Psalm 29 is meant to be read during a thunderstorm. Maybe that's because a lot of people are afraid during storms and they need to be reminded that God is in control of every single molecule. When I was a little girl, there would sometimes be thunderstorms in the middle of the night. My dad would come into our rooms and get us up and we would all go into the living room and sit on the couch by the picture window to watch the storm. He told us that the thunder was God's voice! I didn't know it at the time, but he got that idea from this Psalm.
Ascribe to the Lord Glory
A Psalm of David.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth[c]
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless[d] his people with peace!
the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless[d] his people with peace!
Did you know that this psalm used to be read to children or to entire congregations during a storm? To appreciate this psalm, you need to get out into field and experience a real storm. The psalm marches to the tune of thunderbolts. You can almost hear the thunder as the psalm is read out loud. Let your imagination run with the imagery in the psalm--cedars are breaking, fire is flashing everywhere, there are earthquakes, and the forests are stripped bare.
I bet you saw the devastation of the hurricanes on our east coast and saw the fires on the west coast on TV. And the volcanoes in Hawaii. Seeing these things should make us praise God! In this psalm even the angels are petitioned to give glory to God for these wondrous works.
A lot of people today would not praise God for that kind of stuff. Instead, they get mad at God for sending storms--not even realizing that he is trying to get their attention in order to save them from a worse fate--forever. Sometimes it takes a devastating storm or great loss for people to realize what is really important.
Did you notice that right in the middle of all the storms, the Lord is still helping the deer give birth? And when you get to the last line--He gives his people peace. God is perfectly calm during the whole storm. Who does that remind you of? It reminds me of Jesus falling asleep in the boat when the poor disciples were going out of their minds during the storm on Galilee.
The bottom line is this: God gives us storms not only to show his great power, but as a warning of future judgment. The storms of life help to keep us on track and to fear God.
Here are a couple of pics from a recent snow storm we had:
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