they did so; and thus, instead of rounding the head of the Red Sea near Suez, they reach its banks about thirty miles farther south, where they were placed in a position of great apparent danger, being quite hemmed in by the mountains, the desert, and the sea.

It is no objection to this account, but, on the contrary, its highest recommendation, to say that no human leader would have adopted this course. Certainly not. But it was taken for this very purpose,—that a yet more signal display of Jehovah's power might be made in the punishment of Egypt, and the deliverance of Israel.

When,

Although the Hebrews had departed, the heart of Pharaoh went after them. The loss of two millions of slaves would be severely felt; and this loss was greatly aggravated by recollections of the sufferings and humiliation of Egypt under the successive plagues. The Israelites were consequently watched, in the first stages of their journey, with malicious scrutiny and determined ill-will. therefore, it was reported to Pharaoh that by the direction of their course from Etham the Israelites were entangled in the wilderness, he immediately headed his army, and speedily placed all the power of Egypt in the rear of the Hebrew host. The Israelites now saw their danger, and in an agony of grief cried unto the Lord, and severely reproached Moses with having brought them "to die in the wilderness." The fault of the Israelites on this occasion was a want of faith in God.* Their case was such as justly to excite all this apprehension, if the Lord had not been their leader and protector. But he carried out his purpose. The cloud covered the rear of the Hebrews, so that the Egyptians could not come near them all the night, while Moses was commanded to stretch out his rod over the sea. Nothing can exceed the moral sublimity of this scene: the furious rage and cruel determination of the Egyptians; the helpless condition and deep distress of the whole Hebrew people; the calm dignity of Moses, who, acting as the instrument of

Jehovah, wields the power of the Almighty. He soothes the excited multitude with words of peace, and promises of salvation. A strong east wind blows, the waters of the sea are divided, a pathway is made through the deep, and the host of Israel is led over the bed of the sea as on dry ground, the waters standing as a wall on the right hand and on the left. Intoxicated with envy, rage, and thirst for spoil, the army of Pharaoh pursues in the same manner; but when all the people of Israel had reached the other side, and they and all their substance were safe, then Moses again, by divine command, stretched forth his rod over the sea, and it returned to its natural state, overwhelming all the pride of Egypt, and destroying every man of the army in the mighty deep.

The immediate effect of this astonishing event was, the safety of the Israelites. If they had pursued any other course, as it would have been possible at any time for the king of Egypt to have pursued them, so a dread of his doing so might for years have haunted the minds of the Hebrew people, and terrified them in the course of their wandering career. This signal interposition destroyed this apprehension: with the death of the Egyptian army perished every probability of further injury from that

nation.

Another consequence of this miraculous salvation would be, the possession of great spoil, especially in weapons and armour. The flower of Pharaoh's army, the chivalry of Egypt, as they lay on the shores of the Red Sea, would furnish the Israelites with a very valuable and easily acquired booty, and one, too, of which, in respect of their future destiny, they stood in great need.

A further result of this display of divine power, is to be traced in the future progress of the elect nation. It did much in this respect, by impressing the Israelites with a conviction of the goodness and power of their Lord Jehovah. If any event could have effectually rebuked their unbelief, and raised in every heart a strong and steady faith in God, surely this miraculous deliverance would have done it. Nor do all their

future waywardness and murmuring prove that it had not a very salutary and powerful effect. It also did much to facilitate the future progress of the Hebrews, by magnifying the mighty power of Jehovah in the estimation of all surrounding nations. When our rationalistic divines discover a way in which this event might have happened under the operation of merely natural causes, and refer to some uncommon secession of the tide, or other happy accident, as means by which without a miracle the escape of Israel and the ruin of Egypt might have taken place, they would do well to consider, if it were so, how, without a still greater miracle, all the surrounding nations at this time, and for generations afterwards, were so strongly impressed with the marvellous character of this event. So deep and wide-spread was the conviction that this was a miracle of the highest order, a glorious display of infinite power, a clearer revelation of the might of God than the world had ever before seen, that, forty years afterward, kings trembled on their thrones at the recollection of the circumstance; and, what is yet more remarkable, a poor private woman in a small town on the banks of the Jordan could say, forty years after the exodus, "I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. FOR WE HAVE HEARD HOW THE LORD DRIED UP THE WATER OF THE RED SEA FOR YOU, when ye came out of Egypt. And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath." (Joshua ii. 9-11.) The entire history of the world refutes the assumption, that a fortunate accident could have produced such an extensive and enduring impression of wonder and of awe as this. Nor could any thing have contributed more effectually to promote the future success of the Hebrew cause, than their deep and settled conviction that they were the elect people of Almighty God, and specially aided by his infinite power.

All these results were contemplated at the time, of which the following magnificent verses afford ample proof:

"I will sing unto the Lord; for he hath triumphed gloriously:

The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

The LORD is my strength and song,

And is become my salvation :

He is my God, and him will I extol ;

My father's God, and him will I exalt.

Mighty in battle is the LORD; the LORD is his name.
Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea;
His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
The depths have covered them;

They sank down to the bottom as a stone.

Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power:

Thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown those who rose up against thee:

Thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble;

And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together: The floods stood upright as a heap,

And the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake,

I will divide the spoil; my desire shall be satisfied upon them;

I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.

Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them;

They sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the mighty ones?

Who is like thee, glorious in holiness,

To be praised with reverence, doing wonders?

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

Thou, in thy mercy, hast led forth the people whom thou hast redeemed:

Thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.

The people shall hear, and be afraid;

Sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.

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.

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, whom thou hast purchased.

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.

The LORD shall reign for ever and ever."

Thus sang Moses and the emancipated Hebrews, when they breathed the sweet air of heaven as freemen, on the

banks of the Red Sea, and saw their proud and cruel oppressors lying dead on the shore; while Miriam and her female associates joined in the chorus:

"Sing ye to the LORD; for he hath triumphed gloriously:
The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."

The glorious issue of this contest is worthy of very serious attention, not only as a fulfilment of divine promise, but also as a wonderful accomplishment of scripture prophecy. When Abraham was an old and childless man, the Lord had said unto him, "Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge and afterward shall they come out with great substance." (Gen. xv. 13, 14.) How strange and contradictory to the usual course of events does all this appear! Yet how strictly and literally was all fulfilled! Abraham and his sons were strangers in a land that was not theirs: this fact is indubitably attested by the purchase of a single field in which to bury their dead. For generations such was their condition. But, beyond this, the seed of Abraham were to serve a strange nation. It has been seen how fully this was fulfilled. They did, indeed, serve with rigour, and were made to drink deep of the cup of affliction. But God had said, "That nation I will judge;" and what judgments of God surpassed those wrought in the field of Zoan and at the Red Sea? What a glorious commentary on this prophecy is the history of the exodus ! Jehovah did indeed pour his judgments upon Egypt, and Israel left that land with "great substance." What a strange anomaly is this whole case! An afflicted and enslaved people leaving the land of their oppression, in defiance of their oppressors, yet without war or violence, and enriching themselves and spoiling their tyrant masters by the act! All this the prediction seemed to require, and all this the history amply details. As if to set forth this remarkable fact with the greatest prominence, full information is given respecting the wealth of the Israelites immediately after the