This psalm retells the exodus in a compressed burst of poetry where the natural world itself reacts to the presence of God. Israel leaves Egypt, Judah becomes his sanctuary, the sea flees, the Jordan turns back, mountains skip, and the earth is called to tremble before the God who can draw water from rock, so the chapter turns historical redemption into cosmic recognition.
Psalm 114 continues the Hallel by moving from praise of God's exalted mercy in Psalm 113 to a vivid memory of his redemptive presence in Israel's foundational deliverance. It fits Book V by presenting the exodus not as a past event only, but as the defining display of the LORD's rule over creation and his nearness to his people.
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W1hen Israel departed from Egypt, 2Judah became God’s sanctuary,
3The sea observed and fled; 4the mountains skipped like rams, 5Why was it, O sea, that you fled, 6O mountains, that you skipped like rams,
7Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, 8who turned the rock into a pool,
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