Exodus 14:10-15:3 passim
Message: THE SONG OF TRIUMPH HAS BEGUN
But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.”
Musicians are tagged with a certain label. Musicians project a certain image. People say that musicians are temperamental. That they are emotional, volatile, hard to predict, difficult to deal with. The old mythology is that you cannot talk sense to a musician, because he will react out of feelings, he will come from places you never even imagined. The old stereotype about musicians is that they are half crazy, should never be trusted with practical decisions, and can never be counted on for anything other than trouble!
Now that I have your attention and have thoroughly alienated Dr. Winfield, Mrs. Dixon, and Deacon Deloatch, I must hurry on to observe that Arthur Capehart both supported the myth and belied it. Arthur Capehart the musician, the man, felt deeply, responded out of the depths, came from places the more ordinary of us never imagined, and lived out of his heart more than out of his intellect. He supported the image in that way; Arthur lived out of the deep places of his spirit.
But he put the lie to the image in that he could also live with and for others, he could make decisions and could do so with others’ needs in mind, and he could and would be counted on. He put the lie to the old notion that a man of the spirit cannot lead. Arthur could lead and did lead; he led more than musical selections. Arthur led in the pathways of the spirit. Arthur showed us the way toward singing a song of triumph. Today, for Arthur, at last, the song of triumph has begun.
Some thirty-three centuries ago, a man who had been a prince of Egypt stood on the edge of the Red Sea. Around him were hundreds upon hundreds of people, men, women, and children, waiting for him to make his move. Behind him were the chariots of the enemy, their thunder bearing down on the people, only a short distance away. Disaster was riding not far behind. Ahead of him were the waters of the sea: murky, roiling, hiding who knows what muddy and miry spots. What choice could Moses make? Where could he turn, what could he do? The situation looked utterly impossible. There was no good choice, the destruction on the one side, the unknown on the other, and lots and lots of folks depending on him. What could Moses do? How could there ever be a song of triumph out of this situation?
But Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the LORD will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to keep still."
I
If you want to sing a song of triumph, you will have to make a courageous decision when decision time comes. If you want to sing a song of triumph at the end of it all, when it is time to decide, and there is no good place to go, you will have to make a decision. Maybe it won’t be the logical decision. Maybe it won’t be the decision that science or reason or logic would lead you to. But if you make the decision of the heart; if you make the decision that, in the depths of your spirit you believe God is leading you to make, then the song of triumph has begun.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. But you lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the Israelites may go into the sea on dry ground.”
Moses had come to the deciding place. Down in his spirit, against all logic, he heard the voice of the Lord telling him to go forward. Go forward and not backward. Stretch out your hand, in faith, and lead your people toward the waters that seem so threatening. Move forward, Moses; take the way of courage, even though your people may not understand. If you want to sing a song of triumph, you will have to make a courageous decision when decision time comes. If you want to sing a song of triumph at the end of it all, when it is time to decide, and there is no good place to go, you will have to make a decision.
One day several weeks back, Arthur called me and asked me to pray with him about what the doctors had discovered. He told me about the liver cancer, how far it had advanced, what he faced. He said, “They tell me I could take chemotherapy, but it will only get me a few extra months at best, and it will destroy the quality of my life. I just feel that the Lord is leading me to go forward and face this thing without special treatment.”
I don’t know how you would react to that, but I wanted to say, “Oh, no, Arthur, fight it. Use all the medical resources you can get. Calculate the odds, Arthur, figure out the percentages, summon the scientists. Fight this thing.” That’s my logic. That’s my brain. And that’s likely my anxiety too.
But Arthur Capehart, musician, feeling person, spiritually centered, Arthur took the courageous road. Arthur elected not to turn and fight Pharaoh’s host, thundering after him. Arthur elected to turn and stretch out his hand over the murky waters of uncertainty, feeling the presence of the Lord out there. And that courageous decision began the song of triumph. If you want to sing a song of triumph, you will have to make a courageous decision when decision time comes.
II
But, of course, it is not only the courageous decision to enter the waters that counts. It is also the walk through the waters. It is also the way you tread the path you have chosen. May I suggest that if you do want to get to the other side and sing the song of triumph, you will lead others with you. You will care for those you love and take them with you, protecting them and defending them every step of the way. If you do want to sing the song of triumph, it will not be one you sing alone, but it will be a song that others can sing with you because you have led them through.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The LORD drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Moses’ faith was so strong, you see, that he knew that the protection God offered him was protection enough for others. And so with the waters piled high on either side, Moses went forward, leading his people, providing for them every step of the way.
Ida, you are most blessed, because Arthur labored to prepare you for this day. In the midst of your caring for him, which you did so wonderfully, so lovingly, he also cared for you. We laughed a little about it: how he would insist that you call some insurance company, and that you do it right now! That you talk to a lawyer or that you engage a funeral director or that you connect with the Motor Vehicle Administration, and that you do it now! We laughed about it, because it felt so much like one of those emotional, volatile musicians. But we also know, don’t we, that he was caring for you? He was providing for you. He was leading you, defending you, but he was showing you the way of faith. And because of that; because Arthur led, you too are going to begin the song of triumph. You will be prepared to sing the song of triumph, when you get over. Thanks be to God for a faith like this!
If we want to sing the song of triumph, it will not be one we sing alone, but it will be a song that others can sing with us because we have led them through.
III
Now Arthur has passed through. He is not alone. He has showed us the way and led us with him. Arthur has passed through. God has done His mighty work. God has delivered, as He promised. Our hearts leap up, because we know that today is not a day of defeat, as lesser minds might have predicted. Today is a day of victory, as people who feel deep down in their spirits will know. Today is not a day on which we grieve because of the destructive power of cancer; today is a day on which we begin the song of triumph because of the saving power of Christ.
At the morning watch the LORD in the pillar of fire and cloud looked down ... Israel saw the great work that the LORD did ... Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
At the morning watch the Lord looked down .. and became salvation. One day Arthur spoke of his heart and his hope that God would forgive him. All it took was that ancient word, “God so loved the world that He gave”, and Arthur was assured. The Lord had become his salvation, and the song of triumph has begun.
At the morning watch the Lord looked down .. and became salvation. There was a long and lonely night when we watched and waited to see what God might do for us in our suffering, but at the end of the night the song of the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace.” In Jesus Christ the savior, the song of triumph has begun.
At the morning watch the Lord looked down .. and became salvation. There was a dark and dismal day on Calvary’s hill, when the new Moses, God’s new leader, looked backward and saw the forces of death and destruction, set to do him harm. And they did. But this new Moses, this Jesus of Nazareth, looked up and looked forward into the murky waters of death, and said “Yes”. He took the courageous decision to go forward. He cared for His own until the end. But on the third day, praise God! On the third day, He rose from the dead, He passed through the waters. And the song of triumph has begun. Alleluia! At the morning watch.
