The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psalms 19:1-14.-The book of nature (Psalms 19:1-6), and that of Revelation (Psalms 19:7-10), alike have as their theme the glory of God. From Revelation come the warning and reward, with which in view David prays to be cleansed from secret faults, and kept from presumptuous sins, and that this psalm of the mouth, and of the heart too, may be accepted by his Redeemer (Psalms 19:11-14). God's name is 'Eel (H410), the Creator in the first part (Psalms 19:1-6); Yahweh (H3068) in the second (Psalms 19:7-14). His glory as Creator is but the stepping-stone to introduce His still more lovely perfections in Revelation, and so to lead us to pray for acceptance with Him.
The heavens declare the glory of God. David might have drawn his illustration of God's glorious power from His works on earth; but he prefers the heavens, because these are unsullied by the sin which defiles this lower world; also, because the light that shines from them-the sun especially-enables us to see all the other visible works of God.
And the firmament showeth his handywork. The Hebrew for "firmament" х haaraaqiya` (H7549)] is only found once again in the Psalms, and points back to the history of creation. In Genesis 1:6 the word is first found, not meaning as the Septuagint translate it, and as the word "firmament" itself expresses, a solid vault, in accordance with the false philosophy of the Greeks of Alexandria in that day, but an 'expanse' [from raaqa` (H7554), to expand].