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To the music director, a psalm of David. The heavens make known the glory of God, and the expanse announces the work of his hands. Day to day they gush forth speech, and night to night they declare knowledge. There is no speech and there are no words — their voice is not heard. [Yet] in all the earth their line has been published, and their words to the end of the world. In them he set a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom going out from [his] nuptial chamber; as a strong man who rejoices to run [his] course. His place of departure is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit is from one end of them to the other, and there is nothing hidden from his heat. (Psalm 19:1-6, Heb. 1-7, my translation)
The Hebrew word מְֽסַפְּרִים (mᵉsap-PᵉRĒM) which I have translated "make known" is in various forms often used of counting items, for example, of amounts of grain (Genesis 41:49). Grammatically, it is a continuous action: the heavens never cease to make known his glory. It is the same word used in Psalm 96:3 and also 1 Chronicles 16:
Sing to the Lᴏʀᴅ... tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare (סַפְּרוּ, sap-PᵉRŪ) his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! (Psalm 96:3, ESV)
Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare (סַפְּרוּ) his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place." (1 Chronicles 16:23-27, ESV)
Another fruitful cross-reference is Exodus 9:16. Here, God explains why he raised Pharoah up to his position of power:
But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed (סַפֵּר, sap-PĒR) in all the earth. (Exodus 9:16, ESV)
What is the "glory" (כְּבוֹד, kᵉvōd) of God? HALOT describes it as "etymologically [the] power, authority and honour of God", while noting that "it is often connected with manifestions of light". In its most concrete sense, the word refers to a "heaviness" or "burden", and in its verb form means to weigh heavily upon something. A man who carries an eighty-pound load on his back feels the force of the weight continuously, and cannot help but be aware of it and affected by it. Likewise, when we encounter God's glory, we cannot help but be affected by it, and overcome with a sense of awe at God's power and the wonder and beauty of what he has done.
Likewise, the "expanse", or sky, "announces" the work of God's hands. מַעֲשֵׂה (ma-ʿĂŚĒ) can also be translated as "his craftmanship", referring to those things which he makes by his own personal work. God is the master craftsman, who delights in the making of things, and in the accomplishments of his own skillful labor. The word for "announce" (מַגִּיד, mag-GĒD), in its most basic meaning, is "to present something prominently or meaningfully before someone: to place something in front of someone, confront someone with something" (HALOT). It is walking boldly into your managers office, and dropping the report in the middle of the desk while he is watching. He might choose not to read it, but he cannot say that he did not know about it. So it is with the heavens: if you don't see God's awesome power and craftmanship displayed in the sky above, it is only because of your willful ignorance.
Day to day they gush forth speech, and night to night they declare knowledge.
The word יַבִּיעַ (yab-BỊ-ʿa) is translated "uttereth" in the KJV and "pours out" in the ESV, but more literally means "to gush forth". The word picture is that of a strong, fast flowing stream.[1] This message of the heavens, concerning God's glory, does not come as an imperceptible whisper, but in a powerful, overwhelming oration. This "knowledge" (דָּֽעַת, dā-ʿat) concerning the Creator is made known both day and night.
There is no speech and there are no words — their voice is not heard. [Yet] in all the earth their line has been published, and their words to the end of the world.
Verse 3 (Heb. verse 4) when translated literally seems to contradict the previous verses. So, a traditional approach (for example, KJV) has been to insert the word "where" into the translation, so as to reverse the meaning. Another approach (for example, in the ESV) is to translate this verse literally, but to take it as a contrast with the next verse. In other words, these verses are affirming that although the heavens do not have a audible voice, or use actual words, yet their message about God's glory is published far and wide.
When the text states "their line (קַוָּם, qaw-wōm) has been published" I take "line" here to be referring to a line of writing or news.[2] Their words, though inaudible, are heard everywhere, even in the most remote places of the world, so long as there are people there who can look upward, and see God's glory and craftmanship revealed in the heavens.
The heavens, which have no lips, and can use no real words, are loudly declaring God's glory every day and night of the year. How much more should we, who can speak, be responsible to praise the Creator with every opportunity that we are given? I would challenge you to start by looking around and enjoying the splendor, the beauty, and the awesomeness of God's creation, and using that as an opportunity and excuse to tell your friends, family, and neighbors about it and to give God the credit for the amazing things which he has made and has done.
In them he set a tent for the sun, which is as a bridegroom going out from [his] nuptial chamber; as a strong man who rejoices to run [his] course. His place of departure is from the end of the heavens, and his circuit is from one end of them to the other, and there is nothing hidden from his heat.
At night we see the sparkling stars and the gentle Moon. But during the day, we have the Sun, in all its bright, burning glory! The book of Genesis calls it the "greater light" which dominates the daytime. Modern astronomers classify it as another star, yet one that happens to be so close that we are constantly bombarded by its massive energy, and the life of our entire planet is dependent on it. As NASA puts it, "Every 1.5 millionths of a second, the Sun releases more energy than all humans consume in an entire year. Without the Sun there would be no light, no warmth, and no life"[3]
The strong, brilliant energy is described here metaphorical to be like that of the newly married man, who radiates his happiness as he comes out of the bridal chamber. And also it is a vigorous energy, like a runner in the peak of physical condition, eager to run his race. No part of the earth is unaffected as the massive furnace of the sky passes overhead.
I would like to note here that modern technology has given us new tools to observe the Sun, so that our wonder at what God has made can be greatly increased. For the common person, it is possible to get an inexpensive pair of binoculars with built-in solar filters, or a filter for fitting over a telescope, which allows a person to look directly at the solar disk and even to see the sunspots and granulation. Fancier technology at solar observatories gives us access through the Internet to amazing images like those released by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory.[4]
[1] HALOT gives "to allow to gush forth" for this Hiphel instance of נבע. In the Qal form, the word refers to the gushing of a stream. In English, "to gush" means "to flow in a strong, fast stream" (Oxford Paperback 3rd Ed.)
[2] Regarding קַוָּ֗ם: noun masc, suffix 3pm from קׇו, root קוה (BD). HALOT indicates the primary meaning of this word is a string for stretching or measuring, but a variety of possible interpretations are given for the meaning in this particular verse, including the "measure", "law", "plumb line", or "sound" of the heavens, as well as the the conjectural reading קוֹלׇם. It is appealing to me to suppose that the usage has a similar sense to the "line upon line" in Isaiah 28:10 and 13, where "line" is the similar word קַל.
[3] https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/sun-heat/en/, accessed October 16 2022.
[4] See https://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html and also https://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/.