Psalm 29 Darby Translation
A Psalm of David.
29 Give unto Jehovah, ye sons of the mighty ones, give unto Jehovah glory and strength;
2 Give unto Jehovah the glory of his name; worship Jehovah in holy splendour.
3 The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth,—Jehovah upon great waters.
4 The voice of Jehovah is powerful; the voice of Jehovah is full of majesty.
5 The voice of Jehovah breaketh cedars; yea, Jehovah breaketh the cedars of Lebanon:
6 And he maketh them to skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young buffalo.
7 The voice of Jehovah cleaveth out flames of fire.
8 The voice of Jehovah shaketh the wilderness; Jehovah shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of Jehovah maketh the hinds to calve, and layeth bare the forests; and in his temple doth every one say, Glory!
10 Jehovah sitteth upon the flood; yea, Jehovah sitteth as king for ever.
11 Jehovah will give strength unto his people; Jehovah will bless his people with peace.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
The Voice of the Lord
3 The voice of the Lord is on the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over [a]many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon in pieces.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord divides [b]flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord [c]shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
The voice of the Lord features prominently in the Bible, from “Let there be . . . !” in Genesis 1 to “I am coming soon!” in Revelation 22.
Like any voice, the voice of the Lord can whisper or shout.
In 1 Kings 19, a gentle voice consoles the prophet Elijah, whose spirit is in turmoil.
Psalm 29 describes a roaring voice that rips forests apart.
The voice of the Lord speaks to Jesus when he is baptized.
It says, “You are my Son, whom I love” (Mark 1:11).
That’s an echo of Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42.
And it assigns a destiny to Jesus. He will be a king who rules as a servant.
Jesus embraces that destiny in obedient, faithful trust.
In Psalm 29 the powerful voice of the Lord breaks cedars in pieces, “twists the oaks,” and “strips the forests bare.”
Following the voice that calls to him, Jesus himself will be stripped bare and twisted.
He will be broken in pieces on a tree.
Crowned with thorns, he will be God’s suffering servant, the Savior of the world.
The voice of the Lord still speaks.
If we listen carefully, we can hear it.
From the cross the voice of the Lord whispers, “This is what power looks like.”
This statement also holds with God. His body of work is all around us, giving us a glimpse of His true nature and character.
1. The Galaxy Put on Full Display God’s Wisdom
Looking up at the heavens, we can’t help but be amazed and dumbfounded by how massive, intricate, majestic, and awesome our universe is.
So mind-blowing that even Albert Einstein, who doubted the very existence of God, couldn’t fathom that this vast universe, the way it’s created with such sharp precision and with all its endless number of milky ways and galaxies, could come into being by accident.
You see– the slightest miscalculation can throw the whole solar system into utter chaos, endangering everyone’s lives here on earth.
It’s no wonder, Einstein, with all his qualms and doubts about God, was once quoted as saying that there must be an Intelligent Being behind its creation.
Considering God’s wisdom, His precision and meticulous way with which He carries out tasks, should anyone then be vilified for having any skepticism or mistrusting God’s ability to manage our lives, trusting Him to take complete control of our future?
The way He masterfully brought forth everything into existence, down to the tiniest details, goes to show that we have no reason to doubt, nothing to fear.
We can entrust everything to His care, and breathe easy knowing that He’s all too powerful, wise, dependable, and trustworthy.
2. The Cyclical Nature of the Seasons Shows That God Wants Us to Rely on Him
The changing of seasons is a humbling reminder our lives are also governed by the cyclical seasons of life.
Just as a proud tree shoots out its green leaves and shiny fruits in spring, the autumn season, however, can then decimate everything it produces, losing everything in the process.
If you’ve passed by a naked tree stripped to its last leaf, you know what I mean.
God wants us to realize that difficult seasons don’t last if we continue to rely on Him, seeking His guidance in everything we do, so even during the driest spell of our lives, we will remain standing.
Just like that naked tree in the meadow, seemingly worn out and withered as it struggles to weather the autumn and winter seasons, it will remain undeterred because it knows and realizes God will bring its big comeback come the spring.
3. The Ants Show That God Abhors Laziness
Before the rain comes, I would often notice an army of tiny ants going out and about, carrying anything they can grab onto, shouldering morsels of food twice their size, and dumping their loot inside the tiniest holes no one can enter.
They are preparing for the rainy days ahead.
That’s why I am not at all surprised God Himself used the ants’ diligence, resourcefulness, perseverance as an example for people to follow and emulate.
God Himself is hardworking.
Didn’t He work for six full days and ‘rest’ only on the seventh day?
We’re not saying that we ought to work 6 days a week.
It only shows that we too are created for good work, we’re not brought into this world to couch away in laziness but use our God-given talents to contribute to its growth advancing God’s kingdom here on earth, both in small and big ways.
4. God Shows His Relentless Spirit in Nature
God is simply relentless.
If there’s one thing I’ve realized about a side of God I didn’t notice before, it is His utterly relentless nature.
You can see God’s relentless nature in the way a butterfly rips itself out of its chrysalis after months of brutal, silent fight.
In the way ants carry morsels of food twice their weight for weeks or for even months, the way a seed pushes through dirt and mud to flower, refusing to die.
Reading, studying, the Scripture, we would realize once God puts His heart into something, He is relentless.
He will make sure whatever He sets His heart on, He will accomplish it in His own time, His heart’s desires will inevitably come to fruition.
Did He not declare a long time ago that He would bring the Jewish people back to their homeland? True enough, despite those thousands of hard years of exile across many different nations, Jewish nation still ended up returning to Israel.
This happened despite the Jews’ refusal to go back to the land.
Can we blame them?
Israel, before their return to Eretz Israel, was mostly desert, it was infested with malaria-causing mosquitoes. Marshes and swamps were poorly drained before their arrival, turning many areas into a breeding ground for a type of mosquito, Anopheles, which is responsible for the spread of malaria disease in the region.
It’s a desert country where even a cactus struggled to thrive, according to Mark Twain, something he had noted in his diary during his visit to the land in 1867.
But God is relentless.
Whatever He set out to do, He brings to life.
A barren desert for more than two thousand years, the land has once again reverted back into what it was known for, land of milk and honey, land of many grazing cows and flourishing havens of fruits, veggies, and flowers of all kinds, a few years after the Jewish people had cultivated the fields and settled in their homeland.
“But you, mountains of Israel, will produce branches and fruit for my people Israel, for they will soon come home.” Ezekiel 36:8 NIV
And He is relentless in His pursuit of you.
Moment by moment, day after day, year after year, He is shaping you into the kind of person He aspires you to be.
He shapes your character through life experiences, the people He sends into your pathway, the souls He meant for you to meet.
That is why we’re confident that “ He who began a good work in us will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6 NIV
5. God’s Gentleness Is Visible in Nature
Whether it be a soft rain falling into the meadow, a mother swan guiding her young, a gentle stream flowing over rocks, a mother bird feeding her babies 100 times a day, dandelion seeds drifting in the wind, or the random kindness of strangers–we can observe, we feel a smile on our faces at God’s gentle nature.
Atheists and even some Christians often describe God in the Old Testament as wrathful and vengeful, exacting severe, insufferable punishment against those who defied His commands.
Truth is, some Christians even think that the God of the Old Testament seems different from the God of the New Testament.
It appears as if God has a contrasting character.
Wrathful as a lion in the Old Testament, gentle as a dove in the New Testament.
If we were to scrutinize the reason behind God’s wrath in the Old Testament, we would inevitably realize those gravest circumstances compelling Him to exact a severe judgment against His people.
Before punishing a person, group of people, or a nation, God would send out repeated warnings not for days or months but for years, even decades, before executing judgment.
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah came about due to the rampant sexual immorality and other immoral acts that ran rampant throughout those cities.
God was merciful and gracious enough to send His prophets throughout the years to warn people about the impending catastrophe that would befall them if they would not turn away from their misbehaviors to repent of their many sins.
Yet, time and again, for decades, the inhabitants remained defiant, stubbornly rebellious.
And when the judgment was about to be carried out, did not God agree with Moses’ proposal several times as the latter pleaded with God to seek out those few righteous people, grant them mercy, and spare the city from His wrath?
In the end, those 10 righteous people in the land were allowed to leave and live.
And Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, but only after decades of warning.
God is not wrathful.
He is a God of justice. That is His nature, and as such, He carries out what only a just God is drawn to do: to exact judgment when dire circumstances demand it.
Being intimate with God isn’t just about carving out time to spend with Him in prayer; it’s about cultivating a deeper personal relationship with Him.
It’s also about knowing God for who He is.
And we can do so by observing His wonderful works around; nature has a way of revealing God’s heart.
The more we know Him, the more our love for Him is engraved deeply in our sin stone hardened hearts, enabling us to be transformed into kinder, gentler souls.
“He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8 NKJV
“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” 1 John 2:3-6 NKJV
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit …
Praying ….
Psalm 19 New American Standard Bible
The Works and the Word of God.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
19 The heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their expanse declares the work of His hands.
2 Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their [a]line has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has placed a tent for the sun,
5 Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.
6 Its rising is from [b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the [c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The Law of the Lord is [d]perfect, restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much pure gold;
Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, Your servant is warned by them;
In keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors? Acquit me of hidden faults.
13 Also keep Your servant back from presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule over me;
Then I will be innocent,
And I will be blameless of great wrongdoing.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 