"By faith Moses, when he was
come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daugh­ter; choosing
rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the
treasures in Egypt:for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward"
(Heb. 11:24-26).

In these three verses we find
that Moses rejected the three elements of the world described in 1 John
2:15-17. He rejected Egypt’s pleasures of sin—the lust of the flesh. He
rejected Egypt’s wealth—the lust of the eyes. And by refusing to be called the
son of Pharaoh’s daughter he rejected Egypt’s fame—the pride of life.

                       Egypt‘s Pleasures

As a resident of Pharaoh’s
palace, Moses had access to all of the pleasures that the world had to
offer—its proverbial wine, women, and song. The natural man craves the
pleasures of sin. In Moses’ day, many of the pleasures of sin may have been
restricted to those of wealth and high position. In our day, however, even the
poorest people (in the United States at least) have access to a vast quantity
and variety of the world’s entertainment right in their own living room. And
those with a middle class standard of living can have access in their own
homes—by videos, cable TV, computer games, and the Inter­net—to a virtually
unlimited supply of information, entertainment and amusement. Some of it may,
perhaps, be helpful and profitable; much of it will be a total waste of the
viewer’s time and brain cells; and some of it will be utterly degrading,
defiling, and/or demonic.

We need to ask ourselves some
hard questions as to such sources of information and entertainment in our
homes. First, do we really need it? Will our spiritual growth be stunted if we
do not have these things? Or will not our spiritual growth rather be
retarded if we do have these things? What is the effect of sitting in
front of a box that flashes a different picture every second or two on one’s
ability to concentrate in school or Sunday school or assembly meetings? What is
the effect on one’s physical, mental, and spiritual development of spending a
large chunk of time each day being amused and entertained as a spectator? How
many of our kids today are learning how to play the piano, bake bread, fix
meals, make and mend clothing, repair automobiles, write letters, or read
fluently and with comprehension?  With all the time we spend sitting in front
of electronic boxes, are we depriving ourselves of the incomparably valuable
experience of communicating our faith and knowledge and spiritual questions to
one an­other?

Second, can we control what we
are letting into our homes? Even if we adults have strict self-discipline as to
what we look at (and many of us have to confess that we don’t!), do we have
total control over our children’s use of these sources of information? How do
the possible benefits of fine Christian programs or sources of theological
information (such as on the Internet) trade off against the potentially
devastating and defiling garbage that can be obtained from the same sources?

I do not wish to lay down a law
that all Christians should dispose of their TVs, VCRs, cable, Ninten­do, and
Internet connections (though a precedent of this is found in Acts 19:19).
However, I would urge every Christian to be very much in prayer—as many times a
day as neces­sary—concerning our involvement in the many activities and
amusements that the world has to offer us.

Moses had all of the pleasures of
sin known in his day at his beck and call … and he forsook them!

                        Egypt‘s Wealth

As the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
Moses had almost unlimited wealth and treasure at his disposal, with which he
could have purchased virtually anything his heart desired. The natural man
craves money and the things that money can buy. Even many relative­ly poor
people in this country are allowed access, by means of little plastic cards, to
tens of thousands of dollars that they have not worked for, have not earned,
and have not the least intention of paying back. Once they reach the limit of
their credit card allowances, they turn to the lottery or other forms of
gambling in the vain hope of achieving yet greater amounts of "free
wealth." We read or hear regularly of once-wealthy people—surgeons,
lawyers, athletes, entertainers—who have declared bankruptcy because they were
not content with the wealth they already had.

Moses, however, had far more
wealth at his disposal than he could ever use … and he turned his back on all
of it!

                         Egypt‘s Fame

Moses, no doubt, was in line to
receive a very high position in Pharaoh’s kingdom. The natural man craves fame
and recognition. Don’t we all see some of this in ourselves? We like to see our
name in print or our picture in the paper. We like to hear people applauding
our efforts and accomplishments (whether it be a speech, a musical performance,
scoring a touchdown, repairing a car, or whatever else). We like to receive
promotions at work. We like to get 100’s on our tests and A’s on our report
cards. We like to win the games we play. We like to have lots of people come
and hear us preach and to compliment us afterward. We like to cover our walls
with diplomas and our shelves with trophies.

Moses could have had all this and
more … and gave it all up!

                     Why Did Moses Do It?

Moses had Egypt’s pleasure, Egypt’s wealth, and Egypt’s fame—to the "max"—and rejected all of it. And
for what? "Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of
God." It is true that in time (40 years later), Moses was appointed by God
as the leader of the nation of Israel. But that was anything but a pleasurable,
full-of-glory-and-honor position for Moses. He had to put up with continual
complaining, grumbling, threats of mutiny, disobedience, and idolatry by the
people he was governing (Exod. 14:11; 15:24; 16:2; 17:2; 32:1; Num. 11:1,4;
12:1; 14:2-4; 16:1-3; 20:3; 21:5; 25:1). And the total period of his leadership
of the nation was their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, with no place
to call home. That is what Moses got for giving up the fame, fortune, and
pleasures of Egypt.

Did Moses make the right choice?
He surely did, for he esteemed "the reproach of Christ greater riches …
for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." Christ suffered
great reproach (Psa. 69:7,9,19,20), and much more, because of "the joy
that was set before Him" (Heb. 12:2). Moses was willing to suffer similar
kinds of reproach to what Christ would suffer (though certainly none of the far
greater atoning sufferings experienced by Christ) because he knew that in God’s
good time it would be worth it all. "For our light affliction, which is
but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory" (2 Cor. 4:17).

It is well to point out the
powerful influence Moses’ mother and father must have had on his life during
his formative years. "By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months
of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not
afraid of the king’s commandment" (Heb. 11:23). God must have given Moses’
parents a sense that their baby boy was destined to greatness. Instead of
killing their child as commanded by Pharaoh, they entrusted him to the Lord’s
care, and the Lord graciously gave Moses back to his mother to nurture and
train in his early child­hood (Exod. 2:2-10). She must have done an excellent
job of instilling in Moses’ young mind his identity with his own people and
their God, Jehovah. When he became an adult, he did not forget his true
identity and heritage.

                     Why Should We Do It?

I am a Christian. I have placed
my trust in the atoning sufferings, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus
Christ for my salvation. I have the assurance of going to heaven when I die. So
why shouldn’t I enjoy the pleasures of the world while I am in the world, and
then enjoy the pleasures of heaven when I go to heaven?

1. "The grace of God that
brings salvation … [teaches] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present world"
(Tit. 2:11,12).

2. "God forbid that I should
glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14).

3. "The love of Christ con­strains
us … He died for all that they who live should not henceforth live unto
themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:14).

As we consider "the grace of
God" in sending His only begotten Son, and "the love of Christ"
in suffering immensely on the cross on our behalf, how can we help but want to
live to please Him rather than ourselves?

But there is more, as seen in the
example provided by Moses for us:"Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater
riches." Have we begun to learn by personal experience that living for the
Lord, pleasing Him, doing His will, serving Him, obeying Him
leads to far greater, deeper, longer-lasting joy, pleasure, happiness, and
satisfaction than "the pleasures of sin for a season"?

What can compare with the joy of
a happy marriage in which both husband and wife are steadily growing closer to
the Lord (and thus, at the same time, to each other), and are applying
scriptural principles to their marri­age? What can compare with the joy of
leading a sinner to Christ (see Luke 15:7,10) or leading a backsliding soul
back to Christ, or helping a discouraged or depressed person get back on his
spiritual feet and serving and praising the Lord again. Sports fans:do you
remember who won—or even played in—the 1981 World Series or the 1985 Final Four
or the 1989 Super Bowl? Even though you may have watched or listened to these
events at the time, your memory of them now may be hazy. But you will never
forget the soul you led to the Lord in 1981 or the backsliding Christian you
picked up out of the gutter in 1985 or the marriage you helped to save in 1989.

Moses "had respect unto the
recompense of the reward." So for us there is the prospect of reward in
heaven for faithful service done for Christ in this life (Matt. 25:21,23; 2
Tim. 4:8; etc.). But in addition, as we walk a life of faith and trust in the
Lord, giving up the pleasures, wealth, and fame of the world, we will learn
that God greatly rewards our faith even now in our lives here on earth.

Thus we draw from the example of
Moses this lesson of faith:Faith gives up worldly pleasure, wealth, and
fame for the promise of future reward and glory as well as the present joy and
satisfaction of pleasing God.

The following article shows how a
Christian writer of 150 years ago treats the topic of the believer and the
world. Is it not distressi­ng to see how much that was of deep concern to
devoted Christians over a century ago has become an un­questioned part of our
lives today!

                                           by C. H.
Mackintosh

"We remember … the leeks
and the onions … There is nothing at all besides this manna" (Num.
11:6).

Do we always find our
heavenly Manna sufficient for us? What means the frequent inquiry raised by
professing Christians as to the right or wrong of such and such worldly
pursuits and plea­sures? We prove, alas! that Christ is not enough for the
heart by the fact of our turning to other things. How often, for example, does
the Bible lie neglected for hours, while the light and worthless literature of
the world is greedily devoured. What mean the well-thumbed newspaper and the
almost dust-covered Bible? Is not this despising the manna and sighing after
the leeks and onions?

No doubt we are all in danger of
falling into the very sin of Israel as recorded in our chapter, but the young
among us are peculiarly so. Those of us who are older are not so likely to be
drawn away by the frivolous pursuits of the world—by its con­certs, its flower
shows, its pleasure parties, its vain songs and light literature. But the young
will have a dash of the world. They long to taste it for themselves.
They do not find Christ an all-sufficient portion for the heart.

How sad to hear a Christian ask,
"How can I fill up the day? I cannot always be thinking of Jesus." We
should like to ask all who speak thus, How will you fill up eternity? Shall not
Christ be sufficient to fill up its countless ages?

It will perhaps be said, "We
shall be different then." In what respect? We have the divine nature; we
have the Holy Spirit; we have Christ for our portion; we belong to heaven; we
are brought to God. "But we have an evil nature in us," you say. Yes,
but are we to cater to that? must we try to help our wretched flesh—our corrupt
nature—to fill up the day? No, we are called to deny it, to mortify it, to
reckon it dead. This is how the saint is called to fill up his day.

Which do we really mean to

nourish and cherish—the new nature     (Continued on page
26.)

(Continued from page 36.)

or the old? Egypt’s food cannot nourish the new nature.

May we have grace seriously to
think of these things. May we so walk in the Spirit that Christ may ever be a
satisfying portion for our hearts. Had Israel in the wilderness walked with
God, they never could have said, "Our soul is dried away:there is nothing
at all besides this manna before our eyes." And so with us. If we really
walk with God in this wilderness world, our souls shall be satisfied with the
portion which He gives, and that portion is a heavenly Christ. Can He ever fail
to satisfy? Does He not fill all heaven with His glory? Is He not the theme of
angels’ song and the object of their adoring homage and wondering worship? Is
He not the one grand subject of everlasting counsels and purposes?

Do you really find Christ
insufficient to satisfy your heart? Then have it all out in secret with your
God, and take no rest until you are fully and blessedly restored in communion
with Himself—to heart fellowship with Him about the Son of His love.

(From Notes on the Book of
Numbers.)

                                                   by C.
Knapp

The fact that the Egyptian
princess who made herself foster mother to Moses is unnamed in the Bible is one
of the most remarkable cases of anonymity in all the sacred volume of God, and
there are many such recorded from Genesis to Revelation. The concealment of
identity in the Scriptures of those worthy to be had in remembrance is alto­gether
contrary to history as written by men. In the language of the Bible itself,
"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing" (Prov. 25:2), and this
matter of names in particular.

"Happy is the people, the
nation that has no history," it has been said. This, no doubt, is in view
of the other well-known saying that the history of a land is largely a history
of its wars. "The happiest women, like the happiest nations, have
no his­tory," wrote the novelist George Eliot. And the gossipy remark
sometimes heard, that a certain female "has a history," is intend­ed
as an innuendo derogatory to her character. Many of the finest female
characters mentioned in holy Scripture either are name­less or have no history
besides the briefest mention of them in some chapter or verse, after which they
are heard of no more (see 2 Ki. 4:8-10; 5:2,3; Matt. 26:6-13; Luke 7:36-50;
Rom. 16:1,2,6,12; etc.).

The daughter of Pharaoh here is
one such person. She, happy woman, has no signature attached to her most
motherly and beneficent deed, no honored name to be inscribed on urn or
monument by which she might be remembered by the world or the nation directly
benefited by her recorded act. The omission of her royal name was no
chronicler’s oversight, we may be sure, in view of the fact that "all
scripture is given by inspiration of God," and not one jot or tittle is
added or omitted but by the express knowledge and ordering of God.

Here we have to do with an
Egyptian princess, who, it has been remarked, had almost "as much
influence in shaping the destiny of Israel as Joseph himself. Three daughters
of the Egyptian Pharaohs are mentioned in Scripture:The one who rescued Moses,
the one who became the bride of Solomon (1 Ki. 3:1; 9:16,24), and "Bithiah
the daughter of Pharaoh which Meded took" (1 Chron. 4:18). Of this trio of
powerful princesses, but one, the first, deserves anything like commemorative
notice, and she, to the almost incredulous wonder of all, is left on the sacred
page without any identifying name.

This daughter of Pharaoh stands
to the fortunes of the Israelite nation as its instrumental providence and
contributory savior. Her royal father, alarmed at the rapid increase of his
enslaved population, resorted to the cruel and barbarous expedient of dictators
by ordering the instant and indiscriminate destruction of all male infants of
the Israelites. Joche­bed, the resourceful mother of the newly born child,
contrived a plan by which she hoped, in faith, to defeat the murderous purpose
of the brutal king. She hoped by this device that her beautiful baby might be
hid from the prying eyes of Pharaoh’s countless spies. During the space of
three anxious months she had succeeded in keeping the existence of her loved
and lovely child a secret; and when he could no longer be hid she resort­ed to
the oft-told expedient of placing him in a little ark of bulrushes (papyrus),
which fragile cradle and its precious contents she committed to the sluggish
waters of the crocodile-infested Nile, if he but might escape the bloody hands
of the alarmed and wicked king.

Here, as we know, the child was
discovered by the princess as she with her attendant maidens came to the
riverside to bathe. "And when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent
her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it, she saw the child; and
behold,  the baby wept. And she had compassion on him and said, This is one of
the Hebrews’ children. Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and
call to you a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?
And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the
child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away and
nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. And the woman took the child
and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter,
and he became her son" (Exod. 2:5-10).

Ah, what motherly emotion flooded
the breast of this royal princess! What womanly instincts moved the
compassionate heart of the greatest of women (in political position) as in the
impulse of her tender nature she decided to adopt as her own this seemingly
abandoned child of the Hebrews! Perhaps no incident so brief ever meant so much
to a family and a nation. Without knowing it, Pharaoh’s daughter was a part of
one great movement of the divine will and a factor in its results. Her high
position figures less in her memorial than the spirit of her deed. Her
gentleness braved the tragic law of her own house; and her gentleness made her
great (Psa. 18:35). In adopting the son of a slave she unshackled a hand that
would free two million slaves. Under her fostering care Moses had all the
attention that love could suggest or unlimited wealth could make possible. She
took every available means to have him educated in "all the wisdom of the
Egyptians" (Acts 7:22).

The fond foster mother of the
future deliverer of his race had difficulty enough, doubtless, in screening the
son of her adoption from the jealousy of other members of the royal household.
Whether she lived to the day of her son’s showing as the deliverer of his
people we have no means of knowing. If she was still living at the time that
Moses "forsook Egypt "not fearing the wrath of the king" (Heb.
11:27), he would scarcely have either time or opportunity to say a last
farewell to the kindly lady who for 40 years had been to him a mother. And when
he departed form the "land of Zoan" to dwell another 40 years among
the deserts of Midian, it is doubtful if she ever again set eyes on her adopted
son.

We close with the words of Theron
Brown (slightly modified and condensed):"The tomb of this interesting
woman has not been found. If ever her [mummified body] is brought to light …
we shall know her name. But it would be dearer to know that her living soul
dwells not far from the son she adopted and loved, the grandest man of sacred
(and all) history, who but for her would never have been. In all the
years of his ripening manhood there was time to learn from him more than
she could teach him of religious knowledge. Did she in their long
communion acquire something of his clearer Israelite thought and absorb a few
rays of the primitive light once lost but restored to the Abrahamic race?"

So we leave the unnamed daughter
of Pharaoh till the day when the Lord shall "come, who both will bring to
light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the
hearts; and then shall every man [and woman] have praise of God" (1 Cor.
4:5).

(From Holding Fast &
Holding Forth, Vol. 20. See the January-February and March-April 1995
issues of Words of Truth for additional articles by C. Knapp on unnamed
persons of the Bible.)

                                           by C. H.
Mackintosh

We shall now consider the history
of Moses during that deeply interesting period which he spent in retirement.
This was a period that included 40 of his very best years—the prime of life. In
this period, the Lord gracious­ly, wise­ly, and faithfully led His dear servant
apart from the eyes and thoughts of men, in order that He might train him under
His own hand. Moses needed this. True, he had spent 40 years in the house of
Pharaoh; and, while his sojourn there was not without its influence and value,
yet it was as nothing when compared with his sojourn in the desert. The former
might be valuable, but the latter was indis­pensable.

Nothing can possibly make up for
the lack of secret communion with God, of the training and discipline of His
school. "All the wisdom of the Egyptians" (Acts 7:22) would not have
qualified Moses for his future path. He might have pursued a most brilliant
course through the schools and colleges of Egypt. He might have come forth
laden with literary honors—his intellect stored with learning and his heart
full of pride and self-sufficiency. He might have earned his degree in the
school of man, and yet have to learn his alphabet in the school of God. Mere human wisdom and learning, however valuable in themselves, can never constitute any
one a servant of God, nor equip him for any department of divine service. The
man whom God will use must be endowed with such qualifications as can alone be
found in the deep and hal­lowed retirement of the Lord’s presence.

All God’s servants have been made
to know and experience the truth of these statements. Moses at Horeb, Elijah at
Cherith, Ezekiel at Chebar, Paul in Arabia, and John at Patmos are all striking
examples of the immense practical importance of being alone with God. And when
we look at the Divine Servant, we find that the time He spent in private was
nearly ten times as long as that which He spent in public. He, though perfect
in understand­ing and in will, spent nearly 30 years in the obscurity of a
carpenter’s house at Nazareth before He made his appearance in public. And even
when He had entered upon His public career, how often did He retreat from the
gaze of men to enjoy the sweet and sacred retirement of the divine presence!

Now we may feel disposed to ask,
How could the urgent demand for workmen ever be met if all need such protracted
training, in secret, before they come forth to their work? This is the Mas­ter’s
care, not ours. He can provide the workmen, and He can train them also. This is
not man’s work. God alone can provide and prepare a true minister. Nor is it a
question with Him as to the length of time needful for the education of such an
one. We know He could educate him in a moment, if it were His will to do so.
One thing is evident, namely, that God has had all His servants very much alone
with Himself, both before and after their entrance upon their public work; nor
will any one ever get on without this. The absence of secret training and
discipline will necessarily leave us barren, superficial, and theoretic. A man
who ventures forth upon a public career before he has duly weighed himself in
the balances of the sanctuary, or measured himself in the presence of God, is
like a ship putting out to sea without proper ballast; he will doubtless
capsize with the first stiff breeze. On the contrary, there is a depth, a
solidity, and a steadiness flowing from our having passed from grade to grade
in the school of God, which are essential elements in the forma­tion of the
character of a true and effective servant of God.

Hence, therefore, when we find
Moses, at the age of 40 years, taken apart from all the dignity and splendor of
a court for the purpose of spending 40 years in the obscurity of a desert, we
are led to expect a remarkable course of service; nor are we disappoint­ed. The
man whom God educates is educated, and none other. The hand of man could never
mold "a vessel … meet for the Master’s use" (2 Tim. 2:21). The One
who is to use the vessel can alone prepare it, and we have before us a very
beautiful example of His mode of preparation.

"Now Moses kept the flock of
Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the
back side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb"
(Exod. 3:1). Here we have a marvelous change of circumstances. In Gen. 46:34 we
read, "Every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyp­tians," and yet
Moses, who was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," was
transferred from the Egyptian court to the back of a mountain to tend a flock
of sheep and to be educated for the service of God. Assuredly, this is not
"the manner of man." We should have expected to find in one so highly
favored not only a solid and varied education but also such an exquisite polish
as would fit him for any sphere of action to which he might be called. But then
to find such a man with such attainments called away from such a position to
tend sheep at the back of a mountain is something entirely beyond the utmost
stretch of human thought and feeling.

There is a very wide difference
between human and divine education. The former has for its end the refinement
and exalta­tion of nature; the latter begins with withering it up and setting
it aside. "The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God,
for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). Educate the "natural man"
as much as you please and you cannot make him a "spiritual man."
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit" (John 3:6). The Apostle Paul learned more in Arabia than he ever could have at the feet of Gamaliel. None can teach like God, and all
who will learn of Him must be alone with Him. There it was that
Moses learned his sweetest, deepest, most influential and endur­ing lessons.
There too, must all repair who mean to be educated for the ministry.

(Let my reader not suppose for a
moment that the design of the above remarks is to detract from the value of
really useful information, or the proper culture of the mental powers. By no
means. If, for example, he is a parent, let him store his child’s mind with
useful knowledge; let him teach him everything which may, hereafter, turn to
account in the Master’s service; let him not burden him with anything which he
would have to "lay aside" in running his Christian course, nor
conduct him, for educational purposes, through a region from which it is
well-nigh impossible to come forth with an unsoiled mind. You might just as
well shut him up for ten years in a coal mine in order to qualify him for
discussing the properties of light and shade, as cause him to wade through the
mire of a heathen mythology in order to fit him for the interpretation of the
oracles of God, or prepare him for feeding the flock of Christ.)

Beloved reader, may you prove in
your own deep experience the real meaning of "the back side of the
desert"—that sacred spot where nature is laid in the dust and God alone
exalted. There it is that men and things, the world and self, present
circumstances and their influences, are all valued at what they are really
worth. There it is, and there alone, that you will find a divinely-adjusted
balance in which to weigh all within and all around.

All is reality there. The din and
noise, the bustle and confu­sion of Egypt are not heard in that distant place.
The crash in the monetary and commercial world is not heard there; the sigh of
ambition is not heaved there; this world’s fading laurels do not tempt there;
the thirst for gold is not felt there; the eye is never dimmed with lust, nor
the heart swollen with pride there; human applause does not elate, nor human
censure depress there. In a word, everything is set aside save the stillness
and light of the divine presence. God’s voice alone is heard, His light
enjoyed, His thoughts received. This is the place to which all must go to be
educated for the ministry; and there all must remain if they would succeed in
the ministry.

(From Notes on the Book of
Exodus.)

The two songs of Moses give us
the two great truths learned in connection with redemption. The first (Exodus
15) is a celebration of God’s victory and the deliverance of His people from
the land of judgment and from the hand of the enemy; the second (Deuteronomy
32) celebrates God’s faithfulness and goodness manifested in the midst of a
disobedient and faithless people, as a witness against them and for Him. It is
significant that whether in grace or in government, in redemption or
responsibility, God will be glorified and praise shall flow forth. He is
seeking worshipers (John 4:23). His object is not merely to snatch from
destruction—from the horrible pit and the miry clay—but to put a new song into
our lips, even praise unto our God (Psa. 40:2,3). He who for our sakes went
down into the pit is also now the Leader of His people’s praises (Psa. 22:1-22;
Heb. 2:12)—the Leader whom we may follow and join in that song. He would have
us so to share in His joy that it may find expression in praise. The more
clearly His grace and ways are understood, the more intelligent and full will
be our praise. Heaven, the place of endless praise, is where God is manifested
in unclouded light.

The first song, as is well known,
celebrates redemption, God’s victory over the enemy, sung on the shore of the
Red Sea, which but shortly before had been opened for the passage of Israel, and now rolled over their pursuers. As has been frequently remarked, as long as
they remained in the land of Egypt, Israel had no heart for praise. Fears,
murmurings, and doubts there were in abundance; not until they were beyond the
sea, delivered from the power of the enemy, as well as from the judgment they
themselves deserved, could they know the exultant joy which finds expression in
song:"I will sing unto the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously"
(Exod. 15:1).

Redemption is God’s work. There
is no room in this noble song for mention of Israel. "All things are of
God" (2 Cor. 5:18). What could be said of them save that they had doubted
and murmured? So for us, in celebrating God’s victory, we have nothing to say for
ourselves; all the work was His; to Him, then, be all the praise!

His be the victor’s name,

  Who fought the fight
alone;

Triumphant saints no honor
claim,

  His conquest was their
own.

The enemy has been destroyed.
"Through death He [destroyed] him who had the power of death" (Heb.
2:14). It is when we thus see our enemies cast into that very sea of judgment
and death, which we deserved ourselves, and when we see ourselves as
"risen with Christ" (Col. 3:1), that we can rejoice in the Lord.
"The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation"
(Exod. 15:2). The God who had wrought such havoc among the enemy was by that
very act made known as the God of His people and their Saviour. That right
hand, glorious in power, which had dashed in pieces the enemy, led forth the
people whom He had redeemed. The enemy in all his pride and haughtiness is
contemplated as ready to destroy the feeble few, and just there where enmity
and pride and apparently power were at their height, they were engulfed.

It is not difficult for the
redeemed one to translate this, to use it as expressing that victory over Satan
and the hosts of sin, smitten and destroyed at the hour of apparent victory,
when our Lord bore death and judgment for us. Well may we say, "Who is
like unto Thee, O LORD … glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing
wonders?" (Exod. 15:11).

But in this victory faith sees
all victories. Fear takes hold of the inhabitants of Palestina, the dukes of Edom, the great ones. In silence and trembling they see God’s people led on from strength
to strength, the enemy cast out of the land and they settled there under the
protection of their Deliverer. So for us, the song of redemption does not
merely look backward at the victory over Satan and sin on the cross, but onward
to the full realization of all that victory meant—to the time when, in the
land, the heavenly land, will be seen what God accomplishes for those whose
cause He undertakes.

Throughout the whole song there
is no hint of sadness, no word of failure; all is bright and triumphant, for
the very reason that all is of God from first to last. Well would it be for us
if we more constantly sang this song, more constantly lived in the atmosphere
of victory and joy which are about it. It is the failure to sing aright the
first song which makes the second a necessity.

Turning now to that second song
we see at once the contrast. It was given at the close of the wilderness
journey, a journey which brought out the two great truths which form the theme
of the song. It is a song of experience. God is here celebrated as before, His
work is perfect, His ways are judgment, all is faithfulness on His part. He had
proved to be the same all through, as He had shown Himself at the beginning.
But, alas! how was it with the people? They had corrupted themselves. He who
had hovered over them as an eagle—developing strength in them while at the same
time He bore them on His wings, who provided them the richest of food and the
most constant care—He was forsaken by them (Deut. 32:11-15). His very blessings
turned away the fat hearts of His faithless people who departed from Him for
those who were no gods. The result of this must be to bring the smitings of a
rod which would have comforted them; and so they are made to feel what an evil
and bitter thing it is thus to requite Him that bought them.

But in the midst of fearful
judgments He remembers His name, and for the honor of that He has mercy on His
people (Deut. 32:43). When wrath is apparently at its height, He will remember
mercy and bring blessing and peace upon His people and upon the Gentiles as
well. One is struck by the strange contrast with that early song of triumph.
And yet the end, blessing and peace, is the same in both songs. In this
second song, God’s people are seen under responsibility, as in the first they
were seen under grace.

Need we wonder at this song, we
who know our own history? Can we not read much that is familiar in our own
experience in it—the pride of position leading to heart-wandering from Him who
has put us in that position; the very food, spiritual truths, on which we have
grown fat, now used to exalt self at the expense of Christ? Here are things
familiar to us all, alas! in our own experience.

But how can such things form the
theme of a song? The answer is by being linked with the eternal love and
patience of an unrepentant God of grace. He never alters His purposes of grace,
never gives up those upon whom He has set His love. So there must be praise.
But this song was to be a witness against the people, they were to be warned
beforehand and taught that warning, that if they still went on in their course,
the words of the song they had known so long would condemn them. Thus it was to
be preventive. Can we not, learning from it what foolish and wandering hearts
we have, take warning in time that we go not astray, but cast ourselves on Him
who, with beautiful appropriateness amidst all the instability of His people,
is called "the Rock" (Deut. 32:15,18)? But all things are hastening
on to the great event when God will be surely glorified, when His ways with His
people, as well as His work for them, will be seen to be perfect; and when from
out of the shame of their own follies and wanderings He will bring matter for praise.
Nothing will taint or mar His glory. But are we to be "foolish people and
unwise" (Deut. 32:6)? Shall we be losers then? If not, let this song be a
warning, that it be not then a witness.

(From Help and Food, Vol.
10).

Miriam, the sister of Moses and
Aaron, is first mentioned by name in Exod. 15:20,21:"And Miriam the
prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women
went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them,
Sing to the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously:the horse and his rider has
He thrown into the sea."

Here we find Miriam leading the
other women of Israel in praise to God for His deliverance of Israel from the Egyptians. What a wonder­ful occupation for women today—to lead other women
and children in praise and worship to God the Father and God the Son in the
home, Sunday school class, or other places where women and/or children gather.

We can use hymns and songs
written by others or we can write our own. Singing the words of Scripture is an
effective method of encouraging both children and adults to memorize it.
Setting Scripture to music would be a good way for those with musical ability
to use their talents. The LORD gave Moses a song to teach the children of Israel to trust Him and to be a witness against them when they failed to trust Him (Deut.
31:19,21,22; 32:1-44). Setting the truth of God to music helped His people to
remember it better and to pass it on to the next generation. Many of us, no
doubt, still remember songs we learned in Sunday school about specific
scriptures (such as John 3:16; Rom. 10:9 and 12:1; Isa. 44:22,23; Psa. 40:2,3;
and others) and about Bible characters (such as David, Daniel, Zacchaeus, and
others).

We need not confine ourselves to
familiar hymns and hymn books. People have been writing hymns in praise of the
Lord Jesus Christ for almost 2,000 years; all of these hymns cannot be
contained in one or two hymn books. If the tunes are unfamiliar, the metrical
notations and indexes which appear in almost every hymn book can be used to
find a tune with which we are familiar to fit words that are new to us.

The next mention of Miriam in the
Bible finds her not behaving so well:"And Miriam and Aaron spoke against
Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married:for he had married an
Ethio­pian woman. And they said, Has the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? has
he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it … And the anger of the LORD
was kindled against them" (Num. 12:1,2,9).

Miriam and Aaron disapproved of
Moses’ marriage to an Ethiopian woman and spoke against it and him. God,
however, did not share their disapproval and afflicted Miriam with leprosy.
From this incident we learn that our thoughts, dislikes, disapprovals, and
prejudices are not always God’s, no matter how right we may think we are. We
should never rebuke or chastise anyone unless we have a definite scripture or
scriptural principle to support our rebuke. If the only support for our rebuke
is, "I don’t like that," or "That annoys me," we should
keep silent.

Miriam provides both a positive
and a negative example to us in her life and behavior. She pleased God when she
praised Him and she angered Him when she complained. "Praise … don’t
complain" would be a good motto for us all.