Saturday, November 23, 2019

Songs of Praise for Salvation

Exodus 15:1-21 
1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the Lord, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!  2 The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.  3 The Lord is a man of war; The Lord is His name.
    4 Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea. 5 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone.  6 “Your right hand, O Lord, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O Lord, has dashed the enemy in pieces.  7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.  8 And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.  9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.’  10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.
    11 “Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders?  12 You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them. 13 You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation.
    14 “The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; The mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.  16 Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over Whom You have purchased.
    17 You will bring them in and plant them In the mountain of Your inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.  18 “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”
    19 For the horses of Pharaoh went with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea upon them. But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
    20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered them:
    “Sing to the Lord,
    For He has triumphed gloriously!
    The horse and its rider
    He has thrown into the sea!”

Moses and all Israel sang praise in God’s victorious salvation from the enemies of God in the exodus from bondage and passage to freedom through the sea of parted waters!  God became their might and praise in song as they saw the chariots and army of mighty Pharaoh buried under the flood, covered under the depths.  They saw God, the God of their fathers, as their own, and exalted His holy name.  They acknowledged that it was entirely God’s powerful hand that did this, and not their own, that He fought the battle which was against Him because His people suffered.  Who is like Him?  He is truly “glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders.”  He is the only Lord God Almighty, merciful and redemptive, who guides His people to be free forever.  Accounts of this deliverance would echo through the world, engendering fear of this one God in the sight of His people.  The people of promise would certainly inherit all that God promised, living where He called them to go, where He lives.  Then the sister of Moses, Miriam, added to the song of praise as she gathered all the women to rejoice with her of God’s triumph over those set on their destruction, much like the saints will rejoice when God avenges His people’s blood shed from Cain until the final judgement (Revelation 6:10).  We see that God is to be honored to the uttermost part of heaven and praised with ever thankful hearts in song and word and deed for our deliverance from the bondage of sin through Christ Jesus our Savior.  And we will live in our promised land where He is in eternity at the end of the age to continue to sing His praises.  Amen. .

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