Habakkuk 3:15

15 You trampled upon the sea [with] your horses, the churning of many waters.

Habakkuk 3:15 Meaning and Commentary

Habakkuk 3:15

Thou didst walk through the sea with thine horses
And as thou didst of old, so do again; as Jehovah walked through the Red sea in a pillar of cloud and fire, which were his horses and chariots, and destroyed the Egyptians; so may he walk through another sea by his instruments, and destroy the enemies of his church and people; (See Gill on Habakkuk 3:8). The "sea" here signifies the world, compared to it for the multitude of its people; the noise, fluctuation, and uncertainty of all things in it; and particularly the Roman empire, the sea out of which the antichristian beast arose, ( Revelation 13:1 ) . The "horses" are the angels or Christian princes, with whom the Lord will walk in majesty, and in the greatness of his strength, pouring out the vials of his wrath on the antichristian states: through the heap of many waters;
or "the clay", or "mud of many waters" F23; that lies at the bottom of them; which being walked through and trampled on by horses, is raised up, and "troubles" them, as the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it: these "many waters" are those on which the whore of Rome is said to sit; and which are interpreted of people, multitudes, nations, and tongues, ( Revelation 17:1 Revelation 17:15 ) and the "mud" of them is expressive of their pollution and corruption, with her false doctrines, idolatry, superstition, and immoralities; and of their disturbed state and condition, through the judgments of God upon them, signified by his horses walking through them; trampling upon them in fury; treating them with the utmost contempt; treading them like mire and clay, and bringing upon them utter ruin and destruction.


FOOTNOTES:

F23 (Mybr Mym rmx) "in luto aquarum multarum", Tigurine version; "calcasti lutum aquarum multarum", Cocceius, Van Till; "lutum, aquae multae", Burkius.

Habakkuk 3:15 In-Context

13 You went forth for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of wickedness, laying bare [from the] foundation to the top.
14 You pierced the head of his warriors with his own arrows; they came like a whirlwind to scatter me, their exultation like [one who] devours the afflicted in ambush.
15 You trampled upon the sea [with] your horses, the churning of many waters.
16 I hear and my stomach shakes; my lips quiver at the sound; infection enters my bones; that which [is] beneath me trembles; I wait quietly for the day of trouble to come upon the people attacking us.
17 Though the fig tree [does] not blossom, nor there be fruit on the vines; the yield of [the] olive tree fails, and the cultivated fields do not yield food; [the] flock is cut off from the animal pen, and there is no cattle in the stalls,
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.