The Song of Moses and of the Lamb
Composers/Singer- Tribulation Saints
Rev 15:1-4
Lyrics:
Great and marvellous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty;
Just and true are thy ways,
Thou King of saints.
Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?
For thou only art holy:
For all nations shall come and worship before thee;
For thy judgments are made manifest.
Looking through the Scriptures there is no book with these exact wordings or song or poem known as the song of Moses or of the Lamb. Moses did not sing these same words nor did the LORD Jesus himself. Why was this song called the song of Moses and of the Lamb?
There is something similar between the Lamb and Moses. Both were ‘redeemers’. While Moses was God’s instrument in redeeming the children of Israel from the land of bondage, the Lamb was God’s Messiah for all the nations of the world including Israel. The price of redemption was high in both cases. For Moses, it began with plagues which brought a lot of sufferings to the Egyptians before finally each house sacrificed their firstborn before Israel was let go. Passover lambs, which were types of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world, were slain and the blood posted on the doors of every house to ensure the angel of death did not touch the children of Israel during the Passover night. In the morning, there was a great cry in all of Egypt. There was no house where the firstborn did not die. The children of Israel were ransomed at a very high price and their deliverance was total and immediate.
The Lamb of God was sacrificed on the cross for the sin of all of mankind. He suffered and died for our sins. Him who knew no sin, became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. Both Moses and the Lamb obtained victory over the oppressors of Israel and mankind respectively. One shed the blood of the Passover lamb, the other was the lamb itself. And by these sacrifices they obtained victory. Moses sang his victory song: 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. Ex 15:1. The only recorded time the LORD Jesus sang was with his disciples- And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives Mt 26:30. I am sure the song was a song of his triumph as he faced death on the cross.
Therefore, the song of Moses and of the Lamb is a song of victory and of victors.
Now, these tribulation saints are the victorious ones too. And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God Rev 15:2.
How did they obtain victory and are now able to sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb? Let us note that these are the same as the ones in Rev 7:9-17. They did not just have harps to sing, they also were clothed in white robes with palms in their hands Rev 7:9. They are saints who came out of the great tribulation Rev 7:14. It means believers will clearly go through the great tribulation and many will overcome. Also, they had washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb Rev 7:14.
So, let us consider how they obtained the victory.
Victory by Faith in the Lamb
Therefore are they before the throne of God…Rev 7:15
There is a word going round that during the tribulation, people who were not raptured will pay for their salvation by their blood. This has been on many platforms and maybe some pulpits for a while. The Scriptures do not teach such. No one can pay for his salvation by his own blood. That idea nullifies the need for Christ’s work. There is no dispensation after now that men’s blood will become sufficient in themselves to save them and reconcile them to God. It is a lie! It is the pride of man that always wants to have a part in what God is doing. It is that pride that does not want God to be God and Him alone to be glorified. The only ground for justification and reconciliation to God in all generations is faith in the blood of the Lamb of God. It is by this faith that we have the victory 1 Jn 5:4. What is the need for Jesus to die if at some point the blood of men or their own sacrifices will be enough to save them?
The hymn writer wrote:
Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
We are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and faith alone is the connection.
Yet, faith without works is dead. What these saints demonstrated in refusing to worship the beast, the image of the beast and his mark and the number of his name was the expression of their faith in the finished work of the Lamb. Faith is not merely what we profess or confess but what we do. The expression of their faith is important but must rest on the foundation which is the person and the finished work of Christ.
Hebrews chapter eleven gives a catalogue of heroes of faith. “By faith” is the key word. It was by faith that “these all, having obtained a good report through faith… “ Heb 11:39. All the exploits that were done could not have been possible without faith- that God is and He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him Heb 11:6
Conclusion
The song of the tribulation saints is the song of victory. It is the song of Moses and of the Lamb who were themselves victors. They overcame by faith in the Lamb. It is faith in the Lamb that made them to reject all the subtleties of the Beast and his cohorts. Faith made them to stick to the Word of God and the Lamb as their Saviour. It is this same faith that will enable us to go through the challenges of today’s world and the great tribulation if it comes in our own time.
May you be in the number…saved by grace through faith. Amen