Psalm 29 Devotional
By Pastor Lawrence

Similarly to Psalm 8, where David gazes at the stars of heaven in wonder and awe, giving thanks that the Lord is mindful of him in the midst of His vast creation, in this psalm he is mesmerized by the raw power and fury of a great thunderstorm sweeping across the plains, standing before it in fear and reverence for the voice of the Lord that thunders forth from heaven. (See 1 Sam. 7.10; Ps. 18.13 and Isa. 30-31 for similar language describing the sound of the Lord’s voice thundering from heaven).

Interestingly, David begins this psalm calling upon the angels to praise the Lord for his strength, his glory and the splendor of his holiness. From their heavenly perspective, they can see more clearly the divine impetus for such mysterious displays of power on earth and have an even better view of the fireworks from up above. So, he calls upon them to join him in praise to the one who sits above the circle of the earth and speaks so majestically from heaven. Then turning back towards earth, David lifts up his own voice to ascribe glory and power to the voice of the Lord as he watches the lightning storm wreak havoc upon the forests splitting even the tall cedars of Lebanon like matchsticks. The towering mountains of Lebanon dominated by Sirion (or Mt. Hermon) seem to quake in fear or skip like a calf in every direction at the fierce display of the Lord when fire breaks forth and consumes the trees like tinder.

Moving swiftly from the mountains in the north to the desert in the south in Kadesh, the storm’s fury rages on, causing widespread damage and destruction in its wake, stripping the forests bare and instilling fear into the hearts of men and beasts alike. Then, turning his eyes back toward heaven again, David with eyes of faith perceives in light of this grand display that all the holy angels lift up their voice and cry “Glory!” to the one who sits enthroned above the waters, to the same one who sat above the earth during the time of the flood and brought forth his righteous judgment on earth. He is the King over all creation and the rightful ruler over all of its inhabitants.

In light of such a fearsome and righteous display of power, David prays for the Lord to grant peace and strength to his people that they might not be at odds with their maker and their king and that they might find courage and strength to walk before him faithfully in humility. Just as the disciples were full of fear in the midst of the storm at sea, so we are easily terrified when our world is shaken by powers outside of our control. Our courage and comfort should come from the fact that that the same God who brings forth the storms of life is also the one who rebukes the winds and the waves and hushes the law’s loud thunder.