Псалом 32

This psalm has no superscription in the Hebrew Bible. But its position among the psalms inscribed with the name of David, as well as its close connection with the content of the previous psalm, in which David invites the righteous to rejoice in God, but does not clarify, does not give a valid reason for them to follow such an instruction; in the same psalm, previously unspoken reasons are indicated, all this makes us consider it a continuation of Ps. 31 and attribute it to David. This is how he is considered in the LXX and in the Vulgate. The righteous must praise the Lord and sing to Him with instruments (1-3) since He is infallible in His decrees. He is the creator of the whole world, earth and waters (4–8). He is omnipotent, His every command is fulfilled; before Him the nations are powerless (9–11). Blessed is the people who are protected by the Lord! He watches over everything that lives on earth and no one can fight with Him (12–17). The Lord protects those who fear Him and will save them from disasters. May His mercy be upon us (18–22). Ps.33:1. Rejoice, ye righteous, in the Lord: it is fitting for the righteous to praise. “It is fitting to praise the right.” Expressions like this are very common in the Psalter. Since God is an all-holy being, those who stand closer to Him in their moral purity, that is, righteous people, can be both admirers and praisers of Him; sinners cannot adequately praise Him (Sir. 15:9). Ps.32:2. Praise the Lord on the harp, sing to Him on the ten-stringed psalter; Gusli, ten-stringed Psalter, see about instruments in the introduction to the Psalter. Ps.32:3. sing to Him a new song; sing to Him harmoniously, with an exclamation, "Sing a new song to Him." According to the changed subject of the song, the very nature of the chant must change. Previously, when David brought before God an expression of his repentant feeling about his sin with Bathsheba, and psalms of this kind were distinguished by a sad character, now he invites to praise God as the Creator and Lawgiver of the world, the Patron of all the righteous, and therefore the song should be “new,” solemnly grateful. Ps.32:4. For the word of the Lord is right and all His works are true. Ps.33:5. He loves truth and justice; The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. “The word of the Lord is right” - sincere, pure; “His works are faithful” - completely consistent with His word, command: there is no contradiction between His word and fulfillment. Just as the Lord Himself is faithful to the truth, so on earth “He loves truth and justice,” justice, life according to higher guidance, and a proper, impartial assessment of human actions, consistent with the highest truth. Ps.32:6. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host: The Lord is omnipotent: He created the heavens and “their army” with His word, that is, the luminaries. In patristic literature, the “Word” means the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Lord means the First, and the “Spirit of His mouth” means the Third Person. This understanding of this passage is probably explained by the fact that the designated terms in the New Testament revelation received a strictly defined meaning, with a certain specific content pointing to Divine Persons. In fact, the Psalter does not present the same distinction and content of these terms, since “the psalmists, in their teaching about the Word of God, as the second Person of the Holy Trinity, wavered between the personal and impersonal idea of ​​Him. The name of the Word of God was used to call the Divine Person, the revelation of God to people, and the command of God. Analogous to the teaching about the Word of God among the psalmists is the teaching about the spirit of God” (Creed of the Psalms. P. Yungerov, p. 11). Ps.33:7. He gathered up the waters of the sea like heaps, and placed the abysses in storehouses. God is omnipotent, since by His command such a mobile element as water is collected in one place “like heaps.” He stores them, as it were, in storage facilities, in special reservoirs. Ps.32:9. for He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it appeared. Since God is omnipotent, there are no obstacles to His word: His command finds true and precise fulfillment. - “He commanded, and it appeared,” - of course, His creation of the world. Ps.32:11. The counsel of the Lord stands forever; the thoughts of His heart to generation and generation. How weak and impracticable are the plans of people that are destroyed by God, so eternal and indestructible is every word of the Lord; His advice and plans ("thoughts") are unchanging and immutable. Ps.32:16. The king cannot be saved by the multitude of his army; great power will not protect the giant. Ps.32:17. The horse is unreliable for salvation; it will not deliver with its great power. If the Lord is always true to Himself and omnipotent, then the strongest protection can be found by man only in Him. No means invented by man to strengthen his well-being can be considered sufficient, “a horse is unreliable for salvation,” a person cannot and should not think that with an abundance of military force (“horse”, abundance of cavalry) he can win victory: everything depends on God. Ps.32:18. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear Him and trust in His mercy, Ps.32:19. that He will save their soul from death and feed them during famine. God loves (“the eye of the Lord”) only those who fear Him, and to such He will provide faithful protection in all their difficult situations; “He will save their soul from death” and feed them during famine. You might be interested in: