He Divided the Sea

Psalm 78 is the great historical psalm of the Book of Psalms — a maskil of Asaph, the second-longest in the entire book. Part 1 opened the gateway: we tell the story to the coming generation, so that they may know. Now the story itself begins.

Part 2 (verse 1 and verses 9-16) opens in shadow: the children of Ephraim turn back on the day of battle — because they kept not the covenant, because they forgot. And against that forgetting the psalm sets what must never be forgotten: the wonders of Egypt, the divided sea, the cloud and the fire, and the water out of the dry rock.

The central verse, chosen as the name of the song, is:

"He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; and he made the waters to stand as an heap"

This is the heart of the chorus: the living, flowing sea torn in two and standing like a wall while the people pass through on dry ground — the memory that answers all forgetting.