For the horses of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
And Miriam sang:--
| THE SONG OF VICTORY. |
Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth in pieces the enemy. And in the greatness of thine excellency thou overthrowest them that rise up against thee: Thou sendest forth thy wrath, it consumeth them as stubble. And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were piled up, The floods stood upright as an heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil: [{188}] My desire 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 as lead in the mighty waters. Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like thee, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, The earth swallowed them. Thou in thy mercy hast led the people which thou hast redeemed: Thou hast guided them in thy strength to thy holy habitation. The peoples have heard, they tremble: Pangs have taken hold on the inhabitants of Philistia. Then were the dukes of Edom amazed; The mighty men of Moab, trembling taketh hold upon them: All the inhabitants of Canaan are melted away. Terror and dread falleth upon them; By the greatness of thine arm they are as still as a stone; Till thy people pass over, O Lord, Till the people pass over which thou hast purchased. Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, The place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, The sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever. |
SHEPHERD WITH HIS FLOCK NEAR TEKOA
Copyright by Underwood & Underwood and used by special permission.
Two of the great prophets of Israel lived in this region, Amos at Tekoa and Jeremiah at Anathoth. It is a wild and desolate region
"The wilderness of Judea played a great part in her history as the refuge of political fugitives and religious solitaries--a part which it still continues. The story of Saul's hunt after David and of David's narrow escapes becomes very vivid among those tossed and broken hills, where the valleys are all alike and large bodies of men may camp near each other without knowing it. Ambushes are everywhere possible and alarms pass rapidly across the bare and silent hills. You may travel for hours and feel as solitary as at sea without a sail in sight; but if you are in search of anyone, your guide's signal will make men leap from slopes that did not seem to shelter a rabbit, and if you are suspected, your passage may be stopped by a dozen men as though they had sprung from the earth."
