Exodus15v1to21: THE SONG OF MOSES AND MIRIAMIntroduction: Read Exodus15v1to21. I am indebted to that great nineteenth century preacher C.H. Spurgeon for the structure of this exposition. He provided the inspiration which was sadly lacking in my case. (1) The TIME of the singing of this song. There is a time for singing! Even the birds are aware of this. They sing to celebrate the rising of the sun and they sing for sheer pleasure on a gorgeous summer's evening. How I love to hear the blackbird's song as the sun sets at the close of a sparkling June day. It is one of the greatest sounds on earth - even exceeding the nightingale in sweetness. Moses and Miriam sang to: (a) Celebrate salvation. "The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." v2. There wasn't much to sing about in Egypt. We don't read the Israelites sang at the rapid approach of Pharaoh's chariots. But after Pharaoh's fighting force was destroyed in the waters of the Red Sea - Moses sang, Miriam sang, Miriam's chorus of women sang and in the end I expect all the people sang. They sang of God's deliverance. This surely should be something for Christians to sing about. I am glad that there are several hymns that make salvation their theme. I love the hymn, 'What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought' but Rufus Henry McDaniel. It almost sets me dancing!
Since Jesus came into my heart! And my sins, which were many, are all washed away Since Jesus came into my heart
Since Jesus came into my heart!
(b) Celebrate victory over a mighty enemy. "The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is his name. Pharaoh's chariots and his army he has hurled into the sea." v4. A seemingly invincible foe - one who spread panic in the Israelite ranks and seemed set to recapture God's people - was destroyed by the LORD of Hosts. How football fans sing when their team has a great victory - especially a victory over age old rivals and enemies. The fans stay behind after the match - singing, singing, singing - they don't ever want to stop. Every Sunday Christians meet to remember that first day of the week when Jesus rose from the dead and got the victory over ALL our worst enemies: sin, despair, death and destruction. Jesus' saving work and triumphant resurrection mean the words of Isaac Watt's great hymn will one day be true for all believers:
Shall vex my eyes and ears no more; My inward foes shall all be slain, Nor Satan break my peace again.
Pharaoh mobilised his elite troops; highly trained, well armed and conveyed by the very latest, high-tech chariots. All God used was his knowledge of local geography and a strong east wind. But that combination was more than a match for Pharaoh's soldiers. The Daily Telegraph for July 2nd 2014 contained the obituary of Christian Fuhrer, the former pastor of St Nicholas Lutheran Church in Leipzig. He organised prayers and open-air vigils for freedom of movement between communist East Germany and West Germany. As time passed more and more people participated in these vigils. As the numbers grew so did opposition from the authorities. On the evening of Oct 9th 1989 70, 000 marched through the streets. The protest was nonviolent. The crowd clutching candles and flowers marched through the city in a peaceful demonstration chanting the slogan, "We are the people". Local police and political leaders shied away from armed intervention. "We were ready for anything except for candles and prayer," an East German official was quoted as saying. The following week, 120,000 people turned up for the vigil and the week after that, 320, 000. On November 9th the Berlin Wall tumbled down. "What I saw that evening still gives me the shivers today," Fuhrer said in an interview in 2009. "And if anything deserves the word 'miracle' at all, then this was a miracle of Biblical proportions." God used prayers and candles to bring about the German unification. The wind blew in the Arabian Desert and the enemies of God's people were confounded. The wind has blown many times since. If only the Holy Spirit would blow again in Britain the church would grow once more to discomfit all its enemies. In truth, Christians can celebrate salvation, victory and the wonder working influence of the Holy Spirit at any time.
Who never knew our God; But children of the heavenly King, But children of the heavenly King, Must speak their joys abroad, Must speak their joys abroad. (2) The TONE of the song. The tone of the song was: (a) Enthusiastic. The song of Moses and Miriam was not sung half-heartedly. Charles Spurgeon said, "There's not a dull line in it." If you were an Israelite how could you sing unenthusiastically: "Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power. Your right hand, O LORD shattered the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you threw down those who opposed you." v6and7. I find it appalling that English footballers lined up before an international fixture cannot be bothered to sing the National Anthem. When I was a grammar school boy 60 years ago our old fashioned assemblies always included a hymn. You have never heard more pitiful singing. How sad when Christians sing some of the great hymns of our Faith with scarcely an ounce of animation. They cannot be taking much note of the words when they mouth listlessly Charles Wesley's great hymn, 'And can it be,' staring vacantly into space. (b) Personal. "I will sing to the LORD for he is highly exalted. ..... The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." v1and2. I expect the Israelites eventually learned the words of Moses song and sang it collectively. Singing is best done collectively. There is something magnificent about massed choirs or a large congregation singing in unison and making the rafters ring. However the words Moses used meant that everyone could make its sentiments their own. Some of our best hymns are like that:
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine!
There are some hymns we sing that do make me wince. Our former pastor, Simon Ladd, always omitted this verse from, 'When we walk with the Lord':
Not a cloud in the skies But his smile quickly drives it away; Not a doubt nor a fear, Not a sigh nor a tear Can abide while we trust and obey.
Not a mite would I withhold; Take my intellect, and use Every power as Thou shalt chose.
(d) Joyous. Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron's sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them:
I expect Miriam led the women in singing this refrain over and over again while dancing and accompanying themselves on the tambourine. This is reminiscent of charismatic worship and how the "Sally Army" used to be. It was joyous singing. There is nothing self-conscious about it, rather it is uninhibited, loud, rhythmic, exciting and glorious - nothing like the dirges that pass as praise in some churches that will not even sanction the use of a musical instrument. (3) The THEME of the song. The song was: (a) All of God. There is not a word in the song about Moses. It is not like the women's song after the Philistines had been defeated: Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands. 1Sam18v7. Moses song is all about God. When we worship, to quote C.H. Spurgeon: 'Let us forget men, forget earth, forget time, forget self, forget this mortal life and only think of God.' This is not easy. Whenever my father conducted a service and my mother was unable to attend her first question when he arrived home was: "Who was there?" It is easy to be preoccupied with who is there and, perhaps even more so, with who is NOT there and should be there! Others can be preoccupied with their comfort - the temperature, the draught and the hardness of the pews. A few more may be seething at the preacher's mannerisms. Various distractions divert the feckless: fidgety children, poor old Sid who is asleep again, a droning bluebottle. One lady hasn't taken in a word of what has been sung or said - she has been brooding because no one has commented on her new outfit. (Everyone has been too kind to say anything!) Very rarely do we give our all in praise of God. (b) About what God had done. Here is just a sample: "Who is like you - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders? You stretched out your right hand and the earth swallowed them." v11and12. It is good to sing hymns that celebrate everything God has done for us in providence and grace. What a lot we have to thank him for:
C.H. Spurgeon gloried in the fact that: God has chosen us, he has redeemed us, he has called us, he has quickened us, he has preserved us, he has sanctified us and he will perfect us in Christ Jesus. How Christians should love to sing a hymn like, 'A sovereign Protector I have,' by Augustus Toplady. I read in Edmund Goss's memoire of his youth how his mother, as she lay dying, sang over and over again:
Thee, Thee for my God I avow; My glad Ebeneezer set up And own Thou has helped me till now. I muse on the years that are past Wherein my defence Thou has proved; Nor wilt thou relinquish at last A sinner so signally loved. I am a great fan of, 'Cheers,' the American comedy set in a Boston bar owned by Sam Mayday Malone a former baseball pitcher. His bar man is called, 'Coach,' because he was a baseball coach! When a former player dies Coach organises a memorial service to be held in Sam's bar. A lot of ancient baseball stars turn up. Nobody has a good word to say about the dead player. In the end the guests decide to take the player's effigy - a life size cardboard cut out - and hang it in the street. As the ex-players tumble out of Cheers the barmaid, Diane Chambers, begins to sing, 'Amazing Grace.' The grumpy old men troop back into the bar and join in the singing:
That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind but now I see. (c) About future blessings. "In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling. v13. You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance - the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling. v17. Moses confidently predicts that God will lead the Israelites to the Land of Promise. There might be difficulties, setbacks and enemies along the way but in the end the God of all faithfulness would plant them on the mountain of their inheritance. This was Moses hope, Aaron and Miriam's hope and the hope of all the people. Moses and Miriam's song celebrates their confidence in God and their burning hope. I love to sing of future blessings. Some of the choicest songs in our hymnbooks look forward to the 'land of fadeless day and the city foursquare.' One of my favourites is, 'Forever with the Lord:'
Amen, so let it be! Life from the dead is in that word, 'Tis immortality. Here in the body pent, Absent from him I roam, Yet nightly pitch my moving tent A day's march nearer home. (4) Conclusion. Moses rejoiced to be able to sing: "He is MY God and I will praise him." The LORD was the God who revealed himself to Moses, who kept his promises to his servant, who set his people free and who would, one way or another, lead his people to the Promised Land. Surely it is the delight of the Christian to sing a hymn like Frederick Fabers':
Thy majesty how bright! How beautiful Thy mercy-seat, In depths of burning light!
How wonderful, how beautiful,
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