Exodus 15:1-27
1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.
3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroya them.
10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.
17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.
19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
23 And when they came to Marah,b they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.
Exodus 15:1. Then sang Moses. The Israelites sang in companies; and the one company often answered the other. See Bishop Lowth on the Hebrew Poetry. Also Psalms 68:25; Ecclesiastes 2:8; Ezra 2:65.
Exodus 15:10. Thou didst blow with thy wind. Thou didst send thy spirit, the strong wind excited by the Almighty, as in Exodus 15:21.
Exodus 15:12. The earth swallowed them. Alluding to the burial of the dead bodies driven on shore.
Exodus 15:13. Holy habitation. Moses foresaw that a tabernacle would be built for national worship, and that the Lord's house would be built on a mountain, as in Exodus 15:17. They had, no doubt, after the manner of their father, an altar or a holy place; all sacred things were not lost, as appears from Exodus 16:9. They came before the Lord, and had priests also of the patriarchal order, as appears from Exodus 19:22.
Exodus 15:20. Timbrel. A little drum. Jdg 11:34. 2 Samuel 6:5; Psalms 68:25.
Exodus 15:27. Threescore and ten palm trees. This tree is now called the Date. “In Egypt the Date tree is very lofty, and from the singular formation of its bark, it is as easy to ascend to the top of one of them, as to climb a ladder. Wherever the date tree is found in the dreary deserts of that country, it not only presents a supply of salutary food for men and camels, but nature has so wonderfully contrived the plant, that its first offering is accessible to man alone; and its presence is a never-failing indication of water at the root. Botanists describe the trunk as full of rugged knots; the fact is, that it is full of cavities, exactly adapted to the reception of the human feet and hands; and these cavities are formed by the decay of the leaves, the stems of which are as thick as branches. It is impossible to view these trees without believing that He who in the beginning fashioned “every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed,” as “food for man,” has here manifested one among the innumerable proofs of his benevolent design.
“The Date tree is a curious subject for consideration. Many of the inhabitants of Egypt, Arabia, and Persia, subsist almost entirely upon its fruit. They also boast of its medicinal virtues. Their camels feed upon the date stones. From the leaves they make couches, baskets, bags, mats and brushes; from the branches cages for their poultry, and fences for their gardens; from the fibres of their boughs, thread, ropes, and rigging; from the sap is prepared a spiritous liquor; and the trunk of the tree furnishes fuel. When the tree is grown to a size for bearing fruit, the leaves are six or eight feet long. The stems of the leaves are the only branches the tree has.” Dr. Edward Clarke's Travels.
REFLECTIONS.
The song of Moses is unquestionably the most ancient poetic piece in the world. In point of originality of thought and poetic merit, it stands unrivalled by any thing Homer and Virgil have produced. The sentiments are all congenial to the grand occasion of national joy. The narration, the similies, the metaphors, the apostrophes are all striking, beautiful, and sublime. The soul elevated by the events, and expanded with gratitude, utters itself with a felicity of expression, and clothes its effusions in the grandeur of scenery the richest that nature can boast. The apostrophe to JEHOVAH at the eleventh verse, contrasting him with the gods, is incomparably sublime. More exalted ideas of his glory, language is unable to convey. The descent also of the song from the highest summit of elevation, by tracing the terrific effects the subject would produce on Canaan and Edom, is retiring majesty, gentle and apposite in aspect: it is the language of faith and confidence, leading Israel to repose in the promised land. Where is the critic, where the infidel, who can adequately appreciate its merits, and deem it a production merely human?
In a religious view we may observe, that this song is a model of the gratitude which the church should at all times pay to God after a signal deliverance; and in particular, when a sinner feels the divine displeasure removed from his conscience by a sense of pardoning love, it is a model of the grateful effusions of his heart. So David in Psalms 103. “Bless the Lord, oh my soul; and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who healeth all thy diseases.”
The Israelites being miraculously delivered from the Egyptians, would now go in the greater confidence against the Canaanites. In like manner, being delivered from guilt and condemnation, and made happy in our souls, we are the more encouraged to venture on our spiritual pilgrimage, and combat the difficulties of life. Whom shall we fear, while the rock of Israel is our defence? But let us at all times rejoice with trembling: we, as well as God's ancient people, have the difficulties of life before us: and happy if we never murmur, never tempt the Lord, nor wish to return again into Egypt.