Psalms 33:9

9 For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.

Psalms 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.


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.

Psalms 33:9 In-Context

7 He assigned the sea its boundaries and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
8 Let the whole world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him.
9 For when he spoke, the world began! It appeared at his command.
10 The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations and thwarts all their schemes.
11 But the LORD ’s plans stand firm forever; his intentions can never be shaken.
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