Daily Worship

Song of triumph

Lily Cathcart September 19, 2017 0 0
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Image credit: Pixabay

Exodus 15: 1-7

1 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord:

‘I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my might,
    and he has become my salvation;
this 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 cast into the sea;
    his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
5 The floods covered them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.
6 Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power—
    your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy.
7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries;
    you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble.

A TV series I have enjoyed indulging in for years is ‘Bones’. A forensic anthropologist and an FBI agent work together with a team of geniuses to solve murders, some new and some old, but almost all gruesome. As a series, like many in this genre, it is full of moments where the immediate danger is passed and celebration happens. Sometimes this is even in the form of relief over the death of an evil character set on destroying everything they hold dear.

These verses in the Bible remind me of those moments on TV. When you have been caught up in the danger of the situation and now feel a share in the victory. There is a pause, a sense of joy, even for us in front of the screen. Of course, as a viewer, you know that the actor 'killed' will be walking around again when the director yells cut, but in the Bible this is not the case.

The Israelites celebrate those deaths and that freedom from slavery in these verses. They celebrate the power of their God over the source of their unhappiness. It may seem hard hearted to read but I am sure we all recognise the mindset if not the situation. It is very human to feel this no matter how hard it is to read in the safe comfort of our armchairs or pews.

 

Dear God,

We are so human and you have known so many of us both good and bad.

Please forgive us for triumphing at the pain of others.

Please help us to be free in you and to free others to be in you too.

Amen.