THE SONG OF MOSES

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

THE SONG OF MOSES           

Exodus 15:1-3 NKJV

¹ Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying:
“I will sing to the LORD,
For He has triumphed gloriously!
The horse and its rider
He has thrown into the sea!

² The LORD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation;
He is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.

³ The LORD is a man of war;
The LORD is His name.

We are told the subject of Moses’ song, “The Lord has triumphed gloriously.”  There is in it content that is later repeated in songs and in the theology of Israel.

When Moses describes the Lord as, “A man of war,” we are informed that the God of the Hebrews intended to accompany them in the conquest of the land to which He was leading them.  His overthrow of Pharaoh’s host was a sign and a promise of His power which was able to give them the victory whenever their enemy confronted them.  Exodus 14:31  “ Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.”   

The Song of Moses is an ever-present problem for those in the past and in the present who claim of the past and demand of the present that only Psalms are to be sung in worship.  That this song is a song of worship is undeniable. 

For those who make the claim for exclusive Psalmody these are the difficulties. 

A.     Israel should not have sung this song in worship (because it was not a Psalm), but they did.

B.    Or they sang it only this one time in their worship of God never singing it again either before or after the Psalms were written.  The matter of what Israel could sing in worship before the Psalms were written is another problem for those who support exclusive Psalmody .  The only conclusion they allow is that Israel did not sing before the Psalms were written. 

3.  We are told in the Scriptures that this song, “The Song of Moses” continues in the church and is sung in heaven.  It continues throughout the history of the church and is joined with “the Song of the Lamb”.  Rev. 15:3 ESV  ³ And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!”

Evidently there is a “Song of the Lamb”, and it is sung somewhere.  If as the Revelator indicates it is sung in heaven, why can it not be sung by the church?  It seems as if those who sing this “new song” are doing no more that is allowed and should be encouraged in it.

Application:

1.  Men make mistakes.  This is our fame.  That great and good men of the past have made mistakes should not surprise anyone.  I am far more comfortable saying Calvin was mistaken in his support of exclusive Psalmody than blaming him for the death of Servitus.
2. The Scriptures are the only guide for worship.  This principle, known as the regulative principle, suffers no damage in recognizing our singing in worship is not confined to the Psalms.
3. 3.  The history of the church shows that exclusive psalmody has never been the universal practice of Christians.  The rejoicing of the church in worship is complete only when it can sing, “The song of the Lamb.”