Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 78:53

And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

53. feared not ] In contrast to their enemies, who were seized with panic (Exo 14:25), Israel had no cause for fear (Exo 14:13). Not of course that they never gave way to fear (Exo 14:10).

overwhelmed ] The same word as that rendered covered in Exo 15:10.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

And he led them on safely, so that they feared not – In hope; in confidence; so that they had no occasion for alarm. He showed himself able and willing to defend them.

But the sea overwhelmed their enemies – Margin, as in Hebrew, covered. See Exo 14:27-28; Exo 15:10.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

They feared not. But it is said that they were sore afraid, Exo 14:10.

Answ. 1. They were afraid at first, but after Moses had encouraged them they grew bold and secure; one evidence whereof was, that they confidently went into the middle of the sea, and passed between the vast heaps of water which were on both sides of them.

2. The meaning may be that they had no just cause to fear; for men are oft said to do not only what they actually do, but also what they ought to do, as Mal 1:6; 2:7, &c.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And he led them on safely,…. Through the sea, where the waters were on each side; and through the wilderness, in which were serpents and scorpions, and where they were attacked by many powerful enemies:

so that they feared not; for though they feared for a while at the Red sea, yet their fears were soon silenced, and they by faith passed through the Red sea as on dry land; and especially their fears were gone, when they saw the Egyptians dead on the sea shore; wherefore it follows:

but the sea overwhelmed their enemies; or “covered” them p; the waters returned, and overflowed and drowned the Egyptians, who were their implacable enemies, and vowed their destruction, and were sure of it; but now the Israelites had nothing to fear from them.

p “operuit”, Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Piscator, Gejerus.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

53. And he conducted them in safety, and they were not afraid. This does not imply that they relied on God confidently, and with tranquil minds, but that, having God for their guide and the guardian of their welfare, they had no just cause to be afraid. When at any time they were thrown into consternation, this was owing to their own unbelief. From this cause proceeded these murmuring questions to which they gave utterance, when Pharaoh pursued them, upon their leaving Egypt, and when they were “sore afraid:” “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? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness,” (Exo 14:11.) This security, then, is not to be referred to the feeling of this in the minds of the people, but to the protection of God, by which it came to pass that, their enemies having been drowned in the Red Sea, they enjoyed quiet and repose in the wilderness. Other benefits which God had bestowed upon them are here recited, and at the same time other transgressions with which they had been chargeable. This shows the more clearly their deep ingratitude. After having obtained possession of the inheritance which was promised them, as if they had been under no obligations to God, their hearts were always rebellious and untractable. The accomplishment, and, as it were, the concluding act of their deliverance, was the putting them in possession of the land of Canaan, from entering which they had precluded themselves, had not God determined, notwithstanding their wickedness, to complete, in all respects, the work which he had commenced. The land itself is called the borders of God’s sanctuary, (verse 54,) because God, in assigning it to his people, had also consecrated it to himself. This, it is manifest, exhibits in a more heinous and aggravated light the iniquity of the people, who brought into that land the same pollutions with which it had been anciently defiled. What madness was it for the people of Israel, who knew that the old inhabitants of the country had been driven from it on account of their abominations, to strive to surpass them in all kinds of wickedness? as if they had been resolved to do all they could to bring down upon their own heads that divine vengeance which they had seen executed upon others. The words this mountain are improperly explained by some as applying to the whole country of Judea; for although it was a mountainous country, there were in it plain and level grounds of large extent, both as to breadth and length. I have, therefore, no doubt, that by way of amplification the Psalmist makes honorable mention of mount Zion, where God had chosen a habitation for himself, and his chief seat. I indeed allow, that under this expression, by the figure synecdoche, a part is put for the whole; only I would have my readers to understand, that this place is expressly named, because from it, as from a source or fountain, flowed the holiness of the whole land. It is asserted that God, by his right hand, possessed or acquired this mountain; for the Hebrew verb קנה , kanah, may be understood in either of these senses: and this assertion is made, that the Israelites might not be lifted up with pride, as if they had achieved the conquest of the land, or had obtained the peaceable possession of it by their own power. As is stated in Psa 44:3,

“

They got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them, but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favor unto them.” (Psa 44:3)

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

53. Safely they feared not They had no cause of fear, for God was with them. Their exodus was not a flight in terror, but an orderly march. That their departure was a bold measure, humanly speaking, appears from all the facts in the case, and is thus recognised in the New Testament, Heb 11:27. But faith in God inspired them with superhuman courage.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Psa 78:53 And he led them on safely, so that they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

Ver. 53. And he led them on safely, so that they feared not ] Or, if they did, it was without cause, Cur enim metuat hominem homo in sinu Dei positus.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)