Psalm 19

Robert C Cannata

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What have others said about this Psalm....

Trinity Hymnal (730 hyms)

Several hundred of these hymns either paraphrase or are developed from 117 of the 150 psalms.

Most psalms had only one hymn or at best two hymns based on them

But with Psalm 19

“The spacious firmament on high” (Joseph Addison)

“The heavens declare thy glory” (Thomas Birks)

“The heavens declare thy glory, Lord” (Isaac Watts)

“Lord, thy Word abideth” (Henry Baker)

“Jehovah’s perfect law restores the soul again” (Psalter, 1912)

“The law of God is good and wise” (Matthias Loy)

“Most perfect is the law of God” (Psalter, 1912)

C. S. Lewis, who called it “the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the greatest lyrics in the world.”

Related to the expanding universe ideas presented from 1913 on that many scientist believed pointed more towards God.......Robert Jastrow, the founder and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, was amused at these reactions of his fellow scientists and has written a book about it called God and the Astronomers. The book concludes wittily, “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

Robert Jastrow, the founder and director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, was amused at these reactions of his fellow scientists and has written a book about it called God and the Astronomers. The book concludes wittily, “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”

Science Today -

It marked the first time scientists observed the birth of a galaxy cluster, with at least 14 galaxies crammed into an area only about four times the size of our average-sized Milky Way galaxy.

A protocluster as massive as the one observed here, designated as SPT2349-56, should not have existed at that time, according to current notions of the early universe. Scientists had figured this could not happen until several billion of years later.

Did David use any structure in the Psalm to draw our attention towards something? Are there any odd things about the Hebrew that David uses? (First Sections vs. Second Section)

Psalms, Volume 1: (Psalms 1–41): An Expositional Commentary One Psalm or Two?

The name used for God changes. In the first half, the name is el. It occurs only once, and that is in verse 1, which says, “The heavens declare the glory of God.” El (not even Elohim) is the most generic of all names for God. It is an appropriate name for One made known by the general revelation. In the second half of the psalm the name used for God is Jehovah. Jehovah is the covenant name revealed to Moses at the burning bush (“I AM WHO I AM,” Exod. 3:14). It is appropriate for the special and specific revelation of God in Scripture. This name occurs seven times (vv. 7, 8, 9, 14), and the frequency serves to heighten the emotional tone of the poem’s second half.

The length of the lines also changes. In the first half the lines are longer, which is appropriate to the continuous, abundant, and universal witness of the heavenly bodies to God’s glory. In the second half the lines are much shorter, as the poet begins to throw out descriptive epithet after descriptive epithet and adjective after adjective to capture the wonder of the written revelation. The link between the sections is the final clause of verse 6. David says of the sun, “nothing is hidden from its heat.” But the same could be said of the pervasive, lifegiving law. It too embraces all of life and is as necessary for the life of the human soul as the sun is for the life of the body.

If you were living in the time of David, what Images might this stir in your mind? Read , ,

Read ,

Read

What do you think the cultures around Israel viewed the heavenly bodies?

For Mesopotamian and Egyptian thought, the astral bodies were functional manifestations of the deities, and were therefore regarded as appropriate objects to worship. But in the view of the psalmist, the heavenly bodies are not extensions of deities to be worshiped; rather, they should invoke in humanity a sense of wonder at the glory of the God who made them as gifts for human benefit (see notes on 8:1, 3).

Keener, C. S., & Walton, J. H. (Eds.). (2016). NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (p. 895). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

How about if you were living as a follower of the Way and read what Paul had wrote to the Roman church? Read ,

The Heavens and the Earth Declare the GLORY of El....What does the word GLORY mean?

Over against the transience of human and earthly glory stands the unchanging beauty of the manifest God (). In this sense the noun kābôd takes on its most unusual and distinctive meaning. Forty-five times this form of the root relates to a visible manifestation of God and whenever “the glory of God” is mentioned this usage must be taken account of. Its force is so compelling that it remolds the meaning of doxa from an opinion of men in the Greek classics to something absolutely objective in the LXX and NT.

The bulk of occurrences where God’s glory is a visible manifestation have to do with the tabernacle (; ; etc.) and with the temple in Ezekiel’s vision of the exile and restoration (9:3, etc.). These manifestations are directly related to God’s self-disclosure’ and his intent to dwell among men. As such they are commonly associated with his holiness. God wishes to dwell with men, to have his reality and his splendor known to them. But this is only possible when they take account of the stunning quality of his holiness and set out in faith and obedience to let that character be manifested in them (; ; , ).

The several references which speak of God’s glory filling the earth and/or becoming evident are instructive. On the one hand they quite legitimately refer to that reputation for greatness which God alone deserves, not only because of his natural position as king, but because of his unsurpassed activity as deliverer and saviour. However, as the preceding discussion indicates, something more is intended here. It is not merely God’s reputation which fills the earth, but it is the very reality of his presence. And his desire is that all persons may gladly recognize and own this. His first step toward the achievement of these goals was to fill the tabernacle with his presence and then the temple.

But nowhere is the reality and the splendor of his presence and his character seen as in his son (). Here the nearblinding quality of his glory is fully portrayed, “We beheld his glory, the glory as of the only son of the Father, full of grace and truth” (; cf. 17:1–5). Through him and through his presence in the church, God’s glory is indeed filling the earth.

Examine and discuss these verses related to GLORY…, and 40:34, , , , , , , and 17:1-5

, and 40:34, , , , , , , and 17:1-5

What imagery does verses 2-4 bring to the readers mind? What message is being told? What does verse 3 convey?

The heavens are recounting,

the firmament is declaring,

What other passages in scripture might this Psalm bring its readers to ponder.

each day is pouring forth speech,

What is some of the main ideas about God that are brought out in the first 4 verses, what can it teach us about who God is?

and each night is making known knowledge.

This is further punctuated with verse four making the bold statement that “their (the heavens’) voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.”

Clearly what first strikes the reader of is all the ‘speaking’ and ‘words’ that are present.

Verse three makes a statement that must be understood in this overall context. In saying that ‘there is no speech’, ‘there are no words’, and ‘their voice is not heard’, it conveys the meaning that the speech which is being uttered by the creation is not physically audible to human ears,19 yet its message is a most fundamental proclamation20 continually being announced to all of creation. “All of the ‘speaking’ he has been describing takes place wordlessly.”21 Although it cannot be heard with human ears, its testimony to humankind is clearly seen. It testifies to God’s creative power and glory.

“All of the ‘speaking’ he has been describing takes place wordlessly.”21 Although it cannot be heard with human ears, its testimony to humankind is clearly seen. It testifies to God’s creative power and glory.

What kind of things does verse 4b - 6 descibe, why do you think David focused on these images?

Ponder the word GLORY in verse 1, what ideas come to mind when you think about the Glory of God?

, and 40:34, , , , , , , and 17:1-5

The second part of this first section (vv. 4b-6) now focuses attention on a particular item in the firmament, namely the sun.

The psalmist probably chose to talk about the sun because it is such a pervasive and powerful force in the life of all humans,

and is an item of God’s creation located in the firmament just mentioned.

God’s glory and power is shown by the fact that he is in control of the sun; he was the one that has provided a place for the sun to stay and has set its course in the sky.

This testifies to one of the ways in which the firmament is proclaiming his handiwork. “The sun takes it rightful place as one of the heavenly witnesses to the glory of the creator.”

The psalmist finishes up this section by likening the sun to a bridegroom and to a strong man. J. Ross Wagner shows how these images further testify to God’s great glory.

“Brilliant images of uncontainable joy now burst on the scene….

The sun is like a bridegroom who has consummated his marriage with his beloved,

“Brilliant images of uncontainable joy now burst on the scene…. The sun is like a bridegroom who has consummated his marriage with his beloved, like a strong warrior who rejoices in his speed and stamina. These similes link the psalm with imagery used elsewhere of God. Isaiah describes God as a bridegroom rejoicing over his bride, Israel (). is one of the many texts that portray God as a strong warrior. It comes as no surprise that God himself is described as a ‘sun’ in . The psalmist’s description of the sun language elsewhere used for God reinforces the point that the sun by its very nature serves as a vibrant witness to the glory, joy, and might of God.”23

like a strong warrior who rejoices in his speed and stamina.

These similes link the psalm with imagery used elsewhere of God. Isaiah describes God as a bridegroom rejoicing over his bride, Israel (). is one of the many texts that portray God as a strong warrior. It comes as no surprise that God himself is described as a ‘sun’ in . The psalmist’s description of the sun language elsewhere used for God reinforces the point that the sun by its very nature serves as a vibrant witness to the glory, joy, and might of God.”23

19:5 bridegroom … chamber. The chamber of a bridegroom was the specially prepared room in which the marriage was consummated. The use in suggests this in its parallelism. It has this meaning in early rabbinic Judaism, but after the destruction of the temple in AD 70 it takes on a reference to the pavilion in which the formal wedding ceremony was conducted.

19:6 rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit. In many ancient Near Eastern cultures, it was assumed that the sun ran a daily course through the heavens. Mesopotamian texts refer to the gates of the heavens where the sun enters and exits. In these texts, all of the heavenly bodies follow paths or courses, which are represented as bands across the sky.

Keener, C. S., & Walton, J. H. (Eds.). (2016). NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible: Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture (p. 895). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

How does all this contrast or parallel with the second half of the Psalm?

The link between the sections is the final clause of verse 6. David says of the sun, “nothing is hidden from its heat.” But the same could be said of the pervasive, lifegiving law. It too embraces all of life and is as necessary for the life of the human soul as the sun is for the life of the body.

What are the words that David uses to describe God’s word, and what effect does each of these have?

Torah

Perfect - With the verb’s fundamental idea of completeness

Revives the Soul - To Restore / Nephesh (Inner Self)

Payne, J. B. (1999). 2522 תָּמַם. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 973). Chicago: Moody Press.

Testimony

Sure

Testimony points us towards God’s covenant, a written agreement between two parties in which they agree to the actions that should be taken to maintain a good relationship between those parties. As pointed out above, the actions that we are to do consist of the 10 words that God spoke at Mt. Sinai. It says that this covenant, the Testimony, that it is sure. The root Hebrew word here is “aman”, which conveys a very important meaning, a basic idea of firmness or certainty, the foundation of our doctrine of faith.

Making Wise

What does the Psalmist say is the effect of that assurance in our lives? “Making wise (hakam) the simple (peti)”. The Hebrew word “hakam” means generally to be wise, or better, to act wisely. The idea is that our manner of thinking, our skills, moral sensitivity, and our experiences are shaped and driven by our relationship with our Lord and the lives He desires us to live.

the Simple

This ties in perfectly with the idea of “the simple”. Again, the definition from the TWOT…

The basic verb idea is “be open, spacious, wide,” and might relate to the immature or simple one who is open to all kinds of enticement, not having developed a discriminating judgment as to what is right or wrong.[3]

In other words, we are simply open to what God has to say about how we live in relationship to Him, we are not the judge of what is right or wrong, we simply trust that he has our best interests in mind and we faithfully follow in obedience.

Precepts

Precepts is an interesting word. It is the Hebrew word piqqudim and is used only in the Psalms. In 23 of the 24 places it is translated “precepts”, the one other place it is translated “commandments”. Even more interesting is that 22 of the 24 verses come out of , a psalm that exalts the word of God and its impact on our lives.

פִּקּוּדִים (piqqûdîm). Precepts, statutes, commandments (used only in pl.) (RSV “precepts” in all twenty-four occurrences), used only in Ps (all but three of its occurrences

are in ), is a general term for the responsibilities that God places on his people.[1]

The Hebrew word here for rejoicing is “samah” and the Dictionary of Bible Languages has this for the definition…

8523 שָׂמַח (śā·mǎḥ): v.; ≡ Str 8055; TWOT 2268—1. LN 25.116–25.134 (qal) rejoice, be glad, delight in, be elated, i.e., have a feeling or attitude of joy and happiness, with a possible focus of making an outward expression of that joy (), note: for [EB 17] cj+, see 9022; (piel) bring joy, gladden, make merry, bring happiness (); (hif) make rejoice ([EB 42]+); 2. LN 88.283–88.288 (piel) be merry, i.e., drink alcohol as a mood elevator, but apparently prior to the full stage of staggering drunkenness (+)[2]

Wow, this is really joyful, so much so that another form of the word is the feeling from drinking alcohol to elevate the mood. But that still leaves me the question, how does the responsibilities that God places on His people provide this joy to my heart.

So, in ancient Semitic cultures there were a lot of different Gods, I mean a whole plethora of God’s that people could potentially worship. These gods were not very friendly and generally one did not know how to please these gods or even understand what these gods even wanted. It was a guessing game and hopefully you might figure out just what one of these god’s might desire.

For the faithful Israelite who trusted in the one true God, this was simply not the case. They understood exactly what God desired of them, and what the impact would be for living a life that walked in obedience to them. Not only that, they were tied to a covenant. A covenant that showed a deep relationship between God and His people. To me, that is definitely enough to rejoice the heart.

But, you may be thinking…I don’t have other gods around that distract me from what God really wants – “my heart”. Well, in our culture today we do have a lot of different gods (idols) we worship. Idols like sports, drink, games, jobs….you get the picture. Anything that we exalt higher in our priorities than the one true God that deserves ALL of our priority.

I love the word picture that we get from the word Heart. The root Hebrew word for heart is “lev” and the word picture that is derived from these letters combine to give us a definition of “that which controls the inside”. Everything about us, our emotions, thoughts, and will, combined, control all that we are and do. So God’s precepts brought great joy to the inner man, all that controls us, that overflowed at times into an outward expression….WORSHIP.

Commandment

mitzvah - At a top level, the word seems to be pretty strait forward. It is used in the sense of a father’s instruction to his son, or a king to his servants, and when we put it in perspective of the words of Jesus, that the Kingdom of God is at hand, then we see a structure for a culture where we are ruled by God’s instruction and in that, he desires that we walk in obedience to those instructions. What is very important to see, especially in light of is that they are not very difficult for us, and it would seem that the Lord provides all the means and ability to accomplish His instruction. If you continue to pour through the many verses that contain this word you will also notice that God desires to bless those who walk in obedience to His commands, and yet as in the Garden of Eden, rebellion against his instruction brings forth discipline. Again, the perfect model of a father-son relationship.

pure

he Hebrew word here is “bar” and at it's root has the sense of being pure, radiant, bright, and clean. The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament speaks of the Arabic variation of the word having the sense of reverent, dutiful, devoted, kind, charitable, virtuous, and good. It also mentions that in Akkadian the verb form has the meaning of “to glitter” and as an adjective, the word means pure, as in a pure metal with no contaminates. Looking through the Psalms and Proverbs the adjective also has the sense of something pure or a quality of moral purity.

enlightening the eyes

Finally, we must think about the word for “eyes”. It is the Hebrew word “ayin” and I really like what the Theological Wordbook provides as an opening to its explanation of this word…

More than the eye itself is implied by this word. Occasionally it represents the whole process of seeing and by extension, of understanding and obedience (). However, in the ot it is the ear which is generally used in this figurative way. The eye is used to express knowledge, character, attitude, inclination, opinion, passion, and response. The eye is a good barometer of the inner thoughts of man.[1]

So, a good way to think about this verse is that God’s instruction is so perfect and pure that as we gaze upon its beauty, it will give us understanding, help us walk a life of obedience, it has an impact on our character, attitude, inclination, passions and ultimately, if the eye is a good barometer of the inner thoughts of a man, then God’s instructions should reveal when our thoughts are not where they need to be and bring us to a place of repentance.

Fear

Psalms, Volume 1: (Psalms 1–41): An Expositional Commentary Training in Righteousness

But if “fear of the LORD” actually denotes the Scriptures, the effect being substituted for the cause, then it is the Word itself that is described as being pure and, because it is pure, enduring.

Rules

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament 2443 שָׁפַט

2443c מִשְׁפָּט (mišpāṭ) justice, ordinance.

The primary sense of šāpaṭ is to exercise the processes of government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0kDmlJMqrw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fibm4HQSTkI

What do these passages have to say regarding the Word of God?

Conclusion: To treasure the Word of God is to love and value Him and our relationship with Him. A disciple who knows God’s Word knows God. He has revealed Himself and His will through Scripture. Therefore, it is the treasure and delight of believers. It is life’s absolute authority. When a disciple obeys God’s commands, he or she will be led to walk in His righteousness and become more like Him. There is no greater reward!

Does the Psalmist reveal more of God’s Glory in his words?

How would you express the writers perspective of God, how does he connect the first and second sections? What does the Psalmist drive towards in his concluding imagery?