TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Psalms 19:1–6. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
From the things that are seen every day by all the world the psalmist, in these verses, leads us to the consideration of the invisible things of God, whose being appears incontestably evident and whose glory shines transcendently bright in the visible heavens, the structure and beauty of them, and the order and influence of the heavenly bodies. This instance of the divine power serves not only to show the folly of atheists, who see there is a heaven and yet say, "There is no God," who see the effect and yet say, "There is no cause," but to show the folly of idolaters also, and the vanity of their imagination, who, though the heavens declare the glory of God, yet gave that glory to the lights of heaven which those very lights directed them to give to God only, the Father of lights. Now observe here,
1.What that is which the creatures notify to us. They are in many ways useful and serviceable to us, but in nothing so much as in this, that they declare the glory of God, by showing his handy-works, Psa 19:1. They plainly speak themselves to be God's handy-works; for they could not exist from eternity; all succession and motion must have had a beginning; they could not make themselves, that is a contradiction; they could not be produced by a casual hit of atoms, that is an absurdity, fit rather to be bantered than reasoned with: therefore they must have a Creator, who can be no other than an eternal mind, infinitely wise, powerful, and good. Thus it appears they are God's works, the works of his fingers (Psa 8:3), and therefore they declare his glory. From the excellency of the work we may easily infer the infinite perfection of its great author. From the brightness of the heavens we may collect that the Creator is light; their vastness of extent bespeaks his immensity;, their height his transcendency and sovereignty, their influence upon this earth his dominion, and providence, and universal beneficence: and all declare his almighty power, by which they were at first made, and continue to this day according to the ordinances that were then settled.
II.What are some of those things which notify this?
1.The heavens and the firmament - the vast expanse of air and ether, and the spheres of the planets and fixed stars. Man has this advantage above the beasts, in the structure of his body, that whereas they are made to look downwards, as their spirits must go, he is made erect, to look upwards, because upwards his spirit must shortly go and his thoughts should now rise.
2.The constant and regular succession of day and night (Psa 19:2): Day unto day, and night unto night, speak the glory of that God who first divided between the light and the darkness, and has, from the beginning to this day, preserved that established order without variation, according to God's covenant with Noah (Gen 8:22), that, while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease, to which covenant of providence the covenant of grace is compared for its stability, Jer 33:20; Jer 31:35. The counterchanging of day and night, in so exact a method, is a great instance of the power of God, and calls us to observe that, as in the kingdom of nature, so in that of providence, he forms the light and creates the darkness (Isa 45:7), and sets the one over-against the other. It is likewise an instance of his goodness to man; for he makes the out-goings of the morning and evening to rejoice, Psa 65:8. He not only glorifies himself, but gratifies us, by this constant revolution; for as the light of the morning befriends the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night; every day and every night speak the goodness of God, and, when they have finished their testimony, leave it to the next day, to the next night, to stay the same.
3.The light and influence of the sun do, in a special manner, declare the glory of God; for of all the heavenly bodies that is the most conspicuous in itself and most useful to this lower world, which would be all dungeon, and all desert, without it. It is not an improbable conjecture that David penned this psalm when he had the rising sun in view, and from the brightness of it took occasion to declare the glory of God. Concerning the sun observe here,
(1.)The place appointed him. In the heavens God has set a tabernacle for the sun. The heavenly bodies are called hosts of heaven, and therefore are fitly said to dwell in tents, as soldiers in their encampments. The sun is said to have a tabernacle set him, no only because he is in continual motion and never has a fixed residence, but because the mansion he has will, at the end of time, be taken down like a tent, when the heavens shall be rolled together like a scroll and the sun shall be turned to darkness.
(2.)The course assigned him. That glorious creature was not made to be idle, but his going forth (at least as it appears to our eye) is from one point of the heavens, and his circuit thence to the opposite point, and thence (to complete his diurnal revolution) to the same point again; and this with such steadiness and constancy that we can certainly foretel the hour and the minute at which the sun will rise at such a place, any day to come.
(3.)The brightness wherein he appears. He is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, richly dressed and adorned, as fine as hands can make him, looking pleasantly himself and making all about him pleasant; for the friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly to hear the bridegroom's voice, Joh 3:29.
(4.)The cheerfulness wherewith he makes this tour. Though it seems a vast round which he has to walk, and he has not a moment's rest, yet in obedience to the law of this creation, and for the service of man, he not only does it, but does it with a great deal of pleasure and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. With such satisfaction did Christ, the Sun of righteousness, finish the work that was given him to do.
(5.)His universal influence on this earth: There is nothing hidden from the heart thereof, no, not metals in the bowels of the earth, which the sun has an influence upon.
III.To whom this declaration is made of the glory of God.
It is made to all parts of the world (Psa 19:3, Psa 19:4): There is no speech nor language (no nation, for the nations were divided after their tongues, Gen 10:31, Gen 10:32) where their voice is not heard. Their line has gone through all the earth (the equinoctial line, suppose) and with it their words to the end of the world, proclaiming the eternal power of God of nature, Psa 19:4. The apostle uses this as a reason why the Jews should not be angry with him and others for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, because God had already made himself known to the Gentile world by the works of creation, and left not himself without witness among them (Rom 10:18), so that they were without excuse if they were idolaters, Rom 1:20, Rom 1:21. And those were without blame, who, by preaching the gospel to them, endeavoured to turn them from their idolatry. If God used these means to prevent their apostasy, and they proved ineffectual, the apostles did well to use other means to recover them from it. They have no speech or language (so some read it) and yet their voice is heard. All people may hear these natural immortal preachers speak to them in their own tongue the wonderful works of God.
In singing these verses we must give God the glory of all the comfort and benefit we have by the lights of the heaven, still looking above and beyond them to the Sun of righteousness.
Historical interpretation
Four Centuries of Reception
9 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. [Psalms 19:4] But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me. But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.
Behold the Lord’s greatness. “The sound of his teaching has gone out into every land.” Our Lord Jesus has been spread out to the whole world, because he is God’s power.… The power of the Lord and Savior is with those who are in Britain, separated from our world, and with those who are in Mauretania and with everyone under the sun who has believed in his name. Behold the Savior’s greatness. It extends to all the world.
The voices of visible creation … are equally clear to everyone, both Greeks and barbarians, giving everyone the one message, that they were made by someone and do not exist of themselves.
Yet, how can such declaring and showing forth be other than words, and how is it that no voice addresses itself to the ear? Is the prophet contradicting himself, or is he stating an impossibility, when he speaks of words without sound, and declaration without language and announcement without voice? Or, is there not rather the very perfection of truth in his teaching, which tells us, in the words that I have quoted, that the declaration of the heavens and the word shouted forth by the day, is no articulate voice or language of the lips but is a revelation of the power of God to those who are capable of hearing it, even though no voice is heard?… The very heavens, he says in displaying the wisdom of him who made them, all but shout aloud with a voice, and, though without voice, proclaim the wisdom of their Creator. For we can hear as it were words teaching us: “O mortals, when you gaze on us and behold our beauty and magnitude and this ceaseless revolution, with its well-ordered and harmonious motion, working in the same direction and in the same manner, turn your thoughts to him who presides over our system, and, by aid of the beauty that you see, imagine to yourselves the beauty of the invisible Archetype. For in us there is nothing without its Lord, nothing that moves of its own proper motion, but all that appears or that is conceivable in respect to us depends on a Power who is inscrutable and sublime.” This is not given in articulate speech but by the things which are seen, and it instills into our minds the knowledge of divine power more than if speech proclaimed it with a voice.
The Scythian, barbarian, Indian, Egyptian and everyone who walks on the earth shall hear this voice; for not by means of the ears but through the sight, it reaches our understanding. And of the things that are seen, there is one uniform perception; and there is no difference, as is the case with respect to languages. On this volume the unlearned, as well as the wise, shall be alike able to look; the poor person as well as the rich person; and wherever anyone may chance to come, there looking upward toward the heavens, he will receive a sufficient lesson from the view of them.
The providence of God is clearer than the sun and its rays. On every occasion and in every place you will see clear and abundant evidence of this providence—in the desert, on cultivated and uncultivated land, on land and sea, wherever you go. This evidence is old and new. Voices are raised from every side that sound more clearly than the voices of our reason, and they tell of God’s care to one who wishes to hear.… Our tongue is known only to those who share our language, not to those of other tongues; but the voice of creation is audible to all peoples who dwell in the inhabited world. Those of good judgment regard as sufficient God’s proclamation, without the demonstration of deeds. It reveals not only his providence but also his abundant love for us; for he does not merely take thought for us but is also our lover, and he loves us boundlessly with an inconceivable love. It is a love that knows no emotion, but it is most warm and intense, noble, insoluble, unquenchable.
"Their sound is gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world" [Psalm 19:4].
The sun’s maker could only be seen by the sun’s light, because he “set his tabernacle in the sun.” He who was before the sun that he made, before the day star and all stars, before all angels, the true Creator (for all things were made by him, and without him was nothing made), that he might be seen by the eyes of flesh that see the sun, set his own tabernacle in the sun—showed his flesh in manifestation by this light.
The Lord placed his own tabernacle in the sun. Not in that sun that, by arranging the days, directs the measure of the hours according to the seasons, but “the sun of righteousness,” which, having been brought forth from the virginal womb in the splendor of eternal life has shone the true light to minds, and he has stepped forth from the Virgin just like the bridegroom from the bridal chamber. He rejoiced as a strong man running his course, and in every way he walked blameless on the way in the law of the Lord, having stepped forth from the highest heaven. Not from the seed of people, but from the word of the Father, who is in the highest of the heavens, his course is also the highest, not from the rising in the east, or as from the highest to the lowest points, but from highest to the highest and from excellence to excellence, and from the highest to the highest there will not be one who may hide himself from his heat.
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Summary
Psalm 19:4 profoundly expands upon the declaration of God's glory through creation, asserting that the silent yet undeniably powerful testimony of the heavens and their celestial inhabitants permeates every corner of the earth. This verse emphasizes the universal scope and inescapable clarity of nature's witness, culminating in the precise, divinely ordained course of the sun, which stands as a majestic and consistent testament to God's meticulous design, sovereign control, and unfailing order within the cosmos.
CONTEXT
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This word (קַו, H6957) primarily means a measuring line, cord, or plumb line, often used in construction or demarcation. However, in poetic contexts, particularly when paralleled with "words" or "voice," it metaphorically conveys a sound, voice, or message that extends far and wide, like a line stretching across a vast distance. Many modern translations render it as "voice" or "sound," capturing the essence of an audible, far-reaching declaration. The KJV's "line" effectively conveys the sense of an unbroken, continuous broadcast of creation's testimony across the entire globe.
This term (מִלָּה, H4405) refers to a word or, collectively, a discourse. In Psalm 19:4, when paired with "line," it signifies the articulate, though non-verbal, message conveyed by the heavens. It represents the profound truth and wisdom communicated through the order, beauty, and vastness of the cosmos. These are not human words, but rather the eloquent and undeniable declaration of God's attributes, universally understood by their sheer presence and consistent operation.
The Hebrew word (אֹהֶל, H168) literally translates to "tent" or "dwelling." In this poetic context, it is used metaphorically to describe the sun's divinely appointed place or fixed course in the heavens. This imagery implies a divinely established and ordered pathway, suggesting that the sun, despite its immense power, is not an autonomous entity but operates precisely within the boundaries and structure set by its Creator. This highlights God's absolute sovereignty and meticulous design, transforming the sun from a potentially chaotic force into a disciplined and predictable servant within the cosmic order.
Verse Breakdown
"Their line is gone out through all the earth"
This clause refers to the heavens and firmament (from Psalm 19:1-3) as the "speakers." The "line" (Hebrew qaw) is understood by many scholars as a sound or voice, signifying that the silent, non-verbal testimony of creation has been broadcast universally. It implies an unbroken, continuous message that has permeated every habitable region of the globe, making God's existence and power evident to all humanity.
"and their words to the end of the world"
This phrase serves as a poetic parallel to the preceding clause, reinforcing the idea of the universal reach of creation's message. The "words" here are not articulate speech in a human language but the eloquent, undeniable declaration of God's attributes through the sheer existence, order, and majesty of the cosmos. This testimony extends "to the end of the world," signifying its global and inescapable presence, leaving no place untouched by its witness.
"In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun"
The "them" refers back to the heavens, the vast expanse of the sky. Within this cosmic arena, God has "set a tabernacle" (Hebrew 'ohel) for the sun. This is a powerful metaphor: the sun, often deified in pagan cultures, is here depicted as a creature with a divinely appointed dwelling or, more accurately, a fixed and orderly course. This imagery emphasizes God's absolute sovereignty over the most powerful celestial body, demonstrating His meticulous design and control, ensuring its consistent and predictable journey across the sky.
Literary Devices
Psalm 19:4 masterfully employs several literary devices to amplify its message. Personification is central, as the heavens and the sun are portrayed as active agents, speaking and declaring God's glory. The "line" and "words" are attributed to the celestial bodies, giving voice to the otherwise silent creation. Parallelism is evident in the pairing of "Their line is gone out through all the earth" and "and their words to the end of the world," where the second phrase reiterates and intensifies the first, emphasizing the universal reach of creation's testimony. The phrase "to the end of the world" also contains an element of Hyperbole, underscoring the absolute and comprehensive nature of this global witness. Furthermore, the use of "tabernacle" for the sun's course is a powerful Metaphor, transforming a familiar earthly dwelling into a cosmic pathway, highlighting God's meticulous design and sovereign control over the celestial bodies, thereby subverting any notion of the sun as an independent deity.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Psalm 19:4 serves as a cornerstone for understanding the theological concept of general revelation, the truth that God has revealed Himself to all humanity through the natural world. This verse unequivocally states that the silent yet eloquent testimony of the heavens, culminating in the sun's divinely ordained course, reaches every corner of the earth. This universal witness establishes a foundational knowledge of God's existence, power, and wisdom, leaving humanity without excuse for denying Him. It underscores God's meticulous design and absolute sovereignty, demonstrating that even the most powerful celestial bodies operate under His precise command, reflecting His glory and order. The consistent, predictable cycles of nature, epitomized by the sun's daily journey, are not random occurrences but deliberate acts of a wise and powerful Creator who actively sustains His creation.
Reflection and Application
Psalm 19:4 serves as a profound invitation for humanity to re-engage with the natural world as a primary source of divine revelation. In an age saturated with information and distractions, this verse urges us to cultivate a posture of awe and attentiveness, allowing the grandeur of the cosmos, particularly the sun's unwavering journey, to speak to our souls. It reminds us that God is not a distant, abstract concept but an active, meticulous Creator whose power, wisdom, and glory are perpetually on display. This understanding should lead us to a deeper sense of worship and humility, recognizing our place within His vast and ordered universe. Moreover, the verse highlights our accountability: if God's existence is so universally declared, how then do we respond? Do we acknowledge Him, or do we suppress this truth? It challenges us to allow the silent sermon of creation to transform our perspective, fostering a heart of gratitude and reverence for the God who orchestrates all things.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "their line is gone out through all the earth" mean?
The phrase "their line" (Hebrew qaw) is interpreted in two primary ways. Historically, it was understood as a measuring line or cord, symbolizing the vast extent to which the message of creation has been stretched across the globe, like a boundary encompassing the entire earth. More commonly in modern scholarship, especially given the parallelism with "their words," it is understood as a sound, voice, or musical note. In this sense, the heavens are perpetually broadcasting a silent, non-verbal message of God's glory that resonates throughout the entire world, reaching every human being. It signifies the universal and inescapable nature of creation's testimony to its Creator.
Why does the psalmist say God "set a tabernacle for the sun"?
The word "tabernacle" (Hebrew 'ohel) literally means "tent" or "dwelling." In this context, it is a powerful metaphor. It does not imply that the sun literally lives in a tent, but rather that God has appointed a specific, ordered, and predictable course or "dwelling place" in the heavens for the sun. This imagery emphasizes God's absolute sovereignty over the sun, which was often deified in ancient cultures. By depicting the sun as operating within a divinely established "tabernacle," the psalmist underscores that the sun is a created entity, a servant of God, moving precisely within the boundaries and pathways set by its Creator. This highlights God's meticulous design, cosmic order, and providential control, as further elaborated in Psalm 19:5-6.
How does Psalm 19:4 relate to people who have never heard the specific message of the Gospel?
Psalm 19:4 is a key verse for the doctrine of general revelation, which states that God has revealed His existence and attributes to all people through the natural world. While creation does not reveal the specific plan of salvation through Christ, it does make God's power, wisdom, and divine nature evident enough to render humanity accountable. As Romans 1:20 explains, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." This means that all people, regardless of their access to special revelation (the Bible or the Gospel), have enough evidence from creation to know that a powerful Creator exists and to be held responsible for their response to that knowledge. It underscores the universal call to acknowledge God, even if a full understanding of His redemptive plan requires further revelation.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Psalm 19:4 speaks of the universal, silent testimony of creation, yet its profoundest fulfillment and ultimate meaning are found in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. If the physical heavens declare God's glory through their pervasive "line" and "words," then Christ, as the pre-existent Word of God, is the complete and perfect embodiment of divine revelation. Colossians 1:16 affirms that "by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible," meaning the very cosmos that declares God's glory was brought into existence through Him. Furthermore, just as God set a "tabernacle" for the physical sun, God Himself "tabernacled" among humanity in the person of Jesus (John 1:14), making His glory visible, tangible, and accessible in a way creation never could. Jesus is the true Light of the world, far surpassing the sun's physical illumination. He is the "radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being" (Hebrews 1:3), the ultimate "sun of righteousness" (Malachi 4:2) who brings healing and salvation, fulfilling the cosmic declaration by revealing the very heart of the Creator.