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Study Notes - Proofs of God's Existence |
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the Hebrew • Text-Critical Remarks • Comments by Others |
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Study Notes - Proofs of God's Existence |
| • Notes on
the Hebrew • Text-Critical Remarks • Comments by Others |
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| This study contains Greek or Hebrew words. They will
appear as scrambled letters enclosed in <brackets> unless you have the appropriate
fonts installed on your computer. See the Information about this web site page
for more information. Introduction Comments by Others: Scroggie: "This is one of the greatest Psalms, alike in its subject, profoundness, and comprehensiveness. It is in three distinct parts, and in these is discernible a progress of doctrine. God is revealed first in Nature (1-6), then in Scripture (7-11), and finally in Experience (12-14). Contemplate therefore either the Skies, or the Scriptures, or the Soul, and you are face to face with God. In the Skies is revealed His Glory; in the Scriptures, His Greatness; and in the Soul, His Grace." Text-Critical Remarks: Just as scholars think Psalm 8 was composed at night, many commentators think Psalm 19 was composed in the morning by David at the beginning of the shepherd’s day. For example, Delitzsch proposes, "It is morning, and the psalmist rejoices on the one hand at the dawning light of day, and on the other he prepares himself for the day’s work lying before him, in the light of the Tora." I don’t believe the internal evidence from the psalm can support this idea. It seems to me verse 1 starts off with a reference to the glory of God being declared in the night and day as also in verse 2. "The heavens declare the glory of God" seems to be a reference to the night-time "glory" of stars and moon, whereas "the firmament sheweth his handywork" seems to indicate daytime observation as commented upon previously. Verse 2 clearly contrasts day and night and doesn’t seem to support a morning hypothesis. It is true that verse 5 speaks of sunrise, but verse 4 starts with the sun hiding in his tent — a clear reference to night time. And verse 6 continues to follow the sun’s journey all the way to sunset! Psalm 19 may have been composed at morning. But there is no internal evidence to reasonably suggest what time of day was on the mind of the psalmist. Verse 1 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Barnes: "The revelation of nature, and the higher revelation by inspiration, belong to the same system of religion, and are alike designed to illustrate the being, the perfections, and the government of God. The friend of religion should claim the one as well as the other; the defence of the Bible as a revelation from God should not lead us to disparage or undervalue the disclosures respecting God as made by nature. He who asserts that a revelation is necessary to mankind, and who maintains that the light of nature is not sufficient for the wants of man, should nevertheless concede all that can be known from the works of God...." Verse 2 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Delitzsch: "The words of this discourse of praise are carried forward in an uninterrupted line of transmission. ...to gush forth...points to the rich fulness with which, as from an inexhaustible spring, the testimony passes on from one day to the next." Barnes: "The day that is passing away proclaims the lesson which it had to convey from the movements of the heavens, about God; and thus the knowledge of God is accumulating as the time moves on. Each day has its own lesson in regard to the wisdom, the power, and the goodness of God, and that lesson is conveyed from one day to another. There is a perpetual testimony thus given to the wisdom and power of the Great Creator.... "Each successive night does this. It is done by the stars in their courses; in their order; their numbers; their ranks; their changes of position; their rising; and their setting. There are as many lessons conveyed to man about the greatness and majesty of God by the silent movements of each night as there are by the light of the successive days — just as there may be as many lessons conveyed to the soul about God in the dark night of affliction and adversity, as there are when the sun of prosperity shines upon us." Verse 3 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Spurgeon: "Every man may hear the voices of the stars. Many are the languages of terrestrials, to celestials there is but one, and that one may be understood by every willing mind. The lowest heathen are without excuse, if they do not discover the invisible things of God in the works which he has made. Sun, moon, and the stars are God’s traveling preachers; they are apostles upon their journey confirming those who regard the Lord, and judges on circuit condemning those who worship idols." Barnes: "There is no nation, there are no men, whatever may be their language, to whom the heavens do not speak, declaring the greatness and glory of God. The language which they speak is universal; and however various the languages spoken by men, however impossible it may be for them to understand each other, yet all can understand the language of the heavens, proclaiming the perfections of the Great Creator. That is a universal language which does not need to be expressed in the forms of human speech, but which conveys great truths alike to all mankind." Verse 4 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Keil and Delitzsch comments on Romans 10:18, "Paul makes use of these first two lines...in order with its very words, to testify to the spread of the apostolic message over the whole earth. Hence most of the older expositors have taken the first half of the Psalm to be an allegorical prediction, the heavens being a figure of the church and the sun a figure of the gospel. The apostle does not, however, make a formal citation in the passage referred to, he merely gives a New Testament application to Old Testament language...." Verse 5 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Dickson in 1655 wrote, "He contracteth his thoughts from the highness of the heavens, and pitcheth upon the sun, and beholdeth God’s glory in it. Whence learn, All the glory to be seen in the sun belongeth unto the Lord...." Verse 6 Comments by Others: Barnes: "The rays of the sun penetrate everywhere. Nothing escapes it. It is not a mere march for show and splendour; it is not an idle and useless journey in the heavens; but all things,—vegetables, birds, beasts, men,—all that lives, feel the effect of his vital warmth, and are animated by his quickening influence. Thus the sun in his goings illustrates the glory of God." Spurgeon: "Jesus, like a sun, dwells in the midst of revelation, tabernacling among men in all his brightness; rejoicing as the Bridegroom of his church, to reveal himself to men; and like a champion, to win unto himself renown. He makes a circuit of mercy, blessing the remotest corners of the earth; and there are no seeking souls, however degraded and depraved, who shall be denied the comfortable warmth and benediction of his love...." Verse 7 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Romans 7:12, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." Stedman: " ‘The law of the Lord is perfect.’ It is complete, there is nothing left out. It is comprehensive, it does everything that we need it to do. ... ‘the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.’ Sure means ‘dependable, reliable.’ You can count on this word to be true." Keil and Delitzsch: "The law merits these praises in itself; and to him who is in a state of favour, it is indeed no longer a law bringing a curse with it, but a mirror of the God merciful in holiness, into which he can look without slavish fear, and is a rule for the direction of his free and willing obedience." Barnes concerning the word simple: "The meaning here is evidently inexperienced in the sense of being ignorant or untaught. It refers to those who need spiritual guidance and direction, and is applicable to men as they are by nature, as untaught or needing instruction, but with the idea that their minds are susceptible to impressions, or are open to conviction. Those who are naturally destitute of wisdom, it makes wise. The statement is, that that testimony, or revealed truth, makes them wise in the knowledge of God, or imparts to them real instruction." Text-Critical Remarks I would like to address two areas over which I disagree with many commentators concerning this psalm. The first area is the supposed division in thought between verses 1-6 and 7-14, and the second area is the proposed division in authorship between these two sections. I. Almost all the commentaries consider verse 7 as the beginning of a new section of this psalm — verses 1-6 God revealed in nature, verses 7-14 God revealed in his word. For example Spurgeon writes, "...the Psalmist...had devoted himself to the study of God’s two great books — nature and scripture...." Although this is true to a limited extent, it seems to me that David had no such division in mind. Notice the lack of transition between verses 6 and 7. The psalmist simply jumps from the heat of the sun to the law of the Lord. This indicates that in David’s mind, at least, there was no such division. The heavens declare, the word declares, man’s heart declares the glory of God. All things declare it because who can restrain it — God’s glory is everywhere. As Stuhlmueller points out, "The entire psalm holds together through the image of splendid light across the universe and within the law...." Let’s take a look at some comparisons between the "nature" section (verses 1-6) and the "scripture" section (verses 7-14). In verse 4 David refers to the words that declare God’s glory just as he talks about the law of the Lord and the testimony of the Lord in verse 7. The sun is rejoicing in God’s glory in verse 5 just as the man rejoices in the statutes of the Lord in verse 8. As the words travel to the end of the world in verse 4, so the fear of the Lord endures for ever in verse 9. Just as the earth is warmed by the heat of the sun in verse 6, in verse 8 the eyes are enlightened by the commandment of the Lord. In verse 3 the world hears the voice of the heavens declaring God’s glory, so in verse 11 the servant is warned by the law of the Lord. In verse 1 nature declares the glory of God, but in verse 10 the glory of nature is not to be desired over the word of God. There are simply too many examples of similar wording and similar ideas reflected in both the "nature" sections and the "scripture" sections to indicate a separation of thought. The unifying theme of this psalm appears to be, "all things reveal God’s glory to man." As David says in verse 4, "Their line is gone out through all the earth." It seems to me that David had no break in thought in mind when he wrote this psalm. He considered the whole psalm one unified statement of God’s revelation to man. II. Going even further in the idea of a break of thought between verses 6 and 7, Stuhlmueller and others have suggested that verses 1-6 were written by one author and verses 7-14 by another later author. In the previous section I presented the evidence for the unity of the psalm even using Stuhlmueller’s own words to prove the point. But their are some lessons from history that we don’t want to ignore. Paul apparently understood the unity of Psalm 19 for in Romans 10:14-18 he argues that the word of God has been preached throughout the earth quoting Psalm 19:4, "their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." He presents the idea of the second half of the psalm — God’s written word — but quotes from the first half of the psalm indicating in his mind he saw no division in thought. Keil and Delitzsch point out that following Paul’s application, "most of the older expositors have taken the first half of the Psalm to be an allegorical prediction, the heavens being a figure of the church and the sun a figure of the gospel." This is the case with Luther and Augustine to name two. None of them thought there was a division in the psalm either. Further, Delitzsch thinks Paul was justified in using this example, "by the parallel which the psalmist himself draws between the revelation of God in nature and in the written word." Delitzsch sees no division here either. It seems obvious to me that there is no internal evidence for proposing two separate authors. In fact, one thought is presented throughout the psalm in its different applications suggesting unity of thought by one author. Additional authors is an idea which must be labeled as unfounded speculation. Verse 8 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Proverbs 6:23, "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life." Barnes: "The eyes are mentioned, as it is by them that we see where to go. The reference here is undoubtedly to the mind or soul as being enlightened by the truth of God. We are made by these commandments to see what is right and proper; to understand what we should do." Stedman: "Do you not rejoice in your heart to know that you are right about something? ... The Bible is honest about life, frank and forthright. It is pure, enlightening the eyes showing you the truth. That is what David has found." Verse 9 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Stedman: "It means respect, honest respect for God. That, says the psalmist, is clean, and it will keep you clean, too. It is ‘enduring for ever.’ Once you enter into the fear of the Lord in its rightful sense, you find that this produces a quality of life that keeps you from defiling yourself. ... Then he sums them all up: ‘The ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.’ " Verse 10 Comments by Others: Keil and Delitzsch: "To be desired are the revealed words of God, to him who possesses them as an outward possession; and to him who has received them inwardly they are sweet." Fausset: "The law, understood in its spiritual, reviving, and joy-bestowing power...through Christ, our law-fulfiller, is thus precious. The spiritual man has more pleasure in the precepts of the Lord than the carnal have in gain, or the appetite." Verse 11 Hebrews Notes:
Comments by Others: John Trapp: " ‘In keeping of them there is great reward.’ Not only for keeping but in keeping of them. As every flower hath its sweet smell, so every good action hath its sweet reflections upon the soul: and as Cardian saith, that every precious stone hath some egregious virtue: so here, righteousness is its own reward, though few men think so and act accordingly." Footnote to My Commentary: It is true that in Galatians 3:25 Paul says that after faith is come, we are no longer under the schoolmaster of the law. I still think the schoolmaster metaphor is a good one. It is true we are freed from the law and all its strict ritual requirements, but we are now free to truly understand the divine intent behind God’s entire word. As Jesus said in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for...they are they which testify of me." And Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved...rightly dividing the word of truth." So the law can still be our schoolmaster as we consider it our instructor. Verse 12 Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Martin Luther: "Now there follows the third part of this psalm, namely, a prayer, which begins with repentance or confession. As though he wanted to say: ‘Look at how precious, dear, and noble a Word we have, but we are weak and unbelieving.’ " Verse 13 Hebrew Notes:
Hebrew Notes:
Comments by Others: Poole: "...this expression seems to be added, emphatically, and with special respect to Christ, who was certainly much in David’s eyes, to whom alone this word Goel [redeemer] can here properly belong...and by whose blood and Spirit alone David could and did expect the blessings and graces for which he here prayeth." My Additional Comment: Is this something we are working on in our own lives — what we say and what we think? What a difficult task it is. How often we wish to retrieve words we said in haste, and how difficult it is to control the thoughts of our heart. But this was David’s prayer because he knew his strength was in the Lord, and even when we fail, the Lord is our redeemer. Footnotes: This study on Psalm 19 © 1996 - 1998 by David Humpal. All rights reserved. Scroggie: A Guide to the Psalms pg. 123, Kregel Publications |
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