And the Lord said unto Moses, "Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen." And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. =§39. The Song of the Exodus= (Exod. 14:30, 31; 15:1, 2, 20, 21) Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw the great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord: and they believed in the Lord, and in his servant Moses. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, And he is become my salvation: This is my God and I will praise him; My father's God, and I will exalt him. 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 answered them, Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; The horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. THE MEANING OF THE STORY 107. The story of the deliverance from Egypt makes a long chapter, but it is full of exciting interest and shows the fearless character of the great leader who trusted in his God. It was a bold thing for Moses to return to Egypt and try to persuade the king to let Israel go. But when he was sent to threaten Pharaoh it was indeed a task requiring courage. Imagine a single man to-day demanding of the sultan of Turkey that he should free his slaves. 108 (§37). Moses was sent to tell the king that terrible plagues would come upon his people if he refused to let the Hebrews go. Ten plagues are mentioned. Nine of them were as follows: (1) the water of the Nile turned to blood-red color and made undrinkable; (2) enormous numbers of frogs; (3) swarms of stinging insects, perhaps gnats or mosquitoes; (4) swarms of flies, which would be terrible in a hot country; (5) a cattle pestilence; (6) fearful boils on men and cattle; (7) destructive hail; (8) locusts that ate vegetation; (9) the awful hot desert wind filling the air with fine sand and causing darkness. 109 (§37). When Pharaoh was frightened by each of the plagues, what did he promise? What made him break his promise? Did you ever know anyone who was sorry for doing wrong when the punishment came, but forgot his promises afterward? 110 (§37F). What did Pharaoh threaten Moses after the ninth plague? What did Moses say should be the last plague? Probably some sudden terrible pestilence came upon Egypt. Tell the story of that night.