Psalm 29

A Psalm of David.

1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,[sons of God, or sons of might] ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness. [in holy attire]

The summons is repeated three times and then capped with a call to worship. The appeal is made to the heavenly beings, the sons of God, the sons of might -- all terms for angelic beings, what are often referred to as throne angels. They worship the LORD around the throne day and night and are found in the highest heavens. So to the highest heavens, David invites praise to begin. Here worship of the LORD is simply ascribing attributes to his name. It is simply telling who he is. He is a being of indescribable glory and incomparable strength. His name is deserving of glory, the word glory referring to weight, heaviness, or brilliance. There is weight, honor and reverence even for his name. His name is not a curse word or one that is to be taken lightly, sworn by, or emptied of its meaning. The three-fold summons is followed by a call to worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness. I’m trying to imagine a heavenly throne room, combining the visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel and John in the Revelation. I’m sure that all of them fall short of the reality of that place, but what if I spent a few moments there every day? The same God that is a shepherd who picks me up and carries me on his shoulders (Psalm 28:9) in the very next psalm is depicted as a being of such splendor and glory that I dare not approach him in his absolute holiness and purity. Imagine how my day might be changed if I stopped periodically to visit the throne room, to listen to the angels’ thunderous song, to behold light so brilliant that I immediately shield my eyes, to gaze on otherworldly beauty, to become so aware of my own depravity that I fall down on my face crying out for mercy. Don’t tell an angel to do what you are not willing to do yourself. In fact, the angels probably don’t need to be told to worship. They’ve got this figured out. May you be as aware as they of the visible glory of God all around you and take moments today to visit the throne room. 

3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.

4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

Weather in Israel like everywhere else moved from west to east with storms forming over the Mediterranean and then bursting over the land from the coastal plain and up into the hill country. David describes such a storm and it inspires this song. The phrase “voice of the LORD” occurs seven times in the psalm symbolically accenting the idea of completion or fullness. The LORD is in complete command of the weather and the sounds of weather are equated with His voice. In the previous psalm David spoke of the LORD hearing his voice, his cries for mercy. In this psalm it is as if the LORD responds and his voice is as you might expect -- thunderous and frightening. Thunder can rattle a house and even when we know we are secure, the sound of thunder can’t help but generate some fear and awe in us. Can you imagine if you were like David, camped in a tent or out in the open? The ancients didn’t understand weather as we do, but the thunder over the water was evidence that the clouds had picked up a full load of water from evaporation over the ocean and was now prepared to dump that load over the land. The miracle of the water cycle that purifies and redistributes water on the surface of the earth is a beautiful design and evidence of a good God. So don’t complain about the rain. It is a sign of God’s goodness, providing pure water for us to drink and nourishment for all plant and animal life to grow. David probably didn’t understand that completely, but he understood that God was present in the storm. God was speaking through the rain. God was demonstrating his power and majesty in the storm. We would do well to listen and be humbled at the mighty power of God as evidenced in what he has made. Ponder this and listen for the voice of God next time it rains. 

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.

The storm has moved in from the coast and is described as breaking the cedars of Lebanon, the country to the north of Israel known for its mountains and forests. The cedars of Lebanon were famed in ancient Israel for their beauty and strength. They were used in the construction of both the temple and the palace. Here the voice of God is described as a powerful wind, and the effect of the wind could be described like that of a tornado or a hurricane, breaking trees (and according to some translations of verse 9, stripping off bark). In Lebanon he causes the mountains themselves to shake, even the great snow-covered Sirion (Mt. Hermon). These mountains are personified as calves and young wild oxen, jumping and kicking with newfound energy. This is a reference to the powerful booming of thunder that has the effect of rattling even the stoutest terrain. Finally, the lightning that accompanies the wind and thunder is described simply as the LORD flashing forth flames of fire. Lightning is great to watch from a distance, but up close it is terrifying. It’s not too difficult to see how the ancients saw lightning as the very finger of God bringing judgment to the earth. The voice of the LORD in verse 7 is the fifth of seven references to the voice of the LORD in this text and it occurs in the central verse of the section middle section of the psalm, perhaps suggesting that the lightning strike is the moment when heaven touches earth. In the modern world we have meteorological explanations for all of the phenomena described in this psalm -- rain, thunder, lightning, wind -- they are simply random natural processes that function to regenerate life on the earth. The rain purifies the salty ocean water and makes it usable and life-giving on the land. The wind knocks down dead or weak trees that then rot and enrich the soil. Even the lightning has the purpose of starting forest fires that can clear out the undergrowth to make room for new life. As destructive as these forces are, they have a creative purpose as well. God speaks to us through the storms of this life. Our senses are sharpened to listen to him when all around us is shaken and blown down. C.S. Lewis wrote, “We can ignore even pleasure. But pain insists on being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Is God shouting at us in the midst of this global pandemic? Listen for his voice in the wind, the rain, the thunder, and the lightning. Sometimes trees need to be broken, mountains need to shake, and fires need to burn in order to bring new life to the soul. 

8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth [Revocalization yields makes the oaks to shake]  and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

The geographical focus of the storm moves to the south, to the desert wilderness of Kadesh (lit. holiness). The cracking thunder shakes the wilderness as well but here there is no place to hide. No trees under which to shelter from the rain, only barrenness that is now threatened by flash floods. Finally the storm moves back northward to the forests of the Shephelah, the rising hills that ultimately give way to the hill country of Judea. There the deer are panicked into premature labor, an instinct to bring life into the world when something threatening to life is taking place. Or alternately, the wind picks up and even the strongest of trees, the oaks, shake and the forest is stripped bare of leaves and small limbs. At the sight of this powerful storm, everyone in heaven cries, “Glory!” Storms of some type touch every surface of the planet, and they are a visible witness to a power greater than ourselves. Right now the world is in the grips of a global pandemic, an invisible force that is bringing life as we know it to a halt, killing people, and wrecking the economies of the world. The effect of the storm that the psalmist describes could be equally applied to this catastrophic event. The fact is, “storms of life” is a common metaphor for any difficulty that comes our way. The use of the word “glory” in response to such destruction seems strange, but think about how Jesus used the word in John 9. “Who sinned that this man was born blind? Neither he nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the glory of God might be revealed.” God’s glory revealed in blindness? Yes. Look for God’s glory in everything. The angels in heaven saw it in the storm. The disciples in a boat on a stormy sea saw it. The Joplin community saw it in the aftermath of an EF5 tornado that levelled a third of the town. There is glory to be seen. There is a humbling to be taking place. There is a voice to be heard. Look for the glory of God today in everything -- the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly, the building and the tearing down. He is working salvation in the midst of the world. (Psalm 74:12)

10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.

11 May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless [Or The Lord will give… The Lord will bless] his people with peace!

As the scene moves from earth to heaven with the “glory” cry of the angels, we see that the LORD is sitting down, presumably on a glorious throne. He is presiding over the flood. It is not happening outside of his control. The Hebrew is ambiguous on the tense of the verb “sit”. It could just as easily be translated “sat” as in the God reigning over the waters that covered the surface of the earth at creation (Genesis 1:2) or in the days of Noah. He reigned over the flood then, and he reigns now. In light of the immediate context, I prefer the present tense that affirms that the LORD is reigning today over the flood. He is just as sovereign and benevolent today as he has been throughout all of history. The psalm concludes with a prayer or a statement (again the Hebrew is ambiguous here). The fact is that a prayer is a statement, a statement of our faith. When we ask God to do something on our behalf (prayer), we do so believing that it will be done (faith). So we understand this as a statement of fact. The LORD gives strength to his people and the LORD will bless them with peace, shalom. The psalm is replete with examples of God’s strength manifest in creation - thunder, lightning, wind, rain, floods -- these are forces that we cannot tame. So here’s the most amazing thing of all: this same supernatural strength he endows upon his people. The same ruling presence over the flood is bestowed on his people so that they can experience shalom in the midst of the storm. A psalm that is so filled with violence and destruction concludes with the word “peace”. This is the lesson of the psalm (and the entire collection of psalms). Trust in the LORD and you will experience peace. Know that He reigns, and you can rest easy. Surrender to his ways, and you will flourish regardless of circumstance. The psalm ends similar to the way the previous psalm ends -- “The LORD is the strength of his people...He carries them like a shepherd” (Psalm 28:8-9 paraphrase).