God instructed Moses to write down a song, and to teach it to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 31:19). Moses wrote it out, and taught it to the people (31:22); and then he carefully recited it to the gathered assembly (31:30). This is what he said:

“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop like the rain, my speech condense like the dew; like gentle rain on grass, like showers on new growth. For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, his work is perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God, without deceit, just and upright is he” (32:1-4).

Moses would close his ministry to Israel with a song that included warnings (Deuteronomy 32:23-24) and scoldings (32:5-6). I’m not much of a fan of scoldings; I’ve never found them all that effective as motivators, whether I’m giving them or getting them. Even so, we should recognize that there is a reason Moses’ words are so strong: he wants us to see that it is not a matter of indifference when we get it wrong.

And overriding the scolding, we should note how Moses began his song by proclaiming the name of the Lord, singing of the greatness of our God, who is reliable, perfect, equitable, trustworthy. We have seen that Moses had a temper, and that it was not easy for him to admit that he himself bore some responsibility for his not getting to enter the Promised Land. But for all that, we can see his heart in this moment of praise: Moses was someone who wanted to sing of the greatness of God.

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You are the Lord! Your name is great: you are the Rock, trustworthy and honest in your love for us, equitable and perfect in your mercy and grace. Teach us to heed your warnings, and to offer our hearts in worship to you, O Lord, forever and ever!