Adam Clarke's Bible Commentary Verse 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, 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 ylwj chuli, "tremble thou," in the imperative; but almost all the Versions understood the word in past tense, and read as if the psalmist was answering his own questions, as stated in the translation above. "Tremble thou, O earth." As if he had said, Thou mayest well tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.
Matthew Henry Commentary
- An exhortation to fear God.
--Let us acknowledge God's power and goodness in what he did for Israel, applying it to that much greater work of wonder, our redemptio by Christ; and encourage ourselves and others to trust in God in the greatest straits. When Christ comes for the salvation of his people he redeems them from the power of sin and Satan, separates them from a ungodly world, forms them to be his people, and becomes their King There is no sea, no Jordan, so deep, so broad, but, when God's time is come, it shall be divided and driven back. Apply this to the plantin the Christian church in the world. What ailed Satan and his idolatries that they trembled as they did? But especially apply it to the work of grace in the heart. What turns the stream in a regenerate soul? What affects the lusts and corruptions, that they fly back; that prejudice are removed, and the whole man becomes new? It is at the presence of God's Spirit. At the presence of the Lord, not only mountains, but the earth itself may well tremble, since it has lain under a curse for man's sin. As the Israelites were protected, so they were provided for by miracles; such was that fountain of waters into which the flint rock was turned, and that rock was Christ. The Son of God, the Rock of ages, gave himself to death, to open a fountain to wash away sins, an to supply believers with waters of life and consolation; and they nee not fear that any blessing is too great to expect from his love. But let sinners fear before their just and holy Judge. Let us now prepar to meet our God, that we may have boldness before him at his coming _________________________________________________
Original Hebrew מה4100 לך הים3220 כי3588 תנוס5127 הירדן3383 תסב5437 לאחור׃268
