Psalm 33 Commentary. 20B.

Psalm 33 Commentary. 20B by Dr Noel Donnelly

Graphic (c) Netta Ewing

We used Paslm 33 last week and will continue to sing it today and next week as our Gospel moves through the Bread of Life discourse in John chapter 6.

This week it might be useful to focus more on the presumed author, King David. The Bible text that introduces this psalm speaks of the strange trick of David when he pretends to be mad in order to escape from the Philistines. He is said to have scratched strange things on the walls of the cave he is hiding in, while letting his saliva drip down his beard in a sad and humiliating display should any one find him. Commentators say that although he had been at his wits end he eventually comes to his senses and remembers this old song of joy and glory of his earlier composition.

When the psalmist sings, “O magnify the Lord with me, together let us praise his name!” he reminds the congregation and us that the singing together of the community can be a huge emotional experience that lifts everyone up, magnifying God together, in a powerfully magnetic way. We don’t make God any bigger by this magnifying, but our perception of the Lord comes into sharper focus and we appreciate more seriously the reality of God’s surrounding and penetrating presence.

When verse 8 speaks of the angel being “encamped around those who revere him” it may remind us of the Guardian Angels assigned by God for individual protection.

The psalm with its “Taste and See” theme follows the reading from Proverbs where Wisdom invites the listener saying, “Come and eat my bread and drink the wine I have prepared1” The psalm then points forward to Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse in the Gospel.

This lovely Psalm 33 is indeed a great community song, a kind of Grace Before Meals which we use as we journey through the liturgical year, especially when we gather for sacramental food around God’s altar! Us and those surrounding angels!

Ps 33 FD – Full Score Ps 33 seek org gf – Full Score