Psalm 114: The Lord Who Delivered Israel

114:1 When Israel left Egypt, when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind, 114:2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his kingdom. 114:3 The sea looked and fled; the Jordan River turned back. 114:4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 114:5 Why do you flee, O sea? Why do you turn back, O Jordan River? 114:6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains, like lambs, O hills? 114:7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord – before the God of Jacob, 114:8 who turned a rock into a pool of water, a hard rock into springs of water! Psalm 115

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Psalm 114 remembers how the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt and showed his power over sea, river, mountains, and rock. The psalm says that the God of Jacob rules creation, dwells among his people, and gives them what they need.

This psalm is a song of remembrance. It looks back to the exodus and the way God led Israel out of Egypt. Verse 1 says that Jacob’s family left a foreign nation. Verse 2 explains the meaning of that event: Judah became God’s sanctuary, and Israel became his kingdom. God did not only free them from slavery. He set them apart for himself and ruled among them.

The next verses use vivid picture language. The sea fled, the Jordan turned back, and the mountains and hills seemed to jump like animals. These are not questions that need answers. They are a way of saying that creation itself responded to the Lord’s presence and power.

The psalm then gives the central command: the earth must tremble before the Lord, the God of Jacob. The last verse remembers that he also gave water from the rock in the wilderness. The same God who opened a way through danger also sustained his people in a dry land. The psalm joins saving power, holy rule, and faithful provision in one short praise.

• The Lord brought Israel out of Egypt.
• God’s deliverance was covenantal; he made Israel his sanctuary and kingdom.
• Creation obeys and trembles before the God of Jacob.
• The God who saved also provided water from the rock.
• Redemption leads to holy life under God’s rule.

• Warning: the earth must tremble before the Lord, the God of Jacob.
• Promise: the God who delivered and provided for Israel is able to sustain his people.
• Command: remember God’s saving acts and respond with reverent worship.

Psalm 114 belongs to the exodus and wilderness stage of redemptive history. It remembers how the Lord formed Abraham’s descendants into his covenant people. The psalm points to God’s kingship over his people and his faithful presence among them.

Read this psalm as a call to reverent faith. Remember what God has done, worship him for his power, and trust him to provide in hard places. Do not treat the psalm as a vague lesson about nature; it is praise for the Lord’s saving acts for Israel.

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