Psalms 114 - Introduction

This psalm, a part of the Hallel (see the notes at the Introduction to Psalms 113:1), is occupied in celebrating the praises of God for what he had done in the delivering of his people from Egyptian bondage, and in conducting them to the promised land. It is the language of exultation, joy, and triumph, in view of the gracious interpositions of God in their deliverance. The psalmist sees the mountains and hills seized as it were with consternation, leaping and skipping like sheep; Jordan, as it were, frightened and fleeing back; the very earth trembling - at the presence of God. Everything is personified. Everything is full of life; everything recognizes the presence and the power of the Most High. It would be appropriate to use such a psalm on the great festivals of the Jewish nation, for nothing could be more proper than to keep these events in their history before the minds of the people. The author of the psalm is unknown; and the occasion on which it was composed cannot now be determined. It is a most animated, elevated, cheering psalm, and is proper to be used at all times to make the mind rejoice in God, and to impress us with the feeling that it is easy for God to accomplish his purposes.