A person who is not familiar with the psalms might suppose that they are very much alike. But as I have worked my way through a careful study of them, the thing that has impressed me most is how unique each psalm is. Some are sad; some are happy. Some deal with national defeats or victories; some are entirely personal. Some deal with sin, others with praise, still others with trying to find the right way in confusing situations. And their structures vary too. Some are lengthy rehearsals of past historical events. Some are short. Some are acrostics. Some are lyrical. Psalm 114 is a little masterpiece. 

Having called upon the “servants of the LORD” to praise him “from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets," the psalm next turns to the praise of God directly, extolling him as the one who is “exalted over all the nations” and whose "glory [is] above the heavens” (v. 4). Verses 3 and 4 are paralleled almost exactly in Malachi 1:11: “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,' says the LORD Almighty.” 

Our starting point is to notice that this is a strong praise psalm. In fact, it is a superb example of what our praise of God should be. The psalm begins and ends with the words “Praise the LORD,” and the first of its three stanzas repeatedly calls on all the servants of God to extol God, which is what the remainder of the psalm (stanzas two and three) does. 

In the past two days' studies, we have looked at five blessings of the person who fears and joyfully obeys God. Today we conclude this list with a sixth blessing. 

The middle and chief section of the psalm (vv. 2–9) describes the specific blessings of the person who fears and joyfully obeys God. But it does this in a remarkable way, combining two ideas. What do you think of when you think of God’s blessings? Do you think of outward things such as wealth, health, security, or a good reputation? Or do you think of inward things such as traits of godly character? Either one is right, and in fact both are blessings. In this section the two ideas are developed side by side: on the one hand, the outward visible blessedness of the godly, and on the other hand, their inner godly character.