Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him. The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name. "Pharaoh's chariots and his host he cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble. At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up; the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, 'I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.' You blew with your wind; the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters. "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. "You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode. The peoples have heard; they tremble; pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia. Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away. Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone, till your people, O LORD, pass by, till the people pass by whom you have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established. The LORD will reign forever and ever." For when the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, the LORD brought back the waters of the sea upon them, but the people of Israel walked on dry ground in the midst of the sea. Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: "Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea."
Exodus 15:1-21
The song of Moses is a song celebrating the mighty acts of God in redemption. This is very significant for us, and we can learn a great deal from it. It tells us, for one thing, that redemption is the true basis of spiritual worship and no one who has not tasted of God's wonderful redemption in Christ can really worship Him in spirit and in truth. Furthermore, it reminds us that true worship is objective, not subjective, centred on God and His mighty acts, not on our own subjective experience of Him. It is remarkable that the only reference throughout the song to the personal experience of Moses and the people is in 2; apart from this all the rest of the song looks outward. So great and wonderful a thing had happened that they were completely engrossed by it. It is the outgoing of the heart to the majesty and glory and greatness of God; they were taken out of themselves, and the glad and adoring and exultant response of their hearts was well-pleasing to Him. Nor should we forget that this torrent of adoring homage and praise came from a man who (4:10) complained to the Lord that he was not an eloquent man! Perhaps he was not, but when the heart is gripped and overwhelmed by the wonder of redeeming love something happens to a man's lips; they are touched with holy fire, and they cannot remain silent for long. 'O Lord, open Thou my lips' cried David (Psalm 51:15), 'and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise'. This is what happened to Moses, as it may also happen to us. The experience of divine redemption does much to quicken human language, and raise it to dignity and beauty and magnificence. What the servant girl said to Peter in Pilate's Judgment Hall, 'Thy speech betrayeth thee' is of wide application and is certainly relevant here. A man who has been gripped by the Everlasting Mercy in the deep places of his heart will speak, even in his casual, lightsome moments, in a certain way. There will never be anything tawdry or mean about his words; they will partake of the lofty stature and grandeur of that which commands his heart and soul.