Celebration and Certainty

time this evening to the passage we read in exodus exodus chapter 15 and we're looking at

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

these verses 1 to 21 and not looking at every detail but some of the main strands of teaching

in it if we take verse 11 to be equivalent to an unopened parcel who is like you oh lord among the

gods who is like you majestic in holiness awesome and glorious deeds doing wonders we can then see

the verses around that beginning from the beginning of the chapter through to where we finished as the

unpacking of that parcel contents if you like of what's stated in verse 11 the wonder of god majestic

in his holiness as he was seen in the various details that are described there throughout the

chapter the awesomeness of god in glorious deeds especially as he gave the people of israel to be

released from egypt to be redeemed from egypt and to come to the promised land ultimately as he would

take them into so there's the unpacking if you like of that parcel in verse 11 the rest of it there

just lies around it arranged in such a way that you can see content to some degree of what verse 11

actually contains and there are two things anyway in summary of that that we can look at with a number

of points under each of these first of all there's a celebration in looking back this is a song of moses

and the people of israel at this juncture so they're celebrating as they're looking back they're

celebrating their release their deliverance they're celebrating god's magnificent victory over their

enemies it's a celebration as they look back but also from verse 13 especially it's a certainty as they

look ahead there is a certainty in the language there's a certainty as they reflect on the past that

feeds into the future as it will unfold before them and there's a confidence in what they say in this

song to the lord that because god has done such great things in the redemption from egypt he will go on

providing for them until they are settled in the land that he has promised them so these are the two

main points that i want to just lay before you first of all a celebration in looking back and then

there's certainly a certainty in looking ahead and we can relate these to our own experience as christians

in the world and as we look back over what god has done as we've experienced god's deliverance from sin

deliverance from our own lost condition so that gives us encouragement to look forward to know that god

and be certain that god having done what he's done in our past is actually going to complete in our future

what he has promised to do for us now there's a principle here that's somewhat difficult to deal

with and that's the principle of actually singing this song at such a juncture and over such a specific

issue how could it be that the people of israel founded right in their hearts to sing this song

which contains so much emphasis about the destruction of their enemies the egyptians how could they actually

have over such a solemn thing as the destruction of the egyptians or the egyptian forces in the red sea

how could they then move immediately to sing such a song or to sing at all in the light of that solemn event

of destruction well you find some other parts of the bible where very similar things take place let me just

take your minds forward in the bible to the last book of the bible and you'll find revelation chapter 15

Revelation 15 · chapter mention

and verse 3 they sang there when they saw this great sign in heaven

where the for whom the wrath of god is finished this is the land the lord who had conquered the beast

and his image and the number of its name standing beside the sea of glass and he sang the song of

moses the servant of god and the song of the lamb saying great and amazing are your deeds o lord god

almighty just and true are your ways o king of the nations who will not fear o lord and glorify your name

for you alone are holy all nations will come and worship you for your righteous acts have been

revealed and then even further forward even more remarkable in chapter 19 of revelation from the

beginning of the chapter this is uh following on from the overthrow of babylon the great enemy

represented by babylon by the word and uh the the history of of babylon as as the main enemy of the

people of god through the old testament well babylon is overthrown and uh she's thrown into the sea it's a

picture of utter destruction of god's enemies but then you find this um where after this i heard what

seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying hallelujah salvation and glory and

power belong to our god for his judgments are true and just for he has judged the great prostitute

to corrupt the earth with her immorality and has avenged on her the blood of his servants once more

they cried out hallelujah the smoke from her goes up forever and ever now that's talking about eternal

destruction a most solemn thing to think about and yet it's there as something that's celebrated in song

just as here in this chapter in exodus the overthrow of the egyptians is celebrated in song well how can

that be well some theologians refer to this as intrusion ethics or intrusion teaching when what they mean by

that is that the final state after the judgment after god's people have been settled with them forever

in eternity then the minds of god's redeemed people will perfectly reflect the mind of god himself

and where god finds it just and proper and fitting to deal with his enemies and their enemies in the way

he will then because the minds of his people are very much in tune with perfectly in tune with his will

with his purpose with his act of destruction in regard to the wicked they themselves follow in the same way

or similar way in which you find here in exodus 15 and in the book of revelation to sing praise to the lord

for the way that he has manifested his power towards them in their deliverance carrying with it the destruction

of their enemies of their enemies as well the ultimate purpose of our redemption is praise to god

the ultimate purpose of our redemption is praise to god and every aspect of our experiencing of redemption

should reflect the praise of god what we do and what we say and how we sing

and in this chapter that's what we find this this principle of celebrating of singing the praises of god

who in his wisdom and power and majesty and holiness and might has dealt with his enemies and set his people free

and that's going to be your experience and my experience fully and perfectly in the state of glory

we can't get it into our minds it seems inappropriate in our present state of thinking

it seems inappropriate because we are commanded to pray for our enemies to love those who despise us

and that is not in any way shifted from the emphasis jesus gives to it by anything that's projected

from what the future will be into consideration of it in the present

it's still the case though that this is how the final order will be

this when we are our minds are made perfect

and in tune with the mind of god

then what you find here will be brought to its own perfection and the celebrations

of heaven itself

and the god who is praised

and the god who is praised as described in various ways down through

the chapter verse 11 here

who is like you oh lord among the gods

who is like you majestic

in holiness now all the elements that god has revealed all the attributes all the ways in which

has revealed himself in delivering israel from egypt and all the way through from there into the present day

everything that god does is marked by holiness whether it's in the deliverance of his people

his love for his people his overthrow of their enemies

every aspect of his work is like his being glorious in holiness

is not just a holy god

is not just the holy god

he is the most magnificent holy god

magnificent in his holiness

splendid in his holiness

and that's why we always need to keep before our minds

that the god we worship is splendid as it says he is majestic

in holiness

perhaps one of the reasons

why things are sometimes with ourselves

personally speaking

as they are in our relationship with god

our relationship with the world

our view of the world

and all those things that are

that are involved in that

that we don't appreciate as we should

the majesty of god

and his holiness

the majestic holiness of god

and the way in which god in his majestic holiness

makes it clear to us in that itself

how worthy he is to be worshipped

how worthy he is to be served

how worthy he is to be praised

how worthy he is of everything that comes his way

from his redeemed church

tonight as we gather here in this meeting for prayer

for study of the bible

for the praise of god

this is what is before us

we are here to worship the majestic god

the god majestic in his holiness

we are here not to cringe before him

but we are here to fall before him

in love

and what the bible calls the fear of god

fear of god

being a respect and an awe

of the majestic holiness of god

or the majestic god

in his holiness

yes

but secondly you have

an emphasis here

in celebration of looking back

not just

the majestic holiness of god

but also the power of god

there it is in verse 11

awesome

in glorious deeds or actions

doing wonders

go back to verse 3

the lord is a man of war

the lord is his name

of course you've got to bear

in context

in mind the context for this

some of those who would

criticize us for believing the bible

and who would suggest that perhaps

a christian religion is responsible

for much of the damage that's in the world

would point to verses like that

and say

the lord is a man of war

isn't your god

one who delights in killing people

one who delights in doing things

which really cause pain and distress to people

well i hope we know how to answer that

first of all the context here

the lord is facing

those who are willingly

and uh

not just willingly

but violently

his enemies

and the enemies of his people

what is god going to do

well you might say god

could have converted all of us

really he could

but that's not his purpose

and you fall into line with his purpose

whatever that purpose

may be

and however difficult it may be

for us to follow it

he is god

he knows what's right

he knows

what he's doing at all times

and you notice here

the right hand of god is mentioned

you stretched out your right hand

the earth swallowed them

now

um

apparently it was the case that

representations of pagan idols

very often had

in the right hand

a symbol of their power

whether it be a sword

or a crown

or something like that

they were represented by

the images of them

as having this capacity

this power

this ability

this overriding

power and influence

over those who came to worship them

and over those

uh

that they were represented

to to protect

wrongly of course

but here is god

and here is the song of

of triumph to god

you stretched out

your right hand

their right hand

whatever they had

on their right hand

was pretty useless

when it came

to the matter of

facing you oh lord

because you stretched out

your right hand

the right hand of your might

and there's also

uh

an emphasis here

to to floods

um

the earth swallowed them

but uh

all the way through

you've got

emphasis on

on on floods

uh

here through the red sea

of course being

itself

uh

a volume of water

look back to verse 5

uh

the floods covered them

they went down into the depth

like a stone

now this is

a really interesting thing

for you yourselves

to to pursue through

i'm just going to

lay it out

you can follow this out

yourselves

especially if you've got

a concordance

just look up the word

floods

and look at the number

of times that the word

floods is used

in a similar way to this

because floods

especially in the old

testament

represent

the powers of enmity

against god

the powers of

those who

gather together

against the lord's

people

and against god himself

and who gather in

all the might that

they can muster

in order to try and

prevent the lord

from carrying out

his purpose

and again you find

that same thing

uh

through the bible

but you find it

very frequently

and interestingly

significantly

in the book of psalms

book of psalms

that we

of course use

in our worship

psalm 29

Psalms 29:3

verse 3

the voice of the lord

is over the waters

the glory of god

thunders

the lord

over many waters

the voice of the lord

is powerful

the voice of the lord

is full

of majesty

go to psalm 77

and there again

you find

in psalm 77

a similar emphasis

in verses

16

in verse 16

there you find

when the water

saw you

oh god

when the water

saw you

they were afraid

indeed

the deep

trembled

you'll find for

yourselves

other

i'll read one more

than that

in the book of psalms

there are many more

that you can find out

for yourselves

it's a very useful

interesting exercise

to do that

and to follow out

the teaching there

of the waters

and what they represent

and how the lord

overcame them

on behalf of his people

well psalm 124

one of the

all-time favourite psalms

of the covenanters

in scotland

well i'm sure

know what that

terrible situation

was like

for the covenanters

having to meet

sometimes in secret

of the moors

on the moors

pursued by

red coat soldiers

and so on

this was one of

their favourite psalms

and it's for good reason

you can see

why it was one of

the favourite psalms

if it had not been

the lord

who was on our side

let israel now say

if it had not been

the lord

who was on our side

then when people

rose up against us

then they would have

swallowed us alive

when their anger

was kindled against us

then the flood

would have swept us away

the torrent

would have gone over us

then over us

would have gone

the raging waters

see three references

there to the power

of the waters

the power of the floods

and all the time

there's an emphasis

god has not given us

to that

god has overcome that

god has delivered

his people

and of course

you find the same

in the red sea

this was what stood

in the face

of the people

moving forward

and the lord

showed his might

that these great waters

that were sometimes

used to represent

this body

of enmity

against god

he just

cut it in two

and let his people

pass through

now all of that

follows through

into your experience

as well

as the people

of god

because you can see

it in your own

personal experience

how waters

so very readily

represent

the various

aspects

of the difficulties

and the trials

and the challenges

that face you

in the christian life

and how so often

they seem to be

just ready to

overthrow you

overwhelm you

and come and just

swallow you up

well there's

the emphasis

all the way

through scripture

your trust in the lord

unites you to someone

who stands over the waters

who presides over them

in such a way

that they will not

swallow you up

even though sometimes

they may seem to come

very far up

in your experience

and then of course

he refers to

his love

and his fury

and they're both

together here

interesting in verse 13

you have led

in your steadfast love

the people

whom you have redeemed

you have guided them

by your strength

to your holy abode

and he mentions

the fury of the lord

elsewhere

and the anger

with which god

dealt with his enemies

well verse 13

the steadfast love

of the lord

is his loving kindness

to his people

so often

we come across

this word

in the old testament

but there's one thing

that it carries

with it as well

and it's important

because alongside

of god's steadfast love

for his people

and these words

are important

as a translation

loving kindness

or steadfast love

it really means

the absolute

commitment of god

to his people

and to his own purpose

in them

and through them

and for them

but his own absolute

commitment to that

means

that his enemies

are bound

to be overthrown

the loving kindness

of god for his people

the steadfast love

of god for his people

carries with it

inevitably

the destruction

of all those

who themselves

choose willingly

to stand against him

and against his people

and all of that

is brought before us

by way

of a song

for worship

love is committed

to god's people

and the love

in which he's committed

to his people

also carries with it

the way in which he

engages with his enemies

who steadfastly refuse

to bow to him

you see there in verse 9

the enemy said

i will pursue

i will overtake

i will divide the spoil

my desire shall have

its fill of them

i will draw the sword

my hand shall destroy them

there's a reflection

of the society

in which you and i live

just as these waters

of the red sea

represented us

the floods of waters

that which stood

against god

and his people

so you're finding

that in verse 9

the emphasis there

very much fits in

with the attitude

that faces you today

as a christian

where the world

and where

in many aspects

of political life itself

and many other aspects

of our society

sadly

they will say

i will pursue

i will overtake

i'll follow my own

inclinations

i'll pull through

with this

i will actually

be determined

against what

is represented

as god

and the gospel

and the church

i'll stand against that

i'll overthrow that

i'll deal with that

and sadly

throughout the world

that of course

is the case

you've only got to

look to

ukraine

and see someone

like putin

who is determined

that his own will

will carry

as far as the future

of the ukrainian people

is concerned

well god

may very well

have other ideas

and we hope

that it will turn out

eventually

to be

a defeat

for a dictator

like putin

but there is the

emphasis there

in verse 9

and here is god

saying

here are my people

and they are

celebrating the victory

that i have given them

because here's

their song

over the destruction

of their enemies

here's their celebration

of the majestic holiness

the power

the love

and the fury

of god

this is our god

as we sang

one of the songs

and psalms tonight

this is our god

the god we worship

the god we love

the god we pray to

the god we seek

to show his power again

now there's a certainty

of looking ahead

the time is going

certainty

in looking ahead

from verse 13

there's a certain hope

involved in this

you have led

in your steadfast love

the people

whom you have redeemed

you have guided them

by your strength

to your holy abode

it's as if the people

are there already

in the promised land

the peoples have heard

they tremble

you see that certain hope

how is it that they can be

so sure

about the future

as they reflect

on the past

well because of

arguing this way

i think

they're saying really

god has already

done this for us

so

we are right

in thinking

and believing

that he's going

to continue

to bless us

and to carry us

through

until he has

actually settled us

in the promised land

it's really

an argument

from the most

difficult if you like

though nothing is

difficult with god

but in human terms

an argument

from the greatest

to the least

or an argument

from the most

difficult to the

more easy

the most difficult

being to deliver

the people

from their thralldom

and bondage

in egypt

and to carry

them safely

through

having been

pursued by

the egyptians

that you might

say is the way

the song here

reflects on the

most difficult

aspect of their

deliverance

and what it's

really saying

is when god

has already

done this

we can be

certain

that he will

do the lesser

for us

and carrying

us through

the wilderness

into the

promised land

that's of course

speaking

relatively

because as i

said nothing

is difficult

with god

anything

nothing is

more difficult

than anything

else for him

but you carry

that through

into the new

testament as

well and in

your own

experience

when you can

argue that

well when god

has already

delivered me

from my sin

from the guilt

of my sin

when he's brought

me out from

the darkness

in which i once

lived when he's

done that

when he's shattered

the power of sin

in my own life

that's something

from which i can

argue that god

is bound to be

true to his promise

that he will bring

me safely home

he's already done

the most difficult

if you like

using that language

and he's going

to actually be

be sure to bring

us home

and in fact you

find in the new

testament a very

similar argument

used by paul

in romans

chapter eight

and again it's a

chapter we saw

recently some of

it that's set

out there for the

encouragement and

for the assurance

of god's people

who trust in

christ

verse 32

of romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

you read as

follows

well he's

verse 31

what shall we

say to these

things if god

is for us who

can be against

us he who did

not spare his

own son but

gave him up for

us all how will

he not also with

him graciously give

us all things you

see there's the

same principle

paul is saying

look at this

god has already

done this amazing

thing he did not

spare his own

son but he

delivered him up

for us all

now when he's

done that paul

is saying how

shall he not

with him in

union with him

also freely

graciously give

us all things

there's paul's

argument so that

these christians

in rom are

encouraged by

what he has to

say he's saying

to them look at

what god has

already done

look at the

cross look at

what the cross

is look at the

fact of the

cross not the

liberal theology

version of the

cross but the

new testament

pauline version

of the cross

the lord's own

presentation of

his cross and

of his death

when you see

what that entails

what that has

done what has

been included in

that what that

involved well

how is he going

to not fulfill

what remains of

your own christian

journey to heaven

and entrance to

glory that's why

he's saying here

he has taken

out the people

he has redeemed

them you have

guided them by

your strength to

your holy abode in

other words from

what already has

happened in their

deliverance he's

now saying you've

taken us out

you're now looking

after us and you

will take us home

that's exactly where

you are in your

christian thinking

isn't it tonight

you're saying to

god lord you've

done the great

thing of delivering

me from sin and

from the guilt of

my sin you've

done such a great

thing in the cross

to provide salvation

for me you're

looking after me

now you're

providing for me

every day you've

given me your

holy spirit how

shall you not

also with christ

freely give me

all things your

future is secure

and you can argue

that from the

certainty the

factuality of your

redemption in the

past and of

course he mentions

here cringing

enemies as well

as well as the

certain hope

terror and dread

the chiefs of

edom the peoples

have heard they

tremble the chiefs

of edom are

dismayed trembling

ceases the leaders

of moab all the

inhabitants of

canaan have

melted away terror

and dread fall upon

them because of the

greatness of your

arm they are still

as a stone till

your people oh

lord pass by until

the people pass by

whom you have

purchased you will

bring them in and

plant them on your

own mountain

well don't you wish

that that was more

the case in our

own experience in

the day in which we

live that the

reputation of god

not just of his

church the reputation

of god and

delivering his

people the power

and the might and

the presence of

god as was

mentioned in both

prayers tonight

that is something

we would pray and

earnestly plead for

more of in our

experience in the

church and along

with the gospel

today friends we

stand and instead

of the church

actually causing

by the power of

god in our midst

to cause his

enemies to cringe

and to fall into a

state of dread

what we're finding

sadly all too often

is that it's the

church that's

cringing against

the power of

the world

why is that

what's the reason

for that well

whatever the cause

of it is is

because we lack

the immense power

of god shown

through the gospel

that we would

like to see

we pray for that

we pray that the

days will come

when these people

in the streets

around us who

presently stand

against god and

stand against his

gospel that they

would actually come

to think and

hear of god at

work in his

people and that

what they hear of

god at work in

his people would

actually cause them

to reflect on

their own situation

on issues of

eternity well you

know there's it's a

very solemn thing

that it doesn't

really appear that

throughout our own

locality and

throughout the

nation that the

covid pandemic

has really had

much effect on

people's thinking

of eternity

and that's a very

solemn thing

that god in his

purpose should have

brought such

devastation

through this

pandemic

and yet people

have not really

given consideration

to god himself

through it all

well that

demonstrates for us

that not even

the most grievous

providence by

itself can change

people's hearts

for that we need

the power of god

the presence of god

the blessing of god

of his gospel

to his people first

of all to you

and to me

to make ourselves

come more alive

to bring his power

to bear upon our

own thoughts and

upon our own

actions and upon

our own daily

doings

and from there

to spread out

into the community

around us

not that we

should wait

until we feel

or know

or expect

and experience

that god is now

in our midst

to a great extent

beyond what we

have presently

before we start

doing outreach

and trying to

bring the gospel

out into a

community

I'm not saying

that at all

what I'm saying

is that we have

to be doing

that

but at the same

time recognize

that it's the lord

and his presence

and his power

that alone

can change

the hearts

of people

and that can

alone bring

that that sense

of eternity

that sense of

what the what

this passage

calls this sense

of terror and

dread that falls

upon these those

who stand against

the lord and

tremble in the

presence of god

that's what we

have seen in the

past

when god came

in reviving

power

when god came

and blessed

his word

and empowered

his people

and quickened

them

that was part

of the effect

of it

it registered

in the community

it registered

in people's

minds

people actually

said there's

something going

on here

it's unusual

what is it

what's happening

in our town

what's happening

in our village

what's happening

in our streets

well what was

happening was

that god was

at work

that god was

busy changing

people's lives

for the good

there is where

we really need

to bring this

passage into

our own personal

experience and

prayer

that the arrogant

defiance against

god that we

find sadly

marking so much

of our society

would actually

come to be

dispelled

by the working

of the holy

spirit

and to that

end

that we would

pray

and work

and work

and pray

till the lord

establishes his

people

and makes us

cause a praise

in our midst

may bless these

thoughts

on his word

lord of god

we thank you

that in your word

you bring us

so many things

that both

challenge and

encourage us

to live the

lives that we

ought to live

before you

we thank you

for the relevance

of all of

these issues

from so long

ago

relevance that

they have for

our own day

we pray lord

that you would

bless us to us

as a congregation

your own truth

amongst us

bless the gospel

so that we may

come more and

more to be

brought vibrantly

into your service

and forgive us

we pray lord

for our lack

of zeal

forgive us

for when we

ourselves fall

short of what

we should be

yet we give

thanks lord

for all that

you enable us

to do

and we give

thanks for

those especially

who so give

of their time

and of their

talents to the

work of the

gospel in our

midst as a

people

may that

continue lord

to be blessed

blessed by you

and continue

now to bless

us and watch

over us

hear our prayer

accept our

worship and

cleanse us

from all our

sins

for jesus

sake

amen

well final

singing this

evening is

psalm 71