Let's turn again to the gospel
of Exodus. Exodus chapter 15. Exodus 15. I don't know what to do with
those things. I'll turn them that way a little bit. That's
all right. Exodus 15. As you read this chapter, we
stand with Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, and millions of redeemed
Israelites on the glory side of the Red Sea. And we have in
this chapter the very first hymn, the very first song that is recorded
in literature anywhere. There may have been other songs
before this, but this is the very first recorded song. And it is recorded for us in
holy scripture for our learning, for our admonition, for our comfort,
for our consolation, for our instruction. Anytime you come
to something in the scriptures for the first time, It's a good
idea to pay close attention to the place it's used, the way
it's used, the meaning that's given as it's used. We've come
here to the first song, inspired by God the Holy Ghost, written
out by the pen of inspiration. And it teaches us about hymns
and songs, songs of praise to our God. This song tells us what
all songs ought to be and what all psalms and hymns in the scriptures
are. It's a song all about God and
grace and salvation. It's a song all about God and
his work. His grace, his salvation. You read the Psalms of David,
most of them written by David, but those Psalms are called the
hymn book of the Old Testament church. And they're all about
God, his grace, his salvation, his work. But pastor, sometimes
they speak of the works of a righteous man. Guess who that man is? The songs we sing, unlike the
songs of the religious world around us, we must carefully,
carefully, carefully sing songs that speak truth and songs that
give praise and honor to God, exalting him and making man nothing,
not songs of sentiment slop. Songs of praise and adoration
to our God. I try to instruct preachers wherever
I go. A lot of times preachers pass
through churches and have been in all kinds of backgrounds,
and they'll sing stuff in the pulpit, sing stuff in the church
building, they wouldn't dare think about preaching from the
pulpit. Just don't do that. Don't do that. Your pastor picks
out the hymns, the hymns proclaim the message we preach. You don't
want to sing something totally contrary to the message of God's
grace. Now I want tonight for us to stay right here in Exodus
chapter 15 and see what God the Holy Spirit teaches us from this,
the oldest of all songs. This was written hundreds of
years before Homer's Iliad. But the sublimity and grandeur
of this song, the poetry here contained, is unsurpassed by
anything in literature. And yet, it is rarely, if ever,
spoken of in any high school literature class or college literature
class or even looked at. So let's look at it closely.
Moses and the children of Israel have just come across the Red
Sea. And Pharaoh and his armies lie dead upon the seashore. Then sang Moses and the children
of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will
sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse
and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my
strength and song, and he has become my salvation. He is my
God, and I will prepare him and habitation. My father's God,
and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord, Jehovah, is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his host
hath he cast into the sea. His chosen captains also are
drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them.
They sank into the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord,
is become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath
dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine
excellency, thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee.
Thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
And with the blast of thy nostrils, the waters were gathered together.
The flood stood upright as in heap, and the depths were congealed
in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue.
I will overtake. I will divide the spoil. My lust
shall be satisfied upon them. I will draw out my sword. My
hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind. The sea covered them. They sank
as lead in the mighty waters. Who is likened to thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is likened to thee, glorious
in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchest
out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them. Thou, in thy
mercy, hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou
hast guided them in thy strength under thy holy habitation. The
people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrow shall take hold on the
inhabitants of Palestine. Then the Dukes of Edom shall
be amazed. The mighty men of Moab, trembling,
shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan
shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon
them. By the greatness of thine arm,
they shall be as still as a stone. Till thy people pass over, O
Lord, till the people pass over which thou has purchased. Thou
shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine
inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee
to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have
established. the Lord shall reign forever
and ever. For the horse of Pharaoh went
down, or went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the
sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went
on dry land in the midst of the sea." I try to picture the scene
before us. Here are millions of people just
fresh out of Egypt, crossing the Red Sea, standing on the
glory side of the Red Sea, and God's servant Moses lines out
this hymn. I don't know how things were
here in the past, but in the South, the old Baptist folks
didn't have hymn books as general rule. And when they'd sing, the
song leader would just line out a hymn. He'd say, amazing grace,
how sweet the sound. And folks would sing that, and
then they'd start the next line, and they'd line it out. I can just
picture these folks, millions of them, as Moses begins to line
out this hymn and the congregation of Israel sings joyfully to the
Lord. And when Moses finished leading
the children of Israel in this song of praise, Miriam and the
women of Zion took out their tambourines and danced as they
repeated the chorus. Look at verse 20. And Miriam
the prophetess, and that word prophetess, I must pause to say
this because it needs to be emphasized in this day of religious tomfoolery,
isn't talking about a female preacher. The word prophesy and
prophetess speaks only of someone who worships God. It's just talking
about someone who worships God. Miriam, Aaron's sister, like
Aaron and Moses, was a worshiper of God, the sister of Aaron.
She took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women went out after
her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them. She
said, sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously.
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Now parts
of this sweet song of redemption are found, the very same words
are found in much of Isaiah's writings and in much of David's
writings in the Psalms. This song is of such great significance,
so important, so instructive, So vivid a portrayal of God's
work of grace that if you read in the book of Revelation in
the 15th chapter, this is named as one specific song that God's
people in heaven's glory in the New Jerusalem will sing to God,
the song of Moses and of the Lamb. Obviously then, from the
many allusions of this song in scripture, it's full of spiritual
instruction. Spurgeon said concerning this
song, it is God's intent from the day of Moses downward, even
to the hour when the flames of fire shall lick up the works
of men and the heavens themselves shall be dissolved with fervent
heat, that this shall be the song of chosen people everywhere. Sing unto the Lord, for he hath
triumphed gloriously. Now, I can't sing a lick. I wouldn't
be a singer if I was a sewing machine. But I love to sing.
I get on my mower, and I'm mowing about three, three and a half
acres of ground every week. And she does the weed eating.
She's scared I'll hurt myself. And actually, she knows I wouldn't
do it to suit her. So I do the mowing, and she does the weed
eating. And I get out in the field, and I just sing. Nobody
can hear me off the top of that tractor. I sing. Oh, I sing. Love to sing. Singing is but
the natural outburst of joy. It's just a natural outburst
of joy. I can't tell you how often I've
repeated portions of this song in my own worship of God, as
he has graciously delivered me from hellish assaults, from the
prince of darkness, as he would assault my soul. How often, like
you, I've thought I was about to be crushed. When the Lord
Jesus, our mighty man of war, the captain of our salvation,
arose and cast Pharaoh out again and buried his chariots in the
depths, and I sing, the Lord has triumphed gloriously. The
horse and his rider hath he cast into the sea. I've seen it again
and again and again. May God, the Holy Spirit, who
dictated this song to Moses, now write it afresh upon our
hearts. Breathe on us, O Spirit of God,
that we also may be filled with the praises of Jehovah all the
days of our lives. Let me make just two or three
observations concerning this song, and then we'll look at
these 21 verses together. To everything there is a season,
the wise man said. and a time for every purpose
under heaven. There's a time for the singing
of birds and a time for the singing of God's saints. And the time
for the singing of God's saints is all the time. The time for
the singing of God's saints is all the time. Then sang Moses,
William. When did Moses and the children
of Israel sing this song? They sang this song of praise
as soon as they experienced God's salvation. As soon as they experienced
God's salvation, they began to sing. Brother Roth Barnard used
to tell a story of an old man by the name of Brother Burke.
Back in the old days when folks used to have testimony meetings,
Brother Burke was a fellow who had been converted as an older
man. His wife had been saved for a
long time. He wouldn't go to church with her. He wasn't interested.
And finally, they were having a meeting at the church, and
his wife was sick. And for some reason, he decided
to go. He went to church, and he got upset and didn't go back.
He said he wasn't going to go back. He went back the next night.
And the third night, he went back again, and God saved him. And he said, did I ever tell
you how the Lord saved me? He said, the night the Lord saved
me, I left the church house and the birds in heaven began to
sing. Everywhere I went, everything
was saying, glad the Lord saved you, Brother Burke. And the birds
saying, glad the Lord saved you, Brother Burke. He said, I walked
inside, won't tell my wife what the Lord had done. And she said,
God saved you, didn't he? began to sing because it experienced
God's free grace. Sinners who know the grace of
God have every reason ceaselessly to sing amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved
a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I found
I was blind, but now I see. Seeing unto the Lord, he has
triumphed gloriously. Look at chapter 14, verse 30. This is exactly what we have
here. Thus, the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the
Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians
dead upon the shore. And Israel saw that great work
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord.
They worshiped him and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. Then sang Moses and the children
of Israel this song unto the Lord. You see the reality is
anybody can make a sound and call it singing, anybody can
recite the words, and some folks can sing beautifully, beautifully. I remember some years ago, I
forgot, Connie Francis, I think it was, I can't remember, came
out with a record, played all over the place, singing Amazing
Grace a cappella. And I actually heard preachers
say, couldn't nobody sing like that who didn't know God. Some
folks say, because Elvis Presley could sing How Great Thou Art
so good, he must have known God. Well, you can sing real good
and not know God, but you can't sing and not know God. You can
sing with your lips, you can sing with your mouth, but there's
no song in your heart to praise him except you know him in the
experience of his grace. Only redeemed people, people
conscious of deliverance can truly worship and praise Jehovah,
their deliverer. You read this first 14 chapters
of Exodus. There was no singing in Egypt.
You won't find it anywhere in the book. to get to chapter 15. Only sighing, and crying, and
groaning, and lamentation, grumbling, and complaining were heard in
the land of bondage. Prayer, but no singing. No singing,
even when they celebrated the Paschal Supper that night, when
the Lord God told them to put their coats on, hold the staff
in their hand, put their shoes on their feet, you're going out
of this land. And the Lord God came through and slew all the
firstborn of the Egyptian. There was no singing. Lots of
emotion, I'm certain, but no singing. Not a word of it. They
ate the lamb in haste, but no singing. They came to the Red
Sea. What emotions filled them. What
dread, what fear, what confusion, what should we do now? But steadily
they went on. But there was no singing until
they stand over on the Canaan side. I like to call it the glory
side of the Red Sea. And they look back. Everything's
all right now. Oh, blessed God, everything's
all right now. The Lord has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider, he's
cast into the sea. Where are those, my accusers
now? There they are, dead on the shore,
silent forever. They will never lift their voice
to God against me. They'll never ever lift their
voice to man against me. They're dead. The second thing
I want you to see about this song is this, the song of Moses,
the song of Israel, that song they sang when they'd experienced
God's deliverance was a song just of Jehovah's praise. Moses and the children of Israel
sung their song unto the Lord. I've touched on this already,
but it's gotta be emphasized. This song was not an exhibition
of musical skill. We have some excellent musicians
at home like you do here. We have some folks who can play
instruments and sing. And Judy can make that piano
dance. You can listen and play. So I've heard folks play musical
instruments. And you have to wonder, I wonder what they will
play. But somebody who plays it well, you can just almost
hear the words. Musical instruments, fine. That's
outstanding. But this was not just an exhibition of skill.
It's the pouring forth. of gratitude and thanksgiving
and praise to God from the hearts of the people who had experienced
the power and grace of God. Jehovah had redeemed these people
with blood. Jehovah had brought them out
of Egypt. Jehovah had brought them through
the Red Sea. Jehovah had destroyed Pharaoh
and the Egyptians in the sea. Jehovah alone would have their
praise for all that he had done. Their song was entirely about
the triune Jehovah, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Ghost. 19 times, I'm sorry, 12 times
in just 19 verses, the word Jehovah is used here. The personal pronouns
he, him, thy, thou, and thee are found 23 times in these verses. That's something, 23 times. How
come? Because he's the only one we're
singing about. He's the only one we're talking about. How
significant, how searching. Modern religious songs, like
modern religion, are all focused on man. full of sentimentality,
full of emotionalism. Instead of adoring and exalting
and praising God, the God of all grace, they focus man's thoughts
on his experience and his thoughts and his works, his love, his
devotion, his consecration. Modern hymns announce our love
to God instead of God's love to us. They recount our experiences
instead of God's mercies. They tell more about human attainments
than they do of Christ's accomplishments. This first song, the song of
Moses, is different. In verse two, he said, I will
exalt him. That sums it all up. I will exalt him. Verse one,
I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously.
The horse and his rider hath he cast into the sea. The theme
of the song is God himself and what God had done. Now it is
wonderful, it is sweet, it is blessing to recount, to remember,
and to rejoice in God's mercies. But it is sweeter far. more blessed
fire, more wonderful fire to remember the God of mercy. Rejoice
in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. Rejoice
in Him, not just in the mercies we have from Him, but in Him.
Rejoice in the Lord and let your moderation, your ease of mind,
of hearts, of character, of temperament be known to all men because the
Lord is at hand. And then here's the third thing.
The Holy Spirit tells us distinctly that the children of Israel were
baptized under Moses as we saw last time. Baptized in the cloud
and in the sea. So this first song of Holy Scripture
is a baptismal song. It's a song of distinct consecration
to God. When Pharaoh and his host had
been destroyed, Israel stood for the first time as a nation
separated from Egypt. The Red Sea was the dividing
line. Israel became a distinct people,
a race redeemed from Mammoth. They would never again feel the
yoke of bondage. They would never again feel the
taskmaster's whip. They would never again return
to Egypt. Pharaoh would hurt them no more.
They were now a distinct people consecrated to God because they
were a people who knew God was consecrated to them. Devoted to God because God was
devoted to them. Separated to God because God
separated himself under them. Among them, God said he would
dwell and he would reveal himself. The passage through the Red Sea
was in type. Their death, their burial, and
their resurrection to new life. What song can be sweeter than
the heavenly canticle, I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. There's no joy in the world to
compare to knowing that the Lord has chosen us to himself, to
be his own peculiar people, consciously Aware of the fact that we're
redeemed by the precious blood of Christ. Consciously aware
of the fact that he has raised us from the dead and made us
his own. The children of Israel sang this
song, an enthusiastic song of personal praise, but a congregational
song. They all sang together as the
experience of God's grace was known to them all. They sang
joyfully to the Lord. So I say to you, come young men
and maidens, old men and children, let us praise the Lord with the
high sounding cymbals and spend the rest of our lives crying,
sing ye to the Lord. for he hath triumphed gloriously. Now, let's look at the song itself. We'll just briefly look at these
21 verses. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song
unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for
he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath
he cast into the sea. Triumph implies warfare. Triumph implies warfare. You
read the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation and understand
these two things. There is a warfare going on,
a relentless warfare. It is a warfare that began in
the Garden of Eden, actually began before Eden was ever created.
It is a warfare between the seed of the woman and the serpent
seed, between Christ and Satan, between the church and the world,
between the flesh and the spirit. It's a constant warfare, a warfare
from which in this world there is never any release, not even
a slight abatement. A constant warfare. But blessed
be God, Christ has fought and won the battle. He has triumphed
gloriously. It's a finished warfare. It's
a finished warfare. Look at verse 2. The Lord is
my strength and my song. He has become my salvation. He always was. He is the land
slain from the foundation of the world, but he has become
now in the experience of his grace, my salvation. He is my
God. I will prepare him and habitation. My father's God and I will exalt
him. In the first verse, Moses adores
God for his salvation. Here he adores the Lord God for
those blessed covenant relations into which our great God condescends
to bring himself. I wonder if we know anything
about this. Can we say he is my God? Hold your hands here and turn
to Isaiah 12. Isaiah 12, verses one and two. In that day, when the Lord comes
and makes himself known to you, in that day, if ever you come
to know him, you won't have to get some preacher to twist your
profession of faith out of you. Oh, no, if God reveals himself
in you in that day, thou shalt say, oh, Lord, I will praise
thee. Though thou wast angry with me,
thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me. Behold, God
is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid.
For the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song. He also has become
my salvation. He is my strength. Christ is
my strength. That's what Moses says back here
in Exodus 15. He's the author and giver of
strength. He is the strength of our lives, the strength of
our hearts, the strength of all the graces He plants in us. It
is Christ who strengthens us to do His will, who strengthens
us to believe Him, who strengthens us to walk by faith, who constantly
works faith in us. It is He who enables us to withstand
our inward corruptions, our outward temptations, to resist the devil,
to bear afflictions, to overcome the enemy. Therefore, we sing,
He alone is my salvation. He is my Father's God. Well, now, we can't all sing
that. If you're God, you can. Yes, sir. If you're God, you
can. So far as I know, My father didn't
know God from a billy goat. But Jehovah, he is my father's
God. What's that talking about? He's
my covenant God. He's the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. He's my covenant God. He's God
who made himself mine in the covenant. And God who made me
his in the covenant. He's my possession. Oh, listen
to me now, listen to me now. John Reeves, the triune Jehovah
is as much my possession as I am his. He is God in the covenant, my
God, verse three. The Lord, this one who is my
God, is a man of war. Jehovah is his name. He's a man of war. This character
is given to God our savior in a striking, striking way. He's
constantly referred to the king of glory, the mighty one strong
in battle, as one who is our God, as that one who is our maker. John said, I saw heaven open,
and behold, a white horse. And he that sat upon him was
called faithful and true. And in righteousness doth he
judge and make war. He who is our God is a man of
war to defend us and to cause us to be strong and triumphant
as we march against the very gates of hell. John Trapp rightly
observed, he alone is a whole army of men. He's the vanguard
and the rear guard. He sends the sword, he musters
the men, he orders the ammunition, and he gives the victory. Therefore
he is here styled the Lord and victor of wars. Always the Lord
and victor of wars. Look at verse four. Pharaoh's
chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea. His chosen
captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. Now, read the psalm. Always read the scriptures spiritually. And I do not mean by that you
read it and you just sit down and start to dream up something.
I think this is what that means. I mean, read the scriptures as
they're intended to be read by believing sinners. Read them
spiritually, speaking of your God's salvation and your God's
grace heaped upon you in Christ. And you'll find it profitable
to your soul. Pharaoh. is here held before us as he
is through the scriptures in many places as a type of Satan,
the great enemy of our souls. His chosen captains typify all
evil, all evil. all the evil, all the terrors
of the law, all the evil of the world, all the evil of our countless
sins. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the angel
of the Lord, Jehovah, our Emmanuel, our great man of war, destroyed
them all in a fury when he redeemed us with his blood. Oh, what wondrous grace. I just
read the 12th chapter of Revelation again a couple of times today.
And the scriptures tell us plainly that Satan is in a rage. He's in a rage. He's mad. He's insane with anger. because
he knoweth he hath but a short time. He knows he has but a short time. These fighters over in the East,
Looks like they're pretty well convinced in that particular
area at least that they just got another day or two. They
just got another, you know what they're doing? They're turning
all hell loose. They know it's about over for
them and nothing enrages a conquered foe like knowing he's conquered. Satan's in a rage. He knows he
has but a short time. The Lord overthrew the Egyptians
in the midst of the sea. There remained not so much as
one of them. And our Lord Jesus Christ, having
forgiven you all your trespasses, blotted out the handwriting ordinances
that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his cross. And having spoiled principalities
and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over
them in the cross. The great dragon was cast out. And now has come salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his
Christ. Thy right hand, O Lord, we read
in verse 6, is become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord,
hath dashed in pieces the enemy. What a blessed, joyful picture
this is of sin pardoned through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus has dashed in pieces our enemies, Satan. The prince of this world is cast
out. And he has no power, no power
to do any harm to any of God's elect. He can't injure. He can't hurt. All he can do
is roar like a lion with no teeth and no claws on a short chain.
That's all he can do. He can make a lot of noise. He
cannot injure God's people, God's church. Christ has conquered
him. And my sin. My sin, oh, the bliss of this
glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the
whole, past, present, yes, and future too, is nailed to his
cross and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, it is well with
my soul. Christ has put away our sins
and they shall never be raised up nor remember against us again
forever. Unlike the many gods of the Egyptians. Our God is not like their God. Our rock is not like their rock. Look at verse 11. Who is likened
to thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is likened to the glorious
in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Unlike the gods of Egypt, unlike
the many gods of this world, he who is God indeed, the Lord
Jehovah is glorious in holiness. Glorious in holiness. Now let me tell you exactly what
that means. You listen to preachers and they'll
say God is holy, but they'll say it like this. God is holy. God is so holy. Let me tell you something. God
is holy. In the whole of his being, everything
about him is glorious. God's holiness speaks of his
wholeness as God. He who is our God, unlike these
little peanut gods over here and over there, that shunned
him back there, he is glorious in holiness. He is fearful in
praises. Those who know him and worship
him and sing his praise tremble with humility lest they say or
do something unbecoming to him who is worthy of the highest
praise. He who is our God is God doing
wonders. Now let me tell you something.
Tell you about God's work. I like to get it over my head.
Tell you something about God's work. Everything that is, God
did. Everything that has been, God
did. Everything that shall be, God
did. Now he may have used the devil,
he may have used legions of devils, but it's God's work. Of him,
through him, and to him are all things. It's God's work. And
let me tell you what he does. Let me tell you what God's in
the business of doing. Derek, this is the only thing God does. Just one thing. Wonders. Wonders. Wonders. Behold God's creation. No wonder
Infidel stumbled over and go to hell. I can't begin to understand
it, let alone explain it. Behold the wonder of God's providence. Again, I refer you to 12th chapter
of Revelation. The dragon, Satan, Apollyon,
the devil, breathes out fire against God's church. And as
he breathes out fire against God's church, the earth who hates
the church as much as he does. Brad, this world we live in hates
us. This world would like to get rid of us. I'm talking about
lock, stock, and barrel. The whole world would like to
rid the world of the name of Jesus Christ, our God and our
Savior. It hates us, but you know what
it does? You know what it does? The earth opened up and helped
the woman. That's all it can do. That's
all it can do. Well, it doesn't look to me like
this is helping. You don't have to see how it's helping. Believe
God. Believe God, everything that goes on goes on by the hand
and direction of our God to help us. Even the fire-breathing dragon
of hell can do nothing but help. The children of Israel, those
three Hebrew children were cast into the burning fiery furnace.
Oh, what a terrible trial it was. I wouldn't want to go through
that. But you know what happened to
them? You know what happened to them when they came out of
the fire? When I was a boy, I was raised in the South, and everywhere
we went, from the seventh grade on, we had smoking areas. So
you'd go outside and smoke. But that's no fun. That was legal. So we'd sneak in the bathroom
and hide out in the stalls and smoke and pretend like somebody
couldn't smell it. But every time you did, you came
out smelling like a cigarette. Every time, there'd be a bunch
of us in there, the room full of smoke. The principal would
come in, and we'd eat those things, flush them down the commode,
anything, not to get caught, just swallow, anything not to get
caught. He'd say, boys, you're all smoking. Oh, no. But he could
smell it. Those three Hebrew children came
out of that burning fire furnace, and they didn't even smell like
they'd been in a smoking room. They wouldn't even smoke, oh, no.
The only thing that happened. was the wreaths which they were
bound were burned from them. And they found themselves walking
around, dancing in the fiery furnace in the communion of the
Son of God. They were made to experience
blessedness they could never have known in any other way. Read on, verse 12. thou stretchest
out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them up. Verse 13,
thou in thy mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou has guided them in thy strength
under thy holy habitation. How sweet to behold God's distinguishing
grace set forth with such clarity throughout the scriptures. Did
you ever wonder When God turned the river and all the waters
of Egypt into blood, so there's nothing to drink in Egypt, where
does folks in Israel get water? Their fountains were just fine.
That's right. When God sent swarms of flies
and murray and pestilence and hail on all the land of Egypt,
folks in Israel did just fine because God hovered over the
land of Goshen and protected his people so that no harm came
to them. No harm came to them. Oh, how
wonderful, how wonderful to observe God's distinguishing mercy. Why
is it that you believe? Because God separated you from
your mother's womb. And God called you by his grace,
because God loved you before the world began, because Christ
redeemed you with his precious blood, and God called you by
his spirit. That's all. Who maketh thee to
differ from another? Whatever difference it is, is
God's doing. Verse 14, the people shall hear
and be afraid, Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestine.
That is all our enemies. The Dukes of Edom shall be amazed. The mighty men of Moab trembling
shall take hold upon them. All the inhabitants of Canaan
shall melt away. Fear and dread shall fall upon
them by the greatness of thine arm. They shall be as still as
a stone till all thy people pass over, O Lord, till the people
pass over which thou hast purchased. What's that talking about? You
remember when Joshua sent the men in to spy out the land of
Canaan? Sent them to the house of a harlot, a gal named Rahab.
And she said, what do you boys want? What do y'all want? We've heard about you. We've
heard how the God fights for you. We've heard having God overturned
Og and Shire. We've heard having God overturned
one kingdom after another. What is it you want? We'll give
it to you. Come on in. Come on in. What do you want
me to do for you? Whatever it is, because I've
heard who your God is, and I've heard he fights for you. And
so all their enemies were still as a stone. till it crossed over
the Jordan River and took possession of the land of Canaan. So it
shall be with God's elect when we come to cross over the chilly
waters of Jordan. Should Satan raise Moses up in
that last hour and accuse us, the Lord Jesus, our mighty Savior,
will stand by his Joshua when Moses were accused and silence
every accusation and all his people pass safely into heaven's
glory. The redeemed of the Lord shall
go to the land of promise. The purchased of blood shall
inherit the purchased possession. God's people to whom the Savior
gives eternal life shall be brought by that Savior into eternal glory. Verse 17 Thou shalt bring them
in and plant them in the mountain of thy inheritance, in the place,
O Lord, what's this, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in,
in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. Verse 18, the Lord shall reign
forever and ever. What a reason to rejoice and
sing his praise. The heavens do rule. God has made his son Lord and
Christ. He said, sit on my right hand
till I make all thy foes thy footstool. And he has made all
his foes his footstool. Everything and everybody to serve
his will his glory for the good of his people verse 19 For the
horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen
into the sea. And the Lord brought again the
waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went
on dry land in the midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess,
the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand. And all the women
went out after her with timbrels and dances." Miriam. is the Old Testament name that
in the New Testament is Mary. The word means bitter, bitter,
bitter. She was named Miriam because
she was born in bondage, in the land of bondage and captivity.
Her mother or daddy said, bitter, bitter is life in this place.
Bitter is this bondage, bitter is this captivity. But Miriam,
is now turned to joy. And she takes up her timbrel
and she says, come sisters, let's sing and dance. For the glory
of God, he has triumphed gloriously. Let's celebrate then the high
praises of our God. Verse 21, Miriam answered them,
sing ye unto the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously. The
horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Awake my heart,
awake all my soul, and sing unto the Lord forever. Not unto us,
O Lord. Not unto us, but unto thy name
give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Amen.