Psalms · Chapter 114

Verse 1. A people of strange language] This may mean no more than a barbarous people; a people whom they did not know, and who did not worship their God. But it is a fact that the language of the Egyptians in the time of Joseph was so different from that of the Hebrews that they could not understand each other. See Psalm 81:5; Genesis 42:23. The Chaldee has here yarbrb מעמי meammey barbarey, which gives reason to believe that the word is Chaldee, or more properly Phœnician. See this word fully explained in the note on Acts 28:2. My old Psalter understood the word as referring to the religious state of the Egyptians: In gangyng of Isrel oute of Egipt, of the house of Jacob fra hethen folke.

Verses 1, 2. When Israel went out of Egypt — That is, were brought out by mighty signs and wonders wrought by the power of God; from a people of a strange language — From a barbarous people, as some render it: though it is not improbable that the Israelites, though they stayed so long in Egypt, yet, having little converse or society with the Egyptians, knew little or nothing of their language. Judah was his sanctuary — The tribe of Judah is here put for the Jews in general, because Judah was their principal tribe. And they are said to have been his sanctuary and his dominion, because he appointed that a tabernacle should be placed for himself among them, promised to receive their homage and service, granted them a glorious token of his presence, and became their Lawgiver, King, and Governor, in a peculiar sense.

Verse 1. A people of strange language. The Egyptian language was so different from the Hebrew, that they could not understand one another. Joseph, speaking in the Egyptian to his brethren, did it by an interpreter. Genesis 42:23. Yet this language was easily acquired by their neighbours, and must therefore have had the same primitive words.

1. Strange language—A foreign and unintelligible language. See Psalm 81:5. The word occurs nowhere else in the Old Testament, and the suggestion is, that there could be no natural bond between Israel and a people of a strange dialect; and this barbarity of language not unfrequently became an occasion of enmity. It was plain enough that it was out of the divine order that Israel should dwell among such a people, (see Deuteronomy 28:49; Isaiah 28:11; 33:19,) except for punishment. Jeremiah 5:15. On the strangeness of the dialect of Egypt to the Hebrews see Genesis 42:23.

V. 2. Judah-Or Israel, one tribe being put for all. Judah he mentions as the chief of all the tribes.

Verse 2. Judah was his sanctuary] He set up his true worship among the Jews, and took them for his peculiar people.

And Israel his dominion.] These words are a proof, were there none other, that this Psalm was composed after the days of David, and after the division of the tribes, for then the distinction of Israel and Judah took place.

Verses 1, 2. When Israel went out of Egypt — That is, were brought out by mighty signs and wonders wrought by the power of God; from a people of a strange language — From a barbarous people, as some render it: though it is not improbable that the Israelites, though they stayed so long in Egypt, yet, having little converse or society with the Egyptians, knew little or nothing of their language. Judah was his sanctuary — The tribe of Judah is here put for the Jews in general, because Judah was their principal tribe. And they are said to have been his sanctuary and his dominion, because he appointed that a tabernacle should be placed for himself among them, promised to receive their homage and service, granted them a glorious token of his presence, and became their Lawgiver, King, and Governor, in a peculiar sense.

2. Judah was his sanctuary—That is, after the departure of Israel from Egypt, “Judah” became “his sanctuary.” The author certainly belonged to a late period, when the rivalry of Ephraim had yielded to the power of Judah; and Jerusalem, then belonging to the kingdom of Judah, became, in the eyes of the nation, the holy city. The pronoun “his” refers to God, though the name is suppressed till verse 7—a peculiarity of the psalm.

Verse 3. The sea saw it, and fled] Mr. Addison has properly observed (see Spect. No. 461) that the author of this Psalm designedly works for effect, in pointing out the miraculous driving back the Red Sea and the river Jordan, and the commotion of the hills and mountains, without mentioning any agent. At last, when the reader sees the sea rapidly retiring from the shore, Jordan retreating to its source, and the mountains and hills running away like a flock of affrighted sheep, that the passage of the Israelites might be every where uninterrupted; then the cause of all is suddenly introduced, and the presence of God in his grandeur solves every difficulty.

Verses 3-6. The sea saw it, and fled — Saw that God was present with and among them in an extraordinary manner, and therefore fled; for nothing could have been more awful. Jordan is driven back — At the appearance of the divine glory which conducted them. “Although forty years intervened between the two events here mentioned, yet, as the miracles were of the same nature, they are spoken of together.” The mountains skipped like rams — Horeb and Sinai, two tops of one mountain, and other neighbouring hills and mountains. The same power that fixed the fluid waters, and made them stand still, shook the stable mountains, and made them tremble; for all the powers of nature are at the command and under the control of the God of nature. Mountains and hills are before God but like rams and lambs; even the largest and the most rocky of them are as manageable by him as the sheep are by the shepherd. The trembling of the mountains before Jehovah may shame the stupidity and obduracy of sinners, who are not moved at the discoveries of his glory. What ailed thee, O sea, that thou fleddest? — What was the reason, or for what cause was it, that thou didst, with such precipitation, retire and leave the middle of thy channel dry? Why didst thou, O Jordan, run back toward thy springs? Ye mountains, that ye skipped, &c. — Whence this unusual motion? Why did you leap like affrighted rams or lambs, as if you would have run away from the place where you had so long been fixed?

3. The sea… Jordan— “The dividing of the sea opens, and the dividing of the Jordan closes, the journey through the desert to Canaan.”—Delitzsch. Between these points are grouped rapidly the wonders celebrated in the psalm.

V. 4. The mountains-Horeb and Sinai, two tops of one mountain, and other neighbouring mountains.

Verses 3-6. The sea saw it, and fled — Saw that God was present with and among them in an extraordinary manner, and therefore fled; for nothing could have been more awful. Jordan is driven back — At the appearance of the divine glory which conducted them. “Although forty years intervened between the two events here mentioned, yet, as the miracles were of the same nature, they are spoken of together.” The mountains skipped like rams — Horeb and Sinai, two tops of one mountain, and other neighbouring hills and mountains. The same power that fixed the fluid waters, and made them stand still, shook the stable mountains, and made them tremble; for all the powers of nature are at the command and under the control of the God of nature. Mountains and hills are before God but like rams and lambs; even the largest and the most rocky of them are as manageable by him as the sheep are by the shepherd. The trembling of the mountains before Jehovah may shame the stupidity and obduracy of sinners, who are not moved at the discoveries of his glory. What ailed thee, O sea, that thou fleddest? — What was the reason, or for what cause was it, that thou didst, with such precipitation, retire and leave the middle of thy channel dry? Why didst thou, O Jordan, run back toward thy springs? Ye mountains, that ye skipped, &c. — Whence this unusual motion? Why did you leap like affrighted rams or lambs, as if you would have run away from the place where you had so long been fixed?

4. Mountains skipped—That is, Horeb and Sinai moved to and fro. The word rendered skip, here, indicates a hasty, undulating motion, a coming and retiring, as from fright. In Exodus 19:18 it is said, “The whole mount quaked greatly.” See the same figure, Psalm 29:6; Habakkuk 3:8. The phenomenon is that of a violent earthquake.

Verse 5. What ailed thee, O thou sea] The original is very abrupt; and the prosopopœia, or personification very fine and expressive:— What to thee, O sea, that thou fleddest away!

O Jordan, that thou didst roll back!

Ye mountains, that ye leaped like rams!

And ye hills, like the young of the fold!

After these very sublime interrogations, God appears; and the psalmist proceeds as if answering his own questions:—

At the appearance of the Lord, O earth, thou didst tremble; At the appearance of the strong God of Jacob.

Converting the rock into a pool of waters;

The granite into water springs.

I know the present Hebrew text reads ylwj chuli, “tremble thou,” in the imperative; but almost all the Versions understood the word in past tense, and read as if the psalmist was answering his own questions, as stated in the translation above. “Tremble thou, O earth.” As if he had said, Thou mayest well tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.

Verses 3-6. The sea saw it, and fled — Saw that God was present with and among them in an extraordinary manner, and therefore fled; for nothing could have been more awful. Jordan is driven back — At the appearance of the divine glory which conducted them. “Although forty years intervened between the two events here mentioned, yet, as the miracles were of the same nature, they are spoken of together.” The mountains skipped like rams — Horeb and Sinai, two tops of one mountain, and other neighbouring hills and mountains. The same power that fixed the fluid waters, and made them stand still, shook the stable mountains, and made them tremble; for all the powers of nature are at the command and under the control of the God of nature. Mountains and hills are before God but like rams and lambs; even the largest and the most rocky of them are as manageable by him as the sheep are by the shepherd. The trembling of the mountains before Jehovah may shame the stupidity and obduracy of sinners, who are not moved at the discoveries of his glory. What ailed thee, O sea, that thou fleddest? — What was the reason, or for what cause was it, that thou didst, with such precipitation, retire and leave the middle of thy channel dry? Why didst thou, O Jordan, run back toward thy springs? Ye mountains, that ye skipped, &c. — Whence this unusual motion? Why did you leap like affrighted rams or lambs, as if you would have run away from the place where you had so long been fixed?

5. O thou sea—The apostrophe is bold and beautiful. For other specimens of this figure see Deuteronomy 32:1; 2 Samuel 1:21.

Verses 3-6. The sea saw it, and fled — Saw that God was present with and among them in an extraordinary manner, and therefore fled; for nothing could have been more awful. Jordan is driven back — At the appearance of the divine glory which conducted them. “Although forty years intervened between the two events here mentioned, yet, as the miracles were of the same nature, they are spoken of together.” The mountains skipped like rams — Horeb and Sinai, two tops of one mountain, and other neighbouring hills and mountains. The same power that fixed the fluid waters, and made them stand still, shook the stable mountains, and made them tremble; for all the powers of nature are at the command and under the control of the God of nature. Mountains and hills are before God but like rams and lambs; even the largest and the most rocky of them are as manageable by him as the sheep are by the shepherd. The trembling of the mountains before Jehovah may shame the stupidity and obduracy of sinners, who are not moved at the discoveries of his glory. What ailed thee, O sea, that thou fleddest? — What was the reason, or for what cause was it, that thou didst, with such precipitation, retire and leave the middle of thy channel dry? Why didst thou, O Jordan, run back toward thy springs? Ye mountains, that ye skipped, &c. — Whence this unusual motion? Why did you leap like affrighted rams or lambs, as if you would have run away from the place where you had so long been fixed?

V. 7. Tremble-The mountains did more than what was fit at the appearance of the great God.

Verses 7, 8. Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord — But why do I ask these questions? Ye mountains and hills were no further moved than was quite just and proper, at the approach and presence of the great Jehovah. Yea, the whole earth had reason to tremble and quake on such an occasion. Which turned the rock into a standing water, &c. — For what cannot he do, who performs such an astonishing wonder as to turn rocks into streams and rivers, and flints into fountains of water? Well may we stand in awe of this God of almighty power, and well may we put our trust in this Being of boundless goodness, who, rather than his people should want what is necessary for their sustenance, will bring substantial bread out of the airy clouds, and refreshing waters out of the dry and flinty rocks!

7. Tremble, thou earth— “Tremble,” here, answers to skip in verses 4, 6, and is more literal. The psalmist advances to the imperative mode of address, commanding the whole earth to tremble at the presence of the Lord… of the God of Jacob, in his exalted majesty and power.

Verse 8. The flint] I have translated vymlj challamish, GRANITE; for such is the rock of Horeb, a piece of which now lies before me. This short and apparently imperfect Psalm, for elegance and sublimity, yields to few in the whole book.

It is so well translated in the old Psalter, that I think I shall gratify the reader by laying it before him.

Ver. 1. In gangyng of Isrel oute of Egipt,

Of the house of Jacob fra hethen folke.

Ver. 2. Made is Jude his halawyng

Isrel might of hym.

Ver. 3. The se sawe and fled,

Jurdan turned is agayne;

Ver. 4. Hawes gladed als wethers,

And hilles als lambes of schepe.

Ver. 5. What is to the se, that thou fled?

And thou Jordane that thou ert turned agayne?

Ver. 6. Hawes gladded als wethers?

And hils als lambs of schepe.

Ver. 7. Fra the face of Lorde styrde is the erth, Fra the face of God of Jabob;

Ver. 8. That turnes the stane in stank of waters, And roche in wels of waters.

And, as a still more ancient specimen of our language, I shall insert the Anglo-Saxon, with a literal reading, line for line, as near to the Saxon as possible, merely to show the affinity of the languages. Ver. 1. [Anglo-Saxon]

Ver. 2. [Anglo-Saxon]

Ver. 3. [Anglo-Saxon]

Ver. 4. [Anglo-Saxon]

Ver. 5. [Anglo-Saxon]

Ver. 6. [Anglo-Saxon]

Ver. 7. [Anglo-Saxon]

Ver. 8. [Anglo-Saxon]

Ver. 1. On outgang Israel of Egypt,

House Jacob of folk foreigners;

Ver. 2. Made is Jacob holyness his;

Israel andweald (government) his.

Ver. 3. Sea saw, and flew!

Jordan turned underback!

Ver. 4. Mounts they fain (rejoiced) so (as) rams, And burghs (hillocks) so (as) lamb-sheep.

Ver. 5. What is the sea, that thou flew?

And thou river for that thou turned is underback? Ver. 6. Mounts ye fained (rejoiced) so so rams;

And hills so so lambs-sheep.

Ver. 7. From sight Lord’s stirred is earth;

From sight God of Jacob.

Ver. 8. Who turned stone in mere waters;

And cliffs in wells waters.

I have retained some words above in nearly their Saxon form, because they still exist in our old writers; or, with little variation, in those of the present day:—

Ver. 2. Andweald, government. Hence weal and wealth, commonweal or wealth; the general government, that which produces the welfare of the country.

Ver. 4. Faegnodon, fained—desired fervently, felt delight in expectation.

Ver. 4. Burgh, a hill—a mound or heap of earth, such as was raised up over the dead. Hence a barrow; and hence the word bury, to inhume the dead.

Ver. 8. Mere, or meer, a large pool of water, a lake, a lough, still in use in the north of England. Gentlemen’s ponds, or large sheets of water so called; and hence Winander-mere. a large lake in Westmoreland. Mere also signifies limit or boundary; hence the Mersey, the river which divides Lancashire from Cheshire, and serves as a boundary to both counties. The mere that spreads itself out to the sea.

Instead of cludas, which signifies rocks, one MS. has [Anglo-Saxon] clyf, which signifies a craggy mountain or broken rock. The reader will see from this specimen how much of our ancient language still remains in the present; and perhaps also how much, in his opinion, we have amplified and improved our mother tongue.

Verses 7, 8. Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord — But why do I ask these questions? Ye mountains and hills were no further moved than was quite just and proper, at the approach and presence of the great Jehovah. Yea, the whole earth had reason to tremble and quake on such an occasion. Which turned the rock into a standing water, &c. — For what cannot he do, who performs such an astonishing wonder as to turn rocks into streams and rivers, and flints into fountains of water? Well may we stand in awe of this God of almighty power, and well may we put our trust in this Being of boundless goodness, who, rather than his people should want what is necessary for their sustenance, will bring substantial bread out of the airy clouds, and refreshing waters out of the dry and flinty rocks!

Ver. 8. Flint. The Hebrew is literally callous, or very hard rock. They had not the Gothic grouan, or granite, the real name of the rock.

8. The flint into a fountain— “Flint” is parallel to rock in the preceding line, and means no more than hard rock, as Deuteronomy 8:15; 32:13. The Septuagint has it sharp rock, as if it were a crag. Fountain of waters—Corresponds to standing water, both indicating a permanent and abundant supply. It refers, probably, to the rock Horeb, where the miraculous supply of water continued nearly a year. See notes on Psalm 78:15, 16.