About the Hymn
We can hardly imagine the confusion and fear in the hearts of the Israelites. They’d done everything God had commanded—slaughtered the perfect lamb at sunset, painted their doorframes with blood, and eaten the meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs. And, as promised, God had rescued their firstborns from death and allowed them to walk right out of Egypt. Miracle upon miracle!
But now they faced an impassable obstacle, the waters of the Red Sea, and behind them they could hear the pounding chariots of Pharaoh. They were trapped. Why would God rescue them, just to let them die an even bloodier death out in the middle of nowhere?
They became surly and sarcastic with Moses: “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?”
Moses’ answer is both comforting and astounding: “Do not be afraid. . . . The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
We may not be caught in a death trap today, stuck between soldier and sea. But we often feel trapped—by our own fears and doubts, by temptation and sin, by the daily stresses of life. And we do sometimes face impassable obstacles: financial ruin, natural disasters, terminal illnesses.
In all these situations, we hear and heed Moses’ words as paraphrased in the text:
Don’t be afraid.
The Lord will fight for you today.
Don’t say a word. Don’t lift a hand.
Just trust God’s love for you and stand . . . still.
The hymn should be performed at a confident♩= ca. 76.
Text
Refrain:
Don’t be afraid.
The Lord will fight for you today.
Don’t say a word. Don’t lift a hand.
Just trust God’s love for you and stand . . . still.
1. When you’re pressed on ev’ry side
in this world of pain and sin,
when there’s nowhere you can hide
as the tides of fear close in,
2. Watch the Hebrews at the sea,
trapped as Pharaoh’s chariots loom.
Hear as Moses soothes their fear:
“God almighty stands with you!”
3. Look! As Moses lifts the staff,
waters part, dry ground appears.
Ev’ry fam’ly braves the path,
praising God with joyful tears.
4. Have no fear then, come what may:
fortunes fall and troubles surge.
Trust the one who makes a way.
Seas will part, a path emerge.
5. Even death must now succumb!
Christ has seized the victory!
Sin and Satan are undone!
Claim your crown: eternity!
© 2017 Laurie F. Gauger
Lectionary Reading
Year A, Proper 19 (24): Exodus 14:19–31
Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel’s army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, “Let’s get away from the Israelites! The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt.”
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.” Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. And when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
