Psalms 114

Psalms 114:1

Psalm 114: The Powerful Presence of Lord114:1 The saga of Israel’s redemption from Egypt, her wilderness experiences, and her arrival in the land of promise was a tremendous display of the power of God from beginning to end. In fact, to the Jewish mind it was the greatest demonstration of divine power that had ever taken place. What a historic time that was when Israel went out of Egypt, the long years of bondage and oppression over! Who can measure the ecstasy of the people to be emancipated from the Egyptians? No more would they cringe under threats and curses barked out at them in an alien tongue! 114:2 In time the territory assigned to the tribe of Judah became God’s sanctuary. The temple was erected there in Jerusalem. And the entire land of Israel became His dominionan area He tended with unwearied care. What was true in a geographic sense of Judah and Israel then is true in a spiritual sense of the church today. 114:3 When the people of Israel came to the Red Sea, the waters took one look and retreated in panic. But be assured that it was not the sight of this ragtag mob of refugees that caused the terror. The sea looked up and saw its Creator, then quickly turned back so that Israel could pass over without even getting their feet wet. It was the same thing forty years later when they entered the Promised Land. The Jordan River halted its flow at the city of Adam, and the last barrier to entering the land became a causeway. The Red Sea and the Jordan crossings are the two termini of this epic chapter in the nation’s history. The Red Sea passage typifies our redemption from the world by God’s power through identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. The crossing of the Jordan speaks of deliverance from wilderness wandering and entering into our spiritual inheritance, again through Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. 114:4 Between these two events there were other awesome examples of God’s power. One of the most spectacular was the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. Nature was so convulsed that the mountains skipped like rams, the little hills like lambs. It seems that the glory of God was so overpowering that the entire area was rocked as if by a cataclysm. So terrifying was the sight that Moses, the man of God, said, “I am exceedingly afraid and trembling” (Heb_12:21). The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that we have not come to that fearful mount of the law but to the throne of grace. The terrors of law and of God With me can have nothing to do; My Savior’s obedience and blood Hide all my transgressions from view. Augustus M. Toplady114:5, 6 The psalmist is so delighted by these exhibitions of God’s power that he teases the sea, the Jordan, the mountains and the little hills to explain why they acted as they did. The questions form a mild taunt song, smiling at some of the greatest symbols of power and stability in nature for recoiling at a glance from the Lord. 114:7, 8 The argument follows that the whole earth should have the profoundest reverence and respect for such a God. He is the ever-great I AM and at the same time He is the God of Jacob, the unworthy one. He turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters. It happened twice (Exo_17:6; Num_20:11). The people of Israel were completely disheartened by thirst. They complained bitterly and even wished they were back in Egypt. God miraculously provided a pool of water for them out of a rock, first at Horeb, then at Meribah. Paul tells us that the rock was a type of Christ, struck for us on Calvary and yielding life-giving water to all who come to Him in faith (1Co_10:4).