"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.-- The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." (Exodus 14:13-14).

         The situation was crucial and frightening. Israel was led through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea, and Pharaoh, and his Egyptians, followed in pursuit. His army, chariots and horses, overtook them encamping by the sea. Hemmed in by the sea before them, the Egyptians behind them, they were about to panic when Moses spoke to them this awesome and encouraging word. "Fear not--" always God has to start with calming their (our) fears. But it was the next word that challenges Us even in this day-- they were not to be frightened, and they were not to run around in frenzied circles of carnal desperation. This was GOD'S HANDIWORK! He had an appointment with Pharaoh, and all the Egyptians, and He did not need any interference by the Israelites, they were but to stand still and see-- see the salvation of the Lord. The secret of victory was in the statement, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Yet how often have we, read it in reverse-- we were to fight for the Lord, and He would have to stand by, hold His peace, and just maybe lend a little encouragement, clapping His hands to motivate us onward. Christendom acts as if God cannot get along without us-- and if man doesn't do his part, the whole plan of God will fail. What nonsense! This was a monumental happening-- a nation was being delivered from bondage to the Egyptians, and GOD alone would be in control. Israel was to stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.
         The logistics of it all is awesome-- just to feed such a multitude, provide water for them all, and even sanitation facilities. Yet in due time we see that GOD had it all under control. The manna for food was an ongoing supply that never diminished until they were in Canaan and able to eat of the old corn of the land. The fountain of water, flowing out of the Rock, followed them. And the instruction was clear, "Thou shalt have a place also without the camp, whither thou shalt go forth abroad: and thou shalt have a paddle upon thy weapon; and it shall be, when thou wilt ease thyself abroad, thou shalt dig therewith, and shalt turn back and cover that which cometh from thee." (Deut. 23:12-13). God was/IS in charge, and He has everything under control. He can meet every need, nothing is too earthy, nor too heavenly. But obedience to His will is essential-- and when we yield to His working all is well.
         Stand still-- the Hebrew word is "yatsab" and bespeaks of taking a station, a posture, setting self up in place so as to be able to observe what GOD is doing. They were instructed to be still-- concentrating on the handiwork of God. That canceled out all human activity, there would be no foolish commotion of the flesh as they anxiously awaited what God would do. One can almost hear some of them crying out, "What shall we do? What shall we do?" But DOING was not on the agenda-- the doing was God's part, and the standing still was their part. Positioned so as to be able to SEE-- but not to engage in carnal activity. They were able to SEE the salvation of the Lord! Deliverance was at hand, be prepared to see it. Praise God!
         It reminds us of the occasion when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to present Him to the Lord-- to offer a sacrifice according to the law of the Lord. There was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, to whom it had been revealed that he would see the Lord's Christ. He came by the Spirit into the temple, and took Jesus in his arms, and said, "Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." (Luke 2:30) .This is very interesting-- outwardly he saw a baby boy, but by the Spirit he saw the salvation of the Lord. Certainly there were years to come before there would be a more literal expression of that salvation-- but he SAW. "Anoint thine eyes with eye salve, that thou mayest see," is the good word that comes to us in Revelation 3:18.
         What a positive word is shared with us by Julia Ward Howe:
                                                "Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
                                                He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
                                                He hath loosed the faithful lightning of His terrible swift sword.
                                                His truth is marching on.
                                                He hath sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
                                                He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat.
                                                Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
                                                Our God is marching on."
         "The Lord shall fight for you." I dare say, there are times when it is exceedingly hard to just stand still, while we let God be GOD in the whole situation. We search the Word for promises that sooth our weary mind. We fast and pray and hope that somehow we have caught God's attention so that He will come to our rescue. These religious exercises are not wrong in themselves, but they are totally out of place if God is telling us to stand still, while HE fights the battle for us. He told the Israelites to "hold their peace." Some days that is not the easiest thing to do-- in fact, we first have to receive His peace before we can hold it. But the Lord does provide, having compassion on us, and so we look to see HIS SALVATION.
         We have a vision-- shared by a vast number whom God has called in this day, of how God is preparing a company, first fruits of His new creation, whom He is maturing, bringing them into the "unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (Ephesians 4:13). These are they who know their God, and they readily obey the instruction to stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.
         We are also cognizant of the fact that "Without Me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5). Indeed, God has some very unique ways of bringing us into a very personal realization of this fact. He has away of both stripping and purging us, until we know what Paul meant when he said, "For we are weak in Him." But he also went on to state, praise God, "BUT ye shall live with Him by the power of God toward you." (2 Cor. 13:4). Weak, yet powerful! It is not a contradiction -- it speaks of two realms, that of the flesh-- where in our SELF we can do nothing, we are nothing; but there is another realm-- in the Spirit, IN CHRIST, where by His enablement we can say "I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me-- I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me, that is, I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency." (Philippians 4:13, Amp.). Israel was facing the Red Sea, and the Egyptians. And being hemmed in on all sides, their flesh could not handle such dire circumstances. And the only word that could be given to this realm was "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." For, ye shall live by the power of God toward you!
        God has surely gone to great lengths, using extreme measures to purge out of us all confidence in the flesh. And for sure, when He has filled us with Himself we shall know from whence is this power, and all glory will be His. Some may object and insist that we have it all now -- and it is up to us to "take the kingdom by force." But God can rapidly wipe out that idea and tell us again that we need to "stand still," bring a halt to our carnal works, and let God fight for us, while we learn to hold our peace. We find ourselves in situations where we no longer are able to depend upon "group therapy," for our life support, but we find all of our life is IN CHRIST. At first we thought we would die, but ultimately we find that it is BECAUSE OF HIM that we live. We need not illustrate all the removals, the on-going demolition of our props, and things we thought essential to our life. But, suffice it to say, the more His cross now works in us, the more we are dead and our life is hid with Christ. in God. From henceforth it becomes CHRIST WITHIN US that enables us to live out His life-- to His glory and praise.
        Jehovah alone is the God of all creation. Israel has served as an awesome demonstration of the failure of the flesh, and how God can step in at any given time and turn the situation around to reveal His plan, and to bring forth a victory that glorifies Him. Israel kept falling down, chasing after the gods of the heathen around them. Of course God knew they would do this, but it never changed His plan one iota. In fact, He used their weakness for the furtherance of His plan, and so "God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that He might have mercy upon all." (Romans 11:32). What a marvelous working! He not only let them go their own way, He helped to disperse them among the nations, to lose their own identity, to take on the identity of the heathen among whom they came to dwell. They would not be known as Israel for a time, but they would be identified as Anglo-Saxons, as Germans, as Celtics, as Scandinavians, as Polish, etc. according to whatever the name of the place to which they were scattered. But out of this grave, out of this dispersion, He promised to reserve unto Himself "a remnant according to the election of grace." (Romans 11:5). They would become a SPIRITUAL REMNANT out of the natural peoples, processed, purged, and prepared until they are fully qualified to fulfill the calling of God. God is not limited by time for the outworking of His purpose. He can allow the years to pass over us in their cycles, and behind the scenes He does a HIDDEN WORK, until He is ready for the manifestation unto victory. They have learned to STAND STILL, keeping their eyes focused on the salvation of the Lord-- and know that the end of the process is secure in His hand.
         The Scriptures give some beautiful thoughts concerning how we are to stand. Paul writes, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand." (Romans 5:1-2). STANDING IN GRACE! We find this is in direct contra-distinction to those who try to stand in the arena of their works-- as the Pharisee who "stood and prayed thus with himself. - I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess..." (Luke 18:11-12). He was standing in his own self-righteousness, and knew little, or nothing, about the grace of God. Sounds much like some of our present day Pharisees-- religious folk boasting how they attend every service when the doors are open, they teach a class, hand out tracts, sing in the choir, always busy for the Lord-- as if this enhances how they stand. What a vast difference it makes when we are ready to abandon all self-effort works, and stand in His grace, and we become HIS handiwork-- as He fights the battle for us. When we are standing in His grace there is no collecting of merit points for self. Grace does not work to merit the receiving of His life, but grace does freely give us of His grace so that we might live His life, and to stand still and see what God would do, IS DOING, in us.
         Paul also writes, "Brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand." (1 Cor. 1.5:1). STANDING IN THE GOSPEL! With the Egyptians crowding in, and conditions are rapidly becoming extremely critical, thank God there can be some good news! Fear not, God is on your side, He will fight the battle for you. Indeed, be of good courage, for while you are standing, God is actively engaged in the whole situation, and the end is secure in Him -- yea, shout the good news!
         The gospel of God is far different than the theologies of man wherein most people are inclined to stand. There is no good news in much of the creed and doctrine which many in Christendom proclaim as they give heed to weird "heresies of damnation," (2 Peter 2:1). Yet little do they realize that as they give heed to "seducing spirits, and doctrines concerning devils," (1 Timothy 4:1),  they actually end up denying the Lord who bought them. Truly we need to be focused upon the GOSPEL-- the glorious pews of the totality of redemption. It certainly elevates our attitude, and renews our hope, as we focus upon the good news that magnifies our Lord.
         Next, to strengthen our stand, we read, "Watch ye stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." (1 Corinthians 16:13). Jesus Himself defined this, when He said, "Have faith in God," (Mark 11:22), or, as the margin gives more correctly, "Have the faith of God, " which is the faith which HE gives to us. Faith, "Not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8). When we stand in the faith which He imparts, we shall have a solid foundation. This is more than just the tradition of mankind, it is truth revealed by the Spirit, quickened within, and it fortifies and strengthens us to "stand still and see the salvation of God."
         Then we also read, "stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Gal. 5:1). Christ alone is our Head, our sovereign Ruler, the Lord of our life. HE sets us free from the realms sin and death, from the bondage of men. "Of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage." (2 Peter 2:19). Israel had certainly experienced enough of the bondage cycle, and they had to cast off their "slave mentality," and know that Jehovah God alone was their "Commander in Chief." When Christ makes us free, we are free indeed. He is our liberty! Consider what a change this would bring to Israel if they were all LIBERTY MINDED-- positive, and surrendered unto the Lord, with a deep inner consciousness of their freedom in Christ.
         And now, briefly, gather the points together-- STAND STILL-- stand in His grace, stand in the gospel, stand in the faith, and stand in His liberty.
         "Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord." (Psalm 134:1). Note it carefully, it does not read, "which by night crawl off in a corner alone by themselves, to brood over their troubles, have a pity-party feeling sorry for themselves." But even in the night they are conscious of standing before Him. Passing through the dark night of the soul, when it seems like all light has fled away, and they know not which way to turn, still they can stand in grace, braced up with the good news. When depression and frustration are filling the bleak moments, yet inwardly, in the inner sanctuary of the Spirit they sense a liberty, a God-wrought freedom, and they know that the salvation of the Lord shall ultimately be their bountiful portion. Extending far beyond what they can ask or think-- there is an inner assurance that all is well. To find that even in the dark of night we can stand still and actually SEE the salvation of the Lord, finding that the night, or the day, is all the same-- they are alike to Him. And do note, we stand by night. It does not read that we frantically dash about in a hysterical blindness, but when a "dark night of the soul" engulfs us, the house of the Lord becomes a place to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord.
         "Fear not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." Two words now come before us-- SEE, and SALVATION. Once He has dealt with our fears and we can stand still before Him, then it is time for Him to anoint our eyes with eye salve so that we can SEE-- not see all the negatives, devils, etc. but see THE SALVATION OF THE LORD!
         "Of the Lord..." Not of the preacher, teacher, venerated saint, etc. It is not of man but of the Lord. How easy it is to turn our eyes to mankind, and think we can draw out of some man a deliverance. Certainly God can use any instrument that He chooses, but the point is not what instrument, but that we see GOD as the Source and the Victory. Salvation/deliverance is not just a working, but it is an experience, a process, and a person.
         For Israel it was an experience right in the nitty-gritty arena of earth. The Red Sea was there before them, the Egyptian army behind them-- they were encumbered with their children, their animals, and all the goods that they could carry with them. They needed Divine intervention to be manifested right where they were at. Testimonies of deliverance that others might tell could momentarily be encouraging, but breathing in the face of their adversary was very real-- they needed, and received, an awesome touch of God. The victory song that would burst from their lips was a song of deliverance personally felt and received.
         Jesus said to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing." (John 20:27).  And what a positive confession this drew from Thomas, as he "said unto Him, My Lord and my God." It was tangible, it was very real to him. Give the Master "a piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb," and let Him eat it before them all. Demonstrate that it was happening to them on their level. The lesser will be swallowed up into the greater, but let us not despise the handiwork of God on whatever level it be, whether it be serving the multitudes the loaves and fishes, or sharing with them the truths of the Father -- awesome, and challenging.
         And there are also Spiritual inspirations, higher dimensions so real that we say with Paul, "Whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth; - caught up into paradise..." (2 Corinthians 12:2, 4). Moments of glory that advance our salvation.
         But experiences and processings-- "changed from glory to glory," are all swallowed up into a Person. Jesus Christ IS our salvation. In due time we shall find that it is all IN HIM-- and when you have Him, you have all the ramifications of salvation. "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life..." (1 John 5:11-12). HE THAT HATH THE SON HATH-- hath all that we need. "The Lord IS my Light and my Salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord IS the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Ps. 27:1)
         "The Lord... He is the saving strength of His anointed." (Ps. 28:8).
         How this occasion became a revelation of Israel's God. And after they had come through the Red Sea, and the Egyptians had tried to follow them, and were drowned, "And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians; AND THE PEOPLE FEARED THE LORD, AND BELIEVED THE LORD, and His servant Moses." (Exodus 14:31). What a song of deliverance was focused upon the Lord, and He became the Center of their faith. "The Lord IS my strength and song, and He IS become my salvation." (Exodus 15:2). Amen!
         "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will shew you today." (Exodus 14:13). Today! Not afar off, but today. Certainly there was much greater revelation to come, but there was also a present day experience-- God was right there with them to do the fighting for them.
         Zacchaeus sought to see Jesus, but could not see Him because he was little of stature, and so he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him. Jesus came to the place, looked up, and saw him, and said, "Make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and come down, and received Him joyfully." (Luke 19:5-6).  There was a glorious transformation in Zacchaeus, and Jesus said to him, "THIS DAY is salvation come to this house." (v. 9). Yes, it was a salvation experience. Yes, it led to an on-going process. But most important of all, SALVATION/JESUS had come to his house. Salvation personified was at the house that day. The little man could hold his peace, the Greater Man was there to meet the need of the hour, ministering to the inner man.
         How we long for Him to come to our house, our personal temple, not just in part but IN FULLNESS-- making it a "this day" reality in/for us! This is far more than just a mental claiming, it becomes an experienced reality-- and until that hour we will not, we cannot be satisfied with the "in part" measures which we have received thus far. 0, let Him proclaim it deep in our spirit, "Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward with Him, and His work (recompense) before him." (Isaiah 62:11).
         "For My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed." (Isaiah 56:1). Over and over again throughout the book of Isaiah we read that the work is His, and when He found there was no man able to step in and win the battle, then "His arm brought salvation unto Him; and His righteousness, it sustained Him." (Isaiah 59:16). Full well He knows our frame, and that we cannot "change the leopard's spots," (Jeremiah 13:23), that is, we cannot save ourselves, nor change our nature-- it requires the handiwork of God alone-- Creator, Redeemer. "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." So marvelous is God's working, that the Egyptians themselves bore witness, "Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians." (Exodus 14:25). It becomes an open demonstration of what our sovereign God can do.
         "For the Lord taketh pleasure in His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation." (Psalm 149:4). How beautifully this blends with the Word that Moses gave to Israel-- "the Lord will fight for you!" When God fights for His people He doesn't end up with maimed and wounded, dead bodies everywhere. But however severe the battle, it will climax in SALVATION. Truly, "The pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." (Isaiah 53:10). He takes pleasure in His people-- it was God who sent them all down into Egypt for a time, and it was God who brought them forth again. All they could do was "stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." He would so beautify the people with His salvation, that it leaves us standing in awe-- what a mighty God we serve. His hand is stretched out, and none shall turn it back. So complete was His working, that He said, "The Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever." (Exodus 14:13).
         We are not caught in a wheel of nature that goes round and round, but from glory to glory He leads us onward-- drawing us unto Himself, and clothing us with His garments of salvation. Fear not, beloved friend, our God shall reign until all enemies are subdued under His feet, and we shall bow before Him, to worship and adore Him. What peace, what victory is ours in Christ!
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(1)Prinzing, Ray and Doris "Letters of Truth"  Boise, Idaho 83705, P.O. Box 5822

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