Psalm 29 - Give unto the Lord
Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty,
give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name;
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters:
the God of glory thundereth:
the Lord is upon many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars;
yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
He maketh them also to skip like a calf;
Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.
The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness;
the Lord shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
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.
The Lord sitteth upon the flood;
yea, the Lord sitteth King for ever.
The Lord will give strength unto his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace. KJV
Psalm 29 is back to basics. No abstract discussions of time and eternity here, just basic worship. Back in the 70's we used to sing verse 1 and 2 in an exuberant fashion; singing, shouting, dancing and generally having a wonderful time in the Lord's presence. "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."
Some psalms weren't meant to be deep of philosophical, but were just written to be sung as praise and worship, or read as poetry. This is a classic example of Hebrew poetry that uses repetition and parallels to make the point that the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. Note the many descriptions of "the voice of the Lord", the many actions of the Lord, and even the things that happen when the Lord sits.
This type of psalm really needs to be read aloud or sung to be appreciated. Can you imagine the choir of Levites singing this in the temple accompanied by the tambourines, trumpets and stringed instruments? Oh what a glorious celebration it must have been to be with the congregation of the Lord's people worshiping in the temple.
And the result? It is now, just as it has ever been, that:
"The Lord will give strength unto his people;
the Lord will bless his people with peace."
I found two interesting interpretations of psalm 29. The first is a a song, and the second is a visual presentation. Enjoy:
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