When the people of Israel left Egypt,
    when Jacob’s descendants left that foreign land,
Judah became the Lord’s holy people,
    Israel became his own possession.

The Red Sea looked and ran away;
    the Jordan River stopped flowing.
The mountains skipped like goats;
    the hills jumped around like lambs.

What happened, Sea, to make you run away?
    And you, O Jordan, why did you stop flowing?
You mountains, why did you skip like goats?
    You hills, why did you jump around like lambs?

Tremble, earth, at the Lord’s coming,
    at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who changes rocks into pools of water
    and solid cliffs into flowing springs. (Good News Translation)

I tend to use a lot of metaphors in my conversations with others. I like word pictures, analogies, and illustrations. Maybe that’s one reason I resonate with the Old Testament. The Hebrew mind revels in story, symbol, similitude, and even the occasional sarcasm.

The turn-of-phrase is something which connects well with me – which is why I like today’s psalm. The language is freighted with metonymy (using the name of one object or concept for that of another) and personification (using an animate characteristic for an inanimate object).

This psalm is a poetic response to the Jewish Passover and exodus out of slavery to freedom. It is a brief song of thanksgiving which nicely recounts the Israelite experience from Egypt to the Promised Land. At the behest of a mighty God, the Red Sea parted when the people left Egypt, and the Jordan River stopped its flowing when the people entered the Promised Land.

It’s a whole lot more powerful to say, “When the sea looked at God, it ran away,” than it is to say, “The Red Sea parted.” God is so mighty, so powerful, so large and sovereign that we must use the full extent of language to even begin to describe the wonderful works of the Lord. A big God with awesome capability needs some wordsmithing worthy of divine greatness.

Not only does the sea flee from its place, but the river also turns back, the mountains and hills shake and skip. To try and somehow capture the immensity of God, the psalmist used language which communicates that even inanimate objects come alive and fulfill the Lord’s bidding.

It is one thing to make a flat statement such as, “Put your trust in God,” and it is quite another matter to open up the tool of language and allow it to picture a divine Being so amazing that nothing nor anyone can possibly stand in such a Sovereign’s way. And this very same God works for us, and not against us.

The Lord God almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, has taken this formidable divine power and granted us a pinch of it – because that’s all we really need. Jesus, intimately familiar with his mighty heavenly Father, commented:

If your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “Dig yourself up and plant yourself in the ocean!” And the tree will obey you. (Luke 17:6, ERV)

For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:23, NKJV)

All of creation conspires together to participate in the great liberating and saving acts of God for God’s people. And if that wasn’t enough, we have been given the Holy Spirit to be with us forever – uprooting trees and moving mountains to accomplish the good and loving plan of God here on earth as it is always done in heaven.

Mighty God you invite us to be with you, to have a place near you. Your presence is joy, light, and comfort. Your nearness is holy, awesome, and wonderful. In the play of sunlight through rainbows, in the sounds of music and laughter, in the beauty of creation and the taste of bread and wine, your presence is known. Your saving presence surrounds us, whether we are fearful or joyful, laughing or crying.

You invite us, welcome us, forgive us and renew us with fresh hope and new life. You love us into your presence. We bless and thank you. We praise and adore you. We enjoy being with you, in the name, the spirit, and the presence of Jesus. Amen.