Feast of St. Matthew, 21 September, Psalm 19 (1-5)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

You can find a commentary for the gospel for this feast here: https://biblestudystjosephsparis.wordpress.com/2021/09/21/feast-of-st-matthew-21-september-gospel-commentary-matthew-99-13/

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. ² Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. ³ They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. ⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. ⁵It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.

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.” Why? Because it combines beautiful poetry with profound theological reflection. The psalm progresses from the macrocosm of the universe to the microcosm of the individual human being. In today’s reading we only get the start of it which sings the praises of the created world and how it teaches us about God.

The first verses assert that the natural world, by its existence, confirms the existence of God and his glory. The poet focuses here on the sky, particularly the sun, and the phenomena of day and night. It should be noted here that most of Israel’s neighbors considered the sun a god and worshiped it. But here, we’re told that the sun is just another creation of the one God.

In the daytime, the sky is full of the sun’s light while at night the heavens are lit by the moon and the stars. Although we cannot literally hear them, the heavens speak to us. They both praise God and, since they are his creation, teach us about him. As we look up and think about this vast expanse, about which we know so little, we can be led to an awareness and knowledge of God.

In verses four to five the writer reflects on the paradox of inaudible communication. Although it makes no noise, the voice of the heavens penetrates throughout the universe. Sadly, some cannot hear it, but to those who can, the universe is full of the glory of God. Finally, the poet reflects on night, when the sun enters the tent that God has pitched for it and the morning, when the sun leaves the tent, eager to run his race of the day.