So, Yeah. Now, it's good to see you this morning. I'm glad that you've all made it. Some are still on the way. And isn't Lurgan looking lovely? I don't mean that in a joking way. I think they've done a great job of the town. I'm almost tempted to move to Lurgan. With the emphasis on the word almost. Certainly in Moira, we don't have the streets that you have. But we're looking for the streets that are paved with gold. But it is looking lovely. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this morning, and obviously some are still on their way, trying to get down in. And we're going to start anyhow with 281 in our Praise Him hymn book. O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the works thy hand hath made, I see the stars, I hear the mighty thunder, thy power throughout the universe displayed. 281, and let's hear you as we really praise the Lord. I see the stars, I hear the lightning thunder. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art! When through the woods and forest glades I've wandered, and near the herds, sweet, sweetly in the green, And hear the moon, and feel the gentle breeze That shakes my soul, my Savior loves me. I'll break the wall. I'll break the wall. Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee. I'll break the wall. I'll break the wall. And when I came, and all His Son was bearing, sent Him to die, I searched and made many. ♪ Out of the cross my burden gladly bearing ♪ ♪ He will die to take away my sin ♪ ♪ He'll sink my soul, my Savior, unto Thee ♪ ♪ I'll break the wall A break of heart. A break of heart. When life shall come, this struggle hath been bestrung, and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. My God, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee, How great Thou art! A great love. is the Lord and one who is greatly to be praised. We welcome you warmly this morning. It's good to see Hard and Jennifer with us from Innisfil, and also our brother David Patterson. It's good to see David with us this morning, and we welcome you if you're visiting with us here in Lurgan, and we pray and trust that the Lord will bless you as you have come to worship in this place this day. We welcome those who are joining with us by way of sermon audio. We trust that God will bless you no matter what part of the world you're watching us from this morning. And then do remember the service tonight, preceded by prayer at 620. If you can join with us in the place of prayer, we would be delighted to see you. And That's at 627 o'clock, our evening service, a guest service. Stephen Armstrong, one of our own members, will be singing. And Zoe Carrick will be here to give a word of testimony. And I'll be here to bring the closing message. If you've got out of the habit on coming on Sunday night, we trust that you'll get into the habit again of joining with us on the Lord's Day evening. And maybe you could invite someone along with you tonight. Zoe has come through a tough time and she'll be here to speak about God's saving grace and God's sustaining grace and that's tonight at seven o'clock. Try and come and not only come yourself but try and encourage others unto the sound of the gospel. And then on Wednesday evening, there's an Office Spurs meeting, and notice the change of time. That will be at 7.15 sharp. On Wednesday evening, there's an Office Spurs meeting at 7.15 sharp. Thursday at 8 o'clock, our midweek service. The service is next Sunday in the will of the Lord at 11 and 7. Mr. Derek Maxwell, the head of the Slavic Gospel Association, will be here to minister the word in the morning and preach the gospel in the evening. Our Bible class resumes on Tuesday, the 1st of October. Do please keep that in mind. There are plenty of these little cards, bookmarkers really, that we got this year, and they're for you. And if you can use them among your Christian friends, we trust that you will. And that's on Tuesday, the 1st of October. Do remember me in prayer. I do a mission in Mockerfelt from Sunday the 22nd to Sunday the 29th of September, both Sundays inclusive and a week of gospel mission. And I would value your prayers at that particular mission. I'll not see you for a week or two because I'll be on holiday. And if there's any need or any people that need visiting, there are five elders. They're all very capable. And if you want anyone who's in need or in hospital, then do please contact them. And I'll see you all, God willing, on Tuesday, the 1st of October. Now, we're going to quieten our hearts before the Lord in prayer. And then after we pray, Andrew McNabb is going to come. Andrew's going to come. and speak to the boys and girls. Let's quieten our hearts as Stephen and Malcolm lead us. Eternal God, our loving Father, we bow at thy feet today, and we thank you for the access that we have into thy presence this morning through the name of the Lord Jesus. We thank you that when we breathe that name and prayer, we have immediate access into the holy presence of God. And our Father, we come this morning through a veil that has been rent in twain. And we come, our God, on the basis of the sacrifice of Calvary. We realize, oh God, that we have nothing to commend ourselves to thee with. but we thank you that we come in the merits of another, namely our God and Savior Jesus Christ. We thank thee, our Father, that we're resting for time and eternity on that finished work, on that atoning sacrifice, and on that precious blood. And our God, we come this morning to worship thee, We would seek, O God, to give to Thee the praise and the worship and the adoration and the thanksgiving of our hearts. Lord, Thou art worthy this morning to receive glory and honor and power, for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created. Lord, we fall before Thee this morning and we say with the hymn writer, How great Thou art! We thank you that the Lord is great and one who is greatly to be praised in the city of our God and in the mountain of His holiness. And our Father, we recognize Thy holiness as we fall at Thy feet this morning. We realize who is like unto Thee, O Lord, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. Thou art God, and beside Thee there is none else. Lord, we come this day to give to thee the praise of these redeemed hearts of ours. Father, we pray today that as we offer our worship in the name of the Lord Jesus, that it might be acceptable in thy sight, O God, our strength and our redeemer. Father, we pray this day that as we draw nigh to God, we ask that God himself would draw nigh to us And our Father, we pray this morning that we might from these redeemed hearts of ours give to Thee the praise and the honor and the glory that Thou alone deservest. We commend our service to Thee. We pray for a sense of Thy presence to permeate this building this morning as we give Thee thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you, Andrew. The boys and girls want to come up to the front. Maybe if you want to sit about here, because I'm going to show you some things on the screen as well. I have some things in my hand. You might want to come around here because you're going to have to look up there as well. Well, has everybody had a nice summer? Good. Well, a couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity. Oh, here's some more. I had the opportunity with CEF to go to a lovely country in Europe called Switzerland. And we did lots of things there, but one of the things that I used to do in the afternoon when I had some free time, I used to go for a walk. And I want to show you a photograph of when I went for a big walk, about 20 minutes away from where we were staying, this was the view that you were able to see. So you went up to the top of a big mountain, and you're able to look out over miles and miles and miles and miles of Switzerland. And if I was able to show you the rest of it the whole way around, you could look the whole way around, you could see loads and loads. And if you actually look really far in the distance, I'm told you're able to see part of the Alps, but I wasn't convinced. But if you look maybe on a clear day, you're able to see it. And you can see lots of cities and towns. And over here, there was actually a big nuclear power station. And you could see some trains, and you could see motorways. And you could see lots and lots of places. And as I stood there, I thought, That's absolutely amazing. Look how much of the world I can see from that mountain. Look how much of Switzerland I'm able to see, probably hundreds and hundreds of miles. And then I came home, and I went back to the place that I was staying, and I love to look at maps. And I took my phone out, and I looked at a map of Switzerland, and as I made Switzerland smaller and smaller and smaller, And as I zoomed it right out, until I was looking at the whole world nearly, I realised that when I was standing on top of that mountain, I wasn't really seeing very much of the world at all, sure I wasn't. It looked like I was seeing lots of it. It looked absolutely massive. It's hard to see it from a photograph. It looked absolutely massive from where I was. But I realized that I was only seeing a tiny, tiny bit of what God had created. And it really showed me that our world really is absolutely massive. But we can only see one part of it at a time. Maybe you climb up a mountain, maybe you go to the seaside and there's some mountains near our seaside and you climb up and you think you can see lots of the world. But in actual fact, you're only seeing a bit. And that made me think this week. It made me think of a verse that's in the Bible in Proverbs 15. And it says this, The Bible tells us that even though we can only see a little bit of the world at any one time, we can only see inside this room right now. God can see absolutely everywhere. Isn't that absolutely amazing? What are some of the things that God can see? And remember, because God can see everything, it also means that he was there when everything was made. Things that he made, maybe things that people have made. Who uses a telephone? God was there when the telephone was created. Imagine that, he saw the first phone call ever being made. Who uses electricity? God was there when somebody discovered electricity. He knew about it long before we did, but he was there. He saw it all. What are some of the things the Bible tells us God sees? Well, the Bible tells us God sees all the little birds. He sees when they fly about. He sees when they're hungry. He sees when they die. God sees every single bird. What else? cattle the bible says that god owns the cattle on a thousand hills i know there's some farmers here and they maybe know all the cows in their herd but you know what the bible tells us that god is so powerful he knows every single guy and every single herd in the whole wide world imagine that The Bible tells us something else. Now this one is really amazing. Who's ever been to the beach? Now this is a very big beach called the desert. You've probably maybe not sunbathed in one of these. But there's lots and lots of sand in the desert. The Bible tells us, do you know the little tiny dots that sand's made up of? God knows how many those are in the whole world. He knows how many little grains of sand there are in the entire world. That's how powerful he is. The eyes of the Lord are in every place. But it says, beholding the evil and the good. You see, this brings me to this picture. God sees what it is. There are people, God sees you and God sees me. You see, God sees everything that you do. Even the things that people can't see, he can see into your mind. He can see all the wrong thoughts that go on in there. He can see when you think, oh, I really don't like that person. I really hate that person over there. The Bible says that's wrong. The Bible says that God sees absolutely everything. everything that is wrong. The Bible calls that sin. The Bible calls when we disobey God, sin. And God sees it all. But that's why he sent the Lord Jesus to die on a cross. Do you see that picture? That's the cross. The Bible says that God sent the Lord Jesus to die on a cross to take the punishment for your sin and for mine. And if you will only turn to the Lord Jesus, you'll ask him to be your savior and trust in him. The Bible says that he will come into your life, he'll take your sin away, and he'll forgive you. It doesn't mean that you'll never do anything wrong again. We all do things wrong. But you'll not want to do things that are wrong. And the Bible tells us that your sin has been forgiven. That's how wonderful God's plan was to save us. So remember, the next time you're up a high mountain, maybe it'll be even higher than the one that I was up. Maybe if you're up a high mountain, you'll remember that even though you can only see a bit, God sees absolutely everything. And he sees absolutely everything that you do. And he sees that you need to trust him as your savior. Thank you for listening. You can all go back to your seats now. And as all the boys and girls are going back to their seats, I've been given just a minute to talk to you about this. Now, if you didn't get one of these on the way in, don't worry about it. All of the young people hopefully got one of these on the way in. Now, if the road works in one thing or another, it's possible that you were missed out. If you didn't get one, please come and see me, or I think Colin has a pile of them. at the end and you can get one. All this does, it reminds you about youth, which is starting back on the 13th of September. There's three things in this little pack. You've got a program, which tells you everything that's on. You've got a weekend form, which I would really encourage you to go on. And if you're under 18, there's also another form that you need to fill in. Who's youth for? Well, this year we've broadened it slightly because we appreciate that the age group of the young people has probably got a little older. So if you're between the age of 11 and 29, now that might sound like quite a large gap, but I will explain it, you are very welcome to come along on a Friday night. So how does that work with such a big age gap? Well, as you can see, we have something called digging deeper, which is for those that are 16 and over. And that's a Bible study, that'll take place at the same time as the main youth Bible study, only it'll be upstairs in the Russell Hall. So we'll all meet together at 8.15 for praise and worship together, and then we'll divide into two groups. The older group's gonna be called Digging Deeper, and it's for those that are serious about getting a little deeper into God's word. It'll be a bit more in depth, perhaps, than what's for the younger ones between 11 and 16. I would really encourage you, if you're a young person, to come along. I know there's quite a few people here, maybe young people who are new to the church, maybe only been here for a year or two, or less. This is a really good way to get involved in the life of the church. Young people are the future of the church, and we want to be built up, we want to be encouraged, we want to be taught together. So if you want to get involved with youth, I would really encourage you to come along on a Friday night at 8.15, starts on the 13th, and come along to our weekend. If you want any more information, please come and see me at the end. I go to youth. I'll be able to tell you what it's about and hopefully convince you that we're all nice and friendly. If you need one of these or you need a lift or anything, any more information, please don't hesitate to come and speak to us or speak to Colin and his team of youth leaders. Thank you. Let's turn to 269 in our praise hymn book. And during this hymn, the boys and girls and the babies will leave us for the creche. Now in a song of grateful praise to thee, O Lord, my voice I'll raise. With all thy saints I'll join to tell my Jesus has done all things well. 269. My Jesus has done all things well. Our Sovereign, wonderful and free, has denied us with sinful greed. Has made ways open, doors open. My Jesus has done all things well. This note shall swell. This note shall swell. This note shall swell. And above the rest, this note shall swell. I, Jesus, have the longing to tell. This bitter my soul has no name. ♪ And mercy swift to all praises fill ♪ ♪ Thy Jesus has done all things well ♪ ♪ And above the rest His love shall swell ♪ ♪ His love shall swell, His love shall swell ♪ ♪ And above the rest His love shall swell ♪ ♪ Jesus has done all things well. ♪ ♪ And when to that wide world I rise, ♪ ♪ And join the angels of the skies, ♪ ♪ Above the rest this song shall swell. ♪ And above the rest this note shall swear, this note shall swear, this note shall swear. And above the rest this note shall swear, my Jesus has gone on his way. And above the rest this note shall swear, this note shall swear. Well, hasn't he done all things well? Hasn't he done all things well? That's what the scripture says. He hath done all things well. Let's bow together in prayer. Father, we want to thank you afresh. this morning for the Lord Jesus. And when we consider, Lord, who Thou art, and Thou didst send Thy Son, Thine only Son, Thine only begotten Son, to die on a Roman gibbet for us. And our Father, when we try and comprehend that Christ lives in us by His Spirit, O God, we bow before Thee. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And oh God, we would seek just to worship thee today and to bless thy name. And Father, we pray that as we come to the word this morning, that you would minister to our hearts. Oh God, give us instruction, give us challenge, give us comfort, give us whatever our need is. that we might hear God's voice for Christ's sake. Amen. Exodus chapter 15 is where you'll find our reading this morning. We'll be making our way through the life of Moses, the servant of the Lord, and we have come to our 11th study. And I want to talk to you this morning about songs of praise. Exodus chapter 15, reading at verse one. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. He is my God, and I will prepare him in habitation. my father's God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his hosteth he cast into the sea. His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them, they sank onto the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power. Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency, thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee. Thou sendest forth thy wrath, which consumeth them as stubble. With the blast of thine ostrils, the waters were gathered together. The flood stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my lust shall be satisfied upon them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them, they sank as lead in the mighty water. Who was like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who was like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Verse 17, they've turned from celebrating what God has done, and now they're anticipating what God will do. Thou shalt bring them in, plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, In the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established, the Lord shall reign forever and ever. Let's keep our Bibles open there at Exodus chapter 15. 1792, a group of settlers moved to Africa. There were more than a thousand of them. and they were all of African descent. Some had worked as slaves on American plantation groves. Others had served in the British Army and then they'd moved north to Canada. And together they planned to resettle in what is now known as Sierra Leone on a land purchased as a province of freedom. And the settlers, more than a thousand of them, well, they were all professing Christians. And when they reached a shore, they sang a hymn by William Hammond. The song was entitled, Awake and Sing the Song. One of the verses goes like this, Awake and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. Wake every heart and every tongue to praise the Savior's name. Sing on your heavenly way ye ransomed sinners. Sing, sing on rejoicing every day in Christ the eternal King. It was a very appropriate song to sing. The settlers had been released from captivity, they had crossed the sea, their Red Sea, and now they were entering their promised land. And so they sang about Moses, who had brought Israel out of Egypt. Their song also consisted of singing praise to Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who set them free to enable them to serve God in a new land. The Lord had done great things for these pilgrims, and it called forth from their hearts a song of praise. You see, my dear friends, whenever God does something great for us, He deserves to be praised. And often that praise comes in the form of a song. I mean, did you know this morning that the Christian faith is a singing faith? In fact, from the beginning of the Bible to the end of the Bible, you will find songs of praise to God for who He is. and for what he has done. And here's the first song of Scripture, and it's been called the song of redemption, for it proceeded from hearts that had been redeemed by precious blood. The book of Psalms is actually a collection of songs written by David and others. And the Psalms, as you know, became the Jewish hymn book for their worship services. And throughout the Old Testament, we find various people praising the Lord for His redemption and deliverance. The New Testament contains a number of hymns of adoration. We think of the Song of Mary. We think of the praise of Zacharias. We think of the exaltation of the angels at the birth of Jesus Christ. And of course, in addition to all of that, we find references containing, indicating the importance of praise in the life of the early church. The pattern of praise has continued throughout church history. Many of the reformers in the Protestant Reformation realized the vast potential of Christian music in worship And in the proclamation of the gospel, you remember that one of the great reforms of Martin Luther, a reform that so often we forget about, one of the great reforms of Martin Luther was the restoration of congregational singing. And Christians are still singing today. A mighty fortress is our God. And many other hymns that were written by the great reformer. in addition to the revival that began in England by John and Charles Wesley. They were not only known, you see, for their preaching, but they're probably best known for their marvelous hymns and gospel songs. The effectiveness of the evangelistic preaching of D.L. Moody was due in part to the powerful singing of Ira Sankey. The Christian faith is a singing faith. And when we come to Exodus chapter 15, we have the first recorded song of Scripture. Here's Israel, and they're standing on the banks of the Red Sea, and they're singing songs of praise to the Lord. Incidentally, did you hear about the woman in the choir who was a waterproof soprano? Nothing could drown out her voice. You see, everyone doesn't have a singing voice, but if we're God's redeemed people, if we're God's regenerated people, if we're God's released people, then we'll want to sing. All of us haven't got a song in our voice, like some who are gifted here this morning, but all of us should have a song in our hearts. Now I want to talk to you about songs of praise this morning. Notice first of all what I'm calling the period of this song. It's brought before us in the opening word in the chapter. You see how the chapter begins? Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song. The period of the song. The Scripture says it's a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord. It is good to sing praises unto God. It is present in praises comely. But you see, before we can praise God, we must know God. Salvation must be accomplished and accepted before a burst of praise can ever come from a sinner's lips. I want you to see here the moment specified. The moment specified. Look at verse 1 again. Then. Then. And of course the word then marks the connection between chapter 14 and chapter 15. It marks the connection between salvation and song. Then the children of Israel sang this song unto the Lord." You say, what does the then refer to? Well, of course, it refers to the deliverance of Israel through the Red Sea. You see, that's what put the song in their heart. As soon as they were saved, they burst into song. Now, what a contrast all of this was to what happened before. You see, there was no singing in the house of bondage. There was no singing in the land of Egypt. When you look at the opening chapters of the book of Exodus, all that you hear is the lash of the oppressor. All that you hear about is the cry of the bondman. All that you hear about is the groan of the prisoner. But you will hear no singing. in the grip of a cruel tyrant. They had neither the desire nor the ability to sing. But now listen, then sang Moses and the children of Israel. When? Yesterday, they were a multitude of undisciplined slaves. Today, they're gloriously free. They have been sheltered by the blood of the Lamb and the hand of the Lord, and they're now standing on the sunny banks of the Red Sea. They're standing on resurrection ground with the smile of heaven upon them, and they pour forth their hearts in joyful praise. My friends, the redemption began in Egypt with a sigh of despair, but now it's concluding with a song of deliverance. And you say, what has produced this song? Two things, the blood of the Lamb and the hand of the Lord. If you look at the two features The two things that are emphasized in the Exodus from Egypt, they are these, the blood of the Lamb, but don't forget the power of the Lord. Here's a song of the saved. Membership in this choir is not obtained by superior vocal capacity. It's obtained by a right spiritual condition before God. And how is that spiritual condition reached? Well, look at the last verse in chapter 14. Notice the order here. And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians. Verse 31, chapter 15. And the people feared the Lord and believed. Do you see where praise comes in? They saw. You see, it's after salvation and not before it. They saw. And then they believed, and then they sighed. The prodigal first received the father's kiss of love, and then they began to be married. Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ to the people, and souls were saved, and demons were exorcised, and there was great joy in that city. The Ethiopian unit traveling down the Giza road, and you remember the spirit of God said to Philip, go near and join thyself to this chariot, and he preached unto him Jesus, and he was saved, and then he was baptized, and he went on his way rejoicing. My friends, the story is ever the same, and the order in every case. Salvation comes first, and then the song. I wonder this morning, can you take up the language of this song? I wonder, can you say, He is my God, He's become my salvation? Can you say, well, David the Lord is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my strength, and Him will I trust? Notice the moment specified. And then look at verse one again. Notice the multitude identified. I mean, look at the prophet. Then sang Moses. And though it is not specifically stated here that Moses is the author of this song, nobody doubts that he wrote it. I mean, Stephen tells us, well, he wrote the Pentateuch. Well, Stephen tells us that he was mighty in word. And that not only meant that he was mighty in word and speech, but rather that he was mighty in word and pen. Moses wrote with tremendous brilliance. You say, Preacher, where's his name in this song of redemption? It doesn't appear. You know, my dear friends, it doesn't appear on that for a good reason. You see, Moses has learned now. Remember the years that he has spent in the desert. Moses has learned that man is but an instrument in the hand of God. Man is but only a tool, just a mere tool. that can only perform the work of God with the power of God, and he's now got a proper perspective of himself in relation to God. He sees himself as small, and God is big. He sees himself as humble, and God is exalted. I wonder, is it true this morning that you're still too strong for God to use, too big for God to use, you're too big for your boots? Wonder are you too proud for God to use? Look at the prophet. And then look at the people, verse 1 of chapter 15. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord. You see, some scholars feel that this song was sung like this. Someone shouted, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously. Another one rang out, the Lord is my strength and my song. He's become my salvation. Still another group rang out, he is my God and I will prepare him and habitation my Father's God, and I will exalt Him." What do you call that kind of singing? Who's the experts? Or one's piffing, huh? That's the word I'm looking for. There's the expert. It's antiphonal singing. One is saying this about God, and the other one is singing that about God, and the other one is singing this about God, and whatever, the whole nation is joining in, and they are two to three million people. Can you imagine what a choir this was? The biggest choir that I ever heard was 1,000 people in the city of Jacksonville, in the city of Florida. And boy, I thought I was in heaven that night. But can you think of two to three million people and they're singing praise to God? And just in case you women feel out, the context makes it clear that A big part of this praise came from the women. Can you imagine? Can you picture what it would be like? Two or three million people singing praise to the Lord. The point is that this song of redemption is for all of God's people. It wasn't enough for Moses to sing it. It wasn't enough for the men to sing it. My, the women had the same salvation. They were trusting the same Lamb of God. And my dear friends, is the whole church not called to offer the same kind of praise to the Lord? By faith, we have stood at the cross. And we have watched the Savior. We have stood at the cross with the women. And we have watched the Savior of the world, the Son of God, the substitute of sinners, die for us by faith. We have peeped over the shoulders of the apostles. And we have looked into an empty tomb. And we have discovered that Jesus Christ is risen. And my friends, this morning, Christ has redeemed us. We have been brought out by the blood of the Lamb and the hand of the Lord. And now every believer is called to take up the song of redemption. That's the period of this song. Look at Exodus 15 again. There's something else. I want you to see not only the period of this song, but the person of this song. I mean, look at verse 1 again. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord. You say, what did they sing about? What was the theme of their song? The Lord. You see, they not only sang unto the Lord, but they sang about the Lord. The word Lord occurs no less than 12 times within 18 verses. The pronouns he and him and thy and thou and thee are found at 33 times. My friends, it's all about Jehovah. The greatness of his person, the glory of his power, it was he that had triumphed gloriously. and the horse and the rider had been cast into the sea. It was His right hand that had dashed in pieces the enemy. It was because the Lord blew with the wind that they sank as lead in the mighty waters. It was the greatness of His excellency that had overthrown those who had rose up against Him. Is that not true praise? Listen to me this morning. True praise is preoccupation with God. The late Senator Robert Kennedy from America visited Brazil on one occasion, and in the course of his trip he was taken into the interior of the country to see some tribal situations. He was introduced by interpretation to an Indian living in the heart of the, I suppose, Amazon forest. An Indian who had recently heard the gospel and had been saved by the grace of God. And so he started to speak to the Indian through an interpreter. And he said to the Indian, he said to his interpreter, he said, asked him, what does he enjoy doing most? Asked him what he enjoys doing most. The Indian's reply came as a surprise to the great senator, being occupied with God. and convinced that the Indian had made a mistake and the answer should have been shooting or fishing or hunting. He asked his interpreter, he said, asked him again, he's made a mistake. The answer came the same. Being occupied with God, this seemingly insignificant Indian had now discovered that his chief end was to glorify God. and to enjoy Him forever. And you say to me this morning, well, Dennis, what was this song all about? Being occupied with God. Now listen to me, especially those of you who sin, and those of us who enjoy singing. Listen, there's not a word here about self. It's doings, it's feelings, it's sayings. There's not one syllable about what they had done. They sang about the Lord. Is that not amazing? Is that not challenging? So many modern hymns today are full of sentimentality and emotion instead of divine adoration. They recount our experiences instead of His mercies. They tell more of human attainments rather than of Christ's atonements. And how different was this song? It was all about Him. I will exalt Him sums it all up. Do you know something? Hymns ought to be spiritual in their content. Songs that express how we feel. or that dwell on the benefits we have derived from being saved should never displace the great hymns of faith and of doctrine and of spiritual theology. You see, so many Christians today get their theology from songs rather than from Scripture. You know that? I mean, they never read the Word, or else we wouldn't hear the trash that they're singing. They get their theology from songs instead of from Scripture. And so much Christian music conveys bad theology. And many Christian songs are not based on Scripture at all. And instead of setting forth biblical truth, they're deceiving people with their false gospel. Listen to me when I say this. A singer has no more right to sing a lie than a preacher has to preach a lie. Do you get that? For no matter how beautiful a song may be, and no matter how wonderfully emotional it may make us feel, if it has no biblical content, my dear friends, it ought not to be part of our worship service. Now quickly, have a look at this song. It's composed of two parts. 1. Israel celebrate what God had done. Israel celebrate what God had done. There's a retrospective aspect to this song. What God had done. Look at verse 13. It sums it up. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed. Thou hast guided them in thy strength into thy holy habitation. They have seen the salvation of the Lord. They have been liberated. from the power of Pharaoh. They have been separated from Pharaoh's kingdom by the might of Jehovah, and now redeemed by the Lord. With the rich spoils of victory at their feet, they pour forth their praise in this magnificent song." An old English preacher said, A grateful mind is a great mind. A grateful mind is a great mind. light of what God has done for us as we look back this morning, we mark by thanksgiving. Martin Rancourt, who lived in the late 1500s and 1600s, was a Lutheran pastor in the village of Ellenberg, Saxony. He grew up as the son of a poor coppersmith, and he fell cold to the ministry. And after his theological training, he began his ministry just as the Thirty-Year War was raging through the country of Germany. And floods, what happened was this. Floods of refugees were flooding into the walled city of Ellenbergen. it was the most desperate of times and the Swedish army had encompassed the walls of the city and inside the walls were where this pastor was, where Martin was, there was nothing but plague and sickness and famine and death and 800 homes were destroyed and the people began dying in increasing numbers and there was a tremendous strain on the pastors who extended and expended all their strength and just ministering to the sick and ministering to the dying and burying the dead and preaching the gospel. And one after another all of the pastors in the city died until Martin was the only one left. Sometimes on one given day he would conduct as many as 50 funerals. It was Martin Reinhardt who left the safety of the city to negotiate with the Swedes who demanded a high ransom. He did it with such courage and with such faith and with such fortitude that there was soon a cessation of hostilities and the period of suffering ended. Reinhardt realized that there was no deliverance without thanksgiving. sat down and wrote a hymn that we often sing in this fellowship. It's been sung around the world ever since. Think of the circumstances of it now. Now thank we all our God with hearts and hands and voices, who wondrous things hath done, in whom his world rejoices, who from our mother's arms hath blessed us on our way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today. My friends, this morning, as we look backward, are we truly thankful for all that God has done for us, or are we like the lepers? Nine who refuse to give thanks Only one who returned, and the Savior said, where are the other nine? Wonder, has the Lord to say that of you? Where are you when it comes to thanksgiving? Where are you when it comes to thanksgiving at the table? They celebrate what God had done. There was a retrospective aspect to this song. But something else. They anticipate what God will do. There was a prospective aspect to this song. Look, if you will, at verse 17. Quickly. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. They look backward, but now they're looking forward. The first speaks of grace, the second speaks of glory. They praise God for the past, stood on the further side of the Red Sea, beneath a cloudless heaven, and rejoiced in anticipation of the glorious future that lay ahead of them. The spiritual counterpart of all of this is found in Romans 5. You remember Paul says, therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice and hope of the glory of God. Peace or pardon for the past and grace for the present and glory for the future. Put it another way. My friends, we have grace to begin with, grace to continue with, and glory to end with. For surely the Lord will bring us in. Those whom He has led forth, those whom He has brought out of bondage, He will infallibly lead in. Those whom He justifies, He glorifies. Now listen, what a song this is. what God has done, what God will do. And this song is theocentric. It is thoroughly God-centered. And Moses gives all the glory to God. Not one word about his role in Israel's salvation. It was all about the Lord. They could sing, to God be the glory. Great things he hath done. Now my time is almost gone, but look again at chapter 15. Look at the period of this song. And then notice the person of this song. And then finally notice the purpose of this song. I mean, you say to me this morning, well that's all right, that happened so many years ago. What practical use have we from this song? Well let me just say three things in close very quickly. These songs of praise should stir us to adoration. They should stir us to adoration. C. H. Spurgeon said, May God the Holy Ghost, who delivered this prayer to Moses, now write it afresh upon his people's hearts. Breathe on us, Holy Spirit, that we may be filled with the praises of Jehovah. I wonder, do we know anything about this kind of worship? You see, the English word worship comes from the word worthship. It simply means to ascribe to someone worth and value and status. To worship God is to come into His presence and willingly acknowledge His worth, His status, His greatness, His glory, His grace. To worship God is to be overwhelmed by a consciousness of who God is. I mean, do you see it in verse 11? Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders? Wonder when you come to worship, you're overwhelmed by a consciousness of who God is. My friends, do we not need a new sense of worship in our assembly? Do we not need a new sense of worship where, listen to me, conversation is replaced by contemplation? Do we not need a new sense of worship where familiarity is replaced by reverence? Do we not need a new sense of worship where an awareness of each other is replaced by an awesome awareness of God. This song should stir us to adoration, something else. Very quickly, this song should stir us to appreciation, an appreciation of who God is. If I were to come and sit by your side this morning and ask you, what's your concept of God? I wonder how you would respond. I mean, do you look upon God as some weak, feeble, defeated deity who's the object of worship in so many churches? Or do you look upon God the way the children of Israel looked upon Him? Here's a song that magnifies the Lord. Here's a song that exalts the attributes of God. It's a song that magnifies the power of God. Look at verse 6. Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power. The right hand of God is representative of His omnipotence, glorious in power. If you look in verse 4, it's casting power. If you look in verse 5, it's covering power. If you look in verse 6, it's conquering power. If you look in verse 7, it's consuming power. Maybe you're here this morning discouraged. There's a problem in your home, in your mind, in your heart, in your family. You need to be reminded of His power. That's what they're doing. They're lifting high the name of Jehovah, and it's all about the power of God. But then again, my dear friends, it's all about the preeminence of God. Look at verse 11. The song asks the question, who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? You remember when we looked at the plagues that came upon Egypt? It was just a dismantling of the gods of Egypt. That's what God was doing. You remember old Pharaoh said, Moses walked in and said, the Lord demands that you should let my people go. And Pharaoh said, well, who's the Lord? God put down his calling card and with 10 plagues, he revealed himself, who he was. And now in verse number 15, they're saying, who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Why, God had just destroyed the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Why, verse 4, that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord. Before Jehovah's awful throne, ye nations bow with sacred joy. Know that the Lord is God alone. He can create and He destroy. They're exalting God, the power of God, the preeminence of God. Look at verse 11 again, the purity of God, glorious in holiness. These words reveal that of all of the attributes of God, this is his great attribute. "'It is the glory,' said Stephen Charnock, "'of every perfection in the Godhead.' Thomas Watson said, "'Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of his crown.'" Do you think, dear friends, if we grasp something of the awesome holiness of God, we would be a wee bit more preparing for worship come Sunday morning. That the chat and the familiarity would be silenced as we contemplate coming into the presence of God. Oh, this song should stir us. It should stir us to adoration. It should stir us to appreciation. And then it should stir us to anticipation. For our future this morning, the eternity of every believer is an eternity in which we're going to sing unto the Lord and in which we will sing about the Lord. Do you know what we're going to sing about in glory? It's going to go something like this, worthy is the Lamb that was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood. Do you know what we're going to sing? It's going to go something like this, hallelujah, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew word hallelujah, which means praise the Lord. Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. I mean, did you see how the song of praise ends? Look at verse 18 and we're finished. Look at how it ends. The Lord shall reign forever and ever. Could anything be more majestic than that? God is supreme. He's the Lord God omnipotent. The psalmist wrote, the Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice. Let the multitude of Isles be glad. Is it not encouraging to know that in a world that has gone mad, God is still on the throne? Is it not instructive to know that in a society that despises God and the things of God, God is still running the show. Is it not reassuring to know that in the midst of all the crumbling kingdoms of this world, His kingdom shall stand? For He must reign, says Paul. He must reign. One day, after the rapture of the church and after the tribulation period, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, and Jesus shall reign where'er the sun doth his successive journeys run. His kingdom will stretch from shore to shore till moon shall wax and weighing no more. I read about an old Christian who went to hear Handel's Messiah. It was being set forth in the Royal Albert Hall in London, and as they sang the Hallelujah Chorus, And as they sang out that refrain, and he shall reign forever and ever, all the tears began to roll down his cheeks. And those who were around him began to see this, and they were concerned about him. And they said, are you all right? He said to them in his broken voice, he said, that's my savior they're singing about. That's my Savior they're singing about. Do you realize this morning when you sing this song of praise, when you read these songs of praise, that's your Savior and God they're singing about? For the Lord shall reign forever and ever. Can I just ask this morning, is he reigning in your life? Oh, that with yonder sacred throng we at his feet may fall, join in the everlasting song and crown him. Let's pray. Father, we just want to thank you this morning for the meditation of your Word. We thank you for the great God that thou art. We thank you for the great Savior that we have and the person of Christ. Lord, we pray that as we continue to worship Thee, especially around this table, that we may seek to exalt Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. I ask it for Christ's sake. Amen. I want to turn to our hymn books this morning to 150. You'll know it well. We've been thinking about the Lord reigning. And him that sung to the Londonderry air, I cannot tell why he whom angels worship. Number 15, and if you're not staying for the table, we'd ask you to leave quietly on the second verse. I and shepherds, we should seek the wondrous, To bring him life, they know not the way. But this I know, that he was born of Mary, When heaven's nature calls his soul before, and that he may ♪ And silently he suffered ♪ ♪ But with his peace ♪ ♪ He praised his grace of King ♪ ♪ God of his joy ♪ ♪ Upon the cross was borne him ♪ ♪ And by the pain ♪ ♪ To three and thirty years ♪ On this I know it feels so wrong. Our people claim the nations. Our people claim His earthly heritage. Our satisfied, their needs and aspirations. of sin and of day. But this I know, the flesh shall see his glory, and he shall reign, the harvest be our sown. And some that day his son shall O'er all the land shall worship when at His feet in every storm is sleep. Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh.