HISTORICAL PSALMS 114

0. Introduction

a) For the original hearers, the historical psalms were vivid reminders of God's past acts on behalf of Israel. These history songs were written for passing on important lessons to succeeding generations. They celebrated the many promises of God had made and faithfully kept; they also recounted the faithlessness of the people.

b) We cannot read this ancient history without reflecting on how consistently God's people failed to learn from the past. They repeatedly turned from fresh examples of God's faithfulness and forgiveness only to plunge back into sin. God can use these psalms to remind us how often we do exactly the same thing: having every reason to live for God, we choose instead to live for everything but God. If we paid more attention to "his story" we wouldn't make so many mistakes in our own stories.

1. Historical psalms 114  

a) The power of God in his deliverance of Israel

¹When Israel went out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
² Judah became His sanctuary,
And Israel His dominion.

³ The sea saw it and fled;
Jordan turned back.
⁴ The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
⁵ What ails you, O sea, that you fled?
O Jordan, that you turned back?
⁶ O mountains, that you skipped like rams?
O little hills, like lambs?

 

⁷ Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Jacob,
⁸ Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of waters. (Psalms 114:1-8 NKJV)