Steadfast In The Tumult

1 Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 2 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. 3 The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. 7 The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory. 10 The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. 11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
Psalms 29:1-11 (KJV)

As I read this scripture, I was thinking of how life can be so tumultuous at times. Kids & bills & car repairs, terrorists & the economy & liberal’s agendas, friends in the hospital & overwhelming work schedules & the grass needs mowed. Etc., etc., etc. Whew! The problems of life can come in like a flood at times!

In this Psalm, David depicts how tumultuous the works of the Lord can be! His voice is a thunder! Personally, I like to sit on the porch and watch a storm thunder, lighting, and rain. Some folks are disturbed by the least rumblings of thunder, and even storm lovers are sent scurrying when the storm gets real bad! But David described it with words such as “glory”, “powerful”, and “majesty”.

David said the Lord breaks the mighty cedars, and causes them to skip like a calf. Wow! Sounds like an earthquake to me. The Lord can make the country of Lebanon and Sirion (Mt. Hermon) dance like a unicorn. Now, that is a powerful earthquake! It wears me out to move just a wheelbarrow full of dirt, but my God can toss mega-tons with the flick of His little finger! David said He also shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. Awesome!

The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. Think of a campfire; one fire, but divided into many tongues. How pretty it is, and how intricate are the patterns. Who do dat? God! It seems like a simple thing, but I couldn’t do it – could you? (Kids, don’t’ try this at home! Finger burns are very painful.) God does this with just His voice!

The voice of God causes the deer to deliver their young, and the leaves to turn colors and drop from the trees in the fall. David reminds us that this terrible, mighty God of destruction is also the God of life and beauty.

“In his temple doth every one speak of his glory”. Those who are members of the household of God certainly speak of His glory! If all you can do is grouse and complain about what God is doing, I would say you might be in the wrong temple! Some self-evaluation may be in order here.

At times, my mind focuses in on how terrible things are, and I get unsettled, fearful, angry, and upset. Has that ever happened to you? I know David found himself in that mental state at times, but through his experiences, he learned some valuable lessons. He offers to us these gems of insight when he said:

” 10 The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever. 11 The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

Is your mountain shaking, and big trees falling all around you? Are the floods rushing in? Are you in the wilderness of Kadesh right now, and if it isn’t bad enough just to be in a wilderness, is it quakin’ & shakin’ too?

Chill.

God sits on the flood. Forever. Things over my head are under His feet! In that realization is strength and peace! God is over it all. In His peace, we can rise above the tumult, and sit as observers inside His force-field of protection.

As you observe and/or experience the power of God working all around you, remember to “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” These things will pass; God, and those in his temple, will remain.