"The Voice of the Lord is Upon the Waters!" Psalm 29

 

Dennis Edwards

Psalm 29:1-2 “Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

We should give to God the best part of our lives, not just the leftovers of our days. The first moments of each day, as much as possible, we should give to the Lord. We should worship Him with our rising thoughts and words. His glory is above the heavens and He is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving, which should be continually upon our lips and in our hearts.

Psalm 29:3 “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thunders: the Lord is upon many waters.”

The first aspect of the above verse is the inexplicable fact that when people are sick or having troubles, they often go to the seaside and sit by the beach and listen to the calming effects of the waves as they break upon the shore. In their search for comfort, for answers, for solace, people often seek out a lonely spot on an isolated beach to walk with their thoughts and hear the "voice of the Lord upon the waters." 

The second aspect is that the psalmist may in fact be reminiscing over the creation event found in Genesis 1.

Genesis 1:1-3 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

In the above verses we find God the Father sending forth His Spirit to create through His spoken Word, or Voice. We see the Father. We see the Son, which was the Word or Voice Who became flesh in Jesus. We see the Holy Spirit, which God sent to move upon the face of the waters. We see the Trinity in action.

All throughout the first chapter of Genesis we see God speaking the creation into existence. God spoke and it was so. “And God said,” in other words, God’s spoken Word was the medium of creation.

In Genesis 3:8, when God walks in the Garden of Eden, He is called, “the voice of the Lord God.” Adam and Eve heard “the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden.” The “God body” that appeared to Adam and Eve walking in the garden was the "Voice of the Lord God," or the Word of the Lord God. The Gospel of John clarifies who that Word was and is.

John 1:1-4 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

John 1:14 “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth.”

John 1:17-18 "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."

Jesus Christ is the Word of God who walked with Adam and Eve in the garden in some sort of “God body.” Jesus was the creating force of the universe with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus later became flesh through His supernatural birth through Mary.

The Apostle Paul writes similarly.

Colossians 1:15 “(Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”

In the book of Hebrews we find a parallel statement.

Hebrews 1:1-4 “God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels, and has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”

Jesus is and was the creating “Voice of the Lord” we find in Genesis and in the Psalms and who spoke to the prophets in the Old Testament.

Psalm 29:4 “The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.”

We need to hear His voice daily to have the confidence that we are walking in the paths He desires for us. When we hear His voice, we have peace, no matter what circumstances we are facing. Hearing His voice has a powerful effect upon us.

Isaiah 55:3a “Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live.”

Hearing His voice gives us the peace that passes all understanding. When we are anxious and pour out our soul unto the Lord in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, God promises to hear us and answer our prayer. He may not answer as we wish, but He promises to send us the peace we need to face whatever situation we are in. His voice is powerful and hearing His voice personally causes us to experience a peace from God that is beyond human understanding.

Psalm 29:5-6 “The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; yea, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. He makes them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.”

God voice is over all of nature. By Him all things consist and are held together.

Psalm 29:7 “The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire.”

Isn’t it interesting that we like to sit in front of a fire and watch the flames. We are mesmerized by how the flames are divided in the fire. It’s God’s voice that divides the flame within the fire. Again, we see God upholding all things by the word of His power.

Psalm 29:8-9 “The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord makes the hinds to calve, and discovers the forests: and in His temple does every one speak of His glory.”

God is the one who brings forth new life. Apostle Paul in Acts 17:28a said, “For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

Psalm 29:10 “The Lord sits upon the flood; yea, the Lord sits King forever.”

Some scholars believe David is referring back to the Genesis Flood and God’s judgment on the world at that time and therefore inferring a future judgment where He will bring the world into submission to His will and finally sit as King forever.

Psalm 29:11 “The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.”

But in order to receive the strength and peace that we need, it is necessary for us to “Come unto Him.” In Isaiah we read,

Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Jesus communicates the same message in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

The strength is there. The power is there. The peace is there, but we need to do our part and come unto Him. We need to take time with Jesus. We need to take time with Jesus, today. If we read His word, if we get alone with Him, if we pour out your heart in prayer, if we thank Him for His many blessings, He promises to answer and supply our needs. But He’s waiting on us to come unto Him.

Please, don’t tarry with the chores and duties of life, and the preoccupations of the day. Choose the better part. Choose to take time alone with God, early before the day starts, if possible. With Him, you’ll find the strength, and power, and peace you need to carry on the tasks set before you. He’ll give you the strength, and power, and peace you need. It's a promise. Just come unto Him!

Prayer: Jesus, I really don’t know how to approach You. I don’t know how to “Come unto You.” Help me in my feeble efforts. Help me as I pour out my problems and worries to you in prayer. I thank you for my many blessings. Please hear my prayer and draw me closer to You. Help me to learn more of You and become Your child and follower. In Jesus’ name, I pray.