Les Psaumes 116:12 Midrash : Midrash Tehillim

A Psalm of David. This is what the verse (Psalm 116:12) says: "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" Rabbi Samuel said: Four Psalms that Adam, the first man, should have said were said by David, and they are: (Psalm 24:1) "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it," and why did he need to say it? Because of Adam, the world was created in its fullness. (Psalm 19:2) "The heavens declare the glory of God," and why did he need to say it? Because he saw them first. (Psalm 92:1) "A Psalm, a song for the Sabbath day," and why did he need to say it? Because the Sabbath exempted him from judgment. And (Psalm 16:5) "A Psalm of David. Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust," and why did he need to say it? Because he inherited the world in the beginning....

Another thing, the heavens declare the glory of God. Rabbi Yaakov bar Zavdi said that this refers to what is stated in Psalms 116:12: "What shall I render unto the LORD for all His benefits toward me?" Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said that four psalms should be recited, all of them in Psalm 145. Another thing, the heavens declare the glory of God. It is like a hero who enters a country and his strength is unknown. One wise man said, "I know that he is strong because he shakes the dust off his shoes." Similarly, we learn of the strength of the Holy One, blessed be He, from the heavens. Rabbi Yitzchak said that this is because it is written (Jeremiah 23:24), "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" Can it be that His glory fills the upper and lower worlds? But it has already been said (Psalms 8:4), "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers." They only contain the space of the Holy One, blessed be He's finger. This is like a king who hangs a veil over the entrance to his palace. The king says, "Let anyone who is wise come and tell me what is behind the veil. Let anyone who is rich make a similar one, and let anyone who is strong touch it." So too, the Holy One, blessed be He, spreads out the heavens like a curtain, but He said, "Let anyone who is wise tell me what it is, and let anyone who is strong touch it." Rabbi Pinchas said, "When the heavens pour down and the earth grows, the creatures praise the Holy One, blessed be He." Therefore, the heavens declare the glory of God, and His handiwork proclaims His handiwork. When Israel sins, what is written (Job 20:27), "The heavens shall reveal his iniquity." When they are righteous, what is written (Deuteronomy 28:12), "The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure."