“And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb…” (Revelation 15:1-4, NASB)

People sing when they are happy. What song do you sing when you are happy? There are many things that make us happy, but as Christians, nothing compares to the joy we feel in our salvation! What kind of song should we sing as those who have been saved, delivered, and redeemed from the eternal hell and given new life in heaven? Today’s passage says we are to sing “the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.” Today’s reading says that John saw people in heaven singing a song of victory to God as they rejoiced over their victory over Satan. It says,

“And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished. And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, ‘Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; For all the nations will come and worship before Thee, for Thy righteous acts have been revealed.’”

Who were these people, and why were they singing praise to God? First, it says that they were “those who had come off victorious from the beast and from his image and from the number of his name.” In other words, they were believers who overcame the Antichrist and his followers during the Great Tribulation Period through the blood of the Lamb and faith in Jesus. Their victory is indeed a great achievement, for those who choose to believe in Jesus in those days would have to die for their faith by rejecting the mark of the beast (Rev.14:13).

Second, it says that they were singing “the song of Moses” and “the song of the Lamb.” The song of Moses is actually recorded in Exodus 15:1-18. However, if you compare the two songs, you will quickly realize that their content does not match. Nowhere in Exodus 15 do we find the words,

“Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations. Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone are holy; for all the nations will come and worship before Thee, for Thy righteous acts have been revealed.”

So in what way were they singing the song of Moses? Both songs share a theme of gratitude and worship, expressing thanks to God for providing deliverance. Moses sang his song to the Lord immediately after witnessing the Red Sea open up and his people walking on dry land, while Pharaoh and his entire army drowned in the sea. Therefore, when it says these saints were singing the song of Moses, it was not referring to the song’s content but to its spirit. To me, “the song of Moses” and “the song of the Lamb” are not two separate songs but one song that praises the greatness of God for His deliverance act through Christ, the Lamb of God.

Today, Christians around the world sing “the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb” in spirit in their worship services. Christians all over the world sing the song of Moses in their own languages. The words of the song may differ, but the spirit of the song remains the same. They are singing to praise God for His greatness and thanking Him for His salvation and deliverance from our enemy, the devil, who had the power of death because of our sins. Much like the deliverance of the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh at the Red Sea, we have been delivered from the hand of Satan at the cross of Christ.

Try to imagine how these saints would have sung this song in John’s vision. How would they have sung this song as they expressed praise and thanks for God’s deliverance? When Moses and the elders sang their song, they rejoiced, and Miriam even led the women in dancing (Ex.15:20). When David was bring the ark of God to Jerusalem, he sang and danced before the Lord (2 Sam.6:14). When the prodigal son returned home, his father and his whole house celebrated with feasting, singing, and dancing (Lk.15:25). Jesus told a parable of the lost sheep and lost coin to teach that the angels in heaven rejoices over one sinner who repents (Lk.15:7, 10). According to the NIV version of the Bible, the Prophet Zephaniah prophesied, “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph.3:17). Try to imagine the Lord singing and dancing with joy over our salvation! Try to imagine the angels in heaven rejoicing and dancing in heaven over one sinner who repents! These saints sang the song of Moses and of the Lamb, and this is the song that we will sing when we go home! Do you sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb in your life? Does your church sing this song in your worship service?

• What do you think “the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb” represent?
• Does your church praise and thank God with singing, dancing, and rejoicing?