Psalms 19:1

1. The heavens declare Publish, with the adsignification of praise; they celebrate, as the word often denotes.

Glory of God The moral excellence of his nature. Numbers 14:20-21; John 11:40.

Firmament The Hebrew רקיע , ( rakeea,) firmament, comes from רקע , ( raka,) to spread out. In the Old Testament the noun has the sense of expanse, and also of firmness, steadfastness. The latter idea comes to us through the Septuagint, στερεωμα , and the Vulgate firmamentum. It occurs once in New Testament, Colossians 2:5, and is rendered steadfastness. The idea of firmness is phenomenal, because the sky, as an arch, appears to support the celestial bodies. Job 37:18. The Hebrews had no accurate knowledge of celestial distances, and the firmament, with them, sometimes meant atmosphere, (Genesis 1:6-7,) and at others, as in the text, the region of the planets and stars. Genesis 1:14; Daniel 12:3. The Hebrew idea of rakeea embraces the notions of extension and regularity, and as Girdlestone says, ( Hebrew Synonymes, page 424,) “It is clear that the ideas of heaven presented to the Jew by the Bible are singularly in accordance with the views entertained by students of modern astronomy.”