Psalm 29

I'm just gonna share a little bit of what the Father's been dealing with me about in recent days.

Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, 

(You're a mighty one in the eyes of the King.  That's why you and I are called kings and priests before Him [Rev. 1:6].  We are carriers of His dominion and His glory, created in His image of morality, will, and authority [Gen. 1:26; Matt. 10; Luke 10].  At the same time, we also serve Him as a priest and intercessor, joining our faith with believers [Matt. 18:19-20] and being signs and wonders for nonbelievers [John 4:48].  This is His great pleasure for us. [Eph. 1:9])

Give unto the Lord glory and strength.

Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;

Worship the Lord in the beauty of his holiness.

(You and I were created to give Him wholehearted praise, not just with our lips nor our mouths, but with our heart.  Jesus has said, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks [Luke 6:45].  Our words we say are only a hint of where our hearts actually are.  Our actions we perform are, like our words, only a hint of where our hearts actually are.  We, as believers, are called to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth [John 4:24] , with all that we are, if for no other reason than just for who He is.  Because of His nature, He is already worthy of our praise.  But because we know what He is capable of - saving us, restoring us, making our lives new, healing us, baptizing us with the Holy Ghost and power - in our minds, He becomes even more worthy.  We know that He is enthroned on the praises of His people [Psa. 22:3].  Another version says that He inhabits the praises of His people.  So that's why we worship Him in the beauty of holiness because there's something incredibly beautiful about the place where He and I meet.  It's holiness because He 's there with me, but it's also beautiful because we are there together.)

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

The God of glory thunders;

The Lord is over many waters.

The voice of the Lord is power;

The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

(The voice of the Lord is power.  It's nothing less than that.  When He speaks, all of creation lines up directly and immediately to His commands.  With His voice, He causes the dead to be raised [John 11:43; Rom. 4:17].  With His voice, He calms the roaring winds and raging seas [Psa. 107:29; Mark 4].  With His voice, He makes victories over His sons become a reality [Exo. 14:14; Rev. 19:15].  We could go on and on about the power of His voice.  There are so many things that we don't see, yet we know that the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.  Just like in an empire or a kingdom of old, what the king says is done - no questions asked. It's the same way with the King and His kingdom.  That's why we as believers trust in the written Word of God.  We speak His word over our lives and situations and no that even if something doesn't happen immediately in the physical realm that worlds are moving in the spiritual realm.  We trust Him in that because we know that it's impossible for God to lie [Titus 1:2; Heb. 6:18].

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars,

Yes, the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes them also skip like a calf,

Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox.

(Whether it is the hugest tree in existence or whether it is the animals that live on the earth, they are moved by the voice of God.  It's impossible for everything that has a breath, whether they receive it or whether they reject it, not to be moved.  This is why the story of the Cross causes so much controversy.  If I tell someone a  movie plot of a man risking his life to save his daughter from drowning in the ocean, it's a box office hit.  If I tell someone the story of Jesus, there's offense.  The reason why is this - every story that involves rescuing is just a foretaste of the Cross.  Men and women become so angry at my persistence to serve Jesus because they, like you and I, were created to live out the same story.  It causes conviction to come over their hearts that they disguise as condemnation so they can manage their emotions.  Regardless of even if they ever repent, it doesn't change the fact that the story that saved my life is and was still true.  Because of that, God is in attempt to woo the entirety of mankind.  He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance [2 Pet. 3:9].  The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men [Titus 2:11].  That's why they have no excuse [Rom. 1:20].  God, in times past, overlooked their ignorance, but is now calling all men everywhere to repent [Acts 17:30].  The point is - creation, all of it, is moved at the very real voice of God.)

The voice of the Lord divides the flames of fire.

(A foreshadowing of Matt. 3:11, Luke 24:49, Acts 1:8, and Acts 2:1-4, perhaps?  Psalm 104 says that He makes His ministers [servants] as a flaming fire [supernatural fire].  That could be why He's called a consuming fire [Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:29].  Fire is used to purify and set a part (Job 23:10).  Fire is used in testing (Mal. 3:2).  Fire is used in passion.  I had a friend that used to preach, 'If your heart's just on fire, you're not serving my God.  My God is a consuming fire - every part of me is aflame!'  You're on fire, mighty one!)

The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

The Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth,

And stripes the forests bare;

(Again, all of creation lines up to His voice.  Whether the tallest trees or the swiftest animals, nothing can escape to be moved by His voice.  That's why we tell the sun to stand still [Jos. 10] and mountains to move [Matt. 17:20-21].  They have no other choice but to listen to us.  Not because of who we are, but because of who He is, the everlasting God, inside of us.  Exodus 15:3 calls Him a man of war.  Because if His word is in us, it will come out of us.  Jeremiah 20:9 says that it's a fire shut up in my bones.  If I try to keep it in, it will burn me up.  His word causes things to happen.  Plain and simple.)

And in His temple, everyone says, "Glory!"

(It's honor, strength, power, and dominion to Him forever.  It's all about Him and not about us.  That's why 1 Corinthians 1:31 says, Let him that boasts boast in the Lord.  Whether I eat or whether I drink or whatever I do, I do unto the glory of God [Col. 3:23].  The man that has given himself over to God fully can do nothing else.  The man that has given himself over to God is fully incapable of taking credit for anything.  That man knows  that there is nothing that is in existence without the sustainable power of the living God's words keeping it there.  'Glory' here literally means 'honor, splendor, abundance of riches, reputation, and dignity' belonging to Him alone.)

And the Lord sat enthroned at the Flood,

And the Lord sits as King forever.

(Genesis 6 tells about the flood of Noah's day.  The Lord was not moved by circumstance, nor is He ever.  He is immutable and consistent in His ability to be unchanging [Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8].  The Lord is moved by faith, but if the wicked are indeed faithless, He remains on His throne.  This scene, in it of itself, shows His sovereignty.  The King of glory is supreme.  There is nothing beside Him, nor can anything dare to stand next to Him.  Isaiah 40, the Lord says to whom shall you compare Me unto?  Psalm 77, the Psalmist writes who is as great a God as our God?  Neither situation, nor circumstance, nor emotion, nor anything can shake even the foundations of His throne.)

The Lord will give strength to His people;

The Lord will bless His people with peace.

(Strength is a promise for you and I.  Exodus 15:2 says the Lord is my strength and my song.  1 Samuel 30:6 shows that we have the ability to strengthen ourselves in the Lord [Eph. 6:18; 1 Cor. 14:5; Rom. 8:26-27].  Peace by blessing is a promise for us.  We have perfect peace when our minds are stayed on Him [Isa. 26:3].  We have peace that passes every part of our understanding [Phil. 4:6-8].  We have peace that only Jesus, not this world, can give [John 14:27].  Peace consumes us as a part of the fruit of the Spirit [Gal. 5:21].  And our God, He is the God of peace [Rom. 16; 1 Cor. 14; 2 Cor. 13; 1 Thess. 5].  That's why we know that no matter what happens, whether a flood or whether a shining sun, whether we understand it or whether we don't, we'll be in peace.  His voice brings us peace.)

It's an amazing thing to know the authority of His voice.  Everything, like we talked about before, is in complete submission to any and everything God says.  The word of God is all powerful and causes all of creation to be moved.  His voice is the One we know and we will not follow another [John 10:27].

Believe Him and His word.  He'll never leave, never fail, never forsake [Deut. 31:6; Isa. 41:10-13; Heb. 13:5].  The only way we'll know that is if we read His love letter to us.