Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
The Hebrew word roo-agh in the verse means wind, denoting the east wind that breaks the ships of Tarshish. God breaks the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. This breaking belongs to the account of the kings who gather together against Zion, see, marvel, and then flee away in terror. The act shows God's power to defeat those who threaten the city.
The psalm is a song presenting Jerusalem as the place where God's name dwells and where His house was established, the sanctuary where His glory was revealed. In a special sense Jerusalem is the dwelling place of the Lord, the capital city of His spiritual kingdom, and the center from which His light and salvation go out to the whole world. The song praises God in the city of God on His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, the city of the great King. It presents God as known in her palaces as a refuge, the city as established forever, with loving-kindness contemplated in the midst of His temple, with praise matching His name to the ends of the earth, and with His right hand full of righteousness. By this special revelation of His presence God set His people apart from all nations, and as long as they stayed loyal to Him as King and kept spiritual union with Him through the sanctuary and its services, He was their all-sufficient protection against every enemy, a wall of fire around them and the glory within.
The psalm is prophetic of the glory of Christ's kingdom.
The Hebrew word roo-agh in the verse means wind, denoting the east wind that breaks the ships of Tarshish. God breaks the ships of Tarshish with an east wind. This breaking belongs to the account of the kings who gather together against Zion, see, marvel, and then flee away in terror. The act shows God's power to defeat those who threaten the city.
The psalm is a song presenting Jerusalem as the place where God's name dwells and where His house was established, the sanctuary where His glory was revealed. In a special sense Jerusalem is the dwelling place of the Lord, the capital city of His spiritual kingdom, and the center from which His light and salvation go out to the whole world. The song praises God in the city of God on His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Mount Zion, the city of the great King. It presents God as known in her palaces as a refuge, the city as established forever, with loving-kindness contemplated in the midst of His temple, with praise matching His name to the ends of the earth, and with His right hand full of righteousness. By this special revelation of His presence God set His people apart from all nations, and as long as they stayed loyal to Him as King and kept spiritual union with Him through the sanctuary and its services, He was their all-sufficient protection against every enemy, a wall of fire around them and the glory within.
The psalm is prophetic of the glory of Christ's kingdom.