Charles H. Spurgeon on Psalms 105:39

In the army of Alexander the Great, the march was begun by a great beacon being set upon a pole as a signal from head quarters, so that "the fire was seen at night, the smoke in the daytime; "and the plan is still found in use amongst the caravans of Arabia. It is probable enough, in that unchanging land, that such may have been the custom at the time of the Exodus, and that God taught the people by parable in this wise, as well as by fact, that he was their true leader, and heaven the general pavilion, whence the order of march was enjoined. Neale and Littledale.

Verse 39.

When Israel, of the Lord beloved,

Out of the land of bondage came,

Her father's God before her moved,

An awful guide in smoke and flame.

By day, along the astonished lands,

The cloudy pillar glided slow;

By night, Arabia's crimson sands

Returned the fiery column's glow.

There rose the choral hymn of praise,

And trump and timbrel answered keen,

And Zion's daughters poured their lays,

With priest's and warrior's voice between.

But present still, though now unseen,

When brightly shines the prosperous day,

Be thoughts of Thee a cloudy screen,

To temper the deceitful ray!

And oh, when stoops on Judah's path,

In shade and storm, the frequent night,

Be Thou —long suffering, slow to wrath —

A burning and a shining light. —Sir Walter Scott, 1771-1832.