Psalm 114 Meaning Explained

A poetic flashback to the Exodus, where nature itself is personified in terror and flight. At Jacob’s departure, 'The sea looked and fled; the Jordan turned back.' The mountains and hills skip like rams. The rhetorical question: 'What ails you, O sea, that you flee?' The answer: the presence of the God of Jacob, who turns rock into pool, flint into spring. It is geological testimony to divine power.

A clear explanation of Psalm 114, its meaning, context, and message for believers today

Psalms Chapter 114 | KJV

1. When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language;
2. Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.
3. The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.
4. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs.
5. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back?
6. Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs?
7. Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;
8. Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.

Historical Context

Psalm 114 recalls God’s miraculous acts during the Exodus, emphasizing His power over creation and deliverance.