Bible Commentaries
Exodus 15

Verse 1

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Then sang Moses. — Presently upon the deliverance, while their hearts were hot, and the mercy fresh. No part of the thank offering might be kept unspent till the third day. Benefits soon grow stale, and putrify, as fish.

Verse 2

The LORD [is] my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he [is] my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

I will prepare him a habitation. — Or, I will adorn him i I will give him ornaments and trimmings. Such God accounts our poor praises.

Verse 3

The LORD [is] a man of war: the LORD [is] his name.

The Lord is a man of war. — Yea, he alone is a whole army of men, van and rear both. Isaiah 52:12 He sends the sword; Ezekiel 14:17 musters the men; Isaiah 13:4 orders the ammunition; Jeremiah 50:25 gives the victory: whence he is here styled by the Chaldee, The Lord and Victor of wars.

Verse 4

Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.

In the Red Sea. — So called, haply, from that red man, Esau or Edom, who usurped the dominion of that sea, now called Sinus Arabicus.

Verse 5

The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.

As a stone. — So shall Rome. Revelation 15:5 ; Revelation 18:21 Micah 7:19 The Jews, saith Montanus, took those things they abominated as filthy and unclean, and threw them into the sea. Ex lib. Misna. cap. de Phase.

Verse 6

Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

Hath dashed in pieces. — "It is a fearful thing to fall into the" punishing "hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31 For "who knoweth the power of his anger?" Psalms 90:11

Verse 7

And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, [which] consumed them as stubble.

That rose up against thee. — Because against thine. There is a league, offensive and defensive, betwixt God and his people.

Verse 8

And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, [and] the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

And with the blast. — In celebrating God’s favours, we must be punctual and particular.

Verse 9

The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.

The enemy said, I will. — They made account all was their own, but were soon confuted, as were likewise Sisera and Sennacherib. Where the beginning of a business is confidence, the end is confusion.

Verse 10

Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Thou didst blow, … — Here it was that the arm of the Lord put on strength to cut Rahab, and wound the dragon. Isaiah 51:9

Verse 11

Who [is] like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who [is] like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders?

Who is like unto thee? — One of the most stately descriptions of God that is found in Holy Writ. God is to be magnified: we must make room for him. This chapter Exodus 15:1-27 and Judges 5:1-31 are rightly called by one, "monumental chapters."

Verse 12

Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.

The earth swallowed them, — That is, the sea, which compasseth the earth about as a girdle: God having set the solid earth upon the liquid waters. See Jonah 2:6 Psalms 24:2 .

Verse 13

Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people [which] thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided [them] in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

Unto thy holy habitation. — Canaan, where God chose to dwell. This he is said already to have done, because he would certainly do it. God’s promises are his performances, and every former mercy a pledge of a future.

Verse 14

The people shall hear, [and] be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

So, now shall take hold. — So it did. 1 Samuel 4:8

Verse 15

Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.

Then the dukes of Edom. — See Deuteronomy 2:4 .

The mighty men. — See it fulfilled, Numbers 22:3 .

Shall melt. — So they did. Joshua 2:9-11

Verse 16

Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be [as] still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, [which] thou hast purchased.

Till thy people pass over. — Over Jordan; as now they have done over the Red Sea, into Canaan.

Verse 17

Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, [in] the place, O LORD, [which] thou hast made for thee to dwell in, [in] the Sanctuary, O Lord, [which] thy hands have established.

Of thine inheritance. — Provided and purchased by thee for thy firstborn, Israel.

Verse 18

The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.

The Lord shall reign. — Gaudeo quod Christus Dominus est; alioqui totus desperassem, writes Miconius to Calvin, upon the view of the Church’s enemies. The Lord Christ reigneth: or else I had been out of all hope of better.

Verse 19

For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry [land] in the midst of the sea.

For the horse of Pharaoh. — A good soul is altogether unsatisfiable in sanctifying God’s name, and setting forth his goodness. Should I do nothing else all the days of my life, said that martyr, yea, as long as the days of heaven shall last, but kneel on my knees and repeat David’s Psalms; yet should I fall infinitely short of what I owe to God. Act. and Mon.

Verse 20

And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

And Miriam. — Souls have no sexes: and if souls follow the temperament of their bodies, as philosophy saith they do, women’s bodies consist of rarer rooms, of a more exact composition than men’s do.

Verse 21

And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Sing ye to the Lord. — This seems to have been the burden of the song: as Psalms 134:1 .

Verse 22

So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

And found no water. — Thirst and bitterness was their first bad omen on their journey.

Verse 23

And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they [were] bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.

They could not drink. — Water they now had, but what the better? God can give us blessings, but with such a tang, that we shall have no great joy of them.

Verse 24

And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

Murmured against Moses. — He must bear the blame of all. Public persons are sure to have an ill life of it. Qui vitaverit culpam, non effugit infamiam. Seneca.

Verse 25

And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, [which] when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,

Showed him a tree. — A type of Christ’s sweet cross, and easy yoke, that sweeteneth and facilitateth all our light afflictions. The Jewish doctors tell us that this tree was bitter, and give us this note; It is the manner of the blessed God to sweeten that which is bitter by that which is bitter. In Tanct. sive Ilmedenu.

Verse 26

And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I [am] the LORD that healeth thee.

And said, If thou, … — This God premiseth as a preface to the law, to be shortly after given in Sinai.

I am the Lord that healeth thee. — Both on the inside, by "forgiving all thine iniquities," and on the outside, by "healing all thy diseases." Psalms 103:3 I am Jehovah the physician. And Omnipotenti medico nullus insanabilis occurrit morbus. Isidor. To an almighty physician no disease is incurable.

Verse 27

And they came to Elim, where [were] twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

And they came to Elim. — The heathens slandered the Jews, that they found these fountains by the means of certain asses that guided them. Whence they are called Asinarii by Melon and Appion of Alexandria; who affirmed that for this cause the Jews worshipped the golden head of an ass, … Corn. Tacit., Annul., lib. xii.