
Text -- Psalms 114:5 (NET)




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collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
JFB -> Psa 114:5-8
The questions place the implied answers in a more striking form.
Clarke -> Psa 114:5
Clarke: Psa 114:5 - -- What ailed thee, O thou sea - The original is very abrupt; and the prosopopoeia, or personification very fine and expressive: -
What to thee, O sea,...
What ailed thee, O thou sea - The original is very abrupt; and the prosopopoeia, or personification very fine and expressive: -
What to thee, O sea, that thou fleddest away
O Jordan, that thou didst roll back
Ye mountains, that ye leaped like rams
And ye hills, like the young of the fold
After these very sublime interrogations, God appears; and the psalmist proceeds as if answering his own questions: -
At the appearance of the Lord, O earth, thou didst tremble
At the appearance of the strong God of Jacob
Converting the rock into a pool of waters
The granite into water springs
I know the present Hebrew text reads
Calvin -> Psa 114:5
Calvin: Psa 114:5 - -- 5.What ailed thee, O sea! The prophet interrogates the sea, Jordan, and the mountains, in a familiar and poetical strain, as lately he ascribed to th...
5.What ailed thee, O sea! The prophet interrogates the sea, Jordan, and the mountains, in a familiar and poetical strain, as lately he ascribed to them a sense and reverence for God’s power. And, by these similitudes, he very sharply reproves the insensibility of those persons, who do not employ the intelligence which God has given them in the contemplation of his works. The appearance which he tells us the sea assumed, is more than sufficient to condemn their blindness. It could not be dried up, the river Jordan could not roll back its waters, had not God, by his invisible agency, constrained them to render obedience to his command. The words are indeed directed to the sea, the Jordan, and the mountains, but they are more immediately addressed to us, that every one of us, on self-reflection, may carefully and attentively weigh this matter. And, therefore, as often as we meet with these words, let each of us reiterate the sentiment, — “Such a change cannot be attributed to nature, and to subordinate causes, but the hand of God is manifest here.” The figure drawn from the lambs and rams would appear to be inferior to the magnitude of the subject. But it was the prophet’s intention to express in the homeliest way the incredible manner in which God, on these occasions, displayed his power. The stability of the earth being, as it were, founded on the mountains, what connection can they have with rams and lambs, that they should be agitated, skipping hither and thither? In speaking in this homely style, he does not mean to detract from the greatness of the miracle, but more forcibly to engrave these extraordinary tokens of God’s power on the illiterate.
TSK -> Psa 114:5

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes -> Psa 114:5-6
Barnes: Psa 114:5-6 - -- What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?... - literally, "What to thee, O sea,"etc. That is, What influenced thee - what alarmed thee -...
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?... - literally, "What to thee, O sea,"etc. That is, What influenced thee - what alarmed thee - what put thee into such fear, and caused such consternation? Instead of stating the cause or reason why they were thus thrown into dismay, the psalmist uses the language of surprise, as if these inanimate objects had been smitten with sudden terror, and as if it were proper to ask an explanation from themselves in regard to conduct that seemed so strange.
Poole -> Psa 114:5
Poole: Psa 114:5 - -- What was the cause of this unusual motion? Such speeches directed to senseless creatures are very frequent, both in Scripture and in other authors, ...
What was the cause of this unusual motion? Such speeches directed to senseless creatures are very frequent, both in Scripture and in other authors, and especially in poetical writings, such as this is.
Gill -> Psa 114:5
Gill: Psa 114:5 - -- What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?.... What was the matter with thee? what appeared to thee? what didst thou see? what didst thou feel, ...
What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?.... What was the matter with thee? what appeared to thee? what didst thou see? what didst thou feel, which caused thee to flee in such haste?
Thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? what is the meaning that thou didst not continue to flow as usual? what was it that stopped thy flowing tide? that cut off thy waters? that drove them back as fast or faster than they came?

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Psa 114:1-8
TSK Synopsis: Psa 114:1-8 - --1 The miracles wrought by God, when he brought his people out of Egypt, are a just ground of fearing him.
MHCC -> Psa 114:1-8
MHCC: Psa 114:1-8 - --Let us acknowledge God's power and goodness in what he did for Israel, applying it to that much greater work of wonder, our redemption by Christ; and ...
Matthew Henry -> Psa 114:1-8
Matthew Henry: Psa 114:1-8 - -- The psalmist is here remembering the days of old, the years of the right hand of the Most High, and the wonders which their fathers told them of (...
Keil-Delitzsch -> Psa 114:5-8
Keil-Delitzsch: Psa 114:5-8 - --
The poet, when he asks, "What aileth thee, O sea, that thou fleest...?"lives and moves in this olden time as a contemporary, or the present and the ...
Constable: Psa 107:1--150:6 - --V. Book 5: chs. 107--150
There are 44 psalms in this section of the Psalter. David composed 15 of these (108-110...

Constable: Psa 114:1-8 - --Psalm 114
As mentioned previously, the Israelites sang this song at Passover. This was appropriate since...
