Psalm 29:7 - Ascribe Glory to the LORD

Audio Bible

Context

Ascribe Glory to the LORD
…6He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7The voice of the LORD strikes with flames of fire. 8The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.…

Cross References

Exodus 19:16-19
On the third day, when morning came, there was thunder and lightning. A thick cloud was upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the ram’s horn went out, so that all the people in the camp trembled. / Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. / Mount Sinai was completely enveloped in smoke, because the LORD had descended on it in fire. And the smoke rose like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked violently. ...Job 37:2-5
Listen closely to the thunder of His voice and the rumbling that comes from His mouth. / He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky and sends it to the ends of the earth. / Then there comes a roaring sound; He thunders with His majestic voice. He does not restrain the lightning when His voice resounds. ...Revelation 4:5
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven spirits of God.Ezekiel 1:13-14
In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. / The creatures were darting back and forth as quickly as flashes of lightning.1 Kings 19:11-12
Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. / After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice.Isaiah 30:30
And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.Revelation 11:19
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.Jeremiah 10:13
When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.Nahum 1:3-6
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet. / He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts. / The mountains quake before Him, and the hills melt away; the earth trembles at His presence—the world and all its dwellers. ...Matthew 24:27
For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.Luke 17:24
For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.Revelation 8:5
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.2 Samuel 22:14-15
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. / He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.Psalm 18:13-14
The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded—hailstones and coals of fire. / He shot His arrows and scattered the foes; He hurled lightning and routed them.Isaiah 29:6
you will be visited by the LORD of Hosts with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, with windstorm and tempest and consuming flame of fire.

Psalm 77:18
The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

Psalm 144:5,6
Bow thy heavens, O LORD, and come down: touch the mountains, and they shall smoke…

Exodus 9:23
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

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Psalm 29

The voice of the LORD
This phrase emphasizes the power and authority of God's voice, which is a recurring theme throughout the Bible. In Genesis 1, God's voice is the creative force that brings the universe into existence. The voice of the LORD is not just a sound but a manifestation of His will and power. In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the Word (John 1:1), indicating that He is the ultimate expression of God's voice and authority.

strikes
The term "strikes" conveys a sense of force and impact. It suggests that God's voice is not passive but active and dynamic, capable of causing significant change. This can be seen in the way God's voice is described as shaking the earth in Hebrews 12:26. The imagery of striking also connects to the idea of judgment and purification, as seen in the prophetic books where God's voice often precedes His actions.

with flames of fire
Fire in the Bible often symbolizes God's presence, holiness, and judgment. In Exodus 3:2, God appears to Moses in a burning bush, and in Exodus 19:18, Mount Sinai is covered with smoke because the LORD descends on it in fire. Fire is also a purifying agent, as seen in Malachi 3:2-3, where it refines and purifies. In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is associated with tongues of fire in Acts 2:3, symbolizing purification and empowerment. The imagery of flames of fire in this verse underscores the purifying and consuming nature of God's voice, which can both destroy and refine.

Persons / Places / Events

1. The LORD (Yahweh)
The central figure in this Psalm, representing the sovereign and powerful God of Israel, whose voice is depicted as mighty and authoritative.

2. David
Traditionally attributed as the author of this Psalm, King David often wrote about the majesty and power of God, drawing from his experiences as a shepherd, warrior, and king.

3. Nature/Creation
The Psalm uses vivid imagery of natural phenomena to describe the power of God's voice, emphasizing His control over creation.

Teaching Points

The Power of God's Voice
God's voice is not just a sound but a force that commands and transforms. It is a reminder of His ultimate authority over all creation.

God's Presence in Nature
The imagery of fire and natural phenomena in this Psalm reminds us that God is present and active in the world around us. We should be attentive to His presence in both the extraordinary and the everyday.

Purifying Fire
Fire in the Bible often symbolizes purification. God's voice, like fire, can purify and refine us, burning away impurities and drawing us closer to His holiness.

Reverence and Awe
Recognizing the power of God's voice should lead us to a posture of reverence and awe. We are called to worship Him with the respect and honor due to His name.

(7) The voice . . .--Literally, the voice of Jehovah cleaving flames of fire. The word is used of hewingstone and wood (Isaiah 10:15). The reference to lightning in this verse is universally admitted, some even seeing an allusion to the brief and sudden flash in the single clause of which the sentence is composed. But the most various explanations are given of the image employed. One of these--that of beating out as from an anvil--may be set aside as clumsy and unworthy of the poet. But the comparison with Isaiah 51:9, and Hosea 6:5, where the same verb is used of God's "judgments," makes it possible that the lightnings here are regarded as "thought-executing fires," and if language would allow, we might translate "hewing with flames of fire," and illustrate by

"And ever and anon some bright white shaft

Burnt through the pine-tree roof, here burnt and there,

As if God's messenger through the close wood screen

Plunged and replunged his weapon at a venture,

Feeling for guilty thee and me." . . .

Verse 7. - The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire; rather, the voice of the Lord heweth out flames of fire. The poet describes the appearances of things, not the actual reality. To him it seems as if the thunder, rolling along the sky, hewed out a chasm in the clouds, from which the forked lightning issued. Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

The voice
קוֹל־ (qō·wl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6963: A voice, sound

of the LORD
יְהוָ֥ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

strikes
חֹצֵ֗ב (ḥō·ṣêḇ)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 2672: To cut, carve, to hew, split, square, quarry, engrave

with flames
לַהֲב֥וֹת (la·hă·ḇō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 3852: A flash, a sharply polished blade, point of a, weapon

of fire.
אֵֽשׁ׃ (’êš)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 784: A fire

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Psalm 29:7 Catholic BibleOT Poetry: Psalm 29:7 Yahweh's voice strikes with flashes of lightning (Psalm Ps Psa.)