thoughts and ruminations while in exile (1 Pet. 2:11)

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In Kenneth Osbeck’s book 101 Hymn Stories the first comment he makes is, “The Christian faith is a singing faith.” What I find interesting is that each hymn has a great story behind it.

It’s no different with the song we just read. Not only is Exodus 15 the first song recorded in Scripture, but the song is about the Exodus itself, which is the central event in the O.T. There is evidence to suggest that this very song was used by God’s people for many generations.

Each time God’s people throughout the generations sang this song they were reflecting on the story behind it. This song in Exodus was a response to the amazing redemption God had provided. Ligon Duncan calls it, “the greatest single event showing forth the redemption of God in the old covenant period . . .” It is a song celebrating deliverance.

Focusing our thoughts a little more, Ligon Duncan notes, “it is a song sung by the redeemed to the Redeemer about . . . redemption.” The song thanks God for who He is, what He has done in the past, and what He will do in the future.

So likewise, our songs during the Advent season cause us to reflect on God’s past actions which give us hope for what God will do in the future. As one writer said, “What we experience stirs us to expect!”

While coming in the form of a song, our reading for today leaves us with one clear message: We must praise God for all that He does in our lives.

Since these 21 verses are made up of a song it is somewhat difficult outline. Nevertheless, essentially what we have here is a song that is overtly God-centered, expressing praise to Him for the exodus event now past, and then words looking forward God’s provision as He will bring His people into the land of Canaan, which had not yet taken place as Israel sang this song.

I’d like to walk with you through this song today and give you 3 truths that we can learn.

1. We praise God for who He is (V. 2-3; 6; 11; 18).

We see this thought scattered throughout this passage. It comes in forms of words that express praise to God simply for who He is. Specifically, that God is a glorious God. This song is specifically about Him and is intended to honor and glorify God.

2 The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation;this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.3 The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name.

While the idea of God as a “Warrior,” or a “Man of war” is somewhat difficult for us, the song is intending to point out that God alone defeated Pharoah and his army.

The first part of verse 6 the song mentions that God is “glorious in power.” Verse 11 the song asks:

11 "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Now don’t me wrong, these attributes about God are linked to His actions in this song. But interspersed throughout is the theme that God is to be praised simply for who He is. As I said, the song is essentially about God.

In praising God for what He has done and what He will do in the future, we also find interjections of praise where Moses seems to want to shout a praise. For example, in V.18 we read, “The LORD will reign forever and ever.” It seems to be an interjection of praise highlighting the fact that God is a God who reigns. He is in charge; He is sovereign; and He will be forever!

So we praise God for who He is and draw attention to His attributes in the songs that we sing and in our prayer time.

It’s appropriate in our prayer time that before we make our requests known that we spend sometime praising God first and foremost for who He is. Have you ever thought about how the Lord’s Prayer is structured? What does it say? “Our Father who art in heaven . . .” then what? “Hallowed by Thy Name.” The first petition is that God be reverenced.

His Name is hallowed, or holy. So before we move on to the next petition, the Lord’s Prayer calls our attention to the fact that we are speaking to a God who is holy. This is who God is. He is holy and He deserves to be praised for who He is. He is worthy because He is God. If He did nothing else for us for the rest of our lives He would still be worthy.

I remember reading R. C. Sproul’s book The Holiness of God. There is a section in the book where he mentions the fact that God is to be praised because of who He is. He gave this illustration: He said to the effect, “What if I were falsely arrested, falsely imprisoned and then treated terrible for the rest of my life? Would God stop being worthy of praise?” Absolutely not! Despite our situation God is still worthy to be praised. In fact, in Acts chapter 16 when Paul and Silas are imprisoned for following Jesus, what do we find them doing?

V. 25 says, “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God . . .” This is complete speculation, but I wonder if they were singing this hymn in Exodus 15. I have no way of proving of that, but I know Paul knew it because he had the O.T. memorized.

So we praise God for who He is. And He’s given us so many reasons to praise Him hasn’t He? That’s why I love that hymn, “All People that on Earth Do Dwell.”

In the last stanza the song asks, “For why . . .” Why should we praise Him?

For why? the Lord our God is good, His mercy is for ever sure; His truth at all times firmly stood,And shall from age to age endure.

2. We praise God for what He has done in the past.

This is the general theme of verses 1-12. The song recounts how God delivered His people in the Exodus. Remember, this is the central event of the O.T. The song says:

V. 1 "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

Vss. 4-5: Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone.

V.7: In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries.

These verses express thanks to God for what He has done for His people in the past. Most of all, they are giving thanks to God for His act of redemption. God rescued His people, and in doing so, saved them.

This act of redemption connects to the N.T. work of Christ for us. Scholars note that “The Exodus is the central event of the O.T. as the Cross is of the N.T.” In many ways the book of Exodus foreshadows the work of Christ.

For example, Moses is a type of Christ. Both Moses and Christ are prophets, priests, and kings (although Moses was never made king, he did function as the ruler of Israel). Both were endangered in infancy, both renounced power and wealth; both were lawgivers, and mediators.

And in fact, in Dt. 18:15 Moses actually prophesies about Christ. He says, The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen.

And in Acts 3:22-23 Peter says this verse applies to Christ. And in John 5 when Jesus is facing opposition from the Jewish leaders listen to these incredible words: 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.

Secondly, the Passover is a type foreshadowing the work of Christ. In Exodus 12 Exodus says the Jews were to take a lamb without blemish and kill it. They are to put the blood from the lamb on their two doorposts and the lintel of the houses. When God saw the blood He said He would Passover their houses. The blood functioned as a sign that they were the people of God and also as a seal or the means by which they appropriated the Lord’s protection.

In John 1:29 when John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” In 1 Cor. 5:7 Paul says Christ is our Passover.

After God delivers His people in Exodus 15, He miraculously feeds them in the next chapter with bread from heaven. In ch. 17 He gives them something to drink. Both the manna and the water are types of Christ.

Listen to John 6:31-35:

31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

And in 1 Cor. 10:3-4 Paul says: 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

These are just a few examples. In this song God’s people are looking back and thanking God for what He did for them. We, too, look back to the work of Christ and thank Him for how He has redeemed us. And we praise Him for this. Not just that, but God’s people throughout the ages have written songs about it. One of the best is Man of Sorrows! What a Name. Listen to how the song accurately reflects on the work of Christ:

Man of Sorrows! what a name, For the Son of God, who came Ruined sinners to reclaim: Hallelujah! what a Saviour! Bearing shame and scoffing rude, In my place condemned he stood,S ealed my pardon with his blood: Hallelujah! what a Saviour! Guilty, vile, and helpless, we;S potless Lamb of God was he;Full atonement! can it be? Hallelujah! what a Saviour!Lifted up was he to die,"It is finished!" was his cry: Now in heav'n exalted high: Hallelujah! what a Saviour! When he comes, our glorious King, All his ransomed home to bring,Then anew this song we'll sing: Hallelujah! what a Saviour!

We praise God for who He is; We praise God for what He has done in the past. And lastly:

3. We praise God for what He will do in the future.

This is the focus of verses 13-18, with 19-21 functioning as the refrain. Notice verses 14-15 and 17:

14 The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.15 Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.

17 You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.

All that we just read has not yet happened, but this is the confidence of the people of God. This is what they are anticipating. In verses 14-16 the people confess that because of what God has done other nations will be fearful and make peace with Israel.

And in fact, this is what happens. In Joshua 9 once the Israelites came into the Promised Land the Hivites say to Joshua: "We are your servants." And Joshua said to them, "Who are you? And where do you come from?" 9They said to him, "From a very distant country your servants have come, because of the name of the LORD your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt . . .”

In verse 17 the song even pictures God granting them the inheritance of the land and the establishment of the temple. And in that, we see that not only does God save us and leave it at that, but He brings us into His family and gives us a new identity, makes us part of a new people. He doesn’t just take us out of the world, but He brings us into the kingdom of His marvelous light.

There is a two-fold aspect to redemption: being brought out of sin, but also into fellowship with God. This is a promise from God and something He will do.

And we also, can look forward to what God will do for us in this life and we can rest assured that He will one day finally bring us to glorification to spend eternity with Him.

First, in this life, despite our difficult economic times, God says He will always meet our needs. The well known verse in Phil. 4:19 Paul says, And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

In our present life even though we suffer the Bible calls them “light momentary afflictions” compared to what we will experience in heaven. So we face the future because we know God promises us joy in the midst of trouble and encourages us to press on because of what lies ahead. Think about this. Hear what amazing words Paul says in 2 Cor. 4:

8We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

13Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we also believe, and so we also speak, 14knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.

16So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

We can face the future with confidence because God promises that He will never let us go.

In John 17 we have Jesus’ high priestly prayer. He starts out by praying for His disciples and then for all of us. After He is done praying for His disciples, He says:

20"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

Then notice V. 24: Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.

Beloved, it is impossible that this prayer would go unanswered. In John 6:39 Jesus said, And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

In John 6:44 He said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

You need more proof? Listen to Paul in Romans 8:33-34: 33Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Listen to what the author of Hebrews says. Hebrews is all about how we are in a better covenant and how Jesus surpasses all others in greatness. We learn that Jesus is greater than the angels, greater than Moses and greater than Joshua. He is a better high priest.

Why is Jesus a better priest? Hebrews 7:23-25 says this: 23The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, 24but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. 25Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

These are all wonderful promises reminding us that we can look forward to the future with great confidence. That is, we can look to the future with hope. Specifically with the biblical understanding of hope—a sure confidence.

So we praise God for who is, what He has done, and what He will do.

After looking at the exodus and all that God did for His people in the past, I want to call an important truth to your mind: The same God who brought Israel out of Egypt is the God we serve. So let us never forget our connection with the people of God in the O.T. and all throughout history.

That’s why it is important for us to read the O.T. and learn the great stories in the Bible. We must learn to see our place in the great story that God is telling. Each of our lives is a story. But each of our lives is smaller story of the greater story that God has been telling throughout history. One of the ways God reminds us of who He is and who we are is by having us re-tell His stories.

Think about this: In Deuteronomy 6 Moses is giving a speech concerning Israel’s covenant obligations and encouraging the people to be faithful in serving God.

And when he is through telling them all that they are supposed to do, he tells them why. This is what he says:

20 "When your son asks you in time to come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?' 21then you shall say to your son, 'We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.'

Notice how they are to tell their story: We were Pharaoh’s slaves . . . . But listen: not every generation that said, “We,” was actually a slave. However, they used that word to show their solidarity, or unity with God’s people throughout history. In other words, they were saying, “This is our story as a people. This is the God we serve.”

Very frequently God would have Israel rehearse their story as a nation through different festivals like Passover, the Day of Atonement, and Feast of Booths.

So we can read the song of Moses and Miriam and identify with those people.

I mentioned at the beginning of the message today that behind every great song there is a great story. And that is true of the hymn that we are about to sing. The hymn “O God, Our Help in Ages Past,” was written by Isaac Watts. He lived from 1674-1748. He was described as a frail man, who was sick most of his life. Despite his constant battles with sickness, in his lifetime he wrote over 600 hymns, and is known as the father of English hymnody.

He loved the Word of God and he loved music. In his life, with the exception of 12 Psalms, he paraphrased in Christian verse the entire psalter.

We close with this hymn because it captures all that we’ve talked about today. In this one song we hear about the greatness of God, how He has been our hope in ages past, and how He will be our hope for years to come.

Let’s sing this song with all our heart.