When In A Storm
Psalms 29
March 2, 2019
When we read Romans 1,
We are informed of God’s expectations regarding nature.
1) God revealed Himself through nature
2) God expects to be glorified because of that revelation
3) God’s wrath is revealed against those who don’t.
Romans 1:18-23 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
• Paul was clear that through nature God revealed “His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature.”
• Paul was also clear that sinful man saw this, and yet “even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thinks”
• And then ultimately mankind chose to attribute the powers of creation and the powers of nature to false deities known as idols. Paul wrote, “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and of four-footed animals and crawling creatures.”
• It is no wonder then that we also saw that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven” against these people.
God has revealed Himself in creation
And He demands glory for that revelation.
The book of Psalms clearly realizes that.
In Psalms 8 David looked up to the night sky and worshiped God for His grace.
Psalms 8:3-4 “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him?”
In Psalms 19 David watched a sunrise and worshiped God for His faithfulness.
Psalms 19:1-6 “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their utterances to the end of the world. In them He has placed a tent for the sun, Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber; It rejoices as a strong man to run his course. Its rising is from one end of the heavens, And its circuit to the other end of them; And there is nothing hidden from its heat.”
In Psalms 29 David watches a catastrophic storm rip apart the landscape
And David worships God for His raw power.
Incidentally, this is not the only time God’s power is depicted
Through the power of a storm.
When God’s presence descended upon Mt. Sinai, we read:
Exodus 19:16-18 “So it came about on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunder and lightning flashes and a thick cloud upon the mountain and a very loud trumpet sound, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was all in smoke because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently.”
It was such a terrifying scene that the people
Were literally terrified at the presence of God.
Exodus 20:18-19 “All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die.”
They got the idea. God is powerful!
Another great incident of this is found in the book of Job.
• We are all familiar with the affliction of Job, and that he never sinned with his lips.
• However, it is also clear that Job did cross some lines in his questioning of God’s justice in the matter.
• And when God approached Job, He did so in a storm.
The storm actually begins during the sermon of Elihu:
TURN TO: JOB 36:24
(READ 24-33) – It is clear that a storm is rising and Elihu accounts it to the coming presence of God.
Job had said that he wanted God to appear and give an account.
Well, according to Elihu, that thunderstorm over there is Him.
And this even terrified Elihu:
(READ 37:1-5)
Elihu actually trembled that God was on His way.
Later Elihu would tell Job that he needed to learn a thing or two from this storm:
(READ 37:14-38:1)
And of course we know what happens then.
Job gets the worst brow-beating recorded in the Bible.
To which Job responds:
Job 42:1-6 “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”
Those are just a few examples in Scripture, but the general point is clear.
GOD DEMONSTRATES HIS POWER EVEN IN A STORM…
AND HE DESERVES GLORY BECAUSE OF THAT POWER.
That may actually give you a little pause upon hearing it.
• Even in our day we see the catastrophic power of a tornado and how homes can be ripped apart.
• We have seen hurricanes and flooding and the devastation they can leave in their wake.
• We have witnessed Tsunamis and the destruction they bring.
• We know about forest fires and straight line winds and other natural powers.
And typically people either want to blame God for the destruction
Or to absolve Him of any responsibility whatsoever.
Some say it’s His fault, some say He had nothing to do with it.
And both of those are the WRONG response.
• The proper response is to worship God at the sheer demonstration of His
power.
• The proper response is to ascribe to God (2) “the glory due His name”
• The proper response is to join with all those in heaven and say, (9) “Glory!”
For even in these storms God has put on display
His invisible attributes and His eternal power and divine nature”
And every time God reveals Himself glory is deserved.
That is what David spells out here in the 29th Psalm.
David literally watches a storm rip through the landscape, destroying forests, and terrifying wildlife, and rattling the very mountains.
And as he watches this storm in its destruction,
David tells the church exactly how to respond.
AND HERE IT IS:
(1-2) “Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array.”
We’ll get to the storm in a moment,
But first the very clear call for worship.
Here we answer some very important questions about worship.
#1 WHO?
Psalms 29:1a
“Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty”
The interesting thing here is that
Though you might be tempted to simply assume that David is talking about humanity here, there is ample evidence to suggest David has much more in mind.
“sons of the mighty” is literally translated “sons of God”
The same phrase is used in Psalms 89
Psalms 89:5-7 “The heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones. For who in the skies is comparable to the LORD? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the LORD, A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, And awesome above all those who are around Him?”
There the “sons of the mighty” are also
The same people referred to as those “in the skies”.
So while we can include the mightiest of men in this distinction
We can also include the entire angelic realm in this command.
David is calling for all created beings to start giving God all the glory.
All created men and all created celestial beings.
Now, some may question why David would issue such a command.
Is David claiming authority over the angels that he would command them also to worship God?
I don’t think that’s the point.
Rather, it is David’s way of pointing out to humanity
That even the celestial world is accountable to worship God.
It was a direct confrontation
Of the pagan idolatry of all the nations surrounding Israel.
Perhaps you remember the plagues of Egypt.
• God sent hail, killed crops, sent frogs, flies, and gnats.
• God sent darkness and turned the Nile to blood.
• He killed the firstborn of all in Egypt.
While all of those certainly demonstrated the raw power of God,
Each of those also specifically discredited the pagan deities of Israel.
False gods like:
• Hapi, the god of the Nile
• Hathor, the god of love who was depicted by a cow, and God killed their cattle.
• Isis, the god of medicine, and yet God afflicted with boils
• Ra, the sun god, and God sent darkness
• Pharaoh, who was considered god incarnate, and God killed his firstborn
On one hand it was raw power,
But on the other hand it was specific power meant to reiterate to Israel
That even the false gods fall in submission to the true God of heaven.
David is making a similar point here.
EVERY CREATED THING WORSHIPS GOD
Men, demons, angels, false deities, etc.
Everyone should ascribe to God.
That’s the “Who”
#2 WHAT?
Psalms 29:1b
“Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength”
That is to say that all created things should readily bow and submit
That true “glory” and true “strength” belongs to God.
Certainly in our day we can differentiate among strong men.
• We see a man that can bench press 300lbs. and we say, “he’s strong”
• And that’s true; compared to other humans he is strong.
But if you throw God into the equation then no one gets any glory.
Compared to God, bench pressing 300 lbs. is pathetic.
And this is part of David’s point.
While we may ascribe certain amounts of strength or glory to humans,
Ultimately all “glory and strength” belongs to God.
NOTHING COMPARES TO HIM.
So thus far, we see that every created being
Must humble themselves and acknowledge that
God alone is to be attributed as glorious and strong.
No one else compares to Him.
That’s the who and the what
#3 HOW MUCH?
Psalms 29:2a
David has twice told us to “Ascribe to the LORD”
We even know what we are to ascribe to Him.
But David also wants you to understand the level of glory and strength you should ascribe to Him.
“Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name;”
We have said many times that God’s “name”
Represents His full nature and attributes.
The reality is that God deserves all the glory for every area,
And He deserves and infinite amount.
Now, certainly that is an indefinable distinction
For who can say how much glory God deserves?
What you simply have here is David telling all creatures to give all glory to God to the degree that He deserves.
That is the command.
#4 HOW?
Psalms 29:2b
“Worship the LORD in holy array.”
You certainly notice the distinction
That we’ve moved from “Ascribe” to “Worship”
The first 3 (Ascribe) all deal with recognition.
• It’s just a call for you to recognize who really deserves the glory and how much
glory He deserves.
But that’s all just recognition.
NEXT COMES THE APPLICATION,
Where you take that knowledge and apply it in worship.
• You recognize that God is glorious
• You recognize that God is strong
• And so you act on that information and actually worship Him as being glorious
and strong.
To recognize God as strong and glorious, but to refuse to worship Him as such
Only puts you in the company of the sinners in Romans 1,
Who “even though they knew God…did not honor Him as God”
So you must move from recognition to action.
But there’s even more than that.
It’s not just that you worship,
but here David even says, “Worship the LORD in holy array”
Why “holy array”?
Because God demands holiness.
How many times have we seen the command
“You shall be holy, for I am holy”?
So here you have a person
• Determined to worship God because He deserves it
• And to worship Him in the manner which He desires.
We read it:
Romans 12:1 “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
So we’ve seen the “who” the “what” the “how much” and the “how”
But it still leaves out perhaps our favorite question:
#5 WHY?
Psalms 29:3-9
• You’re telling me that I should stop and ponder that in a comparative sense, God alone really does have all the strength and all the glory.
• And you’re telling me that I should humble myself and recognize that he deserves more glory for this power than I can even comprehend.
• And you’re telling me that because of this glory He deserves that I should humble myself further, submit to His requirements, and actually worship Him according to the glory He deserves.
And to that humans for centuries have said, “Why?”
In fact the people mentioned in Romans 1 said, “No”
• They would not honor Him as God.
• They would not ascribe to Him the glory due His name.
• They would not worship Him in holy array.
• They instead exchanged His glory for that of carved images.
Well, David is going to tell you WHY
You should worship God in any way He so chooses.
And the answer is:
BECAUSE OF HIS POWER
First, let’s just read verses 3-9
(3-9) “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
Obviously there we are talking about a massive storm which David sees moving from the Mediterranean, across Lebanon, and even the wilderness of Kadesh.
But also quickly catching our gaze is that
8 times David attributes that storm to the “voice of the LORD”
The obvious point is that God is behind it.
• God is causing it.
• God is causing through the power of His word.
Just like creation was born because God told light to arrive,
So this storm is born because God told it to form.
God told it to move.
God told it to intensify.
God ordained everything about it.
In short, we see a storm and it is God’s doing.
David is making that abundantly clear.
Now let’s look at it.
(3-4) “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic.”
There the storm is sitting over the Mediterranean Sea.
• David can see the rolling clouds.
• David can see the lightning flashes.
• David can hear the booming thunder.
It’s all in the distance, but David makes two very clear observations.
“The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic”
Who could argue that?
The sheer power contained in a storm is remarkable.
The sheer beauty in the lightning flashes is in fact beautiful.
And David knows that God did it all.
It’s a glorious display of the power and majesty of God.
But then the storm hits land.
(5-7) “The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire.”
“the cedars of Lebanon” where notoriously big and notoriously strong.
And David witnessed this storm rip right through the heart of them.
After God’s stormed moved through they were broken “in pieces”
God shattered those mighty trees.
In fact God “makes Lebanon skip like a calf”.
That is to say, He tosses her here and there. He bounces her around.
“Sirion” was the Phoenecian name for Mt. Hermon.
And God shook that mountain too “like a young wild ox”
It is a picture of a rattling thunder and even earth shaking power.
This storm is unsettling everything.
On top of that David says that “The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire”
Of course that is lightning, but it also implies
That God is setting the terrain on fire through the storm.
This storm moved off the waters and has ravaged Lebanon.
And then it moved through Lebanon into the wilderness.
(8) “The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.”
That is to say what God did to Lebanon,
He continued to do to the wilderness, even Kadesh.
And if you want to see the effects of this storm.
(9) “The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve and strips the forest bare;”
• Sheer fear of destruction causes even the wild animals to instantly give birth.
• The wind has ripped the leaves right off the trees.
• The fire from the lightning has burned everything in its path.
• It is a powerful force of destruction.
And we’ve seen this type of thing.
• We’ve seen the fires
• We’ve seen the floods
• We’ve seen the damaging winds
It is amazing that in a matter of seconds
Nature can wreak havoc that it would take man years to equal.
David just witnessed it all.
AND HERE’S WHERE IT GETS IMPORTANT,
Because David has commanded us how to respond to this storm.
He told us up in the first 2 verses that when we see a storm like this, we should:
• “Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name;”
• And then we should “Worship the LORD, in holy array.”
And just in case that now seems strange to you,
David actually goes ahead and gives the heavenly response to this storm.
Here is what heaven said:
(9b) “And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
Heaven glorifies God for this powerful storm that ravaged the land.
Now, let’s stop there for a second
Because as the church WE CAN LEARN SOMETHING HERE.
As I said previously, this is NOT THE COMMON RESPONSE to a storm.
• We see the destruction…
• We see the loss of property…
• Sometimes even the loss of life…
And it seems that instantly the church wants to defend God’s reputation and say, “He had nothing to do with that. God didn’t want that to happen.”
But what if, instead of trying to absolve God of all involvement,
The church instead rose up and acknowledged
The awesome power of God in that moment.
Now, certainly someone would say, “If you do that, you’re just going to cause a lot of people to blame God for their loss, get mad at Him, and then they will never submit to Him.”
Perhaps…
But you might also cause some who never did fear God to start fearing Him.
• You might cause some to for the first time acknowledge His power and glory.
• You might cause some for the first time to worship in Him in holy array.
Beyond that, let me remind you that one day God is going to destroy the whole world, not just bits and pieces of it.
• There is coming a day when He will split the sky and move all the mountains.
• There is coming a day when He will burn 1/3 of the earth with hail and fire that is mixed with blood.
• There is coming a day when He will turn 1/3 of the sea to blood.
• There is coming a day when He will turn 1/3 of the fresh water to blood.
• There is coming a day when He will darken 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars.
• There is coming a day when He will send 100 pound hailstones upon men.
• There is coming a day when He will burn the whole earth in unquenchable fire.
And by the way, on that day, heaven will still be crying “Glory!”
Revelation 16:5-7 “And I heard the angel of the waters saying, “Righteous are You, who are and who were, O Holy One, because You judged these things; for they poured out the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink. They deserve it.” And I heard the altar saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, true and righteous are Your judgments.”
So instead assuring sinners that God is not behind this tragedy,
What if we worshiped Him for His power and assured sinners that this is merely a warning shot?
See, as Paul taught us in Romans 1,
The issue IS NOT getting people to like God.
The issue IS that people honor Him as God.
And if you can’t honor God as God after a powerful storm,
Then I don’t know when you can.
David is not afraid to attribute this destructive storm that shook Lebanon, leveled their forests, unsettled their mountains, decimated their wildlife, and stripped their trees to God.
God did this.
8 times David referenced “The voice of the LORD”
It is not about us trying to present God has someone man will accept and want to worship.
It is about us showing the world who God is, and then commanding them to worship accordingly.
Do you see that?
As I was writing this, I thought about George and Kevin and Ronald and those guys who work for South Plains Electric, who probably get to deal with more damage from storms on a daily basis than any of the rest of us.
We should call this “The Lineman’s Psalm”
What if every time a storm rolled through and snapped power poles and did other damage, God’s children took it as an opportunity to glorify the unbelievable power of God?
That’s what David is doing.
• You worship Him…
• You give Him glory for His power and strength…
• You give Him the glory He deserves…
• And you worship Him the way He wants to be worshiped…
WHY? Because He clearly has the power to demand it.
Isn’t that true?
He deserves it.
And we sing: “I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, My Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art! How Great Thou art!”
But we’re not done.
Who, What, How Much, How, Why
#6 AND ONE MORE THING
Psalms 29:10-11
And now it’s as though David throws in an added piece of information.
A reminder that all men should remember.
(10) “The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.”
So…
• We have here a storm, and one that may have indeed caused loss of life.
• Or we see the natural disasters of our day and recognize the loss of life that occurs.
And some would say,
“I just can’t see glorifying God for something like that.”
Well, let me ask you
…you who think God shouldn’t have sent a storm that killed thousands of people.
Do you remember the flood?
In Genesis 6-8 God sent a flood upon the entire earth that killed everything with the breath of God in its lungs. Ever human except for 8 people.
Do you remember why God sent that flood?
Genesis 6:5-7 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. The LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.”
Man was defiant and wicked.
• It’s not a stretch to say that they did not honor Him as God, but instead
followed the inclination of their own sinful hearts.
• We even learned last week that Noah was a preacher of righteousness who
continually pleaded with men to worship God in holy array, and it is clear
that they refused.
And so God sent a storm and destroyed every living thing.
Now, here’s my question:
SHOULD WE WORSHIP GOD FOR THAT?
Well after that event there were only 8 humans alive on the earth, and I CAN TELL YOU THEIR RESPONSE:
Genesis 8:20 “Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar.”
• Noah didn’t get off and tell his sons that God had nothing to do with that.
• Noah didn’t get angry at God for doing what was well within His sovereign prerogative to do.
• Noah worshiped God for what He did.
And perhaps for those questioning David’s command to see this storm and worship God accordingly,
David reminds that God is sovereign and He always deserves worship.
He was God at the flood, He was God over this storm,
And He’ll be God over every other natural disaster that comes.
We don’t absolve God of His involvement of these things,
We glorify the power of God in the midst of them.
• That doesn’t mean we don’t grieve with the bereaved…
• That doesn’t mean we don’t help in the cleanup…
• That doesn’t mean we run around pointing fingers at sinners for causing it…
NOT AT ALL.
All that means is that when God puts His awesome power on display,
Then we take the opportunity to make sure
The world understands just how powerful God is.
AND THEN WE TELL THEM ONE MORE THING:
(11) “The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.”
What is that?
• It’s a promise that regardless of the storms, this God of tremendous strength will also strengthen His people.
• Beyond that, even in the midst of these storms God has the ability to give His people the peace they long for.
And as we contemplate that, I’m always reminded of the story of Jesus and His disciples. We talked about it recently in Luke’s gospel.
Luke 8:22-25 “Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm. And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”
Did Jesus know that storm was coming?
• I’d say Jesus commanded it, and purposely sent His disciples right into it.
Was His power manifested through it?
• Absolutely!
• They should have attributed the storm to Him, they most certainly attributed to Him the power to stop it.
Did He have the ability to sustain them through it?
Did He provide peace in the midst of it?
And the point is that they should glorify Him, which they did.
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO ATTRIBUTE THE STORM TO GOD
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO TELL THE WORLD THERE IS MORE TO COME
• DON’T BE AFRAID TO TELL THE WORLD THEY HAD BETTER WORSHIP HIM IN HOLY ARRAY
If you continually tell the world that these smaller storms are not of God,
Then how do you plan to tell them that He will one day destroy it all?
You’d be better off to tell them that this was a warning shot.
And their only hope is to submit to Him
Because the God of the storm will give strength and peace to His people
In the midst of it.
Let me close with one other Psalm, which we’ll just read:
Psalms 96 “Sing to the LORD a new song; Sing to the LORD, all the earth. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name; Bring an offering and come into His courts. Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth. Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity.” Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.”
• Elihu saw the storm coming and told Job he’d better change his tune.
• David said the same thing there.
Glorify God because of His power,
And submit to Him and worship Him accordingly!
So there’s your song the next time the storm rolls in.
