Psalms 19:5
in Psalms 19Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber, like a champion rejoicing to run his course,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, And rejoiceth as a strong man to run his course.
KJV
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.
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This verse in Psalms 19
Commentary
14 notes on this verse"Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber." A bridegroom comes forth sumptuously apparelled, his face beaming with a joy which he imparts to all around; such, but with a mighty emphasis, is the rising Sun. "And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race." As a champion girt for running cheerfully addresses himself to the race, so does the sun speed onward with matchless regularity and unwearying swiftness in his appointed orbit. It is but mere play to him; there are no signs of effort, flagging, or exhaustion.
This site's exposition
Like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber
on Psalms 19:5-6
The psalm gives the sun two pictures. It comes out like a bridegroom from his chamber and runs like a champion glad to be running, from one end of the heavens to the other. Nothing is left out of its warmth.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
"In the sun hath He set His tabernacle." Now that He might war against the powers of temporal error, the Lord, being about to send not peace but a sword on earth, in time, or in manifestation, set so to say His military dwelling, that is, the dispensation of His incarnation. "And He as a bridegroom coming forth out of His chamber" (ver. 5). And He, coming forth out of the Virgin's womb, where God was united to man's nature as a bridegroom to a bride. "Rejoiced as a giant to run His way." Rejoiced as One exceeding strong, and surpassing all other men in power incomparable, not to inhabit, but to run His way. For, "He stood not in the way of sinners."
But our very life came down to earth and bore our death, and killed death with the very abundance of his own life. And thundering, he called us to return to him into that secret place from which he came forth to us—coming first into the virginal womb, where the human creature, our mortal flesh, was joined to him that it might not be forever mortal—and came "as a bridegroom coming out his chamber, rejoicing as a strong man to run a race." For he did not delay but ran through the world, crying out by words, deeds, death, life, descent, ascension—crying aloud to us to return to him. And he departed from our sight that we might return to our hearts and find him there. For he left us, and behold, he is here. He could not be with us long, yet he did not leave us. He went back to the place that he had never left, for "the world was made by him." In this world he was, and into this world he came, to save sinners. To him my soul confesses, and he heals it, because it had sinned against him. O mortals, how long will you be so slow of heart? Even now after life itself has come down to you, will you not ascend and live?
He came in the flesh intending to cleanse the vices of the flesh. He came, clothed in healing human clay, to cure our interior eyes that our outer earthy vesture had blinded, so that, with soundness of vision restored, we who had before been darkness might become a shining light in the Lord and so that the Light might no longer shine in darkness but might be clearly envisaged by those perceiving it. For this purpose, he came forth as a bridegroom from his chamber and "has rejoiced as an athlete to run the course." Comely as a bridegroom, strong as a giant; amiable and terrible, severe and serene; beautiful to the good, stern to the evil—remaining in the bosom of his Father, he took possession of the womb of his mother. In this bridal chamber, that is, in the womb of the Virgin, he united human to divine nature. The Word was made flesh for us so that coming forth from his mother, he might dwell among us, and so that, going forth to his Father, he might prepare a dwelling place for us.
The only-begotten God … has joined and united the divine and human nature in the unity of his person in such a way that they cannot in any way be separated from him. For in the one person of the only-begotten God, who "like a …
The sun renders the day brighter, shedding its rays like flashing lights and day by day revealing its own beauty in full bloom: as soon as it appears at dawn, it awakes the whole human race to the discharge of their respective duties.… Do you see how [in the psalm] he revealed to us both the sun's beauty and its speed of movement? That is, in saying, "Its span extends from one corner of heaven right to the other corner of heaven," it indicated to us how in one moment of time it traverses the whole world and scatters its rays from end to end, making its great resources available. It not only supplies heat to the earth but also dries it up, and not only dries it up but enkindles it and supplies us with many different resources, so marvelous a body is it, quite beyond one's power to describe adequately. I mention this to you and sing the praises of this heavenly body so that you may not stop short there, dearly beloved, but proceed further and transfer your admiration to the Creator of the heavenly body. After all, the greater the sun is shown to be, so much the more marvelous is the revelation of the Creator.
7 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church2 voices
Concerning the motion of the sun he says two things: "From the highest heaven." Note that he speaks of the heaven as it is in its motion, which is the end of the night and the beginning of the day. And insofar as it is …
Hence in the voice of this same Church it is said through Solomon, "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains and bounding over the hills." For she considered the heights of such great works and said, "Behold, he comes leaping upon the mountains." For in coming for our redemption, He made certain leaps, so to speak. Do you wish, dearest brothers, to recognize His very leaps? From heaven He came into the womb, from the womb He came into the manger, from the manger He came to the cross, from the cross He came into the tomb, from the tomb He returned to heaven. Behold, so that He might make us run after Him, the Truth made manifest through the flesh made certain leaps for us, because "He rejoiced as a giant to run His course," so that we might say to Him from the heart, "Draw us after You; we will run in the fragrance of Your ointments."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Bridegroom - Gloriously adorned with light as with a beautiful garment, and smiling upon the world with a pleasant countenance. Chamber - In which he is poetically supposed to have rested all night, and thence to break forth as it were on a sudden.
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
"Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber." A bridegroom comes forth sumptuously apparelled, his face beaming with a joy which he imparts to all around; such, but with a mighty emphasis, is the rising Sun. "And rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race." As a champion girt for running cheerfully addresses himself to the race, so does the sun speed onward with matchless regularity and unwearying swiftness in his appointed orbit. It is but mere play to him; there are no signs of effort, flagging, or exhaustion. No other creature yields such joy to the earth as her bridegroom the sun; and none, whether they be horse or eagle, can for an instant compare in swiftness with that heavenly champion. But all his glory is but the glory of God; even the sun shines in light borrowed from the Great Father of Lights. Thou sun, of this great world both eye and soul, Acknowledge Him thy greater; sound his praise Both when thou climb'st, and when high noon hast gained, And when thou fall'st."
Which is as a bridegroom, etc. - This is a reference to the rising of the sun, as the following verse is to the setting. He makes his appearance above the horizon with splendor and majesty; every creature seems to rejoice at his approach; and during the whole of his course, through his whole circuit, his apparent revolution from east to west, and from one tropic to the same again, no part of the earth is deprived of its proper proportion of light and heat. The sun is compared to a bridegroom in his ornaments, because of the glory and splendour of his rays; and to a giant or strong man running a race, because of the power of his light and heat. The apparent motion of the sun, in his diurnal and annual progress, are here both referred to. Yet both of these have been demonstrated to be mere appearances. The sun’s diurnal motion arises from the earth’s rotation on its axis from west to east in twenty-three hours, fifty-six minutes, and four seconds, the mean or equal time which elapses between the two consecutive meridian-transits of the same fixed star. But on account of the sun’s apparent ecliptic motion in the same direction, the earth must make about the three hundred and sixty-fifth part of a second revolution on its axis before any given point of the earth’s surface can be again brought into the same direction with the sun as before: so that the length of a natural day is twenty-four hours at a mean rate. The apparent revolution of the sun through the twelve constellations of the zodiac in a sidereal year, is caused by the earth’s making one complete revolution in its orbit in the same time. […]
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber - That is, when he rises in the morning. He rises from the darkness of the night, and comes forth as the bridegroom comes out of the chamber where he has slept. The allusion is to the bright, and joyful, and cheerful aspect of the rising sun. The image of the bridegroom is employed because we associate with a bridegroom the idea of hilarity, cheerfulness, joy.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְה֗וּא | vehu' | and it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כְּ֭חָתָן | kechaton | [is] like a bridegroom | H2860 → | |
| יֹצֵ֣א | yotze' | going forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| מֵחֻפָּת֑וֹ | mechupato | from chamber his | H2646 → | |
| יָשִׂ֥ישׂ | yasis | it rejoices | H7797 → | 27 times |
| כְּ֝גִבּ֗וֹר | kegibor | like a mighty [man] | H1368 → | 158 times |
| לָר֥וּץ | larutz | to run | H7323 → | 103 times |
| אֹֽרַח׃ | ʾorach | a path | H734 → | 58 times |
וְה֗וּאand it
vehu'H1931 →1879 times
כְּ֭חָתָן[is] like a bridegroom
kechatonH2860 →
יֹצֵ֣אgoing forth
yotze'H3318 →1067 times
מֵחֻפָּת֑וֹfrom chamber his
mechupatoH2646 →
יָשִׂ֥ישׂit rejoices
yasisH7797 →27 times
כְּ֝גִבּ֗וֹרlike a mighty [man]
kegiborH1368 →158 times
לָר֥וּץto run
larutzH7323 →103 times
אֹֽרַח׃a path
ʾorachH734 →58 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 61:10I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…
it leads to
- Revelation 19:7–8
Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him the glory. For the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.
- Philippians 3:9
and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith.
- Psalms 132:9
May Your priests be clothed with righteousness, and Your saints shout for joy.
- Psalms 132:16
I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will sing out in joy.
- Revelation 21:2
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
- Revelation 19:7–8
Through
Isaiah 62:5For as a young man marries a young woman, so your sons will marry you; and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so your God will rejoice over you.
it leads to
- Isaiah 65:19
I will rejoice in Jerusalem and take delight in My people. The sounds of weeping and crying will no longer be heard in her.
- Isaiah 62:4
No longer will you be called Forsaken, nor your land named Desolate; but you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will…
- Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand…
- Isaiah 65:19
Where this verse is studied
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About Psalms

This page draws on 14 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 19; Augustine of Hippo, Confessions 4.12.19; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 195:3; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 1; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Psalms; Fulgentius of Ruspe, LETTER 14:11; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 29; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON PSALMS 6:10-11; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Thomas Aquinas, Exposition on the Psalms of David.
