not the rebellious exalt themselves. Observe God's power; the waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee, the depths also were troubled. The sea is his, and he made it; he governs it as he pleaseth. God is still able to defend his people; and he promises, When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee; therefore trust in him. The apostle says, Heb. xi. 29. By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land. And the prophet Isaiah exhorts us to trust in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.

4. With what horror and confusion will sinners at last see their misery, when it is too late, and God looks upon them with the terrors of his final wrath! What a terrible scene of confusion was here, when the ground began to open under them, when the waves were rolling down upon them, and no possibility of escape! The Lord is known by the judgments which he executeth. The sea swallowed them up, and having overwhelmed them awhile, cast them on its sands, a spectacle of triumph to the adversaries. Like this. shall be the case of impenitent sinners; they oppose God, but sudden destruction cometh upon them, from which they shall not escape. With what horror will sinners see the bottomless pit open before them! They will then be glad to return to the body, or the world they have left; but they are swallowed up in the gulf of immeasurable eternity! Let sinners hear and fear, and sin no more presumptuously.

5. With what joy shall good men, at last, see all their enemies destroyed, and themselves secured in perfect victory and triumph. The enemies that perplex them at present, shall at length be destroyed, and vex them no more for ever. So shall God overwhelm Satan and all his hosts; death and destruction shall be swallowed up in victory. The people of God shall stand on the shore of another world, and see them all destroyed, to rise no more! In the faith and hope of this great work indeed, let us fear the Lord and believe the Lord, and his servant Moses; then shall we be made meet to share in the deliverances of God's people, and to join in the song of Moses and the Lamb for ever.

CHAP. XV. 1-19.

Contains the song of Moses, the servant of the Lord. It was indited by him, and sung by him and the Israelites on the shore of the Red sea, on the last day of unleavened bread, which was appointed to be an holy convocation. The design of it was, to express joy in God for their late deliverance, and to cherish sentiments of gratitude and obedience to him, both in Moses and the people.

1

T

HEN sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and every one, being impressed with a lively sense of his deliverance, spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Though the horses were numerous and terrible, yet God overthrew them all, as 2 easily as if there had been but one horse and one rider. The LORD [is] my strength, not only my powerful helper, but my strength and courage itself, having had no occasion to exert any of my own; and my song, he alone is the subject of it and he is become my salvation, he did it all himself, and personally engaged for me: he [is] my God, particularly concerned for my happiness as an Israelite, and the sole object of my worship, love and trust; and I will prepare him an habitation, contribute cheerfully to it out of my spoils; he is also my father's God; not a strange God, unknown till this day, but the ancient protector of my family, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will exalt him; I have a thousand proofs of his love and care, therefore I will maintain the highest veneration for him, speak well of his name, celebrate his praise, and join heartily in 3 his worship. The LORD [is] a man of war, a noble warrior, an irresistible champion, better than thousands of chariots and horsemen the LORD Jehovah [is] his name, the Almighty 4 God that keepeth his word. Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea with violence, like an arrow shot out of a bow his chosen captains also, the most valiant, the greatest tyrants, are drowned in the Red sea, which was thought to 5 be under the protection of the gods of Egypt. The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone, as unable to rise again, as a stone plunged in the depth of the sea. Then Moses, leaving the plain narration of the fact, breaks out • into the most grand and sublime figures. Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O

This is, undoubtedly, the most ancient and noble piece of poetry in the world. A French critic observes, the turn is great, the thoughts noble, the stile sublime and magnificent; the expressions Strong, the figures bold: every part abounds with images that strike the mind and possess the imagination. Some of the finest passages in heathen writers appear cold and groveling, when compared with this song.'

LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy, hurled them against the rocks in the Red sea, and dashed them in pieces at once. 7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast over thrown them that rose up against thee:* thou didst not em ploy any earthly force, or angelic hosts, but sentest forth thy wrath, [which] consumed them, as easily, suddenly, and utterly, 8 as stubble. Isa. xlvii. 14. 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, made to stand still on heaps, as if they had 9 been mountains of ice. The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust, my revenge, shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my 10 hand shall destroy them. Thou didst blow with thy wind, no need to stretch out thy arm, thy breath was sufficient, the sea covered them, overwhelmed the vast and mighty host: they sank as lead in the mighty waters, suddenly, irrecoverably. Then Moses, transported beyond himself, breaks out in the noblest ascriptions of praise.

FI

Who [is] like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods, among the great ones of the earth, or the heathen gods, on whom they called in their distress who [is] like thee, glorious in holiness, manifesting thy power in an holy manner, punishing tyrants, and delivering the oppressed; whose holiness is thy chief excellency and glory; fearful [in] praises, terrible in those things for which we praise thee; doing wonders, great and marvellous works, for an ungrateful people, who provoked thee 12 even at the Red sea. Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them; the sea returned with so much force as to bury some in the earth at the bottom, and threw others on the 13 sands on shore. Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people [which] thou hast redeemed; thou hast guided [them] in thy strength unto thy holy habitation. We are confident thou wilt lead them safely and quietly, as a shepherd his flock; wilt guide them by thy presence, defend them by thy strength, till they come unto thy holy habitation, to Canaan, the firomised land. The effect this would have on neighbouring nations is 14 then beautifully described. The people shall hear [and] be afraid; (see Deut. ii. 25. Josh. ii. 9.) sorrow shall take

Egypt was proud of its excellency and strength, and despised and contemned God; and as those proud creatures rose up against him, he also rose and assumed all the eleva tion of his infinite grandeur, all the height of his supreme majesty, against them.

Better to paint the divine indignation and its effects, the prophet borrows the image of human wrath, whose lively transports are accompanied with an hasty breathing, which causes a violent and impetuous blast; and when this wrath, in a powerful person, directs irself to a fearful populace, it forces them to give way, and fall in a tumultuous manner upon one another. Thus the affrighted waters flew from their bed, and crowded together.

Some I will cut to pieces, others I will bring back to slavery. They thought them selves sure of victory, rioting in the spoil, and defying the God of Israel but how dreadful the issue, and how beautiful the description! v. 10.

hold on the inhabitants of Palestina, the Philistines who lived 5 nearest and would first hear of it. Then the dukes of Edom, the descendants of Esau, who lived on the borders of the Red sea, and through whose country they were to pass, shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them when they hear of these things; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away, like wax before 36 the fire. Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be [as] still as a stone, quite impotent, unable to resist, like men amazed and out of their senses till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, [which] thou hast purchased, that is, redeemed 17 with a strong arm. Thou shalt bring them in with great kindness, tenderness and care, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the mountainous country of Canaan, or in the mountain where the temple was afterward built, [in] the place, O LORD, [which] thou hast made for thee to dwell in, [in] the Sanctuary, O LORD, [which] thy hands have established, which thou wilt certainly cause to be built and 18 established. The LORD shall reign for ever and ever, to protect his Israsl, and perpetuate their blessings from generation to generation. Then the song concludes, as it began, with relating the plain matter of fact, that their gratitude and obedience to their great deliverer might be handed down from generation to 19 generation. 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.

REFLECTIONS.

(Particularly adapted to the defeat of the Rebels, at the battle of Culloden, April 16, 1746, when these were written.)

WE

E may learn how proper it is, to take a solemn view of the deliverances God hath afforded us. Israel stood on the shore of the Red sea, and looked back on the danger they had escaped, and the enemy they had seen destroyed before their eyes. Let us also look back on the deliverances God hath wrought for us, with wonder, gratitude, and joy. Let us recollect the imminent danger we were in, and the remarkable manner in which we were freed from it. God, to punish us for our sins, hath caused a sword to go through great part of our land; suffered our enemies, more than once, to be successful; while every good man's heart trembled for fear, for himself, his family, his friends, his country, and the church of God. Our national sins had been so many, that we had reason to fear God was angry,

and would utterly consume us. Our hearts were ready to melt at the apprehension of one or another instance of the success of our enemies; the consequence of which would have been the loss of every thing dear and valuable. We should have been brought to worse than Egyptian slavery, to the cruel bondage of popery, and all the dismal effects of arbitrary power. But we were delivered, and our liberty fixed on a firm foundation. How proper is it, that we should remember this, to make us cautious, humble, watchful, and obedient. We shall not think this exhortation unseasonable, when we recollect how prone we are to forget our dangers and escapes, at least when they are past and gone, and to think each of them less considerable than they really were. We are apt to laugh at our former fears, and diminish the glory of our mercies.

2. Let us ascribe the praise of all our deliverances to God, even to the Lord, who is a man of war, whose name is JEHOVAH ; his right hand got us the victory; he is become our salvation. Whoever was the instrument, he was the great author, and should have the praise. He is our father's God, let us exalt him. In various instances he hath freed us from the yoke of bondage, and baffled the designs of that tyrannical and cruel family, that had been the scourge and plague of this nation for more than one hundred and fifty years. Let us exalt him in our thoughts; entertain the highest veneration for so excellent and glorious a Being; especially one who has been so kind to us. Let us reverence his name, his day, and his sanctuary; exalt him in our hearts, by our lips, and in our lives. Let us show our gratitude, by transmitting to the rising generation, the knowledge of his mighty acts and the wonderful works he hath done; and thus keep the memory of them in our own hearts, and teach our children's children the loving kindness of the Lord.

3. We may observe the remark of Solomon verified here, that pride and insolence often go before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. This was the case with Pharaoh and his hosts. 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 destroy them. This was the case with our rebellious enemies; they seemed to be sure of victory, expected nothing but to see our armies flying, this happy land of liberty enslaved worse than ever, and the whole nation carved out among the favourites and friends of an insolent pretender. Having been long, as they thought, kept out of possession of what they imagined their due, or their desert, they would have seized upon it violently; and, like an hungry beast, have devoured every thing that came in their way, without pity or remorse. They expected nothing but to pursue and overthrow; to riot in the spoil of the nation, and to satisfy their lusts upon those who had oppos