Gracious Father, as we open your word, we ask that you open our hearts. By your Spirit, give us eyes to see your glory, ears to hear your truth, and hearts to respond with true adoration. As we close out this Christmas season, may this final canticle awaken us to the depth of your love in Christ and the power of his redemption. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. So this morning we didn't have an Old Testament reading at the beginning of our liturgy, but if you see where the sermon text should be, that's where you will find it. We will not escape the goodness of receiving from both the Old and the New Testament this morning. We will read the text that also informs our sermon passage. So please join me in reading these passages printed for us in the bulletin on page five, or opening your Bible to both places, which can be challenging, but I encourage you to do so, so that we can have a better scope of what we're reading this morning. Exodus 15, verses 1 and 13 through 18. Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed. You have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard. They tremble. Pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed. Trembling seizes 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 stone. Till your people, O Lord, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased, you will bring them in and plant them on your mountain, the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The Lord will reign forever and ever. In Revelation 15 verses one through four, Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire, and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God, the 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. Today is our last Sunday in the season often called Christmastide. And I love this concept of extending Christmas by a few more days. Doesn't that sound great? It gives us the opportunity to let the cultural noise, maybe, the busyness and the over-commercialization of Christmas to die down a little. And it offers us, particularly as believers, the opportunity to end the year pondering and savoring the significance of the conception, the incarnation, and the birth of our Savior, and its appropriate impact on the way we think about God and live our lives in His presence. This is what the entire concert, this entire series of the Canticles of Christmas has been. We began with a song of Mary, magnifying the Lord, rejoicing in his mercy and celebrating the fulfillment of his promises, even to the most meek and humble. We continued with Zechariah's prophetic song of praise to God for raising a horn of salvation, bringing light into darkness. Then we heard the angels' song of praise to the glory of God in the highest, proclaiming peace to those on whom God's favor rests. And after Jesus' birth, Simeon sang that he could literally die in peace, for his own eyes have seen the Messiah, a Savior come for all nations. On Christmas Eve, we heard of Anna, who, while she didn't actually sing a song, her long-suffering life, she dedicated to worship with fasting and prayer, which then turned into evangelism and great praise, capturing the glory, the weight of what Christ's birth means for all generations of Christians to come. And what we've heard so far in each of these canticles is first, Praise for the great and amazing deeds of God, His work alone, His monergistic work on our behalf. Second, this praise that is lifted up by a specific people, by chosen, redeemed, sanctified people who are in an active and growing relationship with their Redeemer. They have experienced redemption and they praise their Redeemer. And third, the content of these songs is praise, aimed at this glorious redemption and to the right ordering of relationships between people, between the people and God, and among nations and the cosmos as a whole. And it's praise aimed at a single definitive Redeemer who carries out the mission of ultimate love, joy, peace, and hope, who is the Lamb of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. And this brings us to our last canticle in this concert of praise, one that often escapes the cultural Christmas imagination, but one that ought to shape our Christmastide as believers in Jesus Christ. This is literally the last song in the Bible. It is the closing song. There's no encore, and there's no reason to ask for one, because it's a song that has been in God's heart from eternity past, and it's a song that His saints will continue to sing into forever. So let's dive into this, the song of Moses and of the Lamb. But before that, we need a little bit of context to explain why we are reading Revelation as we close out Christmas. It's a little wild to jump from the Old Testament prophecy fulfillment taking place in a manger in Bethlehem to the incredibly surreal context of Revelation 15. But it's very helpful to remember that Revelation is an apocalyptic book. Maybe that word doesn't help at all because it makes us think of end of world times and this dystopian future or scenarios. But what I mean by apocalyptic, it's that it belongs to a genre of literature that is characterized by presenting moral and spiritual realities in very highly symbolic imagery with a clear purpose of delivering hope. So is it reality? Yes. Absolutely. Now, should it be taken literally? Probably not. And another misconception that we need to clarify is that everything about the book of Revelation is solely end of days and future oriented. But a better, comprehensively biblical approach to this book is understanding it as a picture book, describing the time between Jesus' first advent and his second death. And it does so in several cycles and layers that we can't get into today. But to get an idea, chapter 15, this song and this imagery takes place in a scene that began in chapter 12. So if you want to follow along just reading the headers in your Bible, I invite you to do that because that will be incredibly helpful as we talk about these things. But in chapter 12, John begins by describing a woman who is understood to be the true Israel or the church then, giving birth to a child, which is understood to be Jesus Christ. And he is being threatened by a dragon, and this is understood to be Satan. God rescues this child, and the dragon is defeated in heaven. This is all heaven. happening in heaven, and he's thrown down to earth, and he begins wreaking havoc on the woman, which is the church, but he is unable to destroy her. Then we see a beast rising from the sea, another beast rising from the land, both servants of Satan and carrying out his destructive purposes, demanding worship and persecuting those who refuse. And then John raises his eyes to look up at Mount Zion, the place where God's glory is revealed, his holy abode, and he sees the Lamb of God, the once a child, now in glory and power and with an army of 144,000 saints, It's a number that represents a totality. These are all the ones who have been redeemed from Earth, and they have His name and the Father's name written on their foreheads. And you know what they are doing? They're singing. They are singing a song. Not only that, but they're also playing God harps, which sounds like an amazing instrument. I hope we can get a quintet of those for our next Christmas Eve. But it's a thunderous, thunderous noise. And our text this morning is the content of this amazing song. But just before the song, we hear an angelic proclamation of redemption through the gospel, a pronouncement of the fall of Babylon that represents all the opposition to Christ and his church, and finally, a warning of judgment upon all who identify with Satan, the beast, and his marks. Now, after these declarations, there's a reaping and a harvest of people on earth. The first group for gathering and safekeeping, and the second for destruction. This is the final judgment, where in Jesus' second advent, in a much different way than from his first, he will come in a full display of his righteousness, in a full display of his glory, his justice, and his might. A very, very different scene than that of a baby in a manger in a silent night. This is an awful sight in the archaic meaning of the word, a scene that fills us with awe and one to which we either emotionally respond with fear and trembling or with fear but praise. So let's dive into the content of this song of the Lamb and see if it resonates with us as much as our beloved Advent and Christmas carols do. And let's ask the Lord to open our hearts, to respond to this invitation, to join the heavenly throng that celebrates and anticipates the victory of the Lamb. So we read in the Song of the Lamb, that this is great praise given to a worthy God. He is the Almighty God. There's an acknowledgement of who He is in perfect justice and truth. His attributes and characteristics, His wisdom and moral integrity are not just great or fantastic, they are the standard of perfection. the utmost degree of holiness, of other likeness, and there is none who compares to Him. As John Calvin put it, the infinite perfections which reside in God are the cause of all the blessings that we have received from Him, and therefore they deserve our praise and admiration. Now rightfully, the heavenly choir praises God not only for who He is, but also for his great and amazing deeds." And this phrase sums up all of the Godhead's work, from his plodding and decreeing in eternity past to what we will begin digging into starting next week in Genesis, in the beginning God, right? And all the way to the final amen. The God of the Bible is not a clockmaker, as it has been said, or an architect, or a programmer running a simulation and quickly turning and moving on to the next thing. Scripture portrays God as deeply involved with his creation. He is faithfully omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. The Lord created, he knows, and he sustains, Every undiscovered galaxy. Every star, cloud, and raindrop in the sky is purposefully declaring His glory, we read in the Psalms. Every mountaintop view to each individual grain of sand He has carved and put in place. Every flower that blooms and every hair on your head is counted. God's sovereignty and authority over creation is unparalleled. And this should be enough for him to be called the king of the nations, right? With that amount of authority, power, and sovereignty. And this is a title that we read people giving him in the text, right? Through creation, he has indeed established his authority, and he has revealed his glory to all humanity. However, while creation testifies to God's goodness and power, it alone cannot ensure that all nations will come to Him in holy worship, which is what we read at the end of this song. Think for a second here. Has any king or authority or any parent ever escaped mistrust or rebellion on part of those they are responsible for? Of course, we've never known perfect leaders or authorities or parents, but Scripture tells us that there was a time when God himself, as a perfect prophet, priest, and king, He reigned and ministered to Adam and Eve in a perfect world. So what went wrong? The monarch was perfect. Their environment was perfect. What went wrong? Well, God, in his love, he created humanity with a freedom to worship and obey him willingly or to reject his rule. He was not a tyrant demanding coerced allegiance, but rather a benevolent king inviting his image bearers into joyful and perfect communion with him. Now, tragically, Adam and Eve chose to rebel. distrusting God's wisdom and believing the serpent's lie that they could be like God, knowing good and evil on their own terms. This rebellion was not due to any flaw in God's kingship or care, but to the willful sin of humanity. And the consequences were devastating. Every person thereafter, including you and I, now carry a sinful nature, a heart inclined toward rebellion against God and his authority and rule. A heart, as it's been said, that cannot but sin. So if that is a heart of the people, of humanity as a whole, If the Lord would simply come as a reigning monarch and he would be newly proclaimed the king of nations, we would probably seek to crucify him again. Going back to Bethlehem, isn't that what King Herod feared? A new king that caught the attention of the wise men coming from all of the known world? Isn't that why King Herod had every baby in Bethlehem massacred? You see, our problems in the world, Satan, the now fallen and broken world, and our sinful flesh, they're constantly raging against us. And we are helpless against these foes. Left to ourself, we seek control and safety and hope in little kingdoms that we construct and palaces in which we, in Napoleon fashion, crown ourselves as kings, refusing to accept the rule of the truly sovereign king of nations. Friends, what we truly need is not to retreat into the fragile pillow forts that we've built our kingdoms of comfort, our idols of reputation, of wealth, of control, or fleeting pleasures. What we need is not more striving to secure our false thrones, but rather to be rescued from them. We need to be broken free, saved from ourselves. so that we can surrender to the true and better King, the one who alone can redeem us, restore us, and reign over us in truth and love. So, as good as God's great and amazing works of creation are, they're not enough for us to be entirely captivated and struck with awe and adoration, bound in ultimate allegiance to the King of nations. As Jonathan Edwards said, the works of God in creation are great and wonderful, but they pale in comparison to the glorious work of redemption in Jesus Christ, wherein the infinite wisdom, power, and mercy of God shine most brightly. And when we think about redemption in concrete form, there's no greater story to ponder than that of the Exodus. So let's take a look back at the song of Moses to see how God's mighty acts of deliverance for Israel foreshadow his ultimate work of redemption through Christ and how these songs share the common tune of redemption for the sake of worship. So let's look at Exodus. 15, and here it will also be helpful to have your Bibles open there. This is the Song of Moses, and it takes place during the exodus of Israel from slavery in Egypt. If you remember, the people of Israel had arrived in Egypt through Joseph, who, after a remarkable journey from slavery to now prominence, he was able to save his family from famine by bringing them to Egypt. In Egypt, Israel prospered and grew in number to the point where generations later, a pharaoh that did not know Joseph fell threatened by this growing nation, so he decided to enslave them and put them to build store cities and other labor-intensive projects. Then, later, to suppress their numbers and prevent a future revolt, he ordered the killing of all the newborn Israelite boys. Does that sound familiar? Now in the middle of all this, Moses was born. Though he was among the boys condemned to die, God sovereignly protected him. And later, God would call him to be an instrument of deliverance for his people, confronting Pharaoh and leading Israel out of slavery. But Pharaoh wasn't just about to let his labor force go. When Pharaoh refused, God displayed his power and might through 10 plagues upon Egypt, each targeting the gods and the systems of Egypt. And it wasn't until the final one, the death of all of Egypt's firstborns, that Pharaoh relented, and Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt into freedom. In their exodus, God was clearly leading the way in the form of a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. it was unmistakingly Him guiding them. Or so they thought, until they reached the Red Sea, which at that point they learned that Pharaoh had a God-induced change of heart, and he decided to go after them with 600 chariots, with all of his officers and horsemen and his fierce army. The people of Israel, as it would become a pattern in the rest of Exodus, basically throw their arms up in the air and say, I knew it. This was too good to be true, despite the pillar being there, right? We're all going to be slaughtered out here and shamefully, shamefully in the wilderness. We would have been better back in Egypt serving our slave masters. And you can't judge them. Israel's fear of Pharaoh and his army was well-founded. Egypt was the greatest military force of the day, and they had the single objective to capture this defenseless group of people and put them back in shackles. It was an easy task. their enslavement or even their death was certain. Left to themselves with the army behind them, flanked by two mountain ranges and the Red Sea in front of them, they didn't stand a chance. They were doomed. But here's my favorite line in the narrative. Moses replies in 15 verse 13, fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians who you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." Whoa, and we all know what happened next. Moses stretched out his hand, and the Lord drove the sea back, allowing Israel to cross the sea over dry ground. And as soon as everyone reached the other shore, the Lord closed the sea over the entire Egyptian army. Rejemption had occurred. The greatest military power on earth had been defeated, not in battle, but in a single sweeping blow, completely eliminating the threat of slavery, of oppression, or of a shameful, hopeless death. And this mighty act of God, we read, acquired for him a people. They owe their lives to their Redeemer, and they now respond to their redemption in worship to their Redeemer. They declare in verse two, you have become my salvation, saying, who you are, God, and what you do is our salvation. Their redemption was not merely another circumstance in their lives. It fundamentally redefined who they were. Redemption was not a circumstantial event they experienced, but rather the essence of their new identity. Just as slavery is not merely a condition, but an identity deeply rooted in one's bond to an owner or a slave master, so too Israel's redemption is far more than a change of circumstance. It's a transformation of identity. It's separately linked to their Redeemer. It's a transformation that reshapes their very being, marking them and reminding them that they are God's chosen people, forever bound to Him by covenant love and divine deliverance. Their Redeemer has not only freed them from bondage, but has claimed them as his own, giving them a new identity as redeemed, giving them a new destination, which is God's very presence, his holy abode, and giving them a new song. And it's such a memorable and true and powerful song that even Miriam later leads the ladies to sing and dance to it. because it resonates with everyone. And this detail shows us that this song captivates the heart of all humanity. Our deepest longing to be saved, maybe from an enemy that we are not even aware of, that is satisfied, and everyone is invited to sing. However, not everyone does. In this passage, the people of God are a clearly defined group. Despite this mighty act of God being public and nations hearing of them, the text makes references to your people, to the one purchased and claimed by God. And they stand in stark contrast to these people, the other nations who dread and resist the mighty acts of God. This distinction is clear cut and it presents a dividing line between those who experience God's work as salvation and those who experience the same work as judgment. In this context, there are two defining marks that identify those who belong to God and join in the song of praise. First, you remember the 10th plague, the death of the firstborn. The Israelites were instructed to place the blood of the Lamb on their doorposts, and this act of faith marked them as God's elect, spared from death by the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lamb. The second identifying mark is their passage through the Red Sea that serves as a kind of baptism. They were brought safely through the waters of judgment, which would later swallow their enemies, but they emerged on the other side as a free and covenant-bound nation, saved by God's mighty hand. Together, these marks symbolize both their redemption and their renewed identity as God's chosen people called to live for their glory, for his glory. However, this redemption in Exodus didn't fix the heart issue, humanity's inclination to rebellion, right? And the rest of Exodus, the book, would prove that time and time again. And this is a little like Christmas morning. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a Grinch, I'm not against the gifts and the holiday and all that. But think about how our cultural imagination paints the picture. It's daybreak on a snowy morning. The glow of the tree lights are filling the room. There are piles of beautifully wrapped gifts waiting to be opened. You're in your PJs all day, sipping hot cocoa and enjoying breakfast treats. Perhaps this is too good to be true? Now, I've only heard this happening in other homes, none of yours and definitely not mine, but reality tends to set in. Disillusionment creeps as a wrapping paper is torn away and expectations aren't met. Maybe there's envy over who got more or the better gifts. Perhaps selfishness and rivalry between siblings starts to rise and they refuse to share or they argue over who gets the first turn. The day that started with so much anticipation can easily spiral into frustration and disappointment. It's a sobering reminder that even our most joyful celebrations can't escape the brokenness of our hearts and the world around us. And this is why Christmas makes no sense without Easter. Although both are absolutely necessary, of course. Just like Moses' song doesn't make much sense without the Song of the Lamb. Remember that in the Exodus at this point, God hasn't even revealed himself in the law yet. There are no 10 commandments, right, by which we get to know God and his transcendence and holiness, and by which we begin to understand the depth of our sin and our depravity. The chasm or the breach between both hasn't been made plain yet. It hasn't been properly measured. It will take the entire Old Testament to reveal the magnitude of our need for our Redeemer and the greatness of the Redeemer himself. Only then are we prepared to grasp the extraordinary nature of the redemption God provides in His Lamb, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, who redeems us from the triple threat of Satan, the world, and our sinful flesh. And this is how our hearts are made new in Christ. First, by Jesus' nature as God. Then his incarnation, his becoming flesh, to do what Adam could not do, which is obey God perfectly, so that a new nature would be possible for us. Then his sacrificial death, which should have been ours. It serves as a substitutionary atonement for our sin, like the lamb on the doorposts, by which we are covered by his blood and therefore passed over at the time of judgment. Our debt of sin has been settled. We have been redeemed from our bondage and our slavery to sin. And not only that, not only is our account settled back to zero, but His imputation of righteousness, His righteousness is made ours so that we could approach the Father in His holy abode and bring Him the same delight that He enjoys when He gazes on Christ. Isn't that wild? And it is then that he grants us adoption as sons and daughters because of our union to Christ. Then, Jesus' resurrection proves his triumph over sin and eternal death, promising our own resurrection and life in eternal glory. His ascension and session then comes to assure us His eternal and sovereign reign and His intercession on our behalf before the throne of grace. And then He sends us His Spirit for our seal in baptism and His Emmanuel-ness, His God with us, His ever-abiding presence, steering our hearts and drawing us to Himself in worship until He comes again. And this is what the gospel is all about. Redemption, not for the sake of redemption. Redemption for the sake of a changed heart that will be inclined to worship. Those who sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, the 144,000 saints singing their hearts out, they sing because they know the depths from which they've been rescued and the heights to which they've been raised. and this is into the presence of a holy God. Their song is a response to grace, a testimony to the Redeemer, and a public declaration of the glory of the King of Nations, who is worthy of eternal praise, for his righteous acts, we read, have been revealed. If we resonate with this tune, we can quickly realize that We live our lives both in a season of eschatological advent and Christmastime. Eschatological meaning at the end, right, at the end of time. So we live in an advent and a Christmastime both together, a season of waiting and of fulfillment, a season of longing for the full redemption, yet also rejoicing in the redemption that has already occurred. The eschatological Christmastide celebrates the joy of Christ's presence among us now, the Word made flesh, but also dead and resurrected in glory and interceding for His people in heaven, dwelling with His people in His Spirit and pouring His blessing on us. while the eschatological advent reminds us that we still live in the tension of the not yet of Christ's second return. He has come, but we still await his return in glory to judge the living and the dead, to eradicate evil once and for all, and to make all things new, anticipating the ultimate consummation of his reign. In this way, having this in mind, our lives ought to echo the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. We stand on the shore of deliverance, praising God for his mighty acts, while our hearts long and anticipate the day when his victory will be complete and every tear will be wiped away. Until then, we sing with hope, knowing that the one who began this great work will bring it to glorious completion. This song, then, is inviting us today to magnify the Lord and rejoice in his mercy with Mary. To praise God together with Zechariah for lifting Christ as our horn of salvation. To join the angel-clad sky proclaiming the peace of God offered to us in the gospel. to acknowledge with Simeon the revelation of Jesus as Messiah, our Redeemer, and to live lives like Anna, devoted to worship and evangelism, because Jesus is offered to all as a sacrificial lamb who triumphed definitively over sin and death, and for which he will be eternally praised. The realities of this song are a resolute hope. They are a sure thing in our lives. As we engage this song then, we can draw deep wells of hope, abiding peace, unshakable joy, and steadfast love from the truth it proclaims. So will you then join this heavenly chorus? Lord willing, may it be so. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we stand in awe of you, of your holiness and your mercy. Thank you for this beautiful song that reminds us of who you are and what you've done for us in Christ. As we close another year in the calendar, help us to keep singing, not only with our voices, but with our entire lives. Lives that have shed our sinful nature and have put on Christ. Lives that live with eternity in sight, trusting in your victory and waiting with anticipation for the day when all things will be made new. Until then, Lord, keep us faithful, keep us hopeful, and keep drawing us to singing your praise. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.