Psalm 114

1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

This exodus hymn states the whole story in the first two verses. Israel moved out of Egypt and YHWH moved into Israel. The first verse consists of two parallel lines, showing the relationship between “Israel” and “house of Jacob”. They are two names for the same patriarch, Jacob his given name at birth, and Israel his new name, given by God. Likewise, Egypt is described in two ways, the name of the country itself and then a description accenting its foreign nature in relation to the Jewish people. They didn’t understand the language, they were outsiders. When Israel moved out of Egypt, God moved into them, dwelling in their midst in the wilderness and then settling into the sanctuary in Jerusalem. He also set up his rule over them, from Sinai to Zion, the LORD exercised dominion over them in giving and enforcing his laws. Egypt is a metaphor for sin and death, so to the believer, these two lines are a short summary of the redemption that we’ve received in Christ. He has brought us out of a place where we did not below and he has moved into us as the Holy Spirit, and he exercises his dominion through us as his church. The church collectively is the sanctuary of God and the kingdom of God. And each member of the church individually is a vessel of the Holy Spirit and a citizen of that kingdom. Paul elaborates on this in 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19. Your body as a dwelling place for God and as an agent for his rule profoundly affects what you do with your body. You are not your own, you were bought with a price, so honor God with your body; obey him as a citizen of his kingdom, extending his good rule into the lives of others. 

3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back.

4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

These verses describe in metaphorical terms how the land responded to the presence of the LORD as he led his people from Egypt to Zion. The sea took one look and ran away, a reference to the crossing of the Red Sea in the exodus. And at the other end of the journey, as the people entered the promised land, the Jordan also turned back as the people walked through, the ark of God carried on the shoulders of the priests. The mountains and hills responded by skipping like rams and little sheep. There is no mention of earthquakes in the biblical accounts of the exodus and conquest (although that might explain the tumbling of the walls of Jericho). The area was seismically active, so this could be a literal reference to the effect of an earthquake, causing the ground to undulate like a flock of sheep moving along a path. More likely though it is metaphoric of the land celebrating. Similar language is found in Psalms 96 and 98 where the trees sing and the rivers clap their hands. The reign of God in Zion is cause for celebration and this party extends to the land itself. This suggests a controversial idea today, namely, that human flourishing is also good for the earth. The replacement of the pagan nations with the people of God is seen as a win for the land itself. In modern history, examples of the abuse of land abound -- from war to communist utopian environmental disasters. A properly ordered view of God and man should result in environmental stewardship, and for that, the earth is glad.

5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?

6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?

The first words of verse 5 are literally, “what to you?” It’s something akin to “what’s going on?” It is a rhetorical question of course. These aspects of the natural world that are so massive and unmovable from a human perspective are retreating before the movement of God. As he leads his people out of slavery and into the land, everything is getting out of his way -- seas, rivers, mountains and hills. The language reminds me a bit of the words of Isaiah 40:3,4 in prophesying the coming of the messiah -- the mountains will be made low and the valleys raised up to make a highway for God. The LORD can move any obstacle in his way, and when we are with him, the same is true for us. Unfortunately we can only see the present, so it can be hard for us to see through the eyes of faith the kinds of things that the LORD is doing to advance his kingdom, how He is going before us and making a way for the gospel to penetrate lands that do now know his name. The earth seems excited to do his bidding while the waters run away at his command. 

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,

8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

The focus of the final verses moves to the earth. This time the earth is told to tremble, to quake in fear at the disruption that God will cause. The psalmist uses the word adonai here rather than the divine name, which doesn’t occur in this psalm. He speaks of the miraculous work of God in the wilderness as he caused water to come from rocks. The one who commands the waters to flee apparently can also cause them to return, this time to nourish his people in the desert. This psalm is a quick look at the exodus, reminding us of each key event of that remarkable season. These are meant to serve as examples for us -- both of God’s power and his provision. His power to command nature itself, and his provision to take note of humans and make sure they don’t go thirsty. There is a way through the sea, a path through the river. There is water from the rock. This is the lesson God wishes to impress upon us in this exodus tale. He’s the same God, and we are his people.