Exodus 15:1, “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. (2)
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….
(13) "Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic
in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? (12)
You stretched out your right hand; the earth swallowed them. (13)
"You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have
redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode…. (17) 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. (18) The LORD will reign forever and ever.”
After witnessing the incredible power and salvation of God in the
parting of the Red sea and the defeat of the Egyptians, Moses leads the people
of Israel in worship. A special song is written to praise and extol God, and
then sung by the whole nation in worship of God. The song records not just the
event, but describes for us the nature, character, attributes and position of
God. It is a rich, joyful song of adoration.
These verses teach us two important truths, firstly the importance of
worship, of giving public, corporate thanks to God. The song that is recorded
for us here shows us what the content and focus of that worship is to be. We
are to extol God, He is to be the focus, the centre of our worship and we are
sing of who He is and what He is done. Sadly, modern day worship has become
increasingly man-centred, and gives more time to what God should do for us,
rather than who God is and what He has done. We need to learn from this song,
God and God alone is to be worshipped, He is the centre-point and sole focus.
We are to sing about who He is, declaring the wonder of His character,
attributes, nature and positon, we are sing about His greatness and glory, we
are to give thanks in worship for that which He has done and has promised to
do. Are these aspects clear in your private worship of God, is He the centre
point and focus of your worship? Are these aspects clear in our public,
corporate worship?
The second important truth is that we are to teach the next generation
to worship. The whole reason as to why this song was written and then taught to
the whole nation of Israel was so that they might teach it to the next
generation. The next generation will learn who God is, and how He is to be
worshipped from us. This is an immense responsibility, but also a great
privilege and presents us with the challenging question; what is it that the
next generation are learning from us about who God is and how He is to be
worshipped?
Our great God and Father who is “majestic
in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds”, we praise Your great name today. We
want to give You thanks for the God that You are and for that which You have
done for us, so we might know You. We pray that You will help us to keep You as
the centre-point and focus of our worship and to be faithful in teaching the
next generation Your great worth and how they are to worship You. To You
belongs all the praise, glory and adoration, for You alone are the one and only
true God. Amen.
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