The Glory of the Lord is the Good of His People

Psalm 29: A Call to Ascribe Glory to God

Psalm 29:1-11
Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of God,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

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.

The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
and strips the forests bare,
and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

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!

This passage provides a significant example of how Christians should live. Much gold can be mined from this psalm. The ideas presented form a lifestyle that Christians should embrace, where every day God grows bigger in our perception than He was yesterday. We grow in our perception of His magnificence, magnanimity, and majesty. This becomes a huge motivation for how we live.

The purpose of this psalm is to instill the reality that the glory of God is man's greatest good. As we perceive how to live or what to experience in life, we recognize the glory of God as the solid foundation, the centerpiece, the central focus. If we make God's glory central and foundational, we eliminate abnormal amounts of disappointment and discouragement that come from a circumstance-based life.

We do not define good or true by our situations. A negative circumstance does not mean life is going wrong. We do not perceive God through circumstances, letting His magnificence diminish. Instead, we view circumstances through the lens of God's glory. Then circumstances decrease in intensity.

Remember Peter walking on stormy water, beholding Christ. Everything was smooth until he focused on the waves and began to sink. When circumstances define reality, we sink. The glory of God is mankind's greatest good, as seen in Psalm 29.

Our Responsibility: Ascribe Glory and Worship in Holiness

The psalm divides into three sections: our responsibility, our reasons, and our results.

The first section is our responsibility—a command. Ascribe glory and strength to the Lord. Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness. This is our purpose, why we were created and saved. Our life testifies to God's greatness. We demonstrate by our behavior and lifestyle that God is glorious, magnificent, amazing, and revolutionary.

“Sons of God” refers to us, the saved, not just heavenly beings. Ascribe means to give credit to God as the source of glory and strength. It acknowledges what already exists—He is glorious and strong. This is due His name.

How do we give glory? Worship in the splendor of holiness. Holiness is the attire for glorifying God—a lifestyle permeated with holiness. His glory matters more than sin.

Biblical holiness follows this pattern:

1. Christ first. He is our sanctification. We have no holiness outside Jesus.
2. Christ-caused separateness and devotion to God. Holiness means to cut off from what is not God. God is our sole source of passion, pleasure, satisfaction, and direction.
3. Christ-motivated practical living of biblical principles. Beholding Christ's glory in the gospel motivates obedience. If we do not see God as beautiful and glorious, obedience is meaningless.

Pursuits have meaning if for God's glory. Paul said, “Whether you eat or drink, do all to the glory of God.” Ask: Is God glorified by this? Glorifying God in divorce, drinking, fornication? If not biblically prescribed, it does not glorify God.

When God is displayed as glorious, worship is an opportunity, not obligation. Sin promises satisfaction but delivers none. Like the woman at the well, true satisfaction is in Christ.

Our Reasons: Behold the Glory of God

The second section gives reasons—spectacular displays of God's glory. He is already the God of glory. Beholding Him makes glorifying easy. Many sins stem from not beholding His glory.

Consistently behold God's glory until insignificant things fade. The voice of the Lord is over waters, powerful, majestic, breaks cedars, makes mountains skip, flashes fire, shakes wilderness, makes deer give birth, strips forests bare. In His temple, all cry, “Glory!” He sits enthroned as king forever.

God breaks mighty cedars and forests with His voice—the same voice that created, sustains, and preserves Scripture. He sits enthroned over the flood, God of mighty storms, not mild sprinkles. This polemic against Baal: Yahweh rules all—fertility, birth, everything.

These reasons outweigh temporal relief. Suffering or temptation's allure pales against eternal relief and beholding God face to face. Preaching glory is not killjoy but invitation to supreme good.

I am the temple. Is glory cried out, or filled with idols?

Our Results: Strength and Peace for His People

Verse 11: May the Lord give strength to His people; may the Lord bless His people with peace. We ascribe strength to God as source; He gives it back—divine strength for effective function in circumstances, displaying His glory.

Questions to consider:

1. What does your worship life look like ongoing, in every circumstance? When pressures come, do you clothe yourself in holiness, putting glorious God first?
2. What does your God look like? Is He the inconsequential moralistic deist, or sovereign God of the storm, directing deer and all life?
3. What benefit will strength and peace have? Strength: capability to function effectively, enduring for God's glory. Peace: recognition of the glorious God with you in the storm, not absence of feeling but captivity to His power. Emotions like grief are gifts if with hope.

God equips the ill-equipped for His glory. Peace comes from knowing the God of Psalm 29 is in your boat.