Psalms 74:15

15 You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up mighty rivers.

Psalms 74:15 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 74:15

Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood
That is, the rocks at Horeb and at Kadesh, from whence water flowed as out of a fountain, and became a flood, whereby the people of Israel were supplied with water in the wilderness, and also their beasts; and from this instance it may be concluded that God will not leave his people, nor suffer them to want, but will supply all their need while they are in the wilderness, and will open fountains and rivers for them, ( Isaiah 41:17 Isaiah 41:18 ) he himself is a fountain of living water; Christ is the fountain of gardens, and the Spirit and his grace a well of living water springing up unto everlasting life:

thou driedst up mighty rivers;
the river of Jordan, called "mighty", as Kimchi says, because by its strength it overflowed all its banks and "rivers", and because other rivers flowed into it; this was dried up, or way was made through it, as on dry land, for the people of Israel to pass into Canaan, ( Joshua 3:14 Joshua 3:15 ) , the Targum is,

``thou hast dried up the fords and brooks of Hermon, and the fords of Jabbok and Jordan;''

see ( Numbers 21:14 Numbers 21:24 ) , and the Lord, that did this, is able to dry up, and will dry up, the river Euphrates, as is foretold, ( Revelation 16:12 ) , that is, destroy the Turkish empire, and make way for the spread of the Gospel in the eastern parts of the world; to which reference is had in ( Isaiah 11:15 Isaiah 11:16 ) .

Psalms 74:15 In-Context

13 You divided the sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea serpents in the waters.
14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces, And gave him as food to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15 You broke open the fountain and the flood; You dried up mighty rivers.
16 The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 You have set all the borders of the earth; You have made summer and winter.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.