What a contrast between this and the opening of Exodus xv.! In this latter, their eyes were only upon Jehovah, and therefore they could sing the song of victory. “Thou in Thy mercy hast led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed; Thou hast guided them in Thy strength unto Thy holy habitation. _The people shall hear and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina._” Instead of this, it was Israel that was afraid, and sorrow took hold upon them. “Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, _trembling shall take hold upon them_: all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away. _Fear and dread shall fall upon them._” In short, it is the most complete reversing of the picture. The sorrow, the trembling, and the fear take hold upon Israel instead of their enemies. And why? Because the One who filled their vision in Exodus xv. is completely shut out in Numbers xiv. This makes all the difference. In the one case, faith is in the ascendant; in the other, infidelity. “By the greatness of _Thine arm_ they shall be 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, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made for Thee to dwell in; in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have established. The Lord shall reign forever and ever.” Oh, how do these triumphal accents contrast with the infidel cries and lamentations of Numbers xiv.! Not a syllable about sons of Anak, lofty walls, and grasshoppers in Exodus xv. No, no; it is all Jehovah. It is His right hand, His mighty arm, His power, His inheritance, His habitation, His actings on behalf of His ransomed people. And then if the inhabitants of Canaan are referred to, they are only thought of as sorrowing, terror-stricken, trembling, and melting away. But on the other hand, when we come to Numbers xiv. all is most sadly reversed. The sons of Anak rise into prominence; the towering walls, the giant cities with frowning bulwarks, fill the vision of the people, and we hear not a word about the almighty Deliverer. There are the difficulties on the one side and grasshoppers on the other, and one is constrained to cry out, Can it be possible that the triumphal singers by the Red Sea have become the infidel weepers at Kadesh?