Bible Commentaries
Psalms 114

Verses 1-4

When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He dwelt among them and ruled over them. The names Judah and Israel are in poetic parallelism here and refer to the same group, namely, the nation of Israel. Judah was its leading tribe.

The writer personified the Red Sea as seeing the Israelites coming and fleeing from them by parting its waters. Later when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, the Jordan River backed up as far as the town of Adam, farther north in the Jordan Valley, to let them cross. The mountains around Sinai quaked when God came down on Mt. Horeb to meet with His people.

Verses 1-6

1. God’s deliverance at the Exodus 114:1-6

Verses 1-8

Psalms 114

As mentioned previously, the Israelites sang this song at Passover. This was appropriate since it describes God delivering the nation in the Exodus, which event has cosmic implications. It is another psalm of descriptive praise.

Verses 7-8

2. The proper response to God’s deliverance 114:7-8

The writer instructed the earth to continue to tremble before the Lord. Here he used the earth to refer to people living on the earth. This is only fitting in view of God’s awesome power that works for the welfare of His own.

Everyone should reverence the Lord, as His inanimate creation does, because He uses His great power to save and to provide for His people. Remembering His deliverance and provision should move us to fear Him.