Psalm 114

Psalm 114 ESV

1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language, 2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. 3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? 6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs? 7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

Spoken word is a powerful art form. Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance that is based not only on the poem but also on the delivery as well. It focuses on the aesthetics of recitation and word play. Spoken word has a lot of intonation and voice inflection that helps express emotion and intention in the lyrics. Spoken word is kind of a "catchall" term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud…back in the day they would call this a “poetry slam.”

A few years back, I was putting together a choir musical worship experience based off the idea of God dwelling with His people and so I wrote a spoken word performance to help our people understand the point of the Veil that resided in the OT temple and tabernacle. Instead of teaching on it during the concert, I thought it would be fun and potentially more memorable and powerful for us to here the theological concept in lyrical form. And then covid hit preventing us from being able to do the worship experience. Maybe God was just being gracious and allow Covid to happen just so that what I am about to do would never be done. Maybe God was trying to spare my former congregation from this…but you are my new congregation and Covid restrictions have been lifted…ha ha…so here goes. I could tell you that a primary theme is Scripture is the presence of God dwelling with His image bearing creatures, but our sin has made a separation and that the Bible is the unfolding of God faced with that dilemma and fixing that dilemma...

Or I can say this...

A primary theme in Scripture…

Since the Garden of Eden to Revelation we can see

this picture.

Is the temple presence of God dwelling with His image bearing creatures.

His kids, who themselves, felt compelled to rebel,

and withheld their complete trust

In the commands of their Maker…were expelled…

From His Presence…

Genesis 3:24 is the sentence.

Cherubim posted with flaming sword,

to guard the way back toward

the presence of the Lord.

Now let’s fast forward

in biblical history

to the construction of the tabernacle and temple see

To the place where the Holy God of Israel dwelt physical

In the midst of His children who were completely sinful.

Travel in past the outer court and brazen altar and water basin

Past the candlestick golden, the showbread, the incense, to the final separation

The VEIL –

Crafted for one reason, to keep out those guilty of high treason.

Behold! Crimson and gold.

And according to the stories that the rabbi’s of old told,

it’s as thick as a man’s hand.

The veil, separating holy God and sinful man

Sixty feet high. Thirty feet wide.

And remained, unchanged until the Son of God yelled, “Tetelestai”

“It is finished” – the veil torn in two

Creating access to the mercy seat for the chosen few.

The Hallel Psalms were poems and songs that were memorable because of their content and their delivery. What is your favorite genre of music and why?

Today we are going to be looking at Psalm 114 t is one of Hallel Psalms. I like to think of the Hallel Psalms as if they were the original spoken word performances of Israel.

HALLEL (הלל, hll; Hebrew, “to praise”). Like think about the word, “Hallelujah.” Hallel is the word for “praise,” and “Yah” is the shortened form of the name of God, “Yahweh.” Praise Yahweh.

The Hallel Psalms were the Psalms that were used most regularly in the temple and synagogue. These are some the Psalms that Jesus would have sung this with His disciples on the night of His betrayal. Psalm 113-118 are sometimes referred to as the “Egyptian Hallel” because they focus on the acts of God that occured when God was bringing Israel out of Egypt and establishing them as a nation.

Today…we want to look at this Psalm and discover what it meant for the original audience who sung it first, but then also look at it’s truth to see how it applies to us in a much greater way. And when we do that…it should lead us to exuberant praise…so the second half of our service is going to be us responding to these truths.

Song of Praise - Tis So Sweet to Trust

Ok, so let’s look at this poem and see why it was written for the original audience. The first thing we are going to see is God’s Intervention for His people.

The Intervention (v. 1-2)

Psalm 114:1–2 ESV

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

Look at the context here. This poem starts by looking back at a time when Israel was in bondage. If you have been around the church for any length of time, you probably are aware of the fact that God’s chosen people found themselves enslaved by a cruel, oppressive government in the land of Egypt, but God fought for Israel to provide them deliverance through acts of the 10 plagues and the miraculous events of the exodus narrative.

This Psalm starts by saying, “When Israel went out from Egypt.” Now obviously, the author of this poem and to those he is writing to are currently, “out of Egypt.” They are out of the entrapment that they were in. They were in bondage, but now they are free. They have been delivered from their oppressors.

This Psalm begins with the “beginning” of Israel as a free nation so to speak. The Psalmist is going to engage the powerful art of storytelling to engage his audience. And so he introduces a phrase, or a “character” if you will, to the storyline that is pregnant with meaning to his readers.

He is going to use the phrase, “house of Jacob.” and that concept will be reflect also in the last line of the poem as well when he writes the words, “the God of Jacob.”

What is significant about “house of Jacob” of “God of Jacob?”

Let’s trace the story shall we? What did it take for there to even be a “house of Jacob” to be brought out of bondage in the first place? When you look into this phrase, what you see is a track record of God’s commitment to His people.

First of all, God was the God of Abraham.

God of Abraham

In the storyline of Genesis, we see God, according to His own counsel and purpose set His special affection on a man named Abram. Abram dwelt in a pagan nation, and God chose Him and called Him out in order to bless him and his offspring.

Genesis 12:1–2 ESV

1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

and we fast forward a few chapters and we see God reassuring and comforting this man with these words...

Genesis 15:1 (ESV)

1 “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”

Now there are a whole bunch of ups and downs and trials and tribulations in Abram’s life…and maybe none bigger than trying to have a baby with his wife Sarah. Any body here ever had a hard time having a baby? You are not alone. How in the world will my offspring be a blessing to the world, if I can’t have any offspring? That is a God sized problem. Anyway, God assured Abram he will indeed would have an offspring and you know how Abraham responded?

Abraham and Sarah had a promise from God to have a baby. They also had a God sized problem in that they were well beyond child bearing years. And yet God came through. Do you have any God Sized Problems in your life?

Genesis 17:17 ESV

17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Have you ever been tempted to laugh at God and mock His so called “plans for your life?” You are not alone! So here is Abraham and Sarah, who have God on record with a promise after having waited for 25 years, saying that within the next year…He was going to come through for them.

Have you ever been tempted to laugh at God when you find out His plans for your life like Abraham and Sarah did?

That is a whole bunch of waiting around for God to work. Anybody here been in that boat before? Currently there? I just want you to know…this is typical behavior for our God. Anyway, a whole bunch of waiting for Abraham, but eventually and miraculously, he and his wife Sarah have a son…and it’s no laughing matter! He was 100 and she was 90! This is NOTHING short of a miracle, which God has no problem with performing at all.

And now the God of Abraham has also become the God of Abraham AND Isaac.

God of Abraham and Isaac

And in this story we God doubling down on HIs promise to Abraham, by speaking these words of commitment to Isaac.

Genesis 26:24 (ESV)

24“I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”

Now, we won’t go through all the trials of Isaac’s life, but we know he was born into a family feud…and eventually he would marry and have kids of his own named Esau and Jacob, who also participated in a family feud over a bowl of stew, a birthright and a blessing.

When you trace the storyline of Abraham’s family you will see a number of “family feuds” (Sarah and Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob…), and yet God still used this messed up family to bless the world. Does this give you any hope for your family?

But through all those ups and downs, God eventually leads Jacob to a field with a rock in it where he could lay his head and dream a dream about a ladder that extended from heaven to earth with angels ascending and descending on it. And in that dream God comes to Jacob and triples down dares Jacob to believe the initial promise to Abraham by saying,

Genesis 28:13–15 (ESV)

13 “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. 15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

God has now become the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and now the God of Jacob.

We think well that is amazing…look at the fascninating track record of faithfulness…but did you see verse 15? It says, “I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land.”

The only way you can be brought back to a land is if the land are taken away from you somehow. You can’t go BACK to something unless you are AWAY from it...

Now insert Egypt into this story and then 400 years of bondage and the children of Israel think to themselves…God where are you now?

It’s one thing to wait 25 years for a baby to be delivered…its quite another to wait 400 years for a nation to be delivered.

But let’s go back to our text and see what it says,

Psalm 114:1–2 ESV

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

The Psalmist says, Israel “went out” from Egypt. They were delivered. PRAISE GOD. He is faithful. He is a God of His Word. He will finish what He started…and the Psalmist says, “let’s right a poem about it.” Let’s do some spoken word! Let’s get creative in how we tell this story of the “house of Jacob” that has as it’s main actor the “God of Jacob.”

Look at verse 2 - Judah became His (qodesh /ko·desh/) = his holiness (a place where he would dwell) - sanctuary. (Put a pin in that thought). and Israel would be a place where He exercised His (memshalah /mem·shaw·law) - His dominion/rule and reign). This is language that describes a King and His people (put in a pin in that).

Now that we have seen that God has intervened for His people to bring them out of captivity, let’s look at some more artful expressions of how intimidating God is to whatever stands in His way.

God’s Intimidation (v. 3-6) and Invitation (v. 7-8)

Psalm 114:3–6 ESV

3 The sea looked and fled; Jordan turned back. 4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs. 5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back? 6 O mountains, that you skip like rams? O hills, like lambs?

Ok, so this is where it gets really interesting to me. God has become the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but God’s people are still in bondage and now Moses and Joshua are introduced into the story.

Moses is on the scene and he sees injustice taking place and he wants to do something about it and God announces to him...

Exodus 3:6 (ESV)

6 I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

And we think ok great…big deal…we know that already…but I didn’t show you the whole verse yet. Let’s look at the rest of the verse.

Exodus 3:6 (ESV)

6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Moses had this moment of being overwhelmed with who God was. Moses, in fear, was afraid to look at God…this God is intimidating. This God was powerful and majestic and overwhelming and yet apparently wanted to come alongside tiny little Moses and his tiny little ambition to do something about the injustices happening to God’s people. And God shows up as an ally to Moses and if God is on Moses’s side and Moses is intimidated, I would hate to see what might happen to those objects that were standing in opposition to Yahweh’s path of deliverance!

What does it tell you that waters flee and the mountains high tail it out of the way when Yahweh leads His people out of Egypt, through the Wilderness, into the Promised Land?

You know what stood between God’s people and their deliverance?

There was a body of water and then another body of water and then a whole bunch of mountains and hills.

The Red Sea needed to be crossed for deliverance.

The Jordan River needed to be cross for entrance.

The mountains and hills needed to be traversed in Canaan for the conquest of the land.

There is some AMAZING foreshadowing going on here that I can’t hardly wait to get to…but for now let’s see something comically astounding in the text.

I love this because the Psalmist asks a question, but then doesn’t even allow time for the listener to answer it. In fact, he doesn’t even answer the question that he initially proposes. He just jumps right into an exhortation. Like some things are so obvious you don’t need to answer the question, you just need to respond to the obvious truth.

For instance. Have you ever been around someone that did something that demonstrated their lack of thinking things through? When you see this taking place you think to yourself, “What in the world were they thinking?” (Most of the time this is me!) - but one time it was my sister!

ILLUSTRATION: Car Wash

Have you ever done something when after you have done it thought to yourself, “What in the world was I thinking?”

The obvious truth in this situation is…you clearly weren’t thinking. But instead of asking the question to my sister in the car wash…what are you thinking? and then waiting for her to formulate an answer that question…(and getting more mud caked to her car), if I was there, the more appropriate thing I could do is exhort her into right action by saying something like, “Put the spray wand down.”

I think that is what is happening as we steam roll past verses 5-6 and arrive at verses 7-8, because what you see at verses 7-8 is this massive exhortation.

Psalm 114:7–8 ESV

7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob, 8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

The obvious truth in this poem is, is that Yahweh is a force to be reckoned with. And He isn’t just some far off deity to be lightly considered. He is a personal ever present help in a times of trouble. Here, the earth is not just told to tremble for some far off impersonal God, but the earth is told to tremble at the very near, personal God who has a plan for His people. He has a plan for the people who painted the blood of spotless lambs on their doorways, expressing trust in what God had told them to do in order to have the angel of death pass over them. This IS the GOD OF JACOB. He is their God. They should not be dismayed but the earth should. This is fascinating…the God who has the ability to part waters, part more waters and then make mountains move, also finds it agreeable to be their God.

So we talked about the sea that fled under the leadership of Moses…but verse 5 also mentions the Jordan River...

Psalm 114:5 ESV

5 What ails you, O sea, that you flee? O Jordan, that you turn back?

The Jordan River, along with the Red Sea also turned back. Well, put on your bible history hats and try to remember when the Jordan River stopped flowing? It was when Joshua (who’s name means God of Salvation) crossed it to lead the children of God who escaped the bonds of Egypt. Joshua lead them into the Promised Land. And we on this side of the cross say… “Come on now...” this story seems strangely familiar to me. Let’s take those pins out as we apply this Hallel Psalm to our lives.

We were dead in our trespasses and sins and enslaved to the devil, but we were delivered out of our bondage to sin and the wage that we deserved when we were born again by the Spirit when we placed our faith in the sacrificial blood of spotless lamb on our behalf. Our bodies became God’s sanctuary and He exercised HIs Kingly dominion over us as we too await the day, when we can enter into the ultimate promised land by crossing through the river of death as we follow the greater Joshua, Jesus who’s name means He will save people from their sins. We have heard this story before. This isn’t Israel’s story…this is our story.

And if you think that, you are thinking rightly…this is your story…this is your song…you like the ancient Hebrews needed to sing songs of deliverance all the day long, so do we!

WOW! Right? Wow? Doesn’t this make you want to sing?

Okay…now for the icing on the cake before we sing. There is one last thing in this poem that just floored me this last week. Let’s look at verse 8.

Psalm 114:8 ESV

8 who turns the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a spring of water.

Israel was delivered from slavery in Egypt by the hand of Moses and then brought into the Promised Land by Joshua as they crossed the Jordan River…but what happened between those two events?

Wilderness. What should have taken 11 days, took 40 years because of the grumbling of the people of God. And we think, “How tragic.” Indeed, how tragic…but we should also think, “How typical.” This wandering in the wilderness because of grumbling is not just and Israelite story…it is our story as well.

But look at Israel’s story for a moment…even in the midst of the grumbling, what did God do for them…He struck a rock through Moses staff and provided water for His thirsty people to be sustained while in the wilderness.

Let’s look at our story…Jesus began His ministry by being led into the wilderness where He was tested and tempted on our behalf and passed then test, then at the end of His ministry in the midst of an angry mob that was yelling crucify Him, what did Jesus do for us? He allowed Himself to be struck for us. God, the Father, struck to Rock, known as His Son. A Rock, from which blood and water flowed. Blood that flowed to atone for our sins and water gush out to cleanse us and refresh us as we drink from Him while wandering around as sojourners and strangers in our wilderness until our greater Joshua takes us by the hand and leads across the river of death. And when we cross over and see God face to face we will not be intimidated like Moses, we will see Him as He is and embrace Him because...

1 John 3:2–3 (ESV)

2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and...we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Hear this final exhortation from God today before we move into a time of musical praise.

Psalm 81:10 ESV

10 I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Did you see your salvation story in Psalm 114?