The Pulpit Commentary — Psalms — Volume 3 — Section 263

Ver. 13.-0vercoming 'llatural obstacles. "Divided the sea in sunder." The peculiarity of the acconnt given us of this miracle wrought for the deliverance of Israel is that it gives so distinctly the natural agencies by which it was wrought. A certain natural ob~tacle had to be overcome, and it was overcome by such forces as man would have used if he had had the nature-forces in his control. \Ve can <listiactly recogaize the suit.ability of the agencies. But here the true miracle comes in. There was no manufacture of new forces; there was absolute control of existincr forces. There was no accident of wind and tide; there was the Divine usini of wil~d and tide. When God made natural forces he did not loosen them from his control. He is always controlling them, and we are made to feel sure that he is, by some such extraordinary cases ~f COJ?trolling as we have in this crossing of the~sea. Geikie says, "Ebb and flood tide, m the narrow northern ford especially, are greatly affected by the wind prevailing at any given time. . . . A violent north-east gale blew all night, and drove 1he waters before it, at ebb-tide, into the south-west ford, till the sandy ridge of the forJ was laid bare, the shore-waters thus becoming a wall or protection to the Hebrews on the right, and those of the open sea on the left hand. 'l'he storm prolonging the ebb, delayed the flow of the tide, and thus before morning the whole of the Hebrews were able to reach the east shore." I. NATURAL OBSTACLES STILL HINDER GoD's PEOPLE. Such natural obstacles as are related to the circumstances of God's people nowadays. They often appear as bodily frailty, or as sickness of those to whom we are bound in duty, or in limitation of means, or insufficiency of premises for Christian work, or hindering distances from fields of labour, or strange enmities that seem to check us in every enterprise. And it is not altogether easy to associate God with such material things, and to realize that he is actually working for us in the control or removal of them. And yet just that is the lesson for the ages to be learned from God's removal of the hindering Red Sea. 11. NATIIBAL OBSTACLES DO BUT REPRESENT THE SPIRITUAL OBSTACLES OF GoD'B PEOPLE. "We wrestle, not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers." The spiritual weaknesses of ourselves, the spiritual forces of evil. Of our spiritual enemy we may say," We are not ignorant of his devices." Nor is God. Nor does he fail to master these obstacles or to counteract his devices.-R. T.