Psalm 114:1-2 "When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; (2) Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion."
There are eight verses in this Psalm. The writer begins in these first two
verses by saying, "God had a plan for Israel and nothing would prevent
that plan from being carried out." He would use Egypt to show His power
upon and over His people both to direct and protect as His plan was being
accomplished. God would use Israel, and us today, to show His His
marvelous glory. Specifically, He would use the tribe of Judah from which to
bring about His results.
If you read the other six verses of this Psalm, you will see a beautiful word
picture of the response of nature as God brought His people through the vast
wilderness to a land He had promised them through their Patriarch, Abraham.
"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and
from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew
thee" (Genesis 12:1) This Psalm speaks of God's power in parting the
Red Sea and the Jordan River. He speaks of the mountains trembling, which I
believe took place when God came down to give the law to Moses on Mount Sinai.
He spoke of the water coming from the rock. In other words, God will go to
the extreme in order to bring His counsel to pass and to accomplish that which
He purposes to do.
How can you and I be comforted by this knowledge? I believe that God has a
purpose for you and me. I not only believe He has a purpose, I believe He has a
timeline upon which He carries out that purpose. Do you remember back in
the 90th Psalm when the prayer was made, "So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."? (Psalm 90:12) We read in the 111th Psalm, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of wisdom."
Can we put all these thoughts together to see how the Lord is working even in
our own lives? Let me attempt to share the summation of my thoughts on what I
have written so far. For you and me, God has a plan and a purpose. He declares
the end from the beginning and nothing can stop Him from that plan being
carried out. If we honor Him with our lives and if we wait upon Him with total
trust and confidence, He will move mountains and part seas in our lives to
bring us to His place of design for us. He has promised. He will perform that
promise. May we ever trust Him and simply do as Jesus spoke to His disciples:
"Follow me." May we be that sanctuary of the Lord where His dominion
and grace can be seen and glorified. May we praise Him as He is working in our
lives.
Lord prepare me To be a sanctuary
Pure and holy, Tried and true
And with thanksgiving
I'll be a living Sanctuary for You