HEBREW WORD STUDY – UTTERTH SPEECH – YABI’A ‘OMER  יביע אמר   Yod Beth Yod Ayin   Aleph Mem Resh

Psalms 19:1: “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.”

Consider this, the heavens declare the glory of God and day unto day it utters speech and at night shows knowledge. The word heavens is hashamiyim which means everything from the ground up.  This is not a reference to heaven, our eternal home, but to everything we see with our physical eyes from the ground up. The blue sky, the clouds, the stars at night, the sun and the moon. 

It utters speech.  The word utter is yavia’ which really has the idea of pouring forth or gushing forth. It is used to describe a spring of water that is bubbling over. I mean the heavens are really crying out to us.  The word declare is saphar means to talk, to relate something. It is to talk intelligently.  It is also used to express the idea of accurately counting.  Thus, this message is not some ambiguous expression, it is speaking to us very clearly and precisely about the glory of God. It is, in fact, the glory of God.  

What is glory? It is the word kabad which has the idea of heaviness.  Sometimes it is to express a heavy burden like a cloud filled with rain.  It also has the idea of oppressiveness, grievous, and burdensome. Is the glory of God a burden. If we trace this word kabad back to its Semitic root we find it is used for a dark cloud that is about to pour out rain. The cloud is weighted or burdened with rain.  I believe this to be the intent of what it means that the heavens declare the glory of God.

Rain in ancient times was the source of life.  Without it, you would die.  Rain was the most precious thing that nature gave.  Also, the sun gives life-giving energy to us and the moon controls the tides of the sea.  I believe the writer is saying that the heavens are declaring or bubbling over yavia’ with the abundance of life-giving sunshine, and rain. All these life-giving substances are from God, not some chemical reactions.  It is God who causes the chemical reactions.

The firmament shows his handiwork.  Actually, it is literally the work of His hands.  The firmament is what is from the ground down. Not only does everything contribute to life, but is also shows the work of His hand. The word hand yad is sometimes rendered as a monument or sign.  It is also rendered as physical strength.  All that is above and below are crying out to us a message of God, a clear message for all to hear. 

Vincent Van Gogh‘s famous painting of a starry night looks so surreal.  What makes this painting such a great work of art and why it captured the imagination of a world moving to a scientific dominance is that this picture of a starry night is what Van Gogh actually saw when he looked up at the sky.  It gave psychologists a chance to see what the mind of one entering madness sees.  Van Gogh was tormented by mental illness and it even affected his perception of the world around him. You see what made Van Gogh so great is that even in his madness, he was able to transform all his pain and torment into color and create something beautiful. Even viewed through a troubled mind, he was able to create something beautiful. 

I believe this Psalm was written by David while he was a king.  As a king, he endured tremendous stress and tension.  Yet he could look out his window at night or even in the daytime and saw something beyond his problems. Everything he looked at spoke to him just as it spoke to Van Gogh.  No matter how terrible things are nothing can limit the beauty of God.  Van Gogh saw the glory of God, he painted the weightiness of the starry night.  All we see is a dot of light but Van Gogh saw more, he saw its beauty, its color, and the more he fell into madness, the more beautiful the heavens became. 

You see as we fall into the cares and struggles of this life.  We experience the pain of heartbreak and disappointment, perhaps you’ve notice, I know I have, that when I consider the heavens and the might work of God, they become more awesome, more beautiful with each struggle and pain that I experience.  

Our daily stress and struggles, our disappointments and heartbreak are an opportunity to hear that speech.  The word speech is ‘amar which is simply intelligent words being spoken. Van Gogh heard the voice in the stars on a starry night.  I hear that voice in the firmament, that little squirrel who twitches his nose at me, that bird that dances and sings his song to me.  When my heart is breaking I go to the creation of God who speaks to me and in that voice, I feel the presence of God, the mighty power of God. and in the midst of all that wonder, I wonder, what am I fretting about.  I have the most beautiful God who is in love with me, what more could I ask.

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