START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 29
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OBSERVE:
This is a Psalm of Praise that ascribes glory and strength and holiness to Yahweh using the imagery of the storm and mighty floods to illustrate the power of God. There are three movements in this Psalm:
- Attributions of glory to God, from verses 1-2
- The imagery of God’s voice in the storm, verses 3-9a
- The voice of the people in the temple cries out “Glory!” when they worship Yahweh, who is enthroned as their King.
God is personified as speaking through the voice of thunder, mighty waters, and the wind that has the power to break strong, tall cedars in the mountains of Lebanon into kindling. Proud oak trees are twisted by his voice. God’s voice is depicted as flashing like lightning, and shaking the desert.
What other response can the congregation have but to cry “Glory!” and worship God as Lord and King in the temple? The Psalm moves from the violence and power of the storm to the safety and peace within the temple, where they are sheltered by his strength:
Yahweh will give strength to his people.
Yahweh will bless his people with peace.
We are reminded that one of the chief deities of the Canaanite pantheon of gods is Baal Hadod, the god of the storm. The Psalmist is making it clear that only the Lord of Israel is the true God of the storm. He speaks through the storm and the lightning and the thunder and the flood, and yet he also brings peace and safety to his people from those storms.
APPLY:
Anyone who lives in the Midsouth of the United States, as I do, will be very aware of the power of thunderstorms, wind, and water. Tornadoes bring great terror, as do straight-line winds. The mighty Mississippi River forms a natural boundary in my state, and there have been times in the past that the levies did not protect the Delta from its inundations. Floods can carry away virtually everything in their path — as survivors of tsunami in the Pacific can attest.
The Psalmist is making two points for us to consider in this Psalm.
- God is powerful beyond our imagining.
- God’s voice is like the thunder, the lightning, the wind, the flood.
I like what the Beaver in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia says of Aslan, the Christ figure in the book:
He’s wild you know. Not like a tame lion.
We must be careful in our thinking about God that we don’t try to domesticate him, or reduce him to our “nice” categories. God is all-powerful, and we do well to fear him.
On the other hand, God does provide strength and peace to his people. God is benevolent.
To quote Lewis’ fantasy again, when Lucy asks on first hearing about this lion named Aslan whether he is safe, the Beaver answers:
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver …. “Who said anything about safe? …. Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King I tell you.”
As we think of Baptism of our Lord Sunday, in association with the texts for this week, we are made aware that sometimes our use of water in baptism can be over-sentimentalized. Water does give life, and cleanses — but it is also a powerful force of nature.
Baptism in the church also gives life and cleanses — but it is a powerful symbol of supernatural power as well.
RESPOND:
I can seldom resist the urge to stand and watch a thunderstorm, or to watch the Mississippi slide powerfully and swiftly by. But I don’t really want to be out in the storm or down in the river. Similarly, I acknowledge the power and glory of my God, but I am also grateful for his protection and peace.
Our Lord, you are mighty and powerful and holy. My efforts to make you ‘safe’ and ‘tame’ are futile. I cry ‘Glory!’ at your name, and give thanks that you have saved me in the midst of the storms of life. Amen.
SOAR Lectionary Bible Study 