Psa 19:4-6 | KingComments | STEP | Now that Christ has been exalted in Psalm 18, we see the multiple glories of Christ in the following six psalms. In Psalm 18, God reveals Himself in the life of David. In Psalm 19, God reveals Himself in two other ways. In this psalm, two books open to us: the book of creation ( ) and the book of the law ( ). The law here is not the way of justification when obedient to it, but the law as teaching – torah means teaching. The law here is synonymous with the Word of God. In the book of creation we read one time about God, which is God the Creator ( ; cf. ). In the book of the law we read seven times about the LORD, the God of the covenant Who speaks to man and wants to have a relationship with him (cf. ). In both books God reveals Himself and man can come to know Him. They are two different ways in which God reveals Himself. In the created heavens we follow the path of the sun; in the inspired Word we follow the path of the Son, Who is called “the sun of righteousness” ( ). We can speak of a revelation in ‘work’ and a revelation in ‘the Word’. In both revelations we see the revelation of the Son. It is about Him in particular in the two following psalms. The ‘work-revelation’ of God happens through the Son. Scripture is clear about the fact that the Son is the Creator ( ; ; ). Creation reflects the glory of the Son of God, that is, “His eternal power and divine nature” ( ). The ‘Word-revelation’ also happens through the Son. He is the Word Who was in the beginning, Who was with God and Who was God. That “Word became flesh” ( ). The Son Himself is therefore also the perfect revelation of God, for in Him all the fullness of God dwells in Him bodily ( ). He is God “revealed in the flesh” ( ) and can therefore say: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” ( ). It is also good to make a distinction between on the one hand the creation and on the other hand the Word and the Son. This distinction is important because we live in a creation on which through sin is a curse ( ). Creation demonstrates the honor, power, and Divinity of the Creator ( ), but it is not a perfect revelation of God. The Word and the Son are, however, a perfect revelation of God. Neither of them is in any way connected to sin. Through both, through the Word and through the Son, we come to know the different features of God, such as His love and grace and His holiness and righteousness. Prophetically, this is about the period when the church has been caught up and the time for the message of the gospel of God’s grace has passed. Nevertheless, even then God still gives a double testimony through 1. the everlasting gospel – in it is announced that God is the Creator ( ) and 2. the gospel of the kingdom – which is the teaching of God from the Old Testament. The psalmist looks at the revelation of God in the world of nature. This revelation is denied to God by people who have made up the theory of evolution as a substitute for creation and the source origin of life. This fabrication is completely ignored by the psalmist in his song of praise. He knows and acknowledges God as the Creator ( ). The revelation of God in creation is characterized by beauty. This is reflected in the language of Psalm 19. It is one of the most beautiful poems ever written, the beauty of which is especially evident in its original language, Hebrew. For “for the choir director” ( ) see at Psalm 4:1. For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1. The first part of the song, which is about God’s revelation in creation, has two topics: the heavens ( ) and the sun ( ). The sun is the most important celestial body. The second part of the song is about the Word and the Son. The Son is the Object of God’s good pleasure, the core and content of the Word. The psalmist treats the subject of creation not as a technical discourse, but as the revelation of God’s power and majesty. It brings us into the presence of the great God and leads us to praise and worship. The testimony of God in creation is specially that of heaven. The earth has lost much of its original beauty due to man’s sin, rendering God’s work less clearly visible. Certainly, from and through creation God’s “eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen” ( ). As a result, man can come to know Him, that is, in His existence ( ). Creation is like a window through which man can perceive the Being and action of God in time. We can say that God’s majesty in creation is most evident through the heavens as His work of creation. David lived as a shepherd under the open sky, day and night. The heavens are not visibly tarnished by man’s sin, as is the case with the earth, which no longer gives its full yield and has lost much of its original brilliance ( ). In addition, God’s glory through heaven as a storyteller goes over the whole earth and is not limited to Israel. As a result, the nations also hear God’s voice. We hear more about that in . Through “the heavens” and “their expanse” ( ) we get an impression of the unlimitedness of God, Who is truly unlimited, while the heavens and the expanse are not. We therefore also get an impression of the source of light, and therefore of life. We also get an impression of the order and regularity that marks God, and therefore of the signs that mark time: by the sun of the year, by the moon of the month, and by the day-and-night rhythm of earth’s rotation. The heavens and the expanse are the area where God has given place to the sun, the moon, and the stars ( ). When we look at the sky, at whatever time of day or night, these lights in the sky tell God’s glory, they show His glory. They are on the expanse of heaven, making that expanse declare “the work of His hands”. His fingers placed them there ( ). They are, as it were, His signature on His workmanship. The temporal forms of the verbs “telling“ and “declaring“ indicate that they are doing this continuously, unceasingly. That this proclamation is present “day to day” and “night to night” confirms that it always goes on, without interruption ( ). There is, however, variety. The cycle of day and night contributes to the regularity of the seasons and therefore to the regularity of the agricultural calendar ( ). Because of the rapid change of days, there is abundant speaking. It is a day by day speaking of God. Each new day adds a new speaking of God to the previous speaking through the previous day. People in the past have idolized the sun. Today they explain the Creator away by the teaching of evolution. Without paying the slightest attention to the foolish theory of evolution, the psalmist in Psalm 19 lets creation declare God’s glory as Creator. The supposedly scientifically proven theory of evolution is silenced by this speaking of God. The person who watches carefully sees that knowledge is revealed. Certainly this includes knowledge concerning God, but especially knowledge of His wisdom which He reveals in His creation ( ). As already noted, the testimony of God in creation and particularly through the heavens and the expanse is a general testimony that goes over the entire world. It should not surprise us, therefore, that Paul quotes this verse in connection with the preaching of the Word of God ( ). In doing so, he proves that God had a preaching ministry for the Gentiles in the Old Testament as well, so that they might come to know about God and to believe in Him. It also shows that the testimony of God that emanates from creation is not limited to Israel, but can be observed all over the world. are about the sun, while David speaks of the moon and stars in Psalm 8, where he is also impressed by creation ( ). The sun is vital to life on earth. The sun is metaphorically represented as a person. The Lord Jesus is called “the Sun of righteousness” ( ). The sun is a special reference to Christ. Therefore, the creation is fundamentally about the glory of Christ, the Son of God. God has placed “in them”, that is, “to the end of the world”, “a tent for the sun” ( ). The tent symbolically represents the night residence of the sun. From it the sun rises. Each day that the sun rises, its appearance gives witness to the presence of Christ. Untouchable to anything on earth, He goes through the day proclaiming that He exists. It takes faith to see that. In a brilliant way, David portrays the rising of the sun as it appears from its “tent”. He compares the sun to “a bridegroom coming out of his chamber” and to “a strong man” who rises joyfully “to run his course” ( ). The “bridegroom” rises from his room to go to his bride, which is a great joy for him. He is sung to by the guests. The “strong man” is cheerful. Vigorous and confident, he sets out to run his race. In , David describes the path that the sun is fast walking. The path begins “at one end of the heavens”. There “is its rising”. It continues “its circuit”, its fast walk along the expanse, until it reaches “the other end” and goes back behind the horizon into the tent God has set up for it. During its circuit, it shines everywhere with the glow of its sunbeams, with which it also warms the earth. Just as nothing is hidden from its glow, so also no one is hidden from the testimony of the eternal gospel that speaks from creation (cf. ). Everyone can know that God exists and realize that he will have to answer to Him (cf. ). The circuit of the sun is not described in scientific, but in poetic language. This is also how man speaks of it in his everyday language. We know that the sun stands still and the earth revolves around it, but for our perception the earth stands still and the sun revolves. Thus David describes here the rising and setting of the sun and its circuit along the sky.

‏ Psalms 19:4-6

Introduction

Now that Christ has been exalted in Psalm 18, we see the multiple glories of Christ in the following six psalms. In Psalm 18, God reveals Himself in the life of David. In Psalm 19, God reveals Himself in two other ways. In this psalm, two books open to us: the book of creation (Psa 19:1b-6) and the book of the law (Psa 19:7-11).

The law here is not the way of justification when obedient to it, but the law as teaching – torah means teaching. The law here is synonymous with the Word of God.

In the book of creation we read one time about God, which is God the Creator (Psa 19:1b; cf. Gen 1:1-31 ; Gen 2:1-3). In the book of the law we read seven times about the LORD, the God of the covenant Who speaks to man and wants to have a relationship with him (cf. Gen 2:4-25).

In both books God reveals Himself and man can come to know Him. They are two different ways in which God reveals Himself. In the created heavens we follow the path of the sun; in the inspired Word we follow the path of the Son, Who is called “the sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2). We can speak of a revelation in ‘work’ and a revelation in ‘the Word’. In both revelations we see the revelation of the Son. It is about Him in particular in the two following psalms.

The ‘work-revelation’ of God happens through the Son. Scripture is clear about the fact that the Son is the Creator (Jn 1:1-3; Col 1:12-16; Heb 1:1-2). Creation reflects the glory of the Son of God, that is, “His eternal power and divine nature” (Rom 1:20). The ‘Word-revelation’ also happens through the Son. He is the Word Who was in the beginning, Who was with God and Who was God. That “Word became flesh” (Jn 1:1 ; 14). The Son Himself is therefore also the perfect revelation of God, for in Him all the fullness of God dwells in Him bodily (Col 1:19 ; Col 2:9). He is God “revealed in the flesh” (1Tim 3:16) and can therefore say: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9).

It is also good to make a distinction between on the one hand the creation and on the other hand the Word and the Son. This distinction is important because we live in a creation on which through sin is a curse (Rom 8:19-22). Creation demonstrates the honor, power, and Divinity of the Creator (Rom 1:20), but it is not a perfect revelation of God. The Word and the Son are, however, a perfect revelation of God. Neither of them is in any way connected to sin. Through both, through the Word and through the Son, we come to know the different features of God, such as His love and grace and His holiness and righteousness.

Prophetically, this is about the period when the church has been caught up and the time for the message of the gospel of God’s grace has passed. Nevertheless, even then God still gives a double testimony through

1. the everlasting gospel – in it is announced that God is the Creator (Rev 14:6-7) and

2. the gospel of the kingdom – which is the teaching of God from the Old Testament.

The psalmist looks at the revelation of God in the world of nature. This revelation is denied to God by people who have made up the theory of evolution as a substitute for creation and the source origin of life. This fabrication is completely ignored by the psalmist in his song of praise. He knows and acknowledges God as the Creator (Heb 11:3).

The revelation of God in creation is characterized by beauty. This is reflected in the language of Psalm 19. It is one of the most beautiful poems ever written, the beauty of which is especially evident in its original language, Hebrew.

The Message of Creation

For “for the choir director” (Psa 19:1a) see at Psalm 4:1.

For “a Psalm of David” see at Psalm 3:1.

The first part of the song, which is about God’s revelation in creation, has two topics: the heavens (Psa 19:1b-4) and the sun (Psa 19:4b-6). The sun is the most important celestial body. The second part of the song is about the Word and the Son. The Son is the Object of God’s good pleasure, the core and content of the Word.

The psalmist treats the subject of creation not as a technical discourse, but as the revelation of God’s power and majesty. It brings us into the presence of the great God and leads us to praise and worship.

The testimony of God in creation is specially that of heaven. The earth has lost much of its original beauty due to man’s sin, rendering God’s work less clearly visible. Certainly, from and through creation God’s “eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen” (Rom 1:20). As a result, man can come to know Him, that is, in His existence (Acts 14:15-17 ; Acts 17:24-31). Creation is like a window through which man can perceive the Being and action of God in time.

We can say that God’s majesty in creation is most evident through the heavens as His work of creation. David lived as a shepherd under the open sky, day and night. The heavens are not visibly tarnished by man’s sin, as is the case with the earth, which no longer gives its full yield and has lost much of its original brilliance (Gen 3:17-19 ; Gen 4:12). In addition, God’s glory through heaven as a storyteller goes over the whole earth and is not limited to Israel. As a result, the nations also hear God’s voice. We hear more about that in Psa 19:4.

Through “the heavens” and “their expanse” (Psa 19:1b) we get an impression of the unlimitedness of God, Who is truly unlimited, while the heavens and the expanse are not. We therefore also get an impression of the source of light, and therefore of life. We also get an impression of the order and regularity that marks God, and therefore of the signs that mark time: by the sun of the year, by the moon of the month, and by the day-and-night rhythm of earth’s rotation.

The heavens and the expanse are the area where God has given place to the sun, the moon, and the stars (Gen 1:14-19). When we look at the sky, at whatever time of day or night, these lights in the sky tell God’s glory, they show His glory. They are on the expanse of heaven, making that expanse declare “the work of His hands”. His fingers placed them there (Psa 8:3). They are, as it were, His signature on His workmanship. The temporal forms of the verbs “telling“ and “declaring“ indicate that they are doing this continuously, unceasingly.

That this proclamation is present “day to day” and “night to night” confirms that it always goes on, without interruption (Psa 19:2). There is, however, variety. The cycle of day and night contributes to the regularity of the seasons and therefore to the regularity of the agricultural calendar (Gen 8:22). Because of the rapid change of days, there is abundant speaking. It is a day by day speaking of God. Each new day adds a new speaking of God to the previous speaking through the previous day.

People in the past have idolized the sun. Today they explain the Creator away by the teaching of evolution. Without paying the slightest attention to the foolish theory of evolution, the psalmist in Psalm 19 lets creation declare God’s glory as Creator. The supposedly scientifically proven theory of evolution is silenced by this speaking of God. The person who watches carefully sees that knowledge is revealed. Certainly this includes knowledge concerning God, but especially knowledge of His wisdom which He reveals in His creation (Pro 8:22-31).

As already noted, the testimony of God in creation and particularly through the heavens and the expanse is a general testimony that goes over the entire world. It should not surprise us, therefore, that Paul quotes this verse in connection with the preaching of the Word of God (Rom 10:18). In doing so, he proves that God had a preaching ministry for the Gentiles in the Old Testament as well, so that they might come to know about God and to believe in Him. It also shows that the testimony of God that emanates from creation is not limited to Israel, but can be observed all over the world.

Psa 19:4b-6 are about the sun, while David speaks of the moon and stars in Psalm 8, where he is also impressed by creation (Psa 8:3). The sun is vital to life on earth. The sun is metaphorically represented as a person. The Lord Jesus is called “the Sun of righteousness” (Mal 4:2). The sun is a special reference to Christ. Therefore, the creation is fundamentally about the glory of Christ, the Son of God.

God has placed “in them”, that is, “to the end of the world”, “a tent for the sun” (Psa 19:4b). The tent symbolically represents the night residence of the sun. From it the sun rises. Each day that the sun rises, its appearance gives witness to the presence of Christ. Untouchable to anything on earth, He goes through the day proclaiming that He exists. It takes faith to see that.

In a brilliant way, David portrays the rising of the sun as it appears from its “tent”. He compares the sun to “a bridegroom coming out of his chamber” and to “a strong man” who rises joyfully “to run his course” (Psa 19:5). The “bridegroom” rises from his room to go to his bride, which is a great joy for him. He is sung to by the guests. The “strong man” is cheerful. Vigorous and confident, he sets out to run his race.

In Psa 19:6, David describes the path that the sun is fast walking. The path begins “at one end of the heavens”. There “is its rising”. It continues “its circuit”, its fast walk along the expanse, until it reaches “the other end” and goes back behind the horizon into the tent God has set up for it. During its circuit, it shines everywhere with the glow of its sunbeams, with which it also warms the earth.

Just as nothing is hidden from its glow, so also no one is hidden from the testimony of the eternal gospel that speaks from creation (cf. Rev 14:6-7). Everyone can know that God exists and realize that he will have to answer to Him (cf. Col 1:23b).

The circuit of the sun is not described in scientific, but in poetic language. This is also how man speaks of it in his everyday language. We know that the sun stands still and the earth revolves around it, but for our perception the earth stands still and the sun revolves. Thus David describes here the rising and setting of the sun and its circuit along the sky.