Psalm 29

The Voice of God in a Great Storm

A Psalm of David.

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,^[a]
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
worship the Lord in holy splendor.

³ The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord, over mighty 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 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.

⁹ The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,^[b]
and strips the forest bare;
and in his temple all say, “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 his people with peace!

I have just about given up watching/reading/listening to the news. The reports so often seem to focus on the negative, as if everything is meant to cause fear or concern. (Coronavirus, civil unrest, hurricane season.)

There must be a way to face reality while seeking the power that can bring restoration to wholeness.

That’s the attitude that the psalmist David demonstrated when he watched a thunderstorm. I can only image how many times the shepherd boy David might have been caught out in the open fields as a storm came upon the flocks. Somehow, after surviving a storm or two in his life, David saw storms as an opportunity for God’s power to be displayed.

Maybe, when the storms of life are raging, we should also look for God’s power to come through.

¹¹ May the Lord give strength to his people!
May the Lord bless his people with peace!

Prayer

God, just as we are reminded of Your great power in a summer Florida thunderstorm, let us seek to see Your power as we face the storms that are raging around us this summer. Give us the strength and peace we desire as we wait and watch for Your will to be done. Amen.