He turned the sea into dry land; They went through the river on foot. There we will rejoice in Him. Psalm 66:6 (NKJV)
I first read this verse in the New Living Translation, first edition, where the second part invites us to Come, let us rejoice in who he is. I loved that! But when I looked into the original language, I found that the word "there" is clearly in the text. There we will rejoice in him. There, where he turned the sea into dry land. There, where he saved us. There, where he showed us who he is. The Savior. The Way.
And "there" is where we will rejoice in Him, in who he is. There, where the river was parted, where the dividing curtain was torn, where His body was broken.
That is what we are celebrating today. Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Way, making a way through for us. This verse in Psalms is recalling the escape of the Israelites through the sea told in Exodus 14. This escape is a prefiguring of the saving work that Jesus would do on the cross, bringing us from the side of the impassable waters where we are trapped in slavery to sin and death and separation from the One who loves us, to the side of cleansing from sin, freedom and life and fellowship with God our Father. There, God parted the waters. There, Jesus made the way for us.
"There" seems like such an insignificant word, yet full of compassion and grace and wonder. The first time that the Hebrew word translated "there" is used in the Bible is in Genesis 2:8.
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
There is where we were always meant to be, walking with God, together, face-to-face. No separation. Jesus, through his death on the cross, made that possible again. There he made the way.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings ... Hebrews 10:19-22
Come, walk across on dry land.
There we will rejoice in him!
Mercy there was great and grace was free,
pardon there was multiplied to me,
there my burdened soul found liberty – At Calvary.i
i Refrain from gospel song, At Calvary, lyrics by William R. Newell.
Image, Christ on the Cross (1620) by Rubens, in the Public Domain.
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