Psalm 19
Encyclopedia
Psalm 19 is the 19th psalm
in the Book of Psalms (the 18th in the Septuagint numbering). It is ascribed to David
.
The psalm consider the glory
of God in Creation, and moves to reflect on the character and use of the Torah
. A comparison is made between the Torah and the Sun, which lends a degree of unity to the psalm. C. S. Lewis
suggests that in verse 7, the Psalmist starts talking about something else, "which hardly seems to him like something else because it is so like the all-piercing, all-detecting sunshine." Like the Sun, the Torah is able to uncover hidden faults, and nothing can hide from it. As the Psalmist meditates on the excellencies of the Torah, he feels that his sins have been laid open before God's Word, and asks for forgiveness and help.
Psalm 19 dwells on three main subjects: The Glory of Yahweh
, The Treasure of Yahweh's laws, and David praying to Yahweh. The three sections describe the greatness of Yahweh's creation and how it reveals his existence and nature to every nation, the treasures of Yahweh's laws and how they cannot changed or modified, and that there are no other gods before him. It concludes with David praying to Yahweh to forgive his sins and to protect him from committing both willful and accidental sins.
Epistle to the Romans
. Even though there only are 15 verses, they cover topics of central importance to the author's faith. He uses simile
s and metaphor
ical phrases to describe the purity of Yahweh and his laws. David speaks well as he describes the universal greatness of Yahweh, the perfection of his laws and the author's need of his protection, forgiveness and guidance.
Some commentators have suggested that the author may have used ideas from the literature of the proto-Phoenicia
ns, who worshiped heavenly bodies such as the Sun. However, others point out that the belief in one God is not in doubt here because the author specifically says that the heavens and the things in them were made by his God.
This idea is recalled in the book of Romans: "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Paul the Apostle later quotes verse four as a prophecy about the universal spread of the awareness of Jesus Christ as the expected Messiah
.
The description of the law as radiant and enlightening ties the earlier references to the lights of nature to the character of God and to his laws as revealing truths. The Torah is associated with light in other passages as well, such as "For the commandment is a lamp, the teaching is a light ..."
Samuel Terrien observed several parallels between the Sun and the author's description of the law of Yahweh: "Like the Sun the law of Yahweh is perfect, temimah, that is to say sound, round, and complete, for it restores life to the inward man. Like the Sun the law is sure and faithful, for it provides a sense of security at the right moment and it gives joy to the man who obeys its prescriptions. Like the Sun, the law is bright, and its light enables man to walk ahead on his way in full knowledge of his goal. Like the rays of the Sun, falling sharply at high noon, the judgments of Yahweh are straight, dividing good from evil; "they are altogether just."
, the main daily prayer in Judaism.
As the author spends time thinking about God's demands, he realizes that his own actions and thoughts fall short of this law that he loves. The author prays to be kept from sins of ignorance as well as deliberate sins. He also asks that his words and thoughts be pleasing to God.
in , SWV 115 (1628), Johann Sebastian Bach
in the cantata
, BWV 76 (1723), Joseph Haydn
in the chorus at the end of part 1 of his oratorio
The Creation (1798), Ludwig van Beethoven
in his 1803 song for voice and piano, "".
on Saturdays.
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
in the Book of Psalms (the 18th in the Septuagint numbering). It is ascribed to David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
.
The psalm consider the glory
Glory (religion)
Glory is used to denote the manifestation of God's presence in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition. God's glory is often associated with visible displays of light, e.g. thunderbolts, fire, brightness....
of God in Creation, and moves to reflect on the character and use of the Torah
Torah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. A comparison is made between the Torah and the Sun, which lends a degree of unity to the psalm. C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
suggests that in verse 7, the Psalmist starts talking about something else, "which hardly seems to him like something else because it is so like the all-piercing, all-detecting sunshine." Like the Sun, the Torah is able to uncover hidden faults, and nothing can hide from it. As the Psalmist meditates on the excellencies of the Torah, he feels that his sins have been laid open before God's Word, and asks for forgiveness and help.
Psalm 19 dwells on three main subjects: The Glory of Yahweh
Yahweh
Yahweh is the name of God in the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Jews and Christians.The word Yahweh is a modern scholarly convention for the Hebrew , transcribed into Roman letters as YHWH and known as the Tetragrammaton, for which the original pronunciation is unknown...
, The Treasure of Yahweh's laws, and David praying to Yahweh. The three sections describe the greatness of Yahweh's creation and how it reveals his existence and nature to every nation, the treasures of Yahweh's laws and how they cannot changed or modified, and that there are no other gods before him. It concludes with David praying to Yahweh to forgive his sins and to protect him from committing both willful and accidental sins.
Background and description
According to the text, Psalm 19 was written by King David. Psalm 19 is said as part of the preliminary Jewish Service on Saturday (Sabbath) mornings and also at festivals. Parts of it are quoted in the New TestamentNew Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
Epistle to the Romans
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
. Even though there only are 15 verses, they cover topics of central importance to the author's faith. He uses simile
Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as". Even though both similes and metaphors are forms of comparison, similes indirectly compare the two ideas and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas...
s and metaphor
Metaphor
A metaphor is a literary figure of speech that uses an image, story or tangible thing to represent a less tangible thing or some intangible quality or idea; e.g., "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphor may also be used for any rhetorical figures of speech that achieve their effects via...
ical phrases to describe the purity of Yahweh and his laws. David speaks well as he describes the universal greatness of Yahweh, the perfection of his laws and the author's need of his protection, forgiveness and guidance.
Verses 1–7: The glory of Yahweh
The opening verses of Psalm 19 present the heavenly bodies and their movement as a universal witness to the glory of God that is understood by people of every language. The language connects day and night as a continuous presentation. The words suggest energy, strength, joy, and light.Some commentators have suggested that the author may have used ideas from the literature of the proto-Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
ns, who worshiped heavenly bodies such as the Sun. However, others point out that the belief in one God is not in doubt here because the author specifically says that the heavens and the things in them were made by his God.
This idea is recalled in the book of Romans: "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Paul the Apostle later quotes verse four as a prophecy about the universal spread of the awareness of Jesus Christ as the expected Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
.
Verses 8–12: The treasure of Yahweh's laws
In Verses 8–12 the law of Yahweh, that is the Torah, is presented as another source of revelation about God's character and expectations. The instructions are referred to as "direct" from the Hebrew yesharim meaning to make straight, smooth, right or upright. As one commentator has interpreted, since this law of Yahweh shows a person what to do and keep in mind, what to avoid, how to please God, and what help he can expect from God, they are highly desirable and valuable.The description of the law as radiant and enlightening ties the earlier references to the lights of nature to the character of God and to his laws as revealing truths. The Torah is associated with light in other passages as well, such as "For the commandment is a lamp, the teaching is a light ..."
Samuel Terrien observed several parallels between the Sun and the author's description of the law of Yahweh: "Like the Sun the law of Yahweh is perfect, temimah, that is to say sound, round, and complete, for it restores life to the inward man. Like the Sun the law is sure and faithful, for it provides a sense of security at the right moment and it gives joy to the man who obeys its prescriptions. Like the Sun, the law is bright, and its light enables man to walk ahead on his way in full knowledge of his goal. Like the rays of the Sun, falling sharply at high noon, the judgments of Yahweh are straight, dividing good from evil; "they are altogether just."
Verses 13–15: David praying to Yahweh
Verse 15 is used as part of the conclusion of the AmidahAmidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
, the main daily prayer in Judaism.
As the author spends time thinking about God's demands, he realizes that his own actions and thoughts fall short of this law that he loves. The author prays to be kept from sins of ignorance as well as deliberate sins. He also asks that his words and thoughts be pleasing to God.
Musical settings
Psalm 19 has been set to music several times. Notable settings to the German text include Heinrich SchützHeinrich Schütz
Heinrich Schütz was a German composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and often considered to be one of the most important composers of the 17th century along with Claudio Monteverdi...
in , SWV 115 (1628), Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
in the cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
, BWV 76 (1723), Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
in the chorus at the end of part 1 of his oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
The Creation (1798), Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
in his 1803 song for voice and piano, "".
Judaism
- The psalm is recited in its entirety during the Pesukei dezimra of ShabbatShabbatShabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
and Yom Tov. - Is recited at weddings in some traditions.
- Is recited on the first day of ShavuotShavuotThe festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
in some traditions. - Verse 14 is found in the repetition of the AmidahAmidahThe Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
during Rosh HashanahRosh HashanahRosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
. - Verse 15 is recited during the closing to the AmidahAmidahThe Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
.
In the Catholic Church
In the Rule of Saint Benedict, the psalm was to be recited at PrimePrime (liturgy)
Prime, or the First Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office , said at the first hour of daylight , between the morning Hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. It is part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but in the Latin Rite it was suppressed by the...
on Saturdays.
External links
- Rabbi Benjamin Segal's commentary on Psalm 19
- Matthew Henry's commentary on Psalm 19 (Matthew HenryMatthew HenryMatthew Henry was an English commentator on the Bible and Presbyterian minister.-Life:He was born at Broad Oak, a farmhouse on the borders of Flintshire and Shropshire. His father, Philip Henry, had just been ejected under the Act of Uniformity 1662...
(1662–1714) was a post-Reformation scholar) - Charles Spurgeon's commentary on Psalm 19 (Charles SpurgeonCharles SpurgeonCharles Haddon Spurgeon was a large British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the "Prince of Preachers"...
(1834–1892) was England's best-known preacher for the second half of the 19th century.)