PRAY

Show me Your glory, I pray.
Exodus 33:18

READ

Israel saw the great work that the LORD did against the
Egyptians. So the people feared the LORD and believed in the 
LORD and in his servant Moses. Then Moses and the Israelites
sang this song to the LORD:“I will sing to the LORD, for he has
triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. 
The LORD is my strength and my might, and he has become
my salvation;this is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.”
Exodus 14:31-15:2

Have you ever been so happy that you burst into song? Have you ever made up the words or melody for a song? Singing seems built into the very nature of our being. Watch how little children love to bang pots and pans together and sing. Many times in ICU or hospice I’ve seen patients and families break forth in song. We sing because we are made in the image of God who sings joyfully over us (Zephaniah 3:17). When we come before God in worship we feel the urge to sing and not just think and talk. And when the book of Revelation pulls back the curtain on heaven, what do we see but people singing?

Thus, David, the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Samuel 23:1, KJV) was bound to sing of God’s deliverance from his trouble:

“He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD” (Psalm 40:2-3).

We are not surprised, then, to hear of Moses leading in song as soon as the Israelites step dry-footed onto the other side of the Red Sea. We did not hear them singing in the misery of Egypt, but now they are souls set free and singing.

The people of God are a singing people. Just look at the book of Psalms: 150 songs for singing! Countless are the stories of Christians singing as they faced the lions and fire. Countless are the stories of people strengthened in their singing. After Paul and Silas were severely beaten in Philippi and thrown into the innermost prison, fastened in stocks, we hear of them singing. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God” (Acts 16:25). So King David commanded the people: “Sing to him, sing praises to him, tell of all his wonderful works” (1 Chronicles 16:9).

Carl Boberg was a Swedish pastor and member of the Swedish Parliament who one day was returning home from a church service when a thunderstorm struck. The claps of thunder, flashes of lightning, strong gusts of wind, and then a beautiful rainbow stirred Boberg to write the lines of his beloved hymn “How Great Thou Art!”: “Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee, how great Thou art, how great Thou art.”

The song recorded in today’s scripture is the first song in the Bible, and it will be the last as we sing it into eternity. In the book of Revelation we shall stand beside another sea, “the sea of glass”, and “sing the song of Moses…and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3). The song of Moses will ever be our song. Like the ancient Israelites, we will burst forth in song about the Lord who “has triumphed gloriously.”

What will be our joy as we sing the song of Moses: “this is my God and I will praise him”! God has won an impossible victory for the Israelites, and for us. My God, how great Thou art!

REFLECT

• Can you think of a time when a hymn or praise song encouraged and helped you? If so, what was it? What makes that song special for you?

• Is there a song that today might express your praise and thanks to God?