Today I would like you to turn
in your Bible to the book of Deuteronomy over in the Old Testament
the book of Deuteronomy chapter 33 Deuteronomy chapter 33 at
verse 26. Let's read these verses together.
There is none like Unto the God of Jeshurun and that's another
word for the God of Israel Who writeth upon the heaven in thy
help and in his excellency on the sky? The eternal God is thy
refuge. Underneath are the everlasting
arms. And he shall thrust out the enemy
from before thee and shall say, destroy them. Israel then shall
dwell in safety alone. The fountain of Jacob shall be
upon a land of corn and wine. Also his heaven shall drop down
due. Happy art thou, O Israel, who
is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy
help. And who is the sword of thy excellency? And thy enemies shall be found
liars unto thee, and thou shalt tread upon their high places."
Now we see in this scripture that Israel The nation Israel
is about to pass into the promised land. And Moses was not allowed
to lead Israel into the promised land, Moses being typical of
the law, and the law can inherit the promise. God raised up Joshua,
who is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, to lead Israel into Canaan
land. But here we have the last words
of Moses, the last recorded words of Moses. It's often said that
the last words of a man are always very important and we should
pay attention to them. God here gives Moses this doxology
of praise before God takes him to glory, and we find some very,
very interesting things. The first thing we see here,
Moses declares in verse 26 at Deuteronomy 33. Now, I would
encourage you to get your Bible and read these scriptures together.
Look what he says the first thing, his doxology, his closing words. There is none like the God of
Israel. Here we see a description of
the believer's God. There is none like the God of
Israel. Now, all other nations had God. The Philistines, the Hittites,
the Egyptians, they had Dagon, Diana, Baal, and Moloch. And Egypt, we know, was full
of gods. But they were all dead, useless, vain, and powerless
to help. David said in Psalm 115, they
have eyes, but they can't see. They have ears, but they can't
hear. They have hands, but they can't
handle. Feet, but they can't walk. They're dead and useless. Israel's God is the living God,
and that's why Moses says that there's none like the God of
Israel. He's the living God, the eternal
God, the almighty God. Back in Deuteronomy chapter 32,
Moses says this, I will publish the name of the Lord and inscribe
greatness under our God. He is the rock. His work is perfect. All his ways are judgment of
God of truth without iniquity. Just and right is he, the believer's
God. There's none like the God of
Israel. There's none like our God. What's
he like? What's he like? What's the God
of Israel like, the living, the true God? We're not left to guess
about what he is like. The Scriptures and the Word of
God clearly declares his character. You listen to these scriptures.
What's our God like? In Exodus 15, verse 11, we read
this. He's glorious in holiness. You
listen to this scripture. Who is like unto thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is like the glorious in holiness? There is none like our God for
the beauty of his holiness. That's one word that describes
the character of God, and it is holiness. In Psalm 71, We
read, Thy righteousness also, O God, is very high. Who has
done great things, O God, who is like unto Thee? There's none
like the God of Israel. He's glorious in holiness. Secondly, we read this. What's
He like? He's glorious in power. Glorious in power. Psalm 89,
listen to this scripture. O Lord God of hosts, who is a
strong Lord like unto Thee, O to Thy faithfulness round about
Thee? Thou rulest the raging of a sea when the waves thereof
arise, and Thou stillest them. There is none like God. He's
glorious in holiness, glorious in power. God has no rival, no
competitor, no one stands in opposition to His will, His purpose,
or His power. He does all things after His
will and counsel. God has given the Lord Jesus
Christ power over all flesh that He should give eternal life to
as many as God has given Him. No one stands in opposition to
the will and the purpose of God. He's the absolute sovereign in
all things. So what's our God like? He's
glorious in holiness. He's glorious in power. There's
none like our God. Thirdly, we read this in scripture,
he's glorious in mercy. God delights to show mercy to
the ungodly. We read this in Micah. 7 verse
18, Who is a god like unto thee that pardoneth iniquity, and
passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage,
he restraineth not his anger forever, because he delights
in mercy. He is quick to arrive on a scene
to show and to reveal mercy unto his people. We read in this text,
he writeth upon the heavens, God delights to show mercy to
whom he will. And this mercy we read in scripture
is sovereign mercy. God said, I'll have mercy on
whom I will and whom I will, I'll pass by, I'll harden whom
I will. He's glorious in holiness, glorious
in power, glorious in mercy. Fourthly, we read this, he's
glorious in his saving work. Listen to this scripture, Psalm
86, Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither
are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou
hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord, and shall
glorify thy name. For thou art God, and doest wondrous
things. Thou art God alone. He's glorious in his saving,
redeeming work. My friend, the Lord has never
tried to do anything. He always accomplishes His purpose,
and that which He purposed in Christ to redeem and save His
people, He shall not fail. He's glorious in His saving work.
Fifthly, we read this in Scripture, He's glorious in His eternality. It says in verse 27 of our text,
the eternal God is thy refuge. In Psalm 90 we read from everlasting
to everlasting, thou art God. In Malachi 3, 6 we read the Lord. He said, I am the Lord, I change
not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob, you are not consumed." You see,
there's none like the God of Israel. What's He like? Glorious
in holiness, glorious in power, glorious in His saving sovereign
mercy, glorious in His redeeming effectual work through Christ,
and He's glorious in His eternality. He's the eternal God. That's
what Moses is saying here and that's why he's praising God.
There is none like the God of Israel. And then the second thing
we see in verse 27 is the believer's hope. The believer's hope. Says
in verse 27, the eternal God is our refuge. This God that
we have described is our only and all of our hope. He's the
eternal God. Underneath are the everlasting
arms. He shall thrust out the enemy
from before thee and shall say, destroy them. Here's the believer's
hope. God is our refuge. David said
this in Psalm 46, God is our refuge and strength, the very
present help in trouble. We have an everlasting consolation
and a good hope through the grace of God. The eternal God is our
hope. The eternal God is our refuge. And the eternal God is our support.
Underneath us, he undergirds us with his everlasting arm.
He's able to keep us from falling. and to present us faultless before
his presence and his glory. He holds us up with his everlasting
arms. We read this in the scripture.
He loved his people with an everlasting love, Jeremiah 31, 3. He saved
his people with an everlasting salvation, Isaiah 45, 17. He redeemed his people with everlasting
redemption. He obtained eternal redemption
for us. And he justifies his people through
an everlasting covenant of grace that's ratified and made sure
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the believer's
hope, and that was the hope of Moses. Our Lord said Moses wrote
of him. The eternal God is thy refuge. Underneath are the everlasting
arms that wrap us and secure us. And that's the third thing
that Moses declares here in verse 28. Israel then shall dwell in
safety alone. Israel, the elect of God. And
Israel here, national Israel, is just typical in type and picture
of the spiritual Israel, God's elect. And here we see the believer's
God, the believer's hope. Now thirdly, we see the believer's
security. We shall dwell in safety alone. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ does not promise that we'll dwell with earthly wealth,
with physical health, or with creature comfort, but it does
promise us all spiritual and eternal blessings in Christ. You listen to this glorious promise
in Romans 8, 32 and following. He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also makes intercession for us. You see, God has blessed
us with eternal security in the Lord Jesus Christ. More happy
but not more secure, the songwriter wrote, more happy but not more
secure are the glorified saints in heaven. We're secure in Christ
because it says there that he has destroyed all our enemies. The sheep are safe in the hands
of the shepherd. We dwell. The believers dwell
with safety and eternal security in the Lord Jesus Christ. God
doesn't save a man and then leave him to his own self to secure
his salvation. We're secure in Christ. And lastly,
here's the believer's blessedness in verse 29. Notice this. Happy art thou, O Israel, who
is like unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, the shield of thy
help, and who is the sword of thy excellency. And thy enemies
shall be found liars unto thee, and thou shalt tread upon their
high places. Now here's the believer's blessedness. There is none like the God of
Israel, right? We've been over that. There's
none like him. Nor is there any like the Israel of God. National Israel entered into
the land completely furnished. God provided everything for them. Even more so, God has provided
everything for His spiritual people in Christ. He has blessed
us, His elect believers, He has blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. in the remaining time. Let me see if I can go over these
nine things that he mentions here in this text that he has
given us. The first thing he mentions He
talks about the fountain of Jacob. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
fountainhead and wellspring of all spiritual blessings. He's
blessed us in Christ who has made unto us wisdom, righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. He is the fountain of Jacob.
He is the well of water springing up into everlasting life. The
second blessing he mentions is this, the land of corn. Do you
see that in the text? We'd have a fountain of Jacob
and we shall dwell in the land of corn and wine. Now this land
of corn speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the bread of life
and we feed upon him as a bread of life. He sustains us here
and hereafter. He said, I am the bread of life.
He that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth
on me shall never thirst. These are the blessings we enjoy
in Christ. The third thing we see is this,
we dwell in the land of wine and that speaks of the redemption
that's in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're totally and only redeemed
by his precious blood. Peter put it this way, for as
much as you know that you're not redeemed with corruptible
things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of
Christ, a lamb without blemish and without spot." You see, we
dwell in the land of the fountain of Jacob, speaks of Christ, the
land of corn, the bread of life, the land of wine. That's redemption
through the blood of Christ. And fourthly, we see this in
the text, shall drop down due, the heavens shall drop down due.
The Lord drops down the due of grace upon his people through
the preaching of the gospel. That's how he blesses us and
sustains us, which causes us to rejoice in him and to grow
in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Fifthly,
he mentions this, happy art thou, in verse 29, Deuteronomy 33,
verse 29. Happy art thou, O Israel, who
is saved, who is like unto thee, saved by the Lord. Believers
are a happy people, and that word happy means blessed, blessed. The psalmist put it this way,
blessed and happy is a man whom thou choosest, whom God has chosen,
who causes that man by his grace and love to approach unto God.
Psalm 32 we read, blessed and happy is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. God's people are a blessed people,
they're a happy people. The sixth blessing he mentions
here, O people saved by the Lord. You see that in verse 29, saved
by the Lord. Salvation is His doing from first
to last. God has called us and saved us
with an everlasting salvation. All of His grace from first to
last, salvation is of the Lord. And then the seventh thing he
mentions here, he is the shield of thy help. He has given us
the shield of faith to sustain us and to help us in our pilgrim
journey. His truth, we read in Psalm 91,
his truth shall be shield unto us. In Psalm 33, we read, God
himself shall be our shield. We're saved by the Lord. We dwell
in the fountain, the land of the fountain of Jacob and the
corn, the land of the corn. speaks of his bread and land
of wine, speaks of a redemption we have in Christ. The heaven
shall drop down due, speaking of the preaching of the gospel.
We're a people saved by the Lord, and his shield is our help, who
is the sword of thy excellency. Now, this sword speaks of the
power, the excellency, the beauty. Israel could not and did not
enter into the land of Canaan and defeat their enemies by their
own strength. God did. Moreover, the Lord Jesus
Christ is a living, powerful sword able to conquer all our
spiritual enemies. He is the sword, the power of
our excellency. And lastly, it says, all our
enemies shall be found unto thee as liars. We are more than conquerors
through the Lord Jesus Christ who has conquered all our enemies
and he shall thrust out our enemy from before us and shall say
unto them, destroy them. Destroy, he has destroyed everything
that was against us. Our sin that was against us,
he put it away. The law that was against us,
he satisfied. And death, he has the keys of
hell and death. He conquered death.