It seems that Psalm 19 may actually be two, perhaps three psalms combined into one. Small matter, the pieces woven together offer us a deep prayer, rich in meaning.
The Hebrew word torah runs throughout the psalm. Torah has a range of meanings: it can refer to the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures (aka Pentateuch) or, as in this psalm, it means simply God's instruction.
Verse 1: The psalmist begins by thinking about the sun in the heavens. He knows that the ancients worshipped the sun and the stars. Instead, he has in mind the One who created the sun, the moon, the stars, the day, the night and everything the heavens and the sky contain.
The psalmist says that the heavens tell and the sky proclaims. Tell and proclaim what? God's Glory: that God is supreme, that God reigns over all, that God is in charge. AND they tell and proclaim this without using a single human word. Their beauty and their energy tell and proclaim. They have a language all their own.
Verses 2,3,4: The day and night declare God's knowledge - what God knows about our relationship with him, what God wants us to know about love; God's love for his creation. And without using even one human word, this knowledge goes out to the very ends of the earth and beyond into the cosmos.
The day and the night declare to us God's knowledge. Isn't this marvelous: Nature knows God. And nature is eager to share what God knows and wants. We're all one family: us in relationship with nature and every created thing. We'd be taking such excellent care of our planet if we really believed this.
Verse 5: God's instruction is full of joyful energy - like a bridegroom the morning after his wedding night; like a sprinter at the start of race.
Verse 6: God's Torah - God's instruction radiates out like the sun's heat and energies which permeate everywhere and everything, calling creation to life.
Verses 7-9: The words opening these verses: law, decrees, precepts, commandments, ordinances - these are not the words of a strict teacher with the stick and demerit book, but the tender words of a nearest and dearest relative (echo verse 14). These are the words God uses to describe our personal relationship with him. And these aspects of relationship with God result in soul-revival, wisdom, heart-rejoicing, enlightenment, endurance, right-ness.
Verse 10: More to be desired than gold...fine gold...sweeter than honey. Who we are...what it means to be a really alive human person, is determined by our living in God's instruction which is more important than gold (making and having money) and the honeycomb (the best and the most food).
Verse 11: God's instruction isn't a list of "You better obey or else!" or "I'll reward the good boys and girls and punish the others." God's instruction isn't about having the right answer. God instruction is his personal relationship with each and all of us. It isn't static, but dynamic. Do you feel it? Some people boast to others, "I've had twelve (or sixteen) years of Catholic school." That's not for nothing, but it's not a guarantee of having a living relationship with God.
In keeping God's Torah, there is reward. It's not the guarantee of anything secular: money, health, good luck, promotion, notoriety, security or the faaaaabulous things people chase after. God's own relationship of love is the reward.
Verses 12,13: These verses are essentially a prayer asking God's forgiveness. The psalmist isn't thinking of a laundry list of sin-infractions but rather his acknowledging that he has not sufficiently lived in a humble dependence upon God. This is what God wants from us, not another slaughtered, blood-drained, burned up animal.
Verse 14: Finally, the psalm calls God "rock" and "redeemer." God is my strength. St. Benedict enjoins us to hurl our negativity against Christ the Rock. The word redeemer reveals how deeply personal is this relationship of love and dependency with God. The word "redeemer" suggests the relatives who have the obligation of ransoming the family member who has been captured, taken away and pressed into slavery. God is like that!
O God,
my redeemer,
relentlessly
looking for me,
finding me,
reclaiming me,
who has been
captured by fear,
negativity,
despair,
stress,
frustration,
sadness,
loneliness,
illness,
suffering.
O, my redeemer!
The Hebrew word torah runs throughout the psalm. Torah has a range of meanings: it can refer to the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures (aka Pentateuch) or, as in this psalm, it means simply God's instruction.
Verse 1: The psalmist begins by thinking about the sun in the heavens. He knows that the ancients worshipped the sun and the stars. Instead, he has in mind the One who created the sun, the moon, the stars, the day, the night and everything the heavens and the sky contain.
The psalmist says that the heavens tell and the sky proclaims. Tell and proclaim what? God's Glory: that God is supreme, that God reigns over all, that God is in charge. AND they tell and proclaim this without using a single human word. Their beauty and their energy tell and proclaim. They have a language all their own.
Verses 2,3,4: The day and night declare God's knowledge - what God knows about our relationship with him, what God wants us to know about love; God's love for his creation. And without using even one human word, this knowledge goes out to the very ends of the earth and beyond into the cosmos.
The day and the night declare to us God's knowledge. Isn't this marvelous: Nature knows God. And nature is eager to share what God knows and wants. We're all one family: us in relationship with nature and every created thing. We'd be taking such excellent care of our planet if we really believed this.
Verse 5: God's instruction is full of joyful energy - like a bridegroom the morning after his wedding night; like a sprinter at the start of race.
Verse 6: God's Torah - God's instruction radiates out like the sun's heat and energies which permeate everywhere and everything, calling creation to life.
Verses 7-9: The words opening these verses: law, decrees, precepts, commandments, ordinances - these are not the words of a strict teacher with the stick and demerit book, but the tender words of a nearest and dearest relative (echo verse 14). These are the words God uses to describe our personal relationship with him. And these aspects of relationship with God result in soul-revival, wisdom, heart-rejoicing, enlightenment, endurance, right-ness.
Verse 10: More to be desired than gold...fine gold...sweeter than honey. Who we are...what it means to be a really alive human person, is determined by our living in God's instruction which is more important than gold (making and having money) and the honeycomb (the best and the most food).
Verse 11: God's instruction isn't a list of "You better obey or else!" or "I'll reward the good boys and girls and punish the others." God's instruction isn't about having the right answer. God instruction is his personal relationship with each and all of us. It isn't static, but dynamic. Do you feel it? Some people boast to others, "I've had twelve (or sixteen) years of Catholic school." That's not for nothing, but it's not a guarantee of having a living relationship with God.
In keeping God's Torah, there is reward. It's not the guarantee of anything secular: money, health, good luck, promotion, notoriety, security or the faaaaabulous things people chase after. God's own relationship of love is the reward.
Verses 12,13: These verses are essentially a prayer asking God's forgiveness. The psalmist isn't thinking of a laundry list of sin-infractions but rather his acknowledging that he has not sufficiently lived in a humble dependence upon God. This is what God wants from us, not another slaughtered, blood-drained, burned up animal.
Verse 14: Finally, the psalm calls God "rock" and "redeemer." God is my strength. St. Benedict enjoins us to hurl our negativity against Christ the Rock. The word redeemer reveals how deeply personal is this relationship of love and dependency with God. The word "redeemer" suggests the relatives who have the obligation of ransoming the family member who has been captured, taken away and pressed into slavery. God is like that!
O God,
my redeemer,
relentlessly
looking for me,
finding me,
reclaiming me,
who has been
captured by fear,
negativity,
despair,
stress,
frustration,
sadness,
loneliness,
illness,
suffering.
O, my redeemer!
