Psalms 33:9

9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

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 gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle; he put the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.