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Shabbat Shalom. This week I have the privilege of sharing from one of my favorite psalms, Psalm 29. What I love about the psalms is what I love about Hebrew poetry. It is incredibly expressive and filled with some of the most beautiful imagery in all of God’s Word. On display through the Psalms is the full range of human emotions, with a psalm for every occasion. Many of the psalms are tranquil, to be read at dawn or in the morning. However, this psalm is not a peaceful psalm or say a psalm of lament. Psalm 29 is best read during a storm like last night. It is a psalm full of power, the power of shaking thunder and flashing lightning. A psalm that declares the power of the one True King.
I love Psalm 29 because it helps explain what is meant when we describe the Lord as omnipotent, all-powerful. We as human beings tend to have a very small view of God. The Lord should be treated with fear, with honorable respect, and not in a casual manner. But we reduce Him from Adon Olam, the Lord of the Universe, to just a spirit in the sky, a friend or buddy.
We live in a society that mocks God, full of scoffers who not only doubt the power of God, but His goodness and kingship. But even we as believers can be guilty of doubting God at times. In wondering if He can help us or handle the situations, we find ourselves in. We need to be reminded to think rightly about the Lord, and to remember the vastness of His power and glory. Psalm 29 reads like a tempest, a stormy psalm that reminds us of the power and majesty of the Lord.
When I think of the Lord’s power there is this scene in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, that comes to mind. In it we have two characters discussing Aslan the Lion, who throughout these fantasy books represents Messiah Yeshua. We read:
“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr. Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
Elsewhere Aslan is described as not a tame lion. Aslan is good, but he is not safe. What this means is that you cannot control Aslan just as you cannot control the Lord. But in these books, we know what Aslan will do, he does whatever is right. The Lord is the same way, He is the source and author of all things good. There is only one thing in Scripture we are told the Lord cannot do and that is lie. So, the Lord is Avinu, He is our Father, but He is also Malkanu, He is our King. It is in this role as our King that we see the glory of the Lord on display in Psalm 29.
I would like to begin by just reading this psalm aloud. I sometimes close my eyes as I hear a psalm being read so I can better visualize and dwell on the meaning of a Psalm. So, if you would like please close your eyes for just a moment and hear Psalm 29.
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
There is a strong sense of movement in this psalm. We begin with angels and the false gods of other nations being called to acknowledge the glory and strength of Adonai. The Lord then appears as a storm over the sea, moving through the forests of Lebanon and the wilderness, before coming to rest in his Temple enthroned forever. Let’s consider the first two verses, a call for all to Ascribe glory to Adonai.
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
I will be reading from the ESV this morning. In these two verses we see the word, Ascribe, three times. Some translations like the KJV use give, still others use words like honor. We don’t really use a word like Ascribe in casual conversation, it is a word from 16th century Latin. A more modern word might be grant or bestow.
In this first verse the heavenly beings, angels and any so-called gods, are called to attribute to the Lord, glory and strength. In reverence we are called to see and declare the glory, strength, and splendor of the Lord. It is important to understand we are not “giving” God anything in declaring His glory and strength. We cannot add to or take away anything from Adonai. Rather, this is an awestruck acknowledgement of the supreme power of our heavenly Father.
The three-fold repetition in these verses is like Isaiah 6. There we hear the heavenly being declaring: Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh, Holy Holy Holy is the Lord Almighty. The repetition there emphasizes the significance and separation of the Lord from everything in creation. In Psalm 29 this repetition is a demand for those above to ascribe to the Lord what is due Him. Now I can ascribe many things, I can ascribe beauty to a sunset, I can attribute strength to a volcano, but the Lord glory is so overwhelming there is no other response but to recognize his incalculable power. He alone deserves to be worshiped and acknowledged as the source of glory and strength.
The glory of God is His perfect holiness, the radiance that shines out from Him, like pure and uncorrupted light. It is a light, described in the Gospel of John, that shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it. Adonai’s glory is unique to Him alone. It is the magnificent holiness we cannot begin to comprehend.
Moses had to be sheltered in the cleft of a rock so that he would not die from God’s glory being revealed to him. Adonai’s supreme glory was also revealed to righteous Isaiah, who in the face of such a sight declared himself unclean from an unclean people.
As fallen human beings we like to believe we could stand before God and defend ourselves, pleading our case before Him. But the reality is that should we even stand before the Lord in our own power we would be completely overwhelmed and probably destroyed simply by His existence. If you doubt that truth our psalm continues with a picture of God’s glory revealed.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
Here we begin to see why we should ascribe strength to Adonai. Seven times the voice of the Lord is mentioned in these verses. The number seven represents completion and is the Lord’s number.
The Lord’s voice is first pictured in this psalm as thundering over the waters. This isn’t a puddle or a pond but great waters, seas and oceans. Oceans like in the beginning of Genesis and the oceans today. Sometimes we forget that the waters of our planet are vast, deep, and mysterious. The deepest part of the oceans, the marina trench, could hold Mount Everest with an extra mile to spare. We have barely begun to explore the depths of our oceans, but throughout our history we have understood the power of the sea.
Even today with our sophisticated and huge ships, a hurricane on the ocean or tropical storm can sink them, killing everyone onboard.
We are invited to picture the Lord’s voice as the booming sound of thunder over these vast churning waters. Can you imagine this scene? There are different kinds of storms and different kinds of thunder.
When I read this psalm, I am reminded of the most severe storm I have ever been in driving through Ohio. At that time, I was driving a Ford Escort, a very small car. I was caught in a major storm, with tornadoes having touched down nearby. It seemed like a bucket was being poured out continuously on my windshield. I could barely see several feet in front of me and had a semi-truck behind me. The winds raged against my small car and pushed me to one side of the road. But I remember the thunder, louder than I had ever heard before and it seemed to shake my vehicle as the lightning flashed across the sky. After maybe ten minutes of trying to slowly drive forward in this storm the large semi behind me pulled over due to the weather and I decided to as well.
Maybe you have experienced thunder and a storm like that, this is what the Lord’s voice is being compared to. It is completely overwhelming, and you feel incredibly small. If you have a similar experience with the power of nature you can begin to understand what King David was writing. But the Lord is more than just a storm over the sea, Psalm 29 now moves to bring the storm over land.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The cedars of Lebanon were a vast forest of trees that could be over 100 feet tall, dozens of feet wide and lived over a thousand years. They were beautiful, strong, and seemingly immortal. The wood was prized by every nation in the area and was used in the most beautiful buildings and works of art. With just His voice, the Lord thunders and breaks these seemingly indestructible trees.
Not just chopping them down but smashing them into pieces. The power of His voice also moves the land itself which cannot resist His might.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
In verse seven flames of fire is a poetic way of saying lightning. The voice of the Lord not only resonates across the land as thunder but also is majestic like lightning. As the storm of the Lord passes over the wilderness it shakes just like Lebanon.
Nothing can withstand the power of God. He causes animals to give birth and strips the forest bare. In some translations, the first part of verse nine will say the voice of the Lord twists oak trees. Regardless of how we translate the verse, the Lord provokes awe wherever He goes.
In the face of such overwhelming strength there is only one response. When we begin to perceive the vastness of God’s strength, that can move oceans, forests and the Earth itself, we fall to our knees in awe and fear. All of those who belong to the Lord and even those who rebel against Him are forced to acknowledge His might and splendor. All cry out, Glory! The beginning of this psalm commands us to ascribe glory to the Lord and now we have. After entering His Temple, the Lord now takes His rightful place as King of the universe.
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
From eternity past to eternity future, from generation to generation, the Lord is king forever. There will be no end to His rule, we cannot usurp Him, and He will not resign. During the time of the great flood He was king, today He is still king of the universe, and His reign will never end.
Adonai has subdued the seas and everything on the Earth is under His control. Surrounded by the worship of His creation, the Lord is seated on His throne, in the splendor of His holiness as all creation worships His glory. As our psalm ends, we see what the Lord prepares for us from His throne.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!
While we cannot give anything to the Lord, He chooses to bless His people abundantly. The only true source of strength gives strength to His servants. He enables us through the Holy Spirit to move through this world with a strength that endures. Through His spirit we can endure the sufferings and mocking of a world covered in darkness. Through His Spirit we can share His voice found in His Word with a lost and dying world. As Rabbi Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 1:7, the Lord has given us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. As we reflect on and worship the Lord, we can put our earthly fears in their place and carry the will of our great king.
But the lord gives us more than strength, He also has given us peace, a lasting Shalom that is beyond these present circumstances. We have this promise from Messiah Yeshua Himself in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Our Lord is a consuming fire, He is like lightning and thunder, and so much more. We know that to fear God is the beginning of wisdom, to respect His awesome power and infinite glory. But the Lord reaches out to us with peace that is only possible by His power. Adonai knows how fragile and lost we are and has chosen in His mercy to make a way for us to stand before Him through Messiah Yeshua. It is only through Him that we have the promise of eternal peace and everlasting life.
If it isn’t clear yet let me say again that I really love this psalm. I love how it reminds me that the one who controls the seas and floods, who can shatter trees and shake the Earth, chooses to reach out to us with strength and peace. He sees us small human beings, and gently but firmly, takes hold of each of us.
I also love how it forces me to see the vastness of the Lord, that He is enthroned above me and should never be reduced to some guy in a white robe. The Lord is king over all and from His throne comes strength and peace without end.
As our time this morning ends, I would like to give one more example of the voice of the Lord. How the Lord chooses to reach His servants with His voice. In 1 Kings 19 we see the prophet Elijah in hiding for his life. He is in fear after many false prophets were killed. We read the following in 1 Kings 19:11-13:
The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
The Lord encouraged the fearful Elijah not with the voice of a storm, but a gentle whisper. We should never mistake the compassion of God for weakness. There are times where the Lord moves in our lives with the strength of a storm, but more often I have experienced the gentle whisper of God. The still small voice that calls us to Him through His Son.
It is my prayer this morning that each of us would be able to hear the voice of the Lord in the way that He chooses. Whether it is as wind, fire, or a gentle whisper may each of us be willing to hear and obey the one true king. May the Lord give us the strength to stand before Him and eternal peace that is found only through knowing Messiah Yeshua. May each one us ascribe rightly to the Lord the Glory that is due His name!
I would like to end reading Psalm 29 one more time and allow the Word of God to pierce all our hearts.
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!