“Nature and revelation alike testify of God’s love“ (SC 9). This statement might well be the motto of
Ps. 19. The psalm is perhaps the best known and most popular of the nature psalms. It is a grateful meditation of God’s revelation of Himself in the world of nature and in His law. In the first six verses of the psalm David (see 4T 15) speaks of God’s glory as seen in His created works; in
vs. 7-10 he speaks of God’s glory as shown in the law; in
vs. 11-13 he discusses the bearing of these truths on character and conduct; and in
v. 14 he prays to be kept free from sin. One can almost see the author standing under the open sky at sunrise, praising Jehovah in the exalted strains of this psalm. The philosopher Kant may have been thinking of
Ps. 19 when he wrote:
“There are two things that fill my soul with holy reverence and ever-growing wonder— the spectacle of the starry sky that virtually annihilates us as physical beings, and the moral law which raises us to infinite dignity as intelligent agents.” Joseph Addison’s Creation Hymn,
“The Spacious Firmament,” is a free expanded paraphrase of the ideas of
Ps. 19. The first verses of the psalm are the theme of the chorus,
“The Heavens Are Telling,” of Haydn’s inspired oratorio
The Creation, at the close of Part One.