PSALM 114

 PSALM 114 – A VICTORY SONG

This psalm is one of many that give public liturgical articulation to the “new kingship” of Yahweh, which has just now been established through the liberation of his people. It is likely that the enthronement songs are one version of victory songs that celebrate Yahweh’s victory over Israel’s enemies. In these psalms, kingship is granted to Yahweh on the basis of the victory just won. Perhaps the primary example of the victory song in the Old Testament is the song of Miriam in Exodus 15, which is reckoned as a very early liturgical statement of the exodus. 

The song of Miriam is the alternative old Testament song in our readings today.

1     When Israel came out of Egypt
and the house of Jacob from among a people of an alien tongue,

2     Judah became his sanctuary
and Israel his dominion

This hymn stays very close to the narrative experience of the exodus. It is evident that the specific liberating event here is presented as having cosmic proportions.

In a quick move, verses 1-2 comprehend the entire sojourn history of in-Israel from the exodus (Egypt— ‘‘people of strange language”) to a land settlement (“Sanctuary”—surely a reference to Jerusalem--“dominion”). The long tale told in the Hexateuch is summarised. That is possible because the entire memory has vitality in the community. It is sufficient to allude to it without spelling out in detail.

3     The sea saw that and fled
Jordan was driven back

4     The mountains skipped like rams
and the little hills like young sheep

This is a part of the story of the exodus and the arrival in the land of promise. What we see is a joyous picturing of the events of the crossing of the Red sea and the River Jordan. As in the beginning God made space for the creation, so in this the elements of chaos – sea and river are tamed by God. This leads to what is called a “taunt song” sung with energy

5     What ailed you O sea that you fled
O Jordan that you were driven back?

6     You mountains that you skipped like rams
and you little hills like young sheep?

The tellers of this tale enjoy mightily the disruptive power of Yahweh. They are so sure that they tease and taunt. They wonder why the sea is such a coward and why the river is unable to stay in its place. Thus, the contrast is between Yahweh, whom the nations thought marginal, and the elements of creation, which seem so sturdy. Now the humble God is exalted, and the exalted elements are humiliated. It is no contest. The exodus is now sung as a cosmic inversion. What happened with that slave band is no mere tribal event, but an event that concerns all of creation.

7     Tremble O earth at the presence of the Lord
at the presence of the God of Jacob,

8     Who turned the rock into a pool of water
and the flint-stone into a welling spring.

With this understanding of reality, the conclusion of verses 7-8 is unavoidable. The whole earth is summoned to be frightened. The pivotal word in the psalm is dance, twist and turn, in pain and anguish, because the whole known world is now under assault. The address is to “earth” which imagines itself stable and serene. But now it is all in jeopardy. The agent of the jeopardy is the real, sovereign Lord. It is enough to name the decisive name of sovereignty, for the terrorised nations understand exactly what is being said. The conclusion of the poem in (v. 8) is an additional doxological point ‘linking this God to the miracle of water in the wilderness’ (cf. Exod. 17:6).

Thank you Fr Graham Alston for your weekly narration on the psalms.

     Psalm 114 is the appointed psalm for Sunday 13th September 2020