Psalm 114

NIV
1 When Israel came out of Egypt,
Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled,
the Jordan turned back;
4 the mountains leaped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?
Why, Jordan, did you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,
you hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turned the rock into a pool,
the hard rock into springs of water.

Key Verse:
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.

Key Observation:
Again is paramount the glory of the Lord in ruling the earth.

Memory Verse:
7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,

Devotion:
The psalm refers to the sea looking and fleeing; but also the Jordan turning back. One took place at the beginning of the Exodus with Moses as they crossed the Red Sea; the other took place with Joshua nearly 40 years later as they crossed the Jordan River. Says McGee: “These are the two stages of redemption, and they illustrate the two stages of our redemption. The Lord Jesus, on the cross, has delivered us from the penalty of sin—that is for the past. He delivers us from the power of sin in the present—provided we meet His conditions—and He will deliver us from the presence of sin, which has not yet been realized.” I would just add, by way of explanation, that the crossing of the sea is a beautiful picture, not only of baptism by immersion, but also of the death and resurrection of the believer. Once taken away from Egypt, and thus the penalty of sin, with its bondage and death evident in Egypt’s treatment of Israel, and secondly, into the promised land, from the power of sin.

Our Christian lives are twice delivered. First we are given a new life and filled with the very presence of God. But then we are offered the opportunity to live a life that is spirit powered if we meet the right conditions. Israel, too, had to meet the right conditions, but failed, not only in their willingness to follow God, but also in their ultimate rejection of their King.

As I think on this, I reflect that our Christian lives are similar to that of the Jews. Has not God rescued us from the power of sin? How many of us walk according to the Spirit? How often I have failed to walk the way I should have, though He has given me everything I need for success. We are to be twice redeemed. Once from the power of sin and death, and then to walk in His Spirit, and find redemptive living. I notice that many about me also fail in their walk, and I can not help but wonder if our record is not a whole lot like faithless Israel. May you and I be found faithfully walking with God on that day!

When We All Get to Heaven

1. Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace;
In the mansions bright and blessed
He'll prepare for us a place.

2. While we walk the pilgrim pathway
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when trav'ling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.

3. Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.

4. Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we'll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open,
We shall tread the streets of gold.

Chorus:
When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We'll sing and shout the victory.

Lyrics: Eliza Edmunds Hewitt