EXPOSITION. "became his sanctuary;" Jude.h-i.e. the PSALM CXIV. land of Judah-received the special honoUl' A PSALM of reminiBcence, designed to en- of being chosen for the seat of God's sanc- courage the exiles on their return from tuary. And Israel his dominion. While Be.by lon, during their " day of small things" all the rest of Israel was nccepted as consti- tuting his kingdom or dominion. The (Zech. iv. 10; comp. Ezra iii 12). If God whole people came under God's specie.I pro- he.d done so much for them when he brought tection. them ont of Egypt, if such glorious pro- Ver. 3.-The see. eaw it, and tied. "The digies had marked that epoch, might they see." is the Red Sea. It "looked," and not be sure that his hand would be stretched saw Goel leading his people (Exod. xiv. 19-24), and then at once "fled,'' and left out for them now? Formally, the psalm is e. dry channel as "a way for the rnnaomed more, like a modem poem 1.han moat. It to pass over." Jordan (literally, the Jordan) di ,ides into four slanzae of four lines each, we.a driven ba.ck (comp. Josh. iii. 13-17). very evenly be.lanced, and perfect in its These two marvels "marked respectively metrical arrangement. '' The psalm is evi- the beginning and the end of Israel's long journey" (Uheyne). 'l'heywere pare.llel focts, dently by a skilled artist" (Cheyne). and are naturally alluded to together (comp. Ver. 1.-When Israel went out of Egypt; He.b. iii. 8). literally, at the gofog forth of l•rael Ver. 4.-Themounte.ins skipped like rams, /rum Egypt; iv i{&orp 'lo-p&11"-, LXX. The nnd the little hills like lambs. The poet "going forth from Egypt" was the only sees in the earthquake thut shook Sinai tliing parallel in Israelitish history to the (Exod. xix. 18) a general commotion of the going forth from Babylon. The nation entire region, in which both the greater and 11hould learn what to expect in the future the lesser elevations take part (comp. Paa. by what occurred in the past. The house of xxix. 6; lxviii. 8, 16). J"e.cob (compare the more common "house of Vera. 5, 6.-Whe.t ailed thee, 0 thou sea, Israel," Pss. xcviii. 3; cxv. 12; cxxxv. 19) the.t thou tleddest 1 thou J"orde.n, that thou from e. people of strange language; lite- we.et driven be.ck 1 ye mountains, that ye rally, from a Btammering people; but e. skipped like rams; nnd ye little hills, like peu11le of foreign speech is no <loubt meant lambs 1 Most poetically, the psalmist apo- (compare the Septuagint, be J,.o.av /Jo.p{Jcl.p_ou). strophizes the sea, the Jordan, the mountains, Ver. 2.-J"udah wa■ his aanotuary; or. aud the leaser hills, inquiring of them for Jls, OX.IV, 1---..a,J TBE BOOK OF PSALMS. 57
who.t reo.son they bad forsaken their nature -can have produced the strange phenomena.. and clone such etrango things; or ro.ther, The earth has felt the presence of God, and addressing them ns present,· o.nd as if the has trembled, and has done right to tremble ; scenes were being enacted before his eyes, bat Israel may take comfort from the theo- ond asking why they a.re so strangely em- phany, for it is e. manifestation on her ployed-what is causing the rommotion behalf. The presence that has ma.de itself and disturbance (see the Revised Version, felt is the presence of the God of .Jacob-the where the present tense is used throughout God who watches over Jacob, and will the two verses). succour and protect him consto.ntly. Ver. 7.-Tremble, thou earth, at the Ver. 8.-Which turned the rook into a presence of the Lord. 'l'he answer is given, standing water, the flint into e. fountain of but only indirectly given, in these words. waters (see Exod. xvii. 6; Numb, xx. 11). Nothing less than "the presence of the Miracles of mercy, showing at once God's Lord"-a. miraculollS and abnormal presence e.lmigh tincss o.nd his care for Lire.al.