4. Heavens Declare the Glory of God!

A Meditation of psalm 19

Psalm 19, one of the most beautiful psalms, is probably a combination of two psalms. One is about the heavens glorifying God (vs. 1-6), and the other is about the Holy Scriptures (vs. 7-14).

The heavens declare the glory of God; however, this declaration is done without the use of language. This paradox is the central theme of the first psalm. We human beings, the crown of creation, are given the ability to use language to express our thoughts and feelings. The heavens do not have that ability. Yet, the heavens declare the glory of God – not by words but by deeds. By being there, and by functioning exactly as intended by God, the heavens proclaim the glory of its creator.

Here, God is an artist or a craftsman, and the heaven is the handiwork of God. It is like a tent or a tabernacle.  The Sun enters the tent like a bridegroom coming from his chamber, and like a strong runner, it runs its course. Watching this, the psalmist can hear what one day utters to the next day, and what one night utters to the next night – the greatness of the mighty craftsman who designed this artwork.  

This psalm abounds with metaphors and other figures of speech and other poetic techniques. God is a craftsman, heaven is a tabernacle, and sun is a bridegroom and a runner. Non-living beings such as Sun, day and night are treated as persons, which is a poetic technique called personification. That the heavens, day, and night declare the glory of God without any sound is a poetic technique called irony.  

That the heavens proclaim the glory of God is a challenge to us human beings. We claim to be the crown of creation, endowed with life, and with the ability to speak. If the dumb heavens proclaim the glory of its creator, how much more should we, the human beings, do so! We often proclaim the glory of God with words, but fail to do it with our deeds. Jesus advised his disciples, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven.” Mt. 5:16.  

The second psalm (vs. 7-14) is about the greatness of the Holy Scriptures. It is sweeter than honey, and it is more precious than gold. It enlightens us, fills our hearts with gladness, and makes us wise and righteous. The psalm is concluded with the most fitting prayer, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight”.

How were these two psalms put together to make one? Is there anything that connects these two psalms? One of the explanations sounds interesting. Sun was a god for the ancient Babylonians, and it was a god of law and justice. Being up there, nothing could be hidden from the Sun. The first psalm describes the Sun in great detail using more than one metaphor, and the second one describes the greatness of the law of the Lord. It is possible that psalm 19 was originally a psalm of the Babylonians, and that the Hebrews modified it as we have it today. 

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