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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 114:1

When Israel went out of Egypt ,.... The people of Israel in a body, publicly, openly, and not by stealth; freely and willingly, not forced and drove out; though urged by the Egyptians to go, through the hand of God upon them; and so went out with the mighty hand and outstretched arm of the Lord, and with great riches, and in health, not one feeble or sick among them. The house of Jacob from a people of strange language ; or barbarous; as every language was reckoned by the Jews but their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 114:2

Judah was his sanctuary ,.... Meaning not the tribe of Judah only, though that in many things had the preeminence; the kingdom belonging to it, the chief ruler being out of it, especially the Messiah; its standard was pitched and moved first; it offered first to the service of the Lord; and the Jews have a tradition, mentioned by Jarchi and Kimchi, that this tribe, with its prince at the head of it, went into the Red sea first; the others fearing, but afterwards followed, encouraged by their... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Psalms 114:3

The sea saw it, and fled ,.... When the Word of the Lord appeared at it, as the Targum in the king's Bible; the Red sea, to which the Israelites came when they went out of Egypt; this saw that Judah was the Lord's holy and peculiar people, and that Israel were the subjects of his kingdom; it saw the presence of the Lord among them; it saw him in the glory of his perfections, and felt his power; see Psalm 77:16 , at which its waters fled and parted, and stood up as a wall to make way for... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 114:1

A people of strange language - This may mean no more than a barbarous people; a people whom they did not know, and who did not worship their God. But it is a fact that the language of the Egyptians in the time of Joseph was so different from that of the Hebrews that they could not understand each other. See Psalm 81:5 ; Genesis 42:23 . The Chaldee has here ברבראי מעמי meammey barbarey , which gives reason to believe that the word is Chaldee, or more properly Phoenician. See this... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 114:2

Judah was his sanctuary - He set up his true worship among the Jews, and took them for his peculiar people. And Israel his dominion - These words are a proof, were there none other, that this Psalm was composed after the days of David, and after the division of the tribes, for then the distinction of Israel and Judah took place. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 114:3

The sea saw it, and fled - Mr. Addison has properly observed (see Spect. No. 461) that the author of this Psalm designedly works for effect, in pointing out the miraculous driving back the Red Sea and the river Jordan, and the commotion of the hills and mountains, without mentioning any agent. At last, when the reader sees the sea rapidly retiring from the shore, Jordan retreating to its source, and the mountains and hills running away like a flock of affrighted sheep, that the passage of... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 114:1

Verse 1 1When Israel went out from Egypt That exodus being a remarkable pledge and symbol of God’s love for the children of Abraham, it is not surprising that it should be so frequently called to remembrance. In the beginning of the psalm, the prophet informs us that the people whom God purchased at so great a price are no more their own. The opinion of certain expositors, that at that time the tribe of Judah was consecrated to the service of God, according to what is said in Exodus 19:6, and 1... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Psalms 114:3

Verse 3 3The sea saw, and fled He does not enumerate in succession all the miracles which were wrought at that time, but briefly alludes to the sea, which, though a lifeless and senseless element, is yet struck with terror at the power of God. Jordan did the same, and the very mountains shook. It is in a poetical strain that the Psalmist describes the receding of the sea and of the Jordan. The description, however, does not exceed the facts of the case. The sea, in rendering such obedience to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Psalms 114:1

When Israel went out of Egypt ; literally, at the going forth of Israel from Egypt ; ἐν ἐξόδῳ ἰσράηλ , LXX . The "going forth from Egypt" was the only thing parallel in Israelitish history to the going forth from Babylon. The nation should learn what to expect in the future by what occurred in the past. The house of Jacob (compare the more common "house of Israel," Psalms 98:3 ; Psalms 115:12 ; Psalms 135:19 ) from a people of strange language ; literally, from a... read more

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