Psalm 114--Tremble at the Presence of the Lord

Psalm 114
English Standard Version

Tremble at the Presence of the Lord
114 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.

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At the time of the Exile, the LORD marked His people with His name, and He was enthroned on the praises of His people (the name "Judah" means "praise.")  He was their God and He was their people.  They would forever belong to Him because He had bought them out of slavery with a price.  How much more do we belong to Jesus who has bought us with the price of His own blood?

The Red Sea parted, and they crossed on dry ground as they exited Egypt and the Jordan River at the time it flooded its bank because of the spring thaw and rain was heaped up so that they could also cross on dry ground and take stones from the riverbed to make a memorial to the LORD.  No one who crossed the Red Sea crossed the Jordan River with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, so the LORD was revealing Himself anew to the new generation and showing Himself faithful to keep all His promises, even if it took longer than we expected or wanted for them to be fulfilled.

The Psalmist tells the earth to tremble (earthquake?) before the Lord's coming.  We know when the LORD showed up on Mount Sinai that the ground shook and the rocks split apart, and the Mount of Olives is going to split apart when Jesus comes down as the rider on the while horse--the Conquering King.  This is the same God who make water come from a rock in the desert.  Surely the earth, and skies and seas all obey the One who spoke them into existence.  Jesus told the Pharisees that if the people of Israel were quiet and did not celebrate His entrance into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday that the rocks would sing and cry out with joy.  Yes, even the mountains and the hills will have a part to play in welcoming the coming of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  We too will be there not as warriors, but as choir members to sing His praises.  May we never cease to praise Him, for He is worthy!