Bible Commentary

Psalms 114:1-8

Matthew Henry on Psalms 114:1-8

Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · Matthew Henry · CC0 1.0 Universal

Let us acknowledge God's power and goodness in what he did for Israel, applying it to that much greater work of wonder, our redemption by Christ; and encourage ourselves and others to trust in God in the greatest straits.

When Christ comes for the salvation of his people, he redeems them from the power of sin and Satan, separates them from an ungodly world, forms them to be his people, and becomes their King. There is no sea, no Jordan, so deep, so broad, but, when God's time is come, it shall be divided and driven back.

Apply this to the planting the Christian church in the world. What ailed Satan and his idolatries, that they trembled as they did? But especially apply it to the work of grace in the heart. What turns the stream in a regenerate soul?

What affects the lusts and corruptions, that they fly back; that prejudices are removed, and the whole man becomes new? It is at the presence of God's Spirit. At the presence of the Lord, not only mountains, but the earth itself may well tremble, since it has lain under a curse for man's sin.

As the Israelites were protected, so they were provided for by miracles; such was that fountain of waters into which the flinty rock was turned, and that rock was Christ. The Son of God, the Rock of ages, gave himself to death, to open a fountain to wash away sins, and to supply believers with waters of life and consolation; and they need not fear that any blessing is too great to expect from his love.

But let sinners fear before their just and holy Judge. Let us now prepare to meet our God, that we may have boldness before him at his coming.

Recommended reading

More for Psalms 114:1-8

Continue with other commentaries and DiscipleDeck content connected to this verse, chapter, or topic.

Other commentaries

The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1-8Psalms 114:1-8 · The Pulpit CommentaryEXPOSITION A PSALM of reminiscence, designed to encourage the exiles on their return from Babylon, during their "day of small things" (Zechariah 4:10; comp. Ezra 3:12). If God had done so much for them when he brought t…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1Psalms 114:1 · The Pulpit CommentaryWhen Israel went out of Egypt; literally, at the going forth of Israel from Egypt; ἐν ἐξόδῳ ἰσράηλ, LXX. The "going forth from Egypt" was the only thing parallel in Israelitish history to the going forth from Baby…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1-8Psalms 114:1-8 · The Pulpit CommentaryGod with us. This psalm, which is so full of fine poetry, is also charged with spiritual suggestiveness. In the few verses of which it is composed, it brings before us the nearness of God to us, and the power he is exer…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1-8Psalms 114:1-8 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe soul's exodus. The psalm is a wonderfully vivid and beautiful description of the deliverance of God's people from Egypt. In all ages of the Church this has been looked upon as the pattern and type of the soul's deli…The Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1-8Psalms 114:1-8 · The Pulpit CommentaryThe spiritual exodus. I. WE MAKE OUR ESCAPE FROM A STATE OF BONDAGE—EGYPT. 1. A life of sin is a life of spiritual bondage. (Romans 6:16.) 2. Such a life of bondage brings us into "strange" and unnatural relations. (Psa…
commentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1-8EXPOSITION A PSALM of reminiscence, designed to encourage the exiles on their return from Babylon, during their "day of small things" (Zechariah 4:10; comp. Ezra 3:12). If God had done so much for them when he brought t…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1When Israel went out of Egypt; literally, at the going forth of Israel from Egypt; ἐν ἐξόδῳ ἰσράηλ, LXX. The "going forth from Egypt" was the only thing parallel in Israelitish history to the going forth from Baby…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1-8The spiritual exodus. I. WE MAKE OUR ESCAPE FROM A STATE OF BONDAGE—EGYPT. 1. A life of sin is a life of spiritual bondage. (Romans 6:16.) 2. Such a life of bondage brings us into "strange" and unnatural relations. (Psa…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1-8God with us. This psalm, which is so full of fine poetry, is also charged with spiritual suggestiveness. In the few verses of which it is composed, it brings before us the nearness of God to us, and the power he is exer…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:1-8The soul's exodus. The psalm is a wonderfully vivid and beautiful description of the deliverance of God's people from Egypt. In all ages of the Church this has been looked upon as the pattern and type of the soul's deli…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:2Man is God's temple. "Judah became his sanctuary." Though neither the author nor the occasion of this psalm can be definitely known, it clearly belongs to the time of the returned exiles, when the remaking of the nation…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:2Judah was his sanctuary; or "became his sanctuary;" Judah—i.e. the land of Judah—received the special honor of being chosen for the seat of God's sanctuary. And Israel his dominion. While all the rest of Israel was acce…Joseph S. Exell and contributorscommentaryThe Pulpit Commentary on Psalms 114:3The sea saw it, and fled. "The sea" is the Red Sea. It "looked," and saw God leading his people (Exodus 14:19-24), and then at once "fled," and left a dry channel as "a way for the ransomed to pass over." Jordan (litera…Joseph S. Exell and contributors