Last week, we began looking at the song of Moses in Exodus 15, so I would encourage you to be turning there. What we find is Israel standing on the banks of the Red Sea, praising God, giving instantaneous and spontaneous praise to God for what he had had done. He had literally parted the waters of the Red Sea so that Israel could cross. And then they watched as those same waves crashed down on the Egyptians. And in a word, what Israel was celebrating was their salvation, their deliverance. And so as they sing, they sing this praise to God, it's called the Song of Moses. But it's not just Moses, it's also Moses and Israel singing this. And so, again, we began looking at this last week, but I want us to go back and read verses 1 through 21 as we study the second half this morning. And again, just try to picture singing this immediately after your salvation. Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang the song to the Lord and said, I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise Him. My Father's God, and I will extol Him. The Lord is a warrior. The Lord is His name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea. And the choices of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deeps cover them. They went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. And in the greatness of your excellence, you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You have sent forth your burning anger and it consumes them as chaff. And at the blast of your nostrils, the waters were piled up. The flowing waters stood up like a heap. The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue. I will overtake. I will divide the spoil. My desire shall be gratified against them. I will draw out my sword. My hand shall destroy them. You did blow with your wind. The sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like you among the gods, O Lord? Who is like you? Majestic in holiness. Awesome in praises. Working wonders. You stretched out your right hand. The earth swallowed them. In your loving kindness, you have led the people whom you have redeemed. In your strength, you have guided them to your holy habitation. The peoples have heard. They tremble. Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. The leaders of Moab, trembling, grips them. All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them. By the greatness of your arm, they are motionless as stone. Until your people pass over, O Lord, until the people pass over whom you have purchased, you will bring them and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance. The place, O Lord, which you have made for your dwelling. The sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. For the horses of Pharaoh, with his chariots and his horsemen, went into the sea. And the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them. But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took the timbrel in her hand. And all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dancing. And Miriam answered them, Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and his rider he has hurled into the sea. Last week, I introduced the first half of this by looking at two of the attributes that I think best describe the first 11 verses, and so I want us to go back in and review that to get some momentum as we head into the second half. And the first is that God's power is praised in verses one through six. Moses and Israel saying the Lord is my strength. They're not singing Moses is my strength. They're ascribing praise to God, the Lord, the Lord with all caps, Yahweh. God is our refuge. He is our strength. He is someone that I can I can count on. Second, they describe God as a warrior in verse three, someone who will be fighting for the nation. God would show his power by by defeating their enemies. And we've already seen that the Egyptians have have definitely fallen to that. This helps us to see God's supremacy in his his sovereignty over the nations. Verse four describes God's power as he's just casting the Egyptians into the sea with very little effort. It seems as if God is just overthrowing the mighty Egyptian army. And this was the mightiest. These were the most elite of the Egyptian army. And in verse 11, the question is asked twice, who is like you? Who is like you? God is so different from the other gods. He is majestic in power. He shatters the enemy. Nothing can thwart his hand. And so the song does describe God's power, but it also describes his distinctness in verses seven through 11. And when I say distinctness, I'm simply referring to the fact that God is unlike any other God. And there's nothing or no one to whom we can point and say that's exactly like God. You know, even humanity, we're told in Genesis that were made in the image of God. And yet, so how poorly do we reflect who God really is? You know, theologians say that God's attributes are broken down into two categories, those which we can share with God and those that we can't share with God. For example, we're like God and that we have access to knowledge, we know a lot of things, don't we? But not when we compare ourselves to God, he knows everything and compared to everything, even what we know combined all in this room seems like a grain of sand compared to everything. And we think of patience, we are patient sometimes. But the Bible says God is patient, he is perfectly patient. How about love? Yes, we can love, but our love is not a perfect love. It's not a holy love. And then there's plenty of ways in which God is so unlike mankind. For example, he is independent. He can truly exist without anyone else. We can't. He is eternal. There's been a time when we begin. There has never been a time when God has not been. God is omnipresent. He can be everywhere at the same time in His full essence in being. Not us. And so as we think about this, and again with verse 11, just driving our thoughts, who is like you? Who is like you? We are forced to admit no one. No one is like you, God. There's no other God who is so distinct in nature. Egyptians are called chaff. Moses praises God for his burning anger in verse seven, again, these are things that we could not describe of ourselves, our anger is not always righteous. God is seen to stand the waters up like walls on the right and left. He does that, this song says, through just the breath of his nostrils. I mean, we could huff and we could puff and we could do everything we could do, but we can't make water stand up. But God just, in the words of this song, he just blasts with his nostrils and the mighty east wind literally separated the north from the south. And so, again, Moses praises God by saying, you're different. You're so radically different from the other gods. And so we serve a mighty God. And this song praises God for His power and praises God for His distinctness. But what I want us to look at this morning is praise God for His faithfulness. And so I want us to frame our thoughts. I want us to think about this great theme of God's faithfulness in verses 12 through 18. Verse 12 says, You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. We've already seen a reference to God's right hand in verse six, where it was described. As being majestic in power and it shatters the enemy. In the right hand is the hand of blessing is the hand of power, it's the right side where the sheep will be, the left will be the goats. And to God's mighty hand and again, God doesn't have hands, he's spirit, but it's a way of poetically describing God's power. And the result is that the earth swallowed them. And this word for swallow should be familiar with us. It's the same word that was used of Aaron's staff swallowing the other snakes. And so again, it highlights the supremacy of God and it hinges those thoughts of God's power and supremacy. In verse 13, in your loving kindness, you have led the people whom you have redeemed I mean, what a precious thought that is that God in his loving kindness leads his people. Imagine if God were to redeem you and then say you're on your own. What if God were just to throw a Bible at you and say, OK, figure it out yourself. We would be in a mess. But God has promised even to Israel and to the church, God has promised to lead his people. And this word for loving kindness is a rich word. About 75 percent of the time it's used loving kindness, but there's also different English translations. Some of your versions may have loyalty or kindness, mercy or faithfulness. And it's actually the Hebrew word has said, which literally means a covenant faithfulness. This goes back to the fact that the Lord all caps is a covenant keeping God. When God makes a promise, he keeps it. And so when I see this word loving kindness and I see this Hebrew word, I define it as God's covenant faithfulness. Aren't we in the new covenant, according to Jeremiah and Ezekiel? If you're in Christ, you are in a covenant faithfulness to God. So we remind ourselves that Israel didn't deserve this. They weren't somehow just so lovely that God couldn't pass them up. Now, this scripture that says actually they were the smallest. They were the in some ways the last people that God could have picked. But God selected them for his own glory and he chose them merely to place his love upon them. And so here in verse 13, we can read it. In your covenant's kindness, in your covenant's faithfulness, you have led the people whom you've redeemed. Because we know very quickly, as a matter of fact, even next week, we're going to go from the heights of the song and praise and adoration to where? To complaining. So quickly. They're going to complain about water. They're going to complain about the food. They're even going to complain about the manna that God gives. And so Israel wasn't always faithful. In church, neither are we. We are so prone to complain and we're so prone to being not what God wants us to be, and yet it all goes back to God's faithfulness. He is so kind to his people. And so they praise God that in his faithfulness, he has led the people. And we are reminded of that pillar, aren't we? The pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night. God did redeem his people, but it didn't stop there. He continues to show his faithfulness. And those familiar verses from Lamentations 3, the Lord's loving kindnesses. There's that word again. Indeed, never cease for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. So every morning when you wake up, you can remind yourself, God, you're faithful. It's new mercies every day. And it's because of your faithfulness that you continue to extend grace and favor and patience and kindness to your people. But, you know, I think about my own my own life. And perhaps you can identify with me that when we face trials, what's one of the first things in our theology that goes out the window? Our trust in the faithfulness of God. We somehow think that He has deserted us. We somehow think that He has left us. And it's like there's an eclipse that comes between us and God. And so verses like this should remind us that even in trials, God's mercy and His faithfulness They're new every morning. And the first 13 not only praises God for his faithfulness, but it also says that in your strength you have guided them to your holy habitation. This is shepherding language. Israel is seen as a bunch of sheep. And they're being led by the shepherd. Psalm 78, 52 says, but he led forth his own people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock. Psalm 23, one of the most familiar songs, says the Lord is my shepherd. Even the New Testament, Jesus identifies himself as the good shepherd who lays on his life for the sheep. Well, what is this holy dwelling? Verse 13, what is this reference that God will guide them to? Well, it's pretty vague, it could refer to Sinai, we know that Israel is marching toward the Mount Sinai where they will receive the law. It might even extend further than that to the promised land. It could refer to the temple again, it's just so broad it could encompass any one of these. Dwelling actually refers to a place of rest was used a pasture land for cattle. And again, it reminds us that Israel is just a bunch of sheep following the shepherd and God is leading them as a shepherd does. And if you look at verses 14 to 16, it's these verses have been misunderstood by some because Moses speaks of the past tense. He speaks of these nations responding and reacting in a certain way, but he uses the past tense. And the problem is Israel at this point has not faced those enemies. So how can Moses write saying we have done this or God has done this when they haven't even taken place? Well, first of all, we need to understand that Moses penned the Torah many years after the events. And so in his mind, he could be thinking these are past tense because the reality they were. But I think there's another sense in which the past tense is almost like a guarantee. As they're writing this song and they're singing a song, it's as if the victories have already taken place in their lives. You know, I think the apostle Paul did that in Romans eight. where he says those whom he predestined past tense these he also called past tense and whom he called these he also justified past tense and whom he justified these he also what glorified past tense. I'm not glorified yet. Are you? But Paul would say it's as good as done. What God starts, he will finish. So those of you who are predestined will be called. There will be that drawing from God, from you to God. And it doesn't stop there, there's this justification, we're being declared righteous. And Paul actually assures us that those who are justified will be glorified. What a promise. It's a guarantee that while we struggle with sin and while we struggle with so many things, there's a promise of glorification awaiting us. And so I believe that's what this song portrays, that even marching forward, they already know that God is, again, a warrior and he's going to fight the battles. But notice how these these enemies respond to Israel. Verse 14, the peoples have heard they tremble. Anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. And many times in the Old Testament, when we're talking about non-Jews, they're just called peoples. It's like us. We're just peoples. We're not the people. That's Israel. We're peoples, plural. And so again, he describes all these unbelieving nations, these pagan nations who will be known as enemies of Israel. And we're told that they tremble, verse 14. This is a word that means an internal quaking. It's almost like an internal earthquake, a shaking, an agitation of spirit. And if that's not enough, verse 14 says anguish has gripped the inhabitants of Philistia. This is the same word used and I think six different Bible texts of the spasms of pain accompanying childbirth. You think about this. Think of these nations and as they are encountering Israel, how are they responding? They are shaking. They are panic. And it's like pain has literally gripped them. Why? Because they've heard what God has done to the Egyptians. They've heard how God had routed the Egyptians at the Red Sea, and they're thinking, if this is a mighty Egyptian army, who are we? Who are we to stand in their way? God could do that to us or worse. And so there's no arrogance. There's no pompous attitude here. It's as if they're struck with fear. In verse 15, the chiefs of Edom were dismayed. The leaders of Moab trembling grips them. All the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. There's an interesting order here. Edom, Moab, Canaan. This is the same order by which Israel will face these enemies. And again, Moses, writing the fact afterwards, gives kind of a geographical sequence. They will face Edom, then it will face Moab, and they will face Canaan. Philistia, obviously, are the Philistines. A mighty, warring country that was an enemy of Israel for years. Samson struggled with the Philistines, and we know the most common, the most well-known Philistine was who? Goliath. And so we know that not near term, but in the future, Israel would face this mighty nation. Second of all, Edom, these are the descendants of Esau. We know this by our study from Genesis, Jacob's twin brother. And the reason they went to war was because the Edomites refused to allow their their kin to cross their land. They said, go around, don't take this shortcut. And that certainly didn't sit well with the Israelites. So they warred for many years. Moab are the descendants of Lot. Again, that takes us back to Genesis was a relative of Abraham. And then we're told the inhabitants of Canaan, and sometimes this is a summary of all the people groups, other times it's a specific group of Canaanites who are living in the land of Canaan. But I want you to hold your finger here and turn to the book of Joshua. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, sixth book of the Bible. I want you to turn to Joshua, chapter two. Well, again, it's one thing for us to sit here and think. About what they are saying, it's another thing to see this truth lived out. Joshua, two beginning in verse eight, Now before they lay down, she, Rahab, came up to them on the roof and said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land and that the terror of you has fallen on us and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. Now what we see is Rahab saying, we have heard what you've done. Again, this is the reason for this anguish and this panic. And then look at chapter nine of Joshua. Just one more reference. Joshua nine, verse nine. These are the Gibeonites, and they are talking to the sons of Israel. And it said your servants have come from a very far country because of the fame of the Lord your God, for we have heard the report of him and all that he did in Egypt and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, the Sihon, king of Heshbon and Og, king of Bashan, who are at Ashtaroth. So again, in those two references, What do we see? We see pagan nations. God has made no covenant with them. And what have they done? They have heard of what God has done. It's like concentric circles. The news continues to spread outward more and more and more. As you look back at Exodus. Fifteen, verse 15, we're told that the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. What graphic, what poetical language to describe the result of a panic that their hearts have just melted away. They have no strength to stand up to Israel. And verse 16 just continues this terror and dread fall upon them by the greatness of your arm. They are motionless as stone. Until your people pass over, O Lord, until the people pass over whom you purchased. I mean, there would certainly be this terror and this dread that would come upon nations. Until. God decides to let his people pass through those countries. Verse 17, you will bring them. and will plant them in the mountain of your inheritance. The place, O Lord, which you have made for your dwelling. The sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established." And again, just think of this rich, poetical language. You will bring them and plant them. And Israel is called a vine throughout the Old Testament. God is not just going to put a temporary tent peg in the ground. God is going to plant His people in Israel. And so, again, that's future tense. But God is promising His people that they're not going to have a temporary home. They're going to have a permanent home. And God will see to it because of His faithfulness. And then verse 18, the song of Moses ends. It ends the same way it began with a praise to God. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. The Lord is viewed as a king. He is viewed as having a reign that lasts for all eternity, forever and ever. In other words, his reign has no end. His reign is eternal. And so what we've seen in these 18 verses is a poetical response to a great act and a great event by which God redeems his people. And they respond with praise, they respond with worship, thanksgiving and gratitude. And then we have these three verses at the end, 19 through 21. Which are not part of the song of Moses. But they certainly tie in with this song, so let's look at those. Verse 19 is a summary of what took place. It says the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea. And the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them. But the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea. Obviously, this is a chronological order. I mean, we can just look at it and see that it's in thematic order. It's building up to an apex. First of all, we read that the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea. And this was their pride. This was their their self-centeredness. They thought they could capture the Israelites. And so they followed Israel into the to the banks, into the walls of the Red Sea. But very soon after, God brought the walls down, God destroyed the mighty Egyptian army. Second, we're told the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them. And then third, the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea. So it's really in reverse order. And again, that's for emphasis, the emphasis, the point that Moses wants to make is that Israel walked on trial and. And we can read that and we can shake our head. But it's so easy for us just to pass over that this was a miracle. God performed a miracle for his nation, for his people. What was humanly impossible was possible with God. When they had no way out, God created a way out. They were literally backed up between the Egyptian army and water. And yet God obviously did something amazing for his people. Verse 20 describes Miriam, and she's given two descriptions, the prophetess and Aaron's sister. Her name only appears two times in the entire book of Exodus, and both times are here, verses 20 and 21. First of all, she's given the title the prophetess. That's the female description of a prophet. There are other women who are given that term, Deborah. Huldah, Noah Diah, Isaiah's wife was a prophetess, Anna in the New Testament, the daughters of Philip in Acts 21, and then Jezebel in Revelation chapter 2. So we ask ourselves, what is a prophetess? How was Miriam a prophetess? And what we read in Numbers 12 helps us listen to these words. Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Kushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Kushite woman. And they said, has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us as well? And the Lord heard it. Again, we're not told those words what Miriam spoke. We're not told in Scripture what she said or what even Aaron said that God had spoken through them. But Miriam claimed to have spoken from God, and that obviously is what a prophet or a prophetess does. Second of all, she's described as Aaron's sister. Isn't that strange? Why not Moses sister? Because Aaron was the older and in those days it was typical to associate yourself with with the older. Aaron's the older brother, three years older, according to Exodus 7. And again, we need to realize we're dealing with. People who were who were aged. I mean, Miriam was probably in her 80s or early 90s by this time. We know that Moses life was described in three different 40s. Right. And so he himself and Aaron are are well over 80 by this point. And Miriam was the oldest sister. She was the one who helped Moses way back in the beginning when he was thrown into the water. We come back to this prophetess and we never see her or any of these other prophetess having an ongoing ministry of prophecy. And I think verse 21 actually helps us to see how Miriam was a prophetess in the sense of she led the women. Verse 21, Miriam answered them. Who's them? Well, it's the children of Israel who's just sang this song. And so she says, sing to the Lord. For he is highly exalted, the horse and his rider, he is hurled into the sea. He has a lot of reputation from this verse with verse one of Exodus 15, I will sing to the Lord for he's highly exalted, the horse and its rider, he is hurled into the sea. And so we don't know what type of response or leadership, this was it could be just that she was leading the women and some type of antipodal singing as as the men would sing a chorus, perhaps the women would echo again. We were just not given enough information to know all the details. But we do know that her leadership here was with the women because we see them with the the timbrels, they're dancing, obviously, in response to what God has done. And so, again, as we zoom out, what do we see in this song? We see that God is worthy of our praise. God is worthy of our singing and our worship. You know, I mentioned last week what a great event and the right response of Israel was to sing a song, was to ascribe praise to God. And I wonder in my own life, how many times have there been victories that God has brought? that I've not even said thank you for. How many times has God done something, perhaps even answered a prayer, and I haven't even said thank you, let alone sing and praise Him and worship Him. So I guess one of the things I'd like to encourage you with, and I've tried to encourage myself, is when God does something, whether it's small or big, praise Him. Praise Him in the little things. Praise Him in the big things. Not just the crossing of the Red Sea. But an answer in prayer, just whatever God does, make sure that we're quick to praise Him. You know, this song not only looks back at what God had done, it does look forward. It looks forward with future victory, with future hope, confidence in what God would do in years ahead. I've tried to look at this through God's power and God's distinctness and God's faithfulness. Those are that's my outline. That's not something inspired, obviously. But what we're going to see as we march on with Israel is we're going to see these themes emerge again, God's power. We're going to see God's distinctness on the mountain and we're going to see God's faithfulness to his people as he leads them both to Sinai and beyond. And what God was doing was literally preparing a place for his people. And isn't that what we're told in the New Testament? John 14, he encourages his disciples and he said, I go To prepare a place for you. You know, Israel didn't know exactly where they were going, they were just following. We know a lot more about where we're going, but you know what? We're just like Israel and we're following our shepherd. God is leading us, he's directing our steps. And his words in John 14, I think bear repeating, let not your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me and my father's house or many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself that where I am there, you may be also and you know the way where I'm going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going. How do we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father, but through me. There's no other way for you and I to have a personal relationship with Christ outside of Christ. There's just no other way. Jesus says, I am the way Thomas says, we don't know where you're going, how can we know the way? Jesus says, I am the way. Follow me. Trust in me. So obviously, in order to have a relationship with Christ, you must understand your sinfulness. We see Israel's sinfulness, but do we see our own? Do we see how often we're prone to complain? How often we're prone to disbelieve God? We must understand that our only hope is found in Jesus. He is the only Savior, because there is no other God like Him, as we sing in the song. And there comes that personal element where we have to trust. We have to trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The song of Moses is filled with this language. He is my God. He is my strength. He is my song. He is my salvation. And so my final question for you is, can you sing that? Can you sing to God and say, God, You are my Savior. You are my song. Or is it just an arm's reach? God is a Savior. God is a Lord. There's a radical difference between that and saying Jesus is my Lord. He's my Savior. He has redeemed me. So I pray that you are in Christ. I pray that you know Him. I pray that He knows you. But don't be deceived. You know, in the book of Matthew, as we have been saying the last few weeks, there are going to be many on the Day of Judgment who say, Lord, Lord. And they're going to describe all kind of religious activities. Did we not cast out demons? Did we not prophesy? I'm sure there's some people who say, did I not teach? Was I not a member? Did I not give money? Dear friend, none of that matters outside of a relationship with Christ. Place your complete trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't want your works. He wants your trust. Trust in Him. Let's pray. Father, again, we count it a joy to know You. We count it a joy, Lord, to be known by You. To be able to have Your precious Bible. To be instructed by it. To be surrounded by creation which just screams out Your glory. But, Father, we see even more in Your Word of who You are. We see Your character. Your nature and we have seen your power. And we have seen your distinctness and your faithfulness this morning to your people, Israel. But father, we see those same things in our lives. We see that in this church. We've seen how you demonstrated your power. How you've demonstrated your faithfulness and how you've been. Very distinct. God, you've shown that you're not like us and we praise you, God, because we don't want to worship someone who's exactly like us. Thank you that there is no one like you. Thank you that you're you're perfect. You're holy, you are righteous. Please help us to respond this week when there are victories, when there are answers to prayer that we would be we would be willing to slow down and to express our thanks and to express our worship and not just to keep going. Father, again, I pray that you would examine each of our hearts. Lord, I don't want there to be anyone in this place on Judgment Day who has to be told, depart from me, for I never knew you. Lord, I pray that you would do whatever it takes to bring us to the point of repentance, the point of brokenness, Father, again, we thank you for being an awesome God and for the privilege of worshiping you. We pray these things in Christ's name. Amen.