Psalm 114:1

Psalm 114:1

The God who delivers

Remember that this Psalm forms part of what is called the “Egyptian Hallel.” As we have noted previously, the Hallel encompasses Psalms 113-118, and it became part of the Jewish liturgy at all major festivals including Passover. There can be no doubt about the subject of this Psalm which, for reasons I cannot remember, was my favourite when I was a teenager! Psalm 114, of course, celebrates the Exodus, the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. This was the moment in history when the nation took on its own identity, prior to this the people were just known as Hebrew slaves, under the domination of Egypt and without an inheritance or a collective purpose. The moment that Moses appeared to take on Pharaoh and his government, everything changed! This was a deeply spiritual moment too, for the Lord God began to fulfil His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He opened the way for the nation to journey to the Promised Land and He did it against enormous odds. Let’s celebrate these events with the countless Israelites who have done so over the centuries, but we can also learn a great deal about our own journeys with the Lord.

 

V1        There’s an old song called “Go down Moses” that begins with the lines, “When Israel was in Egypt’s land, Let my people go!” It’s important for us to note that whilst the Israelites had no national identity, no representative government or leader, no land or property, no prospects, no aims or objectives, they were still Israel. Their circumstances were irrelevant, God had chosen them, He had given them a name through Jacob, and He had plans for them! That is all that is required to give us identity, everything may appear to be pointless but when the Lord steps in, we’d better watch out! The deliverance of these chosen people, this covenant nation was miraculous, God had only one objective in mind, and He would literally move heaven and earth to make it happen. His aim was to liberate Israel from the Egyptians and to safely transport them to the Promised Land. Nothing, and no one, was going to stand in His way.

Do we not see that His deliverance and provision for us is no different? We who believe are His chosen ones, we were slaves to sin in a foreign land, we had no future prospects and no hope pf delivering ourselves until our Moses came. Yeshua broke the power of sin and the Satan, and He opened the door to our deliverance. And now He walks with us as we journey onwards, and the Promised Land is not just some future Paradise, it is a place of sanctuary and provision even now, as we journey through this life. Hallelujah!

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