Reflections
Psalm 29: 1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 (Read)
“The God of glory thunders.”
The Psalm is about the splendor and the
power of God. “Give to the Lord the glory
due God’s name. Bow down before the
Lord’s holy splendor.” The Psalm speaks
of the voice of the Lord “thundering” over
the waters. “The voice of the Lord is
power; the voice of the Lord is splendor.”
God's awesome voice was heard over the
Jordan River that day when the heavens
were torn open and the Holy Spirit descended
upon Jesus just as He was being baptized.
What could be more powerful than the voice
of God declaring, “This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased.” (Gospel, Luke 3:22)
What happened at the Jordan River that day
was to fulfill what God said to the prophet Isaiah –
“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen
one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have
put my spirit.” (Isaiah 42:1)
The baptism of our Lord may have happened
over 2000 years ago, but on that day God
anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power,
the power to serve the faithful (people like us),
and to do battle on our behalf with the
devil. (Acts 10:38)
From that time forward we too became eligible
to serve the Lord as His chosen ones. Isaiah
tells us what our spiritual mission is to be:
like Jesus, we are to be a light to the nations,
and open the eyes of the blind (those who do
not know the Lord). (Isaiah 42:6-7)
And imitating Jesus, we are to bring out
prisoners from confinement (those who may
be imprisoned by sin). What better way
would there be for us to serve the Lord?
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The Psalm's verses speak of the power and splendor of the voice
of the Lord, thundering over the waters. Have you heard God's powerful
voice speaking to you, anointing you as one of His chosen ones? Explain.
2. Our psalmist encourages us to give God the glory due His holy name.
Tell of how you give God the glory in your activities and your everyday life.
This psalm demonstrates clearly the unique power of the LORD, as the only true God, over all of the forces of nature. The forces of nature do not have a will of their own, they operate only under the authority of the living and true God. The setting of the psalm seems to be a powerful thunderstorm — instead of being the power of a ‘god,’ the thunder (v 3), wind (vv 5–6), lightning (v 7) and earthquake (v 8) are simply the ‘voice’ of God.
ReplyDeleteEven today the ‘gods’ that people give their lives to — money, sex, power, recreation, unrestrained freedom — are simply lifeless things. God provides or takes away these things according to his sovereign purposes. God is more powerful than anything else we can seek to fill our lives with.
In the Word of God, a complete picture of God’s nature is revealed. With power is grace, with judgment is love, and with the penalty for sin is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Only the Bible can reveal the love, grace, compassion, and Plan of God. Oh yes! What a joy to be able to echo Paul’s words, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift”.
The psalmist David says, “ The God of glory thunders.”
ReplyDeleteIt means the voice of the Lord is powerful and majestic because the Lord gives strength to his people and blesses his people with peace. And God reveals his great power in nature. He thunders over the waters and breaks the tall, giant trees like the cedars. Let’s give to the Lord and worship in the splendor of his holiness. His voice is like thunder.
Even though I haven’t heard God’s powerful voice speaking to me yet, but through the prophet Isaiah and when Jesus was baptized, we all have heard the voice of God from heaven saying, "This is my chosen one with whom I am pleased and upon whom I have put my spirit.”
On that day God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and power. And so accordingly I also am anointed in Jesus’ spirit upon my baptism. Since God raised Jesus from the dead, that power can be available to me. I also became eligible as God’s chosen one. He strengthens me and helps me with my daily problems.
Even though I feel weak, limited, and having despair, I can experience his resurrected power and strength through His Spirit.
By imitating Jesus’ character, his humbleness, love, patience, goodness, kindness and endurance, and by helping the poor, lowly and needy, by doing charitable works, I too can be anointed, chosen, and a light to people around me. That is my privilege as one of his chosen ones. In this way I give the glory and praise to God due his name.