Psalms 89:25

Psa 89:25 I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

Ver. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea] He shall be a vice-god, Dan 12:7 Rev 10:1. Herodotus saith that the Aeginetae gave the Persians earth and water, in token of subjection to Darius, their king. Christ is the true κοσμοκρατωρ, a title anciently usurped by Sesostris, king of Egypt.

Qui Pharos currus regum cervicibus egit.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_89:25

I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

The mediatorial glory and dominion of Jesus Christ under the Gospel-dispensation

I. The means and the agency by which the kingdom, authority, and grace of the Mediator are extended among the nations of the world, and this promise of Jehovah is fulfilled to His Son.

1. In general, let it be observed, that the whole Word of God, as displayed and applied in the ministry of the Gospel, is the great comprehensive instrument whereby the spiritual dominion of Jesus Christ is established and spread abroad in the earth.

2. The powerful energy of the Divine Spirit is an indispensable requisite to give them force and impression on the souls of men.

II. A few of the most eminent periods when the Redeemers hand is set in the sea and His right hand in the rivers; together with some of the concurring circumstances which, under the direction of Providence, contribute to the establishment and enlargement of the kingdom of grace.

1. The first period commenced at the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and includes the ministry of the apostles and of the first preachers of Christianity, when the glorious Gospel was attended with the most wonderful success, and, in a short time, spread its triumphs far and wide.

2. The Reformation.

3. The millennium. The former periods were glorious, but this will far exceed them in glory. They presented the first fruits, this will bring forward the full harvest.

III. Improvement.

1. The subject suggests to our consideration one great cause of the increase of irreligion and infidelity in the present age, viz. a mournful deviation from the system of Divine truth.

2. The missionary scheme, if prosecuted with prudence, zeal, perseverance, and a humble dependence on God for success, promises fair to be a blessing to the world, to this nation, and to the Church of God in it.

3. The promises of God afford the greatest encouragement to strenuous and persevering endeavours to propagate the knowledge of salvation among the heathen.

4. As the success of all our endeavours to promote the cause of religion must depend on the Spirits and providence of God, let us be frequent and fervent in prayer. (P. Hutchinson.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. (Psa 89:25) And I will set in the sea his hand, and in the floods his right hand. I will cause him to lay hands upon them, and exercise authority over them, as his own possession and domain. Hand and right hand, as in Psa 89:13. Sea and floods, streams, or rivers, as in Psa 24:2. The watery parts of the earth are here put for the whole. Compare 1Ch 14:17.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He shall enjoy the land round about.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 25. I will set his hand also in the sea] This was literally fulfilled in David. Hand signifies power or authority; he set his hand on the sea in conquering the Philistines, and extending his empire along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, from Tyre to Pelusium. All the coasts of the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Arabic Ocean, might be said to have been under his government, for they all paid tribute to him or his son Solomon.

His right hand in the rivers] First, the Euphrates: he subjected all Syria, and even a part of Mesopotamia; 2Sa 8:3; 1Ch 18:3. He also took Damascus, and consequently had his hand or authority over the river Chrysorrhoes, or Baraddi; and in his conquest of all Syria his hand must have been on the Orontes and other rivers in that region. But if this be considered as referring to the typical David, we see that He was never conquered; he never lost a battle; the hosts of hell pursued him in vain. Satan was discomfited, and all his enemies bruised under his feet. Even over death he triumphed; and as to his dominion, it has spread and is spreading over all the isles of the sea, and the continents of the world.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. And I will set his hand in the sea. The vast extent of the kingdom is here adverted to. As the people by their wickedness had, as it were, blocked up the way, and intercepted the blessing of God, their inheritance was more limited than the promise implied. But now God declares, that during the reign of David, it will be again enlarged, so that the people shall possess the whole country, from the sea even to the river Euphrates. From this we gather, that what God had promised by Moses was fulfilled only in the person of David, that is to say, from his time. By the rivers may be understood, either the Euphrates alone, which is cut into many channels, or the other neighboring rivers on the coast of Syria.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(25) In the sea.—A reference, as in Psa_72:8; Psa_80:11, to the limits of the Solomonic kingdom, the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. For the figure we may compare a saying attributed by Curtius to some Scythian ambassadors, who addressed Alexander in these terms: “If the gods had given thee a body as great as thy mind, the whole world would not be able to contain thee. Thou wouldst reach with one hand to the east, and with the other to the west.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. in the sea … in the rivers] R.V., on the sea … on the rivers; i.e. I will extend his dominion to the Mediterranean on the west, and to the Euphrates on the north-east, the boundaries of the land according to ancient promise. See Gen_15:18; Exo_23:31; Deu_11:24; 1Ki_4:24; cp. Psa_72:8; Psa_80:11. The plural rivers is a poetical generalisation, or may denote the Euphrates and its canals.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He shall cry unto me, thou art my Father,.... Not by creation, as he is the Father of angels and men; nor by adoption, as he is the Father of saints; but by generation, being the begotter of him, Psa 2:7 so that he is Christ's own and proper Father, and Christ is his own and proper Son, Joh 5:18, and he frequently called him his Father, and asserted him to be in this relation to him, Joh 5:17, Joh 10:30, and addressed him, called upon him, and prayed unto him as such, Mat 11:25, "my God"; that chose him to be the Mediator, Redeemer, and Saviour; who made a covenant with him, his chosen; who prepared and provided the human nature of Christ; anointed him with the gifts and graces of his Spirit, and supported him in his sufferings, and crowned him with glory and honour; whom Christ loved as his God, trusted in him as such, obeyed him, and prayed unto him: he called him his God, owned him to be so, and called upon him, and cried unto him, as such, Joh 20:17. God is the Father of Christ, as Christ is a divine Person; and he is the God of Christ, as Christ is man: these two relations frequently go together in the New Testament, Joh 20:17. It is added,

and the Rock of my salvation; that bore him up, and where he stood firm, while he was working out the salvation of his people; and though he was not saved from sufferings and death, yet he was quickly delivered from the grave, and raised from the dead, and set at the right hand of God, where he must reign till all enemies are put under his feet.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

I will set his hand also in the sea ... - His dominion shall extend from the sea on the one hand to the rivers on the other. The sea here evidently refers to the Mediterranean; and the rivers to the great rivers on the east - the Tigris and Euphrates. These were the promised boundaries of the land. Gen 15:18. David secured a conquest over all these territories, and united all under his scepter, thus securing the accomplishment of the promise made to Abraham. See the notes at Psa 60:1-12.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

I will set his hand, i.e. establish his power and dominion.

In the sea; the midland sea.

The rivers, to wit, Euphrates, called rivers in the plural number, as Nilus also is, Isa 18:1; Eze 29:3,4, in regard of divers branches of it, and rivers which flow into it. So here is a description of the uttermost bounds of the Promised Land, Exo 23:31; Num 34:3, to which the Israelitish power was extended by David and Solomon.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. He shall reach far beyond the little rivers which stand for boundaries in Palestine; he shall by his power embrace all lands from sea to sea. He shall have his hand in the ocean and his right hand in earth's mightiest streams. As monarchs hold in their hands a globe to set forth their dominion over the earth, he shall grasp the far more unconquerable sea, and be Lord of all. This power is to be given him of the Lord, and is to be abiding; so we understand the words "I will set." The verse has in it a voice of good cheer concerning sailors, and all dwellers on the waters; the hand of Jesus is over them, and as he found his first apostles by the sea, so we trust he still finds earnest disciples there.

Ver. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. That is, he should reign from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates; figuratively expressed by his left hand being extended to the sea, and his right hand to the rivers. A similar expression is used, according to Curtius, by the Scythian ambassadors to Alexander. "If", said they, "the gods had given thee a body as great as thy mind, the whole world would not be able to contain thee. Thou wouldst reach with one hand to the east, and with the other to the west." Kitto's Pictorial Bible.

Ver. 25. I will set his hand also in the sea and his right hard in the rivers. A certain artist was in the habit of saying that he should represent Alexander in such a manner, that in one hand he should hold a city and from the other pour a river. Christ is represented here as of immense stature, higher than all mountains, with one hand holding the earth, and the other the sea, while from Eastern sea to Western he extends his arms. Le Blanc.

Psalms 89:26*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

25. Sea—The Mediterranean.

Rivers—Historically construed, the plural form of this word must be accepted here in the same sense as the well-known dual Naharaim, which is a standing designation of the Euphrates and Tigris, as in the proper name Aram-Naharaim, or Aram, (that is, “the high-lands,”) of the two rivers, same as Mesopotamia, Gen_24:10; Deu_23:4; Jdg_3:8; Psalms 60, title. In this sense it describes, geographically, the eastern limit of the dominion of David and Solomon. 1Ki_4:21; Ezr_4:20; Psa_80:11. But prophetically, as applied to Messiah, the sense is general, and the description sets forth a universal empire, as in Psa_72:8

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. (comp. Psa_72:8) "The sea" is probably the Mediterranean, and "the rivers" the Euphrates, with its canals and affluents. (see 1Ki_4:21, 24 Psa_137:1) The promise of an extended dominion is implied in 2Sa_7:9.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Set - Establish his power and dominion. The sea - The mid- land sea. The rivers - Euphrates, called rivers, in regard of divers branches of it, and rivers which flow into it. So here is a description of the uttermost bounds of the promised land.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.