Psalms 74:15 Meaning: The God Who Opens Springs and Dries Rivers

The Hebrew verb baqa (you broke open) is a strong, forceful word. It is the same verb used when God split the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21) and when Moses struck the rock at Horeb (Exodus 17:6). It is not a gentle trickle; it is a splitting open, an act of raw power. The word for spring, ma'yan, suggests a source of living water, something that gives life in a dry land. The rivers God dries up are called naharot eitan, perennial, ever-flowing rivers. Eitan means constant, permanent, strong. These were rivers that never ran dry by natural causes. So the psalmist pairs two opposite miracles: God brings water where there was none (desert rock), and He removes water where it always flows (Jordan). The verb for dried up, hobashta, comes from yabesh, to wither or become dry. It is the same word used for God drying the floodwaters (Genesis 8:7). In both cases, God bends nature to His will. He commands water to appear or to vanish. The psalmist holds up these memories like evidence: this God can do absolutely anything to save His people.

Commentators across traditions have seen in this verse direct references to Israel's history. Adam Clarke, Matthew Henry, and Gill point to the water from the rock at Horeb and Kadesh, and to the drying up of the Jordan when Israel crossed into Canaan. Calvin and Keil also see these events, but they emphasize that the psalmist is using them as a pattern: the same power that saved Israel from Egypt and brought them into the land can save them again from their present enemies. The verse is read both as literal history and as a pointer to God's enduring faithfulness. Whether the reader focuses on the historical miracle or the theological truth, the point is the same: God's power over nature is always at work for His people's salvation.

Some read this verse as general praise of God's power in nature, He makes springs and dries up rivers in the normal cycle of seasons. In fact, the psalmist is recalling specific acts of salvation: the water from the rock (Exodus 17) and the crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 3). These are not weather patterns but miracles of deliverance. The psalmist uses them to argue that God can save His people again from their current ruin.

When you face a desert, a season of lack, loneliness, or thirst, remember that God can bring water from rock. When you face an impassable river, a barrier that seems too wide or deep, remember that God can dry it up. This week, take five minutes to write down the two biggest obstacles you are facing. Beside each one, write: 'You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.' Let these words become your prayer. Ask God to do what only He can do. He has done it before. He can do it again.