Psalm 19 (Revised Standard Version)
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, *
and the firmament shows his handiwork.
2 One day tells its tale to another, *
and one night imparts knowledge to another.
3 Although they have no words or language, *
and their voices are not heard,
4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, *
and their message to the ends of the world.
5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; *
it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;
it rejoices like a champion to run its course.
6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens
and runs about to the end of it again; *
nothing is hidden from its burning heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and revives the soul; *
the testimony of the Lord is sure
and gives wisdom to the innocent.
8 The statutes of the Lord are just
and rejoice the heart; *
the commandment of the Lord is clear
and gives light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean
and endures for ever; *
the judgments of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold, *
sweeter far than honey,
than honey in the comb.
11 By them also is your servant enlightened, *
and in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can tell how often he offends? *
cleanse me from my secret faults.
13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sin;
let them not get dominion over me; *
then shall I be whole and sound,
and innocent of a great offense.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my
heart be acceptable in your sight, *
O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.
Often, we think of the psalms in terms of relationships of divine to human, or of human to divine: praise, thanksgiving, petition, rejoicing, and lamenting are all about these relationships. There are a few psalms – with Psalm 104 perhaps the most famous – where another voice is heard: the voice of Mother Nature.
Psalm 19, also, opens with a hymn of natural wonder. Of course, the earth and the heavens reflect divine glory, and the human psalmist sees the wonders of nature as signs of God’s providence. Still, there is something sublimely ‘trans-personal’ in this transcendent description of nature. I wonder if the ancient writers had intimations of questions we face in our era of catastrophic natural disasters and growing environmental dread. In ancient days, people asked, “Can we humans survive the power of nature?” Today, we ask, “Can nature survive the power of our human greed?”
Psalm 19 focuses on a description of the course of the sun through the sky, coming forth “like a champion running the course.” This anthropomorphic celebration of the daily miracles of sunrise and sunset is set significantly between the opening verse, telling us that “the heavens declare the glory of God,” and the central verses (7-10) lauding the “law of the LORD.” Here is the soul of this psalm, and a key to its meaning. “Law,” “testimony,” “statutes” and “commandment” – these are all poetic synonyms for “Torah” – which we can render as “Divine Teaching.”
There is a serious and sobering connection established in this psalm between the natural order of earth’s ancient rhythms, the rising and setting of the sun and every other pattern we take so much for granted, and the divine teaching that must somehow inform our hearts. If we listen carefully to what Psalm 19 is saying, we can never claim to be “religious” or “spiritual” without caring passionately and deeply for Planet Earth, “our fragile home.”
—Henry R. Carse