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The Blue Letter Bible

Chuck Smith :: Sermon Notes for Exodus 15:1

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"SONGS OF PRAISES."
Intro. "Then sang Moses and the children of Israel, this song unto the Lord." When? When they saw the Egyptian army destroyed as the Red Sea closed in on them.
I. THE PEOPLE HAVE JUST WITNESSED THE AWESOME POWER OF JEHOVAH GOD, THE GOD THEY HAVE CHOSEN TO FOLLOW AND SERVE.
A. God had deliberately led them into a trap in order to show them His mighty power of deliverance.
B. They have seen the power of God demonstrated in such a way, that in years to come, they will always look back on this miracle and be encouraged to go forward against any and all obstacles.
PSA 66:6 He turned the sea into dry [land]: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
PSA 78:13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap.
PSA 78:53 And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
PSA 106:9 He rebuked the Red sea also, and it was dried up: so he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
PSA 106:10 And he saved them from the hand of him that hated [them], and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
PSA 106:11 And the waters covered their enemies: there was not one of them left.
PSA 114:1 When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
PSA 114:2 Judah was his sanctuary, [and] Israel his dominion.
PSA 114:3 The sea saw [it], and fled: Jordan was driven back.
PSA 114:4 The mountains skipped like rams, [and] the little hills like lambs.
PSA 114:5 What [ailed] thee, O thou sea, that you fled? and you Jordan, [that] you were driven back?
PSA 136:13 To him who divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy [endureth] for ever:
PSA 136:14 And made Israel to pass through the midst of it: for his mercy [endureth] for ever:
PSA 136:15 But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red sea: for his mercy [endureth] for ever.
C. They had watched as God destroyed their enemies.
1. God has broken the powers that had held them captive, and this was cause for breaking forth in songs of praise.
2. There are times when songs spring forth spontaneously from our hearts.
3. There are other times when we do not even feel like singing.
a. One of the psalms that was composed during the time of their captivity declared:
PSA 137:1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, and wept when we remembered Zion.
PSA 137:2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
PSA 137:3 For those that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required us to party, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
PSA 137:4 How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land?
4. Many times they sang because of the victory the Lord had given them, other times the singing brought them the victory.
2CH 20:18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with [his] face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
2CH 20:19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
2CH 20:20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
2CH 20:21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy [endureth] for ever.
2CH 20:22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
5. Some of you today don't feel like singing. You are being held in bondage by the enemy, thus there is no song in your heart.
II. THEIR SONG EXTOLS THE GLORIOUS WORK OF THE LORD. "I WILL SING UNTO THE LORD FOR HE HAS TRIUMPHED GLORIOUSLY. THE HORSE AND HIS RIDER HE HAS THROWN INTO THE SEA."
A. The song first acknowledges what the Lord has done for them. He has triumphed gloriously, He has thrown the horse and rider into the sea.
1. God had taken the cloud that was leading them and placed it behind them so that it was a thick fog to hide from the Egyptians their escape through the Red Sea that He had parted.
2. Next He left the pillar of fire in front of them so that they could see to pass through the path that He had made.
3. When in the morning when they had all safely passed through the sea, they saw the Egyptian army taking that same path, and fear gripped their hearts anew until they saw God close that path on the Egyptians and drown their army.
B. Next it acknowledges what the Lord is to them.
1. He is our strength.
a. They had no strength against the Egyptians.
b. They possessed no weapons for war.
c. The Egyptians were well-armed even to possessing chariots.
d. How strong is the Lord? He said to Jeremiah, "I am God, is there anything too hard for Me?"
e. Never be guilty of measuring the problem by your ability to handle or cope with it, but by His ability. "When we have exhausted our store of endurance, When our strength has failed 'ere the day is half done, When we reach the end of our hoarded resources, Our Father's full giving has only begun. His love has no measure, His grace has no limits, His power has no boundaries known unto man. For out of His infinite riches in Jesus, He giveth and giveth and giveth again."
2. He is my song. How wonderful when He becomes the theme of our songs. John Peterson a very prolific gospel songwriter was called by a major music company who was interested in a song that he had written and offered him a huge sum of money for the song, with the provision that they alter it slightly taking out the name of Jesus from the lyrics. He refused the contract and on the way home wrote: "Why should I sing of lesser things, of things that pass away, When I've a friend like Jesus now to sing about each day. I have no song to sing, but that of Christ my king, To Him my praise I'll bring forevermore. His love beyond degree, His grace that ransomed me, Now and eternally, I'll sing it 'oer. I find no more delight in other songs, my melody of love To Christ belongs, I have no song to sing, but that of Christ my king, to Him my praise I'll bring, forevermore."
a. Think of how trite and beggarly are the lyrics of the worldly songs, especially when placed beside the lyrics of the hymns.
3. He has become my salvation
a. He has just saved them from destruction at the hands of Pharaoh.
b. For us this is even more meaningful. He has saved us from eternal destruction.
4. He is my God.
a. Everyone has a god. For God is not a name but a title for the master passion of your life. What controls you? What are the master passions that you have surrendered your life to worship? These are your gods.
b. David said, "The heathen now say, Where is your God?" David responded, "Our God is in the heavens, and has done what He pleased, but their gods are made of silver or gold, the works of man's hands. Eyes they have but they cannot see, ears they have but they cannot hear."
c. Many people today do not believe that God made man, but these same people have manmade gods.
d. What do you live for? What is the controlling passion of your life? That dream or ambition that drives you onward, find that, and you will discover your god.
e. There is only one true God who is over all, and the Creator and the Sustainer of this Universe.
IV. WHAT WILL THEY DO?
A. I will prepare Him a habitation.
1. A place in my heart for Him to dwell.
2. Paul told the Athenians that God did not dwell in temples made by man's hands.
3. Paul wrote, "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit that is in you."
4. To the Ephesians he wrote, "That Christ might settle down and make Himself at home in your hearts."
5. Some people have chosen to leave God out of their lives. They have no room for God.
6. They may offer their excuses for making that choice, they never can give you a reason.
a. The most irrational of all excuses is, "I don't believe in God."
b. You are controlled by a god. What you mean is that you do not believe in the Supreme God who created the universe and revealed Himself to man in the book we call the Bible.
c. In the coming day of judgment you will stand before that God, to make an accounting of your life, think of how foolish it will be in that day to say, "I don't believe in You."
B. I will exalt Him.
1. King David wrote:
PSA 99:5 Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at his feet; for He is holy.
2. When King Belshazzar, in a drunken state, ordered the gold cups that his grandfather had taken from the temple in Jerusalem to be brought that they might drink their wine from these cups that had been sanctified to God. As they drank, they began to praise the gods of gold and silver until there appeared a hand writing on the wall. The king began to tremble and finally Daniel was brought to interpret the words written on the wall. Daniel rebuked the king for worshipping the gods of gold and silver, while he did not glorify the God who was in control of his every breath.
3. Are you exalting the Lord our God?
PSA 47:6 Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.
Sermon Notes for Exodus 14:15 ← Prior Section
Sermon Notes for Exodus 17:8 Next Section →
Sermon Notes for Genesis 1:1 ← Prior Book
Sermon Notes for Leviticus 1-8 Next Book →
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