Exodus 15 - The Psalm by the Sea
- Chad Werkhoven
- 6 hours ago
- 5 min read
Not all psalms are in the Psalter!
Exodus 15:1–18 (NIV)
15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD:
“I will sing to the LORD,
for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and driver
he has hurled into the sea.
2 “The LORD is my strength and my defense;
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 warrior;
the LORD is his name.
4 Pharaoh’s chariots and his army
he has hurled into the sea.
The best of Pharaoh’s officers
are drowned in the Red Sea.
5 The deep waters have covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, LORD,
was majestic in power.
Your right hand, LORD,
shattered the enemy.
7 “In the greatness of your majesty
you threw down those who opposed you.
You unleashed your burning anger;
it consumed them like stubble.
8 By the blast of your nostrils
the waters piled up.
The surging waters stood up like a wall;
the deep waters congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy boasted,
‘I will pursue, I will overtake them.
I will divide the spoils;
I will gorge myself on them.
I will draw my sword
and my hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 Who among the gods
is like you, LORD?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?
12 “You stretch out your right hand,
and the earth swallows your enemies.
13 In your unfailing love you will lead
the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them
to your holy dwelling.
14 The nations will hear and tremble;
anguish will grip the people of Philistia.
15 The chiefs of Edom will be terrified,
the leaders of Moab will be seized with trembling,
the people of Canaan will melt away;
16 terror and dread will fall on them.
By the power of your arm
they will be as still as a stone—
until your people pass by, LORD,
until the people you bought pass by.
17 You will bring them in and plant them
on the mountain of your inheritance—
the place, LORD, you made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, LORD, your hands established.
18 “The LORD reigns
for ever and ever.”
Article 1
We all believe in our hearts
and confess with our mouths
that there is a single
and simple
spiritual being,
whom we call God—
eternal,
incomprehensible,
invisible,
unchangeable,
infinite,
almighty;
completely wise,
just,
and good,
and the overflowing source
of all good.
Summary
Moses' psalm here in Exodus 15 is comprised of five parts - parts that are technically referred to as strophes.
The first and fifth strophes are actually comprise one strophe. The first part of it serves as a prologue which sets the stage: I will sing to the LORD... for He has hurled the horse and driver into the sea. The second half forms an epilogue at the end: The LORD reigns for ever and ever!
The three strophes in between form a doxology - words of praise and glory to the LORD. The first celebrates God's sovereignty in the victory they'd just witnessed. All the Israelites did was move forward at God's command. They never raised a weapon - indeed, they didn't even have any! The LORD is their strength and defense... He hurled the Egyptians into the sea... His right hand shattered the enemy.
The third strophe is deeply theological. God is not just an abstract being, as so many of the Egyptian gods were. The LORD physically intervened and rescued His people. He threw down those who opposed Him... He unleashed His burning anger... It was the blast of His nostrils that piled the waters up...
The fourth strophe expresses a strong hope for the future. The LORD will lead the people He has redeemed... The nations will hear and tremble... The LORD will plant us on the mountain of His inheritance, the place He has made for His dwelling, the sanctuary His hands established.
Dig Deeper
How do you respond when something has just gone extraordinarily good for you - not just the everyday, run of the mill fortunate occurrence (of which, for most of us, there are many!), but the big massive infusions of divine intervention? Those times when your business was saved from the brink of bankruptcy or the diagnosis that was fatal suddenly and miraculously disappeared?
Moses and his rag tag bunch of freed slaves experienced the most extraordinary deliverance in the entire history of deliverances. In rescuing His people from the powerful Egyptian army, God performed what is arguably His most audacious miracle ever by parting the Red Sea so His people could pass through on dry ground and then collapsing it on the pursuing chariots - an event so powerful and impactful that the prophet Isaiah, writing over seven centuries after the exodus, says it made an everlasting name for God on earth.
So how did Moses and the Israelites respond? The same way you and I ought to: by singing a song to the LORD! This is what the psalms in the Bible do - the 150 psalms in the Psalter, and the smattering of other psalms throughout scripture like Exodus 15. These psalms help us give voice to our emotions, be it thankfulness, joyfulness, depression, sorrow, and sometimes even righteous indignation in a way that points us back to the overflowing source of everything good.
The psalms guide us in celebrating God's goodness in our lives, but they also give comfort as we navigate the dark valley of life, which is covered by the shadow of death. And they do so while continually pointing us to the salvation our covenant God has won for us through His Son and our Savior. So whatever it is that you have going on in life, in both the good times and the bad, be sure to read and sing the psalms often along the way!
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who reigns for ever and ever;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that whatever you face today, the psalms will always be on your lips;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
