Psalm 29: Praise for God’s Power

Key Verses
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! 
 
Meditation
 
The Lord's power fuels praise from His people.
 
The One who commands creation is worthy of our worship because He speaks peace to His covenant people. After Jesus silenced the wind and the waves with a word, He went to the cross to redeem His people.
 
In today’s reading, David summons the hosts of heaven to join him in ascribing glory to the Lord (vv. 1-2). The heart of the psalm is the repeated refrain, "The voice of the Lord" (vv. 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9). His voice thunders over the waters, splinters the cedars of Lebanon, and shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. These places symbolized the supposed domain of Baal, the Canaanite storm god, but David declares that no rival can stand before the Lord. The God of Israel alone rules and is worthy of praise.
 
The key verse proclaims, "The Lord sits enthroned over the flood... the Lord sits enthroned as King forever" (v. 10). The sovereign King who rules above the storm gives "strength to His people" and "blesses His people with peace" (v. 11). This combination of storm, strength, and serenity is seen most powerfully at the cross. Jesus endured the storm of God’s judgment so those who believe can have peace with God, serenity in knowing Him as Savior. Strength is discovered in dependence on Jesus, faith in His work and word.
 
Faith in Jesus’ work discovers the power of the gospel, praise from a redeemed people who worship the Lord with our lips, lives, labor, and loves.
 
Today’s Reading
 
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, 
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 
2    Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; 
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. 
3    The voice of the Lord is over the waters; 
the God of glory thunders, 
the Lord, over many 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 to 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 makes the deer give birth 
and strips the forests bare, 
and in his temple all cry, “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! 
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you from today’s psalm, especially the power of the Lord (strength framing the psalm in vv. 1, 11) and the promises coming from praising God for His power?
 
-Where do you struggle to see the Lord’s power and authority? How does the revelation of this Psalm give you security and fuel strength?
 
-How does Jesus enduring the stormy wrath of the Father against sin deepen the authenticity of the offer of peace? And what part of your life do you need to apply this truth to?
 
-Where do you need to embrace the power of the gospel, the strength and serenity of God through our Savior Jesus, through living by faith?
 
Key Verses
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!