Latest / Reformed Thinking / When the Earth Trembles Before the Lord (Psalm 114) | Charles Spurgeon

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When the Earth Trembles Before the Lord (Psalm 114) | Charles Spurgeon · Reformed Thinking

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Imagine standing on the banks of a river roaring at the height of
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spring flood season. Oh man, that's a terrifying
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thought. Right.
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I mean we are talking about a massive body of water, maybe
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nearly a mile wide in places. Yeah, just ripping trees right
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out of the muddy banks. Churning with all this violent
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kinetic energy as it rushes downhill.
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Now picture a small group of completely unarmed men stepping
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directly into that raging water. Walking right in, yeah.
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And the moment their feet touch the surface, the water doesn't
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just part, it physically runs backward in sheer, unadulterated
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terror. It's an incredible image.
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Welcome to Reformed Thinking. Today we are taking a deep dive
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into an extraordinary piece of source material, Charles
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Spurgeon's exposition of Psalm 114 from the Treasury of David.
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It really is an amazing piece of writing.
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It is, and our mission today is quite specific.
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We're not setting out to conduct a standard historical review of
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the Exodus from Egypt. Right, like we all know the
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basic Sunday School narrative of the plagues and the parting
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seas, we do. Instead, we are initiating an
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investigation into how this sublime song of the Exodus acts
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as a precise, flawless mirror for God's sovereign grace and
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salvation. That's the real core of.
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It yeah, the text we're looking at covers literal historical
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events that occurred on the physical earth, but we're going
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to unpack the spiritual reality of effectual calling and
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regeneration according to Westminster theology.
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Which is such a massive topic. It really is, and I want to
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point out to you, the listener, that true poetry reaches its
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absolute climax in this very Psalm.
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Oh, without a doubt. The original Hebrew text is so
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magnificently crafted, so intensely vivid, that it forces
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the reader to look upon the actual scene of inanimate
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objects reacting to the Creator. You really feel like you're
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there. Yeah, you find yourself standing
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on the shores of the Red Sea or at the base of a trembling Mount
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Sinai, feeling the vibrations in your own chest.
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It's a very visceral experience. And the literary genius of the
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opening lines sets a stage that is entirely unique in ancient
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literature. It just completely throws reader
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off balance from the very first syllable.
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Well, and that imbalance is intentional, you know, it
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reveals the sheer structural brilliance of the poem.
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Oh, so so. The great hymn writer Isaac
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Watts made this startling observation about it back in the
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early 18th century. Around 1712, when he began the
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meticulous work of translating this ancient ode into English
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meter, he realized something wild.
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What did he find? He noticed that the poet
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completely conceals the presence of God at the beginning of the
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Psalm. Wait, really?
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Just leaves God out entirely. Yeah, he lets a possessive
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pronoun stand entirely on its own, without a substantive noun
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to anchor anywhere in the text. Oh wow.
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So he writes about his sanctuary and his dominion, but he refuses
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to actually name the deity to whom these belong.
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That is a fascinating choice. It's a deliberate, highly
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calculated omission. The psalmist is so entirely
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consumed with the thought of the Lord, his mind is so saturated
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with the majesty of Jehovah, that he just forgets to mention
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the name. Like it's a given.
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Precisely, he operates on the assumption that the entire
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universe must already know who is being discussed.
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That it makes a lot of sense it. Actually perfectly mirrors that
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heartbreaking, beautiful scene in the Gospel of John where Mary
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Magdalene is weeping at the empty tomb.
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Oh yeah, when she thinks Jesus is the gardener.
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Right, she encounters the risen Christ, but through her tears
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she assumes he is the gardener. And what does she say?
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She cries out. Tell me where thou hast laid
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him. She never actually says the name
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of Jesus. No, she doesn't.
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Her heart is so full of her Lord.
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Her grief is so singularly focused on His missing body that
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she operates on the assumption that every other person on the
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face of the earth must be thinking of him too.
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That is such a striking parallel.
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The psalmist operates with that same consuming singularity of
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focus. He looks at the trembling earth
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and the fleeing seas, and he just says his sanctuary,
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assuming you already know the sovereign is in the room.
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Let's pause and think about how wild that literary choices for a
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second. It's huge.
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If you're reading a brilliantly plotted mystery novel, the
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author drops you right into the middle of the action.
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You see all these massive, inexplicable effects taking
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place. You see a room turned upside
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down, a safe blown open window shattered.
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Right, but you don't know why. Exactly.
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I mean precisely. The author hides the cause of
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all this commotion to build immense suspense.
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You're left turning the pages wondering what on earth could
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possess the physical elements to behave this way.
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The suspense is palpable. It really is, and that is what
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the psalmist is doing here. You are watching the natural
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world completely unravel. Mountains are jumping off their
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ancient foundations. Yeah, and Oceans are executing A
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panicked retreat and the author refuses to show you the face of
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the 1 causing it. You're just left looking at a
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terrified creation. Asking yourself what could
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possibly elicit this level of cosmic panic?
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And this raises A vital question about the theological mechanics
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of the text, which is well, there would be absolutely
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nothing marvelous about the sea fleeing if God were mentioned in
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the very first breath. Oh, I see what you mean.
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If the poem began by declaring the Almighty God stepped onto
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the earth and the sea ran, you would simply nod and say of
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course it did. Right, He is the creator.
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Water obeys the one who invented water.
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Yeah, the suspense you mentioned is vital because it makes the
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sudden revelation of the sovereign in verse 7 hit with
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the force of a physical shockwave.
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It's a huge payoff. By holding back the name of the
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Lord, the poet builds the tension of the Exodus until the
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earth itself is shaking, and only then does he reveal the
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source of this absolute mastery over nature.
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That is brilliant structuring. The mechanism at work here
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demonstrates that the material creation is acutely,
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overwhelmingly sensitive to the presence of its maker.
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Even more than humans are sometimes.
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Oh, absolutely. Long before the human characters
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in the narrative fully comprehend the magnitude of the
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Exodus, the physical universe recognizes its master.
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Wow. The dirt, the water, and the
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rocks possess a kind of physical obedience that puts human
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rebellion to shame. So the creation is terrified,
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but what about the people walking right through the middle
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of this cosmic upheaval? They're a huge part of the
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story. We really need to look at the
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massive crowd on the move here. The text says when Israel went
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out of Egypt, the House of Jacob from a people of strange
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language. Now, if you are listening to
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this and trying to visualize the scene, do not picture a
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disorganized mob scrambling for the exits.
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No, it wasn't chaotic at all. Right.
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The phrase the House of Jacob is doing a lot of heavy lifting
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here. It implies an astonishing level
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of unanimity. It does.
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We were talking about an estimated 2 and a half million
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people. That is the population of a
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major modern metropolis. It's a.
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Staggering number of people. Yet they moved as a single unit.
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They went down into Egypt centuries prior as one single
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family of 70 people, and despite multiplying into a massive,
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sprawling nation, they are still regarded by God as a single
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unit. Which is amazing logistically.
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Think about the logistics of that.
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Not one individual stayed behind in Goshen.
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Out of millions of people, not one person said, you know what,
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the slavery is bad, but I like my house.
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I'm going to stay. No one opted out.
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They moved with one mind, leaving the only home most of
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them had ever known. How does a population that large
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achieve perfect unanimity of will in a single night?
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Well, from a Reformed perspective, that total
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unanimity is a direct physical picture of the doctrine of
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effectual vocation. OK, unpack that for us.
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John Gill, the 18th century theologian, draws this
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connection beautifully. When God calls His elect out of
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the bondage of sin, which is the spiritual Egypt of this world,
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it is done with an irresistible hand.
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It's a powerful calling. The calling is efficacious.
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It actually accomplishes what it sets out to do.
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The Children of Israel did not hold a democratic vote to decide
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if they should leave slavery. There was no committee meeting.
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Right. They didn't form committees to
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weigh the pros and cons of the wilderness.
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They were drawn out by the omnipotent grace of Jehovah.
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But there is a nuance there, right?
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Yes, here is the critical distinction we must make to
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understand Westminster theology. They were not dragged out
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kicking and screaming against their wills.
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They wanted to go. The grace of God acts upon the
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human will in such a way that the person is made completely
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willing in the day of His mighty working.
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That's a beautiful way to phrase it.
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God changes the disposition of the heart.
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Suddenly the chains of Egypt look repulsive and the freedom
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of the wilderness looks glorious.
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They saw things clearly for the first time.
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They left the darkness and the heavy yoke of the world behind,
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moving as one cohesive body because the exact same Holy
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Spirit was animating every single regenerated heart in that
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multitude. So they were unified because
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they shared the same inward calling.
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Precisely. You know, I have to admit, when
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I first read the phrase a people of strange language, I was a
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little confused. How so?
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Well, I thought of all the things to complain about in
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Egypt, why focus on the linguistics?
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It does seem minor at first glance.
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Yeah, it. Seems like a minor grievance
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compared to the physical beatings, the brutal slavery and
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the infanticide they endured. But then I tried to put myself
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in their shoes. I tried to imagine the sheer
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annoyance and the deep, constant alienation of living your entire
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life among a people whose language you cannot understand
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and who cannot understand you. That isolation would be intense.
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The historical context indicates that the Israelites viewed the
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Egyptians as stammerers and babblers.
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These were not friendly neighbors.
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These were foreign taskmasters right to the ear of an Israelite
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slave. The Egyptian language was
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intimately associated with cruelty.
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It was the sound of harsh orders, the shouting that
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preceded the crack of a whip. The soundtrack of their
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oppression. It was the auditory background
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of their absolute misery. They went to sleep hearing it
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and they woke up to it. That auditory misery is exactly
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what commentators Andrew A Bonar and Justice Olshausen highlight
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in their analysis. What did they say about it?
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They point out that Israel could never feel at home in Egypt, and
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the linguistic barrier was a constant, daily manifestation of
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that alienation. It just reinforced their status.
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Every time they heard an Egyptian speak, they were
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reminded that they were property, not citizens.
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But the theological weight of this goes much deeper than mere
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cultural discomfort. How so?
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The Egyptian tongue could not speak of God.
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It was a language entirely steeped in polytheism.
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Oh, that makes sense. It was designed for the worship
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of the Nile River, the worship of frogs, the worship of the sun
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God RA. It lacked the vocabulary for
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truth. It possessed absolutely no
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vocabulary for the covenant promises of Jehovah, no words
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for justification by faith, no grammar for substitutionary
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atonement. So it was spiritually barren.
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And to apply this spiritual parallel directly to you, the
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listener, think about your own life.
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Have you ever sat in a room full of people, maybe at a workplace
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or a social gathering, and listen to the conversation and
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suddenly realized I do not speak the spiritual language anymore?
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I think a lot of believers have felt that.
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Consider how sweet it is for a Christian who has grown
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thoroughly tired of the profane, godless conversation of the
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wicked world. It's exhausting.
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When a believer is finally brought out from among the
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spiritually dead and placed among a local church, a people
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who speak the pure language of Canaan, it is an immense relief.
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Yes, sitting with people and conversing about doctrine, about
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grace, about the promises of the gospel, well, it is the joy of
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exile. Ending the strange language of
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the world, with all its idolatry and hostility toward truth, is
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just left behind. You finally hear the dialect of
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your true home. So they have left this land of
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cruel taskmasters and strange babblers, but an escaped slave
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is just a fugitive until they have a new allegiance.
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Right, they need a whole new identity.
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And that is what happens next. The focus shifts to their new
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status in verse 2. Judah was his sanctuary and
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Israel his dominion. A crucial verse.
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But before we look at the mechanics of those two words, I
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have a logistical question. Sure, go ahead.
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Whenever I see Judah and Israel mentioned as separate entities,
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my mind immediately jumps forward in biblical history to
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the tragic civil war under Rehoom and Jeroboam when the
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nation split in half. That's a very natural connection
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to make. So does the explicit mention of
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these two names mean this song was written centuries later,
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projecting a divided Kingdom backward onto the Exodus story?
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That is a very common critical assumption often pushed by
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scholars who want to date the Psalms much later in history,
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but it is entirely debunked by a close reading of the source text
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itself. Oh really?
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How do they debunk it? Commentators point out that
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David used the phrase Israel and Judah long before any national
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split occurred. It was common parlance to
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distinguish the tribes by their distinct roles.
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You example. For instance, in the book of
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Second Samuel, Uriah the Hittite says to King David the ark and
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Israel and Judah abide in tents. And the nation was perfectly
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united at that time. Exactly.
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Judah was simply the tribe that led the March in the wilderness.
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It was the tribe that held the royal prerogative, the tribe
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from which the kings would come, and the tribe from which the
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Messiah would eventually spring. It was set apart for especially
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used by God. The writer of Psalm 114 is
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Speaking of the coming out of Egypt to when the people were
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completely united, as we just established in verse one with
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the phrase House of Jacob. So it's not about a fracture at
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all. No, the separation of these
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names indicates distinct functions within a united
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people, not a divided, fractured nation.
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I am so glad we cleared that up, because it forces us to look at
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those two concepts, Sanctuary and Dominion, as operating
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simultaneously within the same group of people.
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Right, which can be tricky to conceptualize.
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Honestly, I have struggled to reconcile those two words.
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Sanctuary feels so private. It sounds spiritual, quiet,
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holy, and set apart from the world.
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It definitely has that connotation.
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But dominion sounds entirely political.
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It sounds external, authoritative, maybe even
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forceful. How can this group of newly
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freed slaves be both a quiet sanctuary and a ruling dominion
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at the exact same time? They seem contradictory until
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you understand the brilliance of a true theocracy, which the
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commentator John Boyes masterfully unpacks.
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What does he say? The sanctuary represents God's
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holy priests governing in piety. It is the realm of worship, of
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the sacrifices, of hallowing His holy name.
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So the whole people became a shrine of the deity.
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Yes, God literally took up residence in the center of their
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camp in the Tabernacle, but they were not just a monastery hiding
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in the desert. They were also the dominion.
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This represents godly magistrates, ruling in policy,
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executing laws, desiring His Kingdom to come in practical
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earthly administration. So they have a civic structure
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too. They had judges, they had an
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army, they had civic laws governing property and
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restitution. The two spheres work in perfect
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harmony because God alone is king in both.
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He overseas everything. He is the head of the Church and
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he is the head of the state. He dictates the incense offered
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in the temple and he dictates the sentences handed down in the
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Courts of justice. That demands A rigorous, honest
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self examination from you, the listener.
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It really does. What is the governing structure
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of your own heart? Are you a Chapel of Satan,
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submitting entirely to the lusts of the flesh, taking your cues
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from the dictates of a fallen culture?
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That's a heavy question. Or are you a citizen of heaven
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in a sanctuary of God? Are you governed by a divine
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theocracy where the Lord Jesus Christ alone dictates your
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actions in public, your thoughts in private, and your worship on
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the Lord's Day? That is the standard.
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It is staggering to marvel at the sheer magnitude of the
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change for these people. In a matter of days, they went
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from making mud breaks under the blistering sun of Egypt to
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living inside a moving theocracy.
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A total paradigm shift. They went from the blasphemies
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of a Pagan empire to a world of uninterrupted wonders.
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They were eating bread that miraculously appeared on the
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ground every morning. And drinking water from a rock.
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They were drinking water that sprang out of solid granite.
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They were living inside a sanctuary, and the physical
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earth itself had to violently rearrange itself to make way for
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this newly formed sanctuary to pass through.
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The landscape literally had to move.
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Verse 3 says the seesaw it and fled.
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Jordan was driven back. The poetic personification here
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is breathtaking. It's beautiful imagery.
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The Red Sea did not just passively part due to a weather
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anomaly, the text says. It saw God standing at the head
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of the people, and it fled in absolute unadulterated panic.
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And the historical reality of those two distinct miracles, the
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crossing of the Red Sea and the crossing of the Jordan River, is
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remarkable because they are separated by 40 long years of
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wilderness wandering. An entire generation died
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between those two bodies of water.
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Yet the psalmist treats them as one continuous, unbroken act of
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divine deliverance. They are the bookends of the
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Exodus. It's a unified narrative.
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Regarding the Red Sea, Matthew Henry notes that the massive
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body of water suddenly realized it must give way to God's
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sanctuary. Water has no mind, yet it
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recognized its creator faster than Pharaoh did.
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Spot on. The poet Abraham Cowley wrote
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magnificent lines describing the Zeent, depicting the waves
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unloosing their close embraces, backing away from each other and
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standing up like towering rocks of crystal.
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That's a stunning way to describe it.
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But as spectacular as the Red Sea was, the crossing of the
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Jordan River involves an even more staggering display of
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omnipotence when you look at the mechanics of the event.
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Yeah, let's look at those mechanics.
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The naturalist Philip Henry Goss and the historian Arthur Penryn
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Stanley provide extensive data on the geography of the Jordan.
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You have to paint the picture in your mind to grasp the terror of
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it set. The scene for us?
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It is the spring flood season. The snows from Mount Hermon are
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melting. The river is deep, rapid and
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completely overflowing, its banks extending nearly a mile in
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width, in some places, ripping through the jungle landscape of
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the Jordan Valley. It's a massive, violent torrent.
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Two and a half million Israelites are waiting on the
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bank, and then a small group of priests carrying the Ark of the
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Covenant step directly into the raging, violent water.
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They do not have boats, they do not have a bridge.
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They just walk into a lethal torrent.
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I want to focus on the physics of that moment because this
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specific detail seems perfectly designed by God to silence
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modern skeptic. Oh, absolutely.
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Throughout history, naturalists and historians have desperately
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tried to explain away the parting of the Red Sea by
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pointing to natural phenomena. They always try to find a
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natural 'cause. They claim it was a freak
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occurrence of a mighty E wind blowing across a shallow Reed
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sea, or an unusual reflux of the tide that temporarily exposed a
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land bridge. You hear these documentaries
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every few years, trying to strip the miraculous out of the text.
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Right. But you can't do that with the
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Jordan. No, the stopping of the Jordan
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River happens with no natural agency whatever.
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There is no wind blowing, there's no tide to go out.
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It's a completely different scenario.
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It is a river fed by melting snows moving downhill with
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immense kinetic energy. Gravity is pulling millions of
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gallons of water S toward the Dead Sea.
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Precisely, you cannot explain away the Jordan.
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The waters did not just gently part or slowly dry up.
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The text says they were driven back.
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Yes, the descending stream was arrested in its course by an
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invisible wall. The water accumulated in a
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massive glassy heap 30 miles away at the city of Adam, beside
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Zuratan. That is insane to picture.
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Think about the sheer hydrostatic pressure required to
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hold back an overflowing, flooded river for 30.
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It's incomprehensible. Millions of tons of water
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stacking up on itself, fighting against gravity, fighting
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against the kinetic energy of the flow behind it and the.
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Riverbed in front of the priests was left completely dry from
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north to South, exposing the shingly pebbles and the huge
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stones at the bottom. The river literally flowed
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uphill, contrary to every law of physics, yielding entirely to
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the unseen hand of the Creator. This showcases God's absolute,
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unmitigated control over His creation.
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The elements are not governed by blind laws of nature, they are
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governed by the word of His power.
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The water was terrified, but it was not the only physical
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element forced to submit. The very foundation of the solid
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earth was shaken to its core. It was a global reaction.
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Verse 4 tells us the mountain skipped like Rams and the little
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hills like lambs. Then verse 7 gives a direct
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command, tremble that earth at the presence of the Lord.
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Such striking poetry. Now I have to challenge this
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imagery a bit. Comparing massive, ancient,
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immovable granite mountains to jumping livestock seems almost
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too casual. I can see how it feels that way
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it. Feels slightly comical.
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If you are a poet trying to convey the terror of the
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Almighty stepping onto the earth, why not use apocalyptic
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imagery? Right, like volcanoes or
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earthquakes. Why not describe volcanoes
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shattering the sky or continents ripping apart?
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Why use sheep and lambs bounding in a Meadow?
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It sounds counterintuitive to our modern years, but the
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theologian John Calvin offers brilliant insight into this
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specific question. What was his take?
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He argues that this is intentionally A homely figure.
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The prophet purposefully used familiar everyday imagery, sheep
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and lambs to express incredible supernatural acts to a
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population that was largely illiterate and agrarian.
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So it was relatable. It does not detract from the
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miracle, rather it makes the token of omnipotence indelible
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on the mind. Everyone in that society knew
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how lightly and playfully a lamb skips in a Meadow.
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They saw everyday. They knew how effortlessly a ram
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bounds over a rocky crag to imagine the massive granite
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peaks of Mount Sinai, millions of tons of solid rock moving
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with that same weightless agility, perfectly captures how
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easily the Creator manipulates the heaviest elements of his
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creation. It takes zero effort for God to
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move a mountain. Furthermore, James G Murphy
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points out the literal concussion of Thunder and
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lightning at Sinai that physically shook the ground.
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The vibrations were so intense that people thought they were
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going to die. It was a terrifying physical
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event. And William K observes that
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these violent convulsions of the earth were literally the birth
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throes of the Israelite people. A holy nation was being born in
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a single day, and the earth itself was in labor pains at the
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event. I love that concept of the earth
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and labor pains. It connects perfectly to a
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question posed by the scholar Thomas Fenton.
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What was his question? He asked if Mount Sinai shook
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with such violent intensity merely at the giving of the law,
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just the inauguration of the Old Covenant, how should the whole
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earth react to the full presence of God?
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That's a heavy thought. More importantly, how should we
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react if inanimate granite trembles?
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What should a human heart do? Well, the required reaction is
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holy awe. We are commanded in Scripture to
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rejoice with trembling. Which we often forget.
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There is a very common, very dangerous misconception in
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modern evangelicalism that once a person exercises faith in
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Christ, all fear and trembling vanish entirely, replaced by a
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casual buddy buddy familiarity with Jesus.
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People start treating the creator of the universe like a
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cosmic life coach. But true Reformed theology
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teaches that awe is not cast out by faith.
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Rather, it becomes vastly expanded and magnified.
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It deepens the reverence. When you are justified, the
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terror of punishment is removed, yes, but the reverence for His
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Majesty increases. The believer feels the nearness
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of God, and that nearness produces a deep, reverent fear
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that exists alongside immense joy.
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That's a great balance. Think of it like standing next
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to a massive jet engine. Even if you know the engine is
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not going to suck you in, the sheer wattage, the raw
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capability of the thing sends a vibration right through your
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ribs. You respect it.
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The Lord is most reverenced by those who most love Him.
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Absolutely. We have spent a lot of time
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observing the literal historical events of the Exodus.
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We have looked at the literal mud of the Jordan and the
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literal rocks of Sinai. The physical history is
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important. But now the Psalm takes a
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sudden, sharp shift. It moves into dramatic
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questioning which brings the discussion from ancient
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historical facts directly to your own soul.
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It makes it personal. In verses 5 and 6, the text says
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What ail the O thou see that thou flattest thou, Jordan, that
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thou was driven back? Notice the shift to the present
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tense. It's very immediate.
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The poet is suddenly looking at the scene as if it is happening
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right now in front of him. He is interrogating the rivers
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and the mountains, acting like an investigative journalist,
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demanding an answer for their strange behavior.
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Why are you running? What is scaring you?
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The reformer Wolfgang Musculus provides a vital perspective on
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this rhetorical interrogation. What's his take on it?
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He writes that these questions are designed to teach is not to
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be stupid, passive or inaccurate spectators of divine miracles.
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We shouldn't just passively observe.
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Right when God alters the course of nature, those events are what
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he calls loud speaking. They are not just neat
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historical trivia. I have a message.
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They are declaring the future vengeance of God against sin,
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and they demand that we healed entirely to His grace.
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They are not parlor tricks designed to impress an audience.
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They are prophetic sermons delivered by the physical
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universe itself. The Sea running Away is
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preaching a sermon on the holiness of God.
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And the trembling mountain is preaching a sermon on the wrath
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of God. And this brings us to the
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absolute climax of our investigation.
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We set out to find how this historical exodus mirrors the
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spiritual reality of effectual calling and regeneration.
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It's the core parallel. How does a historical earthquake
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or a retreating river in the Middle East apply to the inward
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conquest of a human soul sitting in their car or their living
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room listening to this right now?
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The Puritan commentator Ralph Robinson takes this dramatic
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questioning and applies it directly to the listeners.
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Experience of salvation this. Is where it gets real.
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This is where the theology gets intensely personal.
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When Christ descends upon the spiritually dead soul and the
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active work of conversion, He puts forth an immense,
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irresistible strength. He conquers the heart.
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The strongholds of sin in your life, which have stood as firm
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and immovable as ancient mountains, are battered down the
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devils, and the habitual lusts that held undisputed possession
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of a person for years are suddenly cast out without a
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fight. They flee in a total panic, just
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like the Red Sea fleeing from the Ark of the Covenant.
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Yes, think about the Jordan of your souls Sinful course.
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Every human being has a natural inclination that flows downward
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like a rapid, deep, overflowing torrent of rebellion heading
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straight toward the Dead Sea of Destruction.
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That's a bleak but accurate picture.
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But when regeneration occurs, that natural flow is abruptly
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driven back. It is utterly altered by the
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presence of the Holy Spirit. The whole direction changes.
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The mountains in the Sinner soul, the massive snowy peaks of
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intellectual pride, the solid granite walls of unbelief, the
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high hills of self conceit, atheism and profaneness are
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plucked up by the roots in a single moment when Christ begins
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the efficacious work of conversion.
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Just as the physical mountains skipped like Rams, the seemingly
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immovable obstacles in a hardened sinner's heart are
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tossed aside like pebbles. Nothing can stand against it.
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That stagger you for a moment. The exact same omnipotence
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required to suspend the laws of gravity to reach down and alter
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the flow of a raging river, to make millions of gallons of
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water stack up into a wall of glass well, That exact same raw
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strength is required to alter the affections of a human heart.
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It's a miraculous work. You cannot save yourself any
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more than you can command a river to flow uphill, and the
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final verse of the Psalm provides the ultimate,
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undeniable proof of this regenerating grace.
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Verse 8. Verse 8 describes the Lord which
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turned the rock into a standing water, the Flint into a fountain
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of waters. I want to look at the historical
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reality first because it is fascinating.
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It's a great piece of history. Doctor Olin's travel accounts,
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which are cited extensively by the biblical scholar John Kiddo,
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describe an actual isolated mass of granite sitting in the barren
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wilderness at Sinai. Just out in the middle of
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nowhere. This rock is roughly 20 feet
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square, but the astonishing detail is that there are
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horizontal fissures, deep cracks 20 feet up the face of the rock.
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What caused them? These fissures clearly show
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where massive amounts of water once violently gushed forth,
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leaving physical erosion marks on the stone, providing physical
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evidence of the literal truth of the biblical text.
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Water blasted out of solid granite.
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The physical reality in the desert is undeniable, but the
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spiritual typology behind it is what sustains the believer's
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soul day after day. The deeper meaning is
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incredible. Matthew Henry points out the
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beautiful poetic symmetry of God's Providence in the Exodus.
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At the beginning of the journey, the almighty hand of God turned
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liquid waters into a solid rock wall at the Red Sea to protect
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His people from the Egyptian Chariots.
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And what happens later? Later in the journey, that same
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almighty hand turned a solid rock into liquid waters to
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supply his people with drink in a desert.
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The Creator flips the nature of the elements to suit the needs
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of His elect. That is just brilliant symmetry.
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The Apostle Paul makes the spiritual typology of this
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explicitly clear in First Corinthians chapter 10, stating
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plainly that that rock was Christ.
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From Christ, who was struck for our transgressions, beliebers
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receive a constant, overflowing supply of grace for grace.
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There is always enough supply. And the German theologian Franz
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de Lich adds another layer of insight to this verse.
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He notes that converting solid Flint into a fountain is a
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practical, undeniable proof of the specific kind of grace that
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converts death into life. It's a total reversal.
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It is not just improving an existing water source, it is
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bringing total abundant sustenance out of a completely
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barren, dead wasteland. When you realize that you are
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that barren wasteland and that Christ is the rock struck to
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give you life, how should that affect us emotionally?
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What should our posture be? John Boyce draws on the ancient
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writings of Bernard and Augustine to bring a deeply
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convicted theological application right to the
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listeners conscience. What do they say?
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The hardest, most unyielding substance in all of nature,
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Flint yielded a standing pool of Sweetwater at the simple command
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of God. Right therefore, shall our hard,
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flinty hearts not express at least a little standing water of
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tears in our eyes when considering the vast mercies of
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God in delivering us from eternal.
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Ruin. That's incredibly convicting.
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Are our hearts harder than the desert rocks?
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The hammer of the Word must violently smite the empty heart,
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and the Holy Spirit must mollify it, softening it from the inside
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out, making it fleshy, flexible, obedient, and broken.
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A broken and contrite heart God will not despise.
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If the granite can melt at His presence, our pride must melt as
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well. I want to leave you with an
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original thought to ponder, building directly on everything
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we have examined in the source text today.
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It's a great concluding thought. We have seen that inanimate
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objects, the raging seas, the overflowing rivers, the massive,
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deeply rooted mountains, and the solid, impenetrable Flint
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instantly obey and alter their very physical nature at the
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simple presence of the. Lord, they yield immediately.
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They possess no will, no brain, no soul, yet they submit
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instantly. Yet human beings who are
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uniquely endowed with reason, intelligence, and a conscience
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can look upon the Creator with total insensibility.
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We can stare right at the cross and feel nothing.
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That is the tragedy of the fall. What does it say about the utter
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depravity of the human will that it can resist its maker far more
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stubbornly than solid granite? And what does it say about the
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staggering magnitude of sovereign grace that it can
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finally effectually 'cause that Stony heart to melt and yield?
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It says everything about his mercy.
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Thank you for joining us for this deep dive on Reformed
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thinking. We encourage you to open your
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Bible and read Psalm 114 for yourself today.
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Look at those 8 short verses through these new theological
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lenses and marvel at the God who commands the rivers and the God
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who commands your heart.