Who is the Lord our God? What is His realm? Remember, we are talking of the God of creation; yet how quickly we reduce Him in our hearts to a person more like us. We are more comfortable with a God who is always there to help and guide us rather than a God of judgment, strength, and power over all the earth. 

Exactly how powerful is the voice of the Lord our God? Exactly how much can all that power influence our circumstances and transform who we are? Ought we not to be embracing all God’s potential? The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders. . .. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon. . .. The voice of the Lord shakes the very wilderness . . .. The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare.

Now, look at the Psalmists response to this God of power and might. In His temple everyone says, “Glory!” Are we to fear this God? Yes! For non-Christians this is a fear of quaking and trembling before a holy God who will judge all His people. For the Christian this is a fear of respect, of unyielding reverence, at the awesomeness of God who sits as King forever. The Lord will give strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. The Lord our God will do it all.

Pray today that God would fill you with a fear and respect toward God our true King, who alone can give you strength and peace. Who alone can speak into us!

Psalm 29 The Message

29 ^1-2 Bravo, God, bravo!
    Gods and all angels shout, “Encore!”
In awe before the glory,
    in awe before God’s visible power.
Stand at attention!
    Dress your best to honor him!

³ God thunders across the waters,
Brilliant, his voice and his face, streaming brightness—
God, across the flood waters.

⁴ God’s thunder tympanic,
God’s thunder symphonic.

⁵ God’s thunder smashes cedars,
God topples the northern cedars.

⁶ The mountain ranges skip like spring colts,
The high ridges jump like wild kid goats.

^7-8 God’s thunder spits fire.
God thunders, the wilderness quakes;
He makes the desert of Kadesh shake.

⁹ God’s thunder sets the oak trees dancing
A wild dance, whirling; the pelting rain strips their branches.
We fall to our knees—we call out, “Glory!”

¹⁰ Above the floodwaters is God’s throne
    from which his power flows,
    from which he rules the world.

¹¹ God makes his people strong.
God gives his people peace.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Jehovah GOD is the all-powerful Sovereign over all the earth and worthy of our praise. He is worthy to be celebrated each and every day! Celebrate GOD as GOD is celebrating you right in this exact moment. GOD is worthy to be embraced in every moment of every day! Embrace GOD as God is embracing you right now!

I love to think I am a pretty important person but when I am honest about it, I know my realm of importance extends (hopefully) to my family along with (maybe) a few close friends, that is about it. The importance of even the most powerful person on earth, now or in history, is infinitely smaller than an ant compared to God in heaven. We are who we are, where we are because of him.

We can never over the long and winding course of our lifetimes over emphasize the maximum majesty and greatness of GOD. Our worship to him is not about us, what abundance we get out of it (though it should lift us up and give us a genuine peace), but rather, our worship is about GOD and who He is. A better recognition of God and his majesty will affect our religion, our prayer life, our life at home, at work, at school, in our neighborhood. We are his and serve him.

How ought we to feel in our hearts and souls in the recitation of this psalm?

If you were to watch a man, take a gigantic tree of three feet in diameter and snap it in two, like a toothpick, you would most likely stand there for a moment in amazement. And if he, did it by simply speaking the word, you would be in absolute awe. We stand in awe of the authority, the majesty, the power, and the sovereignty of GOD. Some sports fans will roar with delight when a football player jumps six feet into the air to grab a ball, landing in the end zone. But how much more should we shake with thrill and raise our voices with praise at the greatness of our GOD who made and controls the swirling realms of nature!

What does this psalm teach us?

Verses 1–2. For some of our modern ball games, we find cadres of cheerleaders whose responsibility it is to whip the audience of fans into a fervor of praise and encouragement for the players on the field. In a similar way, David opens this psalm with an indescribable, encouragement to praise the One who can do infinitely more than toss a ball around a field. Here is a “high five” to praise.

Now generally speaking, powerful and proud men do not want to yell “bravo” celebrating the glory to GOD. They are so consumed with their own power; they cannot see their power is nothing in comparison to GOD. That is why this psalm instructs the even most powerful men in the world, including our president, to ascribe to GOD all glory and power and strength. Although one will rarely hear the presidents of modern countries acknowledge GOD’s power and sovereignty over their countries, that is precisely what the Psalmist says they ought to do.

Verses 3–10. The following verses describe the GOD whom we worship, with a special focus upon His power working through natural phenomena. By merely speaking, powerful men can accomplish great things through their influence. With their words, they can greatly influence both great and small change. It might be they can influence national and world economies with a thought of what they might or might not do in a given situation. We assign that influence.

But even these acts of power and influence are a mere pittance when compared to what the voice of GOD accomplishes. When we hear the thunder, and the roar of humungous waves that too easily toss around the largest sailing ships in the world like they were made of paper, we know there is a GOD behind it. We can hear the very voice of GOD. In nature, we come face to face with the reality of the Creator. The power of nature harnessed by men through thermodynamic and atomic processes is borrowed power—borrowed from the GOD who created all matter and energy, holds absolute sovereign control over every atom of it.

Using powerful poetic language, the Psalmist continues to describe the power of God, snapping huge cedar trees in half, tossing them around like toothpicks, and sending earthquakes that make whole land masses skip like a calf. These tremendous earthquakes can move hundreds of thousands of square miles of land, and over (un)written history they have been known to level entire cities.

Thus, we see that God merely speaks and the inanimate and animate world obeys His voice. That is absolute authority. If He purposes an earthquake or the birth of another baby deer in a forest somewhere, He merely speaks the word, and there is an earthquake or there is another fawn to grace nature’s beauty.

Every doe wandering around in every forest in the world produces the miracle of new life solely on the command from the mouth of Yahweh Himself. He is intricately involved with every detail of His creation. Nothing is hiding from Him, right down to the tiny insect wandering about on the floor of the darkest and most remote forest on this globe. Nothing of mankind can be hidden either.

He sits as King over the vast oceans and the galaxies in this expansive universe. Kings control the land over which they rule, and our King maintains absolute control over every square inch of this universe. Surely, He is absolutely worthy of our praise and worship. He is worthy of our strongest embrace, celebration!

Verse 11. The psalm ends with a comforting word for the people of GOD. The same power that moves the earth and causes a mother to bring forth new life will provide strength and salvation for the people of GOD. The Sovereign who brings about the turmoil of the raging volcanoes and earth-shaking quakes is the same Sovereign who blesses His people with the abundance of His peace.

As you and I meet with GOD in the light of the morning or the growing darkness of the evening and night skies, as our thoughts turn away from lies ahead of us or what just transpired over the long course of our 24-hour days, as we look to confidently move forth into the silent sanctuary on the Lord’s Day, please know that GOD will take His place upon the throne of our hearts and souls whenever we embrace Him as He embraces us, whenever we celebrate as He celebrates us.

Our bowed heads, our bent and bowed knees, our humbled hearts and humbled souls, our attentive spirit open for us the gateways unto our Father in Heaven. It is a gateway that swings both ways, for we can get to GOD and our GOD comes to unto us no matter who we are or where we are or why we are. Embrace that! Celebrate that with every last ounce of worship you can muster from within you.

The wonder of worship is the wonder of GOD’S very real presence. It is music from another place entirely. It is indescribable wonder and an undefinable awe which floods out all the darkness and the dust of sin and death our life contains.

We rediscover the innocence of children again as we embrace and celebrate and exalt GOD as GOD embraces, celebrates, exalts us every moment of every day. For our GOD opens Himself unto us. It is the most awesome moment of our life – more awesome than the greatest degree and measure of awesome we define.

Indeed, the whole of GOD’s glory is manifold, and this Psalm captures a great deal of how his glory is witnessed and worshiped in creation and salvation. To that end let us read and pray and remember, embrace and celebrate this, Psalm.

In the name of God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, let us pray,

Lord GOD, as I come to you today, I cry Glory, Glory, Glory! You alone are the only true and living God. You made everything and put it in its place. You give unto me strength and bless me with your peace. Yet, in your strength and majesty, you love me and care about me. Give me greater faith and a deeper commitment to live for you and to allow your Spirit to lead me, guide me and motivate me as he molds me into your image. Forgive me when I fail to be all you want me to be. Use me in your service in your own way. I pray in the name of Jesus my Savior. Alleluia! Amen.

https://translate.google.com/