| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Exodus Chapter
Fourteen
Exodus 14
Chapter Contents
God directs the Israelites to Pihahiroth, Pharaoh pursues
after them. (1-9) The Israelites murmur, Moses comforts them. (10-14) God
instructs Moses, The cloud between the Israelites and the Egyptians. (15-20)
The Israelites pass through the Red sea, which drowns the Egyptians. (21-31)
Commentary on Exodus 14:1-9
(Read Exodus 14:1-9)
Pharaoh would think that all Israel was entangled in the
wilderness, and so would become an easy prey. But God says, I will be honoured
upon Pharaoh. All men being made for the honour of their Maker, those whom he
is not honoured by, he will be honoured upon. What seems to tend to the
church's ruin, is often overruled to the ruin of the church's enemies. While
Pharaoh gratified his malice and revenge, he furthered the bringing to pass
God's counsels concerning him. Though with the greatest reason he had let
Israel go, yet now he was angry with himself for it. God makes the envy and
rage of men against his people, a torment to themselves. Those who set their
faces heavenward, and will live godly in Christ Jesus, must expect to be set
upon by Satan's temptations and terrors. He will not tamely part with any out
of his service.
Commentary on Exodus 14:10-14
(Read Exodus 14:10-14)
There was no way open to Israel but upward, and thence
their deliverance came. We may be in the way of duty, following God, and
hastening toward heaven, yet may be troubled on every side. Some cried out unto
the Lord; their fear led them to pray, and that was well. God brings us into
straits, that he may bring us to our knees. Others cried out against Moses;
fear set them murmuring as if God were not still able to work miracles. They
quarrel with Moses for bringing them out of Egypt; and so were angry with God
for the greatest kindness ever done them; thus gross are the absurdities of
unbelief. Moses says, Fear ye not. It is always our duty and interest, when we
cannot get out of troubles, yet to get above our fears; let them quicken our
prayers and endeavours, but not silence our faith and hope. "Stand
still," think not to save yourselves either by fighting or flying; wait
God's orders, and observe them. Compose yourselves, by confidence in God, into
peaceful thoughts of the great salvation God is about to work for you. If God
brings his people into straits, he will find a way to bring them out.
Commentary on Exodus 14:15-20
(Read Exodus 14:15-20)
Moses' silent prayers of faith prevailed more with God
than Israel's loud outcries of fear. The pillar of cloud and fire came behind
them, where they needed a guard, and it was a wall between them and their
enemies. The word and providence of God have a black and dark side toward sin
and sinners, but a bright and pleasant side toward the people of the Lord. He,
who divided between light and darkness, Genesis 1:4, allotted darkness to the Egyptians,
and light to the Israelites. Such a difference there will be between the
inheritance of the saints in light, and that utter darkness which will be the
portion of hypocrites for ever.
Commentary on Exodus 14:21-31
(Read Exodus 14:21-31)
The dividing the Red sea was the terror of the
Canaanites, Joshua 2:9; the praise and triumph of the
Israelites, Psalm 114:3; 106:9; 136:13. It was a type of
baptism, 1 Corinthians 10:1,2. Israel's passage through
it was typical of the conversion of souls, Isaiah 11:15; and the Egyptians being drowned in
it was typical of the final ruin of all unrepenting sinners. God showed his
almighty power, by opening a passage through the waters, some miles over. God
can bring his people through the greatest difficulties, and force a way where
he does not find it. It was an instance of his wonderful favour to his Israel.
They went through the sea, they walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea.
This was done, in order to encourage God's people in all ages to trust him in
the greatest straits. What cannot he do who did this? What will not he do for
those that fear and love him, who did this for these murmuring, unbelieving
Israelites? Then followed the just and righteous wrath of God upon his and his
people's enemies. The ruin of sinners is brought on by their own rage and
presumption. They might have let Israel alone, and would not; now they would
flee from the face of Israel, and cannot. Men will not be convinced, till it is
too late, that those who meddle with God's people, meddle to their own hurt.
Moses was ordered to stretch out his hand over the sea; the waters returned,
and overwhelmed all the host of the Egyptians. Pharaoh and his servants, who
had hardened one another in sin, now fell together, not one escaped. The
Israelites saw the Egyptians dead upon the sands. The sight very much affected
them. While men see God's works, and feel the benefit, they fear him and trust
in him. How well were it for us, if we were always in as good a frame as
sometimes! Behold the end to which a Christian may look forward. His enemies
rage, and are mighty; but while he holds fast by God, he shall pass the waves
in safety guarded by that very power of his Saviour, which shall come down on
every spiritual foe. The enemies of his soul whom he hath seen to-day, he shall
see no more for ever.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Exodus》
Exodus 14
Verse 2
[2]
Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth,
between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp
by the sea.
They were got to the edge of the wilderness, Exodus 13:20, and one stage or two would have
brought them to Horeb, the place appointed for their serving God, but instead
of going forward, they are ordered to turn short off, on the right-hand from
Canaan, and to march towards the Red-sea. When they were at Etham, there was no
sea in their way to obstruct their passage; but God himself orders them into
straits, which might give them an assurance, that when his purposes were
served, he would bring them out of those straits.
Before Pi-hahiroth — Or
the straits of Hiroth, two great mountains, between which they marched. Migdol
and Baal-zephon were cities of Egypt and probably garrison'd.
Verse 3
[3] For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the
land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
They are entangled —
Inclosed with mountains, and garrisons, and deserts.
Verse 5
[5] And
it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh
and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we
done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
And it was told the king that the people fled — He either forgot, or would not own that they had departed with his
consent; and therefore was willing it should be represented to him as a revolt
from their allegiance.
Verse 7
[7] And
he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and
captains over every one of them.
Captains over every one of them — Or rather over all of them; distributing the command of them to his
several Captains.
Verse 8
[8] And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued
after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high
hand.
With an high hand —
Boldly, resolutely.
Verse 9
[9] But
the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and
his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside
Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
Chariots and horsemen — It should seem he took no foot with him, because the king's business
required haste.
Verse 10
[10] And
when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and,
behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the
children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
They were sore afraid — They knew the strength of the enemy, and their own weakness; numerous
indeed they were, but all foot, unarmed, undisciplined, dispirited, by long
servitude, and now pent up, so that they could not escape. On one hand was
Pi-hahiroth, a range of craggy rocks unpassable; on the other hand were Migdol
and Baal-zephon, forts upon the frontiers of Egypt; before them was the sea,
behind them were the Egyptians; so that there was no way open for them but
upwards, and thence their deliverance came.
Verse 13
[13] And
Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of
the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen
to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
Moses answered not these fools according to
their folly: Instead of chiding he comforts them, and with an admirable
pretence of mind, not disheartened either by the threatenings of Egypt, or the
tremblings of Israel, stills their murmuring, Fear ye not, It is our duty, when
we cannot get out of our troubles, yet to get above our fears, so that they may
only serve to quicken our prayers and endeavours, but may not prevail to
silence our faith and hope. Stand still, and think not to save yourselves
either by fighting or flying; wait God's orders, and observe them; Compose
yourselves, by an entire confidence in God, into a peaceful prospect of the
great salvation God is now about to work for you. Hold your peace, you need not
so much as give a shout against the enemy: the work shall be done without any
concurrence of yours. In times of great difficulty, it is our wisdom to keep
our spirits calm, quiet, and sedate, for then we are in the best frame both to
do our own work, and to consider the work of God.
Verse 15
[15] And
the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the
children of Israel, that they go forward:
Wherefore criest thou unto me — Moses though he was assured of a good issue, yet did not neglect prayer.
We read not of one word he said in prayer, but he lifted up his heart to God,
and God well understood, and took notice of. Moses's silent prayer prevailed
more with God, than Israel's loud out-cries. But is God displeased with Moses
for praying? No, he asks this question, Wherefore criest thou unto me?
Wherefore shouldst thou press thy petition any farther, when it is already
granted? Moses has something else to do besides praying, he is to command the
hosts of Israel.
Speak to them that they go forward — Some think Moses had prayed not so much for their deliverance, he was
assured of that; as for the pardon of their murmurings, and God's ordering them
to go forward, was an intimation of the pardon. Moses bid them stand still and
expect orders from God: and now orders are given. They thought they must have
been directed either to the right hand, or to the left; no, saith God, speak to
them to go forward, directly to the sea-side; as if there had lain a fleet of
transport ships ready for them to embark in. Let the children of Israel go as
far as they can upon dry ground, and then God will divide the sea. The same
power could have congealed the waters for them to pass over, but infinite
wisdom chose rather to divide the waters for them to pass through, for that way
of salvation is always pitched upon which is most humbling.
Verse 19
[19] And
the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind
them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind
them:
The angel of God —
Whose ministry was made use of in the pillar of cloud and fire, went from
before the camp of Israel, where they did not now need a guide; there was no
danger of missing their way through the sea, and came behind them, where now they
needed a guard, the Egyptians being just ready to seize the hindmost of them.
There it was of use to the Israelites, not only to protect them, but to light
them through the sea; and at the same time it confounded the Egyptians, so that
they lost sight of their prey, just when they were ready to lay hands on it.
The word and providence of God have a black and dark side towards sin and
sinners, but a bright and pleasant side towards those that are Israelites
indeed.
Verse 21
[21] And
Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go
back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the
waters were divided.
We have here the history of that work of
wonder which is so often mentioned both in the Old and New Testament. An
instance of God's almighty power in dividing the sea, and opening a passage
through the waters. It was a bay, or gulf, or arm of the sea, two or three
leagues over. The God of nature has not tied himself to its laws, but when he
pleases dispenseth with them, and then the fire doth not burn, nor the water
flow. They went through the sea to the opposite shore; they walked upon dry
land in the midst of the sea; and the pillar of cloud being their rereward, the
waters were a wall to them on their right hand, and on their left. Moses and
Aaron it is likely ventured first, into this untrodden path, and then all
Israel after them; and this march through the paths of the great waters would
make their march afterwards through the wilderness less formidable. This march
through the sea was in the night, and not a moon-shine night, for it was seven
days after the full moon, so that they had no light but what they had from the
pillar of fire. This made it the more awful, but where God leads us, he will
light us; while we follow his conduct we shall not want his comforts.
Verse 23
[23] And
the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all
Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
And the Egyptians went in after them into the
midst of the sea — They thought, why might they not venture
where Israel did? They were more advantageously provided with chariots and
horses, while the Israelites were on foot.
Verse 24
[24] And
it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the
Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of
the Egyptians,
The Lord —
Called the angel before, looked - With indignation, upon the Egyptians, and
troubled the Egyptians - With terrible winds and lightnings and thunders, Exodus 15:10; Psalms 77:18,19. Also with terror of mind.
Verse 25
[25] And
took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the
Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for
them against the Egyptians.
They had driven furiously, but now they drove
heavily, and found themselves embarrassed at every step; the way grew deep,
their hearts grew sad, their wheels dropt off, and the axle-trees failed. They
had been flying upon the back of Israel as the hawk upon the dove; but now they
cried, Let us flee from the face of Israel.
Verse 26
[26] And
the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters
may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their
horsemen.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thy
hand over the sea — And give a signal to the waters to close
again, as before upon the word of command they had opened to the right and the
left. He did so, and immediately the waters returned to their place, and
overwhelmed all the host of the Egyptians. Pharaoh and his servants, that had
hardened one another in sin, now fell together, and not one escaped. An ancient
tradition saith, That Pharaoh's magicians Jannes and Jambres perished with the
rest. Now God got him honour upon Pharaoh, a rebel to God, and a slave to his
own barbarous passions; perfectly lost to humanity, virtue, and all true
honour; here be lies buried in the deep, a perpetual monument of divine
justice: here he went down to the pit, though he was the terror of the mighty
in the land of the living.
Verse 28
[28] And
the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the
host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much
as one of them.
After them —
That is, after the Israelites.
Verse 30
[30] Thus
the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw
the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the
shore — The Egyptians were very curious in
preserving the bodies of their great men, but here the utmost contempt is
poured upon all the grandees of Egypt; see how they lie heaps upon heaps, as
dung upon the face of the earth.
Verse 31
[31] And
Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the
people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.
And Israel feared the Lord, and believed the
Lord and his servant Moses — Now they were ashamed of their distrusts
and murmurings; and in the mind they were in, they would never again despair of
help from heaven; no not in the greatest straits! They would never again
quarrel with Moses; nor talk of returning to Egypt. How well were it for us, if
we were, always in as good a frame, as we are in sometimes!
──
John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Exodus》
14 Chapter 14
Verses 1-4
Encamp before Pi-hahiroth.
The good in the trying situations of life
I. That the good
are often brought, by the providence of God, into the most trying situations in
life (Exodus 14:1). It is in the trying
situations of life that we get the best revelations of the love and power of
God. When men feel that they cannot help themselves, then God helps them. Thus
they are humbled. They are brought to despair of creature aids. Then the
promises become precious. The circumstances of life are all divinely ordered
with immediate reference to the moral culture of the good; the Israelites were
taught a great lesson before Pi-hahiroth. When God fixes our position, it is
sure to be a salutary one, even though it be perplexing.
II. That the trying
circumstances into which the good are providentially brought are vigilantly
observed by the wicked (Exodus 14:3). Satan watches the best
opportunity of frustrating the march of the soul into freedom. But the wicked
often misinterpret the providence of God in reference to the good, and hence
pursue their plans to their own ruin.
III. That the trying
situations into which the good are brought are designed ultimately to enhance
the glory of God and the retribution of wicked men. “I will be honoured upon
Pharaoh,” “That the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord.” Lessons:
1. Rest patiently in the circumstances in which God has placed you.
2. God is greater than all the hindrances to your true freedom.
3. Follow God, even though it be through the great waters. (J. S.
Exell, M. A.)
In a fix
I was led to take this subject from seeing a sheet almanac upon
which was painted a boy who had got his satchel full of apples, which, I
presume, he had been stealing. He was hanging by the tips of his fingers from
the top of a wall, and just above the wall on the other side was the owner,
while at the bottom was a big bulldog, chained to a kennel--he could not go up
for fear of the owner, he dare not drop down for fear of the dog; and it said
at the bottom, “In a fix.” It would be very well for us if that represented the
only fix in which we had ever been. I might talk for a considerable time in a
general way about men who have been in a fix, but now I want you to give me your
attention while I try to point out to you a nation that was once in a fix, and,
if I can, teach some lesson, s that may be of use to you and me. There they
are--the river before them, rocks on either hand, and the Egyptians behind
them. They could not make boats to cross the sea; they could not fly; and were
unable to fight--they had not the skill, neither the weapons. The most
remarkable thing is this, that God, who had sent Moses to deliver them, had
brought them into this very position! Observe, they were in the path of
duty--doing just as He had commanded them; suggesting to us the thought that if
we would serve our God faithfully, sometimes we may find ourselves “in a fix.”
There will be times when dark clouds will gather, and we cannot see our way, and
we shall feel inclined to give up in despair. But wait a bit. If God has
brought them into this fix, He will bring them out of it. There they are; and,
see! Pharaoh is following. He did not let the people go until he had been
compelled; and, like a man shamed out of half-a-crown for some charitable
purpose, he repented afterwards. He went after them designing their ruin, but
God designed to ruin him. He designed to put the Lord’s people into a fix, and
the Lord--who always protects His own--designed to fix him. And then comes this
thought: That what seems to tend to our ruin is often over-ruled to our good. A
great many years ago there used to be the old stage coach, and in those days
they were the chief means of travelling. I have heard some old men say what a
terrible thing it was to take a long journey. One day the locomotive was
invented; they were going to take goods and people in such quantities and at
such a speed as the stage coach never could. The owners of the coaches might
declare they were all to be ruined! What would become of them? The stage coach
was ruined, but what of its owners? They shared the common advantages of the
“puffing billy.” This same principle will apply to things of the present day.
Years ago, tailoring was said to be a good business. Their sewing was then done
by hand. By and by the sewing-machine was invented; and when it was brought to
something like perfection, clothing was sewn with it. The tailors were in such
a state--it would destroy their prospects! it would ruin their trade! And the
dressmakers were in the same excited condition. When were tailoring and
dressmaking better than now? They are, I am told, more profitable than they
ever were. I give you these illustrations to prove my statement--that very
often that which seems to tend to our injury is over-ruled by a merciful
Providence to our good. These Egyptians were following the Israelites, and were
about to destroy them; they appeared now in the jaws of death, but it was
over-ruled. “The wicked,” says Solomon, “diggeth a pit, and falleth into it.”
“He layeth a snare, and his own feet are taken therein.” Ah I there are many
things you and I cannot understand now. Many a cloud sweeps over our path; many
dark things we cannot quite see through. If we could rise above all these
things, and see God’s doings, perhaps we should rejoice that He sometimes puts
us in a fix. We do not see through it all now; we shall by and by. “Sometimes
God brings us into straits that He may bring us to our knees.” You know that to
be true. Often in your sorrow you have looked unto your Father for the help you
could not get elsewhere. Observe, if they were in a fix, Moses was not. What
did he do? He cried, “Fear not, God will fight for you”; though God has led you
here, He will lead you elsewhere. He knew they could do nothing, so he
commanded them to stand still. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity. Have you
never been in a fix like this? Your business has failed, your prospects
blighted, your heart smarting through some bereavement. A darling child or wife
has been snatched from you. In utter helplessness you have cried, “What can I
do?” You can do nothing. You have been doing too long. God has brought all this
to teach you to stand still, and let Him do. “Stand still.” Oh! there is reason
in that. If your God brings you to see your helplessness and poverty, and He
reveals His true
riches to you, it is worth your while to “stand still.” Have salvation; you
may. Get His love into your hearts; stand till He makes you free; and when once
He does, then comes the cry as Moses gave it, “Forward!” and though there be
before you a dark night and a troubled sea, you may go forward with safety.
There is this further thought: that though sometimes God allows the enemies of
His people to bring them into a fix, be assured the Lord will turn the scales,
and bring the enemies into a fix. What He did for these Egyptians--the haters
of the friends of God--He may do for you. Many a faithful man o! God has been
annoyed, perhaps by you; but be assured, God will annoy you. See what He did for these
Egyptians. There was, first, darkness. That which gave light to His people
became dark to His enemies. It is dark where the enemies of God are--so dark!
Secondly, God troubled them. The children of God crossed the sea, and you know
how in following them the Egyptians all perished in the waters, through which
the Israelites had passed in safety. One word more. If you are on the side of
God and truth, He will be with you, and bring you out of every fix into which
you may get whilst serving Him. On the other hand, if you refuse to acknowledge
Him, you may get into a fix which you will never be able to get out of. (Charles
Leach.)
Right beginnings; or, no “progress”
Every true and strong life has its sharp transitions, its critical
choice, its decisive moment between Migdol and the sea. It is true enough, most
of our time we move on in a path no way remarkable, or in a routine with
nothing signal or memorable about it. Day takes after day, and the scene, the
occupation, the company, helps and hindrances, are much the same from month to
month. But look longer, and you find that, however the wheels of habit may run
on in a kind of groove, with few startling outside changes, yet somewhere there
was a spot where this regular drift got its start and its new direction. You
stood alone somewhere, at a parting of two ways, and you chose; and then, as
the consequence of that choice, your life went thenceforth in a particular
channel, pure or filthy, straight or crooked, heavenward or hellward, long
after. And there is nothing exceptional about this. The same law governs
national concerns, processes in nature, and mechanics. War, for instance, is
well-nigh the staple of history; and yet historians count but fifteen decisive
battles of the world, all other vast movements of ages and empires winding like
a whirlpool around these bloody centres. So in mechanics. Only now and then, on
its turn-table, the engine is set in its new direction; but all it does, or
draws, afterwards, proceeds from that momentary pivotal determination. The
grain grows clay and night all summer till harvest; but there is a single time
of planting. The patriarch lodged only one night at Bethel; but then,
afterward, all his journeyings over the Eastern lands were at the bidding of
his God. How did you come to be the man you are to-day? There was most likely
some hour of choice. Two forms of apparent good lay before you. Two voices
spoke. Among all the common questions that rise, this one question rose. It was
the question of your soul’s eternity. Very likely it had relation, too, to some other soul
besides your own--your affection, your duty, to him or her. Perhaps it was in
the line of your common doing, only an emergency of larger and uncommon
concern. How did you act? Did you say Yes, or No? Did you go or stay? Did you
accept the partnership, the companionship, the offer--or refuse? The question
is not one of expediency, or taste, or convenience, or profit. It has to do
with your soul’s life, honour, uprightness, salvation. Such periods can be
recalled in memory, I think, by most persons; but never recalled in fact. The
rest of life depends on them, and on the way we meet them. We are between
Migdol and the sea. Egypt and Pharaoh--an old, bad life, and its despotism of
darkness--are behind; the other way the road runs where God will. With Israel
it was well that it ran to the baptism in the cloud and in the sea. We have
only to enlarge the reach of such a decision, carrying it through the roots and
springs of character, to find in it that one all-including, all-controlling
choice which turns a bad man into a good one, or creates a living Christian.
Indeed, it is of that one radical renewing that the exodus of Israel has always
been regarded as the type. (Bp. F. D. Huntington.)
Verses 5-10
The Egyptians marched after them.
Israel pursued
Notice some analogies between the flight of Israel from Egypt and
the progress of the sinner from the captivity of the devil. In both eases we
have a debased condition of mankind, a powerful enemy, a pursuing foe, a
perilous road, a human ministry, and an omnipotent and gracious Redeemer.
I. The state of
Israel in Egypt was a state of the utmost abasement. Every sinner is a slave.
The wicked man serves a cruel master. He is watched on every hand; all his
movements are understood: every desire or aspiration after liberty is turned
into an occasion of augmented suffering. Wickedness reduces the volume and quality
of manhood. Every bad thought and every wicked deed is so much taken from the
completeness and dignity of human nature.
II. The enemy of
israel was powerful. So with the great enemy of man. His resources are all but
inexhaustible. He is not confined to one series of temptations. The diabolic
genius in luring and seducing men to evil dispositions and courses is fertile
beyond all parallel. He assaults us through the flesh; he insinuates ruinous
ideas into the mind; he secretly touches the very fountains of life. He can
touch our nature with a light hand, or he can smite us with tremendous force.
III. Israel was
pursued--so is the redeemed man. It is too frequently expected that when a man
forsakes his evil ways, he will at once become an exemplary saint. It is
forgotten that the devil relinquishes his hold reluctantly. Years upon years
after our conversion to God we are conscious of the presence of the old nature; there are sudden
uprisings of forces which we supposed to be extinct.
IV. There is an
omnipotent and gracious redeemer. In the course of our Christian experience we
are often called upon simply to stand still. Herein is shown the tender grace
of the living Redeemer. We are weak, we are weary, and there is no more
strength left in us; at that point He says, “Waiting shall be accounted as
serving, and standing still as the progress of triumphant strength.” Israel was
not self-redeemed, nor are we; Jesus Christ is the angel of our redemption;
trusting to His leadership, neither mountain nor sea shall keep us back from
the Canaan of God. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Difficulty in duty
I. Difficulty in
duty deeply felt.
1. Our temporary well-being here greatly depends upon the conduct of
our contemporaries toward us.
2. The majority of our contemporaries are governed by corrupt
principle,
3. The man, therefore, who carries out in his daily life the
principles of duty, must more or less excite the anger and create the
antagonism of his contemporaries.
II. Difficulties in
duty testing character.
1. Look at the influence of this difficulty upon the Israelites.
2. Look at the influences
of difficulty upon Moses. He now rises into the majesty of the hero.
III. Difficulty in
duty Divinely overcome. Thus it is ever.
1. The nature of moral progress shows this.
2. The promises of God’s Word ensure this. (Homilist.)
The good pursued by old enemies
I. That the good,
in seeking to come out of the bondage of sin, are frequently pursued by old
enemies.
1. Satan. He is powerful. He has great resources. He will arouse
indwelling corruption. To sense all seems dark. To faith all is bright. We
cannot get to the Promised Land without much resistance from the devil.
2. Wicked habits. The habits of youth are not easily conquered, hence
they should be carefully formed, or they may impair the Christian career of the
future.
3. Wicked companions pursuing with taunts and slanders even to the
banks of the Red Sea. These are a terror to many a godly soul. Thus we see that
Satan pursues the good with a great army, with many allies, in splendid array,
and often strikes fear into their hearts.
II. That sometimes
the circumstances of life appear to favour the pursuit of the old enemies of
the soul. “And overtook them encamping by the sea,” etc. The world in which we
live is a Pi-hahiroth, and the devil knows it: but the God who has brought us
from Egypt can bring us from before Pi-hahiroth, if we trust in Him--He is
greater than the pursuing enemies.
III. That the
pursuit of the old enemies of the soul often awakens the sorrowful apprehension
of the good. “And when Pharaoh drew near . . . sore afraid.” How often does it
happen that when the good are followed by their old enemies, they forget the
mercies of the past, the power of God, and look only to the on-coming foe. They
think they will have to yield to the prowess of Satan, and go back to the old
bondage of the soul. But we see in this narrative the folly of allowing the
advance of old enemies to awaken terror in the heart of the good; for they are
only advancing that the power of God may be seen in their defeat. Good people
of melancholy temperament sometimes think that they made a mistake in coming
out of Egypt, and that they will never reach Canaan. Such fears are
dishonouring to the grace of God.
IV. That the
pursuit of the old enemies of the soul must be met under the guidance of
heaven. “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” It is a
blessed fact that God adapts the method of His redemption to the weak condition
of His people.
1. The enemies of the soul are overcome by God. He alone can give
salvation from the enmity of Satan, from the weakness of self, and from the
perilous circumstances of the wilderness life.
2. The soul must wait patiently the outcome of this aid. The good
know not by what method of discipline the Lord will deliver them from their old
habits of evil. We see here the advantage of having God as our Helper, in that
He can make a way for our feet through the sea.
Lessons:
1. That the good, being pursued by the enemies of their old life, are
in constant need of Divine grace.
2. That progress in the freedom of the soul is in spite of the enmity
of Satan.
3. That all moral progress is the outcome of the help of God to the
soul. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Pursuit of the entangled
The things of the world are so many purveyors for Satan. When
Pharaoh had let the people go, he heard after a while that they were entangled
in the wilderness, and supposes that he shall, therefore, now overtake them and
destroy them. This stirs him up to pursue them. Satan, finding those whom he
has been cast out from entangled in the things of the world, by which he is
sure to find an easy access unto them, is encouraged to attempt upon them
afresh, as the spider to come down upon the strongest fly that is entangled in
his web: for he comes by his temptations only to impel them unto that whereunto
by their own lusts they are inclined, by adding poison to their lusts, and
painting to the objects of them. And oftentimes by this advantage he gets so in
upon the souls of men, that they are never well free of him more whilst they
live. And as men’s
diversions increase from the world, so do their entanglements from Satan. When
they have more to do in the world than they can well manage, they shall have
more to do from Satan than they can well withstand. When men are made
spiritually faint, Satan sets on them as Amalek did on the faint and weak of the
people that came out of Egypt. (J. Owen, D. D.)
Verse 11-12
Hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness?
The foolish way in which many people anticipate difficulties
I. That many
people meet anticipated difficulties in a spirit of great fear.
II. That many
people meet anticipated difficulty in a spirit of complaint against those who
have generously aided them in their enterprise. It is base to turn upon men who
have spent their best energy and wisdom in our service when trouble seems to
threaten, But this is the way of the world, a momentary cloud will eclipse a lifetime
of heroic work.
III. That many
people meet anticipated difficulties in a spirit which degrades previous events
of a glorious character. Lessons:
1. That when trials threaten we should trust in God.
2. That fear weakens men in the hour of trial.
3. That it is ungenerous to murmur against those who earnestly seek
our good. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
An unreasonable complaint
During one of the campaigns in the American Civil War, when the
winter weather was very severe, some of Stonewall Jackson’s men, having crawled
out in the morning from their snow-laden blankets half frozen, began to curse
him as the cause of their sufferings. He lay close by under a tree, also snowed
up, and heard all this; but, without noticing it, presently crawled out too,
and, shaking off the snow, made some jocular remark to the nearest men, who had
no idea he had ridden up in the night and lain down amongst them! The incident
ran through the army in a few hours, and reconciled his followers to all the
hardships of the expedition, and fully re-established his popularity.
Verse 13
Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.
The temper for the crises of life
I. The question
was once asked by an eminent thinker, whether nations, like individuals, could
go mad. There certainly have been movements, like the Reformation or the French
Revolution, of which no one could foretell the existence or power. But such
movements, like the cataclysms of geology, have been rare, and they seem likely
to be rarer as the world goes on. Yet this is not the aspect of the world which
our imagination presents to us. There are the two opposite poles of feeling,
the one exaggerating, the other minimizing, actions and events; the one all
enthusiasm and alarm, the other cynical and hopeless. The true temper in
politics is the temper of confidence and hope. “Stand still, and see the
salvation of the Lord.” Be patient, and instead of changing every day with the
gusts of public opinion, observe how curiously, not without a Divine
providence, many things work themselves out into results which we never
foresaw.
II. A temper of
confidence and repose is needed in matters of religion. The great changes in
religious opinion during the last forty years have taken two directions--Rome
and Germany. These changes are far from unimportant, but the temper of alarm
and exaggeration is not the right way of dealing with them. Amid the charges of
religious opinions and the theological discord which distracts the world, we
may possess our souls in peace. If sometimes our ears are thrilled and our
minds confused by the Babel of voices which dins around us, we may turn from
without, and listen calmly to that voice which speaks to us from within, of
love, and righteousness, and peace.
III. Let us apply
the same principle to our own lives. We need to see ourselves as we truly are,
in all our relations to God and to our fellow-men. We need to carry into the
whole of life that presence of mind which is required of the warrior who in the
hour of conflict is calm, and sees what he foresaw. (B. Jowett, M. A.)
A duty and a blessing
I. These words
which to fleshly Israel must have seemed so strange, and which to weak faith
echo so strangely still, contain two parts, a duty and a blessing. They were to
“stand still,” and so should they see the salvation of God. And this condition
of blessing runs continually through the whole history of the Jewish and
Christian Church. When God has tried His chosen servants or His chosen people,
the most frequent trial perhaps has been this, whether they would tarry the
Lord’s leisure, be content to receive God’s gift in God’s way, hasten not, turn
not to the right hand or the left, but “stand still” and see the salvation of
God. By patient (the word implies suffering) waiting for God, an unresisting
resistance unto blood, did the Church take root in the whole world.
II. It is for
instruction only that we may ask why God should so have annexed the blessing of
conquest to enduring suffering, and made patience mightier than what men call
active virtues.
1. It may be that it has some mysterious connection with the
sufferings of Christ. Vicarious suffering may be so far well-pleasing to God as having a
communion with the sufferings of His beloved Son, and doubtless it may make
those who are partakers of it more capable of the communication of the merits
and influence of His passion.
2. Then, also, it may be needful, in the wisdom of God, for the
perfecting of His saints. As all trial implies pain, so the trial of the most
precious vessels, it may be, is to be accompanied by pains proportionate.
3. It is evident, that so God’s power and glory are most shown in
averting suffering, or in crowning the enduring faith by His blessing.
4. Since man’s self-will was the cause of his fall, God would thus
teach him to renounce dependence upon himself, to quit his own wisdom and his
own schemes, and do God’s will. (E. B. Pusey, D. D.)
Lessons
1. It concerns God’s instruments of salvation to reason quietly with
a froward people who despise it.
2. God much contends by His ministers to remove the unbelieving fears
of His people.
3. Stability in faith is God’s command to cure fears in unbelief.
4. Jehovah’s salvation is worth the looking unto by His poor
creatures in faith.
5. Present salvation God can and will give to His people to quiet
them in believing.
6. God’s command for faith carries proportionable reason for it in
all cases.
7. Causes of fear which hinder faith God removeth at His pleasure.
8. In God’s great redemption, typical and real, the Church is
passive, not a word to it.
9. In such appearances of God it is but just with men to be silent
from murmuring (Exodus 14:14). (G. Hughes, B.
D.)
Faith and fear
As man is capable of different forms of actions, so is he
susceptible of various kinds of emotions. There are two kinds of emotions which
govern mankind more than any others--faith and fear. These comprehend almost
all the interests, and sway almost all the actions of life. They are often
opposed to each other, and frequently fear conquers faith. Fear is a power
governed more by sense than faith; it is more selfish and timid than it. Faith
is a more spiritual and religious power than fear, and must conquer all fear
and all opposing powers before men can be powerful and triumphant.
I. Let us observe,
first, the triumph of fear or feeling over faith.
1. Faith is often opposed and conquered when immediate danger appears,
and when it cannot point to immediate deliverance.
2. When the superficial inclination of man is opposed and self-denial
demanded, faith often is vanquished, and feeling triumphs.
3. Faith is often conquered by sense or feeling when reason cannot
comprehend and explain things in God’s dealings towards His creatures.
4. Feeling often overcomes faith when religion appears to militate
against what men consider their present interest.
5. Feeling sometimes gets the advantage over faith on the ground of
ease and indulgence.
6. Faith also is often conquered for want of free and open heart and
mind to receive truth and conviction. Prejudice and narrowness of mind are
deadly enemies to faith, as they are to the advancement of truth and right life
everywhere.
7. I mention another ground on which faith is too often conquered by
feeling--namely, because it looks to the future for its full reward. Feeling
has no patience to wait; it must be satisfied with its objects now; whilst
faith rises above the visible
and the present to the unseen and the future.
II. We shall now
notice the triumph of faith over sense and feeling. Though faith is above
feeling, it is not necessarily opposed to it; it works through it, and makes it
subordinate to its influence and end. The unity of the two is essential to make
men strong and happy; when they are divided the happiness of men is marred, and
their strength of heart and character is shorn.
1. When the mind is profoundly convinced of truth it conquers. In the
degree the mind is capable of deep conviction, it is strong, and this also is
one of the strongholds of faith. When the mind becomes thoroughly imbued with
the importance and truth of anything, it possesses the first qualification of
conquest over all opposition and difficulty; and never till then can great
things be accomplished.
2. Another condition under which faith proves itself triumphant is a
deep conviction of need. Conviction of need, either personally or relatively,
is both the reason and power of any and every effort, and no great sacrifice
and conquest will be accomplished without.
3. For the development and triumph of faith, it is requisite as a
condition that the soul should be convinced of the failure and insufficiency of
all sensuous and finite things to satisfy its requirements.
4. It is requisite that the moral perception and feeling of the soul
should be opened and awakened to see and feel things as they are before faith
can conquer. Though faith is a power of confidence in the dark, it is
nevertheless a power that thrives in light, and demands all the evidence the
case in hand permits.
5. Faith conquers whilst the soul lives in close union with God, and
carries with it a consciousness of His presence; for conscious communion with
God is the power as well as the life of the soul, and so long as this is
enjoyed faith is triumphant.
III. We come now to
the triumph of God over nature--“See the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day.”
Such a salvation was not wrought in the ordinary course of nature. Apparently
the forces and laws of nature were against the possibility of it; it was a
Divine display of Divine triumph of God over nature.
1. The event is represented as authentic and real. It is not an
allegory, or any ideal manifestation representing a potential possibility, or a
thing to excite human fancy.
2. The event was a manifestation, and produced in subordination to
the purpose of mercy.
3. The event was produced for a moral and religious end. God had
repeatedly promised to deliver them, and the act was a fulfilment of an old and
repeated engagement. The promise was made and performed on the ground of
religion.
4. The event is in harmony with its conditions. The event is not
professed to be the production of ordinary power, which would be inconsistent; for
it is an extraordinary one, and there must be some equality between the power
of production and the production itself. The event is professed to be an
extraordinary manifestation of an infinite power; and unless this power itself
is denied in the fact of its existence, it is hard to guess how the event can
be considered impossible. The event is professed to have been produced for a
wise and sufficient reason.
Lessons:
1. The dealings of God are suitable always to the occasion. He works
in the right time and place, when and where the thing is needed.
2. It is possible to be in a condition which is beyond all human and
natural deliverance.
3. God sometimes delays His deliverance to an extreme hour.
4. Where duty is clear, difficulties should not prevent an effort to
perform it.
5. The difference between the real and the unreal is seen most clearly in
extreme conditions.
6. There are things in life which we meet once, and we pass on and
never meet again.
7. Genuine and deep-rooted faith shows its superiority in
circumstances that baffle sensuous reasoning. (T. Hughes.)
Direction in dilemma
Our text exhibits the posture in which a man should be found while
exercised with trial. Methinks, also, it shows the position in which a sinner
should be found when he is under trouble on account of sin. We will employ it
in both ways.
I. Take our text
first as A picture of the believer when he is reduced to great straits. Then
God’s command to him is, “Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.” In
this brief sentence there are two things very conspicuous: first, what is to be
done, “Stand still”; and secondly, what is to be seen, “See the salvation of
the Lord.”
1. What is to be done? Faith hears the bidding of her faithful God,
and is not willing to be shut up in the iron cage of despair; nay, she defies
the old giant to put so much as a finger upon her. Lie down and die? that she
never will while her God bids her stand. See the word “stand.” What does it
mean? Keep the posture of an upright man, ready for action, expecting further
orders, cheerfully and patiently awaiting the directing voice. But in what way
are we to “stand still”? Surely it means, among other things, that we are to
wait awhile. Time is precious, but there are occasions when the best use we can
make of it is to let it run on. A man who would ride post.haste had better wait
till he is perfectly mounted, or he may slip from the saddle. He who glorifies
God by standing still is better employed than he who diligently serves his own
self-will.
2. But now, secondly, what is to be seen? You are to see the
salvation of God. In your present temporal trials you are to see God’s power
and love manifested. Now, I think I hear you say, “Well, one thing I know, I
cannot deliver myself out of the dilemma in which I am now placed. I had some
dependence once upon my own judgment and upon my own ability, but that
dependence is entirely gone.” It is a good thing for you sometimes, Christian,
to be wholly weaned from yourself. But you are saying, “What shall I see?” Well,
I know not precisely what you shall see, except I am sure of this, you shall
see the salvation of God, and in that salvation you shall see two or three
things, just as the children of Israel saw them.
II. I intend to
take the text in reference to the sinner brought into the sake condition in a
moral sense.
1. “Stand still” in the renunciation of all thine own righteousness,
and of all attempts to seek a righteousness by thine own doings.
2. But now the sinner says, “Suppose, then, I give up all hope, and
do no more by way of trusting to myself, what shall I see?” Do remark that all
the sinner can do, is to see the salvation. He is not to work it out, he is not
to help it on, but he is to see it; yet, mark you, that sinner cannot even find
out that salvation of itself, for if you notice, the next sentence to our text
is, “which He will show you to-day.” God must show it to us, or else we cannot
see it. I will tell thee of it.
Salvation of the Lord
John Lyons, a well-known citizen in Arizona, while at work in the shaft of
his mine near Tres Alamos, had just put in a blast and lighted the fuse, when,
on reaching the top of the shaft, he beheld four mounted Apaches rapidly
approaching. Their horrible yells and hostile gestures revealed their murderous
intent, and Mr. Lyons was for an instant paralyzed with terror. His first
impulse was to hurl himself into the shaft and be blown to atoms by the
explosion of the blast rather than perish miserably at the hands of the
remorseless foe. Suddenly the blast at the bottom of the shaft exploded with
terrific effect, throwing a shower of rock and debris high in the air,
which was followed by a dense volume of smoke rolling up from the shaft. The
Indians checked their horses, appalled by the unexpected and to them mysterious
eruption, then, with a yell of terror, wheeled round and galloped off in the
direction whence they came. But for the coincidence of the blast igniting at
that particular moment, the man would, doubtless, have been tortured to death
in the true Apache style. In the Christian life there come times when
destruction seems inevitable, as it seemed to the miner, but those who trust in
God experience deliverance as unexpected as his.
Fitness before action
The first thing this proud and sinful soul of mine needs is to be
emptied of self and become like a little child. Action by and by. Work when you
are ready and fit for work. March when you have been told where to go, and can
see your way--not
before. First of all, if we would do anything good or great we must get into a
right attitude with God, from whom all goodness and greatness come. First of
all get you to the Fountain Head, and see that the channels are open for real
streams of light and life to flow down from the unseen and supernatural Heart
into your own. Make sure that there is a God, and that He is your God; and
that, being yours, His course is your course and His fight is your fight. It is
not the atheist that is told to go forward; for his very going will be godless
and he will blunder into Egypt again. The farther he goes the worse. It is not
the pantheist that is bidden to go forward; for no fatherly hand will lead him
but a blind force, the blind leading the blind. It is not the arrogant and
unreligious moralist; for he will have to build his system out of the same
materials that have failed him so often, or else trust the poor instinct which
has already cast him helpless between the wilderness and the sea. When Christ
and the apostles were asked, “What shall I do to be a Christian”? the answer
was always in the same order--it was a pointing upward, first, not forward:
Believe; lay hold on Heaven; take the hand of Christ; see that spiritual things
are real; make your first act one of devotion; repent; be baptized; be
confirmed; pray. Fill your mind and will with power from on high. (Bp. F. D.
Huntington.)
The Christian must both “stand still” and “go forward”
Twice the Divine voice speaks. It says, first, “Stand still.”
Stand still, O impatient, eager, unthinking, unbelieving men! Stand still, men
of unregulated activity, of unconsecrated knowledge, of swift and sweeping
passion, of intemperate desire! Stand still, reckless competitions, grasping
enterprises, immoderate labours and furious amusements, of these hurrying days
and heated nights! Stand still, boundless ambition, over-wrought and
overconfident brain, from your wild chase for bubbles in the air! Stand still,
selfish traffic, corrupted legislation, Mammon and Passion and Vanity Fair, an
unprincipled press, a frivolous society, a worldly-minded and mercenary Church!
Stand still and see the salvation of God! Stand still, O lustful appetite and
unfeeling avarice and cruel pride and headstrong self-will in the unchildlike
and unchristian heart! But go forward, men of duty, men of honour, men of
faith, men of God! Speak to the children of the Christian Israel soberly; speak
encouragingly to one another, you who have long borne a burden that presses
hard and borne it for your covenant’s and your sanctuary’s sake. “The Lord
shall fight for you.” Go forward, mercy and charity, works of faith and love,
missions, healings, sacrifices, praises, reconciliations--go forward, O
kingdom, in every soul and every land till they all are the kingdom of our God!
(Bp. F. D. Huntington.)
Sit still and trust
One day when Stonewall Jackson, with his sister-in-law, was
crossing the boiling torrent, just below the American falls at Niagara, in a
slight boat manned by two oarsmen, the current so swirled the boat that the
lady became terrified, believing they were going to the bottom. Jackson seized her by the arms,
and turned to one of the men and said, “How often have you crossed here?” “I
have been rowing people across, sir, for twelve years.” “Did you ever meet with
an accident?” “Never, sir.” “Never were capsized? never lost a life?” “Nothing
of the kind, sir!” Then turning, in a somewhat peremptory tone, he said to the
lady, “You hear what the boatman says, and unless you think you can take the
oars and row better than he does, sit still and trust him as I do.”
Stand still
These words contain God’s command to the believer when he is
reduced to great straits and brought into extraordinary difficulties. “Stand
still.” Despair whispers, “Lie down and die; give it all up.” But God would
have us put on a cheerful courage, and even in our worst times rejoice in His
love and faithfulness. Cowardice says, “Retreat, go back to the worldling’s way
of action; you cannot play the Christian’s part, it is too difficult.
Relinquish your principles.” But, however much Satan may urge this course upon
you, you cannot follow it, if you are a child of God. The Divine fiat has bid
thee go from strength to strength, and so thou shalt; and neither death nor
hell shall turn thee from thy course. Precipitancy says, “Do something; stir
yourself--to stand still and wait is sheer idleness.” We must be doing
something at once. Presumption boasts, “If the sea be before you, march into it
and expect a miracle.” But Faith listens neither to Presumption, nor to Despair, nor to
Cowardice, nor to Precipitancy, but it hears God say, “stand still,” and
immovable as a rock it stands. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Ye shall see them again no
more for ever.--
Social separations
Although the Israelites
beheld the next morning the Egyptian host dead upon the beach, they saw them no
more in their pomp and power, fierceness and anger; they saw them no more in
this world for ever. Let us look at the fact in three aspects.
I. As affording a
glimpse of the moral government of God. A signal interposition displaying
justice towards the oppressor, and mercy towards the oppressed.
1. Moral government takes cognizance of man’s conduct.
2. Moral government righteously visits man’s conduct.
II. As illustrating
separations that are going on between men every day.
1. Every day we see men that we shall see no more in this world for
ever.
2. Every day we see men that we shall see no more in their present
circumstances for ever.
3. Every day we see men that we shall see no more in their present
character for ever.
III. As
foreshadowing that final separation which must take place between the wicked
and the righteous.
1. This takes place really at death. No more sensualists with their
seductions, sceptics with their insinuations, devil with his temptations.
2. This takes place publicly in the day of judgment. (Homilist.)
Lessons
I. Then wicked men
shall perish in the very hour of their splendour and pride. Ii. Then wicked men
are often powerless to inflict the injury they desire upon the good. If we are
injured by these enemies of the soul, it is because of our unbelief.
III. Then the wicked
and the good will be eternally separated in the life to come. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Never again
I have seen one person at least, to-day, whom I have seen for the last time in this
life. He may live many days or many years--I may live many days or many years;
but in a crowded city like this it must needs be that there is one among that
throng whom I have passed whom I never again will see. He stands, therefore, as
a messenger direct from me to the judgment seat of God. Little did I think,
when I spoke to him, with what a message I was freighting him l It is the last
look that strikes, the last touch that tells, and if it was an unkind or a
false word I then spoke, that unkind or false word has sunk like a die on the
molten memory of him from whom I have just parted, as well as of myself. What
testimony will he bear against me in the judgment of the future?
1. Perhaps it was one whom I was bound to love on whom my words fell.
If it were, may God forgive me! for if they burned and seared that heart, far
more deeply will they burn and sear mine, when I find that the ear that
listened so eagerly for love, and shrank so agonizingly from unkindness, is now
closed in death.
2. Perhaps it was one whom I was bound to protect, and whom with
words of cunning I have overreached. If so, may God forgive me, for I have thus
sent direct to His throne of justice this accusation against myself! Never
again! And yet again when I go forth to-morrow there is at least one other whom
I will meet whom I may meet never again! Guard my tongue and my heart, O God,
that my account as to him may be just before Thee! (Episcopal Recorder.)
The resource of God against the enemies of the good
During the American Civil War an English ship was boarded by the
crew of a confederate cruiser. They drew their swords. But the gallant English
Captain Williams marched forward and said, “Gentlemen, I am a simple sailor,
but do not forget that behind this flag which I hold in my hand lies all the
power of the army and navy of England. If you strike me you strike the might of
England.” So we may be simple men and women, but when we are engaged in the
Lord’s work we do not stand alone. (G. Howard James.)
Verse 15
Wherefore criest thou unto Me?
. . . Go forward.
Go forward
Men are more ready to cry out for help than to help themselves.
They are more ready to call for more light, means, privileges, than to use
faithfully what they possess. They are more ready to complain than to exert
themselves; to wonder at what the Divine Providence has done, or to speculate
on what it intends to do, than to observe its will, and stand in the line of
their duty, and “go forward.”
1. And first, when we are confused with uncertain speculations as to
points of religious doctrine and the designs of Providence, let us rest from
the questions that are beyond mortal solving, from the debate and from those
who would pretend to settle it for us, and obey the practical exhortation of
the text. What we can discover and know may not be much; but what we have to do
is plain enough, and deserves the chief place in our attention. Theories are
many, and the counsel of the Lord is hid; but what He requires of us there
needs but singleness of heart to discern and follow. The absolute truth may
often be beyond us; but the right, as distinct from the wrong, is in the
sentiment of every one’s conscience and in the power of his hand. The present
age is remarkably bent upon a prying kind of research into the deep things of
religious faith. Let me not find fault with this tendency, so long as it is
reverent, and not presumptuous; so long as it is humble, and not disputatious;
so long as it is neither carping, nor over-anxious, nor neglectful of nearer
claims. But it has its dangers. Sometimes it distracts the thoughts with fears
and unprofitable conjectures; and sometimes it absorbs them in cares that are
intense, but stationary, holding back the mind from a manly progress and
impeding the cheerful diligence of life. Do not gaze backward, nor pause to
contemplate anxiously what is in front, but move. If you are faithful, God will
carry you through. Work and you shall believe. Do and you shall know. You shall
learn more that is worth the learning through your conscience than through your
researches. You will be guided to the best convictions, by being heartily
engaged in an obedient service.
2. Thus, duty is better than speculation; and this is the first
lesson that our subject teaches. But the mind is troubled with other things
than the doubtful aspects of truth. There are afflicted and dejected hours,
when we hardly care to inquire about anything. A feeling of discouragement
hangs about the heart. Now, sorrow is naturally sluggish, selfish--as
indisposed to strive for anything as to be thankful for anything. It chooses to
sit. It looks upon the ground. It nurses its gloomy meditations. When it is
caused by losses and disappointments, it is apt to make men think that there is
nothing that deserves their winning, or at least that it is not worth while for
them any longer to try. No doubt it makes many a man better. It brings the
thoughtless to reflection. Sorrow is a holy thing when it is rightly accepted.
It gives a consecrated turn to the experiences and affections of our humanity.
And yet it has a power of an opposite kind; and they who come under that power
are rendered worse instead of better by it. They lose their usefulness, as well
as give up their own good. Others add the sin of murmuring to that of
supineness. Why have they been thus distressed? What have they done to be so
hemmed in? They complain of the very prophets and guiding messengers of God,
because they show them no more mercy, and will encourage them in no other way
than one that they refuse to follow. They want to be relieved just where they
stand. They want to be delivered without any thought or effort of their own.
But it is not so that
God will have it. “Speak unto them,” is His word still, “that they go forward.”
The best consolation is in your tasks, with their straining toil or their
steady and quiet occupation.
3. But it is perhaps the labour imposed upon your unwilling strength
that most disconcerts you. The apprehension of coming calamities has fastened
its terrors upon you. The fears of a faint heart form the chief trial of your
lot. Not an arrow has reached you yet from the pursuing host of your enemies,
but you hear their trumpets, and you are dismayed at the trampling of their
approach. You have not yet wet your shoes in the waves of the intercepting sea;
but you look at its broad flow, and are dismayed at what seems to you its
unfathomable and impassable depth. You are afraid of what you may be compelled
to do; or you are afraid of what you may be appointed to suffer. What is so
depressing as this dread, when once it settles down upon a man? How it
paralyzes his resolution 1 But no power can assist him, at least not in the
manner he would choose--by interfering to change his whole situation, and that
without any step of his own taking. He must stand in his lot. He must march at
command. There will be always something like a chase in the rear. There will be
some gulf crossing his advanced post. He will not be listened to, if he sits
and prays that all this may be otherwise. At the same time the help that was
refused to his complaint and his supplication awaits his diligence. Let him “go
forward.” The cowardice that was his worst enemy shall then be vanquished.
Beware how you waste in sighs the time that should be spent in exertion. Beware
how you look abroad for the
succour that you will contribute nothing to bring. Beware how you abandon your
own cause. Bear your part, according to the imperfect ability that you have
received, in the work of your deliverance. Commit the issues of events to the
Sovereign Disposer. They may venture, as long as their trust is in Him. “Speak
unto all My people,” saith God, “that they go forward.” Their prayer is good;
but their obedience is better. His grace shall be sufficient for them while
they move towards it. (N. L. Frothingham.)
The journey through life
It points out, with sufficient clearness, the best mode of
journeying through life. “Go forward”--
I. You are, then,
willing to go forward? But whether you will or not, you must. What better
starting-point can you discover than that from which Israel began--the point to
which God has brought you now? Stop for a moment, my impatient
fellow-traveller; we are not speaking of the point to which you have now
brought yourself, but of that to which God has conducted you; and you must very
soon, I think, feel that there may be an important difference between these
two. God may, indeed, command us to go forward from the point to which He has
Himself conducted us, but not by any means to make advance on that wrong path
which we have chosen through our own folly and our sin. In such a case, God
must have rather asked, “Why do you cry to Me? You are yourselves the cause of
your distress and misery; there is no safety on this road, but only death and horror;
speak unto the Israelites that they return immediately!” But now, because the
Lord Himself has pointed out the place where they were to encamp, between
Pi-hahiroth and Baal-Zephon, they are in the position which He bade them
occupy; they now are standing in the place where He would have them be: now we may
speak of going on. “Advance!”--it is a glorious word; and that which it denotes
deserves the application of our noblest powers. But, in advancing, the main
question is--not whether we are rising rapidly enough, but simply whether we
are really on the right track, and keeping the great end in view. Yes;
“Forward” is still a glorious word, but not the first, scarcely the second that
we should employ; and you will be in a position to apply it with advantage to
yourselves only when, like these ransomed ones, you have an Egypt at your back,
and a Canaan before. But what think you? O man of sin, the path you now pursue
leads down to death; repentance is the only way to life--regeneration of the
soul the first, although perhaps the least felt requisite for entering on the
new period. Nay, no advance ere you have first stood still, made full
confession of your guilt, sought for deliverance from worse than Egypt’s
bondage, and cried for blood more precious than the blood of even the spotless
Paschal Lamb, to hide your sins!
II. “Advance!” The
order may be given easily, but is it quite as speedily performed? Then listen,
in the second place, to what is further given in the summons--advance along the
way which God commands. “Which God commands.” This, in a certain aspect, makes
the thing much easier, but in another much more difficult. You will at once
perceive this when you place yourself again in the position of the Israelites.
Moses need not, in deep anxiety, inquire, “Whither?” for there is but one path,
and not another given him to choose. There is the most peremptory command not
to go back; nor would good come of turning to the right or left; moreover,
there are mountains rising up to heaven, and rocks, which shut the people in,
as if within a fortress. Forward, then! But well may we, also, in spite of not
a little difference, find a resemblance to the path on which the Lord once more
calls you and me to make advance. That way itself is, in its leading features,
quite as plain, as difficult, and yet withal as safe, as that for which the
Israelites now looked. If we are Christians, there is only one way possible for
our understanding, our faith, our conscience; and that is the way God bids us
go. See that the path before you is indeed the way appointed by the Lord; and do not
venture on a single step before you bow the knee to Him in deep humility. But
if it be quite evident that just this, and no other, is the road which God
deems best for you, then act as if you heard His voice from heaven saying, “Why
do you cry to Me? Surely you know that I am not a God who says, ‘Go forward,’
without giving strength wherewith to go.” Nay, verily, God has not changed, so
that He now should call His people to advance into the sea, and leave them
there to perish in the flood. Suppose the Israelites, alarmed at the idea of
advancing through the waves, had taken time to think, and then attempted to
retreat; or sought, amidst the mountains on each side, an opening by which they
might escape approaching death- according to the judgment of the natural man,
they would have acted with the utmost prudence, yet they would have but been
hastening into the yawning grave. The passage through the sea turns out to be
much safer than the path along the quiet shore, as soon as it appears that God
is with us. It is precisely when the prophet Jonah seeks to flee from Nineveh,
and find a safe retreat in Tarshish, that such mortal danger comes so close on
him; and, on the other hand, when Paul, led by the Lord to Rome, courageously
defies Euroclydon and every storm, his life is saved, although the ship is
lost. Our life is ever free from danger when we risk it in the service of the
Lord; because, as has been truly said,we are immortal while God needs us here.
III. “But what
avails it me, even though I know the way, so long as, in short-sightedness, I
still must grope about under dark clouds?” You are quite right; but you too,
just like Israel, are this day summoned to advance under the light that God affords
you can imagine that you now behold the mysterious fiery pillar, scattering its
golden rays upon the silvery waters in the darkness of the night, and
straightway turning its fierce lightnings on the host of the Egyptians. But
say, has not God, in His written word, sent light from heaven sufficient in
amount and clear enough to brighten, with its friendly rays, many a gloomy
night and many a cloudy day? And have you ever been kept waiting long without
an answer, when, with the earnest question: “What will the Lord have me to do?” you took
your precious Bible up, in silent solitude, not to consult it, like so many,
just as if it were a kind of heathen oracle--examining the first page that
might open up to you--but earnestly endeavouring to find out what the Lord
desires? But is it not the case that we are just like that rebellious
Israel--constantly inclined to cheese their own way rather than simply pursue
the path to which the cloudy pillar guided them? And even after we have been
already taught, on numberless occasions, through the shame and injury that have
befallen us, we still direct our eyes continually to the ignis fatuus of
human wisdom, when we rather should fear God, and give attention to His word.
And what should hinder you from choosing that same word of God to be a lamp
unto your feet, a light unto your path? Should the obscurities and enigmas that
here present themselves to you prove such a barrier? Even the fiery pillar had
for Israel its impenetrable and mysterious side; but this much they perceived
quite well, that it afforded them more light than a thousand other lights. And
there is something wondrous in the fact that this great light illumines
everything, although you know not where it has its seat; nor can you find in
anything besides a proper substitute when it has been removed. Or--just
acknowledge it--are you offended at the vehemence with which the Word of God
denounces sin? Yes, verily, the cloudy pillar sent forth dreadful thunderbolts,
but they were only aimed at hardened ones like Pharaoh; and that same light of
God’s unspotted holiness, which is so terrible to sinners, is the consolation
of all those who make His mercy the foundation of their hopes. Or has that
light no longer an attraction for you, inasmuch as it has lost the splendour of
most novelties? Surely the fiery pillar was quite as invaluable in the fortieth
year that followed Israel’s Exodus, as in the first night when they were
redeemed? And should you not be rather cheered by the consideration that, when
everything to-day announces instability and change, the word of God endures for
aye?
IV. But do you make
complaint--not against God, but rather against yourself? And do you fear your
strength will fail? We could not urge you to advance, did we not also, in the
fourth place, indicate the staff which God bestows on us. Let it suffice to
state that, without living faith working within the heart, it is as hopeless to
set out upon life’s journey as it would have been impossible to march through
the Red Sea without the all-prevailing, wonder-working rod. Poor man, you rise
up, but you know not whence; you wander here and there, hut do not know how
long; you ask for strength, yet know not whence it may be gained! The Lord’s
words are most true: “Cursed is the man that maketh flesh his arm . . . Blessed
is the man that trusteth in the Lord.” But have you never found that all things
are possible to him that believeth, and that even mountains of difficulties
seemed to dwindle away into molehills when touched by this wonder-working
staff? The time will often come when you shall stand before a task for which
your own unaided wisdom will be quite unequal; but the prayer of faith works
wonders, and strength comes down from above into the heart which owns, in deep
humility, that it is naught hut weakness when apart from God.
V. The Lord
arouses us to march on to the land which He prepares for us. You are aware that
Israel was called not merely to forsake the land of Egypt, nor even to spend a
desert life in peace and liberty, but to march on into a land which God, ages
before, had promised to bestow on the posterity of those who were His friends.
Not one of all those multitudes who passed through the Red Sea had ever seen
that promised land. Upon the ground of credible authority, they were
constrained to the belief that it was a reality awaiting them beyond the flood.
Not even the wisest of them all was free to choose the mode of access to that
land which flowed with milk and honey. But their great Leader ever held Himself
responsible for the result, although the moment when the earthly paradise was
to unfold its gates was still kept in deep secrecy. Nor are we called to wander
aimlessly, and to march on without exactly knowing where we are to go. The Lord from
heaven has appeared on this vile earth that we, exiles from Eden, might have an
eternal dwelling-place; and though no messenger has come back from the
habitations where He has prepared us room, we know, as surely as we live, that
what no eye hath seen, what ear hath never heard, what hath not entered into
any human heart, is hid with Christ in God for all who know and love Him.
Whoever will draw back unto perdition may perceive, in Israel’s case, that
while God presses upon sinful men His heavenly gift, He will by no means let
Himself be mocked. The way that leads to it may not, perhaps, be quite the
shortest (and those who, like Israel, are slow to learn require a longer
training-time), still less is it the most agreeable, but most assuredly it is
the best. And the inheritance itself will only seem more beautiful if we, like
Moses, are obliged to wait a long time on God that we may get possession of the
whole. Do you know any prospect more inspiriting than that of one day having
done entirely with that daily dying which we now call “life”; of our at last,
some time or other, breathing with a pleasure and a freedom we have never yet
felt here, where every day brought us more than enough of its own ills; of once
more hearing there, too, the command, “Forward!” and then advancing through the
spacious fields of heaven, but finding nowhere near us any foe, nor seeing any
wilderness before? Surely, even though it cost us other forty anxious years, as
it cost Israel the Promised Land, what one of us would think the price of such
a calling far too dear? (J. J. Van Oosterzee, D. D.)
Unseasonable prayer
I. Sometimes the
answer will be very unsatisfactory.
1. Because I was brought up to do so.
2. It is a part of my religion. These pray as a Dervish dances or a
Fakir holds his arm aloft; but they know nothing of the spiritual reality of
prayer (Matthew 6:7).
3. It is a right thing to do. So indeed it is if we pray aright, but
the mere repetition of pious words is vanity (Isaiah 29:13).
4. I feel easier in my mind after it. Ought you to feel easier? May
not your formal prayers be a mockery of God, and so an increase of sin (Isaiah 1:12-15; Ezekiel 20:31)?
5. I think it meritorious and saving. This is sheer falsehood, and a
high offence against the merit and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus.
II. Sometimes the
answer will betray ignorance.
1. When it hinders immediate repentance. Instead of quitting sin and
mourning over it, some men talk of praying. “To obey is better than sacrifice,”
and better than supplication.
2. When it keeps from faith in Jesus. The gospel is not “pray and be
saved”; but “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Matthew 7:21; John 6:47).
3. When we suppose that it fits us for Jesus. We must come to Him as
sinners, and not set up our prayers as a sort of righteousness (Luke 18:11-12).
4. When we think that prayer alone will bring a blessing.
III. Sometimes the
answer will be quite correct.
1. Because I must. I am in trouble, and must pray or perish. Sighs
and cries are not made to order, they are the irresistible outbursts of the
heart (Psalms 42:1; Romans 8:26).
2. Because I know I shall be heard, and therefore I feel a strong desire
to deal with God in supplication. “Because He hath inclined His ear unto me,
therefore will I call upon Him” (Psalms 116:2).
3. Because I delight in it: it brings rest to my mind, and hope to my
heart. It is a sweet means of communion with my God. “It is good for me to draw
near to God” (Psalms 73:28).
4. Because I feel that I can best express the little faith and
repentance I have by crying to the Lord for more.
5. Because these grow as I pray. No doubt we may pray ourselves into
a good frame if God the Holy Ghost blesses us.
6. Because I look for all from God, and therefore I cry to Him (Psalms 72:5). (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Self-help
Self-help is one of the popular topics of the day, and seems to be
commended in the passage which contains the text. Help thyself, and Heaven will
help thee, is a proverb which, both in its French and its English form, is
widely current; and wisely current, if we understand the Divine principle on
which it rests. Read in the light of Scripture, it does not run, Venture, and
the Almighty hand will meet thee, the help will come; but rather, Venture, for
the Everlasting Arms are around thee, the help is here. Thus read, it is an
all-mastering truth. But what is the principle here, the essential principle of
the progress? Is it, March, and I will meet you; or March, for I have led you;
I, not you, am responsible for these straits; you are here because through them
lies the path to victory and glory. Therefore “cry not unto Me”; your being
here is My answer to your cry. “Speak unto the children of Israel that they go
forward.”
I. Their standing
there at all was a miracle of Almighty power and love. By a series of the most
tremendous miracles recorded in history, God’s hand had led them out to that
mountain gorge, and shut them in between the moaning sea and their raging foes.
Pharaoh drew near, but God was even visibly more near. A great army was
gathering behind them; but the angel of God’s presence was visibly in the midst
of them. They distrusted and despised Emmanuel--God with them, a visible glory
over their host.
II. They ought to
have accepted God’s guidance thither as the absolute assurance that their way
on lay clear before his eyes, and that all the difficulties which beset it were
under the firm control of His hand. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)
Effort needed as well as prayer
A scholar was remarkable for repeating her lessons well. Her
schoolfellow, rather idly inclined, said to her one day, “How is it that you
always say your lessons so perfectly?” She replied, “I always pray that I may
say my lessons well.” “Do you?” said the other; “well then, I will pray, too”:
but alas! the next morning she could not even repeat word of her usual task.
Very much confounded, she ran to her friend, and reproached her as deceitful:
“I prayed,” said she, “but I could not say a single word of my lesson.”
“Perhaps,” rejoined the other, “you took no pains to learn it.” “Learn it!
Learn it! I did not learn it at all,” answered the first, “I thought I had no
occasion to learn it, when I prayed that I might say it.” The mistake is a very
common one. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The flight from Egypt
I. Their danger.
Foe behind, sea in front, mountains on each side.
II. Their dilemma.
Knew not which way to turn.
III. Their
deliverer. Man’s extremity God’s opportunity.
IV. Their duty. “Go
forward.” This demanded faith.
V. Their
determination. They obeyed.
VI. Their delight.
Song of Moses. (G. Weller.)
Go forward
I. The story from
which these words are taken is A story of national progress. It is also one of
supernatural progress. For us the supernatural is, in the highest and truest
sense of the word, natural, for it is the revelation of the nature of God. We
accept the possibility of the supernatural and miraculous, but all the more for
that do we hold that if God interferes in the affairs of men miraculously, He
will not do it capriciously, unnecessarily, wantonly. Upon the whole story of
these Jewish miracles there is stamped a character which marks distinctly the
reason for which they were wrought; that reason was the religious education of
the world. By these miracles the Jew was taught that for nations and men there
is a God, an eternal and a personal will above us and around us, that works for
righteousness. This great fact was taught him by illustrated lessons, by
pictures illuminated with the Divine light and so filled with the Divine colour
that they stand and last for all time.
II. The lesson that
seems definitely stamped on the story of the miraculous passage of the Red Sea
is the lesson of fearlessness in the discharge of duty, of resolute walking in the
way that we know to be God’s way for us. We find this true--
1. In the case of individuals.
2. In the case of nations.
For individuals and for nations God has appointed a law of
progress. All we have ever striven to raise the tone of a nation’s life, to
bring the nation onward on the path that leads to peace and righteousness, have
been preaching to mankind this great word of God’s, “Go forward where God would
have you go.” (Bp. Magee.)
Christian progress
Progress is the great test of a Christian. It is not what we are
absolutely, but what we are relatively, relatively to what we were. Religion
mast always be “a walk,” and the child of God a traveller. Old things get
further and further behind, and as they recede look smaller and smaller; new
things constantly come into view, and there is no stagnation. The man, though
slowly, and with much struggle, and with many humiliations, is stretching on to
the ever-rising level of his own spiritual and heaven-drawn conscience.
I. We may be
discouraged because of past failures. Still we have no choice but to go on.
Life is made up of rash beginnings and premature endings. We have nothing for
it but to begin again.
II. We may feel
ourselves utterly graceless and godless. The remedy is, at once to determine to
be a great Christian. We must aim at things far in advance. We must go forward.
III. Perhaps some
great temptation or sin bars the way. Then we must not stand calculating. We
must not look at consequences, but simply “go forward” to the new life of
self-denial and holiness. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Going forward
Both the Israelites and Egyptians went forward; but how? and to
what?--
I. The Israelites
went forward in obedience to Divine commands; the Egyptians, in opposition to
the Divine will.
1. As regards the Israelites--In this particular crisis He commanded
them to proceed (verse 15). The means and mode of their advance were prescribed
by Him (verse 16).
2. The Egyptians went forward in defiance of the will of God.
II. The Israelites
went forward having the presence of God with them as a help; the Egyptians
having that presence as a hindrance (verse 19, 20).
III. The Israelites
went forward in wise reliance upon God; the Egyptians in infatuated daring of
him.
IV. The Israelites
went forward having the forces of nature controlled in their favour; the
Egyptians with those forces used to their confusion and overthrow (verses
21-27). Nature renders loyal obedience to its Lord. The Most High employs
nature’s elements and forces for the defence and deliverance of His people, and
for the defeat and destruction of His foes.
V. The Israelites
went forward to splendid victory and spiritual profit; the Egyptians to utter
defeat and death.
1. As to the Israelites--
2. But the Egyptians were utterly overthrown and slain (verse 28).
Lessons:
1. Going forward is not always making progress.
2. Going forward is true progress only when it accords with the will
of God.
3. The path of duty is often beset with difficulties.
4. Difficulties in the path of duty disappear before believing obedience.
5. Rebellion against God leads to trouble and distress, and if
persisted in must end in irretrievable ruin.
6. Faith in God and obedience to Him lead onward and upward to
glorious triumph.
7. The deliverances wrought for us by the hand of God should
encourage us to reverence and trust Him. (William Jones.)
Christian progress in the face of difficulties
I. In the
Christian life advancement is demanded. Forward, upward, heavenward, Godward.
II. In the
Christian life advancement is demanded, with a full recognition of the
obstacles in the way of it. We pass from conquest to renew the conflict.
III. In the
Christian life, obstacles to progress, manfully encountered, may be surmounted.
Difficulties vanish, in the presence of believing obedience.
IV. In the
Christian life, obstacles to progress, manfully encountered, contribute to our
advancement.
V. In the
Christian life we are incited to progress, notwithstanding obstacles, by a
great host of encouragements.
1. Believing prayer is mighty with God.
2. Glorious examples encourage us onward.
3. The character of our Leader encourages us onward. (William Jones.)
Forward
Into whatever province of Divine government we look, we find that
“Forward” is one of God’s great watchwords, onward to that state which is higher,
more perfect. On Christian believers is ]aid the obligation to “go on unto
perfection,” to “press toward the mark,” etc.
I. As the children
of Israel, in obedience to the command of God, were on their way from a lower
to a higher and more blessed life, so are Christians.
II. As the children
of Israel were required to go forward for the discipline of their faith, so are
Christian believers.
III. As the
Israelites were required to go forward in the interests of the Kingdom of God
in the world, so are Christian disciples. (R. Ann.)
The Christian’s watchword
I. In what the
Christian is to go forward. Now this is evident; he must go forward in the path
to eternal life. More particularly, he must go forward--
1. In the increase of Christian graces.
2. In the exhibition of Christian virtues. Such as justice,
temperance, brotherly kindness, and charity.
3. In the performance of Christian duties. In reading the holy
oracles, and in holy meditation, forward. In secret and public prayer, forward.
In family worship and discipline, forward. In the services of the sanctuary,
forward. In enterprises of usefulness and plans of benevolence, forward. In all
the personal and relative obligations of life, forward.
4. In the attainment of Christian privileges and blessings. “Peace
flowing as a river, and righteousness abounding as the waves of the sea.”
II. Why the
Christian should go forward.
1. God commands it, and His authority is imperative.
2. Christ enforces it, and His claims are irresistible.
3. The Holy Spirit moves us to it, and His influences must not be
quenched.
4. By the examples of saints with whom we are for ever to be
associated.
5. By the sufficiency of the means provided for our progress and
safety.
6. By the dreadful and calamitous effects produced by apostasy.
7. By the glorious rewards which God shall bestow upon His
persevering people.
Application:
1. Let the subject be addressed to all classes and ages of Christian
professors. To the young believer, and the aged disciple, the motto is the
same--forward. To the illiterate, and the learned Christian. Forward, in
prosperity and adversity; in sickness and health; in life and until death.
2. The subject must be reversed to the sinner. He is in the wrong
path; far enough already from God and happiness and heaven. Turn from thy evil
ways and live. (J. Burns, D. D.)
Progress
I. The necessity
for progress as a condition for healthy life. The advancing tide has no sooner
touched its highest point than it begins to recede. In the spiritual life,
progress is needful to secure past attainments, as well as to gain fresh
victories.
II. The directions
in which progress should be sought.
1. Go forward to clearer and higher conceptions of spiritual truth.
2. Go forward in further development of the Church’s social life.
3. Go forward in all works of Christian beneficence.
4. Go forward individually in the cultivation of the spiritual life.
(J. Legge, M. A.)
Go forward-a New Year’s sermon for the young
We have been spared to see the beginning of another year, we may
therefore think of ourselves as having reached a certain halting-place in our
journey.
I. We should
believe in Christ, and also obey Him. Without believing in Christ, we have no
true love to God in our hearts; and without love, we cannot give Him the
obedience of children.
II. We are taught
here also that we should both worship God and work for Him. I have heard of a
heathen king who was wounded in battle, and who, in his dying hours, sending
for his trusted servant, said to him, “Go, tell the dead I am come.” That soldier-servant,
without hesitating for a moment, drew his sword and stabbed himself to the
heart, that he might go to the dead before his master, and prepare them for his
coming. Oh! that we had this spirit of service and of sacrifice for the King of
kings! In His dying hour, He also said to us, “Go, tell the dead, I come.” He
asks us to go to a world dead in trespasses and sins, to tell them of His
coming, and to preach to them glad tidings of great joy. Alas! how many of us
are content to worship Him, and say, “O King, rule for ever!” without spending
and being spent, that His kingdom may come.
III. This passage
further teaches us, that, while we enjoy religious privileges, we should seek
to make yearly and daily progress by means of them. We should become liker to
Christ, and seek to learn more perfectly the language of heaven. Christ’s work
for us is complete. Christ’s work in us is only begun, and God loves to see His
believing children growing in likeness to that Elder Brother who is the very
image of Himself. If you ask me why you should thus go on towards perfection, I
answer--
1. It is the will of God. We are to be perfect as our Father who is
in heaven is perfect; and we see, from all that goes on around us and within
us, that this perfection is not to be reached by a single effort, or in a
single day.
2. But not only should we go forward in obedience to the will of God;
we should also feel that it is needful for our own sakes to obey our heavenly
Father. For--
The memorial charge to the Israelites
I. Let us consider
this command in reference to the journey of the Israelites. It became them, and
it becomes us, to obey whenever God commands; and to do whatever He enjoins us,
and that for four reasons.
1. Because He has a right to command. He is the Sovereign, we are the
subjects. He is the Master, we are the servants.
2. Because none of His commands are arbitrary. We may not be able to
perceive the reasons upon which they are founded; but there are reasons.
3. Because all His commands are beneficial. They all regard our
welfare, as well
as His own glory.
4. Because they are all practicable. They all imply a power to obey.
If not possessed, yet attainable--if not in nature, yet in grace. Now, men may
enjoin what is really impossible; but God never does.
II. The advancement
of Christians in the Divine life. For Christians are now on their way from
Egypt to Canaan. An old writer says, “A Christian should never pitch his tent
twice in the same place,” but with every fresh rising sun there should be some
fresh advancement.
1. In order to see the possibility, the propriety, the importance, of
thus advancing in the Divine life, turn to the commands of the Scriptures,
“Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”
“Add to your faith virtue,” etc.
2. Then turn to the advantages of progression in your Christian
course; for, as you advance, you will improve, and will rise higher in Divine
attainments. As you advance, you are “changing from glory to glory.” Every step
you take adds to your dignity; every step adds to your usefulness, and enables
you more to adorn the “doctrine of God your Saviour in all things,” and to
recommend His service to those around you. Every step you take adds to your
comfort; it adds to the evidences of your state, and to your character; and so
far exemplifies the words of the Saviour, “Herein is My Father glorified, that
ye bear much fruit, so shall ye be My disciples”; appear as such, and exemplify
yourselves as such.
III. Let us consider
this command in reference to the progress of time. Time is always advancing;
the hour-glass, the day, the week, the year--all go forward. And do they leave
you behind? No; you advance with as much speed as the vessel which bears you
along. You are not, therefore, to consider us here as exhorting you to go
forward with time, but how to go forward, and in what way you ought to advance.
1. “Go forward” with humbleness of mind, not strutting into the new
year, as if you had been acting wisely, worthily and meritoriously, throughout
the year that is past; but “clothed with humility,” and “walking humbly with
your God.”
2. “Go forward with gratitude in the remembrance of His mercies.”
Have they not been “new every morning”?
3. “Go forward” under a sense of present aid, in opposition to complainings
and murmurings.
4. “Go forward” also with a firm confidence as to what may befall you
in the future.
5. “Go forward” with earnest and constant prayer.
6. “Go forward” with frequent thoughts of your journey’s end: for it
will have an end, and you are brought one year nearer to it. (W. Jay.)
The pilgrimage of the saints
I. The character
and course of the people of God.
I. These
circumstances of Israel, illustrating the spiritual character and course of
those who form the new-covenant Church, may apply to them as they are redeemed
and called out of the world.
2. The circumstances of Israel apply to those who form the spiritual
Church of God, as their redemption and calling out of the world are connected
with a career of pilgrimage to a state of future happiness.
II. The impediments
existing to the continuance of their progress.
1. An impediment is found, in the actual presence of adversaries, and
the view of the danger which thence appears to exist.
2. An impediment is found also, in the fears excited by the prospect
of future perils and opposition.
3. An impediment is found also, in the guilty remembrances of past
ease and enjoyments.
III. The command
under which they are placed, and which is connected with powerful excitements
to obedience. “Forward,” is a word comprehending what must be the exclusive
spirit of the Christian calling. Perils, foes, and fears, are not to be
regarded; above them all, the mandate sounds its imperious note--“Go forward.”
1. Let us reflect on the danger of return.
2. Let us reflect on the sufficiency of the Divine protection.
3. Let us reflect on the value of the possessions, by the enjoyment
of which our progress is to be closed. (J. Parsons.)
Encouragement in difficulties
I. The situation
of the Israelites. It is no uncommon thing for many past mercies to be lost in
one present perplexity.
II. The conduct of
Moses. We see here--
1. Piety.
2. Meekness.
3. Faith.
III. The
interposition of Jehovah. It was most seasonable and beneficial. Conclusion: It
is plain that such an admonition as this in the text, must not be
indiscriminately urged. It belongs to Christians. To as many as are of this
character, we affectionately say, Go forward. More particularly.
1. You are engaged in a high spiritual pursuit. Your object now is,
the acquisition of scriptural knowledge; not the knowledge of froth and folly;
the cherishing and improving of religious impressions; not to stifle and strive
against them. Your object is to vanquish sin in all its various forms, to make
progress in the way
of holiness; not to sit down at the entrance of the way. Your object is to
increase in spiritual consolation. Much of this is yet to be enjoyed.
2. In this pursuit you must expect difficulties. And be not surprised
if you meet with them at the very entrance of your religious course.
3. Notwithstanding difficulties, you must “go forward.” Backward you
cannot go, but at the hazard of life, at the cost of utter destruction. “ If
any man draw back, My soul,” saith the Lord, “shall have no pleasure in him”;
and to lie under the displeasure of the Almighty is to be wretched and undone
for ever.
4. In your progress there is much to encourage you. What is there?
The gospel is food, affording the best support; the promises are a
cordial, administering the richest consolation. Divine ordinances are wisely
adapted to the same end. The Lord’s Supper is a feast, a feast for refreshment.
And what shall we say of heaven at the end of your course? The Israelites had
the prospect of Canaan, and it encouraged them: the hope of the promised land
helped them through many trials. But yours is a much better hope, a much more
animating prospect! (T. Kidd.)
On going forward
The Hebrew life was a camp-life, and as such is the picture of
ours. For a while we rest beneath the shadow of Elim’s palm-trees, or lie down
beside the green pastures; but ere long the bugle-note of our great Leader’s
voice is heard, calling us to the onward march.
I. The call to go
forward shows that there are seasons for swift obedience, as well as earnest
prayer. “Wherefore criest thou unto Me?” says God. Strange language from the
lips of Him who has taught us to be instant in prayer. Even prayer must not be
a medium for distrust to unveil itself. Prayer must bespeak faith, not doubt.
We want brave hearts, as well as suppliant knees. We must fight against
distrust. Doubt is defeat.
II. The call to go
forward was accompanied by example. Men crave leaders--in the State, in the
senate, in the field, and in the Church. Fix your eye on the unfaltering Moses.
“Forward!” says a voice from the better land.
III. The call to go
forward teaches us that God hides difficulties till they come. They had no
forewarning of this event. But God keeps the veil down before each life’s
future hour. We never know what shall be on the morrow: save that grace will be
there if we live, and glory if we die. To-morrow, the fairest lamb in the fold
may wander, the most loved friend be gone; the thorn may spring from the pillow, and the
garden contain a grave.
IV. The call to go
forward tells us that we are not to live in the past. Neither in its successes
nor in its sorrows. “Let the dead past bury its dead.” Piety should be no
fossil relic of past experience. Yesterday’s religion will not save us!
V. The call to go
forward answers to the spiritual instincts of the soul. Forward! Not to the
grave, but through the grave. The Christian revelation gives us the principles
of progress, and opens up the sphere for their exercise, by its unveiling of
the immortal state.
VI. The call to go
forward tells us that we have supernatural assistance to go forward. When in
our earthly life, God calls us to human progress, what aids He gives us in
fellowship, friendship, and love! And when in a spiritual sense God says, Go
forward, He does not leave us to ourselves. Go back to your first Communion--to
brotherly sympathy and prayer--to tender help from hearts that now rest. What a
way it has been! (W. M. Statham, M. A.)
Excelsior
1. Going forward supposes difficulty. You will find sometimes the
path to be steep and uneven, rugged and rough. None but the brave go forward.
The way, though right, is not always smooth and pleasant, charmed with music
and song and perfumed with the fragrance of flowers, but much of a contrary
kind. This is true of every enterprise in which men are engaged where either fame or opulence are
sought. Thus, a man will be a successful painter, sculptor, mechanic, or
merchant. Napoleon said of Massena that he was not himself till the battle
began to go against him; then, when the dead began to fall in ranks around him,
awoke his powers of combination, and he put on terrors and victory as a robe.
So it is in rugged crises, in unweariable endurance, and in aims which put
human sympathy out of question that the angel is shown. Nothing is gained that
is worth the having without difficulty. Things easily got readily go.
2. To go forward implies decision and energy. Indecision is relaxing
to the moral nature, it weakens, and has often proved fatal to the deepest
interests in some of life’s most solemn crises. To swing this way and that,
like the pendulum of the clock in the plane of its oscillation, without making
any advance forward, is most pitiable in a man. A French orator says,
“Indecision of movement shows lack, both in mind and heart; to wish and not to wish,
is most wretched; he who hesitates, totters, falls back, and is lost.” Then,
what is needed to secure true advancement is energy, decision of character,
force, concentration, the power to will and to execute. And this implies having
an aim, a definite object before us, and fixing the mind on that, moving
steadily, unfalteringly towards its attainment; to know where we are going,
looking to the grand final results, and measuring our steps accordingly.
3. To go forward implies patient endurance. The march sometimes will
be slow and weary--you will not always be able to go with “alacrity and
delight,” nor shall you find it “all glory going to glory.” Times will be when
the apostle’s saying will have a deep significance--“Ye have need of patience”;
and when obedience to the injunction--“In patience possess your souls,” will be
the highest point of heroism. Times when the way is dark and slippery, and
adverse forces combine to stop your progress, and when, if you can move at all,
it will be but a step at a time.
4. This going forward implies an object. Something before and above us as yet, and
that may be attained to and won by diligent toil, application, study, and
earnest pressing after. This, then, is the grand end of all going forward--the
attainment of glory. It is not now, nor here, but beyond and above. (J.
Higgins.)
Forward
I. First, we will
contemplate the children of Israel as a flock of fugitives; and in this light
they give encouragement to trembling sinners, flying from the curse of the law
and from the power of their sins. You are trying to escape from your sins; you
are not, as you used to be, a contented bondsman. You have been flying as best
you could from sin; but the whole of your sins are after you, and your
conscience with its quick ear can hear the sound of threatening judgment.
“Alas!” your heart is saying, “unless God help me, I shall be in hell.” “Alas!”
says your judgment, “unless God be merciful, I shall soon perish.” Every power
of your manhood is now upon the alarm. Now, what shall I do for you? Shall I
pray for you? Ay, that I will. But, methinks, while I am praying for you, I
hear my Master saying, “Wherefore criest thou unto Me?” Tell them to go
forward; preach Christ to them, instead of praying any longer, or bidding them
pray. Deliver to them the message of the gospel--“Forward, sinner, forward to
the Cross!”
II. Secondly, we
may view the great company who came out of Egypt as an army under command;
therefore, they must obey. The command given to them is, “Forward!” “Sir, I
have begun to be a Christian, but, if I continue in it, I shall lose my
business. My calling is such that I cannot be honest in it, and serve my God
faithfully. What ought I to do? Ought I not to give up my religion?” Forward I
no matter what is before you. Forward! you are not fit to be a soldier of
Christ unless you can count all costs, and still hold fast to the Cross of
Christ. “Ah!” says one, “but what is to become of my children, my household?”
Friend, I cannot tell thee, but God can. It is thine to trust them with
Him, for the only command I have for you is, Forward! forward! “But my husband
says, I shall never come into the house again; my father tells me he will turn
me out of doors.” Be it so, no one pities you more than I do; but I dare not
alter my message to your soul. “Go forward!” “Well,” says one, “these are hard
commands.” Yes, but the martyrs had harder still.
III. Let us view
these people as on the march towards Canaan. Many of you are on your way
towards heaven, and the Lord’s command to you is “Forward! forward!” There are
some persons who cannot be persuaded to make an advance in the Divine life. We
ought to go forward in--
1. Knowledge;
2. Faith;
3. Fellowship with Christ;
4. Work for our Master.
IV. To Christians
in trouble our text is applicable. The children of Israel were in a trial into
which God had brought them; and it is an absolute certainty, that if God brings
you in, He will bring you out. He never did take a saint where he must of
necessity perish. What is to be done now? God’s word is--“Forward!” God shall
fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.
V. The Israelites
were upon a divine mission. They were going up to slay the Canaanites.
Preaching is the great weapon of God for pulling down strongholds; it will pull
down the hugest blocks of stone the enemy can pile together, I would I could
make every member of this Church feel in earnest about doing good.
VI. Soon you and I
will stand on the brink of Jordan’s river; the deep sea of death will roll
before us; trusting in Jesus, we shall not fear the last solemn hour. We shall
hear the angel say, “Forward!” we shall touch the chilly stream with our feet,
the flood shall fly, and we shall go through the stream dry-shod. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Don’t halt; “go forward”
It is the first step that costs. When the Israelites came up to
the Red Sea, the command of God was: “Speak to the Children of Israel that they
go forward,” The command is peremptory. It admits of no delay. “Go forward.”
Death is behind you. Hell followeth hard after you. There is no salvation in
retreat, Heaven lies before you, not behind. No man ever saved his soul by
relapsing into indifference.
1. Perhaps you say, “I have prayed many a time already, and no
blessing has yet come.” Will you cease to pray then? Will that bring an answer?
How many a soul has quit praying when the door of mercy was just about opening!
Go forward.
2. Another one is kept back by fear of ridicule. He cannot stand a
laugh. There is a sneer waiting for him at his father’s table, or a cutting
sarcasm in his countingroom. He wavers before it. Go forward; the sea will open
to you, and so will many a heart to cheer you on. You will inspire respect in
the very quarters from which you now expect opposition.
3. A third person complains: “I am in the dark; I cannot see my way.”
Then go forward, and get out of the dark. The determination to do your duty
will be attended by a luminous discernment of the path of duty.
4. Unbelief draws back a fourth. There is only one way to conquer
doubt. It is, to believe. End the torturing uncertainty by going forward,
“looking unto Jesus.” The only way to do a thing is to do it. God gives
strength to the
obedient. He has no promises for cowards, or double-minded vacillating
doubters. (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)
Safety in progress
Flying birds are never taken in a fowler’s snare. (Archbp.
Seeker.)
Go forward
And why were they to go forward? Not because there was less danger
in the one path than in the other; there was much in both, and apparently more
in the advancing than in the retreating path; but because to go forward was the
path of duty and the command of God. Certainly advance is the great law of the
Christian life, as well as of the universe. All things in nature and history go
forward. The stream moves forward, not a wave of it turns back; its every eddy,
even, is, in reality, advancing. The winds move forward, pausing, indeed, often
on their journey, lingering amidst the locks of the pine, or in the cleft of
the rock, but speedily resuming their onward sweep again. The stars--the earth
included--move forward, “hasting not, resting not,” seeking, it is said, some
distant centre. Science, art, philosophy, literature, every species of
knowledge, move forward; invention following invention, discovery, discovery;
one man of genius eclipsing another, to be in his turn outshone. Time moves
forward, oh, how rapidly! and how his vast wings seem to say, as they rush
along, “I have an engagement at the judgment seat; I have an appointment in
eternity, and I must fulfil it. My King’s business requireth haste.” Christ
Himself never rested. He was never in a hurry, but He was always in haste. The
difference between Him and many of His people is, His life was short, and He
knew it, and did the most in it; theirs, too, is short, but they know it not,
and do not with their might what their hand findeth to do. God Himself even,
with all the leisure of eternity, is not losing an hour, but is carrying on His
broad plans, with undeviating regularity and increasing swiftness, and surely
men should aspire in this respect to be imitators of, and fellow-workers with,
God. Christ’s religion, too, has been active and progressive; sometimes frozen
up for a time like a river, but, like a river, working under the ice, and when
spring arrived making up for the time lost by the increased rapidity of its
course. And so with the path of the individual; like the river, the winds, the
stars, the Eternal Himself, it must advance. Our motto should be “Excelsior.”
The progress of the Christian, indeed, is often from one difficulty to another;
and very idle for him, in this earth, to expect an unvaried course of even
moderate peace and happiness. No, no! he only exchanges one difficulty for
another. True, there is a difference between the character of the difficulties.
In becoming a Christian, a man quits the path of destruction for the Hill
Difficulty, midnight for morning twilight, the wrath of a judge for the
discipline of a father, the brink of hell for the thorny road to heaven;
Pharaoh, the devil’s agent, for the Red Sea, which is God’s ocean, and through
which He cain provide a passage. We are urged forward alike by the command of
God, the expectation of rest, and the hope of heaven, Ay! and even there the
word of command is to be “Forward!” No more Red Seas, indeed, no wilderness, no
battles to be fought, no enemies to be overcome; but still it is an onward
course which shall be pursued for ever by the people of God. Heaven would cease
to be heaven were this progress to stop. For what is heaven but the fire of the
Infinite Mind for ever unfolding itself to the view and reception of God’s
creatures? We hear of people on earth whose “education is finished.” Ah,
Christian, thy education shall never be finished! There is only one Being whose
education was ever finished, or, rather, whose education never began--God. All
others, having entered on their future abode, are to go onwards, pressing
toward the mark, punting, running, hoping, believing, loving more and more,
throughout the ages of eternity. All difficulties, we should remember, will
yield to faith, prayer, and perseverance. (G. Gilfillan.)
Forward, the true direction
Livingstone, having broken fresh ground among the
Bakh-atlas, wrote to the Directors of the London Missionary Society, explaining
what he had done, and expressing the hope that it would meet with their
approval. At the same time he said he was at their disposal “to go
anywhere--provided it be forward.” Pushing through obstacles:--What won’t, must
be made to. On these wintry days, when I cross the ferry to New York, I
sometimes see large thick cakes of ice lying across the path of the boat. They
will not take themselves out of the way; so the pilot drives the copper-cased
bow of his boat squarely against the ice-floes, cleaving them asunder. If they
will not get out of the way, they must be made to, and the propelling power
within is more than a match for the obstacles without. That is a fine passage
in the “Pilgrim’s Progress” where Christian approaches the Valley of the Shadow
of Death, and hears the howlings of the dragons, and sees the “discouraging
clouds of confusion” hanging heavy and black over the horrible place. He does
not flinch an instant. Crying out “I perceive not but that this is my way to
the desired haven,” he pushes his way through the frightful fiends and past the
mouth of the burning pit. The road to heaven is full of obstacles. They lie
right across every sinner’s path, and like the ice-floes around the boat, they
will not remove themselves. An energetic young man who starts life with a pile
of hindrances at his bow, understands that the battle of life is to smash
through them. David Livingstone, when a factory boy, and fastening his school
books on his loom to study Latin, was practising this process. You have to
contend with a depraved heart. It is just in the condition of a clock whose
inner works are a heap of disordered wheels and springs. They can be repaired,
and the clock will go. Your soul is dislocated and disordered by sin. The
Divine hand that made it can mend it. Sinful habits, long indulged, are
obstacles in your way. They are tendencies of the mind strengthened by frequent
repetition. If you have not any such horrible habits as swearing, or cheating,
or hard drinking, you have formed the habit of refusing all Christ’s rich offers
of salvation. This has been a hardening process--as the cart-wheels made a hard
beaten road across certain fields of my grandfather’s farm. Persistent push is
indispensable to your salvation. To enter into the strait gate requires
striving. To overcome obstacles requires might in the inner man, and that comes
from the Holy Spirit. Dr. Spencer tells us of a man who once came bursting into
his inquiry-meeting in almost breathless excitement. The poor man had been
walking back and forth between his own door and the meeting, until at last he
said, “I am determined to go into that inquiry-room or die in the attempt.” In
that fierce fight with a wicked heart, he not only had to call on God’s help,
but he said afterwards--“If you expect God to help you, you must be perfectly
decided.” (T. L. Cuyler, D. D.)
Verse 16
Through the midst of the sea.
The Red Sea
I. God’s
deliverance of Israel.
II. Judgment on
God’s enemies, as well as a deliverance of His friends.
III. God’s
separation of Israel for his service.
IV. The unity of
God’s redeemed ones. (E. N. Packard.)
The Red Sea
I. Protection at
the Red Sea.
1. The nature of the protection.
2. The all-sufficiency of the protection.
II. Deliverance
through the Red Sea.
1. Its means, A blending of the human and the Divine.
2. Its method.
III. The enemy
destroyed in the Red Sea.
1. The superinducing cause. The daring persistency of Pharaoh brought
him and his hosts into danger. So even with sinners. “Thou hast destroyed
thyself.”
2. God left Pharaoh and his hosts to themselves in the peril.
3. God caused the waters to return to their normal state.
Lessons:
1. Pharaoh undertook what no one has ever succeeded in--to fight
against God.
2. Moses placed himself and Israel in a relation to God, in which no
one has ever failed. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)
The passage of the Red Sea
1. Israel leaves Egypt for the purpose of proceeding to Canaan, the
promised land. A figure of an awakened soul, drawn to God, which takes the firm
and noble resolution to renounce all sin, and serve God, seeking first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness.
2. The fiery and cloudy pillar is the secret but powerful attraction
of the Father to the Son, which the soul follows, and by which it is faithfully
and correctly guided. Here the individual is brought to the salutary means of
grace, or they to him, in such a manner that he is afterwards obliged to
confess, that if a single, and often inconsiderable, circumstance of his life
had been otherwise, his whole course would have assumed another form.
3. The pursuing Pharaoh is a figure of the law in its strict and
insatiate requirements, as well as of Satan and the powers” of darkness. The latter soon
perceives when any one is desirous of escaping from him, and consequently
opposes him in every way. Some he torments with blasphemous, others with
unbelieving thoughts, etc.
4. The utterly helpless condition of the children of Israel
represents the oppressive weakness felt by the awakened soul.
5. But the Red Sea, which threatened destruction to the Israelites,
proved of the greatest benefit to them. And this very feeling of sin, misery,
and inability, which causes an awakened person so much uneasiness, turns to his
greatest advantage. For it serves, like the blindness of the man born blind,
and the death of Lazarus, to promote the Divine glory that Christ may be
honoured by it.
6. The way by which Israel was delivered was one which was most
miraculously opened; a way apparently dangerous and terrific, and hidden from
the Egyptians. This may be also said of the way by which the Lord leads His
people to life. For how wonderful is the way of salvation through the birth,
sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ!
7. A strong east wind arose, and dried the sea; and a rushing, like
the sound of a mighty wind, was the signal to the holy apostles of the approach
of the Holy Spirit. When He blows upon man, “all flesh is as grass, and all the
goodliness thereof as the flower of the field.” He it is that quickens.
8. The cloud, which overshadowed the people of Israel, protecting
them from the pursuing foe, descending upon them as a refreshing dew, and
serving by its radiance instead of a lamp, may be regarded as an emblem of the
Redeemer’s blissful mediation between God and man. From it drops a refreshing
dew upon the troubled heart, and a healing balm for the wounded conscience,
yea, a peace of God which passeth understanding.
9. Lastly, the divided sea is a type of baptism, and consequently of all
that which is requisite to purify the soul from sin. The Red Sea of the
Redeemer’s blood is the abyss into which the sins of believers are so deeply plunged, that,
if sought for, they can never be found; the sea which swallows up, overwhelms,
and drowns Satan, with all his host, and the old man, and quickens in us a new
man, who after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. This precious
blood of Christ, who offered Himself to God by the Holy Spirit, is that which
alone perfectly cleanses our consciences from dead works, to serve the living
God. (G. D. Krummacher.)
The Red Sea
Regarding this passage of the Red Sea as typical of some events in
the pilgrim-life of every Christian, let us say--
I. We are not
delivered at the beginning of the life of faith from all the old enemies of the
house of bondage.
II. The hour when
old enemies return may reveal the fact that no accumulation of confidence in
god has been gained by the experience of past deliverances. To most men the
great events of life seem to be disconnected. They bear no relation one to
another. If Fremont’s Peak and Pike’s Peak and the Spanish Peaks stood apart,
connected by no mountain-ridge, no great results would come from them upon soil
or climate. They would not determine the rain-fall or fix the trend of the
rivers. But, linked together by lofty mountain-chains, they become part of the
vast water-shed of a continent, fixed the length and course of the rivers and
causing the humid atmosphere and fertile soil on one side, the dry air and arid
wastes upon the other. So the great facts of Divine Providence, isolated and
separate one from another, have no determinative influence over life. But
linked together they make its moral atmosphere.
III. Some old
enemies of the soul may be utterly destroyed. Evil companionships abandoned,
etc.
IV. The
providential way of deliverance is often mysterious.
V. Deliverance
came to Israel not by human achievement, but by the power of God. The most
solemn hours of life are not times of great endeavour and of high achievement.
They are times when we are called to” Stand still, and see the salvation of the
Lord.” Such an hour is that when we begin the life of faith, not a time of achievement
when, by mental struggle and spiritual travail, we win the favour of God. It is
rather the time of self-surrender, when unreservedly we commit our ways to the
Lord, that He may work for us, and in us, His redeeming work. (W. G. Sperry.)
Verse 19-20
Between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel.
Lessons
1. God in Christ moveth Himself in His hand or work where the Church
doth most need help. Before and behind Israel is He.
2. God by Christ the Angel of His Covenant hath given and doth give
all help to His Church (Exodus 14:19).
3. God sets His posture for help between cruel persecutors and His
Church.
4. The very same means God makes to darken His enemies which
enlighten His people. So the gospel.
5. This interposition of God keeps the wicked world from destroying
His Church (Exodus 14:20). (G. Hughes, B.
D.)
The removal of Israel’s cloud to the rear
This passage leads me to speak of God our Rearward. It is God
alone who can make the past a source of peace and comfort. We think much of the
future; we desire greatly to have an assurance that all will be well with us in
time to come. We accept with gratitude the promise, “The Lord shall go before
thee”; but do we fully consider how important the concluding part of that
passage is--“and be thy rearward”?
I. We often need
to be deeply impressed with the memory of past blessings.
II. We need the
pillar of cloud behind us for our protection from the evil consequences of the
past. Wonderful sight! the angel of the Lord breaking camp and going to their
rear! that beautiful meteor, the guiding cloud, sailing back over their six
hundred thousand fighting men, powerless as their infants, while Egypt was
pouring out its swarming myriads to swallow them up. So, my soul! thy sins and
the hosts of hell are ready this day to destroy thee; but the angel of the
covenant has not forsaken thee; faith can see Him, as plainly as Israel beheld
Him going to their rear to stand between them and danger; are not His promises
a pillar of cloud to you, and do they not stand between you and the past,
saying, “I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own
sake, and will not remember thy sins”?
III. This rearward
angel and this pillar of cloud seem to bid me to say to believers, it shall be
well with you. For these two things are true concerning all who believe in
Jesus. First, you have not seen your best days; and, secondly, you never will.
Never through eternity, will you arrive at that summit of bliss from which you
will anticipate declension. Onward and upward is to be your way. (N. Adams,
D. D.)
Different effects of the same events and dealings
1. A family is visited by dreadful calamity; is reduced from a state
of ease and affluence to comparative want. The members of this family are of
very different characters; some of them sincere believers, devout worshippers,
faithful servants of God; ever considering their talents, as lent for God’s
use. Other members of the family are the reverse of all this; sensual, worldly,
regardless of spiritual things; caring for nothing, but that “to-morrow may be
as this day, and much more abundant.” Observe, now, how differently these
members of the same family will be affected by what has befallen them: how the
calamity will wear a bright side to some, and a dark side to others. Trouble of
another kind overtakes the same family; a friend, a relation, upon whom the
comfort of their life depended, is suddenly removed by the stroke of death.
Some acknowledge the providential hand of God, inflicting a wound, but
supplying a gracious remedy; they are drawn the more closely to their sure,
unchangeable Friend. But who are they, that are sitting down gloomy and
disconsolate and “refusing to be comforted”? They are the godless members of this family, whose
all is in the world, in the creature. And thus, while some are utterly
discomfited by this loss, others can find it to be their gain.
2. This leads me to speak upon the different impressions made upon
different persons by the means of grace, by the doctrines, and promises, and
precepts of the gospel. The humble, faithful servant of God, derives light and
life from every portion of Divine revelation. Very contrary to this are the
views and feelings of the blinded sinner; nay, of the careless, lukewarm,
outward believer. The same doctrines, which afford so much satisfaction and
peace to the godly wear to him a different aspect; “there is no beauty in them
that he should desire them”; no power derived from them even to affect, much
less to change, the heart. The same promises also appeal to him without any
encouraging, life-giving effect. And the same holy precepts, instead of being
loved and honoured, are a trouble to his soul: conscience whispers, that he
ought to obey them; and the law of God, instead of being his guide, stands in
opposition to him, and fills him with fear. “The light that is in him is
darkness”; that which is a light to others, and should be a light to him, is
perverted into darkness; and then, “how great is that darkness!” (J. Slade,
M. A.)
The glory in the rear
God is always with those who are with Him. If we trust Him, He
hath said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” There is a special and
familiar presence of God with those who walk uprightly, both in the night of
their sorrow, and in the day of their joy. Yet we do not always in the same way
perceive that presence so as to enjoy it. God never leaves us, but we sometimes
think He has done so. The sun shines on, but we do not always bask in his
beams; we sometimes mourn an absent God.
I. In considering
the subject of the Lord’s abiding with His people, I shall first call attention
to the Divine presence mysteriously removed. “The angel of God, which went
before the camp of Israel, removed.”
1. The symbol of God’s presence removed from where it had usually
been. So has it been with us at times: we have walked day after day in the
light of God’s countenance, we have enjoyed sweet fellowship with Jesus Christ
our Lord, and on a sudden we have missed His glorious manifestation.
2. Moreover, they missed the light from where they hoped it would
always be. Sometimes you also may imagine that God’s promise is failing you;
even the word of God which you had laid hold upon may appear to you to be
contradicted by your circumstances. Then your heart sinks to the depths, for
“if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”
3. The pillar of fire also removed from where it seemed more than
ever to be needed. Even thus is it with you, who once walked in the light of
God’s countenance; you perhaps have fallen into temporal trouble, and at the
same moment the heavenly light has departed from your soul. Now, it is bad to
be in the dark on the king’s highway; but it is worse to be in the dark when
you are out on the open common, and do not know your road. It is well to have a
guide when the road is easy; but you must have one when you are coming upon
precipitous and dangerous places. Then let him trust; but he will need all the
faith of which he can be master. Oh, my Lord, if ever Thou dost leave me,
forsake me not in the day of trouble.. Yet what have I said? It is a day of
trouble when Thou art gone, whatever my condition may be.
4. Thus it did seem a mysterious thing that the Covenant Angel should
no longer direct the marchings of the host of God, and I dare say that some of
them began to account for it by a reason which their fears would suggest. I
should not wonder that, if they had been asked why the blazing pillar was no
longer in the van, they would have replied, “Because of our murmurings against
the Lord and His servant Moses. God will not go before us because of our sins.”
This, however, would have been a mistake. There was not a touch of the rod
about this withdrawing of His presence from the van, not even a trace of anger;
it was all done in lovingkindness. So you must not always conclude that the
loss of conscious joy is necessarily a punishment for sin. Darkness of soul is
not always the fruit of Divine anger, though it is often so. Sometimes it is
sent for a test of faith, for the excitement of desire, and for the increase of
our sympathy with others who walk in darkness. There are a thousand precious
uses in this adversity. Yet it is a mysterious thing when the light of the
future fades, and we seem to be without a guide.
II. Now all this
while the Divine presence was graciously near.
1. The Angel of the Lord had removed, but it is added, He “removed
and went behind them,” and He was just as close to them when He was in the
rear, as when He led the van. He might not seem to be their guide, but He had
all the more evidently become their guard. He might not for the moment be their
Sun before, but then He had become their Shield behind. “The glory of the Lord
was their rereward.” Oh, soul, the Lord may be very near thee, and yet He may
be behind thee, so that thine outlook for the future may not be filled with the
vision of His glory.
2. Note in the text that it is said the pillar went, and “stood
behind them.” I like that, for it is a settled, permanent matter. The Lord had
removed, but He was not removing still. Even thus the Lord remaineth with the
dear child of God. Thou canst not see anything before thee to make thee glad,
but the living God stands behind thee to ward off the adversary. He cannot
forsake thee.
3. What is more, these people hart God so near that they could see
Him if they did but look back. See how the Lord has helped you hitherto.
4. A thoughtful person would conclude the Lord to be all the more
evidently near because of the change of His position. When a symbol of mercy
comes to be usual and fixed, we may be tempted to think that it remains as a
matter of routine. If the rainbow wore always visible it might not be so
assuring a token of the covenant. Hence the Lord often changes His hand, and
blesses His people in another way, to let them see that He is thinking of them.
III. The Divine
presence wisely revealed. That the symbol of God’s presence should be withdrawn
from the front and become visible behind, was a wise thing.
1. Observe, there was no fiery pillar of cloud before them, and that
was wise; for the going down into the Red Sea was intended to be an act of
lofty faith. The more of the visible the less is faith visible.
2. Moreover, let us mark that the cloudy pillar was taken away from
the front because the Lord meant them simply to accept His word as their best
guidance.
3. Moreover, God was teaching them another lesson, namely, that He
may be near His people when He does not give them the usual tokens of His
presence.
4. The host of Israel did not require any guide in front when they
came to the sea. “How is that?” say you. There were no two ways to choose from:
they could not miss the way, for they must needs march through the sea. So when
men come into deep trouble, and cannot get out of it, they scarcely need a
guide; for their own plain path is submission and patience.
5. What they did want was the pillar of cloud behind them, and that
is where they had it. What was that cloud behind them for? Well, it was there
for several reasons: the first was to shut out the sight of their enemies from
them. The cloudy pillar went behind for another reason, namely, that the
Egyptians might not see them. Their enemies were made to stumble, and were
compelled to come to a dead stand. Be calm, O child of God; for the Covenant
Angel is dealing with your adversaries, and His time is generally the night.
IV. That the Divine
presence will one day be more gloriously revealed. “The Lord will go before
you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.” This is the condition into
which the Lord brings His people when they depart from Babylon, and are no more
conformed to this present evil world.
V. This Divine
presence has a twofold aspect: that
same glory which lit up the canvas city, and made it bright as the day,
darkened all the camps of Egypt. They could see nothing, for the dark side of
God was turned to them. Oh, is it not a dreadful thing that to some men the
most terrible thing in the world would be God? If you could get away from God,
how happy you would be! One of these days Jesus will tell you to depart. “Keep
on as you were,” says He, “you were always departing from God; keep on departing.
Depart from Me ye cursed!” That will be the consummation of your life. (C.
H. Spurgeon.)
Lessons
I. The sureness of
God’s interposition when He is needed, in the way His wisdom chooses (Exodus 14:19). When we are called to
difficult duty, God will keep His promise to be with us, and always His help
will be found stationed at the exposed point.
II. The revelation
of a twofold character in God’s dealings with men (Exodus 14:20; see Luke 2:34; 2 Corinthians 2:16; Revelation 11:5; Matthew 21:42-44; John 9:39).
III. The practical
bearing of a courageous faith (Exodus 14:21). We may never be put before
an actual ocean tossing with billows under difficult stress of demand like
this; but we shall often be placed where mere obedience is commanded, and where
God’s covenant is all that ensures success. “Doing duty belongs to us;
achieving deliverance belongs to God.” Then it is that an unbroken faith
“laughs at impossibility,” and says, “It shall be done!”
IV. The perfect
safety of a believer’s exposure, upon a promise of the living God (Exodus 14:22). One of Aristotle’s sayings
may well be quoted here. He says: “Every how rests upon a that.” That is, if
God has declared that a difficult duty is to be done, He may be trusted to show
how it is to be done. He will never ask us into straits of obedience without
providing for our preservation. And when once a path of service is lying out
before us, it does not matter at all how dangerous it appears; we shall go
through it without harm. So our safety is in the exposure when God is our
companion. His love will hold the sea-walls steady, and the seawalls will keep
back Pharaoh. Some solicitous friends once warned Whitefield to spare himself
in such extraordinary efforts; he only answered with words that long ago went
into history “I am immortal till my work is done!”
V. The
forgetfulness and incorrigibleness of a daring unbelief (Exodus 14:23).
VI. The mercy of
God, exhibited in the fact that the way of the transgressor is hard (Exodus 14:24). Up to the last moment
there was a chance for that pursuing army to retreat by the way they came. So
it was a manifest benevolence to them on the part of God to hinder them as much
as possible. Chrysostom calls attention to the familiar fact that God always
warns before He waits, and waits before He strikes, and strikes before He
crushes, so as to give space for repentance. He threatens plagues so that we
may avoid plagues; and indeed, remarks the golden-tongued orator, it is
doubtful whether the prospect of hell has not availed as much as the promise of
heaven in hindering the blasphemies of open sin. We may safely assert now that
many a man has had occasion to thank God that his chariot-wheels drave heavily,
so that he recognized the hindering hand of his Maker (Exodus 14:25).
VII. Our last lesson
is concerning the sure judgments of Almighty wrath when once the cup of
iniquity is full (Exodus 14:26). (C. S. Robinson, D. D.)
A double aspect
It makes a good deal of difference which side of a barrier you are
on, in your estimate of the actual worth of that barrier. To the burglar, a
strongly barred door is a great annoyance. It is a real comfort to those who
can lie down to sleep behind it at night. A garden wall is a pleasant
protection to those who can walk freely within its enclosure. It frowns
gloomily on those whom it shuts out from a share of the joys within. Another’s
wrong-doing which separates him from us, may be a source of light to us and of
only despair to him. Even a cause of misunderstanding with others may be a
source of advantage to us and of worry to them. The cloud of trouble which they
and we faced together for a while, now that it has been put behind us, and
before them, may shed light on our path by the lessons it teaches us, while it
confuses them just as much as ever. The knowledge of the Scriptures, and the
commandments of the moral law, only make plainer the course of the child of
God; but they are a cause of continued trial and discomfort to him who is
unwilling to walk in the way God has pointed out. (H. C. Trumbull.)
The dividing pillar
A tradition current in the west of Scotland tells that when one of
the Covenanting preachers and his little band of hearers had been surprised on
a hill-side by the military, the minister cried out, “Lord, throw Thy mantle
over us, and protect us.” And immediately out of the clear sky there fell a
mist, which sundered and protected the pursued from the pursuers. And a
Netherland tradition tells how a little army of Protestants was once saved from
the king of Spain’s troops by the flashing lights and noise as of an army sent
by the Lord to throw confusion into the camp of the enemy. The teacher will
recollect the story of the Christian woman, who calmly awaiting in her home the
approach of the enemy, was, in answer to her prayer, saved from them by a
circling wall of snow. The dividing pillar is a reality yet. (S. S. Times.)
Different aspects of the same thing
There are many scenes in life which are either sad or beautiful,
cheerless or refreshing, according to the direction from which we approach
them. If, on a morning in spring, we behold the ridges of a fresh-turned
ploughed field from their northern side, our eyes, catching only the shadowed
slopes of the successive furrows, see an expanse of white, the unmelted remains
of the night’s hailstorm, or the hoar-frost of the dawn. We make a circuit, or
we cross over, and look behind us, and on the very same ground there is nothing
to be seen but the rich brown soil, swelling in the sunshine, warm with
promise, and chequered perhaps here and there with a green blade bursting
through the surface. (J. A. Froude.)
Verses 21-25 Made the sea
dry land.--
The sea-path
I. The deed of
valour. Moses walking down the gravelly beach into the sea; Israel following. A
lesson to us to come with boldness.
II. The miraculous
way. We walk in new and unseen ways.
III. The overthrow
of the enemy.
1. His wrath.
2. His foolhardiness; forgetting the plagues. All sin is irrational.
3. His sudden destruction. Death surprises the impenitent.
IV. The same
instruments both defending and destroying.
1. The cloud.
2. The water.
3. The gospel.
V. What Israel
found in the sea-path.
1. Rebuke for the murmuring.
2. Filial fear.
3. Trust in God.
4. Trust in Moses.
5. Nationality; before, they were all slaves, then free men, now a
nation.
Learn:
1. All people must struggle and dare.
2. Our characters come from soul-struggles where self is abandoned,
and trust is put in God.
3. Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.
4. God will, out of every temptation, make a way of escape. (Dr.
Fowler.)
A treacherous element
“An easy conquest!” said the eagle, attracted by the glittering
scales of a large fish, which shone through the clear, deep waters of the lake.
“An easy conquest!” As he dashed into the water, it was as if lightning had
smitten the cliff and a fragment of it had fallen into the lake. There was a
struggle; the fish dived, and drew the eagle with it. “Ah!” exclaimed the
drowning king of birds, “had I been in the air, who would have dared to measure
strength with me? But in this strange and treacherous element, I am overcome by
one whom elsewhere I should have despised.” (Great Thoughts.)
Safe in the danger of duty
“The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on
their left.” It is amazing what a blessing the things that we dreaded most
become to us, when we go straight toward them at the call of God! The sea of
business troubles, which looked as if it never could be crossed, but which we
had no choice but to enter, how it opened right and left as we came to it, and
then became to us a wall against competitors on either side, because we had
ventured into its very depths when it was our clear duty to do that and nothing
else! That desert life of danger which we entered with fear and trembling, at
the call of our country, or of some loved one of our family, or of some dear
friend, how its very exposures and trying experiences toughened us and trained
us, and made us stronger and manlier and happier, so that its results
to-day--its physical and mental and moral results-are as a wall of protection
to us on our right hand and on our left! There is no place in all the world so
safe for us as the place of danger, when danger is a duty. The best way of
caring for ourselves is not to care for ourselves. If we want to walk dry shod,
with a wall shielding us on either hand, the better way is to plunge right
overboard into a sea of work or of trial or of peril, when God says Go forward.
(H. C. Trumbull.)
Overthrew the Egyptians.
The destruction of the Egyptians
Consider this destruction of Pharaoh and his host as--
I. A judgment. It
was--
1. Sudden in its execution. No warning given.
2. Terrible in its nature. Involving the destruction of a whole army,
the picked men of the most powerful nation in the world.
3. Well merited by the subjects of it. Repeated warnings were
conveyed in the plagues, yet all were now disregarded.
II. A deliverance.
Israel delivered from Pharaoh--
1. Out of a perilous situation.
2. Notwithstanding their want of faith.
3. By a glorious miracle.
III. A lesson to--
1. The sinner. Beware lest your end be like Pharaoh’s; heed the
warnings given to you.
2. The Christian. Learn to know the greatness of your deliverance
from the host of Satan. (H. Barnard, B. A.)
It is not always safe to follow those who are in the path of duty
A place that is the safest in the world for one man may be the
most dangerous in the world for the next man. The portcullis which comes down
to shut in the endangered refugee, may crush to death his close pursuer.
Because another man actually saves his life and acquires new strength by
exposing himself in some sea of battle, or pestilence, or perils of search for
a lost one, it is no reason why you should venture in that same line. II God
told him to go there, the very waves of danger were a shield to him; but if you
have no call there, those waves may overwhelm you. His risks in business prove
his safety, because he made them in faith, when God commanded them. They would
be your ruin if you presumed on them without a command from God, The question
for you is not, Is that other man safe in that sea? but, Do I belong there? The
call of God settles the question of your place of duty and your place of
safety. God gives the walls of protection to His children when they are where
He tells them to be. God throws down those very walls on those who have no
business to be there. (H. C. Trumbull. )
Thus the Lord saved Israel
The great deliverance
Had it not been for this great deliverance, the children of Israel
would only have been remembered in the after-history of the world as the slaves
who helped to build the Pyramids.
Their religion was fast perishing among them, their religious rites forgotten;
and they would soon have been found among the worshippers of the monster gods
of Egypt. But God had better things in store for them, when He led them through
the Red Sea, making a path for them amid the waters.
I. It was one of
the greatest blessings for the human race, that during the preservation of the
Jewish people, the great truth of the personality of God, and His nearness to
His people, was set before them in language which could not be mistaken. And it
is one of the greatest blessings which we enjoy, that we have the same Lord
personally presented to us, revealed in the risen and glorified Lord Jesus
Christ.
II. God is set
before us here not only as a Person, but as a person who cares with all a
father’s love and watchfulness for his own people, Our hopes in days of doubt
and difficulty are directed to the same personal fatherly care of the great God
who loves all His creatures, and who loves Christians above all in the Lord
Jesus Christ.
III. When a great
national victory is achieved, what boots it to him who loses his life in the
hour of victory? The question for us is, not whether God has wrought a great
deliverance, but whether we as individuals are partakers of that deliverance,
partakers of the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Archbishop Tait.)
Israel’s deliverance
I. The state of
the Israelites when Moses came to them.
1. They were in bondage.
2. They were so far conscious of the misery of their position that
they had a strong desire for liberty.
3. They were by no means ready at first to accept the message of
God’s deliverance.
4. They had their comforts even in slavery. In all these things we
have a picture of ourselves.
II. The
deliverance.
1. The moment the Passover is observed, that moment Pharaoh’s power
is broken. The moment that all is right between us and God, that moment Satan’s
power is broken, and he can no longer hold us in bondage.
2. The waters of judgment which saved the Israelites were the means
of destroying the vast hosts of Egypt. The power of Satan is broken by the very
means by which he intended to destroy.
3. It is our privilege to take our stand on the other side of the Red
Sea, and see ourselves “raised up with christ” into a new life. (W. Hay
Aitken, M. A.)
The diving deliverer recognised
And this mighty God, who so delivered Israel in ancient time, is
our God for ever and ever. The walls and covering of our habitations are as
truly upheld and kept from falling and crushing us to death, by the Divine
hand, as were the walls of waters kept upright, like solid stone, by Almighty
power, while the Hebrews passed safely between. We say that it was miracle
which protected them, and the laws of nature which protect us. But in both
cases it is God. The deepest and truest philosophy of life and faith for us is
to bring ourselves into the most intimate relations with the infinite God. The
most profound and accurate student of nature is he whose eye is quickest to see
the plan and purpose of an intelligent, governing Mind in everything that
exists. What should we think of an Israelite walking through the depths of the
sea on dry ground, between walls of water standing up like marble on either
hand, and yet not recognizing the intended and merciful display of the Divine
power for his protection? What should we think of a ransomed Hebrew standing on
the safe shore of the Red Sea on that memorable morning, and yet refusing to join
in the song of thanksgiving for the great deliverance of the night? The same
that we ought to think of one who lies down to sleep at night in his own house, and goes to his
daily occupation in the morning, and never prays, never offers thanksgiving to
God, for the mercy which redeems his life from destruction every moment. In God
we live, and move, and have our being. Every use of our faculties, every
sensation of pleasure, every emotion of happiness, every possession,
experience, and hope that makes existence a blessing, is a witness to us of
God’s special, minute, and ceaseless attention to our welfare. (D. March, D.
D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》