It’s All About the LORD
Psalm 29:1-11
This psalm bears the title, “A Psalm of David.” David was known as the “Sweet Psalmist of Israel.” He was also King over a unified Israel and a mighty warrior. He was an excellent shepherd and had deadly accuracy with a slingshot. Before he killed Goliath, he had killed a lion and a bear with his sling. Even though he was the eighth son of Jesse and was on first appearance the least of them, he could later find many reasons to boast about himself. But this psalm shows the true reason for his success.
This psalm is all about Yahweh. His name appears 18 times in the eleven verses in the psalm along with “the God of Glory.” David’s name does not appear a single time. The deeds of any man are not mentioned. It is all about Yahweh, who He is, what He has done, does, and will do.
The psalm begins with the word “Give unto the LORD.” This also begins the second verse as well. Our response to the LORD comes first. The mighty who might boast in their own accomplishments are not to boast about them. It is the LORD who is mighty. He is to be given glory and strength. If one is mighty like David, then it is because the LORD has raised him or her up for that reason. It is the LORD who is to be worshiped in the beauty of holiness. The word holy means that the LORD is set apart from His creation. There is none beside Him. There is no one else to share His glory with. The LORD is our God, He alone.
Another theme which comes up seven times in this psalm is the voice of Yahweh. The voice of the LORD is over the waters. This should bring us back to the account of creation. We remember that the Spirit of God hovered over the waters like a brooding hen. We remember that God did not create all things with the metaphor of hands but spoke all creation into existence. Men make things. Men also make idols. The word “manufacture” comes from the Latin “manibus” “hand” and “factum” “made.” The Holy God makes a distinction from all creation, and man in particular in the way He makes things. He speaks and the universe comes into being out of nothing. The word “water” here in the creation account also brings into the Hebrew mind the idea of chaos and disorder. The idea here is that it is the LORD who makes structure and meaning out of chaos. The material of the universe was created first and was without form and void. Then God spoke to this material, and a beautiful and ordered creation was made, of which mankind was the crown jewel.
“The voice of the LORD thunders.” After this “water” is repeated. This time instead of water in the singular, it is in the plural “many waters.” The LORD’s voice does not just make order out of the universe where He separates the water above from the water below. There He also separates sea and dry land. That singular act is the paradigm for all other acts. So when we see “many waters” we should see that the LORD is still at work making order out of chaos and life from death. This means He is still involved with His creation today. This means He is with the greatest of all creatures who alone bears His image. We think of the sound of thunder. It shakes the ground. It instills fear. It is often associated with heavy rain and floods. But the LORD’s voice is far more powerful than the thunder and the flood. He is to be feared above both as both the thunder and the rain are subject to His command. It is written that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” If one is out of sorts with the LORD, then this fear is indeed great. If the floods sweep away without mercy, how much more will the unrepentant be swept away by the one who is Sovereign. But for the believer, there is great comfort that the same voice of Yahweh can speak to the floods that threaten to overwhelm you and say “Peace be still.”
David goes on further to describe the effect of the voice of Yahweh. It is powerful and full of majesty. Some would call this a “tautology” or the piling on of adjectives. These fact that one can clearly see that the voice of Yahweh is both from the previous verses. But we never can be reminded too much as we so quickly drift away and forget who Yahweh is and what He has done and all too soon return to what we will do and who we are. We forget that He has made us and not we ourselves (Psalm 100). As the hymn says “Prone to wander, LORD we feel it; prone to leave the God we love. Living a life of constant remembrance of who the LORD is and what He has done for us is the antidote to the wandering and idolatrous heart; it is the seal which prepares us for the courts above.
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, even the cedars of Lebanon. The cedar is a very long-lived, beautiful tree with durable wood. It is the precious cedar of Lebanon that Solomon used to make a Temple for Yahweh in Jerusalem. All of the beauty of that Temple was a metaphor for the beauty of the LORD. It was the best expression of human hands of the majesty of the LORD. Yet it could only pale in comparison as it was only a faded copy of the Temple in heaven. Like the image of God in man, it shouts out to the greater glory of God. But we must also remember that we have fallen. We make gods our of ourselves and our temples. The LORD can break these cedars which can withstand the fury of powerful earthly storms with a single breath.
On the other side, the same voice of Yahweh brings joy and peace. He can make Lebanon skip like a young calf. The LORD is the LORD of the storm and LORD of peace and safety.
The LORD divides the flames. This verse probably why this psalm is included in the lectionary reading for the Sunday we celebrate the baptism of the Lord Jesus. It is Jesus who was baptized in water who will baptize the church with the Holy Spirit and fire. We think of the divided flames of fire at Pentecost which came upon the believers. But there is more here also. I can think of an escape story from northern California this year when Paradise Valley was suddenly consumed with horrific loss of life. But there was a family who escaped down the road where roaring flames were on both sides of the road. The smoke was thick, but they passed through the divided fire to safety. I think here is how the LORD will make a way of escape for His children who trust in Him. He brings them through the terror of fire to safety. Shadrach. Meshach, and Abednego trusted in the LORD before the fiery furnace. They were willing to be consumed. But the LORD protected them. But even if we perish in the flames like the martyrs who were burnt at the stake for their faith, we still belong to Him. There is resurrection.
“The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness, even the wilderness of Kadesh.” This adds to the comprehensive portrait of the power and glory of Yahweh. The wilderness was also a place of chaos and fear. It was full of tortuous ravines. One was always in danger of flash floods there. It was easy to get lost there. One could die of heat exhaustion and lack of water there. But the LORD was there also. David could remind Israel of that day how the LORD had created order from that chaos. He brought forth water from the rock and rained down manna from heaven. He saved a large multitude in a land which could only bear a few wandering nomads. He is the LORD of desert as well as flood. The LORD’s voice thundered at Sinai and the place shook.
“The voice of the LORD makes the hinds to calve, allows the forests to be discovered.” The LORD is also the LORD of life. He spoke life out of the material of his new creation. From the dust of the earth he created male and female. And if He causes livestock to be fruitful and multiply, how much more the apples of His eye. He is the sustainer of all life. He provides the raw materials needed to sustain life, as demonstrated here by the discovery of forests in a land not known for many trees.
“And in His Temple does every one speak of His glory.” The Temple which Solomon build for Yahweh did not exist in the David’s day. David had wanted to build a house of cedar for Him but was forbidden to do so because he had shed much blood. It was built by His son Solomon. The word Temple is broad enough to include any place where the presence of Yahweh was really represented such as at Shechem and later at a simple threshing floor just outside the gate of Jerusalem. Everyone who comes to where the presence of the LORD was represented, where in that day was the Ark of the Covenant, was to be reminded to glorify God there. The sons of Eli the high priest had completely disregarded this. Even though no earthly Temple can contain the LORD, His symbolic presence there was also a real presence. It serves as a reminder that our church buildings are places where we feel this presence of Yahweh. We should reverence these places as they are holy. If we can reverence the LORD there, how can we reverence the God of Glory anywhere.
David finishes the psalm with the reminder that the LORD sits above the chaos of the flood. He also reminds us that the LORD is eternally king. David was a mighty king among men in his day, but only a vassal to the King of Kings. The king stood in a suzerain-vassal relationship to the people. There was a covenant. The king and his army protected the people and provided for their safety of the people. He vindicated them against invaders. In return, the people were to reverence the king and be thankful to him for protection. This protection was to be acted upon. They were to give the resources the kingdom needed by the king to provide for the operation of the state.
Since the LORD is the eternal King of Kings and Lord of all, there really is no outside enemy to be protected from. All enemies are internal to the kingdom. Even Satan is subject to the command of the LORD as we see in the first chapter of Job. These betrayers and those who would try to commit a Coup D’états against the LORD will eventually be overthrown by the simple Word of the LORD. In Revelation, King Jesus will return with His saints. The saints are there only to observe. The usurpers will be overthrown by a single spoken word of Jesus, “Done!” As Luther reminds us in “A Mighty Fortress is our God” reminds us: “One little word shall fell Him. So it behooves us to be in the right covenant relation when He returns. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” But if we will believe in our heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess that Jesus is Yahweh to the glory of God, all will be well. We all rebelled against the goodness and covenant love of God. But God is gracious and has provided us a means of escape through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. The preacher who is called of God speaks the Gospel of Jesus. If he speaks the Word of God, then the word is powerful and life-giving. “In any man is in Christ; He is a new creation.”
If we are in His fold, then we rest in His blessing. The voice of Yahweh now speaks peace to our hearts. How could we fail at peace then? We still are quick to forget His benefits. This is why we must be constantly reminded. We are reminded in our daily devotions. We are reminded in Sunday School and the morning sermon. We are reminded at the LORD’s table. We remember our baptism. We are reminded in our conscience. We are reminded by the faithful admonition of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are reminded by the rod of God’s correction. We are reminded when we give to the work of the LORD. We just cannot be reminded enough in this world filled with chaos that when God speaks peace to you; he means it.
The words of benediction tell us that God will give us strength and peace. Let us be content.
