Psalm 33:9

9 For {he himself spoke} and it came to pass. {He himself commanded} and it stood firm.

Psalm 33:9 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 33:9

For he spake, and it was [done]
Or "it was" ^F1, it came into being by a word speaking, almighty power going along with it; see ( Genesis 1:3 Genesis 1:6 Genesis 1:7 Genesis 1:9 Genesis 1:11 Genesis 1:14 Genesis 1:15 Genesis 1:20 Genesis 1:24 ) ;

he commanded, and it stood fast;
every created thing continued in its being; not only all things were produced into being by his all commanding word and power, "nutu Jovis", as Maximus Tyrius speaks {b}; but by the same all things are upheld and consist, ( Hebrews 1:3 ) ( Colossians 1:17 ) . The poet ^F3 uses the same word of God in the creation of things; and is the phrase in ( Genesis 1:3 ) admired by Longinus ^F4: or this may refer to the implantation of the grace of fear in the hearts of his people; for as he speaks life into them in regeneration, commands light to shine in their dark heart, and says to them, when in their blood, Live; so by the mighty power of his word he commands the fear of him in them, and it continues.

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 (yhyw) "et fuit", Pagninus, Montanus, Musculus, Gejerus; so Ainsworth.
F2 Dissert. 25.
F3 "Jussit et extendi campos" Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. Fab. 1. v. 43.
F4 De Sublimi.

Psalm 33:9 In-Context

7 [He] gathered the waters of the sea like a heap. [He] put [the] deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear Yahweh. Let all [the] inhabitants of [the] world stand in awe of him.

9 For {he himself spoke} and it came to pass. {He himself commanded} and it stood firm.

10 Yahweh brings to nothing [the] plan of nations; he frustrates [the] intents of peoples.

11 The plan of Yahweh stands firm forever, the intents of his heart {from one generation to the next}.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "he, he spoke"
• [b] Literally "He, he commanded"