“And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song
of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord
God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.”
Revelation 15:3
AT the outset, let us remark the carefulness of the Holy Spirit in guarding
the honor of our blessed Lord. This verse is often quoted as if it run thus
— “They sing the song of Moses and the Lamb.” This mistake has led
many weak minds to wonder at the expression, for they have imagined that
it divided the honor of the song of heaven between Moses and the
Redeemer. The clause — “the servant of God” — is doubtless inserted by
the Holy Spirit to prevent any error upon this point, and therefore it should
be carefully included in the quotation. I take it that the song of Moses is
here united with the song of the Lamb, because the one was a type and
picture of the other. The glorious overthrow of Pharaoh in the Red Sea
shadowed forth the total destruction of Satan and all his host in the day of
the great battle of the Lord; and there was in the song of Moses the
expression of the same feelings of triumph which will pervade the breasts
of the redeemed when they shall triumph with their Captain.
May God the Holy Spirit enable me to exhibit the parallel which exists
between the condition of Israel when passing through the sea, and the
position of the church of Christ at the present day. Next, we shall compare
the triumph of the Lord at the Red Sea with the victory of the Lamb in the
great and terrible day of the Lord. And lastly, I shall point out certain
prominent features of the song of Moses, which will doubtless be as
prominent in the song of the Lamb.
I. First, it is our business to regard THE POSITION OF THE CHILDREN OF
ISRAEL AS EMBLEMATICAL OF OUR OWN. And here we observe, that like
the church of God the vast host of Israel had been delivered from bondage.
We, my brethren, who constitute a part of the Israel of God, were once the
slaves of sin and Satan; we served with hard bondage and rigour whilst in
our natural state; no bondage was ever more terrible than ours; we indeed
made bricks without straw, and labored in the very fire; but by the strong
hand of God we have been delivered. We have come forth from the prisonhouse;
with joy we behold ourselves emancipated — the Lord’s free men.
The iron yoke is taken from our necks; we no longer serve our lusts, and
pay obedience to the tyrant’s sin. With a high hand and an outstretched
arm, our God has led us forth from the place of our captivity, and joyfully
we pursue our way through the wilderness.
But with the children of Israel it was not all joy; they were free, but their
master was at their heels. Pharaoh was loth to lose so valuable a nation of
servants; and therefore with his chosen captains, his horsemen, and his
chariots, he pursued them in angry haste. Afrighted Israel beheld her
infuriated oppressor close at her rear, and trembled for the issue — the
hearts of the people failed them whilst they saw their hopes blighted and
their joys ended by the approach of the oppressor; even so it is with some
of you; you think you must be driven back again like dumb cattle, into
Egypt, and once more become what you were. Surely,” you say, “I cannot
hold on my way with such a host seeking to drive me back; I must again
become the slave of my iniquities.” And thus dreading apostacy, and
feeling that you would rather die than become what you were; you this
morning are filled with trepidation. You are saying, “Alas! for me! Better
that had died in Egypt than that I should have come out into this wilderness
to be again captured.” You have tasted for a moment the joys of holiness
and the sweets of liberty; and now again to go back to endure the bondage
of a spiritual Egypt, would be worse than before. This is the position of the
sacramental host of God’s elect; they have come out of Egypt, and they are
pursuing their way to Canaan. But the world is against them; the kings of
the earth stand up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord
and against his people, saying, “Let us scatter them; let us utterly destroy
them.” From the fiery days of the stakes of Smithfield even until now, the
world’s black heart has hated the church, and the world’s cruel hand and
laughing lip have been for ever against us. The host of the mighty are
pursuing us, and are thirsty for our blood, and anxious to cut us off from
the earth. Such is our position unto this hour, and such must it be until we
are landed on the other side of Jordan, and until our Maker comes to reign
on the earth.
But once more: the children of Israel were in a position more wonderful
than this. They came to the edge of the Red Sea; they feared their enemies
behind; they could not fly on either hand, for they were flanked by
mountains and stupendous rocks; one course only was open to them, and
that course was through the sea. God commands them to go forward. The
rod of Moses is outstretched, and the affrighted waters divide; a channel is
left whilst the floods stand upright, and the waters are congealed in the
heart of the sea. The priests, bearing the ark, march forward; the whole
host of Israel follow. And now behold the wondrous pilgrimage. A wall of
alabaster is on either side, and myriads are in the pebbly depths. Like a wall
of glass the sea stands on either side of them, frowning with beetling cliffs
of foam; but still on they march; and until the last of God’s Israel is safe the
water stands still and firm, frozen by the lips of God. Such, my hearers, is
the position of God’s church now. You and I are marching through a sea,
the floods of which are kept upright only by the sovereign power of God.
This world is a world which is suddenly to be destroyed; and our position
in it is just the position of the children of Israel, for whose sake the floods
refused to meet until they were safely landed. O church of God! thou art
the salt of the earth: when thou art removed this earth must putrify and
decay. O living army of the living God! ye, like Israel, keep the floods of
providence still standing fast; but when the last of you shall be gone from
this stage of action, God’s fiery wrath and tremendous anger shall dash
down upon the ground whereon you now are standing, and your enemies
shall be overwhelmed in the place through which you now walk safely. Let
me put my thoughts as plainly as I can. Naturally, according to the
common order, the Red Sea should have flowed on in a level and even
manner, constant in its waves and unbroken in its surface. By the might of
God the Red Sea was divided into two parts, and the floods stood back.
Now mark. Naturally, according to the common course of justice, this
world, which groaneth and travaileth until now, ought, if we only consider
the wicked, to be utterly destroyed. The only reason why the Red Sea
afforded a safe passage for the host was this — that Israel marched
through it; and the only reason why this world stands, and the only reason
why it is not destroyed by fire, as it is to be at the last great day, is because
God’s Israel are in it; but when once they shall have passed through, the
parted floods shall meet their hands, and embrace with eager joy to clasp
the adverse host within their hands. The day is coming when this world
shall reel to and stagger like a drunken man. Every Christian may say, with
due reverence to God, “The world is dissolved; I bear up the pillars
thereof.” Let all the Christians that are in this world die, and the pillars of
the earth would fall, and like a wreck and a vision all this universe of ours
would pass away, never to be seen again. We are to-day, I say, passing
through the floods, with enemies behind, pursuing us who are going out of
Egypt up to Canaan.
II. And now the TRIUMPH OF MOSES was a picture of the ultimate triumph
of the Lamb. Moses sang a song unto the Lord by the sea of Egypt. If you
will turn to Holy Scripture you will find that my text was sung by the holy
spirits who had been preserved from sin and from the contamination of the
beast; and it is said that they sung this song upon “a sea of glass mingled
with fire.” Now the song of Moses was sung by the side of a sea, which
was glassy, and still; for a little season the floods had been disturbed,
divided, separated, congealed, but in a few moments afterwards when
Israel had safely passed the flood, they became as glassy as ever, for the
enemy had sunken to the bottom like a stone, and the sea returned to its
strength when the morning appeared. Is there ever a time, then, when this
great sea of Providence, which now stands parted to give a passage to
God’s saints shall become a level surface? Is there a day when the now
divided dispensations of God, which are kept from following out their
legitimate tendency to do justice upon sin — when the two seas of justice
shall commingle, and the one sea of-God’s providence shall be “a sea of
glass mingled with fire?” Yes, the day is drawing nigh when God’s enemies
shall no longer make it necessary for God’s providence to be apparently
disturbed to save his people, when the great designs of God shall be
accomplished, and therefore when the walls of water shall roll together,
whilst in their inmost depths the everlasting burning fire shall still consume
the wicked. Oh! the sea shall be calm upon the surface; the sea upon which
God’s people shall walk shall seem to be a sea that is clear, without a
weed, without an impurity; whilst down in its hollow bosom, far beyond all
mortal ken, shall be the horrid depths where the wicked must for ever
dwell in the fire which is mingled with the glass.
Well, I now want to show you why it was that Moses triumphed, and why
it ill that by-and-by we shall triumph. One reason why Moses sung his song
was because all Israel were safe. They were all safely across the sea. Not a
drop of spray fell from that solid wall until the last of God’s Israel had
safely planted his foot on the other side of the flood. That done,
immediately the floods dissolved into their proper place again, but not till
then. Part of that song was, “Thou hast led thy people like a flock through
the wilderness.” Now, in the last time, when Christ shall come upon earth,
the great song will be — “Lord, thou hast saved thy people; thou hast led
them all safely through the paths of providence, and not one of them has
fallen into the hands of the enemy.” Oh! it is my strong belief, that in
heaven there shall not be a vacant throne. I rejoice that all who love the
Lord below must at Last attain to heaven. I do not believe with some that
men may start on the road to heaven, and be saved, and yet fall by the hand
of the enemy. God forbid! my friends!
“All the chosen race
Shall meet around the throne,
Shall bless the conduct of his grace,
And make his glories known.”
Part of the triumph of heaven will be, that there is not one throne that is
unoccupied, As many as God hath chosen as many as Christ hath
redeemed, as many as the Spirit hath called, as many as believe, shall arrive
safe across the stream. We are not all safely landed yet.
“Part of the host have crossed the flood,
And part are crossing now.”
The vanguard of the army have already reached the shore. I see them
yonder.
“I greet the blood-besprinkled bands
Upon th’ eternal shore.”
And you, and I, my brethren, are marching through the depths. We are at
this day following hard after Christ, and walking through the wilderness.
Let us be of good cheer: the rearguard shall soon be where the vanguard
already is; the last of the chosen shall soon have landed; the last of God’s
elect shall have crossed the sea, and then shall be heard the song of
triumph, when all are secure. But oh! if one were absent — oh! if one of
his chosen family should be cast away — it would make an everlasting
discord in the song of the redeemed, and cut the strings of the harps of
paradise, so that music could never be distilled from them again.
But, perhaps, the major part of the joy of Moses lay in the destruction of
all the enemies of God. He looked upon his people the day before.
“He looked upon his people,
And the tear was in his eye;
He looked upon the foeman
And his glance was stern and high.”
And now to-day he looks upon his people, and he says, “Blessed art thou,
O Israel, safely landed on the shore;” and he looks not upon the foeman,
but upon the foeman’s tomb; he looks where the living were protected by
the shield of God from all their enemies; and he sees — what? A mighty
sepulcher of water; a mighty tomb in which were engulphed princes,
monarchs, potentates.” The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the
sea.” Pharaoh’s chariots also are drowned therein. And soon, my hearers,
you and I shall do the same. I say that now we have to look abroad on
hosts of enemies. What with the wild beasts of Rome, what with the
antichrist of Mahomet, what with the thousands of idolatries and false
gods, what with infidelity in all its myriad shapes, many are the enemies of
God, and mighty are the hosts of hell. Lo, you see them gathered together
this day; horseman upon horseman, chariot upon chariot, gathered together
against the Most High. I see the trembling church, fearing to be
overthrown; I mark her leaders bending their knees in solemn prayer, and
crying, “Lord, save thy people, and bless thy heritage.” But mine eye looks
through the future with telescopic glance, and I see the happy period of the
latter days, when Christ shall reign triumphant. I stall ask them where is
Babel? where is Rome? where is Mahomet? and the answer shall come —
where? Why, they have sunk into the depths; they have sunk to the bottom
as a stone. Down there the horrid fire devours them, for the sea of glass is
mingled with the fire of judgment. To-day I see a battle-field: the whole
earth is torn by the hoofs of horses; there is the rumble of cannon and the
roll of drum. “To arms! to arms!” both hosts are shouting. But you wait
awhile, and you shall walk across this plain of battle, and say, “Seest thou
that colossal system of error dead? There lies another, all frozen, in ghastly
death, in motionless stupor. There lieth infidelity; there sleepeth secularism
and the secularist; there lie those who defied God. I see all this vast host of
rebels lying scattered upon the earth.” “Sing unto the Lord, for he hath
triumphed gloriously; Jehovah has gotten unto himself the victory, and the
last of his enemies are destroyed.” Then shall be the time when shall be
sung “the song of Moses and of the Lamb.”
III. Now, turning to the song of Moses, I shall conclude my address to
you by noticing some interesting particulars in the song which will
doubtless have a place in the everlasting orchestra of the redeemed, when
they shall praise the Most High. Oh! my brethren, I could but wish that I
had stood by the Red Sea, to have heard that mighty shout, and that
tremendous roar of acclamation! Methinks one might well have borne a
servitude in Egypt, to have stood in that mighty host who sung such
mighty praise. Music hath charms; but never had it such charms as it had
that day when fair Miriam led the women, and Moses led the men, like
some mighty leader, beating time with his hand. “Sing unto the Lord, for
he hath done gloriously.” Methinks I see the scene; and I anticipate the
greater day, when the song shall be sung again, “as the song of Moses and
of the Lamb.”
Now, just notice this song. In the 15th chapter of Exodus you find it, and
in divers of the Psalms you will see it amplified. The first thing I would
have you notice in it is, that from beginning to end it is a praise of God,
and of nobody else but God. Moses, thou hast said nothing of thyself. O
great lawgiver, mightiest of men, did not thine hand grasp the mighty rod
that split the sea — that burned its fair breast, and left a scar for a while
upon its bosom? Didst not thou lead the hosts of Israel? Didst not thou
marshal their thousands for battle, and like a mighty commander lead them
through the depths? Is there not a word for thee? Not one. The whole
strain of the song is, “I will sing unto the Lord,” from beginning to end. It
is all praise of Jehovah; there is not one word about Moses, nor a single
word in praise of the children of Israel. Dear friends, the last song in this
world, the song of triumph, shall be full of God, and of no one else. Here
you praise the instrument, to-day you look on this man and on that, and
you say, “Thank God for this minister, and for this man.” To-day you say,
“Blessed be God for Luther, who shook the Vatican, and thank God for
Whitfield, who stirred up a slumbering church;” but in that day you shall
not sing of Luther, nor of Whitfield, nor of any of the mighty ones of
God’s hosts; forgotten shall their names be for a season, even as the stars
refuse to shine when the sun himself appeareth. The song shall be unto
Jehovah, and Jehovah only; we shall not have a word to say for preachers
nor bishops, not a syllable to say for good men and true; but the whole
song from first to last shall be, “Unto him that loved us, and hath washed
us from our sins in his own blood, unto him be glory forever and ever.
Amen.”
And next will you please to note, that this song celebrated something of the
fierceness of the enemy. Do you observe how, when the songster describes
the attack of Pharaoh, he says, “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.” A song is made out of the
wrath of Pharaoh. And it shall be so at the last. The wrath of a man shall
praise God. I believe the last song of the redeemed, when they shall
ultimately triumph, will celebrate in heavenly stanzas the wrath of man
overcome by God. Sometimes after great battles, monuments are raised to
the memory of the fight; of what are they composed? They are composed
of weapons of death and of instruments of war which have been taken from
the enemy. Now, to use that illustration as I think it may be properly used,
the day is coming when fury, and wrath, and hatred, and strife, shall all be
woven into a song; and the weapons of our enemies, when taken from
them, shall serve to make monuments to the praise of God. Rail on, rail on,
blasphemer! Smite on, smite on, tyrant! Lift thy heavy hand, O despot;
crush the truth, which yet thou canst not crush; knock from his head the
crown — the crown that is far above thy reach — poor puny impotent
mortal as thou art! Go on, go on! But all thou doest shall but increase his
glories. For aught we care, we bid you still proceed with all your wrath and
malice. Though it shall be worse for you, it shall be more glorious for our
Master; the greater your preparations for war, the more splendid shall be
his triumphal chariot, when he shall ride through the streets of heaven in
pompous array. The more mighty your preparations for battle, the more
rich the spoil which he shall divide with the strong. Oh! Christian, fear not
the foe! Remember the harder his blows, the sweeter thy song; the greater
his wrath, the more splendid thy triumph; the more he rages, the more shall
Christ be honored in the day of his appearing. They sung the song of
Moses and the Lamb.
And then will ye note, in the next place, how they sang the total overthrow
of the enemy. There is one expression in this song, which ought to be and I
believe is, when set to music, very frequently repeated. It is that part of the
song, as recorded in the Psalms, where it is declared that the whole host of
Pharaoh were utterly destroyed, and there was not one of them left. When
that great song was sung by the side of the Red Sea, there was, no doubt, a
special emphasis laid upon that expression, “not one.” I think I hear the
hosts of Israel. When the words were known by them, they began and they
proceeded thus — “There is not one of them left;” and then in various
parts the words were repeated, “Not one, not one.” And then the women
with their sweet voices sang, “Not one, not one.” I believe that at the last,
a part of our triumph will be the fact, that there is not one left. We shall
look abroad throughout the earth, and see it all a level sea; and not one
foeman pursuing us — “not one, not one!” Raise thyself never so high, O
thou deceiver, thou canst not live; for not one shall escape. Lift thy head
never so proudly, O despot, thou canst not live for not one shall escape. O
heir of heaven, not one sin shall cross the Jordan after thee; not one shall
pass the Red Sea to overtake thee; but this shall be the summit of thy
triumph — “Not one, not one! not one of them is left.”
Just let us note again, and I will not detain you too long, lest I weary you.
One part of the song of Moses consisted in praising the case with which
God destroyed his enemies. “Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea
covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.” If we had gone to
work to destroy the hosts of Pharaoh, what a multitude of engines of death
should we have required. If the work had been committed to us, to cut off
the hosts, what marvellous preparations, what thunder, what noise, what
great activity there would have been. But mark the grandeur of the
expression. God did not even lift himself from his throne to do it: he saw
Pharaoh coming; he seemed to look upon him with a placid smile; he did
just blow with his lips, and the sea covered them. You and I will marvel at
the last how easy it has been to overthrow the enemies of the Lord. We
have been tugging and toiling all our life-time to be the means of
overthrowing systems of error: it will astonish the church when her Master
shall come to see how, as the fee dissolveth before the fire, all error and sin
shall be utterly destroyed in the coming of the Most High. We must have
our societies and our machinery, our preachers and our gatherings, and
rightly too; but God will not require them at the last. The destruction of his
enemies shall be as easy to him as the making of a world. In passive silence
unmoved he sat; and he did but break the silence with “Let there be light;
and light was.” So shall he at the last, when his enemies are raging
furiously, blow with his winds, and they shall be scattered; they shall melt
even as wax, and shall be burned like tow; they shall be as the fat of rams;
into smoke shall they consume, yea, into smoke shall they consume away.
Furthermore, in this song of Moses you will notice, there is one peculiar
beauty. Moses not only rejoiced for what had been done, but for the future
consequences of it. He says — “The people of Canaan, whom we are
about to attack, will now be seized with sudden fear; by the greatness of
thy arm they shall be as still as a stone.” Oh! I think I hear them singing
that too, sweetly and softly — “as still as a stone.” How would the words
come full, like gentle thunder heard in the distance — “as still as a stone!”
And when we shall get on the other side the flood, see the triumph over
our enemies, and behold our Master reigning, this will form a part of our
song — that they must henceforth be “as still as a stone.” There will be a
hell, but it will not be a hell of roaring devils, as it now is. They shall be “as
still as a stone.” There will be legions of fallen angels, but they shall no
longer have courage to attack us or to defy God: they shall be “as still as a
stone.” Oh! how grand will that sound, when the hosts of God’s redeemed,
looking down on the demons chained, bound, silenced, struck dumb with
terror, shall sing exultingly over them! They must be as still as a stone; and
there they must lie, and bite their iron bands. The fierce despiser of Christ
can no more spit in his face; the proud tyrant can no more lift his hands to
oppress the saints; even Satan can no more attempt to destroy. They shall
be “as still as a stone.”
And last of all the song concludes by noticing the eternity of God’s reign;
and this will always make a part of the triumphant song. They sang —
“The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” Then I can suppose the whole
band broke out into their loudest strains of music. “The Lord shall reign for
ever and ever.” Part of the melody of heaven will be “The Lord shall reign
for ever and ever.” That song has cheered us here. — ”The Lord reigneth;
blessed be my rock!” And that song shall be our exultation there. “The
Lord reigneth for ever and ever.” When we shall see the placid sea of
providence, when we shall behold the world all fair and lovely, when we
shall mark our enemies destroyed, and God Almighty triumphant, then we
shall shout the song —
“Hallelujah! for the Lord
God Omnipotent shall reign
Hallelujah! let the word
Echo round the earth and main.”
Oh! may we be there to sing it!
I have one remark to make, and I have done. You know, my friends, that
as there is something in the song of Moses which is typical of the song of
the Lamb, there was another song sung by the waters of the Red Sea which
is typical of the song of hell. “What mean you, sir, by that dread thought?”
Oh! shall I use the word music? Shall I profane the heavenly word so much
as to say, ‘twas doleful music which came from the lips of Pharaoh and his
host? Boldly and pompously, with roll of drum and blast of trumpet they
had entered into the sea. On a sudden their martial music ceased; and ah!
ye heavens and ye floods what was it? The sea was coming down upon
them, utterly to devour them. Oh! may we never hear that shriek, that
awful yell of hideous agony, that seemed to rend the sky, and then was
hushed again, when Pharaoh and his mighty men were swallowed up, and
went down quick into hell! Ah! stars, if ye had heard it, if the black pall of
waters had not shut out the sound from you, ye might have continued
trembling to this hour, and mayhap ye are trembling now; mayhap your
twinklings by night are on account of that terrible shriek ye heard, for sure
it were enough to make your tremble on for ever. That dreadful shriek, that
hideous moan, that horrible howl, when a whole army sank into hell at
once, when the waters swallowed them up!
Take heed, my friends, take heed, lest you should have to join in that
terrible miserere; take heed, lest that horrible howl should be yours, instead
of the song of the redeemed. And remember, so must it be, unless ye be
born again, unless ye believe in Christ, unless ye repent of sin and renounce
it wholly, and with trembling hearts put your confidence in the man of
sorrows, who is soon to be crowned the King of kings and Lord of lords.
May God bless you, and give you all to taste of his salvation, that you may
stand upon the sea of glass, and not have to feel the terrors of the mingled
fire in the lower depths thereof! God Almighty bless this vast assembly, for
Jesus’ sake!
