This chapter contains the song of Moses, and of the children of Israel, on the banks of the Red sea; in which they celebrate their passage through it, the destruction of Pharaoh and his host in it, and the glory of the divine perfections displayed therein, interspersed with prophetic hints of…

Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord Which is the first song recorded in Scripture, though no doubt before this time songs of praise were sung to the Lord; the people of God having occasion in all ages more or less to sing his praises.

The Lord is my strength and song . The strength of Moses and the children of Israel against the fears of the Egyptians, and of entrance into the Red sea; who inspired them with courage, and strengthened their faith, neither to fear being destroyed by the one, or drowned in the other; and so in the…

The Lord is a man of war A “man”, which has respect to the future incarnation of Christ, for as yet he was not really man; though it was purposed, covenanted, agreed to, and prophesied of, that he should, as he after was; not a mere man, as appears by the following clause: “a man of war”; or a…

Pharaoh’s chariots and his hosts hath he cast into the sea, &c.] Which was done by the Angel of the Lord, who was Jehovah himself, our Immanuel, and man of war, as appears from (Ex. 14:17, Ex.

The depths have covered them The depths of the sea covered Pharaoh and his host, so as to be seen no more; and in like manner will mystical Babylon, or antichrist, be destroyed, and be no more found and seen; as likewise the sins of God’s people, being cast into the depths of the sea, and covered…

Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power In bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt, and through the Red sea, and in the destruction of Pharaoh and the Egyptians; and so the right hand of Christ, expressive of his power, he has in and of himself, and is the same with his Father’s,…

And in the greatness of thine excellency Christ has an excellency in him, a greatness of excellency, a superlative one; he has a more excellent name and nature than the angels, being a divine Person; and a more excellent ministry, as man and Mediator, than any of the sons of men, as prophet,…

And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together From the bottom of the sea, and divided and laid on heaps; and this by a strong east wind, called the blast of the nostrils of the Lord, because as easily brought by him as a man’s breath or wind is drawn through his nostrils; and…

The enemy said That is, Pharaoh, who repented that he had let Israel go; an emblem of Satan, who when the people of God are taken out of his hands is uneasy at it, and seeks to recover them again into his possession; or of antichrist breathing out threatening and slaughter to the saints, the…

Thou didst blow with thy wind A strong east wind, which is the Lord Christ’s, who has it in his treasury, holds it in his fists, sends it out as he pleases, and it fulfils his word and will: the sea covered them; which stood up in an heap as a wall to let Israel pass through, and fell down with all…

Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? &c.] For the perfections of his nature, for the blessings of his goodness, and for the works of his hands; and especially for the greatness and excellency of his power, seen in the salvation of his people, and the ruin of their enemies: there is none…

Thou stretchedst out thy right hand That is, exerted his power, and gave a display and proof of it; of which the right hand is an emblem: the earth swallowed them; meaning Pharaoh and his host; for though they were drowned in the sea, that being a part of the terraqueous globe, they may be said to…

Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed From their servitude and bondage in Egypt; and so they were the Lord’s people, peculiar to him, and distinct from all others: those he led forth, as out of Egypt, so through the Red sea onward towards Canaan’s land; which was…

And the people shall hear, and be afraid What follows from hence to the end of the song is plainly prophetic, a prediction of future events; and this clause respects the case of all the nations of the earth, who should hear the report of the plagues, brought upon the Egyptians for the sake of…

Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed, &c,] Of which there were many, see the land being first governed by dukes, as perhaps it was at this time, though in some few years after it had a king, now these, when they heard of the wonderful things that were done for Israel in Egypt, at the Red sea, and…

Fear and dread shall fall upon them &c.] On the several nations and people before mentioned, especially the Canaanites, which the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem interpret of the fear of death, lest the Israelites should fall upon them and destroy them, or God should fight for them, against them,…

Thou shalt bring them in Into the land of Canaan, which is often ascribed to the Lord, as well as his bringing them out of the land of Egypt, see , and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance; in the country which he chose for the inheritance of his people and himself; one part of which was…

The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. ] Even that same Lord that is spoken of throughout this song, and to whom everything in it is ascribed, and who is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ; his reign began in eternity, when he was set up and anointed as King over God’s holy hill of Zion, his…

For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea Meaning not that particular and single horse on which Pharaoh was carried, but all the horses of his that drew in his chariots, and all on which his cavalry was mounted; these all went into the Red sea, following…

And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron The same, it is highly probable, that is called the sister of Moses, (Ex. 2:3, Ex. 2:4, Ex. 2:7, Ex. 2:8) , her name Miriam is the same as Mary with us, and signifies bitterness; and, as the Hebrews [[22]] observe, had it from the bitterness of the…

And Miriam answered them The men, for the word is masculine; that is, repeated, and sung the same song word for word after them, as they had done, of which a specimen is given by reciting the first clause of the song: sing ye to the Lord; which is by way of exhortation to the women to sing with…

So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea Or “caused them to journey” [[0]], which some think was done with difficulty, they being so eager and intent upon the spoil and plunder of the Egyptians cast upon the sea shore, the harness of their horses being, as Jarchi observes, ornamented with gold and…

And when they came to Marah A place in the wilderness, afterwards so called from the quality of the waters found here; wherefore this name is by anticipation: they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; and they must be very bitter for people in such circumstances, having…

And the people murmured against Moses For bringing them into a wilderness where they could find no water fit to drink; saying: what shall we drink? what shall we do for drink? where can we drink? this water is not drinkable, and, unless we have something to drink, we, and our wives, and children,…

And he cried unto the Lord Or prayed, as all the Targums, that God would appear for them, and relieve them in their distress, or, humanly speaking, they must all perish: happy it is to have a God to go to in time of trouble, whose hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that he…

And said, if thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God By this and the following words, they are prepared to expect a body of laws to be given unto them, as the rule of their future conduct; and though they were delivered from the rigorous laws, bondage, and oppression of the…

And they came to Elim On the twenty fifth of Nisan; for, according to Aben Ezra, they stayed but one day at Marah. Elim, as a late traveller [[16]] says, was upon the northern skirts of the desert of Sin, two leagues from Tor, and near thirty from Corondel; according to Bunting [[17]] it was eight…