"The Voice of the Lord"
In Psalm 29:3-10, David writes concerning "the voice of the Lord." In those verses, he lists seven ways that the voice of the Lord is powerful. He does not intend for the list to be inclusive of everything that God's voice can accomplish, but it does cover many aspects pertaining to His ability.
"The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is over many waters" (v. 3). The reader may think of other passages. The most obvious one is Genesis 1:2, where the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. The thundering might remind one of the Lord speaking at Mount Sinai, where He communicated verbally the Ten Commandments to the people. They told Moses that the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking were more than they could bear (Ex. 20:18-19). In the Book of Job, Elihu writes something similar:
Hear attentively the thunder of His voice, and the rumbling that comes from His mouth. He sends it forth under the whole heaven, His lightning to the end of the earth. After it a voice roars; He thunders with His majestic voice, and He does not restrain them when His voice is heard. God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things we cannot comprehend (Job 37:2-5).
Do we not learn from these passages that the voice of the Lord is authoritative? Who is able to contradict God successfully? Should not our response to Him be, "Yes, Master"? We cannot compete with Him on any level; He is superior to us in any way comparisons can be measured. How puny are all of man's voices together against our Creator! The collective will of human beings was expressed at the Tower of Babel, and it availed nothing. People could not understand the speech of each other, and the project born of rebellion was abandoned.
Many scholars view this Psalm as though David has just observed and recorded his impressions after a thunderstorm passes by. The description does lend itself to such a phenomenon, but the lessons cited are valid regardless of the context.
"The voice of the Lord is powerful" (v. 4a). What God speaks is accomplished—instantaneously. His authority is seen in Psalm 33:6: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." The next verse mentions water: "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses" (v. 7).
Psalm 33:8 explains what the reaction of mankind ought to be: "Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." Why? The answer is that God cannot just authorize an accomplishment with His Word; He can bring about instantaneously: "For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast" (Ps. 33:9). Men have proposed great projects, such as putting a man on the moon back in the sixties. But it took years to accomplish it. We needed very careful planning and numerous trials in order to bring it about. God only needed to speak, and the idea immediately became a reality.
"The voice of the Lord is full of majesty" (Ps. 29:4b). It is not mixed with corruption—either of ideas or of speech. One will never hear from God the sophomoric gutter language that haunts locker rooms or the off-color vocabulary of "comedians." His language is pure (Ps. 119:140; Pr. 30:5). His voice lifts us up to a higher place; it inspires us to want to be obedient. It can take us from a world of sordidness to a realm of lofty benevolence—the place where we all long to dwell. Only God's voice is full of majesty.
"The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them to skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox" (Ps. 29:5-6). Now that would be a sight to see, but it is an example of the power of the Lord's voice. Could man give such a command—and it be obeyed? To ask is to answer it. God has power even over the forests. They may be mighty, but He is mightier. He can manipulate them at will.
"The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire" (Ps. 29:27). This description could refer to lightning strikes upon the forest. What can stand against God in such a situation? Branches and limbs are snapped off, thereby being reduced to kindling. Should God desire, a flame of fire could strike right at the trunk of a tree, splitting it. Certainly, God can prune it like no other.
"The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness" (Ps. 29:8a). Of course, the same could be said of any terrain anywhere. Most of the time we watch such phenomena from the safety of our homes, but imagine what it would be like out in such a devastating storm. This writer and some family members were playing golf one afternoon when some clouds and thunder rolled in. No concern was expressed until lightning struck a nearby tree. The unanimous decision was to quit the game and get off the course immediately. This flight was accompanied by an acknowledgement that human beings cannot match the power of nature, set in motion by God.
"The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth" (Ps. 29:9a). Yes, it is the case that a violent storm can cause animals to go into labor. The thunderings of the Lord frighten more than men. Notice that it does not take a tornado or a hurricane to get the attention of man; a much more common occurrence works.
Other Occasions
Bible readers do not find the voice of the Lord mentioned only in Psalm 29; it presents itself in dozens of other passages, some of which follow.
Adam and Eve heard it in the garden, but it was not a happy occasion after they sinned. Now that once-loving voice would be speaking punishments upon the couple. Similarly, Jesus taught noble words of salvation and died for our sins, but those who never obeyed the gospel will receive no words of grace on the Day of Judgment; they shall receive condemnation for their sins that they delighted in more than redemption. Those who knew and obeyed the truth but drew back shall take no delight in hearing the voice of the Lord on that day. It "would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them" (2 Peter 2:21).
"As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God" (Deut. 8:20). Some complain that God was too harsh in the era of the Old Testament. This false claim overlooks God's patience and His warnings of what was to come. Notice what God teaches in the verse.
He destroyed the nations of Canaan when Israel entered the land; we know that these peoples were idolaters and exceedingly sinful. Genesis 15:13 and 16 tell us that God gave them 400 years to repent because they were not evil enough yet.
But they perished at the hand of Israel (whom God fought for) when their cup of iniquity became full.
If Israel became disobedient to the Lord, they would likewise perish.
And that is exactly what happened. God had demonstrated His wrath upon the ungodly Canaanites after they exhausted His patience. They served as an object lesson on the way God deals with people. So, Israel knew this. Further, they were warned to take heed to that example because the same judgment would fall upon them. Now, if a nation—or an individual—sees an example and is given a warning, they do not have a complaint of unjust treatment by God. What more could He do?
The opposite is also true. When individuals listen to the voice of the Lord, "to keep all His commandments," then the eyes of the Lord are upon them (Deut. 13:18). The Lord much prefers it this way because He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 33:11); He is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9).
In Deuteronomy 28, blessings are promised to Israel if they obey the voice of the Lord (1-2); however, they are denied to the disobedient (15). All of God's commandments are for our good (Deut. 10:12-13).
The Remainder of Psalm 29
The American Standard Version seems to have the best translation of the first three lines of Psalm 29:
Ascribe unto Jehovah, O ye sons of the mighty, Ascribe unto Jehovah glory and strength. Ascribe unto Jehovah the glory due unto his name (29:1-2a).
David addresses this psalm to men (the sons of the Mighty). We may be the sons of God, but He is the one with might—not us. Anything great that we might do (as David did when facing Goliath) results from our belonging to Him, the One who possesses true strength and merits glory. This theme recurs in verses 10-11:
The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood,
And the Lord sits as King forever.
The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.
The Flood did not happen by accident; earth was not struck by a meteor that threw everything out of balance; it was a supernatural event: The fountains of the deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened (Gen. 7:11). God was enthroned at the time, presiding over what happened. Nothing happens without His knowledge. In fact, He brought the Flood about. It was specifically by His will.
Furthermore, this all-powerful One will give strength to His people. They will find that strength in the time that they need it. He will bless His people with peace also when they respect the voice of the Lord and obey Him.
In the second part of verse 2, David exhorts all: "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Many of the psalms have worship as a subject, but this one has stressed the power of the voice of the Lord. We might expect this instruction to be given at the conclusion of the psalm, but instead we find it early on. What is its connection to the rest of the psalm?
The same sentiment is expressed in 1 Chronicles 16:29 and Psalm 96:9, where God's glory and strength are also mentioned. We read similarly: "Ascribe unto Jehovah, ye kindreds of the peoples, Ascribe unto Jehovah glory and strength" (Ps. 96:7, ASV). After calling for His people to worship Him in the beauty of holiness, the writer adds: "Tremble before Him, all the earth" (v. 9).
God always remains worthy of respect, honor, and glory. The only way to offer worship to Him is with thoughts like these in mind. Worship is not about us and what we like or dislike; we have an obligation to honor Him in purity and holiness, according to what He has commanded. If He is superior to us in every way, why would we think we could improve on the expressions of worship He has given us? The same attitude holds true for the way He instructs us to live. We must remember constantly to "hear the voice of the Lord," "hear the voice of the Lord," "hear the voice of the Lord."