Psalm 19 (part 3) — Right Relationship with Nature and God

As you wonder at the order of creation, the grace of providence and the sacred prescriptions of the Law, sing Psalm 19

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

Psalm 19 reveals the truth about what "everybody knows" in ancient and modern times. First  it sets the record straight for the pagans living around them at the time by pointing out that the sun, moon, and stars are not divine beings.

Psalm 19 has some enlightenment for us today too. It points out that the Law is a source of delight and love, rather than the idea of punishment or restriction that our narrow modern understanding of the word "law" might suggest.

A star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud,
ESA/Hubble (click the image to see it larger)

19:1. The Heavens Tell the Glory of God

A Rebuke to Idolators. Athanasius: Creation ... points to God as its Maker and Artificer, who reigns over creation and over all things, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; whom would-be philosophers turn from to worship and deify the creation that proceeded from him, which yet itself worships and confesses the Lord whom they deny on its account. For if people are awestruck at the parts of creation and think that they are gods, they might well be rebuked by the mutual dependence of those parts; which moreover makes known and witnesses to the Father of the Word, who is the Lord and Maker of these parts also, by the unbroken law of their obedience to him ... Against the Heathen

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

Demythologizing the Cosmos

What we usually recognize as inanimate creation is here given life and voice as the heavens and skies "declare," "proclaim," and "pour forth speech in praise of the creator. ... [The verbs and participles] emphasize the continuously ongoing nature of the proclamation made by the heavens ... This is, then, a continual outcry of nature to God from the moment of creation until now and on into the future.<br><br>In a more subtle fashion the heavens in Israelite Scripture proclaim that Yahweh is the only true God. In the pagan world of the ancient Near East the heavenly bodies — sun, moon, stars — were divine beings who exercised power over their own realms and over humans. In Psalm 19, however, the sun appears not as an independent deity but as one of the "works of [God's] hands" who carry out his bidding ... By removing the polytheistic element of creation the biblical poets emphasize the sovereignty of Yahweh over the created universe. In this way the heavens with all their features testify to the glory and creative might of the one who made them.

Psalms vol. 1 (NIV Application Commentary)

================

Torah as Guidance and Blessing

As Psalm 19 suggests, Israel proclaimed the Torah to be no onoerous burden but instead the source of wisdom (19:7), joy (19:8b), and light (19:8d). Torah is both precious (19:10a) and pleasurable (19:10c). ...

It is this broader understanding of Torah that makes the traditional translation "law" such an inadequate interpretaion of this complex concept. We tend to equate Torah and law on a one-to-one basis that leads us frequently to misunderstand what Israel experienced through her long acquaintance with Torah. ...

The purpose of Torah is to "warn" the faithful servant of Yahweh (19:11a) to remain on the path that leads to "reward" (19:11b). By its buidance, one is empowered to understand one's errors and to avoid "hidden faults" or "willful sin" (19?12-13a). Rather than restriction, Torah offers freedom from the rule of sin and consequently escape from divine judgment (19:13b-c).

The appropriate response to Torah, according to the psalmists, is "delight" (1:2; 119-70, 77, 92, 174) and "love" (119:97, 113, 163), not some grim-lipped adherence. It is through Torah that life is preserved (119:93, 149, 165). It is little surprise that the later postbiblical celebration of the end of the yearly Torah reading cycle and the beginning of the next was called Simhat Torah ("Joy of the Torah"), emphasizing the joy that the Jewish community experiences in having the Torah to guide their lives before God. ...

Rather than a heavy burden, rightly understood, the law was the guide to continued life and restoration of communion with the holy God.

Psalms vol. 1 (NIV Application Commentary)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here.