John Calvin Commentary Psalms 105:38

"Egypt was glad when they departed; For the fear of them had fallen upon them." — Psalms 105:38 (ASV)

Egypt rejoiced at their departure. The Psalmist highlights the power of God through the additional circumstance that the Egyptians willingly allowed the chosen people to depart, even though this was completely contrary to their intention. Although they wished them destroyed a hundred times, they thought they had the wolf by the ears, as the saying goes; and thus the fear of revenge made them more determined to erase the memory of that people.

From this it follows that when they suddenly abandoned their former purpose, it was a secret work of divine providence. The statement in the preceding verse—that they were brought forth with gold and silver—has a similar import, for the Egyptians could never have brought themselves to voluntarily strip themselves of their possessions to enrich those whom they would have gladly deprived of life.

This, then, was the bounty of God, in whose hand and at whose disposal are all the riches of the world. He could have taken by force from the Egyptians what he had given them; but he inclined their hearts, so that of their own accord they stripped themselves of their goods. The expression, for their terror had fallen upon them, should be understood passively; for the Israelites were not afraid of the Egyptians but, on the contrary, were a source of terror to them.

Nor is the prophet speaking of an ordinary fear. Shortly before, fear had stirred them to cruelty and tyranny; but since, even up to that day, they had endeavored with indomitable audacity to shake off all fear, God suddenly laid them prostrate with the extraordinary terror that fell upon them.

Therefore, it is rightly considered here among the demonstrations of the wonderful power of God that he subdued the impetuous fury with which the Egyptians had previously seethed. This enabled them to allow those to depart freely whom they had determined to treat harshly and to wear down with slave labor—an act comparable to making sheep terrifying to wolves.