1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. 2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
For centuries, singing has ascended from the lips of man. Melodious sounds can be traced back for ages, and it is even said that the song found in today’s scripture is the oldest recorded song in the world. This song sung by Moses and the children of Israel is the first song we find recorded in the bible. Singing is a uttering of a series of words or sounds in a musical tone, which can then be called a song. Songs are sung when one experiences joy in their heart. Songs are sung when one wants to temporarily escape the pressures of life. Songs can have meaning, and some can be sung just for fun. Songs can describe the situations that you are going through, and some can describe the life you dream of. No matter what type of song you sing, all songs seem to bring joy or comfort to your soul.
Notice that I said seems to bring joy or comfort to your soul. Although all songs bring forth some type of feeling or emotion, all songs aren’t profitable to the spirit. There are songs I use to sing that I dare not even attempt to hum today. Instead of bringing joy and comfort, some songs bring heartache and pain. Instead of lifting you up, some songs only tear down your spirit. Instead of a promise of a bright future, some songs only lead you to a destructive end. We need to be careful of the songs we sing, and the songs we allow to fill the concert halls of our hearts. As children of God, we need to listen or sing songs that glorify our Father. We need to sing a song that encourage others or enlightens our own spirits. We should sing songs that we wouldn’t have a problem singing in the presence of our Lord. We should sing songs that lift up and magnify the name of Jesus!
Many of us sing songs, but they are meaningless and do nothing to lift up the Lord. Some songs may sound good, but they do nothing to better our character. You know how you drive down the street, radio station already on the wrong channel, and you hear a song that you remember from earlier years. You say to yourself, “that use to be the jam!” But as you begin to listen closely, you notice that the words have nothing to do with the Lord or the edification of the kingdom of God. I’m not saying that all songs are bad, but there are very few innocent songs out there. We have allowed our children to learn songs that damage their character. We allow our children to watch music videos that satan only uses to make them stumble and fall. Almost 99% of R&B and rap music does nothing to edify our God. We now have this new type of Christian music where you can’t tell the difference between it or secular music. You have to look twice at the radio, thinking you have it on 97.9 tha box. We talk about bridging the gap so that we can reach younger people, and that’s the problem today, we are bridging the gap. They say this is the way you have to reach younger people, by bringing the music down to their level. We don’t need to bridge the gap because there should be a gap. The bible says that we should be set apart from the world. If you didn’t know, there is a difference between the world and Christians, and the difference should be seen. We don’t need to use things that the world has created to draw men, for the bible says in John 12:32 – “If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
Why do we sing? I don’t know about you, but I sing to be lifted up when I’m feeling down and I want a song that will give me true peace in the midst of my storms. I want to sing a song that let’s me know that I am God’s, and he is mine! I want to sing a song of praise!!!! to my God.
The reality of God & Christ, the creation & salvation, heaven & hell are simply too great for mere speaking. In other words, sometimes I just can’t say thank you Lord, I have to sing it. Sometimes I can’t just tell you how good God has been to me, I have to sing it.
Why did some of the saints of old sing? II Chronicles 29:30 says, “Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped.” Hezekiah had opened the doors of the temple after King Ahaz had closed them to the priest of God. Hezekiah told the priest to consecrate themselves and to return to their service to God. They sang because of their restoration, and they sang with gladness. We shouldn’t just sing praises to God, but we should sing with our hearts filled with joy. We should sing because God restores us to a right relationship with him. Why do you sing? Ezra 3:11 begins by saying, “And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. Here the people sang to show their gratification to God. God had made a way for them to rebuild the temple, and they recognized that this was only made possible by God. When God makes a way in your life, when he opens doors that were shut in your face, and when he has blessed you, there should be a song of praise in your mouth and in your heart. Why do you sing? Acts 16:25,26 – “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God.” It doesn’t matter what the situation is or what time it is, you can sing praises unto God. 26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed. Paul and Silas sung until they were delivered by God. There is deliverance in singing praises unto God, it is often said that when praises go up, blessings come down! Now I’m convinced that when singing praises go up, deliverance comes down. But why do you sing?
As we examine our text we see that God allowed the children of Israel to cross the Red Sea and escape from the Egyptian army. The children of Israel saw the great work the Lord had did to the Egyptians, and they feared the Lord, and they also believed in him, and in his servant Moses. Once they saw that it was only by God’s grace they were saved, they immediately began singing praises to God. There should be no delay in our giving praises to God, because what happens over time is that we think that we did it all by ourselves. Who are you singing praises to? A man who sings his own praises may have the right tune, but he has the wrong words. Why did they sing? They sung because God triumphed gloriously, and drowned the Egyptian army in the Red Sea. What did they sing about? Man’s most profitable lyrics are those words that sing praises unto God.
Let’s see what lyrics composed this song of praise. You see the reason why we sing can be found in the lyrics that we sing. There is no question that the theme of this song is God. The children of Israel sang, “The Lord is my strength and song.” They recognized that it wasn’t their strength that delivered them from the hands of the Egyptians. He was their song; God is the sweet melody in our hearts, and the music to our ears. They sang, “He is my salvation.” It became personal for them, as it should be for us. The children of Israel knew it was only because of God’s salvation that they were saved from their enemy. Some people walk around like they died for their own sins. Ephesians 2:8 – “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” We need to know that our salvation is not based on anything that we have done; it is a gift from our Father. And if you still want to brag, know that the faith that you needed to believe in Christ, was given to you also.
I’m getting ready to sit down and be happy all by myself, but they continued to sing, “He is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation.” They recognized that God was to be the head of their lives, and they wanted to prepare an habitation for him. How do we prepare an habitation for God? I Corinthians 6:15 says, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.” We prepare an habitation by living holy lives; we should always make sure that our temples are clean for the indwelling of God. Springtime shouldn’t be the only time we do cleaning, everyday we should ask for God’s forgiveness, and we know that he is faithful and just to forgive us, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As the first verse of this song ends, the children of Israel sang, “My father’s God, and I will exalt him.” They knew that they were delivered because of the promise God had made to their forefathers.
They were also able to sing that God was their father’s God because their parents had a relationship with him. Parents, you need to live right in front of your children, for how will they know who God is, if you don’t exhibit a godly lifestyle. Let your children see you pray and read the bible. Don’t just drop them off to Sunday school, and you go home. And don’t keep them at home because you don’t want to go to church. If our children are suppose to be the future, then they need to learn about the God who will lead them there. “I will exalt him.” God’s mighty acts were so great that they had to exalt the Lord. They didn’t say they might exalt him, and they didn’t say maybe we will exalt him. They didn’t ask why should we exalt him, and they didn’t say that they didn’t feel like exalting him. But they said, I will exalt him! He brought them out of Egypt, and that was enough for them to exalt God. Lord you brought me out of storms, I will exalt him! You saved me from pits of hell, I will exalt him! You brought me through trials and tribulations, I will exalt him! Why do you sing? I don’t know why you sing, but I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, I sing because his eyes are on the sparrow, and I sing because he watches over me!
