June 19, 2021
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, we pray with a selection from Exodus which you will probably recognize from the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night. It describes one of the most astounding displays of power in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Stand with the author on the other side of the Red Sea and feel the pounding exultation:
I will sing to the LORD who is gloriously triumphant;
horse and chariot casting into the sea.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
who has been my savior.
my God, whom I praise;
the God of my father, whom I extol.
It is a beautifully cadenced victory chant, and I have always loved hearing it at the vigil as we celebrate our deliverance from death through Christ’s Resurrection.
Imagine those “chariots and charioteers”, ancient symbols of power and oppression!
So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiers
Exodus 14: 6-7
six hundred first-class chariots
and all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all.
What chance did the unarmed, rag tag horde of fleeing Israelites hold against such power?
The power they held was this –
faith in God’s promise
and obedience to its unfolding
in their lives.
It wasn’t easy for them! Moses had to bolster them in their fear and hesitation.
But Moses answered the people,
Exodus 14: 13-14
“Fear not! Stand your ground,
and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today.
For these Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.
The LORD will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”
Within these readings, the parallels to our own lives are abundant. If not now, at least at some time, we will have overwhelming forces pursue us. We will be afraid. Our faith will be tested. We will doubt.
If we can “be still”, bolstering our trust in prayer, God will reveal our particular deliverance. It may not look like what we imagined, nor exactly fit what we might have prayed for.
But in trusting prayer, the flood waters of grace release and resurrect us from all that threatens our souls.
The flood waters covered them,
Exodus 15: 5-6
they sank into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power,
your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.
Poetry: I think the psalm is its own poem today.😉
Music: Horse and Chariot – let these kids wake up our faith today!
Lavish Mercy 