1When Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people
of strange language,
2Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.
3The sea saw it and fled;
Jordan turned back.
4The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
5What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
6O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?
7Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of
Jacob,
8Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of
waters.
Commentary
Vs.
1-2
1When Israel went
out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people
of strange language,
2Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.
The Psalm opens by declaring the Lord God’s deliverance of Israel, of His bringing them out of their Egyptian bondage just as He told Abraham that they would be brought into bondage and that He would deliver them some 400 years before the event. No longer then would they be slaves of a people of a strange language, of a people who did not have, nor acknowledge the Lord as God. For He in His Perfect timing delivered all of His people from them. Now when He did this, He made Judah His sanctuary; the tribe He choose to establish His Throne and Temple from forever, (see Gen. 49:8-12; also Gen. 22:2-14; 2 Chr. 3:1 etc.). Therefore, when the Lord God delivered His people from their Egyptian bondage, and thus removed them from amongst them He made all of Israel His dominion. The chosen people of the Lord which began with Abraham alone, now had the Lord God dwelling amongst them all!
Vs. 3 “The sea saw it and fled;
Jordan turned back.”
With His Presence leading them when they came to the Red Sea it saw Him and fled at the Presence of the Lord before them, making a way for them to cross safely. And again when Joshua and Israelites came to the Jordan River to enter the promised land, it was the Lord God’s Presence before them that made it turn back and create a dry pathway for them to cross over on. These two events then present or foretell both our redemption and our finial salvation by the Lord our God alone.
Vs. 4 “The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.”
Such was the Lord’s Presence and Power before His people that even the mountains skipped like rams’ and the little hills like lambs at the presence of the Lord before them. For all of creation feels the Lord’s presence when He is amongst it.
Vs. 5-6 5What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
6O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?
The Psalm now takes a mocking jab at the Red Sea and Jordan River; the two seemingly unpassable barriers for God’s people became completely subservient to the Lord's Will as He led them through both. Same with the mountains and the hills as they were "tickled" to move by Him, by His Glory and Presence amongst them, which far and away excels theirs.
Vs. 7-8 7Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of
Jacob,
8Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of
waters.
Because of the Lord’s mighty works on behalf of His people the whole earth should tremble at the Presence of Him. For He is the Great IAM who raises up and brings down all according to His Will. And He is the God of Jacob, Israel’s God who even turned the rock in the desert wilderness into a pool of water so that He could satisfy their thirsts (see Ex. 17:6; Num. 20:11). Therefore, all peoples know this and fear Him, for he who touches them touches the apple of His eye (Deut. 32:10; Zechariah 2:8).
Scripture Quotations
New King James (1982): Thomas Nelson.
No comments:
Post a Comment