07/09/2026
Dear Friends,
We hope this will encourage you in your spiritual walk. We give thanks to Rev. Dr Joseph Wood for writing this devotional.
You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
PSALM 114 (Message)
After Israel left Egypt,
the clan of Jacob left those barbarians behind;
Judah became holy land for him,
Israel the place of holy rule.
Sea took one look and ran the other way;
River Jordan turned around and ran off.
The mountains turned playful and skipped like rams,
the hills frolicked like spring lambs.
What’s wrong with you, Sea, that you ran away?
and you, River Jordan, that you turned and ran off?
And mountains, why did you skip like rams?
and you, hills, frolic like spring lambs?
Tremble, Earth! You’re in the Lord’s presence!
in the presence of Jacob’s God.
He turned the rock into a pool of cool water,
turned flint into fresh spring water.
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
This weekend was a special one for Brisbane. Every year the city hosts an event called “Riverfire”. This event is marked by two things: an impressive fireworks show, which is preceded by a display of Australia’s aviation power. Last year was the first time I braved the crowds to witness the river light up at night. Although the fireworks were the culmination of the evening, I will never forget the feeling I had when the aeroplanes and helicopters made low passes over the C*D.
If you have never experienced a military airshow, it is difficult to describe what it is like. Attack helicopters hovering about 200 metres above the crowds, the massive but agile C-17 Globemaster dancing over the river, and the thunderous F/A18 Hornet fighter jets screaming past the skyscrapers: it is a sight to behold. The best word I could come up with when trying to explain what I felt last year when I saw the fighter jets was“tremble”. As the Hornets passed by, my whole body shook, inside and out. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time. I trembled at the power I was witnessing.
The word “tremble” is used in our psalm for the week. Psalm 114 is a song of reflection on the day God’s people were liberated from bo***ge in Egypt. We read about this in Exodus 14, when Moses stretched out his hand and the Red Sea parted, allowing God’s people to pass through on dry ground. The Psalmist alludes to this event by saying the sea ran away. Other allusions are about the Jordan River that “ran off”, and the mountains and hills skipped and frolicked away like rams and lambs. What is the Psalmist trying to say here?
An explanation is given: “Tremble, oh earth! You’re in the Lord’s presence!”
In other words, when God is present, the earth trembles. It shakes; it moves; it creates space for God. In the story of Israel, God’s presence creates a pathway for God’s people. As the Psalmist reflects on past events, a vision of the future is unfolding. Several hundred years after this was written, another event takes place where, “the earth shook/trembled”. The reaction was clear, “Surely this was the Son of God” (Matthew 27). Tremble, oh earth! You’re in the Lord’s presence! As I read the psalm and reflect on what it feels like to tremble, I envision the awesome power that was displayed in the person of Jesus. When Jesus gave his life, the whole earth trembled, and a pathway out of bo***ge was created.
PRAYER:
Holy God, the earth trembles at your presence.
We give you thanks today for the ways in which you have been faithful to your covenant promise. You rescued your people from bo***ge in Egypt, and you provided the pathway of salvation through the power of your love displayed in the sacrifice made by your son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Through Him, we receive the gift of freedom from sin and death. And in Him, we experience life to the full.
May the powerful presence of your Spirit continue to transform our lives into the image of your Son, this day and always. Amen.
