Daily Devotion – January 6, 2022 – Dr. Pat Taylor Ellison
Psalm 29
29:1 Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
29:2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name; worship the LORD in holy splendor.
29:3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over mighty waters.
29:4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
29:5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
29:6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
29:7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
29:8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
29:9 The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
29:10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
29:11 May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!
Last week’s Gospel text from John 1, the text about the Word of God becoming flesh, is echoed this week in Psalm 29. It is all about the voice of the all-powerful Lord.
In this psalm the Lord is breaking trees with his voice. The Lord is making countries skip like young animals. The Lord is flashing forth flames and shaking the wilderness and making something like tornadoes and ruling over floods.
But go back to the first couple of verses. Is this depiction of the Lord speaking meant to stir fear in our hearts? Not exactly. It’s about glory, strength, and holy splendor and even majesty.
And then look at the ending: May the Lord, this God of power and strength, give strength to his people and bless them with peace.
We are to acknowledge that God is the God of all Creation, bigger and stronger than any creature. We are to respect this God of Creation. And be in relationship to this powerful king of the universe. Because this powerful God of Creation wants to bless us the way we would bless our own children.
Big and mighty things will happen, things that will make us afraid, the way we are in a storm or a forest fire or an earthquake or a flood. But God is bigger than all of those things, and we belong to God, no matter what and no matter when. We can take our own strength from knowing that God loves us and will always love us, even when we are sinning or afraid or even dying. God will be loving us always.
Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Help us to be remember that you are the all powerful God, Creator of the Universe, AND that you love us like your children, even when we are naughty. Thank you so much for being our God.  Amen.
