A reflection on Psalm 19 for Sunday, October 10, 2021 at Mosaic Baptist Church.
The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hidden from its heat.
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring for ever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 19 (NRSVA)
Psalm 19 is a well loved and well known psalm. Who can forget its dramatic opening lines pointing to the shining night sky?
‘The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.’
I wonder how many have been inspired by these words to leave our safe domes of artificial light and gaze up at the universe above?
This psalm, however, is far from content with a celebration of the night sky. The same wonder and awe can be experienced during the day. While this ancient song opens at night, it moves quickly to the same sense of amazement at the daily path of the sun – our nearest star:
‘In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hidden from its heat.’
The invitation to wonder and awe surrounds us at every moment.
Perhaps the most remarkable claim, however, is that all this speaks. Sitting between these two sky-gazing moments is the claim that these wonders are unheard voices echoing from one end of the earth to the other. All day and all night – every day and every night – ‘knowledge’ is declared by and over the universe:
…’Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.’
Our world, it seems, is truly enchanted! Look carefully, and it is everywhere filled with delight. The universe God created for us to inhabit, is always communicating with us.
There is a clear demarcation in this psalm. From this celebration of creation the poet moves quickly – some might say abruptly – to a musing over the law, or Torah:
…’The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the decrees of the Lord are sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is clear,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring for ever;
the ordinances of the Lord are true
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.‘
Clearly there are benefits to an encounter with – and a constant pondering over – the guidance offered by the written word of God. It revives, gives wisdom, prompts rejoicing, enlightens, and warns. Ultimately, the voice of god is profitable above all else. The voice of God is more valuable than either ‘gold’ or ‘honey’.
It all prompts a question for me: Why does the psalmist open with a celebration of creation and then move to a celebration of the law? What is the link between these two seemingly unrelated realities?
The answer, I suspect, is found within the song itself. It is deeply woven into the very fabric of this poem – and by implication – knit into the very essence of reality.
Both creation and God are ‘speaking’.
With one voice the universe and Torah are instructing us. They are both teaching. They both pour forth knowledge. They are both forms of the creating and dynamic ‘Word’ that John’s Gospel insists spoke everything into being. Creation and the instruction of God harmoniously sing from the same song-sheet. Together they are a symphony of the wonder, awe, call, and instruction of God.
The wonder we feel at the colour of a freshly opened flower; the vulnerability as we stand atop a sheer cliff; the smallness experienced alongside the might of a wave crashing onto shore; the fear as a we glimpse the danger of a wild animal twice our size; the comfort we receive from the warmth of the sun on our bare skin; the provision of a gentle rain; the unexpected moment of a rare glimpse of an uncommon animal; the familiar momentarily adjourned in a new hew of light.
Every one of these encounters with God’s wonderful world has the potential to call us deeper into the wonder and awe of God.
It leaves me wondering if the final musings of this hymn do more than call us to love and ponder scripture. What if this psalm calls us into creation to listen expectantly for scripture’s familiar voice? And what if the opposite is also true: What if there is here a call into scripture to listen expectantly for the well known speech of creation?
…’Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.’
Perhaps it is only as we heed these two voices that we engage in a truly ‘acceptable’ – or balanced – meditation.
Conversation Starters:
In what ways have you experienced the ‘two voices’ of this Psalm? Do you always hear them in harmony?
Describe a time you were filled with wonder as you ‘heard the voice’ of creation? What were the feelings associated with this moment? What about God’s voice in the Torah? What feelings do you link to these moments?
In light of this meditation, what do you make of the the modern avoidance of the natural world? Are we shielding ourselves from the voice of God when we live apart from the uncertainties of God’s wild world?