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The Song of Moses15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the L ord: “I will sing to the L ord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. 2 The L ord is my strength and my might, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. 3 The L ord is a warrior; the L ord is his name.
4 “Pharaoh’s chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his picked officers were sunk in the Red Sea. 5 The floods covered them; they went down into the depths like a stone. 6 Your right hand, O L ord, glorious in power— your right hand, O L ord, shattered the enemy. 7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrew your adversaries; you sent out your fury, it consumed them like stubble. 8 At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up, the floods stood up in a heap; the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea. 9 The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them. I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.’ 10 You blew with your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the mighty waters.
11 “Who is like you, O L ord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, doing wonders? 12 You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.
13 “In your steadfast love you led the people whom you redeemed; you guided them by your strength to your holy abode. 14 The peoples heard, they trembled; pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia. 15 Then the chiefs of Edom were dismayed; trembling seized the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted away. 16 Terror and dread fell upon them; by the might of your arm, they became still as a stone until your people, O L ord, passed by, until the people whom you acquired passed by. 17 You brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your own possession, the place, O L ord, that you made your abode, the sanctuary, O L ord, that your hands have established. 18 The L ord will reign forever and ever.” 19 When the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his chariot drivers went into the sea, the L ord brought back the waters of the sea upon them; but the Israelites walked through the sea on dry ground. The Song of Miriam20 Then the prophet Miriam, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand; and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dancing. 21And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the L ord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea.” Bitter Water Made Sweet22 Then Moses ordered Israel to set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. 23When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter. That is why it was called Marah. 24And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” 25He cried out to the L ord; and the L ord showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the L ord made for them a statute and an ordinance and there he put them to the test. 26He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the L ord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and give heed to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians; for I am the L ord who heals you.” 27 Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they camped there by the water. New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
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17. Thou shalt bring them in. The metaphor of planting denotes a firm habitation; as also in Psalm 44:2, “Thou didst drive out the heathen with thine hand, and plantedst” our fathers, and causedst them to take root. Moreover, by his commendatory allusion to the temple, Moses excites in the people’s hearts a desire for the land, which was to be God’s “Sanctuary;” and by this secret thought attracts them, indifferent as they were, to seek the enjoyment of this great blessing. He also prophesies of Mount Sion many ages before the temple was erected there; from whence we gather that it was not chosen by man’s will, but consecrated by the eternal counsel and predestination of God. For it behooved that the gratuitous favor of God should manifest itself as to this place, as well as to men’s persons. Thus, in Psalm 78:67, it is said, “He refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim; but chose the of Judah,” etc. Elsewhere also, (Psalm 132:13, 14,) “For the Lord hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation: this is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it.” But the stability of the temple is also foretold; as in another passage,167167 It will be seen that the sense, and not the words, of the citation are given. “Thy hand hath founded Zion.” (Psalm 87:1.) And God himself declares by Isaiah that He will not suffer Jerusalem to be laid waste, (Isaiah 37:26,) because of ancient times He had formed it. But although the whole land of Canaan is elsewhere called God’s rest, and the people was never collected into one city, yet, because God blessed the whole nation and land out c f His sanctuary, therefore is special mention made of His holy mountain. But this prophecy was very needful for the support of their minds, because Jerusalem only came into their power at a late period; and doubtless their posterity would have been still more slow to take possession of it had not their hearts been stimulated by this promise. A short sentence follows concerning God’s eternal reign, on which the perpetuity of the Church is founded. Thus David, (Psalm 102:27,) after having said that God would always be the, same, and His years would have no end, thus concludes, “The children of thy servants shall continue, and their deed shall be established before thee.” (Ver. 28.) Moses, then, would extend the hope of the people to all ages, because of God’s kingdom there is no end. |