*Thou* rulest the pride of the sea when its waves arise, *thou* stillest them.
Psalm 89 is a song about God's mercies and about His faithfulness to the covenant He made with David. Verses 5-18 praise who this God is, and verse 9 points to the sea: even its raging obeys Him.
This praise of God's power sits inside a psalm whose whole subject is that God's kindness to David cannot be broken.
Its subject is the mercies of Jehovah — His kindness toward Israel — and the fact that they never change. They are the sure mercies. There was faith to say "for ever," for it was grace... He then recites the covenant first made with David. That covenant is the expression of mercy, and it is what Jehovah was to be faithful to: the sure mercies of David. He then turns and goes on praising Jehovah (vv. 5-18), recalling the ancient rescue from Egypt.
So the psalm turns to the sea and the waves as proof. A God who rules them can keep His promise.
Verse 9 follows a question in verse 8, and one writer weighs its exact wording. He uses an older translation, which reads, "Who is mighty like You, O Lord?"
Then the psalmist bursts out in sincere worship of Him who is "Lord of hosts": "Who is mighty like You, O Lord?" (v. 8). He does not say "as mighty as You," for only He is mighty at all. No one else is truly mighty in any way. They may be mighty compared to others, but in contrast to Him, they have no might whatever. "Your faithfulness also surrounds You," like armor that nothing can pierce and nothing can weaken.
One writer reads the sea on two levels at once: real water, and the raging nations it stands for. His comment runs on into the next verse:
The Lord Jesus did this with real water when He was on earth (Mk. 4:39). He will also subdue the sea of the raging nations completely in the end. In the meantime He rules them behind the scenes. He lets them go "thus far and no farther," and He orders events in a way that shows His sovereign authority over them. Rahab is mentioned, that is, Egypt, the first of the nations to hold Israel in bondage, and how she was broken to pieces like someone killed. So she is made an example for all the enemies of God, whom He scatters with His mighty arm (v. 10).
Another writer traces how the psalm praises God for keeping that covenant, and where verses 9-10 fit in it.
His glory in keeping that covenant faithfully is then celebrated. He is the Redeemer (vv. 9-10), the Creator (vv. 11-12), the Ruler (vv. 13-14), the Shield of His people, and their King.
One writer reads this line as a description of Christ, written long before He was born. When He spoke to a storm on the lake, He did what the psalm says God does.
His voice was enough to still the elements. "Peace! Be still!" Long before He became man the Psalmist wrote of Him, "You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them" (Ps. 89:9). He laid aside not one attribute of Deity when He became man. His almighty power and His perfect knowledge shone out in Him whenever there was occasion to show them. Demons, disease, death, winds and waves all fled before His word.
What about the storms that are not stilled? One writer points to a work he calls still more wonderful.
One example more. The blessed Lord Himself was storm-tossed on the lake. The cry of His terrified followers woke Him from sleep, and He rose from the pillow to still the storm. Now, if the Lord is no longer here with us in person to calm our fears by stilling our storms, He sits above the storms to do what is still more wonderful — to calm our troubled hearts. So we read it is "through Christ Jesus" that the peace of God keeps our hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7).
- Mercy first. The psalm is about the unchanging mercy promised to David. His power over the sea is the guarantee that the promise holds.
- Mercy needs might. "Who is mighty like You" is not a comparison — others are mighty only next to each other, and beside Him have no might at all.
- Might reaches the sea. He has already broken Rahab, that is Egypt. He now holds the raging nations to "thus far and no farther." He will subdue them completely.
- Might took a body. Christ stilled the water of Galilee with a word, laying aside no attribute of Deity when He became man.
- Might reaches you. He no longer walks the lake to quiet our storms, but from above them He quiets the heart — the greater work.
Thou hast crushed Rahab as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with the arm of thy strength.
Psalm 89 is a song about God's covenant with David. Here it pauses to recall what God's power once did to Egypt at the Red Sea. That old defeat measures the arm still pledged to keep His promise.
The name in this verse is not a person but a nation, and the word itself carries the charge against it.
A poetical name, meaning "insolence," given to Egypt. Psalm 87:4; Psalm 89:10; Isaiah 51:9. The same word occurs in Isaiah 30:7. There the Revised Version reads, "therefore I have called her Rahab who sits still."
So Egypt is named here for its pride.
The blow described here is not a setback but a killing.
The psalm mentions Rahab, that is, Egypt — the first nation to hold Israel in slavery — broken to pieces like one killed. So she stands as an example for all the enemies of God, whom He scatters with His mighty arm.
The previous verse speaks of God stilling the raging sea. One writer joins the two pictures, reading the sea as an image of strength that answers to no one.
The sea is the very type of unruled strength and pride; but He stills the tossing of its angry waves. Rahab — that name of pride, Egypt — lay crushed before His might, as if slain. Here history supplies the psalmist with the experience. They were enemies to Him, and He scattered them.
Egypt did not fall at random. One writer traces this blow back to a promise God made to Abram, and then forward to a judgment still to come.
It was in remembrance of His promise to Abram that He had broken Rahab in pieces (Genesis 15:14-16). The same faithfulness would in due time break the rod of pride for good. Pharaoh was a figure of another, the deliberate opposer of the Lord's power. That one will set himself up proudly, with a vast army, against the name and heritage of God.
Commentators differ on how far forward the verse looks. Some read it as history recalled. Another reads the same order of events as a preview of God's future dealings on earth.
Then come His dealings on earth — Rahab slain, and the enemies scattered. That is, first Antichrist and pride, and then the other nations. It is the same order as elsewhere: first Egypt, then the nations of Canaan.
The verse credits the victory to a mighty arm. One writer names the Person who wields it.
The Lord Jesus has always been the Executor of the purposes of God. He acted in the mighty scenes of creation. It was He who cut Rahab in pieces — a name meaning "Arrogance," given to Egypt in contempt. He dried up the sea, when God brought the people out of the land where they were slaves, under Moses. When He puts on strength and acts in the future day, there will be a far greater deliverance.
One writer names the event behind the verse, and the purpose God had in it.
The godly recall the exercise of the Lord's power, when at the Red Sea He broke the power of Egypt ("Rahab") and scattered His enemies with His strong arm. The Lord owns heaven and earth by His rights as Creator. If He overthrows the power of the world, pictured by Egypt, He does it so that His mighty arm may establish His own throne — a throne marked by justice and judgment, mercy and truth.
Why recall Egypt in a song about David's throne? One writer ties God's oath to David to His power to keep it.
God has promised, and bound Himself by covenant and by oath, not to lie to David. And God is Almighty. He had taken up the cause of His people in Egypt, then breaking Rahab in pieces.
- Pride named. "Rahab" is a poetic name for Egypt, and it means insolence. The psalm names the nation by its sin.
- Pride crushed. God broke the first power that enslaved His people, like someone killed. Egypt became the example for every enemy of God.
- Pride's pattern. Pharaoh is a figure of a later opposer. The same faithfulness that broke Egypt will break the rod of pride for good, though writers differ on how far ahead this verse looks.
- The arm. The Lord Jesus has always carried out God's purposes. The arm that cut Rahab in pieces and dried the sea will act again, and that deliverance will be far greater.
- The purpose. God overthrows world power to set up His own throne of justice, judgment, mercy and truth. So the psalm recalls Egypt: the God who swore to David is the God who broke that empire.