posted by Isaac
Psalm 29 paints an amazing picture of God’s glory and majesty being revealed in a storm. David, the Psalmist, begins the Psalm by crying out to the angels: “Attribute to the Lord glory and strength!” Glory and strength belong to God. A similar exclamation to Peter’s: “To him be power and glory forever and ever (1 Peter 4:11).”
After this exclamation and call to worship, David begins to detail God’s power and ability revealed in a mighty storm. The imagery is so vivid it is not difficult to postulate that David had been brought to poetic creation by witnessing a great storm and being drawn to see God’s hand at work in a visbily mighty way. Anyone who has ever gazed in theological awe at the creation’s movements will have experienced this adulation.
I recall two particular times I can identify with this.
The first time I saw the ocean I was brought to worship God for his greatness. Standing on the beach of Pensacola, Florida and gazing across the seemingly never-ending ocean I was humbled at the reminder of my smallness in contrast to the great God whom the Scriptures proclaim “measures the oceans in the palm of his hand.”
Another experience I had was just a few weeks ago when a mighty thunder storm came upon Dallas suddenly. I took my little daughter outside with me to stand in our patio under the awning. I wanted her to see the mighty hand of God while resting securely in her father’s arms. I was in awe as we were engulfed by the storm clouds. The lighting flashed in rapid successions, the thunder shouted quickly following the flashes in the drama. Our utter helplessness was revealed to both of us, and I prayed with my daughter a prayer of thanksgiving that the God of the storm is our Father who is in heaven.
This experience of mine is very similiar to David’s experience. He says: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters/ the God of glory thunders/ the Lord is upon the abundant waters.” The voice of the Lord is often used to describe thunder in the Old Testament, and that this is the intent here is obvious by the verb “thunders” in the second line.
The phrase “upon the abundant waters” could mean a few different things and its meaning here does not become clear until v.10 when a similar image is used. In v.10 David says: “The Lord sits on the “flood”/ The Lord sits as the eternal king.” The word “flood” is only used elsewhere in Genesis chapters 6-11 to refer to the waters of the Great Flood. This has caused some translators to see this as a direct refrence to the Great Flood (cf. ASV, ESV). However, though this is possible, the refrence is more likely to the rains which brought the flood. Remember that during the time of the flood the clouds were opened and the fountains of the deep burst. The clouds opening is a refrence to the “heavenly sea” of Gen. 1:7. In Hebrew cosmology there was a heavenly sea from which the rainwater comes from. Since this Psalm is speaking about God’s might being seen in the storm it is fitting that the stormclouds, the bringer of the rain of the heavenly sea, is seen as God’s throne. God sits on top of the stormclouds directing the storm, and his voice thunders.
Notice the description David gives as the glorious God strips creation of its glory: “The voice of the Lord shatters the cedars/ The Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them to skip like a newborn calf/ Lebanon and Sirion are like baby oxen.” Here David sees the mighty effects of the storm. The cedars of Lebanon in the Old Testament and in the ancient world in general were a symbol of might and glory. The trees of the mighty forests of Lebanon were coveted by kings, because the king who chopped them down and took them for wood was seen as a strong and mighty king. But God shatters these mighty trees like toothpicks. His lighting (associated with the thunder) throws them to and fro causing them to look like baby calves who are skipping around for the first time.
David continues: “The voice of the Lord strikes with flames of fire. The Lord trembles the wilderness/ The Lord rattles the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord trembles the trees/ and strips the forest of its leaves. And everyone in his temple proclaims ‘Glory!’”
In the ancient Middle East a king was also a great warrior. Here God is the ultimate warrior King. He sits on the storm clouds thundering his voice and striking down the might of the mighty forest.
And so David says: “The Lord sits on the storm clouds/ The Lord sits as the Eternal King.”
But I want to draw attention to the final verse of the Psalm for it helps us to put in perspective what David’s faith had directed him to see in the storm. He had clearly seen God’s power and glory. But we would miss what he took comfort in if we did not have this final verse. The nature of the verbs in verse 11 is difficult to discern. They could be taken as a request and thus translated as “May the Lord…” or they could be taken as simple future such as “The Lord will…” But what is more likely is that the verbs are a type of verb called “imperfect of capability.” Imperfect is merely the tense of the verb, and capability is the category of the Imperfect usage in this context. This is the best understanding of David’s comfort in his reflection of what he has experienced by the great storm, because his experience has led him to reflect on an amazing reality: The God of the storm is the God of Israel, he is our God! If this is true, how can David or Israel ever fear earthly enemies?
And thus David proclaims: “God is able to give strength to his people/ God is able to bless his people with peace.” This verse must be understood from David’s perspective since his proclamaiton would likely be missed by a modern mind. When David thinks of peace he does not mean a peace treaty. He does not mean a political compromise when there still exists real hostility. Any intelligent person knows this is not peace, and neither side sits in security.
When David speaks of peace he is thinking in terms of Lev. 26:5b-7 where God promises his people: “And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ” When David speaks of peace he is refrencing the kingdom of God, the kingdom of righteousness conquering the wicked enemeis of God and being rid of them. David has realized by seeing the might of the great storm that Israel has access to this might since the God of the storm is their God. Thus, God is able to make them strong. He is able to give them his strength and to make them to conquer their enemies, thus giving them security and peace.
This can be seen as parallel to the Christian’s battle against sin. Sin is an enemy that must be conquered but we do not have the ability to do so. But Christ’s victory in his life, death and resurrection has given us access to God the Father by the Holy Ghost. We have been united to Christ and can overcome the Sin that would reign over us. The victory of the cross is like the victory of the storm. The might of the resurrection is like the might of the thunder. Our enemies which are so great and mighty to us were conquered by Jesus Christ and we now have access to this strength and victory (Romans 5-8).
If we tried cutting the mighty cedars of Lebannon with our hands we would end up defeated and broken. This is what would happen if we tried battling sin by our natural might. But by the grace of God we are granted the strength which shatters the great trees of Lebanon, and this is the grace given to us to battle our enemes. Let us look at the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. His Temptation. His agony and bloody sweat in the Garden. His Passion. His glorious Resurrection. That is the might and strong power of God David saw in the storm. Let us peer upon our Lord and proclaim in our battle against our enemies: “The Lord is able to give his people strength/ The Lord is able to give his people peace.”
I close with these statements from the New Testament of Christ’s victory over our enemies:
(World) Jesus: “If they have hated me, they also will hate you. But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
(Sin) Paul: “Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(Death) Paul: “Death where is your victory? Death where is your sting?…But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
(The Evil One) Paul: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under you feet.”
May the Grace and Peace of God be with you always. Amen.
Thanks for this reminder of God’s immensity and sovereignty over all the earth. Your prayer with your daughter moved my heart to reflect on our God. And to think that this God in the storm with all his flashing, roaring and majesty is our God, the God of supremacy who is for us. As He proved himself the God of Israel by His mighty signs in the exodus even so He is our God because He acts for us in Jesus Christ. Though the mountain called Sinai thundered, flashed and bellowed smoke, yet did mount Calvary dwarf Sinai as Sinai was a revelation of God to man but Calvary a revelation of God in a man, the man Jesus Christ who died and rose out of the dead for us. God’s nature, to us wild and uncontrollable, is, so to say, tamed in Jesus our precious Savior. Our God is no distant God in the heavens. Such power and might and such grace and kindness! As such a storm as you experienced kept you in the refuge of your own porticoe how much more is Christ a refuge from the coming, untamable storm of a promised eternal judgment. O Lord God, bless your people.