MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Exodus 14:5-14
THE GOOD PURSUED BY OLD ENEMIES
I. That the good, in seeking to come out of the bondage of sin, are frequently pursued by old enemies. Thus was it with the children of Israel. They had not gone far on their march of freedom before Pharaoh made ready his chariot and pursued them. He pursued them with great hatred. He reproached himself for letting them go free. And thus is it with those who have just entered upon the freedom of the soul, and who are setting out for the Land of Promise. They are pursued by old enemies before they have passed three or four days’ march.
1. The good are pursued by Satan. As Pharaoh pursued the Israelites with his best armaments, so Satan gathers his chosen chariots and Captains and follows the young Christian with all the energy and skill he can command. At first Satan appears defeated, like Pharaoh; but he does not like to lose his profitable servants, he will not without a desperate struggle. He will employ the flower of his army. He will try error. He will try despair. He will tempt to sin. He is powerful. He has great resources. He is gifted with cunning genius. He will arouse indwelling corruption. To sense all seems dark. To faith all is bright. We cannot get to the Promised Land without much resistance from the devil.
2. The good are pursued by wicked habits. When the good enter upon the march of the new life, they soon see the old sinful habits coming after them. In the first joy of freedom, the young Christian imagines that all his sinful past is overcome, and that he will be troubled no more by the depraved habit of the soul, but a march of three days in the wilderness will convince him of his error. Habit pursues men with great pertinacity, even to the end of life. The habits of youth are not easily conquered, hence they should be carefully formed, or they may impair the Christian career of the future.
3. The good are pursued by wicked companions. When the good are first freed from the companionship of Egypt, they may imagine that they leave them behind for ever, and perhaps will be a little surprised to find them shortly afterwards in hot pursuit. The friendships of a wicked life are not easily got rid of,—they follow with taunts and slanders even to the banks of the Red Sea. These are a terror to many a godly soul. Thus we see that Satan pursues the good with a great army, with many allies, in splendid array, and often strikes fear into their hearts.
II. That sometimes the circumstances of life appear to favour the pursuit of the old enemies of the soul. “And overtook them encamping by the sea,” &c., (Exodus 14:9). Thus Pharaoh and his hosts overtook the Israelites when they were entangled in the land, and when they had not the opportunity of equal conflict. The host of Pharaoh was well armed. The Israelites were without arms or drill, they were a disorderly crowd. Hell always pursues the soul when it is least prepared for the attack, in the hour of unusual difficulty, and when all its resources are weak. When it is entangled by temptation, by the deceitful allurements of the world, or by the providential circumstances of life—then Satan comes to work ruin. How often do circumstances favour the pursuit of our old enemies when they would awaken passion, pride, or selfishness within us. The world in which we live is a Pi-hahiroth, and the devil knows it; but the God who has brought us from Egypt can bring us from before Pi-hahiroth, if we trust in Him,—He is greater than the pursuing enemies.
III. That the pursuit of the old enemies of the soul often awakens the sorrowful apprehension of the good. “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore afraid” (Exodus 14:10). Thus, when the Israelites saw the Egyptians pursuing them, they gave way to fear and panic, they thought only of the advancing foe and their own certain destruction. They did not remember the mercy and power which had redeemed them from the tyranny of Egypt, they did not call to mind the promise which had been given them of Canaan, they did not even look to the pillar of cloud above them. And thus, how often does it happen that when the good are followed by their old enemies, they forget the mercies of the past, the power of God, and look only to the on-coming foe. They think they will have to yield to the prowess of Satan, and go back to the old bondage of the soul. But we see in this narrative, the folly of allowing the advance of old enemies to awaken terror in the heart of the good, for they are only advancing that the power of God may be seen in their defeat. Good people of melancholy temperament sometimes think that they made a mistake in coming out of Egypt, and that they will never reach Canaan. Such fears are dishonouring to the grace of God.
IV. That the pursuit of the old enemies of the soul must be met under the guidance of Heaven. “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord which He will show you to-day.” Thus the Israelites were to leave all to God. They could not defeat their enemies, they were not required to do so. They could not dry up the sea. It was just the moment for Heaven to interfere, and to win a glorious victory; and so with the good who are pursued by sin and Satan. They must not look so much at the mountains by which they are encompassed—at their inward corruption, as at the salvation of God; they must be content to let God work for and in them to the destruction of Satan’s devices. The human soul is restless and likes to be doing something to escape its enemies; God only can give the needed aid. The penitent sinner cannot deliver himself from the enemies which pursue; the believer cannot deliver himself from the corruption of the evil heart of unbelief; God must work in both cases. Hence in thinking of victory over our spiritual enemies, we have not to contemplate our own ability to repulse them, but the Divine. It is a blessed fact that God adapts the method of His redemption to the weak condition of His people.
1. The enemies of the soul are overcome by God. He alone can give salvation from the enmity of Satan, from the weakness of self, and from the perilous circumstances of the wilderness life.
2. The soul must wait patiently the outcome of this aid. Neither Moses nor the Israelites knew in what way the Lord would deliver them from their advancing enemy; they had to wait in order to see the salvation of God. The good know not by what method of discipline the Lord will deliver them from their old habits of evil. We see here the advantage of having God as our Helper, in that He can make a way for our feet through the sea. LESSONS:—
1. That the good, being pursued by the enemies of their old life, are in constant need of Divine grace.
2. That progress in the freedom of the soul is in spite of the enmity of Satan.
3. That all moral progress is the outcome of the help of God to the soul.
THE FOOLISH WAY IN WHICH MANY PEOPLE ANTICIPATE DIFFICULTIES.— Exodus 14:10-14
I. That many people meet anticipated difficulties in a spirit of great fear. “And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them, and they were sore afraid.” Thus, when the Israelites saw the Egyptians advancing towards them in battle array, they gave way to fear. They imagined immediate destruction. They saw only the warlike host. And in this way men anticipate sorrow now. They see all the circumstances which conspire against them; and at once imagine that the worst will befall them. They look to self; they look not to God. They are filled with gloom. Religion ought to make men brave and trustful in the face of advancing perplexities; God is more than all that can oppose.
II. That many people meet anticipated difficulty in a spirit of complaint against those who have generously aided them in their enterprise. “And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt.” Thus, when the Israelites saw the Egyptians coming after them, they began to complain against Moses. How ungenerous! He had led them out of bondage. He was their best friend, yet they blame him for a peril he could not help. And this is often the way of men, when all goes well in the enterprise they have undertaken little of praise is spoken, but when difficulties are seen coming much of blame is given. The best friend is derided in the hour of danger. The Israelites not merely murmured against Moses, but against God. And any man who murmurs at approaching difficulty is not merely in conflict with secondary agencies, but with what may turn out to be a sublime providence of heaven. Unbelief sees graves where there are none. Men over-estimate sorrow in meeting it before it comes upon them. It is base to turn upon men who have spent their best energy and wisdom in our service, when trouble seems to threaten. But this is the way of the world, a momentary cloud will eclipse a lifetime of heroic work.
III. That many people meet anticipated difficulties in a spirit which degrades previous events of a glorious character. The Israelites now reproach Moses for bringing them out of Egyptian bondage,—they intimate that death would have been as well in the land they had left as in the wilderness. They had no public spirit. They had been slaves almost too long to learn that death in freedom is preferable to life in slavery. And thus men who meet the approaching difficulties of life in a spirit of fear and unbelief, are very likely to bring contempt upon the most glorious events of their past history, they will even darken the glad memoir of national freedom. All the events of life tend to a unity, and it is impossible to murmur at the present without maligning the past. Sometimes weak people will, in the hour of anticipated trial, refer to their past advice as the wisest that could have been followed, and which if taken would have averted the threatening danger; thus they unknowingly make their folly their glory.
IV. That anticipated difficulties should be met in a spirit of confidence in God. As the difficulties advance we must wait and see the salvation of God. We must not allow anticipated trial to shut out the vision of God from the soul. View the Divine purpose in the sorrows of life, that they are a discipline for our good; contemplate the promises of God to the perplexed; and in all probability the enemies, fears, and circumstances which harass you shall be drowned in the sea in a vain pursuit. LESSONS:—
1. That when trials threaten we should trust in God.
2. That fear weakens men in the hour of trial.
3. That it is ungenerous to murmur against those who earnestly seek our good.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exodus 14:5. Under providence, tidings of the difficulties and fears of the Church may come to the enemy to move them.
Wicked tyrants take occasion from tidings of the straits of the Church to plan against it.
The hearts of the wicked are soon turned from forced favours to hate God’s Israel.
The wicked do not like to see the freedom of the good.
Exodus 14:6-7. Hardened persons against God not only consult but are the first to lead in persecuting the Church.… Horses and chariots are the best strength of earthly powers.
Wicked men want no auxiliaries for their work of injurying the Church.
An attack on the Church:
1. Well calculated.
2. Grand in array.
3. Terrible in defeat.
Exodus 14:8. Ten times hardening in sin calls for ten times hardening in judgment.
Such tenfold hardening drives men to tenfold more wickedness in persecution.
The high hand of God in favouring His Church will not persuade hardened sinners from persecution.
When pride of enemies sets them against the Church, God’s hand will be above them.
THE INFATUATION OF SIN
“And he pursued after the children of Israel.”
I. The infatuation of sin is seen in that favourable circumstances often awaken in men their old desires to do evil. The King of Egypt had allowed the Israelites to go out on their march of freedom, but when he saw them entangled in the wilderness, his old passion came back, and he immediately sent his army to regain possession of them. This appeared a favourable opportunity for the accomplishment of his evil purpose. And there are many men who yield to the better impulses of their nature, but they commence a life of sin again upon the first temptation. The heart must be renewed, or the old sins will come forth again at the first opportunity.
II. The infatuation of sin is seen in that it takes no thought of God, or of consequences. We read that Pharaoh took his chariots and captains on the errand on which he was bent. He did not think of that God with whom he was in conflict, and whose anger he was provoking. He thought not of what might be the disastrous consequences to himself and nation. He little imagined that not one of his splendid army would ever return from the conflict, and that he was making all the preparation for destruction. And so those who despise the good impulses of their nature, and who pursue a course of sin, think not of God, or of the probable consequences of their conduct.
III. The infatuation of sin is unmindful of the past painful discipline it has experienced. Had not Pharaoh endured enough punishment in the plagues which had been sent upon him in the past? Had they not destroyed the wealth and hope of the nation, and yet they do not deter him from setting out again on his old sinful course. Some men will not learn wisdom by past experience, and thus they pursue their sins to eternal destruction. Sin is a terrible infatuation.
Exodus 14:9-12. Providence may allow terrible enemies to pursue and overtake the pilgrim Church.
God’s mighty hand may order enemies to see His Church in their camp, but not hurt them.
God may open the eyes of the redeemed to see approaching dangers.
Such discoveries of danger may affect unbelieving souls with amazing fear.
Unbelief in danger:—
1. It cries out for fear of death.
2. It unjustly charges the ministers of God.
3. It gives men longings after bondage.
4. It seeks to be reckoned a prophet.
5. It forecasts danger which never will happen.
DIRECTION IN DILEMMA
Exodus 14:13. God’s great design in all His works is the manifestation of His own glory. Any aim less than this would be unworthy of Himself. It is His will to manifest His glory to man. But how? Vanity covers the eye of man, and puts a high estimate on self. Self must stand out of the way that God may be seen; and this is why God brings His people into straits that, seeing its weakness, it may behold the majesty of God. A smooth life will see but little of the glory of God. Among the huge Atlantic waves of bereavement and reproach we learn the power of Jehovah. Trouble gives a wealth of knowledge to be obtained no other way. Our text exhibits the posture in which men should be found in trouble.
I. A picture of the believer when he is reduced to great straits. “Stand still,” &c. Here are two things conspicuous:—
1. What is to be done? The man is in difficulty. He cannot retreat. What to do? Despair says, “Die.” Not so, saith the God of our salvation; He loves us too well to bid us yield to despondency. Cowardice says, “Retreat.” Better to go back to Egypt. Relinquish the ways of God. The sun turns not back when the clouds veil its splendour. Precipitancy cries, “Do something, there is no time to be lost.” Presumption says, “Neck or nothing.” March into the sea. Expect a miracle. But we are to stand still,—we are to wait in prayer.
2. What is to be seen? I cannot deliver myself. I cannot see how God can deliver me. Soon you shall see all nature and all providence subservient to God’s love. You shall be a wonder to yourself. You shall see your enemies utterly destroyed.
II. I take the text in reference to the sinner brought into the same condition in a moral sense. You are being brought out of the Egypt of your sins, and to feel the Divine awakenings. You have as yet found no peace. Your sins are around you? What are you to do? Stand still! The sinner cannot keep the law. See the salvation of God—ordained of old—wrought by a mediator. Then look—trust—now.—C. H. Spurgeon.
The ministers of God must reason quietly with a froward people in the time of trial.
God seeks by His ministers to remove the unbelief of His people.
The salvation of God is worth looking unto by His poor creatures in faith.
Salvation:—
1. Needed.
2. Present.
3. Offered.
4. Sufficient.
5. Divine.
6. Visible.
7. Neglected.
Causes of fear which hinder faith God removes at His pleasure.
“For the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.”
I. Then wicked men shall perish in the very hour of their splendour and pride. “The Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day.” Now Pharaoh and his army are advancing in all their strength and splendour, perhaps on no previous occasion had they been seen in such array. But the hour of their strength was to be the hour of their weakness,—the hour of their pride was to be the hour of their downfall. When sin has collected all its forces, and when it is apparently in best array, then will the providence of God cause it to be seen no more. There will come a time when sin will be buried in the waters into which it has pursued the good. The collapse of sin is always sudden and unexpected. What a joy when the sin we see to-day shall be seen no more for ever. All the providences of God are working to this end. The wicked perish in the very act of sin.
II. Then wicked men are often powerless to inflict the injury they desire upon the good. Pharaoh and his army were stern foes of Israel, and they were viewed with great terror. The enemies of the good are powerless to injure whom God protects. Their pursuit is vain. The Church is often pursued, but the injury is often upon those who give it chase. If we will but trust in God, the enemies we see to-day,—the scorn of the world, the pain of life, the inward corruption of the soul, and our doubts and fears,—shall be seen no more for ever: they shall be overwhelmed in the atoning sacrifice of the cross, as were the Egyptians in the Red Sea. If we are injured by these enemies of the soul, it is because of our unbelief.
III. Then the wicked and the good will be eternally separated in the life to come. As the freed Israelites were to see Pharaoh and his army no more, so the good in heaven, after the final deliverance of life, shall see the wicked no more for ever. In heaven this separation will be complete and eternal. Now, the wheat and tares grow together; not so then. There are separations going on in this life based on moral character, in society, in commerce, and in the State. This is a prophecy of the future. An awful thing to be for ever in the company of the lost. A sublime privilege to be for ever in the company of the pure. Nothing that can defile shall enter heaven.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Christian Life! Exodus 14:5. Israel probably thought that, once freed from bondage, all persecution from Egypt was over. When they were deceived they expected nothing but death. A party sailing down the Amazon bivouacked on an open glade near the bank. Whilst resting here, they were suddenly aware of an approaching foe in the shape of a group of shaggy, naked savages, armed with bows and spears and blow pipes. They rushed at once to the canoe, and pushed out from the shore, only in time to escape a flight of poisoned arrows. Once more on the river they thought themselves safe from all pursuit. Quietly they paddled down the stream attracted by the lavish tropical vegetation, and the brilliantly-plumaged birds. Night came on, and as they were preparing for slumber, they were alarmed to find three large war-canoes in hot pursuit. They had reckoned themselves entirely free from their pursuers. So with the young Pilgrim! When he left the City of Destruction, he looked to have no more persecution; but he soon discovered his mistake. Israel is pursued! But the discipline is good: for are not the winds and tempests the school of the sailor-boy? Sharpe remarks that it is not every calamity that is a curse, and early adversity is often a blessing. It was so with youthful Israel; and it is so with the young Christian.
“Many a foe is a friend in disguise,
Many a trouble a blessing most true,
Helping the heart to be happy and wise,
With love ever precious, and joys ever new.”
—Tupper.
Misgivings! Exodus 14:10.
1. Who does not admire and appreciate “Swiss Family Robinson”? It is perused and reperused with avidity and ever fresh interest by the young; and yet, too often its beauties are lost sight of. One of the most touching scenes in the book is where the father, exhausted by toil, distracted by anxiety, gives way to despair, and ventures to question whether he had at all acted rightly and wisely in leaving his native Switzerland. It was a time of great dread and danger.
2. The emigrant finds himself in the Brazilian forest. He has been struggling to hew down the giant trees, twisted and fastened together with the tortuous and tough lianas, in order to make a clearing for corn or maize. He finds himself unequal to the task, surrounded by difficulties, and succumbing to the enervating effects of extreme exertions in a tropical climate. Withal, he hears that the native Indians are in an unsettled condition, and likely at any moment to attack his humble wooden home. He wishes himself safe back in Old England!
3. It is said of Luther that there were moments when he half-regretted having launched on the Reformation path. Firm as the Eddystone Lighthouse while the waves toss, and roar, and leap against its base and sides, the solitary monk stood at the Imperial Diet of Worms, unawed by the presence, unterrified by the power on emperor, princes, and cardinals. But when alone, how he was ready to sink—to wish himself back in the quiet cloistered seclusion on his monastery. All Christians have this strain: especially
“When truth is overborne, and error reigns,
When clamour lords it over patient love.”
—Bonar.
Red Sea fears! Exodus 14:11. As the Passover showed how guilt might be expiated and judgment escaped, so this passage shows how those whose guilt is removed shall be redeemed from all evil. “And if God spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not much more with Him freely give us all things?” But Israel had not yet learned this great truth. They were ignorant, credulous, and impulsive, as bond-serfs always are—whether as the Helots of ancient Sparta or the Negroes of modern America. They had never been accustomed to habits of order, reflection, or self-command. The bondage-life had shut them up in religious ignorance, if not absolute indifference. They could not, therefore, rest, as Moses did, upon “the Great Redeemer.” Already, they felt themselves back among the brick-kilns and slime-pits of Egypt, with the cruel lash now become a scourge of scorpions. Had Pharaoh’s host rushed forward, what a confusion would have ensued. When the great theatre of Santiago in Chili took fire on the Papal Feast day, the vast throngs trampled each other to death in the effort to escape. Had the chariots and chivalry of Egypt rushed upon the undisciplined host, how they would have trodden upon one another in desperate struggle of flight! But Pharaoh, confident of his prey, is willing to wait till the morrow’s dawn. The sun has already set. The moon, which was full on the night of the departure out of Egypt, will not rise for three or four hours. Egypt’s host encamps for the night. Egypt’s monarch bids sentinels to be posted to watch the fugitive camp, and summons his nobles and officers to a council to decide whether the Israelites shall be driven, at dawn, into the depths of the sea, or back again to their former bondage. And of Israel it might be said—
“Yet with despairing face
Their way they would retrace;
Or on this desert place
Sink down and die.”
—French.
Sure provision! Exodus 14:13. Isaac was young in the Divine life, and perplexed himself sadly about the sacrificial lamb; but Abraham, who had more than once experienced the Divine faithfulness, was content to “wait on the providence of God.” The Israelites were comparatively inexperienced in the ways of God; whereas Moses, who had learned their mysteries often during the Midianite exile, could exhort his trembling host to stand still and see the salvation of God. He knew that God had become their salvation in the wonderful works and feast in Egypt; therefore, he was confident that He would not forsake them now. A carrier hastening homewards through the drifting snow came upon a human form. I was that of a mother frozen to death in seeking to save her infant’s life. Tenderly he born the babe home, adopted it as his own child and brought it up in comfort and kindness. As the child grew up, he felt that the one who had rescued and saved him would never fail to keep him in time of need. So with Moses, he was sure that God, who had delivered and adopted Israel as “His firstborn,” would not suffer His chosen child to be without sufficient succour.
“Then rouse thee from desponding sleep,
Nor by the wayside lingering weep;
Nor fear to seek Him farther in the wild.”
Pharaoh’s army! Exodus 14:7. Dr. Kitto comments that to the student of Egyptian antiquities, there is something of much interest in these allusions to the forces of Egypt. They were composed solely of chariots; and this is entirely in accordance with the existing testimony of the monuments, which exhibit no kind of military force but war-chariots and infantry. In a hot pursuit like this, the infantry could, from the nature of the case, take no part; and there being no mounted cavalry, the matter was left entirely to the chariot-warriors. On the other hand, Millington assumes that there were horsemen as well as charioteers, since Moses and Miriam speak of cavalry in their hymn in Exodus 15:21. Satan knows well the forces wherewith to hunt the fugitive slave. He will not willingly suffer one poor slave to escape. Even when we have turned from our sin-serfdom to follow the guidance of God’s Word, he pursues with manifold temptations—not feeble ones, from whose pursuit we can escape, but charioteers which come thundering down upon us. Even as the eagle swoops upon the newly fledged dove, for the first time pluming its pinions in the sunny air—even as the tawny lion or spotted panther springs upon the slender, untried, sylphlike fawn; so Satan’s legions rush down upon the believer’s soul, confident of an easy triumph. But the Christian must not despond.
“Oh! bear me up, when this weak flesh despairs,
And the one arm which faith can lean on is the Lord’s.”
Divine paths! Exodus 14:9-12 Krummacher relates how a wanderer had to go a long and dangerous journey over a rugged and rocky mountain. The road was pointed out to him by a guide clearly and distinctly, together with all the bye-ways and precipices of which he must beware. He gave him also a leaf of paper describing the way exactly. The wanderer observed all this attentively; but as he journeyed the rocks grew steeper—the path seemed to lose itself in lonely dreary ravines. Discouraged, he meditated a return by the way he came, when he heard a voice exclaiming, “Take courage, and follow me.” He looked round and beheld the guide. They walked on between the ravines, and precipices, and rushing mountain torrents, until they reached a lovely valley, where blossomed myrtle and pomegranate trees. Thus was Israel led. There they were, a sea before them far wider than their familiar Nile, and with the wild tumult of its waters very terrible: a sea before them, and on their rear, with his jingling chargers and sounding chariots, an angry and ruthless despot. Unarmed and unused to conflict, to face round and fight was for a flock of sheep to charge a pack of wolves or lions, and across that gulf they had neither wings to fly nor boats to ferry. In their moment of despair came their Deliverer. The man of God
“O’er the wide waters lifts his mighty rod,
And onward treads,—the circling waves retreat.”
—Heber.
Providence! Exodus 14:13. A small boat on the wide sea! A crew of three shipwrecked mariners in the Eastern seas! In the distance, a Malay prow heading straight for the boat with long sweeps. The boat sees the foe, and struggles desperately by hard rowing to escape; but the pursuer gains fast. The effort is useless:—the oars are unshipped, and soon the pirates have seized the boat, fastened it to the clumsy stern of their war-prow, and dragged the sailors on board. Hardly is this done, and the head of the native vessel once more headed East, than a fearful hurricane comes on. Those who have never been in the seas of the East Indian Archipelago can form little idea of the appalling fury of these tornadoes. They last only for a short period, but the wildness of the tempest passes expression. The natives struggled with the winds and waves,—every moment expecting to be hurled beneath the vast mountain-masses of water. Again and again, had they given up all hope, when mast, and sail, and bulwarks were wrenched away, and, borne on by the breeze, fell at some distance into the foaming deep. But the storm lulled as quickly as it arose: the vessel was borne towards the shore of an island, and all landed. As soon as the Malays had restored their vessel, they set sail, leaving the mariners behind. They had been saved their cruel fate in having fallen into the hands of the pirate crew, but they now realised that this very capture was a great blessing. Their own frail shell of a boat was shattered to pieces at the first onset of the blast, so that had they been in her, they must have inevitably perished. The Christian often finds himself pursued by foes, or surrounded by dangers; but let him hold fast to the conviction that all things work together for good, and he will soon find, like Israel, that the very things which seem to bar his progress and mar his prospects, become the means of safety and deliverance.
“His love can turn earth’s worst and least
Into a conqueror’s royal feast.”
—Keble.
Sin’s End! Exodus 14:13. There is a marvellous tenacity of life in sin, which has therefore secured for it the simile of the fabled Hydra destroyed by Hercules. The sea-anemone is not unlike sin:
1. In its beauty;
2. in its voracity; and
3. in its tenacity of life. It would be difficult to find anything more beautiful than the sea-anemones, emulating the daisies of the field when they expand their lustrous discs. Yet this wonderful daisy of the waters—this flower-like creature which charms the dullest eye, is a very shark for voracity. Crustaceans larger than itself are gulped into its miser-stomach, and woe to the nimble cyclops and annelide which comes within its reach. But its voracity of appetite seems almost surpassed by its uncommon tenacity of life. Dip it into water warm enough to raise blisters on the skin—expose it to the frost of winter—place it under the exhausted bell of an air-pump, its powerful vital principle will triumph over all these ordeals. Cut off the tentacles, and new ones sprout forth; nay, divide the animal in two, and like the Lernean hydra, it will produce a reduplication of itself. Possessing such wonderful powers of reproduction, there is, however, one means of destruction; for these apparently indestructible creatures die when plunged into fresh water. And such is sin—oftentimes graceful and bewitching in beauty; always voracious, devouring all good that comes in its way; yet susceptible only to destruction when plunged in the pure river of the water of life—when placed under the mortifying influences of the Holy Spirit.
“Let the water and the blood,
From Thy riven side which flow’d,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.”
—Toplady.