Psalm 33
Ver. 12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He chooses for an inheritance.
The whole is grouped around this position. On the one side, it is a deduction from what goes before, and, on the other, it is a thesis which is proved in what follows. The Psalmist alludes, it is true, to Israel; still he expresses himself in general terms: Mich.: ‘beatam igitur gentem, quaecunque sit.’
Ver. 13. The Lord looketh from heaven, He sees all the children of men.
Ver. 14. From the place of His habitation He looketh upon all who dwell on the earth.
Ver. 15. He who fashioneth for them all, their heart, who marketh all their works.
The looking of the Lord from heaven is not an idle act; it is the act of a king and judge. The 15th verse manifestly shows this. In it, the heart and the works stand in contrast to each other. The heart comes into notice as the workshop of the thoughts: compare ver. 11. The thoughts are wholly under God’s control, “for He fashioneth the heart:” so are the works, “for He observes them.” Who then need be afraid on account of the plans and works of men, if he only have God for his friend? God is mentioned here, as the use of the participle shows, as the Creator of the human spirit, in reference not only to His original act of creation, but also to His constant creating influence: compare Zech. xii. 1, and the Christology on the passage, P. II. p. 274. God, as the God of the spirits of all flesh, Num. xvi. 22, xxvii. 16, has all emotions and thoughts in His hands: compare Prov. xxi. 1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water, He turneth it whithersoever He will.”
Ver. 16. To the king his great power affords no help; a warrior is not saved by his great strength.
Ver. 17. The horse is a vain thing for safety, neither does he deliver any by his great strength.
The inference from the position, “that everything on the earth is done by God,” is, that nothing is done with our own strength. This inference was in the highest degree consolatory to Israel. If the issue of events depended on human strength, they must go down. The article is generic—the horse is the species: compare Prov. xxi. 31, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is of the Lord.”
Ver. 18. Behold, the eye of the Lord looks upon those who fear Him, who hope in His mercy.
Ver. 19. To deliver their soul, and to keep them alive in famine.
What cannot be effected by what Israel has not, worldly power, is accomplished by the loving care of his almighty God, in which he rejoices. There follows in vers. 20-22, the conclusion, in which the Church gives expression to the faith which has been produced in her by contemplating the glory of God, and prays that she may receive according to this her faith.
Ver. 20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord; He is our help and shield.
The first clause contains an allusion to the words of dying Jacob, in Gen. xlix. 18: “I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord;” and the second to Deut. xxxiii. 26.
Ver. 21. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name.
The holiness of God is, in this place also, His glory: compare at Ps. xxii. 3. The holy name of God is the product of the long series of the manifestations of His holiness. Whoever trusts in this, and not in his own strength, may rejoice in the Lord, sure of safety.
Ver. 22. Let Thy mercy come upon us, O Lord, as we trust in Thee.
When faith, the condition of deliverance, is present, deliverance also must therefore soon appear. The Psalmist renders thanks to the Lord for a deliverance vouchsafed to him; and exhorts all the pious to join with him in the praise of the Lord, inasmuch as the Lord always manifests Himself as equally ready to help His people as He had been on the present occasion, vers. 1-10. “In the second part, he turns to believers, addresses them, and says, that it is his design to teach them the art of leading a quiet life, and of being secure against enemies. This art consists in the fear of God, in keeping watch over the lips, in doing no evil, and in following after peace: the consequences of these are prayer heard, deliverance out of all danger, the gracious presence of God, communion with Him, consolation from Him, and the protection of person and life.” Jo. Arnd.
Both parts of this alphabetical Psalm contain an equal number of verses—a circumstance which must have been designed, as that number is exactly ten. Ver. 11 is as little to be considered as forming part of the second division, as the title of the Psalm is of the first: it has altogether the character of an introduction. And ver. 22 is evidently the conclusion of the whole, summing up its contents, and not more specially belonging to the second than to the first division. Like the concluding verse of the 25th Psalm, which resembles still further the Psalm before us in having no verse allotted to Vau, it begins with p, stands out of the alphabetical series, which terminates at ver. 21 with the final letter of the alphabet. The first decade is divided, as it often is, into a three and a seven: vers. 1-3 contain the determination of the Psalmist to praise God, and the exhortation to the pious to take part in that praise: vers. 4-10, the basis of this determination and exhortation.
The occasion on which the Psalm was written is announced in the title: Of David, when he concealed his intellect, i. e. feigned himself mad (Luther, after the example of the Septuagint and the Vulgate, has erroneously given, “his behaviour”), before Abimelech; whereupon he drove him from his presence, and he went away. The history is related in 1 Sam. xxi. Being persecuted by Saul, he betook himself to the land of the Philistines. There, he who had on former occasions injured the Philistines so grievously, was recognised, and brought into the presence of king Achish. For the purpose of saving his life, which at the time was in very imminent danger, he feigned himself mad; and God blessed this expedient, which, considered by itself, was one of a very doubtful character. The 56th Psalm also refers to the same occasion: there we have the prayer which David addressed to God in his extremity; and here, his thanksgivings for deliverance.
It is not, however, to be imagined that David composed the Psalm when immediately threatened by danger. In opposition to any such idea, we have the quiet tone by which it is pervaded; whereas all the Psalms which were immediately called forth by a particular occasion, are of a much more stirring character. Besides this, we have the decided predominance of effort to draw consolation and instruction for the Church from his own personal experience. Finally, we have the alphabetical arrangement, which never occurs in those Psalms which express feelings immediately called forth by a particular object, but always in those, in which the prevailing design is to edify others. The fact is, that David—when, on some occasion in the subsequent part of his history, his mind became filled with lively emotions arising from the recollection of this wonderful escape, in reference to which he even here says, “I will praise the Lord at all times, His praise shall be continually in my lips,”—made it the groundwork of a treasure of edification for the use of the godly in all ages.
After thus limiting the sense in which to understand the title, it becomes an easy matter to defend it against the attacks of modern criticism.
It has been said: 1st, “That it cannot be David’s, because the Achish of the book of Samuel is confounded with the Abimelech of the patriarchal times.” But this apparent contradiction disappears, when we observe that Abimelech among the Philistines was the title of rank given to all their kings, just as the kings of Egypt were called Pharaoh—of Jerusalem, Adonizedeck or Melchisedeck—of the Amalekites, Agag of Hazor, Jabin–of Jemen, Toba, etc.: compare Beitr. P. III. p. 306, on Balaam, p. 149. In favour of this idea we have three reasons: the first is drawn from Gen. xx. as compared with Gen. xxvi., where both Abraham and Isaac have to do with Abimelech, king of the Philistines; the second, from comparing the title of our Psalm with 1 Sam. xxi.; and the third, from the nature of the name itself. Abimelech means ” father of a king;” and refers to the hereditary descent of the crown among the Philistines, in opposition to the practice of electing the sovereign, which obtained in the neighbouring nation of the Edomites. It is altogether natural that the proper name should be made use of in the books of Samuel, which bear the character throughout of very exact historical treatises; and that the generic designation should occur in the title of a poem, which, to a certain extent, must wear a poetical aspect.
2. “The title,” it is maintained, “is literally copied from 1 Sam. xxi. 14; and therefore cannot have been composed by David, or by any of his contemporaries.” But the title agrees with the passage referred to only in the single expression, “he feigned himself mad.” And if it will not be granted that this may have been accidental, it may at once be urged, that the author of the books of Samuel may have borrowed that expression from the title before us, as it undoubtedly has more of a poetical than a prosaic character.
3. “In vers. 4 and 6, a deliverance from many dangers,” it is said, “is referred to, and in ver. 10 the Psalmist speaks of want and privation.” But that one trouble consisted of many parts; danger threatened David in many forms; and vers. 9 and 10 do not refer merely to the particular occasion, but contain a general affirmation, which points not merely to want of the necessaries of life, but also to want of whatever is good, to want of salvation. 4. “The language and the style,” it is maintained, “are different from the real Davidic Psalms.” We reply, they differ certainly from those which modern criticism has marked out as exclusively the Psalms of David, but not at all from a great number, which, from their titles, and from internal evidence, were likewise composed by him. The difference is perfectly accounted for by the difference as to occasion, tone, and object.
We may here advert particularly to the expression, “Come to me, ye sons, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of God.” David had hence to do with the poor simple people, and directed his voice to them in love, and spoke so simply, that even a child might understand and participate in the blessing which God had given him. In favour of the originality of the title, we have to urge, in addition to the general ground, that there is nothing in the contents of the Psalm to contradict it,—the more general the historical references in the Psalms are, the less likely is the title to be the result of combination,—first, that the manner in which personal experiences are applied for the benefit of the entire community of the righteous, is thoroughly characteristic of David; and second, that a title referring to the occasion in question, is what might have been expected, as David appears to have aimed at perpetuating in the titles of the Psalms, the remembrance of all the most remarkable incidents of his life.
E.W. Hengstenberg on Psalm 33:12-20
