2 Yah is my strength and song. He has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him; my father's God, and I will exalt him.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
The Lord is my strength. In this expression they acknowledge that they have a sufficient defense in God; and afterwards they add, that His grace furnishes them with just ground for praise. The sum is, that they were strong in God, and had not conquered their enemies by their own bravery; and that, therefore, it is not lawful to glory save in God alone. But we must observe that the help of God is conjoined with His praise, because this is the end of all His benefits, that we should hold our salvation as received from Him, which is here mentioned in the third place, for to say that God had "become their salvation," was as much as to say that the people were saved by His grace. In the second clause there is an antithesis between the true God and all false ones; for there is much emphasis in the declaration, "he is my God," as by it Moses excludes all that multitude of gods which then were everywhere worshipped in the world. To the same effect he adds, "my father's God," thus distinguishing the faith of Abraham from all the superstitions of the Gentiles. The faithful then declare that it is safe for them to repose in this One God, and that His praises are worthy of celebration. Isaiah imitates this figure. Isaiah 25:9, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him." What follows in the next verse -- "The Lord is a man of war," is to the same purpose, for although at first sight the phrase may seem a harsh one, still it is not without beauty: that God is armed in military attire, to contend with all the forces of His foes. Therefore, says Moses, the name of the Lord belongs to Him alone, because His hand awaits to destroy whatever lifts itself up against Him.
The Lord is my strength and song - My strength and song is Jah. See Psalm 68:4. The name was chosen here by Moses to draw attention to the promise ratified by the name "I am."
I will prepare Him an habitation - I will glorify Him. Our Authorized Version is open to serious objection, as suggesting a thought (namely, of erecting a temple) which could hardly have been in the mind of Moses at that time, and unsuited to the occasion.
The Lord is my strength and song - How judiciously are the members of this sentence arranged! He who has God for his strength, will have him for his song; and he to whom Jehovah is become salvation, will exalt his name. Miserably and untunably, in the ears of God, does that man sing praises, who is not saved by the grace of Christ, nor strengthened by the power of his might.
It is worthy of observation that the word which we translate Lord here, is not יהוה JEHOVAH in the original, but יה Jah; "as if by abbreviation," says Mr. Parkhurst, "for יהיה yeheieh or יהי yehi. It signifies the Essence Ὁ ΩΝ, He who Is, simply, absolutely, and independently. The relation between יה Jah and the verb היה to subsist, exist, be, is intimated to us the first time יה Jah is used in Scripture, (Exodus 15:2): 'My strength and my song is יה Jah, and he is become (ויהי vajehi) to me salvation.'" See Psalm 68:5; Psalm 89:6; Psalm 94:7; Psalm 115:17, Psalm 115:18; Psalm 118:17.
Jah יה is several times joined with the name Jehovah יהוה so that we may be sure that it is not, as some have supposed, a mere abbreviation of that word. See Isaiah 12:2; Isaiah 26:4. Our blessed Lord solemnly claims to himself what is intended in this Divine name יה Jah, John 8:58 : "Before Abraham was, (γενεσθαι, was born), εγω ειμι, I Am," not I was, but I am, plainly intimating his Divine eternal existence. Compare Isaiah 43:13. And the Jews appear to have well understood him, for then took they up stones to cast at him as a blasphemer. Compare Colossians 1:16, Colossians 1:17, where the Apostle Paul, after asserting that all things that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, were created, εκτισται, by and for Christ, adds And He Is (αυτος εστι, not ην, was) before all things, and by him all things συνεστηκε, have subsisted, and still subsist. See Parkhurst.
From this Divine name יה Jah the ancient Greeks had their Ιη, Ιη, in their invocations of the gods, particularly of Apollo (the uncompounded One) the light; and hence ei, written after the oriental manner from right to left, afterwards ie, was inscribed over the great door of the temple at Delphi! See Clarke's note on Exodus 3:14, and the concluding observations there.
I will prepare him a habitation - ואנוהו veanvehu. It has been supposed that Moses, by this expression, intended the building of the tabernacle; but it seems to come in very strangely in this place. Most of the ancient versions understood the original in a very different sense. The Vulgate has et glorificabo eum; the Septuagint δοξασω αυτον, I will Glorify him; with which the Syriac, Coptic, the Targum of Jonathan, and the Jerusalem Targum, agree. From the Targum of Onkelos the present translation seems to have been originally derived; he has translated the place ואבני לה מקדש veebnei leh makdash, "And I will build him a sanctuary," which not one of the other versions, the Persian excepted, acknowledges. Our own old translations are generally different from the present: Coverdale, "This my God, I will magnify him;" Matthew's, Cranmer's, and the Bishops' Bible, render it glorify, and the sense of the place seems to require it. Calmet, Houbigant, Kennicott, and other critics, contend for this translation.
My father's God - I believe Houbigant to be right, who translates the original, אלהי אבי Elohey abi, Deus meus, pater meus est, "My God is my Father." Every man may call the Divine Being his God; but only those who are his children by adoption through grace can call him their Father. This is a privilege which God has given to none but his children. See Galatians 4:6.
The LORD [is] my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he [is] my God, and I will (b) prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.
(b) To worship him in it.
The Lord is my strength and song,..... The strength of Moses and the children of Israel against the fears of the Egyptians, and of entrance into the Red sea; who inspired them with courage, and strengthened their faith, neither to fear being destroyed by the one, or drowned in the other; and so in the glory of his nature, and of his divine perfections, of his justice, holiness, faithfulness, truth, and goodness, he was the subject matter of their song. As Christ is the strength of his spiritual Israel, the author and giver of strength unto them, the strength of their lives, their hearts, and graces; and who strengthens them to do his will and work, to exercise every grace, withstand corruptions, resist temptations, bear afflictions, and overcome every enemy; and who on the account of the glory of his person, the beauty, fitness, and fulness of it, and because of his offices of Mediator, Saviour, prophet, priest, and King, as well as by reason of what he has done for them, the righteousness he has brought in, and the salvation he has wrought out, is the sum and substance of their song of praise:
and he is become my salvation; the salvation of Israel in a temporal sense, having saved them out of the hands of the Egyptians their enemies; and the salvation or Saviour of his spiritual Israel, who are saved by him with an everlasting salvation; he is not only their Saviour, but salvation itself; being not only the author of it, and that being in him for them, but made that itself unto them, even their all in all; their righteousness, atonement, peace, light, life, food, health, comfort, and joy; all their grace being in him, and from him, as well as their eternal glory and happiness: and this he is to them now, he is their salvation by impetration having obtained it by his obedience, sufferings, and death; and by application, they being convinced of their need of salvation by him, and the suitableness of it to them, seek to him for it, desire that and no other, which is brought nigh unto them by the Spirit of God, and witnessed to by him as theirs; so that they are already saved by grace, through faith and hope in Christ; and of their particular interest in it, they have knowledge by the same Spirit, which fills them with joy unspeakable and full of glory. This and the preceding clause are words so very expressive, and contain such fulness of matter, and such interesting things, that both the psalmist David, and the church, in the times of the evangelic prophet Isaiah, have borrowed them to express their sense of the great things the Lord was to them, and had done for them, Psalm 118:14.
he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; Christ is God, truly God, as appears from the names given him, particularly Jehovah; from the perfections ascribed to him, from the works done by him, and from the worship of him both by angels and men; and he is his people's God, their Immanuel, God in their nature, the God in whom they believe, and in whom they have an interest; he is the God of their salvation, the Lord their righteousness; their Lord, head, and King; their husband, beloved, Father, brother, friend; their God and guide, even unto death; their portion and exceeding great reward, now and hereafter: wherefore Moses, or the people of Israel, or both, determine to "prepare" him an "habitation", being concerned that he had no better dwelling place among them than he had; and seem to have some respect unto, and knowledge of an habitation hereafter to be built, the tabernacle and temple; which were typical of the human nature of Christ, and of his church; but then they were both of God's preparing, and not men's; wherefore an habitation in the hearts of, his people may be chiefly designed; the preparation of which, though it is principally and efficaciously of the Spirit of God, yet in some sense may be said to be prepared by the saints, when they show a concern for grace to be in exercise; to have duty regularly and constantly performed in a manner acceptable to him, and that no disturbance be given to occasion his departure from them. The Septuagint version is, "I will glorify him"; with soul and body, which are both his; and so much to the same purpose other versions, "I will decorate or beautify" (t) him; declare his beauty and glory, and speak in praise of it: "my father's God, and I will exalt him"; Christ was not only the God of Amram, the father of Moses, who was a good man; but the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as he declared himself to be, Exodus 3:6, the ancestors not only of Moses, but of all the children of Israel. This shows the antiquity of Christ, that he was their fathers' God, and that he is to be trusted and depended on, as he was by their fathers, and to be regarded, and highly valued and esteemed, having been their fathers' friend, and is a reason why he should be exalted by them; for though he cannot be raised higher than he is, being the Son of the Highest, God over all, blessed for ever, whose kingdom ruleth over all, and is now as man ascended on high, and is highly exalted by his Father, and at his right hand, and glorified by him with himself; yet he may be said to be exalted and lifted up by us, when we celebrate and set forth the height of his glory and excellency, by asserting his proper deity, ascribing the same perfections, worlds, and worship to him, as to his Father, by attributing distinct divine personality to him, confessing his eternal sonship, owning him in all his offices, and giving him the glory due unto him on account of them, and for salvation wrought out by him; the whole honour and praise of it belong to him: he may and should be exalted in the hearts of his people, in their thoughts and affections, and with their lips in songs of praise; and in the house of God, and the ordinances of it, where everyone should speak of his glory; the reasons are, because he is above all in his person and perfections, is the only Mediator, Saviour, and Redeemer, and to exalt him is the way to be exalted, Proverbs 4:8.
(t) Sept. "glorificabo eum", V. L. "laudabo eume", Syr. Samar. "hunc decorabo", Tigurine version; "condecorabo eum", Piscator.
Israel rejoiceth in God, as their strength, song, and salvation - Happy therefore the people whole God is the Lord: They are weak themselves, but he strengthens them, his grace is their strength: they are oft in sorrow, but in him they have comfort, he is their song: sin and death threaten them, but he is, and will be, their salvation. He is their fathers God - This they take notice of, because being conscious of their own unworthiness, they had reason to think that what God had now done for them was for their fathers sake, Deuteronomy 4:37.
*More commentary available at chapter level.