King James Version
Psalms 114
8 verses with commentary
Tremble at the Presence of the Lord
When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;</strong> This opening verse launches one of Scripture's most dramatic and compact psalms celebrating the Exodus. The psalm is remarkable for its brevity—only eight verses—yet it captures the entire sweep of redemptive history from Egyptian bondage to Promised Land possession.<br><br>"When Israel went out o...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **When Israel went out.**—LXX., in *“*the Exodus of Israel.”
**A people of strange language.**—LXX., rightly, “a barbarous people.” Since the Hebrew word, like the Greek, implies a certain scorn or ridicule, which ancient races generally had for those speaking another language. To this day the Russians call the Germans “dumb.”
Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.</strong> This verse declares the Exodus's ultimate purpose: not merely liberation from Egypt but consecration to God. The parallel structure presents two aspects of Israel's new identity—Judah as sanctuary (holy dwelling) and Israel as dominion (kingdom realm).<br><br>"Judah was his sanctuary" (הָיְתָה יְהוּדָה לְקָדְשׁוֹ/<em>hayetah Yehuda...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Judah was.**—Better, *became. *The feminine verb shows that the country is intended, and not the tribe, and the parallelism directs us to think not of the territory of the tribe of Judah alone, but of the whole country. Notice the art with which the name of God is reserved, and the simple pronoun, His, used. (Comp. Exodus 19:6.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 83 Psa 83:1-18. Of Asaph--(See on Psa 74:1, title). The historical occasion is probably that of 2Ch 20:1, 2 (compare Psa 47:1-9; 48:1-14). After a general petition, the craft and rage of the combined enemies are described, God's former dealings recited, and a like summary and speedy destruction on them is invoked.
1. God addressed as indifferent (compare Psa 35:22; 39:12).
**be not still-...
Read full commentary →The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
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KJV Study Commentary
"The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back." This verse personifies creation responding to divine presence. <em>Hayam ra'ah vayanos</em> (the sea saw and fled). <em>Ra'ah</em> (see/look) and <em>nus</em> (flee/escape) picture the Red Sea observing God's approach and fleeing in terror. Exodus 14:21-22 describes God dividing the sea, creating dry ground for Israel. <em>Hayarden yisov l'achor<...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Fled.**—The Authorised Version weakens the effect by rendering “it was driven back.” (See Joshua 3:16.) The scene presented is of the “descending stream” (the words employed seem to have a special reference to that peculiar and most significant name of the “Jordan”) not parted asunder, as we generally fancy, but, as the psalm expresses it, “turned backwards” (Stanley, *Jewish Church, *i. 229...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. thine enemies--**as well as ours (Psa 74:23; Is 37:23).
The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs .
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KJV Study Commentary
"The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs." The vivid imagery continues personifying creation: <em>Heharim rakdu kh'eilim</em> (the mountains skipped like rams). <em>Rakad</em> (skip/dance/leap) pictures energetic, joyful movement. <em>Eilim</em> (rams) are strong, vigorous adult male sheep. <em>Geva'ot kiv'nei tzon</em> (hills like lambs of the flock). <em>Geva'ah</em> (hi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Skipped.**—The Hebrew word thus rendered is translated “dance” in Ecclesiastes 3:4. (See Psalm 18:7.) Exodus 19:18 was no doubt in the poet’s thought, but the leaping of the hills formed part of every theophany.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. hidden ones--**whom God specially protects (Psa 27:5; 91:1).
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?</strong> The psalmist personifies creation itself, interrogating the Red Sea that parted before Israel (Exodus 14). The Hebrew verb <em>nus</em> (נוּס, to flee) depicts not mere movement but terrified retreat. The rhetorical question anticipates an answer given in verses 7-8: creation flees before the presence of the LORD.<br><br><strong>Tho...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. from being a nation--**utter destruction (Is 7:8; 23:1).
**Israel--**here used for Judah, having been the common name.
Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs ?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?</strong> The interrogation continues, now addressing the trembling at Mount Sinai when God descended to give the Law (Exodus 19:16-18). The verb <em>raqad</em> (רָקַד, to skip, dance, leap) depicts violent convulsions—not gentle hopping but the earth's terrified response to divine presence.<br><br>Mountains, symbols ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5. they have consulted--**with heart, or cordially.
**together--**all alike.
Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;</strong> After describing creation's response to God during the Exodus (seas fleeing, mountains skipping), the psalmist issues a command to all earth: tremble at God's presence. This verse serves as the psalm's theological climax, calling universal recognition of divine majesty.<br><br>"Tremble" (חוּלִי/...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Tremble.**—Literally, *be in travail. *This answer to his question is introduced with consummate art. Well may the mountains tremble, when it is the Lord of all the earth, the God of Jacob, who is present. Notice that till now the mention of the Divine power which wrought the deliverance was kept in suspense.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
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Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-8. tabernacles--**for people (Psa 78:67).
**they--**all these united with the children of Lot, or Ammonites and Moabites (compare 2Ch 20:1).
Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.</strong> The psalm concludes with another wilderness miracle: water from rock. This completes the psalm's survey of God's supernatural provision during Israel's redemption journey—Exodus deliverance, sea crossing, Jordan crossing, and now water from stone.<br><br>"Which turned" (הַהֹפְכִי/<em>hahofekhi</em>) ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6-8. tabernacles--**for people (Psa 78:67).
**they--**all these united with the children of Lot, or Ammonites and Moabites (compare 2Ch 20:1).