Creation's Proclamation

Psalm 19 (NRSV) 1 The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them, and nothing is hid from its heat. 7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can detect one’s own errors? Clear me from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Picture On matters of race and sex, James Cone (father of black liberation theology) says that the dominant, western, male theological tradition, represented by thinkers like Karl Barth, is much too limiting to speak about God and serves as a grossly inadequate resource for discerning who God is or what God is doing in the world. While Barth has some worthwhile insights, I believe Cone’s critique should be endorsed and extended to matters of creation. Barth has a commentary on Psalm 19, taking issue with what is called “natural theology.” Natural theology makes philosophical arguments about God independent of divine revelation, from the natural or purely intellectual order of the world. Saint Thomas Aquinas, for example, argues that the existence of God can be deduced from self-evident principles, my favorite being his section on motion and God as the primary mover. When examining Psalm 19, Barth interprets the second stanza as a supersession of the first stanza in the poem, meaning that Torah, or revelatory knowledge, is the only legitimate and reliable way to know God. Barth’s resolute “Nein!” (No!) to natural knowledge is an error I see echoed throughout protestant thought, which has championed an apathy towards creation, something we cannot afford in the Anthropocene. Benjamin D. Sommer at Harvard Divinity School has argued for a reading of Psalm 19 supported by medieval Jewish thinkers, like Nahmanides and Bahya ben Asher, as well as by the Catholic, particularly Toman tradition, which argues that revelation and grace deepen what reason knows. I find Sommer’s observations a more faithful and honest reading of the text, compelling me to, with equal force, push back against Barth’s commentary. If we resist the urge to clip Scripture’s wings, it always has a way of confronting us sharply and unexpectedly, nuancing and enlarging our perspective on the divine. ​ If we resist the urge to clip Scripture’s wings, it always has a way of confronting us sharply and unexpectedly, nuancing and enlarging our perspective on the divine. ​ Psalm 19 demonstrates a radical integrity within the created world. It begins with the declaration that creation has something to say, the heavens tell the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims Her handiwork. This speech is no mere drizzle, but a mighty pour (v. 2). Yet, as soon as this earthly intelligence is affirmed, the Psalmist says: “their voice is not heard, yet their voice goes out through all the Earth, and their words to the end of the world” (v. 4). While literal verbal phrases may not be uttered, the communicative power of the Earth has no limits and cannot be contained. Whether we acknowledge it or not, the voice goes out. Our dismissal of the message-bearing value of creation is a tragedy. The point is underscored in the Book of Job: “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you” (Job 12:7-8). There is a dialogical potential inherent in creation if we approach it with wonder and curiosity, awe and amazement. God is described in the psalm as preparing a tent for the sun, bestowing it with the dignity of a bridegroom. In the words of Colin Guton, “God remains in close relations of interaction with the creation, but in such a way that he makes it free to be itself.” We do not treasure creation in this divine way nor give it such freedom but are quick to use, abuse, and discard it as though it existed for our consumption. ​ Picture The second stanza of Psalm 19 moves to talk about the law of Yahweh. We hear the beautiful lines that the ordinances of the Lord are more desirable than gold, “sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb” (v. 10). God not only makes Herself known through the glory proclaimed by the Earth but through the specific liberating and self-disclosing acts in history. In the first stanza, the Hebrew word El is used, which means “god.” However, in the second stanza, Yahweh, God’s personal name is used. The psalm moves from distance to relationship, from the universal to the particular, from God as object to God as subject. Sommer writes, “from observing nature, then, one knows about God. From observing the terms of God’s covenant, one begins not just to know about God but to know God.” Knowledge that comes from nature is valid and to be respected, but it is also limited. The Torah supplements this knowledge, without superseding it. It is a double movement of us turning to creation and God turning to humanity, in which we are called to ethical action. This second stanza adds something new and valuable to the first, what is called “intensification” in poetry. The world ought to be viewed as sacramental, with a God who acts in history as the loving and liberative power known through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus. The life of faith becomes complete when these two forms of knowing are held together. God is both “rock” and “redeemer” (v. 14). ​ Psalm 19 reminds us that creation is worthy of our attention and study. It is a gift not only in what it provides, but in what it communicates and teaches. The Psalmist closes with the petition to God, “But who can detect one’s own errors? Clear me from hidden faults” (v. 12). Our hidden faults are visible in our violence towards the Earth. Let the meditations of our hearts be ones that mimic the divine respect, pleasure, and delight in the creation. ​ Our hidden faults are visible in our violence towards the Earth. Let the meditations of our hearts be ones that mimic the divine respect, pleasure, and delight in the creation. ​ Resources Articles: Sommer, B. (2015). Nature, Revelation, and Grace in Psalm 19: Towards a Theological Reading of Scripture. Harvard Theological Review, 108(3), 376-401.