Exodus 14:14 Commentary

Here is the first attitude which faith takes in the presence of a trial. "Stand still." This is impossible to flesh and blood. All who know in any measure, the restlessness of the human heart, under anticipated trial and difficulty, will be able to form some conception of what is involved in standing still. Nature must be doing something. It will rush hither and thither. It would fain have some hand in the matter. And although it may attempt to justify and sanctify its worthless doings, by bestowing upon them the imposing and popular title of "a legitimate use of means," yet are they the plain and positive fruits of unbelief which always shuts out God, and sees nought save the dark cloud of its own creation. Unbelief creates or magnifies difficulties, and then sets us about removing them by our own bustling and fruitless activities, which, in reality, do but raise a dust around us, which prevents our seeing God's salvation.

"The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." Precious assurance! How eminently calculated to tranquillise the spirit in view of the most appalling difficulties and dangers! The Lord not only places Himself between us and our sins, but also between us and our circumstances. By doing the former, He gives us peace of conscience; by doing the latter, He gives us peace of heart. That the two things are perfectly distinct, every experienced Christian knows. Very many have peace of conscience, who have not peace of heart. They have, through grace and by faith, found Christ, in the divine efficacy of His blood, between them and all their sins; but they are not able, in the same simple way, to realise Him as standing, in His divine wisdom, love, and power, between them and their circumstances.

In truth a work was to be wrought that day in which the people could have no part. For there were two things from which they needed to be delivered — Satan's power as represented by Pharaoh and his host, and death and judgment which were shown in figure by the Red Sea. And these two are connected. For through man's sin Satan has acquired rights, and wields death as the just judgment of God. ... They were to cease from their fears, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord; for their enemies should disappear for ever from their eyes, the Lord would fight for them, and they should hold their peace. Blessed truth, that salvation is of the Lord! ... How quieting to the heart of the timid and the anxious! Let them then enter upon the full enjoyment of this precious message, if terrified by Satan's power in the prospect of death: "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

God did not put Amalek out of the way of Israel — they must fight with him: and it is just so with us. "And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek; to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand." This is very different from what we get in chapter 14, "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

But now that sin in their case was settled, it was a question solely between God and the enemy. "And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord … The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace."

Here we see that God Himself would deliver them from this mighty host of flesh, and from Pharaoh its leader, and that by His own power, without any help whatever, or struggle, or interference of man, He would do it all completely, and for ever. … And so when a soul has learned its thorough helplessness for overcoming flesh and Satan, and mastering self with its ten thousand forms of deceitfulness and desperate wickedness, and at last gives completely up, and cries out, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" he is taught by the Holy Spirit that God has delivered him through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is the first time, save one, that you get the word "salvation" in Scripture. The first time you get it is in Genesis 49:18, "I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord." There it is waited for, here it is sent. What is God's salvation? The blood of the Lamb has met all His claims, His power has crushed the power of the enemy absolutely, and His people are brought to Himself, just to enjoy Him.

"Stand still," was the word heard that day. "The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." You get into your soul the wonderful fact that Christ has gone into death, and tasted death as the judgment of God upon man, on the cross. He has gone into death, and, beloved, He has come up out of it, and there He is alive before God, and by faith now walking in His footsteps, you go through on dry ground into resurrection scenes. There is no death or judgment for you. It was all exhausted by God's beloved Son.

We have need of the power of God with us and for us, and to know it too (as well as that, when the judgment of God was against us, the blood satisfied His judgment), in order for fulness of peace. I may have seen the virtue of Christ's blood to save from judgment; but it is quite a different thing to have a constant, settled certainty that God is FOR me.