and no safe and straight caravan road was to lead them to the groves of Hebron and to the valley of the Jordan. By forty long and weary years of wandering in the desert, they were to be trained into a brave and independent nation.

During that fearful night when terror seized all Egyptians, the Israelites marched, or rather fled, from Rameses to Succoth, their first resting-place. One day's march more southward brought them to Etham on the edge of the wilderness; thence they had to turn back northward, in order to arrive nearer the northern extremity of the Gulf of Suez, where the passage was practicable; and they encamped 'before Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea against Baal-Zephon.' This backward movement of the Hebrews appeared to the Egyptians like helpless perplexity, and suggested to them the idea they are entangled in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.' But though the host was led by Moses, the Lord Himself guided them in a pillar of smoke by day, in a pillar of fire by night.

Meanwhile Pharaoh had recovered from the consternation of the tenth plague, and great was his dismay at the flight of the Israelites. There seemed but one course opened to him-to pursue the fugitives, and to force them back, slaves for evermore. The will of a despot is law; six hundred chosen war-chariots, all equipped with the fleet Egyptian horse, driven by skilful charioteers, and bearing the flower of the Egyptian army, were instantly assembled. Headed by the king himself, they hastened on and overtook the Israelites at Pihahiroth. When these beheld in the distance the chariots and the warriors of their enemies, their fear was boundless. They turned to Moses, upbraiding him: Because there were no graves in Egypt,' they exclaimed, 'hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore

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hast thou done this to us, to lead us forth out of Egypt ? Is not this the word that we spoke to thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.' But Moses, calm and firm in one of the most trying moments of his life, said: 'Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day: for as you have seen the Egyptians to-day, you shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord will fight for you, and you

shall keep yourselves quiet.'

Then Moses led the Israelites onwards until they came to the very borders of the Red Sea. The pillar of the Lord now changed its position; for, retreating from the front to the rear of the Hebrew hosts, it floated between the two armies; over the Israelites it shed a brilliant light, while it spread a veil of darkness over the Egyptians. But the Israelites seemed now hopelessly hemmed in between overwhelming dangers: the Egyptians were close behind them, while the waves of the Red Sea were breaking at their feet; the steep mountain passes were threatening on the right, the wilderness on the left. But glorious was their deliverance. Moses, commanded by the Lord, raised his staff, and stretched his hand over the sea; a strong east wind rose and blew the whole night. By that storm, the waters of the Red Sea were divided, and gathered into a wall on either side, leaving a dry passage in the midst. The Israelites marched at once along that dry path which extended from shore to shore, and gained the opposite side in safety. The Egyptians continued their pursuit without hesitation in the same track. But the wheels of their chariots became clogged in the bed of the sea, and glided off. They were unable to proceed; and they felt that they were once more vainly struggling against the Lord. They

turned to flee, but it was too late; for at the command of God, Moses stretched forth his staff, the waters resumed their usual course, and closed over the chariots and horses and warriors, over the whole host of Pharaoh; there remained not so much as one of them.'

31. THE SONG OF MOSES.

[EXOD. XV. 1-21.]

In the dim light of the early dawn, the Israelites, gathered in trembling groups on the borders of the Red Sea, witnessed the sudden and complete annihilation of their terrible foes: then they turned in happiness and gratitude towards Moses, and they trusted and believed their great leader, the servant and messenger of the Lord. A transport of joy and of triumph filled the heart of Moses, and it burst forth in the following beautiful hymn:

'I will sing to the Lord, for He is gloriously exalted ; the horse and its rider has He thrown into the sea. The Lord is my praise and song, for He has become my salvation: He is my God, and I will glorify Him ; my father's God, and I will exalt Him. The Lord is a man of war ; the Eternal is His name. Pharaoh's hosts and his chariots has He thrown into the sea; his choicest warriors are drowned in the Red Sea. The depths have covered them; they sank to the bottom as a stone. Thy right hand, O Lord, glorified in power, Thy right hand, O Lord, dashes in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of Thy sublimity Thou overthrowest those who rise up against Thee: Thou sendest forth Thy wrath, it consumes them as stubble. And with the blast of Thy nostrils the waters were piled up, the floods stood upright like a mound, and the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

The enemy said, I will pursue, overtake, divide the spoil, my lust 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 like lead in the mighty waters. Who is like Thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, awful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand-the earth swallowed them.

'Thou in Thy mercy leadest forth the people which Thou hast redeemed; Thou guidest them in Thy strength to Thy holy habitation. The nations will hear it, and will be afraid; terror will seize the inhabitants of Philistia. Then the chiefs of Edom will be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling will seize them; all the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away with fear. Fear and dread will fall upon them; by the greatness of Thy arm they will be dumb as stone; till they pass, O Lord, till the people pass, which Thou hast acquired. Thou wilt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of Thy inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thy abode, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. The Lord will reign for ever and ever.'

As the last words of the song died away, Miriam seized her timbrel, and followed by a multitude of Hebrew maidens and women, went forth in procession dancing and chanting, 'Sing ye to the Lord, for He is gloriously exalted; the horse and its rider has He thrown into the sea.'

32. MARCH OF THE HEBREWS TO MARAH AND ELIM; THE MANNA.

[EXOD. XV. 22-XVI. 35.]

The Israelites, resuming their journey, entered the dreary wilderness of Shur, and proceeding through a pathless waste, found no springs or wells, so that they were parched with thirst. At last they arrived at a place where they were gladdened by the sight of a deep spring; but when they put their lips to the fount, they, who had so long been accustomed to the delicious and far-famed water of the Nile, found it utterly unpalatable. It was bitter and brackish, and had caused the place to be called Marah, that is, bitterness, at present Howarah. Fevered with thirst, the unfortunate people murmured against Moses, exclaiming, 'What shall we drink?' Moses prayed to the Lord, and in answer to his supplications, the Lord showed him a tree, and bade him cast some of its wood into the water. By virtue of this tree, the bitterness was changed into sweetness, and the Israelites were saved from the agony of thirst.

From Marah the Israelites journeyed to Elim, where they encamped near twelve wells of water, and beneath the inviting shade of palm-trees.

From Elim the Israelites journeyed until they came to a valley in the district of Sin. But the people had exhausted their provisions, and looking helplessly around, they felt that they could not escape starvation. Then, in the despondency of their hearts, they murmured against Moses, asking of what avail was their freedom if they were doomed to perish in the desert? They longed to return to Egypt. Would to God,' they exclaimed,' we