Psalm 29
1 Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty 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; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
I spend some time thinking about the times in my life that I hear God's voice, I am grateful for the times that voice saved me grateful for the times that voice kept me when everyone around me was falling apart. The voice of God kept me from dangers seen and unseen, opened doors no one else could open, and kept doors shut for my protection. I get happy when I think about the God speaking to little old me.
I don't think I am alone in this, many of us listen for the voice of God, in our prayer time, in our dreams, in our gut reaction to events that happen. As believers, we all long for the voice of the lord and want to know what the plan is for our lives. Even if you are not a believer, I see more people talking about what the universe has in store for them or what the universe is saying to them. We are all looking for some guidance from someone other than ourselves.
There are people in scripture looking for guidance from something other than themselves. Psalm 29 is one of the oldest Psalms, some scholars think it is an adaptation of an ancient Canaanite Hymn to Baal. Canaanite priests are mentioned in other Old Testament books several times. As I have said time and time again, I don't care who does what first, I care who does what right. Yeah, there was some competition for worship in the days of the Bible, and there is some competition for worship today. There is a temptation to be caught up in things besides God, (technology, humanism, prosperity, etc.) people are in a pandemic and are worried about the economy first. People during the time of the text may have thought that Baal or something other than God was in control.
God invites us to worship
The text says in the first couple of verses to ascribe, to give someone their due, to acknowledge that is glorious, and strong, that God is holy. Our purpose is to worship God, not our political parties, not our bank accounts, not our social circles, not our positions, we are supposed to worship God. While someone may think that Baal or something else is powerful and in control, God is in control. God is powerful, God gives us true peace, God has the glory, God triumphs over chaos. Acknowledge the Lord. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, one of the leading Jewish theologians and philosophers of the 20th century, insisted that awe is critical for not taking the world for granted and thus losing the ability to experience it with depth and reverence. That means awe is a pathway not only to knowledge but also to wisdom and God.
The bible says to let everything that has breath praise the Lord. God is all-powerful, wonderful, amazing, excellent, altogether lovely the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
God invites us to listen
The phrase "the voice of the Lord" is repeated 7 times in the passage of scripture. God's voice is powerful, and God's voice is something we should listen to. When we hear the Lord, we must be open to what God may be saying to us in our lives. God's voice is powerful, the psalmist describes it as something powerful enough to rip apart trees and make the earth move. Where has the voice of the lord been in our lives? Where could we use the voice of the lord now?
God invites us to his inheritance
By the end of the Psalm, we see the glory of the Lord and want to be a part of it, to experience the glory for ourselves. The Lord is enthroned forever, and we want God to pass that glory on to us. The glory, the weight of the Lord we want some of that in our lives today. God uses various ways to come into our lives and being in awe of God and worshiping God is one of those ways. God is inviting us into his family, and this is an opportunity to worship him and listen to what God has to say for our lives.
