My Strength and My Song

Exodus 15:2. Standing on the far shore, with Egypt's army gone, Moses and the Israelites sing. The second verse of their song moves from what God did to who God is to them: the LORD is my strength and my 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.

Three things are worth noticing. The song is in the first person singular, even though a nation is singing it. Redemption was corporate but it had to be claimed one by one. Second, the LORD has become their salvation; the word marks a change, something that was promised in chapter 6 and is now fact. Third, he is my father's God. The singer is not starting a new religion but stepping into a line of faith that runs back to Abraham.

The verse is echoed in Psalm 118:14 and Isaiah 12:2. On a Thursday, with the week heavy, say it as a claim and not just a report. He is my strength. He is my song. He has become my salvation, and I stand in a long line of people who found it true.