Psalm 29 Continued…
Psalm 29:5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
“The voice of the Lord”—literally, the voice of Yahweh: the thunder, and those things that either occur before it or following it, such as lightning, high winds, thunder bolts, storms, gale whirlwind.
“Breaks the cedars”—the thunder breaks the lofty trees of the forest. David speaks of things as they seemed, attributing to thunder that which was really produced by the lightning. It is now commonly understood that the destruction referred to here is not produced by thunder, but by the electrical power produced in the clouds, which then passes from the clouds to the earth. That power is so great that when it strikes the oak or the cedar, it can split or twist off their limbs, or topple their lofty trunks to the ground, or turn up the roots huge trees.
Lebanon’s cedars are loftiest and longest-living of Eastern trees; they are often referred to in the Scriptures as remarkable for their size and grandeur:
• 1 Kings 4:33: “He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls.”
• 1 Kings 5:6: “So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me.”
• Psalm 92:12: “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.”
• Ezra 3:7: “Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.”
Lebanon was a part of northern Canaan, and consequently became the homeland of Canaanite descendants. It was famous for its cedar trees which were the tallest, thickest, and most durable of any place in the habitable world.
Psalm 29:6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion like a young wild ox.
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf
This probably refers to the cedars of Lebanon mentioned in the preceding verse. The meaning is that the lightning tore off the large branches, and uprooted the loftiest trees, so that they seemed to play and dance like calves frolicking in their pasture.
If the cedars of Lebanon are not meant, then David means the moving of mountains by the force of the sound of thunder. In this verse, the great mountains of Lebanon and Hermon are moved out of their places, or at least are made to appear as moving. Furthermore, there is a mighty earthquake that shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. This language is used elsewhere in description of the mountains…
• Psalm 114:4: “The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.” The mountains skipped like rams. . . The Mountains of Sinai and Horeb quaked and moved at the presence of the Lord, when he descended on them to give the law; they saw his glory and trembled (Exodus 19:18).
“Sirion like a young wild ox” that is, these mountains move and skip about through the force of thunder, and the violence of an earthquake which accompanies it.
This may concern the inward movements of the mind, produced by the Gospel of Christ under a divine influence—“Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” (Isaiah 35:6).
“Sirion” was a mountain in Judea, called that by the Sidonians, and it is also called Mount Hermon; and was located beside Mount Lebanon—“(Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.)” (Deuteronomy 3:9). Lebanon and Hermon are the highest mountains in Palestine. It is the lightning and thunder that makes the mountains prance like young antelopes!
“Like a young wild ox”—the KJV actually uses the word “unicorn” here. The meaning of the word is uncertain, but here it refers to a strong, and fierce, and untamable wild beast; though most think the reference is to wild oxen, buffalo, rhinoceros, or antelope. The illustration would be the same if any young wild animal were referred to.
Psalm 29:7 The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning.
Or “cuts with flames of fire;” that is, the thunder breaks through the clouds with flames of fire, or lightning—“He turned their rain into hail, with lightning throughout their land;” (Psalm 105:32)—and the lightening cleaves into pieces trees and masts of ships; it cuts and hews them down, and divides them into a thousand splinters.
Some believe this refers, in a figurative and mystical sense, to the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, the Lord descended in fire, and from his right hand went a fiery law. But this may also be applied to the tongues of fire which sat upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, as a symbol of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit bestowed on them. However, the best application for this verse may be, as before, to the voice of Christ in the Gospel, which cuts down all the pretended goodness of men, and lays them to the ground, as it says in Hosea 6:5—“Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth; my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.”
The Gospel, which is sharp and quick, lays open all the secrets of the heart—“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12). The Gospel is the means of enlightening men’s eyes to see their sad estate, and their need of Christ, and salvation by faith in Him and full obedience to Him; and of warming their souls with its refreshing truths and promises, and of inflaming their love for God and Christ, and of setting their affections on things above, and of causing their hearts to burn within them.
PRAY
Father God thank you that your voice is not unknown to me. Help me to never grow to casual with your Words. Search my heart.