The Complete Works of Stephen Charnock

A DlSCOURSE UPON THE HOLINESS OF GOD. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods 1 who is like ihee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders.—Exod. XV. 11. This verso is one of the loftiest descriptions of the majesty and excellency of God in the whole Scripture. It is a part of Moses's '???'?/?v, or triumphant song, after a great, and real, and a typical victory, in the womb of which all the deliverances of the church were couched. It is the first song upon holy record, and it consists of gratulatory and prophetic matter. It casts a look backward to what God did for them in their deliverance from Egypt ; and a look forward, to what God shall do for the church in future ages. That deliverance was but a rough draught of something more excellent to be wrought towards the closing up of the world ; when his plagues shall be poured out upon the antichristian powers, which should revive the same song of Moses in the church, as fitted so many ages before for such a scene of affairs, Rev. xv. 2, 8. It is observed therefore, that many words in this song are put in the future tense, noting a time to come ; and the very first word, ver. 1, ' Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song ;' "?1? shall sing ; implying, that it was composed and calculated for the celebrating some greater action of God's, which was to be wrought in the world. Upon this account some of the Jewish rabbins, from the consideration of this remark, asserted the doctrine of the resurrection to be meant in this place ;f that Moses and those Israelites should rise again to sing the same song, for some greater miracles God should work, and greater triumphs he should bring forth, exceeding those wonders at their deliverance from Egypt. It consists of,J 1. A preface ; ver. 1, ' I will sing...