Exodus 15, I want for us to look at the first 21 verses of the chapter, where we have the song that was sung by Moses and the children of Israel, and then the response, the song that was sung in response by Miriam and all the women. I wonder if you've ever looked back upon your life and you thought to yourself, if only If only I could begin again. If I could have a fresh start. I'm wiser now. Perhaps you would say you're more humble now. Some of the arrogance of youth is gone. And if only you could have a new beginning. There's a temptation to think that a new beginning would be sufficient, and that's all that we need. But the truth is, A new beginning itself is not enough. We considered in chapter 14, the passage of the children of Israel through the Red Sea. In looking at that, we saw the Lord's presence with them. We saw the Lord's purpose in delivering them in this way. And also we considered the Lord's power Not only was the children of Israel brought through the sea, but Egypt were utterly overthrown. It wasn't simply that the children of Israel escaped, but their enemies were defeated. And we're told at the end of chapter 14, that this had a transformative effect upon the people. It says, Israel saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. And the people feared the Lord and believed the Lord and his servant Moses. You see, the Lord's wisdom, not only did he deliver the people, but he gave them to see and to understand his greatness. They recognized his presence and his purpose and his power. And it strengthens this relationship between the Lord and his people. They feared the Lord and they believed the Lord and his servant Moses. And why was it significant that they also feared and believed his servant Moses. It was because Moses was the man that God had raised up to be a savior, to lead and deliver his people. He was the mediator, the one who would stand between God and men. He spoke as a prophet, but also he acted as a priest. And through Moses, the children of Israel would receive the law. And the law would be given to a people who were now free. And so the purpose of the law was not to set them free, but the purpose of the law was to enable them to live free. The Lord had brought them out. They were no longer slaves in Egypt. but the Lord must also bring them in. They weren't yet at their journey's end. They were now out of Egypt, but they were not yet in the land of promise. You see, a new beginning wasn't by itself enough. They needed to be kept. and to be directed, and to be defended, and ultimately, to be brought home. And that's why I say to you, if you think that all you need is a new beginning, a fresh start, and to be able to go yourself this time, then you haven't really understood that much about yourself. Because the truth is, friends, you need more than a new beginning. But you need to be kept, and to be directed, and to be defended, and ultimately to be brought home. If you understand your own heart, and if you understand the world that we live in, then you'll know that you cannot do it in your own strength. But it is necessary that you fear and believe the Lord. And then you follow the one who the Lord has raised up to lead his people. At the time of the Exodus, it was Moses. But the Lord has raised up one who is greater than Moses. Moses was to be a savior, but his life foreshadows that of the ultimate savior who would stand between God and man. and who will lead his people and bring them home. We need a new beginning, but we also need the gracious presence of our God with us at every step of the way. I want for us to consider what we have in this song in chapter 15 from verses one to 21. And the first thing to notice about it is celebration. This is a song of celebration. It's a song of jubilation. It's a song which rejoices in what God has done. And if you read this without understanding that this is a song and what is used here is a poetic form, then you will not really grasp what is being communicated. There are times when words are not sufficient, when we can't find the words to describe what we want to express. And that's why poetry and song can be so powerful, because it enables us to use words in another way, which expresses more than the words themselves. There's a time when it's necessary to use language in such a precise form, in a legal context. And there's other times when language can be used in a poetic way to express an emotion and an enthusiasm and a wonder and a joy and a delight. As the children of Israel look back at what God has done for them, that's what we find here. We're told in verse 1 that Moses and the children of Israel, that they sang this song to the Lord. And then in verse 20, we're told that Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, that she and all the women went out and they answered them. And the picture there is of Moses and the men singing and Miriam and the women responding in song. And they sing the same song. It's a wonderful picture of all the people, not simply singing simultaneously, but with harmony and with unity. I think one of the reasons why professional sport is so significant in our society today is because people intuitively feel the need to gather together and to sing and to worship. And that's part of the attraction of us, isn't it? That people gather and they're amazed at the sporting ability, but they enjoy the song. There's a need in the heart of man to worship and to praise. But if all that we can sing about is the ability of a sportsman or a sporting team on a field, then the song won't last for very long. But here we have the celebration of what God himself has done. The children of Israel had been slaves in Egypt. And although the Lord had brought them out As a result of the Passover, they were still full of fear. Do you remember back in chapter 14, just as they came to the Red Sea? And there was no obvious way through. They were full of fear. They were terrified. He said, have you brought us out that we would die here in the wilderness? But now the Lord has delivered them and they can look back. And there is the ocean behind them. Their deliverance is so tangible. They've been slaves for generations. And now they are free. And the Lord has provided these words through Moses. Moses, of course, was a prophet. And Miriam is the prophetess. He provides these words. that there might be this song of worship. And it's an expression of unity. But in the singing of this song, there is an increasing of this unity, because this song brings them together. as they declare their individual experience and hear their experience echoed as they share together. They're addressing God. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord. But although they're addressing God, they're addressing God in the hearing of one another. They're ministering to one another in the singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, as Paul will put it, in Ephesians and in Galatians. Celebration. Blessing that does not translate into praise. will quickly fade into the past. But when the blessings that we enjoy from the hand of God translate into the worship of God, they do not fade, but rather they grow, or that sense of blessing grows. That blessing develops. It perpetuates. In the midst of that night, as the wind blew and the sea opened, in the midst of that race through the sea, as the Egyptians pursued them. You can imagine how, for the children of Israel, they would look back and say, it was a blur. They weren't able to take it all in. They couldn't see all that had been done for them. They each had a different perspective. They could only see so much. But now, as they reflect upon what God has done, and they sing his praise, there's a better understanding. Now they can see it all. They're still a long way to go in their experience. But as they sing the praise of God, their future is brought close, isn't it? Because they see what God has done, and they see also what God will do. So we have, first of all, celebration, but then secondly, we have commemoration. As in the words of the song, they take up and express what it is that the Lord has done. But not only what the Lord has done, but who the Lord is himself. This isn't a bare narrative of the experience of coming through the sea. Rather, this is a song that declares the greatness of God. the greatness of God whose character is revealed through these different events. God rose up and Pharaoh was cast down because Pharaoh had set himself against the Lord. He was the Lord's enemy. And this song, it goes beyond Pharaoh to all who oppose the Lord. This is a song that rejoices, ultimately, in the triumph of Christ over all His enemies. There's a word that recurs here. And that word is the name Lord. In these 21 verses, the name Lord appears 14 times. And that's significant. In chapter six, as the Lord spoke to Moses about what he would do, he said to him, I am the Lord, and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty. But by my name, Jehovah, Lord, was I not known to them? It's not that they hadn't heard the sound of the name Lord, but what is being said there is they had not seen the outworking of his lordship in the performing of the promises. The promises were given, but the promises weren't fulfilled, because the Lord spoke of making them a people, and the Lord spoke of bringing them out of bondage, and the Lord spoke of bringing them into their own place. And so the Lord, in chapter six, said to Moses, saying to the children of Israel, I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm and with great judgments, and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God. And so we find now, as they reflect upon his deliverance, that they recognize his lordship, that he is the covenant-keeping God. This is a song which commemorates the covenant faithfulness of Almighty God. Verse two, the Lord is my strength and song. He's become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare him a habitation, my Father's God, and I will exalt him. This Lord is not a Lord afar off, but He is my Lord and my God. We're told in verse 3 that He, the Lord, is a man of war. And that's a form of language which is using human imagery to describe what God has done. The Lord was present with his people in the form of a pillar of cloud and a fire by night. But he's likened here as a man of war, which doesn't just speak about what he has done in delivering them, but he looks forward ultimately to the incarnation. And the Lord Jesus Christ is the divine warrior It's interesting in verse 12, it says to the Lord, thou stretched out thy right hand. It was Moses who stood by the seaside. He raised up his arm, and the wind blew, and the sea opened, and they passed through, and then as the Egyptians followed them, Moses would again raise up his hand, and the sea closed upon their enemies. But the focus isn't what Moses did. But the understanding is that while Moses was seen to do that, it was the right hand of Almighty God that was raised up. It was the Lord who delivered. There's no mention of Moses here other than as one who is worshiping. It wasn't Moses who delivered them. It wasn't Israel who could fight, but it was the Lord who did it. He is the King of Glory, the Lord who is strong and mighty, the Lord who is mighty in battle. He is the one who is able to keep you and to direct you and to defend you and to bring you home. The power of God is contrasted to the futility of the enemy. Verse nine, the enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide his spawn, my lust shall be satisfied upon them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. What proud presumption, and the Lord did blow upon them. and they sank like lead into the bottom of the sea. Reminds you of the words of Psalm 2, doesn't it? The kings of the earth set themselves, the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and he that sitteth in heaven shall laugh. The Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure. The lesson here isn't of spontaneous composition. They were to sing whatever comes into our head. Moses was a prophet. Miriam was a prophetess. It was the Lord who gave them these words. And as they sang, they sang, just declaring the greatness of God. You might say, why don't we then sing this song? Well, we don't sing it because we don't find it in the book of Psalms, but we find what it speaks about in the book of Psalms. It was sung in Psalm 78. It was sung in Psalm 106. In a little time, we'll sing in Psalm 136. And they all speak of this deliverance through the sea and the Lord's gracious provision. The words of Psalm 118. Repeat what we have here. The Lord is my strength, my song, and has become my salvation. And so we do sing. We sing what is related here of the greatness of God. And we shall sing these words because they're told in Revelation 15. That great vision that was given to John Chapter 15 in verse two, he said, I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire. And then that had gotten the glory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on a sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God and the song of the lamb. And so the picture there is of those who've entered into glory, having passed through all the troubles and turmoils of this life, singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, because what we have here anticipates, it celebrates what has been done, but it anticipates what shall be done, that final triumph. It's a song of celebration. It's a song which commemorates the greatness of God, but it's a song also of confidence. In verse 14, it goes into the future tense. It says, the people shall hear and be afraid. Sorrows will take hold of the inhabitants of Palestine. And it goes on to speak about the Edomites and the Moabites and the Canaanites and all those who would stand against the Lord's people. but they would tremble. Do you remember when Joshua came to the promised land, he sent in spies, and the spies went to the city of Jericho and they met Rehab? And she said to the men, I know the Lord had given you the land, and that your terror has fallen upon us. and all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. For we have heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt. This is a song which broadcasts the greatness of God and the deliverance that God has wrought. And it's a song which gives confidence and comfort to his people and puts fear into his enemies. That's the reason why the bagpipes were banned. They were considered to be an instrument of war. They were far more than a musical instrument. The bagpipes were banned because they did two things. They put confidence into friends and they put fear into foes. And the songs of God serve the same purpose. They put confidence into friends. They put fear into foes because the songs of God speak of the greatness of God and all that he has done and all that he is and all that he shall do. Verse 13. Thou and thy mercies led forth the people which thou has redeemed, thou has guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. Verse 17, thou shall bring them in and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou has made for thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. It looks beyond Sinai. It looks beyond the tabernacle. It looks beyond Jerusalem. It looks beyond the temple. It looks into the very presence of the Lord in glory. And that's what this song tells us all. Not only what the Lord has done, but what the Lord will do. Friends, if fear keeps you awake at night, you should sing Psalms. Because in the singing of Psalms, you are stating what God has revealed concerning himself and the promises he has made concerning you, his people. The song of Moses. He sang and the children of Israel sang with him. And the Miriam the prophetess, she and the woman sang in response. The Lord, he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Let me ask you simply tonight, do you understand the sweetness of singing God's praise? You understand the comfort and the confidence that is to be found in these great songs. If you do, then you'll know the wisdom of singing Psalms in the night. You know the wisdom of singing Psalms in the morning. You know the wisdom of singing God's praise. Friends, if you don't find sweetness, in the singing of his praise. What should you do? Well, you should confess that. Confess that what is described is beyond you. Don't simply mouth the words. Don't simply look the part, but cry out that the Lord would draw you in, that you might experience the reality, that you would know that triumph and that celebration of being set free, and that confidence that as you live your life, it's not a new beginning and you're left to yourselves, but rather the Lord who has brought you this far is the Lord who will watch over you and the Lord who will bring you home at last. Amen.