What a night! No sooner had they begun to revel in the “thrill of victory” after having walked out of a plundered Egypt, then they found their backs to the sea, certain they were about to experience “the agony of defeat” as Pharaoh’s armies were bearing down on them. Despite the recent experience of that first Passover, when God revealed that He was for them and nothing could stand against them, and even though the pillar of cloud was literally still in their midst, there was something about seeing the dust being kicked up by hundreds and hundreds of chariots that struck fear in the hearts of the people God had just delivered with a great deliverance. Something that made them want to go back to slavery rather than deal with what appeared to be the perils of freedom (Ex.14:10-12).

But that was yesterday. And chariots don’t float. So, as morning broke . . . as they looked back from the other side of the Red Sea . . . as they beheld the lifeless bodies of their pursuers . . . their fear of the Egyptians gave way to a fear of the LORD (Ex. 14:31). On the morning after the night before, angst gave way to awe. Thus, the cry of these former slaves of Egypt became the song of the redeemed.

Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying,

“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,
       my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”

(Exodus 15:1-2 ESV)

To be honest, there’s a part of me that wants to sit in judgment on the Israelites. After all, they had witnessed the plagues in Egypt. They had lived through Passover knowing the power of the blood to save. They had walked out of Egypt not only as former slaves but as rich slaves, their former task masters handing over to them abundant treasures and material goods. They were being escorted by the very presence of God Himself in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. So, how could they get so bent out of shape, how could they so quickly want to go back into bondage when Pharaoh took one last run at reclaiming his workforce?

But if I’m really honest, I know that deliverance can be a scary thing. That freedom comes with a whole new set of dangers. That being redeemed doesn’t mean being removed from the enemies of life. I get that night still falls on those who have been freed from bondage.

Yet, I’m also thinking that it’s during those times — times when your back’s against the wall (or the Red Sea, as the case may be) — that those who have been bought by the Lord are ready to be reminded to be brave in the Lord and “fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD.” When those rescued of God are ready to be shown they will be defended by God and that “the LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Ex. 14:13-14).

There is a morning after the night before. For those delivered from slavery, there will be repeated deliverance from the storms. There’s a coming out the other side where God’s feeble, fear-filled, followers experience again the mighty hand of God acting again on their behalf.

And in that morning moment — and it may be just a moment, for the next challenge may not be far off — praise is fitting. To exult in the victory is to know that it is the LORD who has triumphed. That it is God who is our strength. That He really has become our salvation. Fitting, thus, that He should be our song.

While it might not be the final victory — more trials to come, more seas to face, more nights to endure — to remember and reflect on those mornings after the nights before is to cling to Him as “my God.” It is to look beyond the chariots and still praise Him. To recall His faithfulness to generations of His people and exalt Him.

I need to savor those mornings after the nights before. I need to bring them to remembrance when times are good. I need to recall them when times are not so good. And, at all times, I need to be singing the song of those bought with a great price and brought out with a great salvation.

You have led in Your steadfast love the people whom You have redeemed;
       You have guided them by Your strength to Your holy abode. . . .
You will bring them in and plant them on Your own mountain,
       the place, O LORD, which You have made for Your abode,
       the sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established.

(Exodus 15:13, 17 ESV)

On the morning after the night before and during the night before the morning after, I will sing to the LORD!

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.