Тегилим 69:3 Мидраш: Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Midrash Tehillim & Pesikta Rabbati

They (Ibid. 1:14) "embittered their lives with hard toil, with mortar"; You, likewise, made the water like slime for them, and they sank in it. Thus (15:4) "They were mired in the Red Sea," "mired" connoting slime, as in (Psalms 69:3) "I am sunk in the slime of the depths," and (Jeremiah 38:6) "and Jeremiah sank in the slime." Thus, "they were mired in the sea."

R. Yehudah perceives it thus: "And the children of Israel came in the midst of the sea": When the tribes were standing at the sea, each of them said: I will not go down first into the sea, viz. (Hoshea 12:1-3) "Ephraim surrounds Me with deceit, and the house of Israel with guile. Because they stood and deliberated, Nachshon the son of Aminadav leaped into the sea. Of him Scripture writes (Psalms 69:2-3 ) "Save me, O G–d, for the waters have reached my soul. I am sinking in the slimy depths and I find no foothold. I have come into the watery depths, and the flood sweeps me away." (Ibid. 16) "Let the floodwaters not sweep me away, and let the deep not swallow me, and let the mouth of the pit not close over me." At that time Moses waxed long in prayer — whereupon the L–rd said to him: My loved ones are drowning in the sea, and the sea is raging, and the foe is pursuing, and you stand and wax long in prayer? To which Moses replied: L–rd of the universe, what can I do? And He said to him (Exodus 14:16) "And you, raise your staff, etc." And what did Moses and Israel say at the sea? (Ibid. 15:18) "The L–rd will reign for ever and ever" — to which He responded: He who made Me "King" at the sea, (i.e., the tribe of Judah) him will I make king over Israel."

"God arose, His enemies scattered; His foes fled before Him." (Psalm 68:1-2) Rabbi Pinchas, in the name of Rabbi Oshaya, said that God established five standing positions for David in the Book of Psalms. Four of them correspond to the four kingdoms that he saw in a vision through the Holy Spirit and how they would subjugate Israel, and God stood by each one of them. The fifth position corresponds to the kingdom of Gog, who will come to Israel with strength and say to God, "Arise, Lord, lift up Your hand." David said to God, "My Lord, there is no one to join with her except You." What is meant by "Arise, Lord, lift up Your hand"? It can be compared to a strong man who was crossing a river with his son when he grabbed his hand to help him pass. When they reached the middle of the river, the current became stronger and the rope snapped, causing his son to be carried away by the current. Immediately, the father cried out and said, 'Father, raise your hand and save me from drowning.' So too, the four kingdoms rule over the waters, as it is stated, 'Woe to the multitude of many people' (Isaiah 17:12), and Israel is drowning within it, as it is stated, 'I am sinking in deep mire, and there is no standing' (Psalm 69:3). If not for the Holy One, blessed be He, being with them, they would not have been able to escape, as it is stated, 'When you pass through the waters, I will be with you' (Isaiah 43:2). And when David saw that sin causes them to become stronger like a current of a river to wash away Israel, he began to cry out, 'Arise, O Lord, with Your hand, save me from drowning.' Therefore, he says, 'Arise, O Lord, remember Your oath' (Psalm 10:12). He said to him, 'As your soul lives, I raise My hand, as it is stated, "For I lift up My hand to heaven"' (Deuteronomy 32:40), and it is stated, 'Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations' (Isaiah 49:22)."