This psalm is a worship song to God who reveals Himself out of a great storm. It uses a lot of symbolism, so must be careful not to take it literally. God isn’t literally a storm but He joins in with the existence of His created natural laws, and these laws are demonstrated by a storm. The ‘heavenly beings’ join in to give praise to their Creator.
Although the headings aren’t inspired by God, they are important because they give us some understanding of the Psalm and they help us to see why it was written. The headings usually tell us four things.
1. Who wrote them, probably wrote them, or possibly wrote them.
2. Information about the historical background to the Psalm. Why it was written.
3. They tell us of the tune the Psalm was written to.
4. How it was used.
The heading here, simply tells us that this is a psalm of David.
To ‘ascribe’, Psalm 29:1, means to give and so everything in all creation should recognise God’s glory and power. There are a few ideas concerning the identity of the ‘heavenly beings’, Psalm 29:1. Some translations use the words, ‘mighty ones’. Some believe these are the mighty forces of nature, while others believe they are angels.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘In the plural form, the word means ‘mighty ones, heroes, gods’, Exodus 15:11 / Exodus 18:11 / Daniel 11:36. The phrase ‘sons of the mighty’ is used only here and in Psalm 89:6. The allusion is undoubtedly to the angels as being in an eminent sense the sons of God, or of the mighty ones, and they are referred to here under that appellation as being themselves endowed with power or strength, Psalm 103:20.’
A few commentators note that in Canaanite mythology, the council of their supreme god, whose name was El, was referred to as the ‘sons of God’, the sons of El. If that’s true, David may have the storm god, Baal in mind here. And so, David would be calling on the so-called storm god to ascribe to the real God, Yahweh, who is the One who really has power over storms to ascribe glory and strength to him.
Whoever or whatever these ‘heavenly beings’ or ‘mighty ones’ are, David calls them to praise the Lord for His power over storms. The phrase ‘splendour of His holiness’, Psalm 29:2, is found four times within the Scriptures, 1 Chronicles 16:29 / 2 Chronicles 20:21 / Psalm 29:2 / Psalm 96:9, and each time it’s associated with worship or praise.
When we reflect upon the splendour of His holiness, this should motivate us to worship Him in Spirit and truth according to His revelation and holiness, John 4:24.
Here we read that the storm approaches and after unleashing its power, it passes. The demonstration of the power of the storm gives evidence of the presence of God. But the metaphor of the storm communicates to man the power of the revelation of the Word of God, Hebrews 4:12.
The phrase, ‘the voice of the Lord’ appears seven times in these passages, they are metaphorically presented as the thunder, which reminds us of the seven thunders speaking in Revelation 10:3. The voice of the seven thunders here are shown as follows. The voice of the Lord is over the waters, Psalms 29:3. The voice of the Lord is powerful, Psalms 29:4. The voice of the Lord is full of majesty, Psalms 29:4.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, Psalms 29:5. The voice of the Lord strikes the flames of fire, Psalms 29:7. The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, Psalms 29:8. The voice of the Lord twists the hinds to oaks, Psalms 29:9. The voice of God through His word is so powerful that it breaks the cedars of Lebanon, 1 Kings 4:33 / 1 Kings 5:6 / Psalm 68:16 / Psalm 92:12 / Psalm 114:4 / Ezra 3:7.
Just think about a tornado ripping its way through a forest or totally destroying everything in its path, Psalm 29:6, that’s how powerful the voice of God is. Deuteronomy 3:9, tells us that Sirion, Psalm 29:6, is the Sidonian name for Mount Hermon, which was close to Lebanon, Ezekiel 27:5. It’s the lightning that makes the mountains bound like the young ox, Psalm 29:6-7. The KJV, uses the word, ‘unicorn’, Psalm 22:21.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Of course this language, as well as that which has been already noticed Psalm 29:5, must be taken as denoting what ‘appears’ to the eye, and not as a scientific statement of the reality in the case. The rolling thunder not only shakes the cedars and makes the lofty trees on Lebanon and Sirion skip like a calf or a young unicorn, but it rends asunder or cleaves the clouds, and cuts out paths for the flames of fire.’
Kadesh, Psalm 29:8, was in the southern part of Palestine and it was here where the spies entered Palestine, Numbers 13:17 / Numbers 13:26 / Numbers 14:40-45 / Numbers 21:1-3 / Deuteronomy 1:41-46 / Judges 1:7.
In Psalm 29:9, some translations use the words, ‘the voice of the Lord, makes the deer give birth.’ This gives us the idea that the disturbance of the storms causes the deer to prematurely give birth. Perhaps a better reading is, ‘the oaks twist’, especially as this agrees with the next sentence, and ‘strips the forest bare’. As a result of all these things happening, everyone in the temple would just praise God, Psalm 29:9.
David says that the Lord is Master over the storm and reigns as King over His creation, Psalm 29:10 / Psalm 18:7-11 / Psalm 97:2. Because the Lord is King over His creations, He gives His people strength and peace, Psalm 29:11, suggesting that His people have nothing to fear from the storm.
In contrast to the storm that revealed the power of God, His power is able to bring peace to those who trust in Him, Psalm 29:11. The power of God may come as a destructive storm upon creation and upon those who rebel against God, but God’s people can be confident that He will bless them with peace.
This psalm was sung as part of Israel’s worship of God, and David beautifully illustrates how they listened to God’s voice, even in nature. I often wonder if we really listen for God’s voice when we sing songs of praise to Him in worship. Do the words of the songs, move us and put our minds on heavenly things? Ephesians 5:19 / Colossians 3:16.
Sometimes I’ve heard some songs sung as if we were at a funeral service. We sometimes sing slow songs fast and fast songs slow. Songs like ‘Oh happy day’ and one line from that song says, ‘Oh Happy day, when Jesus washed my sins away!’
If I were a visitor coming into our assemblies by the time we’ve finished singing that song, I would be questioning just how happy we were, when we had our sins forgiven!
Another song is ‘Marching to Zion’, it’s supposed to be a marching song, and sometimes we sing this song as if we’re on a beautiful stroll along the beach. What about the song, ‘I surrender all’? Do we really mean it when we sing, ‘All to Jesus I surrender, all to him I freely give’?
What about the song, ‘Count your blessings’, one line from the last stanza says, ‘Count your many blessings, angels will attend.’ Do we really believe that angels will help us in our time of need? Do we even believe angels exist these days?
The list could go on but the point is, if we really believed what we’re singing, we would be more convicted about what we believe. And unless we truly put our hearts into the song and really mean what we’re singing, then we’re just paying lip service to the Lord, Hebrews 13:15.