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Psalms

About this book
Psalm 19

1 For the music director, a psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God;⁠ the sky displays his handiwork. 2 Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness. 3 There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard. 4 Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon. In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun.⁠ 5 Like a bridegroom it emerges from its chamber; like a strong man it enjoys running its course. 6 It emerges from the distant horizon, and goes from one end of the sky to the other;⁠ nothing can escape its heat.⁠ 7 The law of the Lord is perfect and preserves one’s life. The rules set down by the Lord are reliable and impart wisdom to the inexperienced.⁠ 8 The Lord’s precepts are fair and make one joyful. The Lord’s commands are pure and give insight for life. 9 The commands to fear the Lord are right and endure forever. The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy and absolutely just. 10 They are of greater value than gold, than even a great amount of pure gold; they bring greater delight than honey, than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb. 11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there; those who obey them receive a rich reward. 12 Who can know all his errors? Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of.⁠ 13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins; do not allow such sins to control me. Then I will be blameless and innocent of blatant rebellion. 14 May my words and my thoughts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,⁠ my sheltering rock and my redeemer.

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 19:4 and Psalm 65:8

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Psalm 19 and Psalm 65 reflect an ancient cosmology where the sun moves through heavenly gates. Psalm 19 compares it to a bridegroom leaving a chamber, and Psalm 65 speaks of morning and evening passing through eastern and western gates.

Passages

Psalm 19:4

Hebrew Bible
1 For the music director, a psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork. 2 Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness. 3 There is no actual speech or word, nor is its voice literally heard. 4 Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon. In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 Like a bridegroom it emerges from its chamber; like a strong man it enjoys running its course.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Psalm 65:8

Hebrew Bible
7 You calmed the raging seas and their roaring waves, as well as the commotion made by the nations. 8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts; you cause those near the gates of the east and the west praise you.18 9 You visit the earth and give it rain; you make it rich and fertile. God’s streams are full of water; you provide grain for the people of the earth, for you have prepared the earth in this way.
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

References

"... Psalm 19:4-6 says the sun comes out of his pavilion (ḥuppāṯô) like a bridegroom. The ḥuppāṯô is where the bridegroom hides before he appears in his splendour for the wedding. The application of this figure to the sun implies that the sun is hidden from the earth prior to its rising. Peoples of the ancient Near East believed there are two openings in the sky—the Gates of the East, and the Gates of the West. Through the one the sun enters in the morning to pass out at the other in the evening, and thence pursue its way back by the dark path of the underworld. Psalm 65:8 refers to the Gates of the East, and the Gates of the West: “You make the going out (môṣā’ê ‘gates’) of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.” We now know that the seasons of the year result from the yearly revolution of the earth around the sun and the tilt of the earth’s axis relative to the plane of revolution. However, the writer of Genesis would have had no knowledge of this. He would therefore not have been able to make any conceptual connection between the seasons of the year and the movement of either the sun or the moon ..."
John R. Roberts, The Anachronism of Môʿăḏîm ‘Appointed Times’ in Gen 1.14 (Dallas: SIL International, 2016), 1–8.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Psalm 19:4 and Psalm 65:8

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