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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Psalms 114:1-8

The psalmist is here remembering the days of old, the years of the right hand of the Most High, and the wonders which their fathers told them of (Jdg. 6:13), for time, as it does not wear out the guilt of sin, so it should not wear out the sense of mercy. Let it never be forgotten, I. That God brought Israel out of the house of bondage with a high hand and a stretched-out arm: Israel went out of Egypt, Ps. 114:1. They did not steal out clandestinely, nor were they driven out, but fairly went... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 114:7

Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord ,.... Or, "the earth has trembled at the presence of the Lord"; so the Syriac and Arabic versions render it; the imperative is sometimes put for the preterite or past tense, see Psalm 22:9 , likewise the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions thus render it, "the earth is moved at the presence of the Lord"; and then the sense is by a prosopopoeia. Is it to be wondered at, that we, the sea, the river of Jordan, the mountains and hills, have... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 114:8

Which turned the rock into a standing water ,.... Both at Rephidim and at Kadesh; which being smitten, streams of water flowed out like rivers, as if the rock itself was changed into water; and which came a constant and continual supply for the Israelites, for it is said to follow them; see Exodus 17:6 . The flint into a fountain of waters ; referring to the same thing, the rocks were flinty ones. This was a type of Christ the Rock; who has an abiding fulness of grace in him; is the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 114:8

The flint - I have translated חלמיש 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. Psalm 114:1 ; In gangyng of Isrel oute of Egipt, Of the house of Jacob fra hethen folke. Psalm 114:2 ; Made is Jude his halawyng... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 114:7

Verse 7 7At the presence of the Lord Having aroused the senses of men by interrogations, he now furnishes a reply, which many understand to be a personification of the earth; because they take י, yod, to be the affix of the verb חולי , chuli; and they represent the earth as saying, It is my duty to tremble at the presence of the Lord. This fanciful interpretation is untenable; for the term, earth, is immediately subjoined. Others, with more propriety, considering the י, yod, in this, as in many... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 114:1-8

God with us. This psalm, which is so full of fine poetry, is also charged with spiritual suggestiveness. In the few verses of which it is composed, it brings before us the nearness of God to us, and the power he is exerting on us. We have— I. HIS DWELLING - PLACE IN US . "Judah was his sanctuary" ( Psalms 114:2 ). God dwelt in Judah in a sense in which he dwelt nowhere else. There was his manifested presence, and thither the tribes came up when they wanted to offer... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 114:1-8

The soul's exodus. The psalm is a wonderfully vivid and beautiful description of the deliverance of God's people from Egypt. In all ages of the Church this has been looked upon as the pattern and type of the soul's deliverance by the redemption of Christ. Much of that history is suggested here. We are shown— I. FROM WHENCE THE SOUL WAS SET FREE . 1. From Egypt, the true type of the world. At first so pleasant, so prosperous, so Goshen-like, so free from care, life... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 114:1-8

The spiritual exodus. I. WE MAKE OUR ESCAPE FROM A STATE OF BONDAGE — EGYPT . 1. A life of sin is a life of spiritual bondage . ( Romans 6:16 .) 2. Such a life of bondage brings us into "strange" and unnatural relations . ( Psalms 114:1 .) Egypt was not the home of the Israelites. II. THE SPIRITUAL EXODUS BRINGS US INTO OUR TRUE , OR DIVINE , RELATIONS . ( Psalms 114:2 .) 1. We become consecrated temples for the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 114:7

Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord . The answer is given, but only indirectly given, in these words. Nothing less than "the presence of the Lord"—a miraculous and abnormal presence—can have produced the strange phenomena. The earth has felt the presence of God, and has trembled, and has done right to tremble; but Israel may take comfort from the theophany, for it is a manifestation on her behalf. The presence that has made itself felt is the presence of the God of Jacob —the... read more

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