Psalms 114 (ASV)

Chapter Text

114:1 When Israel went forth out of Egypt, The house of Jacob from a people of strange language;

114:2 Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion.

114:3 The sea saw it, and fled; The Jordan was driven back.

114:4 The mountains skipped like rams, The little hills like lambs.

114:5 What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest? Thou Jordan, that thou turnest back?

114:6 Ye mountains, that ye skip like rams; Ye little hills, like lambs?

114:7 Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob,

114:8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of waters. Psalm 115

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "israel", "went", "forth", "egypt", "house", "jacob", "people", and "strange". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "went", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The local ASV text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "israel" and "went" carries the first interpretive weight. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "israel" and "went" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.