Supplication - Psalm 115:1

let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians.

Well then what happens next? God lifts the restraints, the waters come crashing down, the sea swallows up Pharaoh and his entire army, chariots and all. And it's at this point we must ask ourselves, when Yahweh parted the sea, where were the gods of Egypt? When Yahweh closed the sea, where were the gods of Egypt? Where were the gods of Egypt when Yahweh put the power of his name on display? They were nowhere to be found. Now, if you would please turn to Psalm 106 with me in verse number six, we're just gonna look at that briefly. And it's here that the author gives a commentary on Israel at the Red Sea, acknowledging their sin, acknowledging the steadfast love of God, and the power of his mighty name. Psalm 106, verses six through eight.

Both we and our fathers have sinned. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedness. Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, they did not consider your wondrous works. They did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his namesake, that he might make known his mighty power.

So in his steadfast love, God came to Israel's rescue, and he glorified his name, the one true living God and creator of the universe, Israel's God and savior, put on display the power and the glory of his mighty name. Well, now let's consider the faithfulness of God. The faithfulness of God. In keeping with the context of Psalm 115 and considering the Exodus, God's faithfulness is tied inextricably to his steadfast love. In his steadfast love, God came to Israel's rescue, and in so doing, he was faithful to the people with whom he made a covenant. Now, this covenant was a divine, legally binding contract to fulfill a promise that was made to Abraham. In Genesis chapter 12, then we have the Abrahamic covenant. Now you don't have to turn there, but I'll just read verses one and two in Genesis 12.

Now the Lord said to Abram, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.

So God promised to bring forth from Abraham a great nation and to have land, and that land was the land of Canaan. Then in Exodus chapter 12, God prepares Israel for their departure from Egypt by instituting the Passover. And in verses 15 and 51, God's word says this.

All the people of Israel did just as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron. And on that very day, the Lord brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.

Then a generation later, we read in Joshua 1, verse 2,

Moses, my servant, is dead. Now, therefore, arise. Go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

So as we see, the scripture reveals to us the covenant-keeping God of Israel, who was faithful to bring his people out of Egypt and into the promised land, fulfilling his covenants and promises. And despite all of Israel's wavered commitments and disobedience to God for generations, the steadfast love of God and the faithfulness of God never wavered. He never failed in his commitments and covenants to his beloved people, Israel. God lavished his steadfast love upon him as a faithful God. And the psalmist now longs for God to glorify his name. And he has every right to glorify his name. God has absolutely every right to glorify his name. So here his people commemorate their rescue from Egypt and Pharaoh when they write the psalm to exalt the greatness of God. To exalt his greatness over all the worthless idols of the nations who do not even compare to the greatness of God.

Not to us, oh Lord, not to us, but to your name, give glory.

So what does all this mean for us? As Christians, as believers on this side of history, what about believers on this side of the cross? Well, like the Old Testament saints, we too say,

not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory. For the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness

, we want your name to be great in all the land and all the earth. And as Christians, we now reflect on all of God's glorious work, just as a psalmist does. And now we have a complete and clear picture of how the Lord Jesus Christ comes to the rescue of sinners, sinners facing imminent death and the destruction of eternal punishment for sin and eternal hell. Well consider the parting of the red sea As god through moses provided physical salvation from physical slavery god through christ provides spiritual salvation from spiritual slavery to sin and death And what rich symbolism and baptism we see of the believers identification identification with the death burial and resurrection of christ Which is why paul says in first corinthians chapter 10

For I want you to know brothers that our fathers were all under the cloud And all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.

The rock was Christ. So just as the Israelites were baptized into Moses, so too are Christians baptized into Christ. The steadfast love and faithfulness of God preserved the people whom he loved to fulfill his covenants and to bring glory to his mighty and powerful name. Now, as we close our time together tonight, I have just four points of application for you to consider. Number one, take spiritual inventory of your life. Take spiritual inventory of your life. And the purpose in doing so is to identify anything that would rob God of his glory that he deserves. And so I must ask you, are you currently grumbling to God? Are you dissatisfied in your current circumstance? Whatever it may be, just as the Israelites were at the Red Sea when they grumbled to God in their circumstance. Perhaps you've been cultivating that attitude, that sin. Therefore, I must admonish you, beloved, you need to lay the ax to the root and kill your sin, or your sin will be killing you. Because sin, pervasive sin, can stifle your sanctification Suffocate your fellowship with believers Stagnate your worship and stiffen your heart towards god But worst of all it robs god of the glory that he deserves from your life So with that number two go to the lord in prayer Go to the lord in prayer and pray about it and repent of it unto obedience Because if you want god to get glory from your life, then you need to uproot and throw out that which would hinder his glory So ask your heavenly father for help because he is faithful and trustworthy. You can trust him. Number three, meditate on the steadfast love and the faithfulness of Christ. Meditate on the steadfast love and the faithfulness of Christ. Now in light of the Red Sea and the foreshadowing of Christ, meditate deeply on your death, burial and resurrection with him. And lastly, but not least, rejoice. Rejoice. If you would please turn to Exodus chapter 14 and verse 30 with me. Let's look at a few verses there. Exodus chapter 14 verses 30 and 31.

Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians. And Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power of the Lord used against the Egyptians so the people feared the Lord and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses.

Well then what happens next? As you go into chapter 15, they just burst into rejoicing and singing. Look at verses one and two with me in chapter 15, immediately following.

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord saying, I will sing to the Lord for he has triumphed gloriously. The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, and I will exalt him.

Now jump over to verses 11 to 13. The author writes,

who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand, and the earth swallowed them. You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed. You have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.

So considering all the worthless gods and idols of the nations, who among them even compares to the Lord God? Who among them compares to the steadfast love and the faithfulness of the one true living God? And so, as we see in Psalm 115, Israel humbled themselves, saying,

not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name, give glory.

Let's bow our heads in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you once again for this sweet time of fellowship, teaching and preaching. We are grateful and thankful to you, and we praise you that you never waver in your steadfast love and your faithfulness. Your faithfulness to accomplish all that you please to do in the heavens, in the earth, and eternity to come. And despite our wavering commitments and obedience to you, Father, we, you, stay the same, and so does your love. We thank you for all that you have done for your glory through Christ our Savior. We ask that you would help us to meditate and rejoice in the accomplished work of Christ. Let these glorious truths be in the forefront of our hearts and our minds, and may your spirit dwell with us forever. We exalt you, we give you all the glory, and we say as the psalmist does,

not to us, oh Lord, not to us, but to your name, give glory.

We pray these things in Christ our Savior, amen.