Exodus chapter 15. In chapter
14, you have the record of Israel's deliverance from the Egyptians
through the Red Sea. Look at verses 13 and 14 in Exodus
chapter 14. And Moses said unto the people,
Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. which he will show to you today.
For the Egyptians whom ye see today, ye shall see them again
no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you,
and ye shall hold your peace." And then in the last verses of
this same chapter, chapter 14, you have the conclusion of that.
Moses cried unto God, after the children of Israel had cried
unto him, saying, weren't we better off in Egypt? We knew
this would happen. We knew that if we followed you
out here, we would die. We'd have been better off if
we'd just stayed in Egypt. So they blamed Moses and cried
to him. But Moses went to God and made
intercession for the children of Israel, as he would often
do after this. And he said, stand still. Just be quiet. Just be quiet. The best thing you can do is
stand still. This battle is the Lord's. He'll
fight for you. You just hold your peace. You
just stand and watch. And then in verse 29, the chapter
concludes this way. We have here the outcome. Did
it happen as Moses said it would? Did God bring them through? Well,
of course he did. He promised that he would, verse
29. But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst
of the sea. And the waters were a wall unto
them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord
saved Israel that day. That's worth repeating, isn't
it? Thus the Lord saved Israel that day. He did it. What did
they do? Cry. What did they do? Complain. God did all the saving out of
the hand of the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians.
That's what Moses said, didn't he? Stand still and see the salvation
of the Lord. And Israel saw the Egyptians
dead upon the seashore. And Israel saw that great work
which the Lord did. God did it. And you know very
well, this is a picture of our salvation. This is just another
picture of that. And Israel saw the great work
which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord.
And they believed the Lord and his servant Moses. That is, when
we read the people feared the Lord, they stood in wonder of
him. And they sang Who is of God like
unto our God? This reminds me of another place
in the Gospels, where the captain of our salvation spoke. As never
a man spoke, and he said, let us pass over unto the other side. And you know what happened? The
outcome was just like it was here in chapter 14 of Exodus.
They passed over unto the other side, we read in Mark chapter
5 verse 1. They came over unto the other
side. And just like the children of
Israel, They stood in holy wonder at such a God as God is. And they saw the great work which
the Lord did, again in verse 31, and the people feared the
Lord. They stood in awe of Him. And
that's what the disciples did that day on the stormy sea. when
the captain of their salvation, who said, let us pass over unto
the other side, stood and rebuked the winds and said unto the sea,
peace, quiet, be still. And it laid down at his feet.
They looked at one another, just like the children of Israel did,
and they said, what manner of man is this? Who is this? We've never seen this before
in our lives. Even the wind obeys His voice. Even the sea obeys His commands. And they stood in holy wonder
at Him. Just like they did here. Turn
if you will to Psalm 89 and we'll come back to Exodus 15. But in
Psalm 89, one of David's Psalms, we read this. Beginning at verse
3. Psalm 89 verse 3. I have made
a covenant with my chosen. Now this is God speaking to his
son. I have made a covenant with my
chosen. I have sworn unto David my servant. Thy seed will I establish forever. All those I've chosen in you,
thy seed will I establish forever and build up thy throne to all
generations. And the heaven shall praise thy
wonders, O Lord, thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the
saints. For who in the heaven can be
compared unto the Lord? That's what the children of Israel
thought when they saw the great work which God did. That's what
the disciples thought when they passed over into the other side.
O Lord, who is a God like unto thee? And the heavens, verse
5, shall praise thy wonders. O Lord, thy faithfulness also
in the congregation of the saints. For who in the heaven can be
compared unto the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty
can be likened unto the Lord? Ponder that question. Indeed,
who? Indeed, who? And I hope we know
More and more, the answer is none. None. There's none like
our God. There's none like Him. He's great
in power. He's great in glory. He's great
in mercy. He's great in grace. And what
He promised, what He promised He would do, He will do. There has never been one word
of one promise that's ever failed that our God made to His people.
Again, verse 6, For who in the heaven can be compared unto the
Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the
Lord? God is greatly to be feared.
Greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints. Now that's a definition
of true worship. Coming into God's presence with
some sense of who He is. Think about what we're doing.
We're coming into the presence of the Holy Lord God. That One who has promised to
do all things for us. That One who sent His Son. That One who redeemed His people.
That One who is promised by His power and grace to bring all
His chosen, His redeemed to glory. My soul, when we come into His
presence, let it be with wonder. wonder and true worship of the
heart. God is greatly to be feared in
the assembly of the saints and to be had in reverence of all
them that are about him. Sometimes, once, people they
don't know any better, were referred to me as reverend. And I'm quick
to tell them, you got the wrong man. I'm not reverend. No, no. He's reverend. The only place in this book that
that word is used applies to God and God alone. I'm a sinner saved by grace,
just like every other sinner saved by grace. His name is holy. He's reverend. verse eight. Oh
god of host. Oh lord god of host who is a
strong lord like unto thee and to thy faithfulness round about
thee thou rulest the raging of the sea when the waves thereof
arise thou stillest them now back in that they'd experienced. After
God, as He promised, brought them through the Red Sea, Moses
leads them in a song of praise to God. It sounds so much like
the song in Revelation chapter 15, where it speaks of the song
of Moses and of the Lamb. Let's just look at that very
briefly. Revelation chapter 15. Now we read together the song
in Exodus, But listen to how much this is like it. Revelation
chapter 15, where the redeemed, all the redeemed, all those for whom He shed His
blood are with Him in glory. And just like that song in Exodus
15 that gives glory to whom glory is due, that says, not unto us,
O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory for thy mercy
and for thy truth's sake. This is the theme of the song
here in Revelation 15 verse 2. And I saw, as it were, a sea
of glass mingle with fire. And them that had gotten the
victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark,
and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass having
the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses,
the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb saying, Great and
marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are
thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord,
and glorify thy name? For thou only art holy. For all
nations shall come and worship before thee, for thy judgments
are made manifest. Now let's go back to Exodus 18.
Both those songs In Revelation 15 and here in Exodus 15, praise
Him. Look again at verse 1, for example.
Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the
Lord. And Spake saying, I will sing
unto the Lord. Why? For He hath triumphed gloriously. Oh yes, the victory is the Lord's. He brought us through. It wasn't
our doing. It was all His doing. So it's
only right that the song should praise Him. Why not? He did it all. He did it all,
didn't He, Lord? I mean, read the entire chapter.
Or go back to chapter 12 where He passed through Egypt that
night. and spared those on whom the blood or rather the blood
had been applied. He did it all. So the song should
praise Him. Let's look now mainly at verse
13. The title of my message is the Song of the Redeemed. We want to just consider a few
things. First of all, the power of the
Redeemer and then the triumph of the Redeemer. Verse 13 again.
This one verse seems to sum up the whole song. Thou and thy
mercy has led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou,
God, the triune God, you've done it all. Thou and thy mercy has
led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou has guided
them in thy strength into thy holy habitation. Here you have
the power of the Redeemer. Otherwise, why purpose the Passover
if He didn't have the power to bring it to pass? Stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord. That was the promise. But
if He didn't have power to accomplish that, what good is the promise?
Of what comfort would it be? Oh, but they found out by experience
what God promised, God can do. And they sing praises to Him
to that end. Know what he promised Abraham
found, and all God's people have found ever since that day. And
prior to that day, what Abraham learned, what God promised, he's
able to perform. Thou and thy mercy has led forth
the people which thou hast redeemed. Now notice that. It doesn't speak
of everybody. It certainly doesn't speak in
favor of the armies that were drowned. No, it only speaks of
a particular people. You've led forth those people
whom you redeemed. Not everyone. Not everyone's
redeemed. Those for whom the blood was
shed. those for whom the sacrifice
was given, those that were in the houses on which that blood
was applied. Remember that? In chapter 12,
God said, when I see the blood, I'm going to pass through Egypt
this night and I'm going to slay in divine justice the firstborn
of every one, the firstborn of every son of Pharaoh who sits
on the throne one in the dungeon, none will be spared except, except
there will be an exception in the house that the blood of the
sacrifice has been applied to, I've already been satisfied.
There's already been one slain there, and it typified our Lord
Jesus Christ. When I see the blood, isn't that
comforting? Isn't that comforting? Because
every one of us experienced what the apostles wrote about, what
he confessed to in Romans 7. We all cry out in words like
he used, O wretched man that I am, Constantly there's a battle. Constantly there's a struggle.
In me I see a principle, a downward tendency. It's sin that dwelleth
in me, O wretched man that I am. Now I know there are some poor,
deluded, professing Christians that claim they have reached
a state where they don't have such a battle. They ought to
be concerned. ought to be concerned. They say
that the old nature has been eradicated. That they've experienced
a second work of grace and they don't have that sin nature anymore.
No, no, no. No, Paul the Apostle, of many
years when he wrote those words, cried out, O wretched man that
I used to be before I was saved. No, wretched man I am right now
while I pen these words under divine inspiration. He said,
I'm a wretched man. So aren't you thankful that the
grounds of our acceptance before the Holy God doesn't rest in
what we do? It doesn't say when God sees
what I've done. Oh no. When He sees what His
Son done for me. He says, when I see the blood,
all the blood, the blood satisfies, the blood's met every demand
of my holy law. The blood has taken away all
the sins of all my people. Therefore, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. And the blood, dear dying lamb,
shall never lose its power. It's always effectual. It cleanses
us from all sin. Until that day, my soul, what
power, what merit must be in the blood of Christ It can cleanse
a sinner like the one that stands before you right now from all
my sin so thoroughly, so completely, that I'll stand before the Holy
God without any trace of sin. And not only will He do that
for me, He'll do it for a multitude that none can number. No wonder
we sing, oh, there's power in the blood. There's power in the
blood. And how comforting to hear our
God say, See the blood. Not your works, Lonnie. Ooh,
you couldn't sleep tonight if that were the case, could you?
Neither could I. Oh, but when I see the blood. And that's what the lamb on the
doorpost in the lentil that night in Egypt, that's what God saw,
the blood of the lamb. And that's what Paul spoke of
in Romans 8. There is now for now. Right now, brothers and
sisters. Now, I don't know what the now
may entail for you. I don't know what the now may
be that you're passing through. But this doesn't change. No matter
what else may be happening with you, this cannot change. There
is therefore now, this very moment, no condemnation to those that
are in Christ Jesus. God says, when I see the blood,
I'll pass over you. Man, that's glorious, isn't it?
That's comforting. That's a foundation on which
I can fall down on. I can trust my immortal soul
to Him because He's able to save to the uttermost all that come
unto God by Him. Oh, He's the only acceptable
sacrifices and that Lamb That Passover lamb was simply a picture
of him that was to come. And when he did come, John said,
there he is. There's the lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world. That's why Gabriel said, Joseph,
I love these words, call his name Jesus or Joshua. He shall save his people from
their sins." Now, brothers and sisters, either he will or he
won't. I mean, there's no in-between. Either he did or he didn't. Either
he succeeded or he didn't. And Gabriel said he's going to
bear that name because he will succeed. It means the salvation
of the Lord. Paul said, husbands, love your
wives. How is that? Like you love every woman? Well,
no, you better not. Love your wives as Christ loved
the church and gave himself for it, a particular love. In our
text, verse 13, Thou has led forth the people, what people?
Those that you redeemed. The same people that were in
the house where the sacrifice was applied. When I see the blood,
those same people that you shed that blood for are the same people
you bring forth. That's exactly what we read up
over and over again. In Romans 8, we read it this
morning. Whom he did foreknow, he did predestinate, and justified,
and called, and were glorified. The same ones. Our blessed Redeemer
did not die for a maybe. He did not die for a perchance. And bless God, His death is not
dependent for its success on anything I do or anybody else
does. He accomplished eternal redemption
for us. At the very moment He exclaimed
as the victor that He was, it is finished. If it wasn't, He
would have never said so. Oh, but our sins were taken away. In Revelation chapter 14, we
read these words. These are they, in verse 4, that
follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These are they which
were redeemed from among men. They were taken out. They were
chosen in divine election and given to the Son. That's exactly
what the Scriptures teach. And it has the glorious application
of the same people in every case. Those that were chosen, those
for whom Christ died, those are the one that the Holy Spirit
in time calls, and those are the ones that will be with Him
in glory. That's called the everlasting
covenant of God's amazing grace. Israel was kept safe that night
when the death angel passed through Egypt. Why? As we've said, when
I see the blood, I will pass over you. I'm safe. I'm safe,
Lord. I'm secure forever. God looks to Christ for He received it. He satisfied
every claim of the holy God. He fulfilled every jot and tittle
of God's holy law. And He did it in life and in
death. He was acting as the substitute
for His people. And that's imputed to His people. So God reckons me as I've done
it myself. No wonder Paul says there's no
condemnation. But they still must be brought
out of Egypt, mustn't they? They've been redeemed, but they
still must be loosed from their captivity, mustn't they? And
they are. Look what they sing in verses
4. Verses 4 through 6 of Exodus
15. 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, have
dashed in pieces the enemy. Look down at verse 9. The enemy
said, I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide
to spoil. My lust will be satisfied upon
them. I will draw my sword. My hand
shall destroy them. That's what Pharaoh said with
his great army. Verse 10, here's God's response. Thou didst blow. This is how
much effort it took for God To overthrow Pharaoh. Are you looking? About like that. About like a speck of dust, I
blew off my Bible. Thou didst blow with thy wind,
the sea covered them, they sank as lead in the mighty waters. No wonder they sang, who is likened
to thee, O Lord, among the gods? We too, God's true Israel, were
once born slaves to sin, electing love. had chosen us, but we were
children of wrath even as others. With all the rest of the world,
we lay dead in trespasses and sins. Yes, love had marked us
out. with an everlasting love of people
unto salvation. But they must be redeemed. The
price of deliverance must be paid. Justice like Pharaoh stood
at the door and said, I will not let the people go. I will
not let them go. All but see. Look here. There's our great emancipator. There's our great redeemer. There's
our deliverer. Oh, see him. See him. When the fullness of the time
was come. See him. Here he comes. Made like me. His brethren were
flesh and blood, so He likewise took part of the same. When the
fullness of the time was come, oh glory! Who is this? Who is this coming to redeem
His people? God sent forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law, to do what? To redeem them that
were under the law and hear Him speak. He says, I come to do
Thy will. Oh my God. All of it. Perfectly. Whatever you demand, whatever
you require, whatever is necessary to save my people from their
sins, I've come to do thy will, oh God. And he did it. He did it. He did it all, all. Who is the God? Likened to our
God. But as we said, like Israel and
Egypt, we were unwilling to be delivered. Like them, we said,
leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians. We
loved darkness rather than light. He was in the world and the world
was made by Him, we read in John 1. and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own, and His
own received Him not. Then what will happen to God's
electing love? What will happen to redemption
if His people are not willing? This, they will become willing.
My people shall be willing in the day of what? My power. You have He quickened. We said,
leave us alone. We want to serve the Egyptians.
You had he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. He will have what he purchased. Thou and thy mercy has led forth
the people which thou hast redeemed. God sends his son to redeem us,
then in time he sends his spirit to quicken us and to bring us
to his son. They all shall come to me, Christ
said. At the first We said, I won't
come. I won't come, Lord. I won't bow
down. I won't serve him. I won't do
it like Pharaoh there. I will, I will, I will, I said. And God said, you'll come. Christ
said, you'll come. All that the father gave me shall
come to me. I shed my blood for you. I bought
you. You're mine. You'll come. And
this proud, stubborn rebel Louis said, I will not come. But just
a little while after that, God's mighty grace brought me down
to the footstool where I kneeled before him, crying like a whimpering
baby. Lord, have mercy on me. Please
save this sinner. Oh, yeah. My people will be willing
in the day of my power. I will not come, I said, but
Christ said, oh, yes, you will. Oh, yes, you will. You're mine. Aren't you glad? I hear men content
for man's will. Always want to fight for man's
will. Forget about God's will. Forget
about his honor, his glory. Man's will. I'll tell you what,
if they had sense, if they had sense, they don't know any better.
Because if they knew better, they would thank God that it's
not of Him that willeth. I'm quoting from Romans 9 now,
verse 16. It's not of Him that willeth,
nor of Him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Aren't you glad, Lester, that
God didn't leave you to your will? Because if he had, you
would have never come to him. Oh, but by his mighty grace,
he makes us willing. He said, I'll have what I paid
for. I'll purchase you with my own
precious blood. You will come to me. And we become
willing. Lazarus, come forth. What happened? What happened?
You know what happened. Lazarus come forward. Zacchaeus
come down. Because the day I must abide
at thy house. And what happened? Zacchaeus
came down. And so did this sinner. He brought
me down. And I'm so thankful that He did. Most willingly, we fled to Christ. Like the waters of the Red Sea,
justice stands back. While He who satisfied divine
justice leads forth the people, He has redeemed. And they follow
Him singing, Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you? Hallelujah. What a Savior. Who is like our
Redeemer? Where is a Savior like He alone
who is mighty to save? Now, secondly, we spoke about
the power of the Redeemer. Now, the triumph of the Redeemer.
Look at the second half of verse 13. Thou hast guided them in
thy strength unto thy holy habitation. Victory must follow power. Mustn't
it? If he has all power, then he'll
accomplish all of his purposes. When Moses sang that day, after
they crossed the Red Sea on dry land, and stepped out on the
other shore, and the waters returned to their normal force, and drowning
Pharaoh and all his mighty army. When Moses sang on the Red Sea,
or at the shore of the Red Sea that day, What a joy it must
have been to him to know that all Israel was safe. Must have
been a joy to his heart. Oh, how he must have sang praises
to God because he knew not one of them had perished. God did
everything He promised He would do. He brought that multitude.
Some say perhaps as many as three million people. but not one had
perished. What did it like? It must have
been to the heart of Moses. Not a wave of water from those
walls of parted sea fell until the last Israelite stepped out
on the other side. You see the picture. In that
time, in that time, when all the redeemed
shall sing the song of the Lamb, it will be the claim of King
Jesus, it will be the claim of the captain of our salvation,
Father, of all you gave me. I've lost
none. I've brought them all out. And
here they are, as many as God chose, as many as Christ redeemed,
as many as the Spirit has called, shall safely cross over into
the other side on that eternal shore. Father, you've given me
power over all flesh, that I should give eternal life to as many
as thou hast given me. For all the chosen race shall
meet around the throne, shall bless the conduct of his grace,
and make his glories known. Hear him again, speak as only
he could. Upon this rock I'll build my
church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Turn, if you will, to Revelation chapter 7. Be of good cheer. The army of God's elect are marching
on to Zion, where the captain of our salvation is. John saw
him. John saw him there. John in chapter
4 said he was caught up to heaven, and he saw a throne, just one
throne. And there was just one setting
upon the throne. And that's our adorable Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. In Revelation chapter 7, John
also sees this in verse 9. a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues,
stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes and palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice,
saying, Salvation to our God, which setteth upon the throne
and unto the Lamb." Sounds much like the Song of Moses, does
it not? Look down at verse 13. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes?
And whence came they? Who are these, John? Who are
these multitudes that stand before the throne of God himself? And
I said unto him, verse 14, Sir, thou knowest, thou knowest. And look at this answer. And
he said to me, These are they which came out, of great tribulation
and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood
of the lamb. That is a blessed picture of
God's amazing grace. Those words, they all came out. They all came out, just like
the children of Israel all crossed the Red Sea. They all experienced
great tribulation. Seven years of tribulation, that's
wishful thinking. A lifetime of tribulation. Through
much tribulation, we must inherit the kingdom of God. But look,
they all came out. What fierce enemies they've had
to contend with and do battle with. The world, the flesh, the
devil. Oh, how this world can allure
us. But they all came out. What grace. No casualties. Not one's lost. Not even one. Because they all came out. Go back to chapter 15 in Exodus,
if you're not already there. And look what we read in verse
17, and then we'll close. Here's the promise of God to
His Israel, to all of His redeemed. and thou shalt bring them in,
and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, and in
the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in,
in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established."
In Joshua, you need not turn there just one verse, but in
Joshua chapter 5, we read this. After those 40 years of wilderness
journey, The children of Israel are finally
in the promised land. They're finally in Canaan. In
verse 12 of Joshua 5, we read this. And the manna ceased on
the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land. Neither had the children of Israel
manna anymore. They didn't need it. But they
did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year. The wilderness is now behind
them. It's over. And they've come to the land
of milk and honey. And they did eat of the fruit
of the land of Canaan that year. Perhaps, perhaps we will too. Perhaps this year,
at any rate, it won't be long I may sit down with my Joshua,
my Savior, and feast in his blessed presence forever. Maybe this year. Maybe this year. Let me read this and leave this
with you. Now unto him that is able to
keep you from falling and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. To the only wise
God our Savior be glory and majesty, dominion and power both now and
ever. Amen. Amen. God bless you.