W. Austin Gardner
A Song of Worship to the Lord!

Exodus 15:1 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. 2 The Lord is my strength and song, And he is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; My father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5 The depths have covered them: They sank into the bottom as a stone. 6 Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: Thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, The floods stood upright as an heap, And the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 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. 10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: They sank as lead in the mighty waters. 11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them. 13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. 14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; The mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; By the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; Till thy people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased. 17 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. 18 The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. 19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. 20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. 23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25 And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. 27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
Sing unto the Lord 15:1 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.
They sung to recognize who had done great things
The singing took the emphasis off of them and their power and placed it on the Lord God of Heaven who did it all
Notice what He had done
It is God that has won the victory he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
They were giving honor to the Lord because they recognized that it was Him and His power 2 The Lord is my strength and song, And he is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; My father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name.
It was the Lord that cast the Egyptians into the sea. 4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea. 5 The depths have covered them: They sank into the bottom as a stone.
They did not take credit for being a great military strategist
They did not talk of how they defeated the enemy
They were not pinning metals on each other’s chest
It was all the power of God 6 Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy. 7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: Thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble. 8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, The floods stood upright as an heap, And the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
We could continue a reading of this chapter, this song and see the following
God is referred to in this chapter 31 times in only 27 verses
They recognized that it was all God
They take no credit for anything that happened
They do not even mention how quickly they ran or how they took care of their family
This is a story of praise to God for all that He has done
How often does God get the credit and the glory for the victories that you experience in your life?
Are you quick to think of yourself, your abilities, and your hard work
Do you look to give honor and glory to God for all that you are able to accomplish
Do you see God actively involved in your life, your family, and your career
Do you worship God for what He is doing in your life?
The Egyptians, their enemies had great plans 9 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.
They determined to chase after and destroy God’s people
They planned on getting their stuff back
They planned on getting vengeance
They thought that they in their power could do something
How often do you fall into the trap of thinking of what you can do?
The enemy does have real plans to destroy you
He is a thief come to steal to kill and to destroy John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
He is like a roaring lion I Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Our fight is against Satan and his army and not against people Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that things and circumstances are just happening
It is easy to look out and see who or what to blame
You are called to love and serve Jesus. You are not to get discouraged and want to quit.
You are to realize that in your life you are fighting to make much of Jesus and His power. Do not let Satan defeat you
How often do you think that the enemy is more powerful than he is?
You think that he really can catch you
Take your stuff away
Destroy you
Sing a Song of Worship 11 Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them. 13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
There is no other God like the Lord.
The world has many gods but only One is glorious in holiness
Only One is awesome in praise
Only One is the great God of mercy 13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
Only One comes and redeems His people
That means He finds us
He delivers us
He does the work
He pays the price to get us out of slavery and death to freedom and life
Only One leads and directs our paths
Only One God is so awesome that the unbelievers can see His power and know that He is real 14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina. 15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; The mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; All the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. 16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; By the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; Till thy people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.
The enemies in Palestina would hear about the great victory won by their God
Esau and his family would know that the God of Israel was alive and working
All those in Canaan would melt away in fear
They would hush their mouths and know that God was great
The lost world would know that God’s people had been purchased by Him and were receiving His promise 16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; By the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; Till thy people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.
It was God that was going to give them what He had promised them 17 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.
There would be no end to His power, His kingdom, His reign 18 The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
We sing because we recognize that the Lord has won a great victory 21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
We, like Miriam, should encourage others to sing
We should realize why we are singing
We should pay attention to whom we are singing
We should worship and magnify the Lord for what He has done
Even our children should learn from our songs what a great God we serve
From singing to complaining in 3 short days 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
We so easily forget what God has done for us
A little trouble and we are right back in the middle of our whining and complaining
We must guard against being so quick to turn our back on what God has done in our lives 23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
Even while we are complaining God has a solution to our problems 25 And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
Did you ever think that God is allowing some of these things to happen in your life to see if you will remember Him?
Did you ever stop to consider that if He did great things before He can and will do them again?
Did you ever stop to wonder how He was going to solve this problem?
He is going to turn your bitter water sweet
Learn from your past that He loves to answer but often waits to see if we will trust
God uses these experiences to let them know that He is going to continue doing great things 26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. 27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
God will do right and we can be sure of that
We are being tested to see if we will do right and if we will react correctly to what He is doing
We can trust that God doesn't treat us like He does His enemies
So be careful when you read Scripture to know who He is talking to
Doing right ensures that God will bless us in our pilgrimage
What decision will you make right now that will help you control your thoughts and not turn from singing to complaining so quickly and so easily?
Do you sing to the Lord?
Do you sing when we take the time to sing in our services?
Do you think the singing is just a warm-up for the preaching
Do you think that the singing is not important?
Do you realize that the singing is a time to talk to Him and tell Him how much you love Him and how much you recognize what He is doing in your life
It is also a time for your children to learn how much you love Him and to see that you recognize what He has done
I would challenge you to get in on time and to get involved in the singing
The singing reminds us of His great power. It helps us remember what He has done
Make sure you use the singing as a time to worship Him for what He is doing. Don’t just mouth the words. Don't just go through the motions
Singing is a very important part of our worship
Recognize and worship Him
Be careful to sing when things that are discouraging are happening because it is easy to forget what He has done
Don’t forget that He is testing you right now in the hard spot you are in to see if you will look to Him, worship Him, and believe Him