#14.

God's Word is Powerful and Majestic

Psalm 29. Ascribe to the LORD, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. 2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in holy array. 3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the LORD hews out 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 to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, Glory! 10 The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever. 11 The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. David seems to be relating the experience he had of a great thunder storm, and he likens the thunder and lightning to "the voice of the Lord". He describes this voice as powerful, majestic, breaking mighty trees into pieces, hewing out flames, shaking the wilderness. It is a fitting way to conclude our consideration of the power of God's Word to contemplate that the awesome majesty of a thunder storm in full flow is a feeble representation at best of the power of the Word of God. Note though, that David indicates that this power is not random or capricious in its outworking. The unleashing of the power of God is always done so that all may ascribe to Him the glory that is due. David begins the Psalm encouraging us to do that and after the display of God's power that follows, everything in His temple does indeed say, "Glory!" This same God sits as king forever and blesses His people with strength and with peace, even in the midst of the furious storms of life. As we have seen, the Word of God, the Bible, is powerful in the spiritual realm. It is through our reading and hearing it preached that God will bless us with strength and peace to live for Him in these storms, and to prove our faith genuine. He intends the Word to be a source of grace to us for this very purpose. Otherwise, we will be blown about in the storms, "...tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming" ( Ephesians 4:14). The Bible gives us a sure foundation to stand on and endure the storm - another good reason to read it and wonder at the power of the God Whose Word it is. www.graceopcmodesto.org