NOTES for Psa 33:9

⁹For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

First of all, this verse tells us about God's goodness, and this is perhaps the main thing. If God is good, then in the world He created there is a possibility for happiness, and this happiness, more than happiness, blessedness, is attained by trusting Him, by hoping in Him. And here it is also said that God's goodness is not an abstraction, but something known in real experience. The verbs describing this experience are remarkable: taste, because the experience of communion with God is always inward and for it one must let the Lord inside oneself (pay attention to the parallel passages, recall the Mystical Supper); see, because it is an experience of contemplation, and God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Other notes

For Psa 33:1-22

¹Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

²Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

³Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

⁴For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.

⁵He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

⁶By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

⁹For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

¹⁰The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

¹¹The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD: and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

¹³The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

¹⁴From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

¹⁵He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.

¹⁶There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

¹⁷An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

¹⁹To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.

²¹For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

²²Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

David composed this psalm in difficult circumstances, when the contempt of those around him was added to all the afflictions he had already endured... Read more

David composed this psalm in difficult circumstances, when the contempt of those around him was added to all the afflictions he had already endured. And it was precisely then that praise poured out from David's heart.

Often, after receiving from the Lord everything we asked for and even more, we become ungrateful and begin to forget from whom we received it all. At the height of his earthly power, David too did not escape sin. Yet in years of hardship and trial—not only when he had to oppose his enemies with weapons, but also when daily and constant humiliations wore him down—he remained with the Lord.

Apparently, in those days it was revealed to the psalmist that it is not the Lord who will punish the sinner: his own evil will kill him. What the one walking the path of evil has sown will return to him. The righteous, however, has many afflictions, but it is precisely for this reason that the Lord will deliver him from them.

To praise the Lord at every time and in all circumstances—this is the important lesson David learned during his wanderings and bequeathed to us.

Readings for 16 April 2007

NOTES for Psa 33:9

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Readings for 16 April 2007

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