The Pulpit Commentary — Exodus — Volume 1 — Section 335

They could do nothing for themselves. The ea.lve.tion muet be God's from first to lr.~t. (2) God would bring them this salvation. The fact thnt he had brought them into this strait was of itself& pledge that he would find them a way out of it. 'l'he believer who finds himself in situations of difficulty, may cherish the same confidence. (3) Thek duty was to stand sti:11, and see this salvation. So long a.s means of help are put within our reach, it is our duty to use them. Wben no such means exist, or when all avail- able means have been exhausted, and still the shadow overhangs us, what remains but to wait patiently on the help of the Most High? " Stand still "-in trust, in prayer, in expectancy, in readiness to advance the instant the word is given. "Stand still "-as opposed to weak murmurings, to passionate regrets, to foolish rebellion against circum- stances you cannot altcr,-so shall you " see the salvation of the Lord." If nothing else will do, God will cleave a way for you through the waves, or better still, will enable you like Peter, to walk on them (Matt. xiv. 29). ' III. Goo's coMMil""I> TO MosEs (vers. 15-19). 1. The command came in answer to prayer. " Wherefore criest thou unto me" (ver. 15). The words contain no reproach, but imply that prayer needed on the instant to be exchanged for action. 2. Moses was to speak to the people that they go forward. See below. 3. He was to stretch his rod over the sea, and divide the waters (,·er. 16). The confidence of Moses, that God would show a way of salvation, was thus justified by the result. The light was not given as early as the people might have wished, but it was given in time. God also announces to Moses his purpose of destroying the Egyptians (vers. 17, 18). IV. THE ADVANCE THROUGH THE SEA. On this notice--1. The change in tile position of the pillar of cloud and fire (vers. 19, 20). Moving to the rear, it stood between the Israelites and their pursuers, turning a bright side to the former, and a dark side to the latter. (See below.) By this seasonable change in its position, it (1) Illuminated the passage for the Israelites. The light would stream on in front. (2) Ma.de the way dark and perilous for the pursuers. (3) Hid the pursuers from the pursued, and vice versa. This, besides being an additional defence to the Israelites, ,;aved them from the terror which the sight of their pursuers would naturally a.waken. ]t is related of a. party of the Waldenses, that escaping by night from thelr cruel persecutors, their path lay through the rugged and perilous defiles of the Alps. At length the day broke, and under the light of the rising sun, they turned to survey the track along which they had trod. By a unanimous and irresistible impulse, they fell on their knees to thank God for their marvellous preservation. " Here, they had walked on the very verge of a. tremendous precipice where a false step would have dashed them to atoms; there, they had skirted the banks of a. mountain lake, whose black waters seem to indicate unfathomable depths," etc. But the dangers a.midst which they had moved had been veiled by the impenetrable darkness. There are some things which it is better for us not to see. Learn (1) That God adapts his manifes- tations of himself to his people's needs. (2) That God's presence with his Church i., an etlectual bulwark against attack. He can hide his people from their pursuers. He can darken the path of the latter; can confound their wisdom, divide their counsels, perplex them in their courses, and obstruct their progress by providential obstacles. (3) Spiritually, in times of temptation and trial, we may rely on being illuminated by God's truth, defended by God's power, and ultimately conducted to a place of safety. 2. The division of the waters (ver. 21). (1) It was accomplished by natural agencies, supernaturally directed. "The Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night." The recognition of natural agency in no wise detracts from the supernatural character of the transaction; nay, seeing that direct- miracles are no longer to be looked for by the Church, it is even more helpful to faith to find that natural means were employed in this instance, than if the result had been wholly miraculous. It heightens our conceptions of what God can accomplish by means of the a.aencies of nature. Instance the defeat of the Spanish Arma.de. (2) It was unexpec~ and surprising. . In considering the ways by '!hich ~od might conceivably save them. the Israelites probably never dreamt of his opemng a path throucrh the sea. So, in those straits of life to which reference has been made, help usuall3• arrives from unexpected quarters, in a way we h~ not thought of. "God'! way is in the sea1 and his path in the deep waters, and his footsteps are not known (Ps. l.xuii. 19). (3) It a.tforded the passage that was required. The march through CII. XIV, 11.] THE BOOK OF EXODUS. 331