THE SECOND EXODUS (Psalm 114)

Do you remember the day you trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior? Can you go back in your memory to that moment when you came to know God, and He came to live in your life? Was it a good day?

The songwriter said it best: “Oh happy day, happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away.”

Years later, you find yourself stuck — caught in some fleshly patterns or habit of life, some difficult circumstance or spiritual battle, and you wonder, “Will I ever get out of this?”

The same God who delivered you in the past can and will deliver you now. The One who was able to save you from Hell is certainly able to save you from whatever you are dealing with today. He gave you eternal life in the beginning and wants to give you abundant life now.

Psalm 114 is a historical psalm in every sense of the word. It is only eight verses long, but it goes all the way back to the exodus and rehearses how God was so great and powerful that He delivered His people from Egyptian captivity. He brought them out of Egypt and then into the land of Canaan.

Why is that significant? It is believed that Psalms 111-114 were written upon the Israelites' return from Babylonian captivity. They were coming back to their land in what was essentially a second exodus. As they thought back to when their forefathers were rescued from captivity, God reminded them that He was the same in their lives at that time as He had been in the past. The same God at work in the first exodus was at work in the second.

Verses 1-8: “When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion. The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams; and ye little hills, like lambs? Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob; Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint into a fountain of waters.”

Many have referred to Psalm 114 as the climax of the most beautiful Hebrew poetry ever written. It is indeed beautiful, but when I read it, I am struck not by the poetry but by the power of an almighty God, the Redeemer.

It was for the people a recap of His power demonstrated in Egypt and a reminder that the same power was at their disposal upon returning from Babylon. For you in the 21st century, it is a reminder that the same God is ready and able to bring you out of whatever you are in.

Do you remember the joy of your salvation? You can have that same joy today. As you recall the liberty you have had in Him and the satisfaction of a clean heart before Him, realize that God has so much more for you.

Maybe it is time for a second exodus in your life. I don’t mean another salvation; you received eternal life the first time. I am referring to the bondage that many of God’s people seem to go back into. They live as God never intended for His children to live.

If I just described your current condition, He wants to bring you out of that. Jesus said in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

Someone reading this right now is probably saying, “Yeah, but you don’t know what I’m dealing with. You don’t know what I’ve done.” None of that matters. Psalm 114 is a reminder that God is greater than all.

God is Greater than All Enemies

Beginning with the departure from Egypt, as referenced in verse 1, we are reminded that God is greater than all enemies. Egypt was the strongest nation in the days of the Book of Exodus. The ones called “a people of strange language” were the most educated, the most wealthy, and the most powerful people on the planet. But God was greater. The same goes for whatever enemy you are facing today.

God is Greater than All Obstacles

Verse 3 shows us that God is greater than all obstacles, recalling how He made the sea move and the Jordan River. In verse 4, the mountains and hills are compared to rams and lambs, suggesting that the Shepherd arrived and was in control of it all.

Verses 5-6 pose questions about why these geographic features reacted as they did. They are a bit of divine humor, a series of rhetorical questions to emphasize the obvious answer, which is that God was greater.

The Lord moves mountains and parts waters. He takes care of the obstacles if you will trust Him.

God is Greater than All of Your Needs

At the end of the psalm, in verse 8, we see that God is greater than all of your needs. This is a retelling of when the people were thirsty in the wilderness, and God opened up a rock to provide water to quench their thirst. Only the One who made the rock and the water can do that.

He is no different for us today. Paul put it best in Philippians 4:19 when he wrote, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Stop listening to the lies of the devil, to your own weak flesh, and to the naysayers all around you. God is greater than your enemies, your obstacles, and your needs. He brought you out of Egypt and can bring you out of Babylon. The same God who saved you wants you to live today in victory, power, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Will you trust Him for that?

Verse 7 contains the great secret of Psalm 114: “Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.” It is always about the presence of the Lord.

Victory is not found in the absence of trouble or difficulty. It is found in the presence of God. If you and I will simply get back to living our lives consciously in His presence and acknowledge it in the midst of our circumstances, it will be enough.

When you have His presence, you have His power. That is more than enough.

The God of the exodus is the God of the second exodus. The God of your salvation is the God of your victory today. Trust Him right where you are, and see what He will do.