Reflections on Psalms 29

 Psalms 29(Contemporary English Version)

1. (A psalm by David.) All of you angels in heaven, honor the glory and power of the LORD!
   
2. Honor the wonderful name of the LORD, and worship the LORD most holy and glorious.
   
3. The voice of the LORD echoes over the oceans. The glorious LORD God thunders above the roar of the raging sea,
   
4. and his voice is mighty and marvelous.
   
5. The voice of the LORD destroys the cedar trees; the LORD shatters cedars on Mount Lebanon.
   
6. God makes Mount Lebanon skip like a calf and Mount Hermon jump like a wild ox.
   
7. The voice of the LORD makes lightning flash
   
8. and the desert tremble. And because of the LORD, the desert near Kadesh shivers and shakes.
   
9. The voice of the LORD makes deer give birth before their time. Forests are stripped of leaves, and the temple is filled with shouts of praise.
   
10. The LORD rules on his throne, king of the flood forever.
    
11. Pray that our LORD will make us strong and give us peace.

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Psalm 29 is David's commentary on God's majesty as seen in a powerful thunderstorm. Insurance companies today refer to property damage caused by weather as "acts of God." This was David's point in this psalm. The storm he witnessed was indeed an act of God demonstrating the power of the Creator. He spoke of the thunder in this storm as the "The voice of the LORD." The voice of the Lord, David said, spoke in power and in splendor. It shattered the cedars of Lebanon and caused the mountains of Lebanon and Sirion to skip like calves as it caused them to quake. The voice of the Lord shot out flames of fire with the streaking lightening and shook the wilderness of Kadesh, causing the deer to give birth prematurely and stripping the woodlands bare.

Storms can be majestic, but also frightening. When viewed as an act of God, envisioning God in the storm, God might be seen as angry and destructive. But if we understand God's nature as loving and merciful, we can see in the storm God's power and splendor that He offers on our behalf when we place our trust in Him and call upon Him for help. The pagans of David's day attributed the storms to their false gods, but David was saying, no, it is the work of the Lord. The athiest may say it is just our imagination attributing nature to the handiwork of God, but the disciples of Jesus got a first-hand demonstration when Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee. There was no doubt who controlled that storm.

In verse 11 David brings home his point, "The LORD gives His people strength; the LORD blesses His people with peace." The same God who causes the powerful storm "gives His people strength" and blesses them with peace.