3They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “Great and marvellous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty, just and true are your ways, O King of the nations 4for who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name, for you alone are holy, because all the nations will come and worship before you, because your righteous deeds have been revealed”
(Revelation 15:3-4)
As I wrote in the previous Gem, there is some confusion over what song(s) were sung. Were two songs sung by those who were victorious over the beast, his statue and the number of his name or was it just one? As I explained in Gem 2330, we have the lyrics of a number of songs to choose from.
The Song of Moses (#1)
- I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously;
- he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.
- The LORD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.
- This is my God, and I will praise him—my father’s God, and I will exalt him!
- The LORD is a warrior; Yahweh is his name!
- Pharaoh’s chariots and army he has hurled into the sea.
- The finest of Pharaoh’s officers are drowned in the Red Sea.
- The deep waters gushed over them; they sank to the bottom like a stone.
- Your right hand, O LORD, is glorious in power.
- Your right hand, O LORD, smashes the enemy.
- In the greatness of your majesty, you overthrow those who rise against you.
- You unleash your blazing fury; it consumes them like straw.
- At the blast of your breath, the waters piled up!
- The surging waters stood straight like a wall; in the heart of the sea the deep waters became hard.
- The enemy boasted, ‘I will chase them and catch up with them.
- I will plunder them and consume them. I will flash my sword; my powerful hand will destroy them.’
- But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them.
- They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
- Who is like you among the gods, O LORD
- glorious in holiness, awesome in splendour, performing great wonders?
- You raised your right hand, and the earth swallowed our enemies.
- “With your unfailing love you lead the people you have redeemed.
- In your might, you guide them to your sacred home.
- The peoples hear and tremble; anguish grips those who live in Philistia.
- The leaders of Edom are terrified; the nobles of Moab tremble.
- All who live in Canaan melt away; terror and dread fall upon them.
- The power of your arm makes them lifeless as stone until your people pass by,
- O LORD, until the people you purchased pass by.
- You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain —
- the place, O LORD, reserved for your own dwelling,
- the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established.
- The LORD will reign forever and ever!”
Exodus 15:1-18
The Song of Moses (#2)
- Listen, O heavens, and I will speak! Hear, O earth, the words that I say!
- Let my teaching fall on you like rain; let my speech settle like dew.
- Let my words fall like rain on tender grass, like gentle showers on young plants.
- I will proclaim the name of the LORD; how glorious is our God!
- He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair.
- He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!
- “But they have acted corruptly toward him; when they act so perversely, are they really his children?
- They are a deceitful and twisted generation. Is this the way you repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people?
- Isn’t he your Father who created you? Has he not made you and established you?
- Remember the days of long ago; think about the generations past. Ask your father, and he will inform you.
- Inquire of your elders, and they will tell you.
- When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race,
- he established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number in his heavenly court.
- “For the people of Israel belong to the LORD; Jacob is his special possession.
- He found them in a desert land, in an empty, howling wasteland.
- He surrounded them and watched over them; he guarded them as he would guard his own eyes.
- Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young,
- so he spread his wings to take them up and carried them safely on his pinions.
- The LORD alone guided them; they followed no foreign gods.
- He let them ride over the highlands and feast on the crops of the fields.
- He nourished them with honey from the rock and olive oil from the stony ground.
- He fed them yogurt from the herd and milk from the flock, together with the fat of lambs.
- He gave them choice rams from Bashan, and goats, together with the choicest wheat.
- You drank the finest wine, made from the juice of grapes.
- “But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed!
- Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.
- They stirred up his jealousy by worshiping foreign gods; they provoked his fury with detestable deeds.
- They offered sacrifices to demons, which are not God, to gods they had not known before,
- to new gods only recently arrived, to gods their ancestors had never feared.
- You neglected the Rock who had fathered you; you forgot the God who had given you birth.
- “The LORD saw this and drew back, provoked to anger by his own sons and daughters.
- He said, ‘I will abandon them; then see what becomes of them.
- For they are a twisted generation, children without integrity.
- They have roused my jealousy by worshiping things that are not God;
- they have provoked my anger with their useless idols.
- Now I will rouse their jealousy through people who are not even a people;
- I will provoke their anger through the foolish Gentiles.
- For my anger blazes forth like fire and burns to the depths of the grave.
- It devours the earth and all its crops and ignites the foundations of the mountains.
- I will heap disasters upon them and shoot them down with my arrows.
- I will weaken them with famine, burning fever, and deadly disease.
- I will send the fangs of wild beasts and poisonous snakes that glide in the dust.
- Outside, the sword will bring death,
- Inside, terror will strike both young men and young women, both infants and the aged.
- I would have annihilated them, wiping out even the memory of them.
- But I feared the taunt of Israel’s enemy, who might misunderstand and say,
- “Our own power has triumphed! The LORD had nothing to do with this!”’
- “But Israel is a senseless nation; the people are foolish, without understanding.
- Oh, that they were wise and could understand this! Oh, that they might know their fate!
- How could one person chase a thousand of them, and two people put ten thousand to flight,
- unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- But the rock of our enemies is not like our Rock, as even they recognize.
- Their vine grows from the vine of Sodom, from the vineyards of Gomorrah.
- Their grapes are poison, and their clusters are bitter.
- Their wine is the venom of serpents, the deadly poison of cobras.
- “The LORD says, ‘Am I not storing up these things, sealing them away in my treasury?
- I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip.
- Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.’
- “Indeed, the LORD will give justice to his people, and he will change his mind about his servants,
- when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.
- Then he will ask, ‘Where are their gods, the rocks they fled to for refuge?
- Where now are those gods, who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their offerings?
- Let those gods arise and help you! Let them provide you with shelter!
- Look now; I myself am he! There is no other god but me!
- I am the one who kills and gives life;
- I am the one who wounds and heals;
- no one can be rescued from my powerful hand!
- Now I raise my hand to heaven and declare,
- “As surely as I live, when I sharpen my flashing sword and begin to carry out justice,
- I will take revenge on my enemies and repay those who reject me.
- I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh
- the blood of the slaughtered and the captives, and the heads of the enemy leaders.”’
- “Rejoice with him, you heavens, and let all of God’s angels worship him.
- Rejoice with his people, you Gentiles, and let all the angels be strengthened in him.
- For he will avenge the blood of his children; he will take revenge against his enemies.
- He will repay those who hate him and cleanse his people’s land.”
Deuteronomy 32:1-43
So Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song to the people. When Moses had finished reciting all these words to the people of Israel, he added: “Take to heart all the words of warning I have given you today. Pass them on as a command to your children so they will obey every word of these instructions.These instructions are not empty words—they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordan River.”
Deuteronomy 32:44-47
The Song of The Lamb
- Great and marvellous are your works,
- O Lord God, the Almighty.
- Just and true are Your ways,
- O King of the nations.
- Who will not fear You, Lord,
- and glorify Your name?
- For You alone are holy.
- All nations will come and worship before You,
- for Your righteous deeds have been revealed.
(Revelation 15:3-4)
I think you will agree that there is no direct parallel between either of the songs of Moses as laid out above. Neither is there a close match between this Song of the Lamb and the short version of the Song of Moses from Exodus 15:21
- “[I will] Sing unto the LORD
- for he has triumphed gloriously
- the horse and rider thrown into the sea.
- The LORD is God and I will praise Him.
- My Fathers’ God and I will exalt Him.”
While the Songs of Moses from Exodus and Deuteronomy are battle songs, hymning the LORD as a conquering, victorious warrior, there the similarity ends. There is just not the same tone or feeling generated from this Revelation Song called The Song of The Lamb. Where then does it come from; what is the source?
I think it comes from John’s own creativity or genius. I have taken the song found in Revelation 15:3-4 and laid it out on alternate lines; with the source from whence it came on alternate lines below each line of the song.
- Great and marvellous are your works,
- Psalm 111:2 [LXX – 110:2]
- O Lord God, the Almighty.
- Amos 3:13, 4:13
- Just and true are Your ways,
- Just and upright is he Deut 32:4
- O King of the nations.
- Who would not fear you, O King of nations? Jeremiah 10:7
- Who will not fear You, Lord,
- ||: Jeremiah 10:7
- and glorify Your name?
- Psalm 85:9 [LXX ]
- For You alone are holy.
- Found in numerous places in Psalm 99:3,5,9
- All nations will come and worship before You,
- Isaiah 2:3; Jeremiah 16:19-21
- for Your righteous deeds have been revealed.
- Psalm 98:2-3
In other words, this is an eclectic work of John’s hand in plucking these concepts from Old Testament readings from the Greek Version [the Septuagint – LXX]. John has crafted this song from passages in the Septuagint which mirror the very theme words he has put into his Gospel: just, true, truth, righteous deeds, glory, worship. But even more to the point, and even more relevant to what he has woven into Revelation. Or perhaps more to the point, what God gave him in visions and audible voice throughout the Revelation.
My conclusion therefore is John has composed this Song of The Lamb himself to reflect these key theme words which he has already included in his Gospel. Furthermore, are they not far more appropriate in terms of all the Lamb of God has done for those who have gained victory over satan and his beast? I am sure you can work out the connections between the text of John’s Song of the Lamb and the points of similarity with what he has written in Revelation. Each one of these lines in the Song of the Lamb from Revelation 15:3-4 has an immediate correlation with John’s text in Revelation. It’s like it’s a summary of what he has said, set to music or in the form of a poem. See if you can find the matches for yourself. If you can’t let me know and I will do it for you in a following Gem.
But even more remarkable is the fact that the end of this song is written in the past completed tense, yet the event they are singing about is yet to come in the future. Wow, that too is worth noting. As you know John has focused on the nations via four different terms. Tribe, Language, People and Nation. See the chart I gave you, go back and review the Gem series Tribe, Language, People, Nation – Does it Matter? The same kind of connections come to the surface with each of the lines in the Song of the Lamb. It’s fascinating, to say the least.
I believe I have “said / written” enough now on the analysis on these songs. Perhaps now I just need to address the questions that numbers of you have come up with to ensure I have answered them all.
Are they singing at the demise of their persecutors? No, definitely not.
Why do they start singing? Given the scope of the victory won and the significance of it as spelled out in the text of the Old Testatment [The Law, the Prophets and the Writings], why would they not sing? It is the perfect song to express all that God has done in Christ to ensure victory over satan and the beast by Christ’s marvellous righteous acts and His resurrection which has cancelled the power of death and resulted in them being able to enter the Life of the Age to Come. He is right and just to judge the nations. All nations indeed will come and worship the Lamb. Who among them, nations or individuals, would not fear or reverence Him?
What is it that they are singing? John’s song which he put into the text of Revelation 15. In much the same way as he has added other songs which have become part of our church heritage. In that way I guess you could say the Song of the Lamb has become prophetic. How appropriate!
Where do they get the words from? From the Old Testament (LXX). Passages and lines which are familiar to those who know their Bibles well. Or by following the text of John’s letter to the churches it becomes clear and obvious.
How is it they all know the words of the song? Familiarity with the text of Scripture and the fact that the songs of Revelation have become part of the Songbook of the Church for obvious reasons.
Are there two songs involved or just one song? I think John has either crafted the Song of The Lamb or he heard it sung by angels and the gathered multitude. I wonder if it has something to do with the New Song which the Redeemed will sing. It could be inspired from any one of these options. But I do think the Song of the Lamb is unique to those who will be victorious over satan and his beast at the time of the end. For all of the reasons related to the lyrics of the song and its context in the passages in which the lines come from in the Old Testament.
There are indeed two songs which run parallel to the Song of the Lamb. The marvellous scene of the victorious ones standing on or beside the sea is reminiscent of a re-enactment of that first wonderful victory secured for the first batch of the Children of God over Pharaoh and his forces at the time of the first Exodus. There is in fact a parallel here. I could say more but I don’t wish to stretch it beyond the limits of what God intended. I still think there is a huge allusion behind the thunder, lightning, earthquake and hail.
I also suggested to you to take time to look back at our hanging questions and start putting the pieces I have given you together. Then I think it would be time to consider Kevin’s hanging question about the Rapture in the light of James’ comment.
They shouted to the Lord and said, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you judge the people who belong to this world and avenge our blood for what they have done to us?”
Revelation 6:10
Then the thunder crashed and rolled, and lightning flashed. And a great earthquake struck—the worst since people were placed on the earth.
Revelation 16:18
There was a terrible hailstorm, and hailstones weighing as much as seventy-five pounds fell from the sky onto the people below. They cursed God because of the terrible plague of the hailstorm.
Revelation 16:21
And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?”
Revelation 6:16-17