Psalms — Chapter 114

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

2Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.

3The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.

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

5What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?

6Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?

7Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;

8Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

1When Israel went forth out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language;

2Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

3The sea saw it, and fled; The Jordan was driven back.

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

5What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest? Thou Jordan, that thou turnest back?

6Ye mountains, that ye skip like rams; Ye little hills, like lambs?

7Tremble, thou 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. Psalm 115

1When Israel left Egypt, when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind,

2Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his kingdom.

3The sea looked and fled; the Jordan River turned back.

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

5Why do you flee, O sea? Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?

6Why do you skip like rams, O mountains, like lambs, O hills?

7Tremble, O earth, before the Lord— before the God of Jacob,

8who turned a rock into a pool of water, a hard rock into springs of water.

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

2Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

3The sea saw it, and fled. The Jordan was driven back.

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

5What was it, you sea, that you fled? You Jordan, that you turned back?

6You mountains, that you skipped like rams; you little hills, like lambs?

7Tremble, you 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 spring of waters.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Videos
Reflection

Summary

A Hallel psalm celebrating the Exodus — when Israel went out of Egypt, the sea fled, Jordan turned back, mountains skipped; 'Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord' who turned the rock into a pool of water.

Authorship & Background

Author: Multiple authors — primarily David (73 psalms attributed), plus Asaph (12), Sons of Korah (11), Solomon (2), Moses (1), Heman (1), Ethan (1), and anonymous. The Psalter was compiled over approximately 1000 years and served as Israel's hymnal and prayer book. The book is divided into five 'books' (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150), paralleling the five books of Moses. Key themes: worship, lament, praise, trust, kingship, creation, wisdom, Messianic prophecy, and the full range of human emotion brought before God.
Classification: Hallel Psalm / Hymn of Praise Attributed Author: Anonymous Key Themes: The Exodus as cosmic event, God's presence causing nature to flee, the power of God's presence, poetic personification of creation, the God of Jacob as Lord of all nature
Historical Context: Psalm 114 is the second psalm in the Egyptian Hallel (113-118), sung at Passover. It is one of the most artistically brilliant poems in the Bible — only 8 verses, yet it captures the entire Exodus in vivid poetic imagery. The sea, the Jordan, the mountains, and the hills are personified as living creatures who RESPOND to God's presence: the sea flees, Jordan retreats, mountains skip like rams. The psalm asks creation directly: "What ailed thee?" — as if the earth itself was startled by God walking through. No divine name appears until v.7 ("the Lord" / "the God of Jacob") — the whole poem builds toward the revelation of who caused this cosmic disruption.
Structure:
  • The Exodus Event (vv.1-2)
  • Nature's Response to God's Presence (vv.3-4)
  • Direct Address to Creation (vv.5-6)
  • The Revelation: God of Jacob (vv.7-8)

Map & Geography

  • Egypt (v.1): Land to the southwest; place of Israel's bondage and exodus.
  • Jordan (v.3, v.5): River flowing from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea; Israel's boundary.

Reflection

  • 1. Creation recognizes God even when we don't (v.3). The sea saw and fled. Mountains leaped. Do you respond to God's presence with less awareness than rocks and water?
  • 2. The God of the cosmos is the God of Jacob (v.7). The same power that split seas and shook mountains is personally committed to flawed individuals. He is both infinite and intimate.
  • 3. God makes water from rock (v.8). Whatever impossible situation you face — flint, stone, hardness — God can bring forth living water from it. No material is too hard for His power.
  • 4. The brevity and beauty of this psalm teaches: the greatest truths often need the fewest words. Eight verses capture an entire theology of divine power and presence.