Psalm 19

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God. The expanse shows his handiwork.

² Day after day they pour out speech, and night after night they display knowledge.

³ There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.

⁴ Their voice has gone out through all the earth, their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun,

⁵ which is as a bridegroom coming out of his room, like a strong man rejoicing to run his course.

⁶ His going out is from the end of the heavens, his circuit to its ends. There is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷ The LORD’s law is perfect, restoring the soul. The LORD’s covenant is sure, making wise the simple.

⁸ The LORD’s precepts are right, rejoicing the heart. The LORD’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever. The LORD’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether.

¹⁰ They are more to be desired than gold, yes, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover your servant is warned by them. In keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors.

¹³ Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright. I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, LORD, my rock, and my redeemer.

Around Psalm 19

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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