Psalms 114 Study Notes: Creation Trembles at the Exodus
A short poem recalling Israel's departure from Egypt, when God made His people His holy dwelling and realm. The sea, the Jordan, and the mountains react to His presence, and the earth is summoned to tremble before the God who brought water from rock.
General
According to 114:1-2, what did Judah and Israel become when they came out of Egypt?
Answer: The place of God's dwelling and the realm He ruled
Psalm 114 looks back to the exodus, when Israel, Jacob's household, left Egypt, a people who spoke a foreign language (114:1). At that time Judah became the holy place where God dwelt, and Israel became His dominion, the realm over which He ruled as King (114:2). The point of the exodus was not only escape from slavery but belonging to God. At Sinai God said Israel would be His treasured possession, a priestly kingdom and a set-apart nation (Exodus 19:5-6). He rescued them from Egypt in order to live among them (Exodus 29:45-46), and He commanded them to build a sanctuary for that purpose (Exodus 25:8).
- Psalm 114:1-2 (BSB)“When Israel departed from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel His dominion.”When Israel came out of Egypt, Judah became God's sanctuary and Israel His dominion.
- Exodus 19:5-6 (BSB)“Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.””At Sinai God called Israel His treasured possession, a priestly kingdom and a set-apart nation.
- Exodus 29:45-46 (BSB)“Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. And they will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”God brought Israel out of Egypt so that He might dwell among them.
- Exodus 25:8 (BSB)“And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.”God commanded a sanctuary to be made so that He could dwell among His people.
Theological
What status does 114:2 assign to Judah and Israel at the exodus?
Answer: The place of God's dwelling and the realm He ruled
The psalm opens with the exodus: Israel, Jacob's household, departs from Egypt, a people who spoke another language (114:1). The result is theological: Judah becomes God's sanctuary and Israel His dominion (114:2), the people themselves constituted as the place of His holy presence and the realm of His kingship. Redemption from Egypt issues in covenant belonging. At Sinai God declares Israel His treasured possession, a priestly kingdom and a set-apart nation (Exodus 19:5-6); He brought them out precisely in order to dwell among them (Exodus 29:45-46); and the sanctuary is commanded for that end (Exodus 25:8).
- Psalm 114:1-2 (BSB)“When Israel departed from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue, Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel His dominion.”When Israel came out of Egypt, Judah became God's sanctuary and Israel His dominion.
- Exodus 19:5-6 (BSB)“Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.””At Sinai God called Israel His treasured possession, a priestly kingdom and a set-apart nation.
- Exodus 29:45-46 (BSB)“Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God. And they will know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt so that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.”God brought Israel out of Egypt so that He might dwell among them.
- Exodus 25:8 (BSB)“And they are to make a sanctuary for Me, so that I may dwell among them.”God commanded a sanctuary to be made so that He could dwell among His people.
General
What wilderness miracle does the final verse of Psalm 114 recall?
Answer: God bringing water out of solid rock for His people
The psalm ends by naming the God before whom the earth trembles as the One who changed rock into standing water and hard flint into a flowing spring (114:8). This recalls how God gave Israel water out of rock in the wilderness. At Horeb He told Moses to strike the rock, and water came out for the people (Exodus 17:6), and Moses later reminded Israel that God brought them water out of flint in a dry land (Deuteronomy 8:15). The same power that makes the mountains shake is used to give His thirsty people drink. Paul says the rock that accompanied the Israelites and gave them spiritual drink was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).
- Psalm 114:8 (BSB)“who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a fountain of water!”God turned rock into a pool and hard flint into a spring of water.
- Exodus 17:6 (BSB)“Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.”At Horeb God told Moses to strike the rock, and water came out for the people to drink.
- Deuteronomy 8:15 (BSB)“He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.”Moses reminds Israel that God brought them water from flint rock in the dry wilderness.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 (BSB)“and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”Paul says the spiritual rock that went with Israel and gave them drink was Christ.
Theological
What act of provision does 114:8 attribute to Jacob's God?
Answer: God bringing water out of solid rock for His people
The psalm closes by identifying the God whose presence makes the earth tremble as the One who changes rock into standing water and flint into a spring (114:8). The awesome power displayed in the theophany is the same power that provides for His people. The allusion is to the Horeb miracle, when Moses struck the rock and water flowed (Exodus 17:6), recalled in Moses' sermon as water drawn from flint in a thirsty land (Deuteronomy 8:15). Paul sees Christ in this provision: the rock that went with Israel and gave them spiritual drink was Christ (1 Corinthians 10:4).
- Psalm 114:8 (BSB)“who turned the rock into a pool, the flint into a fountain of water!”God turned rock into a pool and hard flint into a spring of water.
- Exodus 17:6 (BSB)“Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel.”At Horeb God told Moses to strike the rock, and water came out for the people to drink.
- Deuteronomy 8:15 (BSB)“He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.”Moses reminds Israel that God brought them water from flint rock in the dry wilderness.
- 1 Corinthians 10:4 (BSB)“and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.”Paul says the spiritual rock that went with Israel and gave them drink was Christ.
General
Which two events does 114:3 recall when it speaks of the sea and the Jordan?
Answer: The parting of the Red Sea and the halting of the Jordan
Verse 3 pictures the sea seeing God's people come and running away, and the Jordan River turning back. These are the two great water crossings that framed Israel's journey: the Red Sea at the start, when the LORD pushed the waters back and Israel crossed on dry ground (Exodus 14:21-22), and the Jordan at the end, when its waters stopped flowing and Israel crossed into the promised land (Joshua 3:16-17). Joshua himself linked the two events, saying the LORD made the Jordan dry just as He had done at the Red Sea, so that all peoples would know how mighty the LORD's hand is (Joshua 4:23-24). The psalm speaks of the waters as if they were alive and afraid.
- Psalm 114:3 (BSB)“The sea observed and fled; the Jordan turned back;”The sea saw and fled, and the Jordan turned back.
- Exodus 14:21-22 (BSB)“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.”The LORD drove back the sea so Israel crossed on dry ground.
- Joshua 3:16-17 (BSB)“the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.”The waters of the Jordan stood still, and Israel crossed on dry ground.
- Joshua 4:23-24 (BSB)“For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as He did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.””Joshua links the drying of the Jordan with the drying of the Red Sea, so all peoples would know the LORD's might.
Theological
What two historical events does 114:3 personify in the fleeing sea and the retreating Jordan?
Answer: The parting of the Red Sea and the halting of the Jordan
Verse 3 personifies creation's response to God's redeeming presence: the sea sees and flees, the Jordan turns back. The two events bracket the wilderness period: the Red Sea crossing at the exodus (Exodus 14:21-22) and the Jordan crossing at the entry into Canaan (Joshua 3:16-17). Joshua himself pairs them, grounding both in the LORD's intention that all peoples know the might of His hand and that Israel fear Him (Joshua 4:23-24). The poet compresses the whole deliverance into a single scene in which creation itself yields before Israel's God.
- Psalm 114:3 (BSB)“The sea observed and fled; the Jordan turned back;”The sea saw and fled, and the Jordan turned back.
- Exodus 14:21-22 (BSB)“Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with walls of water on their right and on their left.”The LORD drove back the sea so Israel crossed on dry ground.
- Joshua 3:16-17 (BSB)“the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel crossed over the dry ground, until the entire nation had crossed the Jordan.”The waters of the Jordan stood still, and Israel crossed on dry ground.
- Joshua 4:23-24 (BSB)“For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over, just as He did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, and so that you may always fear the LORD your God.””Joshua links the drying of the Jordan with the drying of the Red Sea, so all peoples would know the LORD's might.
General
How does the psalm answer its own questions to the sea, the Jordan, the mountains, and the hills (114:5-7)?
Answer: They trembled because Jacob's God was present there
Verse 4 pictures the mountains and hills leaping about like young animals of the flock. Then the psalmist asks the sea, the river, the mountains, and the hills what made them act this way (114:5-6). The answer comes in verse 7: the whole earth should tremble before the Lord, Jacob's God. All creation shook because God Himself was there. When the LORD came down on Mount Sinai, the whole mountain shook hard (Exodus 19:18). Deborah's song says the ground shook and the mountains trembled when the LORD marched out (Judges 5:4-5), and another psalm says the earth shook before the God of Sinai (Psalm 68:8).
- Psalm 114:4-7 (BSB)“the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, O mountains, that you skipped like rams, O hills, like lambs? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,”The mountains and hills leap, the psalmist asks them why, and the answer is to tremble before the Lord, the God of Jacob.
- Exodus 19:18 (BSB)“Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.”When the LORD came down on Sinai, the whole mountain quaked violently.
- Judges 5:4-5 (BSB)“O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.”Deborah's song says the earth trembled and the mountains quaked before the LORD.
- Psalm 68:8 (BSB)“the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain before God, the One on Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.”The earth shook before God, the One on Sinai, the God of Israel.
Theological
What answer does 114:7 give to the rhetorical questions of 114:5-6?
Answer: They trembled because Jacob's God was present there
After the mountains and hills leap like young animals of the flock (114:4), the psalmist interrogates the sea, the Jordan, the mountains, and the hills about their behavior (114:5-6). The answer is a summons: let the whole earth tremble before the Lord, Jacob's God (114:7). The cause of creation's upheaval is God's own appearing among His people. The Sinai narrative records the mountain quaking violently when the LORD descended (Exodus 19:18), and the same language of the earth shaking at God's coming appears in Deborah's song (Judges 5:4-5) and in Psalm 68:8, where the earth shakes before the God of Sinai.
- Psalm 114:4-7 (BSB)“the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. Why was it, O sea, that you fled, O Jordan, that you turned back, O mountains, that you skipped like rams, O hills, like lambs? Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,”The mountains and hills leap, the psalmist asks them why, and the answer is to tremble before the Lord, the God of Jacob.
- Exodus 19:18 (BSB)“Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.”When the LORD came down on Sinai, the whole mountain quaked violently.
- Judges 5:4-5 (BSB)“O LORD, when You went out from Seir, when You marched from the land of Edom, the earth trembled, the heavens poured out rain, and the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the LORD, the One of Sinai, before the LORD, the God of Israel.”Deborah's song says the earth trembled and the mountains quaked before the LORD.
- Psalm 68:8 (BSB)“the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain before God, the One on Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.”The earth shook before God, the One on Sinai, the God of Israel.