The Meaning of Psalms 114:7 Explained

Psalms 114:7

KJV: Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob;

YLT: From before the Lord be afraid, O earth, From before the God of Jacob,

Darby: Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the +God of Jacob,

ASV: Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, At the presence of the God of Jacob,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Tremble,  thou earth,  at the presence  of the Lord,  at the presence  of the God  of Jacob; 

What does Psalms 114:7 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 114:1-8 - The Mighty God Uplifteth The Lowly
We detect the song of Samuel's mother in the first of these psalms. She sang the Old Testament "Magnificat" and it was embalmed by the psalmist here. Thus it passed into the psalter of the Church. Note the universality of this ascription of praise. For all time, Psalms 113:2; through all the earth, Psalms 113:3; and above all heavens, Psalms 113:4. What a wonderful God is ours! Heaven cannot contain Him, but He lifts the poor and needy out of the dust. Largeness is not greatness, and the babe in the cot is more important than the palace.
In Psalms 114:1-8 Egypt represents the tyranny of sin; but we have been redeemed. Like Israel we have gone forth. We belong no more to the present world with its strange tongue. Ours is the language of Canaan, our home. This exodus of ours has made us the temple and sanctuary of God. If once the Church realized that she is God-possessed, she would become irresistible. Seas would divide, rivers would start back, mountains would cleave, and the hills would remove. "Impossible" would be blotted from our vocabulary. The power that made Sinai tremble gave earth water-springs. When the soul finds its all in God, the world ceases to affright or attract it, and the rocks yield refreshing streams. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 114

1  The miracles wrought by God, when he brought his people out of Egypt,
7  are a just ground of fearing him

What do the individual words in Psalms 114:7 mean?

at the presence of the Lord Tremble earth at the presence of the God of Jacob
מִלִּפְנֵ֣י אָ֭דוֹן ח֣וּלִי אָ֑רֶץ מִ֝לִּפְנֵ֗י אֱל֣וֹהַּ יַעֲקֹֽב

מִלִּפְנֵ֣י  at  the  presence 
Parse: Preposition-m, Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
אָ֭דוֹן  of  the  Lord 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדֹון  
Sense: firm, strong, lord, master.
ח֣וּלִי  Tremble 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, feminine singular
Root: חוּל 
Sense: to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained.
אָ֑רֶץ  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
מִ֝לִּפְנֵ֗י  at  the  presence 
Parse: Preposition-m, Preposition-l, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
אֱל֣וֹהַּ  of  the  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: אֱלֹוהַּ  
Sense: God.
יַעֲקֹֽב  of  Jacob 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יַעֲקֹב  
Sense: son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and father of the 2 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel.