Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not— The sublimity and grandeur of this reply of Moses can be equalled by nothing but the calmness and moderation of mind wherewith he addresses these servile and desponding Israelites. See Numbers 12:3. The phrase, in the 14th verse, and ye shall hold your peace, expresses, that they, in the deepest silence and attention, shall contemplate the great work which Jehovah will perform. This is the exact meaning of the Hebrew verb חרשׁ choresh.
REFLECTIONS.—How soon are the songs of liberty turned into the sorrows of death. Observe,
1. The terrible dismay which seizes the Israelites: surrounded with insurmountable obstacles, and no door open for escape, except the Lord interpose. Blessed be God, though troubled on every side, we can still say, Sursum corda, Look up and hope. Could not he, who had done wonders in Egypt, do as great in the wilderness? and had he shewn them so much grace, to forsake them now? But they are as desponding of God, as ungrateful to Moses; and by their murmuring provoke the judgment they otherwise need not fear. They were now delivered; but their continued perverseness brought on them at last, as on the Egyptians, after ten plagues, the same destruction. Unbelief, if uncured, must be fatal at last.
2. Moses encourages them against their fears: he does not reproach their cowardice, but pities their weakness. Sharp rebukes will not suit all sins; we must direct our advice to the circumstances of the patient. They have but one business: to rest upon God: he who has brought them into danger, will bring them out of it. Note; (1.) Sedateness in danger, is the most likely means to extricate ourselves from it. (2.) To encourage our heart in God, is the way, not only to remove our fears, but to surmount our difficulties.