A dad was once trying to explain the vastness of God to his five-year-old daughter. In a fashion that was both cute and revealing, she posed the question, “If God is so big and I am so small, how can He fit in my heart?” Therein lies the question that has perplexed many who have considered God. Is He truly that big, that powerful, that wise, and that controlling? And if so, how is that not supposed to terrify me but be a source of peace?
Psalm 29 connects the dots. In the eleven verses, David uses eight to describe God’s immense power and control, one to apply why that is hopeful, and two to direct our response.
1Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in holy array.
Psalm 29:1–2 (NASB95)
These first two verses contain four imperatives:
- Ascribe– Give or Come! It carries the idea of honoring God for His attributes. Give to God the Glory and Strength and Honor due His name!
- Worship– Bow Down. To respond in humble adoration before the glorious God who alone possesses strength, honor, and glory!
In the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the first question places the spotlight on the ultimate purpose for our existence as the People of God: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”[i] As the people of God…our created purpose, the “why” of our existence is to make much of God. However, we are not Public Relations Agents who are spinning a narrative that somehow moves God to “influencer” status in the world. On the contrary, we simply observe who He is and what He does and respond accordingly.
In verses 3-10, we are presented with truths about the Person and practices of God. Actually, David doesn’t move far from considering the voice of God. His voice is powerful and majestic. With it, He can strip trees bare like an F5 tornado, cause deer to give birth, make calves skip, control fires, and shake the earth more powerfully than any earthquake ever recorded. Even when the world helplessly reacted to the global flood of God’s righteous Judgment in Genesis 7-8, God was not feverishly running to and fro; rather, He sat on His throne, where He resides forever.
If that is overwhelming to you, join the club! Consider how lightly we may take the presence of the Lord, His sovereign rule over all of Creation, and His righteous, unmatched power to give life or to take it. Think for a moment of those offenses toward Him, those acts of willful disregard for His explicit instruction…and consider that He has not destroyed you and me right where our rebel feet stand. Then consider that He reigns, not only over those who know Him by Covenant, but over every despot and dictator, every monster or monarch that has ever terrorized the world or raised a hand against God’s people. Every abuser and those abused both exist under the righteous reign of God.
This God…is for us. That’s how David ended the Psalm.
11The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.
Psalm 29:11 (NASB95)
We should not take that to mean that God will subordinate His holiness to reflect our hellish rebellion; rather, He will work in us all that is needed to conform us to the Image of Christ. And that work will not be deterred. All the weighty resistance of the enemy is no match for the strength God provides us. No seemingly unrestrained chaos can overwhelm the peace that God provides. He reigns on His throne and with His voice exercises control over all things. For not even one sparrow, Jesus said, falls from the sky apart from the Father’s permission.
[i] https://www.westminsterconfession.org/resources/confessional-standards/the-westminster-shorter-catechism/
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