Grace and I are in the middle of a series of 12 blogposts sharing about 12 songs we've written (and the 12 paintings I'm *actively trying* to paint alongside them) that walk through the story of God. You can read the first four posts here, here, here, and here.
Last week, Grace shared about Israel's long history of being enslaved in Egypt, God's promise of deliverance, and how it so mirrors our own story—depicting the bondage of sin we all experience, deep beneath the surface of our souls.
Just as God delivered them, he is able to deliver us. And when he does, how do we respond?
For them, after God working the famous 10 plagues through a man named Moses, demonstrating the strength of his might as greater than even that of Pharaoh (the most powerful human being alive at that point in time), and then miraculously providing a way for Israel to cross the Red Sea on dry land (not to mention drowning the Egyptian chariots who were right on their tail), Israel bursts into song!
"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..." Exodus 15:1-2
The song goes on for another 16 verses, but you get the gist. They sing!
And it makes total sense. After all,
- when it's someone's birthday, how do we celebrate? We sing!
- when crowds gather for a match between teams, what do we do? We sing!
- when you've had one too many drinks and the karaoke machine is— well, never mind that one.
But still! We sing when we have something to sing about.
The writer of Ephesians similarly tells us to "sing and make melody in [our] heart to the Lord." (Eph. 5:19). The reason is clear: if you want to know what a person finds most important and worthy of celebration, listen to what makes their heart sing.
This next song is written about this scene of celebratory singing, and it's an anthem we get to join in as well.
He Is God
verse 1
I will sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously
He has thrown the enemy into the darkness of the sea
The Lord is my strength and my song, and the One who has become
My life, my light, and my salvation
verse 2 Who is like our God on earth, who sits enthroned in radiant light
While angels glorify His name in endless praises day and night
But from this glorious kingdom scene, He stooped below to intervene
In man’s affairs to make things right
chorus Hallelujah, He is God! (repeat)
verse 3 Through this earthly wilderness, it’s a fight to walk in grace As we’re tripped up by the snares of Satan and his wicked ways
But our God is stronger still, He preserves us by His will
To keep us His for He is faithful
chorus
tag I will glorify my God and enjoy His love forever (repeat)
The God who delivered them is the God who still delivers, and that's something worth singing about!
Does this make your heart sing?
If not, what does?
I'll tell you what makes my heart sing: awaiting the day when I get to cross what many hymn writers have called "the narrow sea," and I finally get to see Jesus face to face.
Grace articulates this so well given our theme, so I'll just let her describe it for you.
"Deliverance. The passage of life into life...
And this moment...of pure, unadulterated, overwhelming joy. This is how I picture falling into Jesus’ arms at the end of my life.
Life with my kids is abundantly better than carrying them in my womb. Such will be my life with Him."
To that, I say, Amen.
I will glorify my God and enjoy his love forever.
And no one's going to shut me up from starting to sing it now.
