PM July 7th Psalm 29

July 7^th Psalm 29

A Psalm of David

The Voice of the Lord

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.

Psalm 30

A Psalm and song at the dedication of the house of David

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

1: I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 2: O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 3: O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 4: Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 5: For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 6: And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 7: LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. 8: I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication. 9: What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 10: Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper. 11: Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12: To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

To the chief musician,

The first Psalm, 29 is a Psalm of David and a Psalm of praise. It is beautiful not only in its sentiment but also it its structure. In this hymn of praise the sweet psalmist of Israel encourages the nation to bring their worship to the Lord. He says bring your glory, worship and strength. Bringing your strength is a strange expression and it may mean to bring to the Lord your virgin oil, your first-fruits and your first-born. Then David describes the voice of the Lord in seven specific ways. All of them are expressions of his almighty power. Properly ‘the voice’ in this passage are those sounds that are brought about by acts of God. When John heard the Lord in Revelation he said the sound he heard was like the sound of many waters. It was like the roar of the Niagara falls. These sounds are almost universally feared by men because of the awesome nature of their power. These sounds are the sounds that are both destructive and creative. They destroy and bring to birth and they fill the hearts of men and beasts with the joy of the Lord. Then David finishes with exclaiming that the LORD sits presiding over all the flood. He is KING forever. And he will give strength and peace to his people. In the second Psalm, 30 we find a song composed for the dedication of the house of David. David begins saying, I will praise you, O LORD, because you have lifted me up and prevented my enemies from rejoicing over me in my defeat. He says O LORD my God l cried to you and you healed me. You delivered me from going down to the grave. You kept me alive so that l should not die. So sing with me all you holy people and give thanks when you think about the holiness of the Lord. Because his anger only lasts for a moment, but his favour lasts for life. Weeping may occur for a night but joy comes in the morning. When I was prosperous I said, I will never be disturbed. In your favour you made my mountain to stand strong yet you hid your face from me and l faced trouble. In my trouble I cried to you O LORD. What was going to be the point of shedding my blood? If I am killed and buried how am I going to praise you then. Will the dust of the earth praise your name? Who will make known your truth? So, hear me O LORD and have mercy on me O LORD, be my helper. You Lord have turned my mourning into dancing. You have changed my sackcloth into garments of gladness. You did this that I may sing your praises. I will give you thanks forever. This Psalm has a note attached saying to the Chief musician. Presumably it was a note written on the cover in David’s own hand.

• What is the voice of the Lord like?
• How does David express thanksgiving in Psa 30?
• What does David pray for?