“He turned the sea into dry land: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 66:6 Mean?
The psalmist recounts the Red Sea crossing and Israel's passage through the Jordan River, compressing both miracles into a single verse. "He turned the sea into dry land"—the Red Sea at the Exodus. "They went through the flood on foot"—the Jordan River as they entered the promised land. Both events involved water becoming dry ground under God's command.
The shift to first person—"there did we rejoice in him"—is theologically significant. The psalmist, writing centuries after these events, uses "we" as if he were there. This isn't historical confusion—it's participatory memory. In Israel's worship, the community didn't just remember what God did for their ancestors. They claimed the story as their own. The deliverance that happened then belongs to us now.
The pairing of these two water miracles frames Israel's entire journey: the sea that opened to let them leave slavery, and the river that opened to let them enter promise. God's power bookends the wilderness—He was there at the beginning and at the end. Everything in between was sustained by the same power that made water obey.
Reflection Questions
- 1.When you read about God's past miracles in Scripture, do you experience them as 'their' story or 'yours'? How does claiming them change your faith?
- 2.What 'Red Sea' has God already parted in your life? What 'Jordan River' are you still standing in front of?
- 3.The rejoicing happened at the site of the miracle—in the impossible place. Where might your joy be waiting right now?
- 4.How does knowing that God bookends the journey—present at the rescue and at the promise—sustain you in the wilderness between?
Devotional
"There did we rejoice in him." We. Not they. The psalmist didn't cross the Red Sea. He wasn't there when the Jordan parted. But he writes as if he was—because in Israel's faith, the story of God's deliverance belongs to every generation, not just the one that experienced it.
This is how Scripture invites you to read it. Not as an observer of ancient history, but as a participant in an ongoing story. The God who turned the sea into dry land is your God. The deliverance He accomplished then is the same deliverance He accomplishes now—different circumstances, same character, same power. When you read about Israel walking through on dry ground, you're reading about your own God doing what He does.
The two water events—the Red Sea and the Jordan—represent the beginning and the end of a journey. God opened the water to let them leave Egypt, and He opened it again to let them enter Canaan. Whatever you're in the middle of right now—whatever wilderness stretches between your rescue and your promise—the same God who opened the first water will open the second. He doesn't rescue you from slavery and then abandon you before the promise.
The rejoicing happened "there"—at the site of the miracle. Sometimes you have to go to the impossible place before the joy arrives. The rejoicing didn't happen before the waters parted. It happened in the middle of the sea, on the dry ground that shouldn't have existed. Your joy might be waiting in the exact place that currently terrifies you.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
He turned the sea into dry land,.... The Red sea, or sea of Zuph, as the Targum; by causing a strong east wind to blow,…
He turned the sea into dry land - The Red Sea, when he brought his people out of Egypt, Exo 14:21. This was an…
I. In these verses the psalmist calls upon all people to praise God, all lands, all the earth, all the inhabitants of…
The passage of the Red Sea and the crossing of the Jordan are referred to as the most notable of His terrible acts (Psa…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture