God Speaks
29 A psalm of David.
1 Honor the Lord, you heavenly beings;
honor the Lord for his glory and strength.
2 Honor the Lord for the glory of his name.
Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea.
The God of glory thunders.
The Lord thunders over the mighty sea.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars;
the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon’s mountains skip like a calf;
he makes Mount Hermon leap like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with bolts of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord makes the barren wilderness quake;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists mighty oaks
and strips the forests bare.
In his Temple everyone shouts, “Glory!”
10 The Lord rules over the floodwaters.
The Lord reigns as king forever.
11 The Lord gives his people strength.
The Lord blesses them with peace.
30 A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the Temple.
1 I will exalt you, Lord, for you rescued me.
You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,
and you restored my health.
3 You brought me up from the grave, O Lord.
You kept me from falling into the pit of death.
4 Sing to the Lord, all you godly ones!
Praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment,
but his favor lasts a lifetime!
Weeping may last through the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6 When I was prosperous, I said,
“Nothing can stop me now!”
7 Your favor, O Lord, made me as secure as a mountain.
Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.
8 I cried out to you, O Lord.
I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
9 “What will you gain if I die,
if I sink into the grave?
Can my dust praise you?
Can it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear me, Lord, and have mercy on me.
Help me, O Lord.”
11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.
You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever!
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Psalm 29: The psalmist begins by calling for people to ascribe to the Lord the honor, might, strength, and glory due Him and His name. He does this through choosing words that (at least in Hebrew) imitate the sound of a powerful thunderstorm. The word for God’s voice is used seven times–the Bible number signifying completion. The Hebrew word for voice sounds like thunder and conveys a sense of God’s majesty and power. This author is reminded of the thunder and lightning on Mount Sinai just before God gave Moses the ten commandments. In verses 10 and 11 the storm is calmed, and the Lord reigns, bringing strength and peace to His people. Again, this author recalls Jesus calming the storms on the Sea of Galilee along with calming His disciples.
*Psalm 30: Fr. Reardon comments that this psalm could be applied both to David individually and to the dedication of the temple. David could have prayed this psalm in his relief at finally ascending to the throne after years of running, hiding, and nearly being killed by Saul at least twice. Again, Fr. Reardon pointed out that Psalm 30 is read during the yearly celebration of the Dedication (Hanukkah) of the temple. Antiochus Epiphanes IV had desecrated the temple and terrorized God’s Chosen people for a decade. When, in the winter of 165 BC, Judas Maccabaeus reclaimed, cleansed, and dedicated the temple, the liberated people could exclaim like David: “I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me.” (v 1) “But both David and the temple were ‘types’ of Him who was to come, and the deeper, truer voice in this psalm is Christ our Lord on the day of the Resurrection: ‘O Lord, you have brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down into the abyss.’ (v 3)” (Reardon p. 57).
* The author of this blog was strongly influenced by the comments of Patrick Henry Reardon in his book Christ in the Psalms, pages 55-58.
Prayer: You, O God, are the God who speaks. Your voice is sometimes scary like a fierce thunderstorm, but then You either calm the storm or You calm me like a little child. I honor You and call on others to join me. O gracious Father God, words of thanks are not enough to express my deep gratitude. You have rescued me from my enemies. You have restored my health. You kept me from going down into the grave. I will tell everyone about Your greatness and grace. You bring joy in the morning after a night of darkness and mourning. When I tried to make it on my own, I thought things were going well, but then You took away Your blessing, and I was shattered. I cried out to You, “I can’t praise You from the grave. Please hear me and have mercy on me, O Lord.” In Your great love, You did hear! You’ve made me dance for joy. I will sing of Your love forever. I won’t be silent anymore. I will sing Your praises throughout eternity. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will not be afraid of the thunder but heed the voice of the LORD.
- I will make a list of the attributes of God so that I can honor Him properly and often.
- I will pray for various people (even nations) that are under both physical and spiritual attack that they would be rescued and be able to extol the Lord using Psalm 30.
- I will tell someone how they can be set free, from whatever bondage, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and be able to extol the Lord using Psalm 30.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.