Psalm 29 "The Throne Would Fit You Ill"

It is my custom to only address a limited section of each psalm for brevity's sake. However, with Psalm 29 I would like to briefly trace the whole psalm. As I read it, this psalm easily falls into three sections, delineated by their repeated words: “Ascribe” which is used three times (v. 1-2), the “Voice of the Lord” is repeated six times (v.3-9), and “Enthroned” is used twice in the climax of the psalm (v. 10-11). One other word that appears four times throughout the psalm is “glory” and it factors strongly into the message of this psalm.

1. Ascribe to the Lord (v.1-2)

This is the Hebrew word yahab (ya-hav) which means to give what should be given or to put something where it should be put. Often it is in regards to giving God the glory and honor he in keeping with his character. Yahab is only used in the imperative mood and thus carries the weight of command.

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
  ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
          worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. (v. 1-2)

On a literary note, in this psalm, David uses a repetitive (or iterative) structure throughout. It causes us to take more notice of the line that doesn't sound the same in each stanza. This is like the old Sesame Street song, “One of these things is not like the others.” Notice how auditory the imagery is! Our God is awesome on every level!

A very similar idea and structure is found in 1 Chronicles 16:28-29 where King David sings a song of thanksgiving upon putting the ark of the Lord in the Tabernacle where it belonged. His song of worship is repeated nearly verbatim in Psalm 96 as you can see from this excerpt,

“Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

  ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

    bring an offering, and come into his courts!

    Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;

    tremble before him, all the earth! (Psalm 96:7-9)

So, I have to ask. Do we “give” or “put” glory where it belongs, or are we given to serve lesser “puny gods” in the pantheon of self? Do we, like the psalmist, have the spiritual insight to tremble before him and to see the beauty of holiness?

2. The voice of the Lord (v. 3-9)

Photo: Greg K Dueker

In this section, we see “the voice” of God turned up even “thundering” and producing dramatic results in the realm of nature. Here is an example in 29:3-4,

"The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

                     the Lord, over many waters.

The voice of the Lord is powerful;

 the voice of the Lord is full of majesty."

In the past, I thought about calling this psalm post "When God Raises His Voice" because it mentions the "voice" of God at least six times as a demonstration of his power. We see the "voice" of God doing powerful things in this psalm that affect the natural world. This psalm is an example of “theophany”—a physical manifestation of the power and glory of God—but it is not so much about God raising his voice as our raising our awareness to see his active involvement in all things. Will we like the psalmist, cry "Glory!" to the One who is beyond our control, or will we simply turn up the electronic voices we can control? If only we were as responsive as nature, the world would be a much better place.

Forest after Columbus Day Storm 1962

If God's voice can work such amazingly powerful things in nature, what do we expect his voice to work in our lives? I am reminded of the Bethel version of the worship song, “It is Well” that starts like this,

Grander earth has quaked before

Moved by the sound of His voice

Seas that are shaken and stirred

Can be calmed and broken for my regard

Chorus:

Through it all, through it all, My eyes are on You

Through it all, through it all, It is well

Through it all, through it all, My eyes are on You

It is well with me¹ 

How closely do we watch? How attentively do we listen? This psalm poetically reminds us to turn down our inner soundtracks and listen up to “the voice of the Lord.”

Verse 9 transitions into the climax of the psalm as we see that “in his temple all cry, “Glory!” Those who recognize they are in the presence of the Lord, who observe his voice in action, are the ones who obey the initial command to “ascribe” glory to God alone. It is in this context that we see God as he is and trust him as we should.

3. The Lord sits enthroned (v. 10-11)

God is sovereign over nature and over his people. As the psalmist wrote,

            The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
             the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
    May the Lord give strength to his people!
    May the Lord bless                 his people with peace!

It is when we see the Lord enthroned that we can trust him to strengthen us and bless us with the peace we desire. How different than the way humans act when they have tremendous power. 

I am reminded of a cinematic encounter between the alien half-brothers, Thor and Loki, in Marvel’s The Avengers, speaking about humans…

Loki: I mean to rule them. And why should I not?

Thor: You think yourself above them?

Loki: Well, yes.

Thor: Then you miss the truth of ruling, brother. A throne would suit you ill.

Oval Office, 2010

I have to agree with Thor on that point, Loki’s arrogant attitude disqualifies him, but the same is true of us as well. We can see oppression and abuse of power are rampant in the world. Even when we advocate for the oppressed (and we should) we need to be wary of any level of personal power we might obtain lest we think too highly of ourselves. Until we have enthroned the Lord in our hearts and become conformed to the image and attitude of his Son (Romans 8:29; Phil. 2:1-11) all thrones "fit us ill". I am thankful to join the psalmist in abdicating and ascribing!

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
          worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. (v. 2)

[1] Written by Kristene DiMarco. © 2013 Bethel Music Publishing (ASCAP).