Psalm 114 – The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel

Published February 21, 2024 by Rev. Pete Van't Hoff in Devotions

Psalm 114 captures, as a poet might, those great feats of God’s first deliverance and providence of  His people. It begins with their delivery from slavery.

1 When Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.

It continues by personifying the notable waters of Israel’s desert trek, but also considers (I think) the quaking of Mount Sinai at the delivery of God’s law to His people (Ex. 19:18).

The sea saw [Israel’s deliverance] and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?

To conclude, a meaningful warning is given, and another historical event professed.

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters.

Verse 8 references Numbers 20:1-13 where God had compassion on a newly-delivered-but-grumbling-and-unthankful people, by providing water from the rock, when there was no other hope for survival. Dear reader, Jesus Christ is our only salvation from our sins. There is no other hope other than Him. God has provided. Creation itself obeys. Let us pray.

Dear Lord and heavenly Father,

Blessed be Your holy and inspiring name. As You preserved Your people over time and with great miracles, so, in the name of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Your people are miraculously saved from our sins. Blessed be Your holy name. In Christ, Amen.

 

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