Psalm 29 Continued…
Psalm 29:8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert; the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
“The voice of the Lord shakes” is literally, “makes tremble.” At least one writer believes this is an allusion to the effect of the storm on the sands of the desert. The thunderstorm has moved southward over Palestine, and spends its last fury on the southern wilderness, and the poet seizes on what is one of the most striking phenomena of a storm in such a terrain—the whirlwind of sand (sandstorm).
“Shakes the desert” or rather, causes it to shake or to tremble. The word used here means “to dance;” to be whirled or twisted upon anything; to twist, as with pain—or, to writhe; and then, to tremble, to quake. The forests, the ground itself, the trees in it, and the beasts that live there are caused to be in pain, and are made to tremble or quake by the fierceness of the storm, referring still to what the thunder, lightning, and the wind, seems to do.
“The Desert of Kadesh” was the wilderness located on the southeastern border of the Promised Land, and on the northern border of Edom, and not far from Mount Hor. It is distinguished as having been the place where the Israelites twice encamped with the intention of entering Palestine from that point, but from where they were twice driven back. The first time after having been given the sentence that they must wander forty years in the wilderness; and the second time, because of the refusal of the king of Edom to allow them to pass through his territories. It was from Kadesh that the spies entered Palestine. See Numbers 13:17, Numbers 13:26; Numbers 14:40-45; Numbers 21:1-3; Deuteronomy 1:41-46; Judges 1:7. There seems to have been nothing special about this wilderness which led David to select it for his illustration, except that it was well known and it would suggest an image that would be familiar to the Israelites. In verses 5 and 6 he spoke of the effect of the storm on lofty trees, and he had given poetic beauty to the description by “specifying” Lebanon and Sirion, so here he refers, for the same purpose, to a particular forest when illustrating the power of the storm, the desert of “Kadesh.”
With the mention of Kadesh, a vast and desolate region, which is at the opposite extremity of Palestine from Lebanon and Mount Hermon, the storm is made to extend over the entire Holy Land, from the far north to the extreme south, and to embrace the lofty mountain-chains, the hills and valleys of Palestine proper, and the arid region of the south where Judea merges into Arabia.
Psalm 29:9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks and strips the forests bare. And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
“The voice of the Lord” means, as it has throughout this psalm, the thunder present during the storm.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
“And in his temple” has one of the following meanings:
(1) In heaven, where angels and glorified saints are continually employed in speaking of His glorious name, nature, and works. “The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne.” (Psalm 11:4). The Lord’s throne is in heaven—God is a king, ruling the universe. As such, the seat of his power or dominion is represented as in heaven, where he administers his government.
(2) In the temple, or tabernacle at Jerusalem, where the Levites stood to praise the Lord morning and evening, and where the tribes went up to worship, and to give thanks unto the Lord—“They were also to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. They were to do the same in the evening.” (1 Chronicles 23:30). The two solemn times of offering sacrifices; which included public prayer and thanksgiving.
(3) The church of God, which is the temple of the living God, where saints get together, and speak of the glory of God, for they have heard the voice of Christ, and have felt the power of it, and have found it to be a soul-shaking, an heart-breaking, and an illuminating voice, and they have come to declare it to the glory of the grace of God.
(4) The world itself, which is considered the residence or dwelling-place of God. Perhaps the true translation would be, “And in his temple everything says, Glory!” That is, in the dwelling-place of God—the world of nature—the sky, the earth, the forests, the waters, everything in the storm, echoes “glory, glory!” All these things declare the glory of God; all these wonders—the voice of God upon the waters; the thunder; the crash of the trees upon the hills; the shaking of the wilderness; the universal amazement; the leaves stripped from the trees and flying in every direction—all proclaim the majesty and glory of Yahweh.
Psalm 29:10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
“The Lord sits enthroned over the flood” means that God is over the flood, or presides over it. The obvious meaning is, that God is enthroned upon the storm, or presides over that which produces such anxiety. It is not undirected; it is not the result of chance or fate; it is not produced by mere physical laws; it is not without restraint (without a ruler), for Yahweh presides over all He has created, and all this may be regarded as his throne.
The word “flood” used here is commonly applied to the deluge in the time of Noah, but there are problems with that. It makes more sense to suppose that the reference is to the floods which emanate from above—the vast reservoirs of waters stored in the clouds, which are poured out upon the earth amidst the fury of the storm.
The Lord “sits” (sitting is the posture of a judge, or ruler; see Psalm 9:7-9; 47:8; Joel 3:12) and rules over even violent deluges of water, which sometimes fall upon the earth from the clouds; and they could cause great damage and loss of life if God did not prevent it. And this may be yet another reason why God’s people praised and worshiped Him in His temple, because just as He sends terrible tempests, and lightning, and floods, so he also restrains and overrules them.
The Lord is enthroned as king forever.
This is an appropriate close for the entire psalm; this is a thought which tends to make the mind calm and restores confidence when the winds howl and the thunder rolls; this concurs with the leading purpose of the psalm—the call upon the sons of the mighty (v. 1) to ascribe strength and glory to God. From all the terrors of the storm; from all that is fearful, on the waters, in the forests, on the hills, when it would seem as if everything would be swept away—the mind turns calmly to the thought that God is enthroned upon the clouds, that He is in control, that He presides over all that produces this widespread alarm and commotion, and that He will reign forever and ever. Just as God had showed himself to be the King and the Judge of the world at the time of the Great Flood, so he does still sit, and will sit as King for ever, sending such tempests as it pleases him to send. And therefore his people have great reason to worship and serve him.
Psalm 29:11 The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
“The Lord gives strength to his people” is a practical application of the sentiments of the psalm, or a conclusion which is legitimately derived from the main thought in the psalm. The idea is that the God who presides over the storm, the God who has such power, and can produce such effects, is more than able to sustain His people, and to defend them.
The Lord will give strength to his people to support and preserve them in the most dreadful storms and disturbances, whether they are products of nature or of earth’s inhabitants; and, consequently, in all the dangers they face, and against all their enemies. He will strengthen and fortify them against every evil work, and equip them for every good work: out of weakness they shall be made strong. The Lord will give strength unto his people—His special people, his covenant people, whom he has chosen for himself; these who are seized with infirmities, and are weak in themselves; but there is strength for them in Christ: the Lord promises it to them, and bestows it on them, and which is a pure gift of his grace unto them.
Power was displayed in the storm, whose destruction is pictured in this Psalm; and now, in the cool calm after the storm, that power is promised to be the strength of the chosen.
The Lord will give strength, to support and preserve them in the most dreadful tempests, and consequently in all other dangers, and against all their enemies.
“The Lord blesses his people with peace”—they have nothing to fear in the storm; nothing to fear from anything. He will bless them with peace in the storm; He will bless them with peace through that power by which He controls the storm. Let them, therefore, not fear in the storm, however fiercely it may rage; let them not be afraid in any of the troubles and trials of life.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
PRAY
Thank you Father that I have nothing to fear in you! Thank you for your peace!