Well, it's good to see you all
out this evening. A couple of prayer requests. Dee Park starts
a unique or different type of experimental drug treatment for
his cancer on Monday. He goes in. He's got to stay
in the hospital 24 hours and go home and then come back the
next week and stay in the hospital another 24 hours. I don't know
what they're putting in him or what they're doing, but it's
an experimental drug. Hopefully it will do something
for him. and also just found out that Christie Wheatley, Christie
Sullivan, used to be here. Her grandson, a baby, has cancer. It's a big cancer. It's a tumor
in behind the heart. Rachel's son. So remember them
in your prayers, if you will, and seek the Lord's help for
them. Let's begin our worship service tonight with hymn number
496. Last Sunday of the month, Lord's
Table, big dinner, no afternoon service. Okay, 496. ? I heard an old, old story ? How
a Savior came from glory Now he gave his life on Calvary to
save a wretch like me. I heard about his groaning, of
his precious blood's atoning. Then I repented of my sins and
won the victory. my savior forever. He sought me and bought me with
his redeeming blood. He loved me ere I knew him and
all my love I heard about his healing Of
his cleansing power revealing ? How he made the lame to walk
again ? And caused the blind to see ? And then I heard, dear
Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit ? And somehow Jesus came
and brought to me a victory ? In Jesus, my Savior forever ?
He sought me and bought me ? With His redeeming blood ? He loved
me, I knew Him ? And all my love is due Him I heard about a mansion He's
built for me in glory And I heard about the streets of gold Beyond
the crystal sea About the angels singing ? And the old redemption
story ? And some sweet day I'll sing up there ? The song of victory
? Oh victory in Jesus my Savior forever ? He sought me and bought
me with his redeeming blood of the air I knew him, and all my
love is due him. He plunged me to victory beneath
the cleansing flood. Hymn number 228, My Faith Has
Found a Resting Place, 228. My faith has found a resting
place, not in device nor creed. I trust the ever-living One. His wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument. I need no other plea. that he died for me. Enough for me that Jesus saves. This ends my fear and doubt. A sinful soul He'll never catch me out. I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died
and that he died for me. Heart is leaning on the Word,
the written Word of God. Salvation by my Savior's name,
salvation through His blood. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea. me. My great fishy, who's the
sick, the lost, he came me his life he gave. I need no other argument. I need no other plea. It is enough that you If you have your Bibles turn
with me to Exodus the 15th chapter. You want to read verses 3 through
13. My message tonight is Sovereignly
Saved. Exodus chapter 15 beginning with
verse 3. The Lord is a man of war. The Lord 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, has 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 sendest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
And with a blast of thy nostrils, the waters were gathered together,
the floods stood upright as a heap, and the depths were congealed
in the heart of the sea. And the enemy said, I will pursue,
I will overtake, I will divide, despoil, my lust shall be satisfied
upon them, I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. And
thou didst blow with thy wind, and the sea covered them, they
sank as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O Lord,
among the gods? Who is like 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 the people forth. Thou hast redeemed Thou hast
guided them in Thy strength into Thy holy habitation. Let us pray. Our Father in Heaven, we bless
You and thank You for the great mercy that You have shown to
Your beloved. We thank You that You have called
them out of darkness into the marvelous light. You have translated
them from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Your dear Son.
You have saved them by Your grace. and show mercy to them every
hour of every day. We deserve nothing from you,
save your wrath. Yet you spent your wrath on your
son for the benefit of your people. You poured out your wrath on
him when he was made to be sin for us, and you know sin, so
that we may be made the very righteousness of God in him.
We cannot begin to comprehend that It is too great for us,
too large for our poor minds, but we are thankful that it's
clearly recorded in your book and you have given us faith to
believe it. We pray for those who are sick, those who've been
mentioned in the prayer list, these others, this young baby
who's sick with this tumor. Pray your healing power. We know
that nothing is too hard for you. Your God, there is none
besides you, none like unto you. You purpose it, and it shall
stand. You speak, and it shall come to pass. We ask, Lord, for
your help for this family as they struggle with this, for
there's nothing more fearful to a parent than when a child
is sick. Continue to pray for Fred, that
you be with him, minister to him as he's being treated for
this lymphoma. I pray for Dee Parks as he's
undergoing this special treatment. We ask, Lord, that it might be
successful. We know, Lord, he is your child,
and he does not have this cancer by accident. We pray that if he would get glory for your
name, that you'd heal him. pray for ourselves here tonight
father if we look at your word that you'd give us grace to understand
and appreciate the glory that is set before us in this short
passage of scripture help me to say right things concerning
you hold me up to preach the gospel don't leave me here by
myself be with those who hear the gospel may find purchase
in their hearts and souls we pray in Christ's blessed holy
name And we know that Moses' song
is the song of sovereign salvation. It is not about Moses. It is
not about what Moses has done. It is not about the children
of Israel and what they might have done. But it's a treatise
on the author and finisher of faith who is God Almighty. It
is a song whose beginning and end are enveloped in the lyric,
What God hath wrought. This song encompasses the entirety
of salvation, and in doing so, it pictures in type and shadow
as it declares what God has done for His people in the eternal
covenant of salvation. Verse 3, Our Lord is described
as a man of war. Our Lord is a man of war. God is not called a man before
this in Scripture, but here He is called a man. We know that
God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him
in Spirit and in truth. But here He is described as a
human being, a man, our Lord, Jehovah, capital L-O-R-D, all
the way across. The Lord Jehovah is a man of
war. We know this is an allusion to
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the man who is God. and
the God who is man. The Lord was not seen in this
great salvation of Israel, save in the demonstration of His power
over all things and all elements and all beasts. Being referred
to as a man of war is surely a declaration of what and who
this particular deliverance refers to. This is a picture. It is
an Old Testament picture. This is probably one of the areas
that the early apostles preached from because it surely speaks
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It refers to, of course, the
salvation of the elect by the man, Jesus Christ, who is referred
to in Scripture as the last Adam and the second man. Being the
last Adam, he's the last representative of a group of people, or of his
people. And being the second man, he's
the second man in whom the world is considered. That's what that
term means over in the Corinthians. The first Adam, our father, the
first man brought forth condemnation. upon all whom he represented.
Everything that came from his loins were born condemned and
separated from God. Adam brought in, the second Adam,
the last Adam rather, brought in everlasting righteousness
to all whom he represented. In Corinthians it says, In Adam
all died and Christ shall all be made alive. And in Romans
chapter 5 It says this in verse 19, For
as by one man's disobedience, that is, Adam, many were made
sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. There are the two Adams, the
first and the second man. Our Lord became a man for one
reason. According to Hebrews, He was
made a little lower than the angels for the express purpose
of dying in the room instead of His people. His mission was
a mission of mercy, but that mercy could only be expressed
where justice had been completely satisfied. The Lord has justified
many and is enabled to do so because of the blood death or
the propitiatory substitutionary death made by the Lord Jesus
Christ on Calvary's tree. In Romans chapter 3, this is
how it reads in verse 24, being justified freely, that is, without
a cause in us, being justified freely by His grace in verse
24 through the redemption, that is the buying back by paying
the price required by God, that is in Jesus Christ, whom God
has set forth or charged to be a propitiation or a satisfaction
through faith in His blood to declare His righteousness for
the remissions of sins, that God declares that He is righteous
to remit sins, to put away sins, for the remission of sins that
are passed through the forbearance of God to declare, I say at this
time, His righteousness. In the declaration of His righteousness,
He is therefore just and the justifier of him that believes
on the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way God could be just
to justify us is that His justice has been totally satisfied or
He's been propitiated, appeased, or satisfied for our sins. Now, what satisfied God for our
sins? The death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We'll celebrate that on Sunday when we take the Lord's Table.
We do show forth His death until He comes again. Thus the Lord,
the man of war, the man is a warrior. fighting for his people, and
since he is Lord, the outcome is forever settled. He shall
not fail, saith the scripture. The scripture says, Thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now, the outcome of this battle
is described in what follows. It is set forth as an absolute
victory The ones who have been so audacious as to engage with
the Lord have been utterly vanquished from the earth and are now sunk
to the bottom of the sea. Pharaoh and his fierce battalions
have choked on the waters of the Red Sea, strangled, and sunk
to the seafloor as if they were stones. That's how they're described.
Parts of the fearsome chariots will now be driftwood, their
armor will oxidize, and their flesh will become the fish's
feasts. They are no more. That's how it's described in
our text in verses four and five. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath God cast into the sea. His
chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have
covered them. They sank to the bottom as a
stone. They are typical of the enemy
of the elect. Sin, self, Satan, and death are
our enemies. They are our enemies, and their
end, according to Scripture, is this, that God has sunk our
sins into the bottom of the sea. And here He has sunk the enemy
of Israel into the bottom of the sea. The language of verse
6 is the language of salvation. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become
right, glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath
dashed in pieces the enemy. When our Lord spoke of severing
the right hand that causes you to offend in the New Testament,
it was a reference to a man believing that he has some part of salvation.
The right hand speaks of salvation in Scripture. He said if your
right hand causes you to offend, cut it off. Cut it off. Why would he say something like
that? Because it's a matter of life and death, you see. If you
have any part in salvation, it's not the Lord's salvation, it's
partly your salvation. Whether it be your idea, your
decision, or your will, or whatever you want to apply as having part
of salvation, that needs to be cut off. It needs to be severed
from you. Because God alone is the author and finisher of faith.
He alone is the Savior of His men. God's right hand is said
to be salvation in Scripture. His mighty arm is put forth that
way. Look at a few passages of Scripture. Beginning with Job. In Job chapter 40, when the Lord
addresses Job, because Job has declared he's beginning to fall
under the weight of the trial that he's under. He's covered
with boils. He's sitting by the fireside.
He's lost all his family. He's lost all his wealth. He's
a sick man. And he's beginning to question
himself, well, what have I done wrong? And our Lord says, You
think you can save yourself? You think you can save yourself?
And He gives him a list of things that he must do. But in verse
14, He says, Then will I also confess unto thee that thy own
right hand can save thee. Thy own right hand. There's that
reference. Look at Psalm 17. In Psalm 17, in verse 7, It says, Show thy marvelous lovingkindness,
O thou that saveth by thy right hand them which put their trust
in thee from those that rise up against thee. Save them from
those that rise up against thee. Psalm 20 and verse 6 says this, Now know that I, the Lord, saveth
his anointed, he will hear him with his holy heaven, with saving
strength of his right hand. So when you see the word right
hand in scripture, that's what it's talking about. Other references
are Isaiah 40 verse 10 and Isaiah 52 verse 10. The Lord exposed
His holy arm or His holy right hand and the world shall see
His salvation. Here in our text we see that
the right hand of salvation is exercised not only in saving
His people, but first it's exercised in wrath and judgment. For it
says, Thy right hand, O LORD, hath become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O LORD, hath
dashed in pieces the enemy. Dashed in pieces. In glorious
demonstration of power, He has dashed His enemies in pieces.
That is what it talks about in Revelation 2 in verse 27. By
the word of His mouth, He breaks His enemies up like potsherds.
And in verse 8, back in our text, in verse 10, we see the manner
in which the enemy is destroyed. You're not destroyed with a sword
or a spear, but he's destroyed with a blast of God's nostrils. With the blast of thy nostrils,
you know, think about that. With the blast of thy nostrils,
the waters were gathered together. The flood stood upright as a
heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. That
Red Sea was split right down the middle of a wide road, dry,
wide road was right in the middle of it, and the water stood up
and were congealed. You know what congealed is? Like
jello. They were there. They were stable. They were not
going anywhere. The Lord did that. How did he
do that? He says, now this is metaphorical language, but it
speaks of his ease in which he did this. It was not a hard thing
for him to do. It was just a blast of his nostrils. A blast of his
nostrils. the waters were gathered together.
Then in verse 10 it says, Now this blow with the wind, the
sea covered them, and they sank as lead to the bones. So here
the blast of the nozzles, blow with the wind, these things are
analogous with one another. This is the manner in which our
Lord did it. The blast was the breath of life,
you see, to all its creatures. How was man formed? He was formed
with the dust of the earth by the Lord Jesus Christ, where
it says in John 1, all things were created by Him, He took
that mud and put it together and put it together. We're dirt
people. That's what we are. That's what Adam means, red dirt
person. That's what we are. And he took that thing he made
out of mud and breathed the breath of life into it. And every creature
has that same breath. It's the Ruach, what it's called
in the Hebrew language, R-A-R-O-C-H. R-U-O-A-H-O-A-C-H. It means that it's a living,
breathing thing. Where'd they get that breath? God gives all things their breath.
If you want to know how frail and weak you are and how insubstantial
you are as far as your life power goes, try to hold two breaths
at one time. It's impossible. You can only
hold one at a time and that's your life. That's what God's
given you. That's why our life is called
a what? A vapor. Our life's a vapor. It's a breath.
It's a breath. There's nothing to it. How did
you get that? God gave it to you. God gives
it to all His creatures. That breath is life. The breath
of His nostrils is our life. But also that which is life to
the believer his death to his enemies. His word is said to
be a double-edged sword, and the word is what proceeds from
his mouth by his breath, dividing a son of the soul and spirit,
and discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart. You see,
the enemy's heart, according to the beginning of Exodus all
the way up to this point, the enemy's heart has been hardened
by God. God has hardened their heart.
as he made it like stone. And it is clearly discerned and
consequently demolished here in this passage. The Lord speaks
and it is done. That is how this works. When
the Lord destroys, it is done. The enemy shall perish. In 2
Thessalonians it says when the Lord comes, He is going to speak
and wind this thing up. He is going to speak and men
will fall. He is going to speak and men
will perish just by the word of His mouth. just by the word
of his mouth this is the breath of God this is the wind of God
he said all flesh is grass all flesh is like the flower
of the field that fades when the spirit bloweth upon it it
withers and goes away the Lord speaks here he spoke with the
breath of his nostrils and he divided the sea and destroyed
the enemy. And that hardened heart is disclosed
in verse 9. Here we have Pharaoh speaking. The enemy said, I will pursue,
I will overtake, I will divide the spoil. My lust shall be satisfied
upon them. I will draw my sword. My hand
shall destroy them. The way this is recorded here
suggests anger. It suggests a kind of frenzy.
There are no conjunctions, no ands or buts in this whole sentence.
It's just commas. That's all it is. He said, one
almost can imagine Pharaoh pacing back and forth, wringing his
hands and hyperventilating and clenching his teeth. This is
not military strategy he's setting forth here. This is venting venom,
posting in his own mind his own bloodlust from that stony heart.
I can almost see him walking back and forth, all engaged in
a frenzy. I will pursue. I will overtake.
I will divide and despoil. My lust shall be satisfied upon
them. I will draw my sword, and I will destroy them. That's what
he's saying. He's ready to go. He's going
to get in that chariot. He's going to do some business
with them Israelites. I will, he says. said the king
of Egypt, the biggest ruler on earth that day. I will, said
the king of Egypt. I will, said the demonic despot,
and the king of heaven says this. It is not of him that willeth,
nor of him that runneth, but God that showeth mercy. Therefore he will have mercy
on whom he will, and whom he will he hardeneth. Why did Pharaoh
act like that? God had hardened his heart, hardened
his heart. Back in our text in verse 10,
it says, Thou didst blow with the wind, the sea covered them,
they sank as lead to the bottom. That reveals in no uncertain
terms that the will of man is an empty suit. It is an empty
suit. The Lord's wind blows away the
king's will. And in verse 11, it's not a question
seeking an answer. It said, who is like unto thee,
O Lord, among the gods? Who is like unto thee, glorious
and holy, and fearful in praises, doing wonders? Who is like unto
thee? That's a rhetorical question,
and a rhetorical question has the answer in the question. The
question is actually the answer. Who is like unto thee? Nobody's
like unto thee. That's what it's saying. It answers
itself, and here it is praised from the heart of thanksgiving.
It is awe and it is worship, and this kind of language is
used throughout scripture in the consideration of what God
has done, in the consideration of the great things He has done
for His people. When men consider that, they
ask this question. They have this thought, who is
like this? when Paul talked about what God
had done for his people and making sure that he's working all things
together for good to them that love God, to them of the call
according to his purpose. Saying, for whom he did foreknow,
he did predestinate to be conformed in the image of his son, that
he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom
he did predestinate, them he also called, and whom he called,
them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
He thought about that and he said, What can be said about
this? What shall we say to these things?
This is the attitude. He's just talked about what God
has done to Pharaoh. Pharaoh, in his anger, is gonna
do this and do that. He didn't do anything except
die. He didn't do anything except sink. That's all he did. That's
all he did. And in consideration of that,
in consideration of all those plagues that followed, in consideration
of that cloud that covered them by day, that pillar that lighted
their way by night, consideration that, who is a God like this?
Who is a God like this? Let's use our scripture here
for a minute and turn with me to a few passages of scripture,
starting with 2 Samuel chapter 7. 2 Samuel chapter 7. In verse 22, Thou art great, O Lord God, for
there is none like Thee, neither is there any God beside Thee,
according to all that we have heard with our ears. There is
no one like You." Over in 1 Kings chapter 8, 1 Kings chapter 8 and verse 23, And he said, Lord God of Israel,
there is no God like thee in heaven above or on earth beneath,
who keepeth covenant mercy with his servants that walk before
thee with all their hearts. There is no God like unto you. Sometimes read Psalm 40 when
Isaiah the prophet says, Behold your God. Find out what God is
like. Look over at the Psalms. Psalm
71. In Psalm 71 verse 19, it says,
Thy righteousness, O God, is very high. Who has done great
things, O God? Who is like unto thee? Who has
done great things? Look over at Psalm 86. Psalm
86 and verse 8. Among the gods. There is none like unto thee,
O Lord, neither are there any works like unto thy works. Then in Psalm 89, in verse 6,
it says, For who in heaven can be compared unto the Lord? Who
among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord? Then in verse 8, O Lord of hosts,
who is a strong Lord like unto thee? For thy faithfulness round
about. over in Jeremiah, the prophet
Jeremiah chapter 10. Jeremiah chapter 10 in verse
6 it says this, For as much as there is none like unto thee,
O Lord, thou art great, thy name is great in might. And then Micah
in consideration of what the Lord had done. In Micah chapter 7, In verse
18 it says, Who is a God likened to thee, who pardoneth iniquity that passeth
by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth
not his anger forever, because he delights in mercy. What kind
of God is that? Who is likened to thee, O God? Who is likened to thee? In this
song of praise for salvation, the Lord is said to be glorious
in holiness. That holiness speaks of separation,
of being out there, being separate from all men. And He is talking
the subject of salvation. He, separate from all others,
has done this great thing. Destroyed the enemy, saving His
people. Viewing the destruction of enemies, He is praised for
His vengeance. One offers that kind of praise in fear and trembling. When you praise Him for His vengeance.
David in Psalm 102 said, God is terrible. He's terrible. He does wonders, it says, and
oh, does he do wonders, stretching forth his mighty hand, he causes
the earth to open up its gaping maw, and swallows them whole. For the people of God, those
who have understanding, and have been given understanding of what
God has done, He has done in mercy. God operates in mercy. He delights in mercy. We just
read that in Micah chapter 7 and verse 18. He delights in mercy. He delights, it says in Proverbs
8, which speaks about the wisdom of God, which is Jesus Christ.
His delight is with men. His delight. Listen to how His
mercy is described in Psalm 136. David is talking about this incident
right here. Psalm 136 verse 10 it says, To
him that smote Egypt in their firstborn, for his mercy endureth
forever. To him who brought out Israel
from among them, for his mercy endureth forever. With a strong
hand and with outstretched arm, for his mercy endureth forever.
To him which divided the Red Sea into parts, for his mercy
endureth forever, and made Israel to pass through the midst of
it, and his mercy endureth forever, but overthrew Pharaoh and his
host in the Red Sea. Why? For his mercy endureth forever. All this is tied to his mercy.
All this is tied to his mercy. And so we read those words back
in our text in verse 13. Thou in thy mercy, thou and thy mercy in his mercy
he led his people he has not followed them he is led them
in Hebrews chapter six he said to be the forerunner entered
in for us in his mercy he has redeemed them what does that
mean he's bought them with the price of his own blood death
he has bought them from Egypt's slave market He has taken possession
of them because they are called throughout Scripture His purchased
possession. In fact, when you read the word
peculiar in the New Testament, speaking of the children of God,
it is not talking about how weird they are, though we are kind
of weird. But nonetheless, it means they're
purchased. They're bought and paid for.
It says in Acts 20, 28 that God purchased them with His own blood. They are His possession. He took
them out of that slave market of Egypt, never for them to return
again. In His mercy, He's guided them.
And the Holy Spirit given in John 16 has guided them into
all truth. And by His strength, His sovereign
power, He's brought them into His holy habitation, His temple. his body, his church. He's done
all that. He's done all that. How did he
do it? In his mercy. In his mercy. This is sovereign
salvation. Father, bless us to understand
and pray in Christ's name.