minds create a God after our own imagination. We need Scripture to move us beyond the limitation of our own imaginations.
So let us let Scripture stretch our imaginations this morning!
The next thing Moses says about God is that He is..
Awesome in Glorious Deeds
Awesome in Glorious Deeds
In the context of the Song of Moses, God had just parted the Red Sea. Even after all these years, the scene were the actor Charleston Heston raises his hands as Moses and the Red Sea parts still impresses movie goers. Can you imagine how impressive the parting of the Red Sea would have been in real life?
The parting of the Red Sea reminds us that the God of Scripture has power that goes beyond our imaginations. In the book of Nehemiah, the leaders of Israel pray these words:
“You are the Lord, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you.
Everything we see was made by God and it is by His power alone that it is sustained. How utterly against the naturalism of our day and age. The common assumption is that the world exists and operates apart from God. This is an illusion, it is a fantasy. The most brilliant minds in our colleges and universities are living in a dream world of their own imagination. Only through Scripture are we able to get in touch with reality again!
But this is not the half of it; Scripture reveals that God has ordained and controls all things. Recently, John Piper published a little book entitled, “Coronavirus and Christ.” It is being distributed freely in digital format at desiringgod.org and logos.com. In it is found the following Biblical summery of God’s sovereignty:
Coronavirus and Christ Chapter 4 Sovereign over All
In other words, the sovereignty of God is all-encompassing and all-pervasive. He holds absolute sway over this world. He governs wind (Luke 8:25), lightning (Job 36:32), snow (Ps. 147:16), frogs (Ex. 8:1–15), gnats (Ex. 8:16–19), flies (Ex. 8:20–32), locusts (Ex. 10:1–20), quail (Ex. 16:6–8), worms (Jonah 4:7), fish (Jonah 2:10), sparrows (Matt. 10:29), grass (Ps. 147:8), plants (Jonah 4:6), famine (Ps. 105:16), the sun (Josh. 10:12–13), prison doors (Acts 5:19), blindness (Ex. 4:11; Luke 18:42), deafness (Ex. 4:11; Mark 7:37), paralysis (Luke 5:24–25), fever (Matt. 8:15), every disease (Matt. 4:23), travel plans (James 4:13–15), the hearts of kings (Prov. 21:1; Dan. 2:21), nations (Ps. 33:10), murderers (Acts 4:27–28), and spiritual deadness (Eph. 2:4–5)—and all of them do his sovereign will.
Although, most American’s claim to believe in God, this list shows that the “god” they worship is not the God revealed in Scripture. Very few people believe that God’s power and control is so encompassing at God preordains everything. As I said before, their “god” is too small.
Why this is so important?
It is so important because our salvation depends on it. As awesome as God’s power is in creation and providence, it is even greater is salvation. The pinnacle of our text is found in verse 13:
“You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
When the Apostle Paul prayed for the Ephesians Christians, he prayed like this:
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
It takes the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit, enlightening our minds through the message of the Gospel for us to understand the power of God. This power of God is most clearly seen in the death, resurrection and accession of our Lord Jesus Christ.
No wonder most people’s God is too small, they need to see the miracle of the Gospel. Moses saw the parting of the Red Sea, we need to see the risen Christ!
Don’t be satisfied with anything less. The reason this question is one of life’s most important questions is we need to know great the power of God is toward us. We are living in uncertain times. We are facing challenges far greater than our own power. We need the firm confidence and calm assurance that knowing God as He really is can bring.
Paul prayed this prayer because he believed God would answer it. I am now going to pray it for you.
O God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give to each person here the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Christ. Open the eyes of their hearts, that they may know what is the hope to which you have called them, what are the riches of their glorious inheritance, and what is the immeasurable greatness of your power towards them. That greatness that is seen in the working of your great might when you raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him at your right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. Amen.