Monday, March 30, 2009

Reflections on Psalm 114

 
    Psalm 114 (Contemporary English Version)

  1. God brought his people out of Egypt, that land with a strange language.
  2. He made Judah his holy place and ruled over Israel.
  3. When the sea looked at God, it ran away, and the Jordan River flowed upstream.
  4. The mountains and the hills skipped around like goats.
  5. Ask the sea why it ran away or ask the Jordan why it flowed upstream.
  6. Ask the mountains and the hills why they skipped like goats!
  7. Earth, you will tremble, when the Lord God of Jacob comes near,
  8. because he turns solid rock into flowing streams and pools of water.




This psalm goes with the 115th that follows and thus is considered a part of the song of praise that the Jews sang at the close of the Passover supper. And what other subject would it use than the exodus from Egypt? When Israel left Egypt, it says, God made her His sanctuary and dominion. In reference to Israel's Red Sea and Jordan crossings it says the sea fled and Jordan turned back. These also represent the beginning and conclusion of Israel's exodus experience. Verse 4 speaks of the mountains skipping like rams and the hills like lambs. A reference, it is thought, of the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai. God's glory was so overpowering in this event that it rocked the mountain. The question then is asked as to why the sea fled, the Jordan turned back and the mountains skipped? This question is answered in verse 7. It was God's presence that caused these reactions. Verse 8 ends the psalm with a reference to God's provision of water for the Israelites from a rock at Meribah.

These are but four of the many mighty acts that God performed on behalf of the Israelites during this period in her history. It is a time the Israelites should never forget, though it seems they did at several points in their history when the people turned to other gods. This formative time in Israel's relationship with God is not unlike the beginning of our own faith journey with God. Our own experiences may not involve such mighty works as these, but they are in their own way rather miraculous. They are times I can go back to in my memory and recall how I came to faith, received God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, and committed my life to His service. It is like a compass that serves as a point reference for me reminding me of my direction and guiding me "true north."

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