The Song of Moses
One of the canticles in this morning’s online Morning Prayer that I attended at dailyoffice.org was from “The Song of Moses.” Here’s how it begins:
I will sing to the Lord, for he is lofty and uplifted; *
the horse and its rider has he hurled into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my refuge; *
the Lord has become my Savior.
This is my God and I will praise him, *
the God of my people and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a mighty warrior; *
Yahweh is his Name.
The quote above comes from Exodus 15:1–3, and if you read it in the Bible, it opens with the words, “Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord…” It strikes me that, among all of the famous images we see of Moses, staff outstretched to part the Red Sea or holding the tablets of the Ten Commandments, I would guess we don’t often picture Moses singing.
Meanwhile, who escapes from an entire army through miraculous means, and immediately stops to do a little musical improv? (I’m aware, of course, that the song was probably composed many generations after the events depicted in Exodus were supposed to have taken place.) Also, by modern standards, it may seem a bit…dark?…to celebrate the death of hundreds of Egyptians with a song of celebration.
But, looking through the words of Moses’ (and Miriam’s) song, I feel like the point of the whole thing is FREEDOM. Freedom from the army that was pursuing the children of Israel, freedom from the nation that enslaved them for so long, freedom from the seemingly hopeless situation of having to cross a sea while being hunted down. It’s about the triumph of a community that hasn’t had a whole lot of triumph lately. And more than that, it’s about leaving an oppressive situation to arrive in a place of peace and belonging.
So even though a literalistic reading of the passage may seem almost absurd, surely we can find times in our lives when we have celebrated (or may need to celebrate) freedom from oppression, or at least, freedom from an unhealthy situation. May we find inspiration from these centuries-old words, and celebrate our freedom with the gusto of a Moses or a Miriam.
With your constant love you led the people you redeemed; *
with your might you brought them in safety to your holy dwelling.
You will bring them in and plant them *
on the mount of your possession,
The resting-place you have made for yourself, O Lord, *
the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hand has established.
The Lord shall reign *
for ever and for ever.
