Why We Sing — TDW Kids

A Song After a Rescue

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When God brought Israel through the sea, the first thing they did was sing. “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord” (Exodus 15:1). Why do God's people sing?

We sing because God saves. Israel sang because God had rescued them. “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2). Praise is what grateful people do.

A new song. David wrote, “He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God” (Psalm 40:3). Every time God helps us, He gives us something new to sing about.

We sing to tell others. Psalm 40:3 goes on: “Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.” When we sing about God, other people hear about Him.

Tell the whole world. “Sing to the Lord, all the earth… Declare His glory among the nations” (Psalm 96:1, 3). Songs carry God's story far and wide.

Sing with joy. “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing” (Psalm 100:1-2).

Sing to each other. Paul told Christians to speak “to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). Singing together helps us remember God's truth.

Sing when it is hard. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in jail. “But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25).

God answered the jail song. While Paul and Silas sang, God sent an earthquake and the prison doors opened. That night the jailer and his whole family came to believe in Jesus.

Songs help us remember. It is easier to remember a song than a list of facts. Israel sang about the sea so their children would never forget what God did.

Pray and sing. “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms” (James 5:13). God wants to hear from us in sad times and happy times.

Not just for good singers. God does not care whether you have a great voice. He cares about your heart. Singing “with grace in your hearts” (Colossians 3:16) is what matters. When we think about the words we sing, the truth about God goes deep into our hearts.

Everyone joined in. Miriam led the women with tambourines and dancing (Exodus 15:20). Praise is for everyone: young and old, men and women.

What to do. This week, choose a song about God and sing it every day. Think about the words while you sing.

Exodus 15 is the first extended song in the Bible, and it sets a pattern: God acts to save, and His people respond with praise.

Praise as response. The song follows directly after 14:31, where the people “believed the Lord.” Faith that has seen God's work naturally expresses itself in worship.

The new song. The phrase “new song” appears throughout the Psalms (Psalm 40:3; 96:1; 98:1). It is tied to fresh acts of deliverance. Psalm 98:1 echoes Exodus 15: “His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.”

Witness through worship. Psalm 40:3 links singing with witness: “Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.” Psalm 96 commands Israel to “declare His glory among the nations.” Worship is not private only; it proclaims.

Teaching through song. Colossians 3:16 joins singing to teaching: “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” Songs carry doctrine into memory.

Song in suffering. Acts 16:25 shows praise in the darkest setting. Singing at midnight in prison was an act of trust that God was still good. Luke adds that “the prisoners were listening.” The earthquake and the jailer's conversion follow (Acts 16:26-34): worship in hardship became a witness.

Song as memory. Israel's songs preserved its history. Later God told Moses to teach Israel a song so that future generations would not forget (Deuteronomy 31:19-22). Song is one of God's chosen ways of keeping truth alive across generations, which is why the church still sings its doctrine.

Every season. James 5:13 pairs prayer with suffering and song with cheerfulness. Scripture provides songs for lament as well as celebration; the Psalms include both.

Whole-community praise. Miriam's leadership (Exodus 15:20-21) shows worship involving the whole people, with instruments and movement. Micah 6:4 later names Miriam with Moses and Aaron as leaders God sent.

The heart of worship. Ephesians 5:19 locates true melody “in your heart.” Skill is welcome, but sincerity is required. Colossians 3:16 adds “with grace in your hearts to the Lord”: song flows from grace received.

Fear and trust. Psalm 40:3 says many will “fear, And will trust in the Lord.” Biblical fear here is reverent awe, the same response Israel had at the sea (Exodus 14:31). Worship that is honest about God's greatness draws others to trust Him.

Application. Choose one psalm of praise to read aloud each day this week, and write down one reason it gives for praising God.

The Song of Moses and the Lamb

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The song Moses sang by the Red Sea did not stay in Exodus. God's people kept singing it, and the Bible says they will sing it in heaven.

Sung again and again. “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation” appears in Exodus 15:2, Psalm 118:14 and Isaiah 12:2. God's people kept singing Moses' words for hundreds of years.

A song of remembering. Psalm 136 remembers the sea too: “To Him who divided the Red Sea in two, For His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 136:13).

A greater rescue. The Red Sea was a rescue from Pharaoh. Jesus came to rescue us from sin and death. That is an even bigger reason to sing. At the sea, God saved one nation from one king. Through Jesus, He saves people from every nation.

Jesus is salvation. When old Simeon held baby Jesus, he said, “my eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2:30). The salvation Moses sang about came in person.

Mary sang too. When Mary learned she would be Jesus' mother, she sang, “My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” (Luke 1:46-47).

The song in heaven. In Revelation, God's people stand by a sea and “sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” (Revelation 15:3). The Lamb is Jesus.

What they sing. “Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints!” (Revelation 15:3). Everything God does is right.

All nations. The song goes on: “For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You” (Revelation 15:4). The song of Moses ends with the whole world worshiping God.

A new song for the Lamb. In heaven they sing to Jesus: “You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).

God sings over you. God Himself sings! “He will rejoice over you with gladness… He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). He is glad over His children.

Praise all the time. “Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15).

What to do. When you sing at church this week, remember that you are joining a song God's people have been singing since Moses, and will sing forever. Singing at church now is practice for heaven.

God's people kept singing the Song of the Sea all through the Bible, all the way to the worship of heaven.

Repeated in Scripture. Exodus 15:2 is quoted in Psalm 118:14 and Isaiah 12:2. In Isaiah it appears in a song for a future deliverance, showing that Israel saw the exodus as a pattern for God's later saving acts.

Remembered in worship. Psalm 136:13-15 praises God for the crossing, and after each line it sings of God's “mercy” (chesed). Judgment on Pharaoh and rescue of Israel are both described as expressions of steadfast love toward His people.

Salvation embodied. Simeon's words, “my eyes have seen Your salvation” (Luke 2:30), use the vocabulary of Exodus 15:2. The name Jesus (Yeshua) means “the Lord saves.”

New Testament songs. Luke's Gospel opens with songs: Mary's (1:46-55), Zechariah's (1:68-79) and Simeon's (2:29-32). Like Moses and Miriam, they respond to God's saving act with praise.

The song of Moses and the Lamb. Revelation 15:2-4 pictures the redeemed beside a sea of glass, singing “the song of Moses… and the song of the Lamb.” The final victory is described in exodus terms.

The Lamb's new song. Revelation 5:9 sings of Christ: “You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood.” The redemption of Exodus 15:13 is fulfilled in the Lamb's sacrifice, and the people redeemed come from “every tribe and tongue.”

God's own song. Zephaniah 3:17 reverses the direction: God “will rejoice over you with singing.” Worship is a response to a God who delights in His people.

Continual praise. Hebrews 13:15 calls believers to “continually offer the sacrifice of praise.” Praise is not limited to special occasions; it is the ongoing life of the redeemed.

Just and true. The heavenly song praises God's ways as “just and true” (Revelation 15:3) and His judgments as “manifested” (15:4). As at the Red Sea, the worship of heaven celebrates both God's justice against evil and His mercy to the redeemed. The two are not in tension; they are both expressions of His holiness.

The nations included. Exodus 15:14-16 pictured the nations trembling. Revelation 15:4 pictures them worshiping: “all nations shall come and worship before You.” The exodus pattern widens until the redeemed come from every people.

Application. Read Revelation 15:2-4 and Exodus 15:1-18 side by side. List the themes they share.

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