Chapter Thirty-Three

By the unanimous inscription of the Hebrew, Greek Bible, and Vulgate, the psalm belongs to David and was written for the reason indicated in the inscription: David pretended to be mad before Abimelech (the title of Philistine kings, as Pharaoh of Egyptian kings, though his own name was Ankus), and so, recently a victor over Goliath, he was released free.

The psalm is alphabetical.

I sing praises to the Lord and invite all the righteous to praise Him, for He is always their protector in times of affliction. He sends angels to protect His people (2–8). Everyone can be assured by experience that the Lord guards those who fear Him (9–11). To deserve such mercy from the Lord, one must fear Him and neither say nor do anything evil (12–15). The Lord has mercy and protects the righteous, no matter what difficult circumstances they find themselves in, while he who does evil perishes (16–23).

Psalm 33:3. My soul shall boast in the Lord; the meek shall hear and be glad. “My soul shall boast in the Lord”—a Hebraism that can be rendered as “I shall boast,” that is, I will always sing praises for the mercies He has shown me. “All the meek”—the righteous, who are in a difficult situation. In God’s protection of David, they will find strength and courage to bear afflictions, for they will gain the confidence that the Lord will help them as well.

Psalm 33:6. Those who looked to Him were enlightened, and their faces were not ashamed. “Their faces were not ashamed”—faith in Him will never remain unjustified.

Psalm 33:8. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them. “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him”—the Lord appoints a guardian angel to each person, who serves the same purpose for him as troops of soldiers in struggle with enemies: he protects him from afflictions. Here is revealed the peculiarity of the psalmists’ teaching about angels, that they are defenders of people, whereas in other books of the Old Testament angels are depicted as servants and messengers of Jehovah, appearing “temporarily” to him, rather than as his constant protectors and companions.

Psalm 33:9. Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! David transfers this truth about God’s protection of a righteous person from the realm of faith into the realm of experiential knowledge: “Taste and see”—try and see, convince yourself of the truth of my words.

Psalm 33:10. Fear the Lord, all you His saints, for there is no want among those who fear Him. Psalm 33:11. The young lions grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Psalm 33:12. Come, children, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. “There is no want among those who fear Him”—explained by the words of the next verse: “those who seek the Lord lack no good thing,” that is, the Lord gives the righteous also earthly well-being. From verse 12 onward, the conditions are set forth that determine God’s help to a person.

Psalm 33:16. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. Psalm 33:17. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth. “The eyes of the Lord,” “His ears,” “the face of the Lord”—human-like representation of God, as a being attentively disposed toward man.

Psalm 33:23. The Lord will redeem the souls of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him will be destroyed. “The souls of His servants”—the lives of His servants, that is, the righteous.