Charles H. Spurgeon on Psalms 33:6

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. That the (hwd) is not spirit, but breath, is evident from the words of his mouth (compare Isa 11:4), and from the parallelism with word. Simple word is simple breath; both together, they stand in contrast to that exercise of strength, that labour, that use of means and instruments without which feeble man can bring nothing to perfection. Then there are the parallel passages, "All the while my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils." Job 27:3. "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Job 33:4. "Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust, thou sendest forth thy breath, they are created." Ps 104:29,30. On the other hand, however, the exposition which would interpret (wyp xwr), without reference to the Spirit of God, cannot be a correct one. In the history of the creation, to which the verse before us, as well as verses seven and nine, generally refer, the creation is described as the work of the SPIRIT of God, and his WORD. First, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, then God said. We may also suppose that the Spirit and the power of God are here represented by the figure of breath, because that in man is the first sign of life. E. W. Hengstenberg.