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Psalm 19: Song of Torah: The Gifts of Creation and Torah

[For the Leader. A Psalm [for] David. (NJPS)] 1

STROPHE I
1
The heavens are telling the glory of God; In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,
5
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. which comes out like a bridegroom from his
2
Day to day pours forth speech, wedding canopy,
and night to night declares knowledge. and like a strong man runs its course with
3
There is no speech, nor are there words; joy.
6
their voice is not heard; Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
4
yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and nothing is hid from its heat.
and their words to the end of the world.

STROPHE II
7
The law of the LORD is perfect, the commandment of the LORD is clear,
reviving the soul; enlightening the eyes;
9
the decrees of the LORD are sure, the fear of the LORD is pure,
making wise the simple; enduring forever;
8
the precepts of the LORD are right, the ordinances of the LORD are true
rejoicing the heart; and righteous altogether.

STROPHE III
10 12
More to be desired are they than gold, But who can detect their errors?
even much fine gold; Clear me from hidden faults.
13
sweeter also than honey, Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
and drippings of the honeycomb. do not let them have dominion over me.
11
Moreover by them is your servant warned; Then I shall be blameless,
in keeping them there is great reward. and innocent of great transgression.

ENVOI
14
Let the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you, O LORD,
my rock and my redeemer.

1
All scripture references are to New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), unless otherwise noted.
NJPS = New Jewish Publication Society translation. NAB = New American Bible. NIV = New
International Version. Strophe layout above from Samuel Terrien, The Psalms: Strophic Structure
& Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 205-7; I developed the outline
(“Plan of Ps. 19”) on my own prior to consulting any commentary.
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Thesis2

In Psalm 19 we find that we have gifts from YHWH of creation and of torah as

covenantal gifts of grace. These gifts are for us to know for certain that we exist in a

network of interdependence with other humans in community “and with the rest of God’s

creation.” I am human because I belong to YHWH.3

Historical and Literary Contexts

The Psalms (mizmorei tehillim,“songs of praise”) were compiled in the post-exilic

(Second Temple) period as “a language of doubt, near-despair, repentance and lonely

suffering, as well as praise and thanksgiving.”4 The psalms may have been used in private

prayer; communal activities such as the coronation of a king; family worship; and public

liturgies.5 The final form of the Psalter was completed prior to the completion of the

2
Exegetical process and structure are from Michael J. Gorman, Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A
Basic Guide for Students and Ministers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002). I also
wish to thank Dr. Gorman for his comments and helpful suggestions on this exegesis during his
course on Biblical Studies at the Ecumenical Institute, St. Mary’s Seminary and University,
Baltimore, MD during the winter of 2004.
3
“I am human because I belong to YHWH,” is used here as in describing ubuntu, an African
theology of community. See Desmond Tutu, God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Future
(New York: Doubleday, 2004), 25. For the Hebrew people, personhood was defined through the
belonging established in a covenantal relationship. There was no “personhood” outside of this
covenantal relationship. See Neil Pembroke, The Art of Listening: Dialogue, Shame, and Pastoral
Care. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2002), 52.
4
Rowan Williams, “Augustine and the Psalms,” Interpretation, Vol. 28 No. 1 (January 2004), 21.
5
As in Isaiah 38:19: “The living, the living, they thank you, as I do this day.” “Praise of YHWH
by the people of Israel is the penultimate and representative fulfillment of God’s purpose for all
humanity.” See James L. Mays, The Lord Reigns: A Theological Handbook of the Psalms
(Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994), 64.
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Septuagint (LXX) in the second century B.C.E. Psalm 19 is part of the oldest group of

extant Psalms (Ps 3-41).6

In the collection of Psalms there are four primary types of poetic songs, each with a

different rhetorical purpose:7

CELEBRATION PROTEST & PETITION

Communal: Hymn Lament

Personal: Thanksgiving Lament

Psalm 19 is a communal hymn, celebrating the affirmation that the same God, YHWH,

who created the sun is the one who also gives the Israelites the torah.8 This “torah

psalm” acknowledges that the created and social order experienced by Israel is solely

dependent on God’s hesed (steadfast love) and covenant faithfulness and that torah

represents YHWH’s “will and purpose, ordained in the very structure of life.”9

6
Robert Alter and Frank Kermode, eds., The Literary Guide to the Bible (Cambridge, MA:
Belknap Press, 1987), 245.
7
Walter Brueggemann, An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian
Imagination (Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2003), 285.
8
Rebecca Abts Wright, ed., The Old Testament (3rd ed., Education for Ministry (EFM), Year
One; Sewanee, TN: The University of the South, 1999), 620. The torah psalms “are psalms in
which the instruction of the Lord is the central organizing topic and is viewed as the primary
reality in the relation of mortals to God.” See James Luther Mays, “The Place of the Torah-
Psalms in the Psalter,” in JBL 106/1 (1987) 3-12.
9
The torah of YHWH is the “revelation by which [YHWH renews], enhances, and guides human
life; it is the divine medium of righteousness for human beings.” See James Luther Mays, Psalms
(Interpretation, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994), 98. “Torah is how God shapes the human
soul toward its destination,” the kingdom of God. Torah includes both haggadah (the stories of
God’s actions in history to guide his chosen people) and halakha (the laws, precepts, and
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Psalm 19 functions as the rhetorical centerpiece of a chiastic arrangement of Psalms 15-

24 praising the torah:10

a 15 Entrance Liturgy………………………………….a’ 24 Entrance Liturgy

b 16 Song of Trust……………………………….b’ 23 Song of Trust

c 17 Prayer for Help……………..................c’ 22 Prayer for Help

d Royal Psalm………………………d’ 20-21 Royal Psalms

e 19 Torah Psalm

Formal Analysis

Form: The form of Ps. 19 is Hebrew biblical poetry. The psalm acts as a hymn of

torah praise to “reveal, authorize and image a world in which YHWH” is sovereign. Its

language transports those praying to a place beyond the visible world of the Israelites.

This “alternative world” contrasts sharply with the politically ambiguous, physically

unsafe world of the day-to-day world of the psalmist where individuals act with self-

interested autonomy and seek personal power. The rhetorical task of the psalmist is to

guidelines that “shape a people’s life”) (Terrien, 3). Torah is the “beauty and wholesomeness of
God’s word revealed in scripture.” See Colin J. Sedgwick, Expository Times, 102 (May 1991),
239-40. What the torah asks for is not blind obedience to rules and regulations (“the law”) but
“commitment of the whole self to God.” See J. Clinton McCann, Jr., “The Book of Psalms:
Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections,” in Leander Keck, Sr. Editor, The New Interpreters
Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), 752. Other torah psalms include: Pss. 1, 5, 24, 119. See
Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary (Augsburg Old
Testament Studies, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1984), 38.
10
Patrick D. Miller, Israelite Religion and Biblical Theology: Collected Essays (Journal for the
Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 267, Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000),
279-97 cited in Brueggemann 2003, 290.
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enable the one praying to enter into dialogue with YHWH and through a “highly

stylized” and “predictable form” talk to YHWH.11

Plan of Psalm 19: Song of Torah: The Gifts of Creation and Torah

Vv 1-6 Celebration to the Glory of God’s Sovereignty over All That Is

1:4a God’s Voice, His Speech, and His Words Reveal His Glory

4b-6 Even the Sun Reveals God’s Glory from Which Nothing Is

Hid

Vv 7-11 Affirmation that Torah is Perfect, Revives the Soul and Brings

Right Relationship with YHWH

7-9 YHWH’s Torah Revives the Soul

10-11 Rewards of Obedience to the Torah “is riches and honor

and life” [Prov. 22:4]

Vv 12-13 YHWH, Protect Me from My Failings and Willful Sins

V 14 Hear Me O YHWH: May My Words and Thoughts Be

Acceptable To You

Structure and Movement: Verses 1-6 are a hymn to the glory of the mystery and

majesty of God revealed in all of creation for all time, day and night. Verses 7-11 discuss

another gift from YHWH, the torah, which is “perfect,” makes “wise the simple’”

enlightens “the eyes,” endures “forever,” and is “more to be desired than gold.” Verses

11
Brueggemann 2003, 279, 288. This torah psalm functions as a “psalm of orientation” where
“life reflected in these psalms is seen as the well ordered world intended by God” and “this
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12-13 function as an intercessionary prayer to YHWH to keep “your servant” from

“willful sins” (NAB, NIV). Verse 14 concludes this hymn of torah praise, asking YHWH

to hear “the words of [your servant’s] mouth” and “meditation of my heart.”

Psalm 19 moves from the general to the specific; from “out there” to “in here.” Verse 1-6

begins by praising God (Elohim) who created all there is in the universe. Verses 7-11

praise Israel’s covenantal God, YHWH (“the LORD”); the giver of the gift of torah to

Israel. Verses 1-4a poetically portrays utterances that reveal God’s glory. Verses 4b-6

speak specifically about the sun’s actions in revealing God’s glory. Verses 7-9 discuss the

perfection and everlasting nature of the torah: “law of the Lord,” “decrees of the Lord,”

“precepts of the Lord,” “commandment of the Lord,” “fear of the Lord,” “ordinances of

the Lord.” Verses 10-11 discuss specific metaphors of the beauty of the torah as seen by

those who observe the “divine law written on their hearts.”12 Verses 12-13 are a

supplication to YHWH to protect and guard the one praying from the powers of evil.

Verse 14 is a conclusion to the hymn of praise, asking YHWH to accept these words of

praise and “the meditation of my heart.”13

community has decided to trust” in YHWH (Brueggemann 1984, 25).


12
Michael Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul and his
Letters (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2004), 354.
13
This concludes the prayer of “those who undertake faithfulness in the midst of the actual
conditions of life, and who have tried to follow the way of the Lord instead of the way of the
wicked.” “These utterances “call[] forth…a special place where God is present for the human
being” (Mays, 34, 41).

C. S. Lewis wrote of Psalm 19, “I take this to be the greatest poem in the Psalter and one of the
greatest lyrics in the world” (Reflections on the Psalms, p. 56) cited in Peter C. Craigie, Psalms 1-
50 (Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 19; Waco, TX: Word Books, 1983), 183.
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Detailed Analysis14

I. Celebration to the Glory of God’s Sovereignty over All That Is (Ps. 19:1-6)

God’s Voice, His Speech, and His Words Reveal His Glory (1-4a)
1
The heavens are telling the glory of God; => and the firmament proclaims
his handiwork.
2
Day to day pours forth speech, {} and night to night declares
knowledge.
3
There is no speech, = nor are there words; <
their voice is not heard;
4
yet their voice goes out through all the earth, = and their words to the end of
the world.15

1 (a) the “dome of the sky” was created by God’s word (Gen. 1:1-16) and by the heavens’

existence proclaim the radiance of God’s presence;16 (b) amplified story of “[t]he

Almighty’s” presence and “awesome majesty,” “great in power and justice” (Job 37:14-

24) that is “revealed in creation and can be known” by those who “acknowledge God.”17

2 (a) God created time, both day and night (Gen 1:4); (b) time itself, as day turns to night

shows the power of God’s speech.

14
[Symbols: = synonymity; O/= synonymity w/ verbatim repetition; {} complimentarity;
 consequentiality; > focusing, heightening, intensification. Symbols idea: Robert Alter, The Art
of Biblical Poetry (New York: Basic Books, 1985), 29
15
In Rom. 10:18, Paul quotes Ps. 19:4b to assert “the universal character of the preaching of the
Gospel” to the ends of the earth. See Joseph Fitzmyer, Romans (The Anchor Bible, New York:
Doubleday, 1992), 599.
16
Ross Wagner, “From the Heavens and the Heart: The Dynamics of Psalm 19 as Prayer,”
Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 61 No, 21 (April 1999), 245-261.
17
Gorman, 353.
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3 (a) yet, this is a speech we cannot hear directly; (b) we do not hear the words of God’s

speech; (c) we do not hear God’s voice.

4 (a) yet, God’s voice, his speech, his words are everywhere we turn; (b) and God’s

creating (bara) words are heard everywhere, throughout all of creation (in today’s

language, “the universe”).18

The “created universe is a silent19 yet magnificently eloquent testimony” affirming the

knowledge of a life lived in faith and recognition of God’s sovereignty in our lives.20

18
Robert Davidson, The Vitality of Worship: A Commentary of the Book of Psalms (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), 71. Only God alone enjoys the “prerogative of the sovereign, effortless,
creative power” of bara. See David W. Cotter, O.S.B., Genesis (Berit Olam, Collegeville: MN:
Liturgical Press, 2003), 4. “In the biblical view, words underlie reality….Spoken language is the
substance of everything human and divine.” See Robert Alter, Art of Biblical Narrative (New
York: Basic Books, 1983), 69.

19
God’s voice, his speech, his word is evident everywhere, but cannot be heard – or is it now able
to be heard using modern scientific theory and measuring capabilities? According to the most
recent data concerning the big bang theory, the universe that contains the earth was created 13.7
billion years ago.

One of the results of the big bang is that the cosmic background radiation (the glow left over from
the explosion itself) left the sound of God’s “voice [that] is not heard;/ yet this [sound] goes out
through all the earth,/…[and] to the end of the [universe].” In 1927, the Belgian priest Georges
Lemaître was the first to propose what is now called the Big Bang Theory. It explains why distant
galaxies are traveling away from earth at great speeds. In 1929, Edwin Hubble confirmed that
distant galaxies in every direction are going away from us with speeds proportional to their
distance.

The theory also predicts the existence of cosmic background radiation (the glow left over from
the explosion itself). In 1964, this radiation was discovered by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson,
who later won the Nobel Prize for this discovery. Giant sound waves propagated through the
blazing hot matter that filled the Universe shortly after the Big Bang. These squeezed and
stretched matter, heating the compressed regions and cooling the rarefied ones. Even though the
Universe has been expanding and cooling ever since, the sound waves have left their imprint as
temperature variations on the afterglow of the big bang fireball. "The sound is rather like a large
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Though YHWH comes to us from outside us, YHWH nevertheless becomes our own in

relationship. YHWH’s hesed for humankind and its effects – life and the creation of all

that is conveys a deep knowledge; the knowledge of God’s glory in creation. This

knowledge “enables conscious recognition and the achievement of correspondence of

will between God and humans [that also makes possible the ability] of humans to reflect

God’s intentions for the world.”21

This partnership with God comes first and foremost because we are made in God’s image

(Gen 1:26-27) – “‘I am God’s partner, God’s representative, God’s viceroy – that’s who I

am – because I am created in the image of God.’”22 The psalmist is acknowledging that

God is calling us to be his partner in this world by listening to the story the heavens are

telling of the glory of God (v. 1).

jet plane flying 100 feet above your house in the middle of the night," says Physicist John Cramer
of the University of Washington in Seattle who has created audio files of the event which can be
played on a PC. To hear them, Cramer had to scale the frequencies 100,000 billion billion times.
See “Big Bang sounded like a deep hum,” New Scientist 10:09 30 October 03 at
http://www.newscientist.com/news accessed 03/16/04.

“The contents of the Universe include 4% atoms (ordinary matter), 23% of an unknown type of
dark matter, and 73% of a mysterious dark energy. The new measurements even shed light on the
nature of the dark energy, which acts as a sort of an anti-gravity.” See “New Image Of Infant
Universe Reveals Era Of First Stars, Age Of Cosmos, And More,” February 11, 2003 Goddard
Space Flight Center at http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov accessed on 03/15/04.
20
Sedgwick, 240.
21
Kathryn Tanner, Jesus, Humanity and the Trinity: A Brief Systematic Theology (Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 2001), 46, 58.
22
Tutu, 62.
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Even the Sun Reveals God’s Glory from Which Nothing Is Hid (4b- 6)
5
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.
6
Its rising is from the end of the heavens, O/= and its circuit to the end of
them; 
and nothing is hid from its heat.

4b (a) the heavens provide a “tent” for the sun, another manifestation of the glory of God

(Isa. 60:1) in which it spends the night; (b) then, each morning the sun emerges fresh

again, like a “bridegroom from his wedding canopy” (Joel 2:16);23 (c) the sun travels its

course through the day “like a strong man” with joy.

6 (a) the sun travels its daily course through the sky from sunup; (b) to sundown (Eccl.

1:5);24 (c) and nothing “escapes from its heat” (NJPS), signifying the cosmic scope of

God’s glory.25

In these verses the psalmist draws metaphors for the sun, the most prominent feature of

God’s creation in the ancient world. In the second verset of stich five, the sun is

compared to a bridegroom springing from his bridal “chamber” (NAB) after a night of

love-making. In the third verset this image is further intensified with a new metaphor of

23
“Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her canopy” (Joel 2:16).
24
“The sun rises and the sun goes down,
and hurries to the place where it rises” (Eccl. 1:5).
25
Davidson, 71; Wagner, 253.
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the sun as an “athlete” running through the sky joyously (NAB), from one end of the

heavens at daybreak to the other end of the heavens at sunset. These metaphors impart a

vibrancy and life-giving grandeur to the sun’s role in the scheme of things – a role so

pervasive and universal that “nothing escapes its heat” (NAB). The sun, also, is a gift of

YHWH, gifted to humanity by grace. Thus, “‘at the core of His being…God is the One

who seeks and finds relationship….He is Himself, and therefore to everything outside

Himself, relationship, the basis and prototype of all relationship.’”26

II. Affirmation that Torah is Perfect, Revives the Soul and Brings Right Relationship

with YHWH (7-11)

YHWH’s Torah Revives the Soul (7-9)


7
The law of the LORD is perfect,  reviving the soul;
the decrees of the LORD are sure,  making wise the simple;
8
the precepts of the LORD are right,  rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD
is clear,  enlightening the eyes;
9
the fear of the LORD is pure,  enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true => and righteous altogether.

7 (a) torah law is free from all defects; (b) consequentially it revives the soul for those

who follow its way;

(c) torah decrees are a dependable way to keep YHWH’s covenant (Ps 132:12);27 (d)

able “to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young” (Prov.

1:4).

26
Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics II/1, 641 cited in Tanner, 14.
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8 (a) torah precepts have integrity; (b) and we give thanksgiving and praise to YHWH for

the good hearts observance of the torah produces;28

(c) torah commandments are clearly understood; (d) consequentially they enable one

to see “the way of faithfulness” (Ps. 119:30).

9 (a) our reverence for YHWH’s awesome power is untainted;29 (b) it will endure

forever;

(c) the decisions of YHWH are just (true); (d) they are dependable and trustworthy.30

In strophe II we move from the gift of God’s creation to the YHWH’s gift of the torah to

his covenant people. The torah, like the sun makes life possible for YHWH’s chosen

people; it “is just as certain and everlasting.” The psalmist makes the point that YHWH’s

27
“If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
shall sit on your throne” (Ps. 132:12).
28
“The heart in biblical thought is…the center of a person’s life, the seat of activity and emotion,
and the battleground between good and evil.” See John R. Donahue, S.J. and Daniel J.
Harrington, S.J., The Gospel of Mark (Sacra Pagina, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2002),
224.
29
“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10).
30
Davidson, 72-3.
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instruction, his word for humanity, is built into the very fabric of the universe – “life

depends on torah as much as it depends on the daily rising of the sun.”31

Table 1: Consequentiality of Obedience to Torah

A B C
law perfect revives the soul
decrees sure makes the simple wise
precepts right the heart rejoices
commandment clear enlightens the eyes
ordinances true righteous altogether
fear of the Lord32 pure endures forever

In Table 1, Torah is described as law, decrees, precepts,” commands, and statues that are:

perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, and true. Obedience to the torah refreshes the soul,

gives wisdom to the simpleminded, causes the heart to rejoice, and enlightens the eye.

Obedience to torah will enable one’s reverence for YHWH (”the fear of the Lord”) to

endure forever, as these “statues...[are] just” (NAB).

Rewards of Obedience to the Torah “is riches and honor and life” [Prov. 22:4]
(10-11)
10
More to be desired are they than gold, O/> even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey, > and drippings of the honeycomb.
11
Moreover by them is your servant warned;  in keeping them there is great
reward.

31
McCann, 752; Mays 1987, 5.
32
Prov. 1:7 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Ps. 111:10: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it* have a good understanding.
His praise endures for ever.”
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10 (a) Obedience to the torah is more desirable than gold; (b) more desirable than “even

much fine gold;”

(c) Obedience to the torah is sweeter than honey; (d) even sweeter than drippings

from the honeycomb.

11 (a) Obedience to the torah guides YHWH’s servant; (b) for the “great consequence”

(McCann, 752) for obeying the torah is “great reward.”

Table 2: Knowledge of Torah Is Compared with Wealth and Sensual Pleasures33

A B C
more desirable Than gold even the finest gold
sweeter than honey even the sweetest honey

In these verses the psalmist describes the benefits of obedience to the torah in figurative

language; comparing the benefits of torah obedience as more worthy that riches and

sensual delights: gold, even fine gold and honey, even drippings from the honeycomb

(Table 2). “By them your servant is instructed [for] obeying them brings much reward”

(NAB). The reward the psalmist is referring to here is a right relationship with YHWH,

living in a manner that acknowledges the covenantal faithfulness (dikaiosyne) and

steadfast love (hesed) of YHWH. Therefore, the character of our graced lives is twofold:

33
From Konrad Schaefer, O.S.B., Psalms (Berit Olam: Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2001),
xv.
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knowledge of YHWH through his creating (bara) and knowledge of YHWH through

torah obedience. Both are necessary for personhood.34

III. YHWH, Protect Me from My Failings and Willful Sins (12-13)


12
But who can detect their errors? = Clear me from hidden faults.
13
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

12 (a) YHWH, I have weaknesses that I do not even know about; (b) YHWH, only you

can cleanse (“forgive,” NIV) me of my failings (“unperceived guilt,” NJPS).

13 (a) YHWH, keep your servant from willful sins [“arrogant men,” NJPS]; (b) YHWH,

do let them control (“dominate,” NJPS; “rule,” NIV) me;

(c) YHWH, if you keep me, your servant, from willful sins, I shall be blameless; (d) I

shall remain innocent (“blameless,” NIV) of rebelling against your will for me (“grave

sin,” NAB; “great transgression,” NIV).

This part of the psalm 19 reminds me of Romans 8:26-27:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as
we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And
God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the
Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

In this text from Romans Paul is describing a new way of being-in-the-world – a

confessional life of prayer lived in pistis (faith) with koinonia (fellowship/communion)

34
Tanner, 58.
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within the ekklesia (house churches of Christ). Likewise, for the psalmist, this new life is

a YHWH-empowered, YHWH-guided living-into and obedience of the torah. The torah

is YHWH’s gift to humanity so that our lives may be brought into greater conformity

with God’s will for us as we acknowledge God as our sovereign – not wealth or power or

the autonomous desires of the self at the expense of the “other.”35

Envoi: Hear Me O YHWH: May My Words and Thoughts Be Acceptable To You (14)
14
Let the words of my mouth > and the meditation of my heart be
acceptable to you, O LORD, > my rock and my redeemer.

14 (a) YHWH, hear my word of praise; (b) YHWH, hear the meditations of my heart;

(c) YHWH, may my words and meditations be acceptable to you;36 (d) YHWH, you

are my rock37 and my redeemer, the “defender of the oppressed.”38

35
Tanner, 59.
36
Davidson, 73-4.
37
Deut. 32:4: “The Rock, his work is perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God, without deceit,
just and upright is he;”
38
Terrien, 214. Isa. 48:17: “Thus says the LORD,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you for your own good,
who leads you in the way you should go.”
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Psalm 19 Exegesis 6.1 Page 17 of 21

Here, the psalmist is entreating YHWH to be present for him/her; to listen to the prayers

that have been spoken, to search the heart of the psalmist and listen to the “meditations’

there that are beyond speech, beyond words of heartfelt praise for YHWH’s providential

grace in his gifts of all that is in the world and of the torah. The psalmist is attempting to

reach that experience of YHWH-initiated salvific relationship so beautifully stated by

Jeremiah:

When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, 14I
will let you find me, says the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather
you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the
LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.
(Jer. 29:12-13)

Through this act of supplication, “we are declaring our faith in the future of a

relationship” with God. We are acknowledging God as our sovereign. “We are saying,

here is a chance to make a new beginning.”39 This is ultimately a statement of hope – for

transcendence beyond the human condition – through relationship with God, in hope.

Synthesis

Psalm 19 is about a new way of being in the world – a world where one recognizes that

God’s majesty and radiance is built-in to the very structure of life; both in his creation of

all there is and in his instruction to humankind for remembrance and acknowledgement

of this relationship. The underlying question in this psalm is: are we willing to relinquish

our “self-sovereignty to live under the sovereignty of God?”40 The psalmist’s answer is

39
Tutu, 56.
40
McCann, 687.
Lyle Brecht 17-Jan-06
Psalm 19 Exegesis 6.1 Page 18 of 21

twofold. One is heartfelt love and adoration for YHWH, for YHWH’s providential and

unearned grace in providing such a magnificent creation that day after day, night after

night continues to function with steadfast regularity, but also with an unmatched elegance

and awesome splendor.

The second is torah obedience. Just as awesome and just as beautiful is YHWH’s gift of

torah because it is through obedience to the torah that we humans, who are weak and

willful can maintain a close relationship of adoration and reverence for YHWH.

Through our awareness of YHWH in all creation and obedience to torah, we remain

present for the steadfast love and covenantal faithfulness that YHWH will shower on his

people. The Psalm affirms that, “We are for YHWH; we are YHWH’s people; YHWH is

our sovereign and only YHWH!” Through his gift of creation and through his gift of

torah, YHWH saves. Ultimately, by pairing the gift of torah with creation, and

confessing his human weakness, the psalmist expresses a deep eschatological “hope for

the coming kingdom of God.”41 In some ways, Psalm 19 is a commentary on Psalm 1

celebrating the torah, which itself summarizes and sets the tone for the entire collection

of Psalms in its proposition that there is only one choice in life: YHWH or the “path that

sinners tread:”42

41
Mays 1987, 11.
42
One view of the canonical shaping of the Psalter is its commitment “to torah as the divinely
willed way of life” – a life where the righteous suffer yet never surrender their faith in “the hope
for the coming kingdom of God” (Mays 1987, 11).
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Psalm 19 Exegesis 6.1 Page 19 of 21

1
Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2
but their delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law they meditate day and night.

The psalmist in psalm 19 is confirming “man’s need for transcendent support” from

YHWH through YHWH’s steadfast love and covenantal faithfulness.43 The psalmist

includes in his intercessionary prayer (1) YHWH’s presence in all of creation; (2)

acceptance of his gift of the torah; (3) one should pray to “fit one’s life into [YHWH’s]

ongoing purpose[s]”44 “[f]or God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from

him” (Ps. 62:5); and (4) acknowledgement of human weakness and need for YHWH’s

continued hesed in the face of lived-life with its sufferings and afflictions. This is a

human life that can be adequately lived and realized “only in relationship to God.”45

43
James D. G. Dunn, Romans 1-8 (Word Bible Commentary vol. 38, Dallas: Word Books, 1988),
477.
44
Dunn, 477.
45
McCann, 753.
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Psalm 19 Exegesis 6.1 Page 20 of 21

Works Cited

Alter, Robert and Frank Kermode, eds. The Literary Guide to the Bible. Cambridge, MA:
Belknap Press, 1987.

Alter, Robert. Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 1983.

Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Poetry. New York: Basic Books, 1985.

Brueggemann, Walter. The Message of the Psalms: A Theological Commentary.


Augsburg Old Testament Studies, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1984.

Brueggemann, Walter. An Introduction to the Old Testament: The Canon and Christian
Imagination. Louisville, Westminster John Knox Press, 2003.

Cotter, O.S.B., David W. Genesis. Berit Olam, Collegeville: MN: Liturgical Press, 2003.

Craigie, Peter C. Psalms 1-50. Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 19; Waco, TX: Word
Books, 1983.

Davidson, Robert. The Vitality of Worship: A Commentary of the Book of Psalms. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998.

Donahue, S.J., John R. and Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. The Gospel of Mark. Sacra Pagina,
Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2002.

Dunn, James D. G. Romans 1-8. Word Bible Commentary vol. 38, Dallas: Word Books,
1988.

Gorman, Michael J. Apostle of the Crucified Lord: A Theological Introduction to Paul


and his Letters. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2004.

Fitzmyer, Joseph. Romans. The Anchor Bible, New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Mays, James Luther, “The Place of the Torah-Psalms in the Psalter,” in Journal of
Biblical Literature 106/1 (1987) 3-12.

Mays, James Luther. Psalms. Interpretation, Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994.
Lyle Brecht 17-Jan-06
Psalm 19 Exegesis 6.1 Page 21 of 21

Mays, James Luther. The Lord Reigns: A Theological Handbook of the Psalms.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994.

McCann, Jr., J. Clinton. “The Book of Psalms: Introduction, Commentary, and


Reflections,” in Leander Keck, Sr. Editor. The New Interpreters Bible. Nashville:
Abingdon Press, 1996.

Schaefer, O.S.B., Konrad. Psalms. Berit Olam, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2001.

Sedgwick, Colin J. Expository Times, 102 (May 1991), 239-40.

Tanner, Kathryn. Jesus, Humanity and the Trinity: A Brief Systematic Theology.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001.

Terrien, Samuel. The Psalms: Strophic Structure & Theological Commentary. Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003.

TuTu, Desmond. God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Future. New York:
Doubleday, 2004.

Wagner, Ross. “From the Heavens and the Heart: The Dynamics of Psalm 19 as Prayer,”
Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 61 No, 21 (April 1999), 245-261.

Williams, Rowen. “Augustine and the Psalms,” Interpretation, Vol. 28 No. 1 (January
2004), 17-27.

Wright, Rebecca Abts ed.. The Old Testament. 3rd ed., Education for Ministry (EFM),
Year One; Sewanee, TN: The University of the South, 1999.

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