Psalm 114
The Past and Present Deliverance of Israel by Jehovah
The Past and Present Deliverance of Israel by Jehovah
Psalm 114. In this orphan Psalm we have a review of Jehovah’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and this is followed by a call for present deliverance by the same Jehovah. Prophetically, this Psalm speaks of the regathering of Israel from the present places as scattered among the nations, “from a people of strange language”, to be brought back into the land and blessed. It is all the work of Jehovah.
PSALM 114
1 When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
2 Judah was his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
vv.1-2 The Exodus. The Psalm begins with a review of Jehovah’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. It is interesting that the Egyptians are referred to as “a people of strange language”. The children of Israel were truly foreigners in Egypt, but when Jehovah delivered them, “Judah was his sanctuary, Israel his dominion”. Quite a contrast!
3 The sea saw it and fled, the Jordan turned back;
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.
vv.3-4 Jehovah’s Power in Deliverance. When Jehovah brought Israel out of Egypt, natural barriers like the Red Sea and the Jordan River were no impediment to Him. Poetically, the waters are pictured as fleeing away from Israel. Mt. Sinai shook with an earthquake when the Lord’s presence came down. So it will be when God brings the returning ten tribes home to the land. There are a number of geological barriers that prevent the mass migration of millions of Israelites to Palestine. In order to open the way, a number of changes will come to pass. First, the “tongue of the Red Sea” (the east and west arms of the sea which form the Sinai Peninsula) will be dried (Isa. 11:15). Secondly, the “depths of the Nile” (Zech. 10:11) and her seven streams (Isa. 11:15) will also be dried. This will open up a clear and easy passage for the tribes returning from the south. Furthermore, a “highway” (cleared path) will be made from Assyria to Israel (Isa. 11:16), crossing mountains and hills.
5 What ailed thee, thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou turnedst back?
6 Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams? ye hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the +God of Jacob,
8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters.
vv.5-8 The Presence of Jehovah Among His People. Just as the waters and mountains were moved at the presence of Jehovah in the Exodus, so they will again “tremble… at the presence of the Lord” when He delivers Israel in the future. Bringing water out of the rock is recalled in v.8 as a special proof of Jehovah’s power to care for His people no matter what the circumstances are. The key is that Jehovah will be present among His people!