“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 hosts, He cast into the sea, and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea. The floods covered them. They went down in the depths like a stone. Your right hand, oh Lord, glorious in power, your right hand, oh 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 hands shall destroy them.” You blew with Your wind. The sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like You, oh 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, oh Lord, pass by. Til the people pass by whom You have purchased. You will bring them in and plant them on Your own mountain, the place, oh Lord, which you have made for Your abode, the sanctuary, oh Lord, which Your hands have established. The Lord will reign forever and ever.
– Exodus 15:1–27
So think, as we pray, God, we praise You for what You did on that day in Exodus 14, for what You did centuries ago for those who trusted in You, and for what You promise to do in my life today and all those who trust in You, to work for us, to fight for us, to save us. So keep going, Exodus 15:1–27.
I’m going to do something a little bit different on this podcast episode today. This chapter in the Bible is a prayer. It’s actually a song that Moses and the people of Israel sang to God after He delivered them out of slavery in Egypt and brought them through the Red Sea and split the sea in half and led them through on dry land. Just imagine seeing that. And then that sea came crashing down on their enemies, on the Egyptians who were threatening to overtake them. And as soon as they crossed that sea, Moses and the people of Israel sing this song to the Lord.
A Reminder of God’s Salvation
In light of those who have come before us, these words remind us of God’s mercy and salvation.
I want to read in the sense, so I’m not going to sing it, but in a sense sing the same song by reading it, and as you hear it, I just want to invite you to pray according to these words, to sing this song in your own heart to God, for His salvation in your life, for His grace and His mercy and His provision in your life.
Exodus 15:1–27 Leads Us to Sing to the Lord
It’s as good for us as the people of God generations later to join in the song of those who’ve gone before us in faith and to praise God in the same way. So let’s just pray this to God, direct from scripture in light of those who’ve gone before us in faith.
Oh God, we sing this song with those who’ve gone before us. We sing it today. Who is like You among the gods? Who is like you majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders, saving, working on behalf of Your people. We say together with them, with all those who’ve gone before us, the Lord will reign forever and ever. Amen
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
