Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

Psalm 114. This hymn of praise celebrates the special status of God's people in his plan: the Lord is the one whom all nature obeys, and even trembles before, and yet he has chosen little Israel to be his own, and he exerts his power on their behalf. The psalm mentions the exodus from Egypt, the covenant at Sinai that made Israel to be God's "dominion," the crossing of the Jordan River under Joshua's leadership, and God's provision for his people as they traveled through the wilderness. When the believing congregation sings this, they are better able to accept their current circumstances as under God's governance as well. The psalm uses exuberant personification, describing the Red Sea and Jordan River as if they fled from God, the mountains as skipping like lambs, and the earth as trembling at God's presence. The imagery conveys how powerful the Lord is: even the strongest natural forces would not dream of resisting him. However, the events of the psalm are not simply displays of raw power: God used his power for the sake of his people.

114:1-2 Israel Became God's Holy Kingdom. The opening section recalls the exodus (when Israel went out from Egypt) and its consequence: Judah became God's sanctuary, and Israel became God's dominion, i.e., Israel is the holy place where God rules. Judah probably represents all Israel here, which would make sense if, as most scholars think, this psalm comes from after the Babylonian exile (when Judah was all that was left of the ancient people). Describing Egypt as a people of strange language further supports this: Judah had recently dwelt among another people speaking an unfamiliar language (cf. Deut. 28:49; Jer. 5:15; Ezek. 3:5-6).