On 18 July 2021, I had the honor and joy of proclaiming God’s Word from Deuteronomy 32.1–43 at Faith Presbyterian Church of Olney in Olney, MD, where I am a member. It is in the presbytery in which I currently hold a “license to preach.”

This sermon is the second of four planned—Lord willing—on the biblical songs associated with Moses:

1. Exodus 15.1–18, which has been traditionally called שירת הים, the “Song of/at the Sea”;
2. Deuteronomy 32.1–43, which is usually called the “Song of Moses” in the English-speaking traditions (cf. 31.19-22, 30; 32.44) but שירת האזינו, the “Song of ‘Listen Up’” (from the first word of the song), in Hebrew-speaking traditions;
3. Psalm 90, which has the superscription תפלה למשה איש האלהים, “A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God,” and is the only canonical psalm ascribed explicitly to Moses; and
4. Revelation 15.3–4, which v. 3 introduces as τὴν ᾠδὴν Μωϋσέως τοῦ δούλου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν ᾠδὴν τοῦ ἀρνίου, “the Song of Moses, the Slave of God, and the Song of the Lamb.”

Order of Worship

Below is the order of worship that provides some liturgical context for the sermon:

Video Recording

You can view the sermon on Deuteronomy 32.1–43 here:

If you would like a manuscript, please contact me. Reproduced below is the bibliography.

Bibliography

Sources Directly Contributing to the Content and Form of the Sermon

• Bower, John R. The Confession of Faith: A Critical Text and Introduction. Principle Documents of the Westminster Assembly. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2020.
• ———. The Larger Catechism: A Critical Text and Introduction. Principle Documents of the Westminster Assembly. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage, 2010.
• Craigie, Peter C. The Book of Deuteronomy. NICOT. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1976.
• ———. “A Note on Judges V 2.” VT 18 (1968): 397-99.
• Crowe, Brandon D. The Path of Faith: A Biblical Theology of Covenant and Law. ESBT. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2021.
• McConville, J. Gordon. Deuteronomy. ApOTC. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002.
• Murray, John. Principles of Conduct: Aspects of Biblical Ethics. 1957. Repr., Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994.
• Nelson, Richard D. Deuteronomy. OTL. 2002. Repr., Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2004.
• Tigay, Jeffrey H. Deuteronomy: The Traditional Hebrew Text with The New JPS Translation. The JPS Torah Commentary. Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society, 1996.

Sources Indirectly Contributing to My Preparation

• Bavinck, Herman. God and Creation. Vol. 2 of Reformed Dogmatics. Edited by John Bolt. Translated by John Vriend. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2004.
• Block, Daniel I. “Recovering the Voice of Moses: The Genesis of Deuteronomy.” Pages 21–51 in The Gospel according to Moses: Theological and Ethical Reflections on the Book of Deuteronomy. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2012.
• Crowe, Brandon D. Why Did Jesus Live a Perfect Life? The Necessity of Christ’s Obedience for Our Salvation. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, forthcoming.
• Knight, George A. F. The Song of Moses: A Theological Quarry. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994.
• Letham, Robert. Systematic Theology. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019.
• McConville, J. Gordon. Grace in the End: A Study in Deuteronomic Theology. Studies in Old Testament Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1993.
• Millard, Alan. “Deuteronomy and Ancient Hebrew History Writing in Light of Ancient Chronicles and Treaties.” Pages 2–15 in For Our God Always: Studies on the Message and Influence of Deuteronomy in Honor of Daniel I. Block. Edited by Jason S. DeRouchie, Jason Gile, and Kenneth J. Turner. Winona Lake: IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.
• Redd, John Scott. “Deuteronomy.” Pages 133–57 in A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised. Edited by Miles V. Van Pelt. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016.
• Vogt, Peter T. “‘These Are the Words of Moses’: Implied Audience and a Case for a Pre-Monarchic Dating of Deuteronomy.” Pages 61–80 in For Our God Always: Studies on the Message and Influence of Deuteronomy in Honor of Daniel I. Block. Edited by Jason S. DeRouchie, Jason Gile, and Kenneth J. Turner. Winona Lake: IN: Eisenbrauns, 2013.

Recommended Resources

For someone seeking the most “bang for buck” in studying this passage and others in Deuteronomy, I would recommend Craigie’s NICOT commentary, its publication date (1976) notwithstanding.

Some of the introductions in Van Pelt’s (ed.) OT introduction are better than others. I thought Redd’s contribution on Deuteronomy (pp. 133–58) was excellent.

I also highly recommend Crowe’s Path of Faith (pp. 51–55) for a bigger-picture orientation of the place that Deuteronomy occupies in the development of covenantal history from Genesis to Revelation.

And for understanding the role that fear of God plays in the Christian life and application of Scripture, I highly recommend ch. 10 (pp. 229–42) in Murray’s Principles of Conduct.