Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness. Sermons
I. HERE POWER IN VARIED MANIFESTATIONS IS TRACED TO ONE SOURCE. There are five thoughts which are presented cumulatively. 1. Power in nature's works and wonders specially as shown in storm and tempest, lightning and thunder, earthquake and mountain wave. Note: The larger our knowledge of natural science, the more capable shall we be of discoursing with interest, delight, and profit to others on these "wonderful works of God." 2. Power in providential administration. (Ver. 10.) "The Lord sat enthroned at the flood." This word rendered "flood" is the one applied to the Deluge of Noah, and only so applied. Hence it seems to include the specific thought that over and above all merely natural disclosures of power, there is a moral enthronement, whereby natural phenomena are made subservient to moral ends. Not only is every atom kept in harness, but the collocation of atoms is subsidiary to the discipline of souls. 3. There is gracious loving-kindness towards his own people. (Ver. 11.) "His people." There are those in the world marked off from the rest by tokens known to God alone. They are his, having "made a covenant with him by sacrifice" (Psalm 50:5). And with reference to them, there is a grace marvellous in its tenderness. The same Being who can thunder most loudly can also whisper most sweetly, and can also give out blessings to his own. (1) Strength (cf. Isaiah 40:31; 2 Corinthians 12:9; Psalm 27:14). (2) Peace. While the fiercest storm is raging without, God can and does give us peace within; a peace which becomes richer and fuller, till it is exceedingly abundant "above all we can ask or think." It is "the peace of God, passing all understanding" (John 14:27; Philippians 4:6, 7; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:14). 4. He who thus rules in nature, providence, grace, is the everlasting King. (Ver. 10.) "King for ever! 'The sceptre of universal power will never drop from his hands, nor will he ever transfer it to another (Psalm 97:1). The hand that upholds all will never become weary. The eye that watches all will never droop with fatigue. The arms that clasp believers in their embrace will never relax their hold. The voice that whispers, "Peace!" will never be stilled in death. The love that enriches with blessing will never be chilled. "King for ever!" 5. He who is this everlasting King is our redeeming God. The usual term for God as the God of nature is "Elohim" (Genesis 1:1). But here we are reminded that the God who thunders in the heavens and controls the swelling seas; that he who guides the forked lightning, is "Jehovah," the "I am that I am," the Lord who has thus revealed himself to his people as their God. And the great Ruler of nature is he who exercises loving-kindness, righteousness, and judgment in the earth, in order that he that glorieth may glory in the Lord. II. SUCH THOUGHTS OF GOD MAY WELL EVOKE GRATEFUL SONG. They know not how much of gladness and inspiration they lose who cannot see God everywhere. To see law everywhere and God nowhere would be enough to crush us. To see God everywhere working by law inspires rest and joy: our "Father is at the helm." Note: Since we have such disclosures of God, we have: 1. Unity in diversity. The seemingly complicated question of" the origin of force " is settled once for all by the man who sees God. And this privilege is reserved for "the pure in heart" (Matthew 5:8). 2. Since one God is over all, natural phenomena as well as providential incident may be made fuel for the religious life. A thunderstorm may aid worship. 3. Since one Being is the Origin of all kinds of force, prayer for natural blessings and temporal mercies is perfectly reasonable; e.g. prayer for rain. It is quite true that prayer and rain lie in totally distinct spheres. But since the same Being who hears one sends the other, the spheres find their unity at his throne. 4. Since the God who governs all is One whom we know, we may read and sing of glory under all circumstances and everywhere. (Ver. 9.) "In his temple every whir of it uttereth glory; "or, "In his temple every one says, Glory!" Yes; we may triumph everywhere since our God is "King for ever!" 5. Holy awe may well combine with triumph, and loyalty with praise. For God "sits enthroned" - such is the sublime figure suggested here. And "his people" though we are by grace, his absolute sovereignty must never be forgotten by us (ver. 2); ever must we give unto the Lord "the glory due unto his Name," and "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness" - in holy attire, even in the "fine linen which is the righteousness of saints" (Revelation 19:8), "having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water" (Hebrews 10:22). 6. Amid all natural convulsions and national upheavings, let confidence and hope remain undisturbed. "King for ever!" Then, however gloomy the outlook of events, nothing can happen beyond the bounds of Divine control, nothing which he cannot make subservient to the inbringing of his everlasting kingdom. "Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea" (Psalm 46:2). - C.
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Worship meant at first worth-ship, or the condition of being worthy, as friendship is the condition of being friendly. The best worship is not merely to thank God for what He has done for us, but to show ourselves worthy of this. It is very clear that this is the best kind of worship for us; for it results not in mere words, but in character. We are better for our religion, which cannot always be said of the outward kind; and surely it must be more acceptable to God. You would rather have your boy thank you for what you give him, and recognize your kindness, than not. But you would rather even than this have him use what you give him wisely. As between the boy who thanked you very profusely, and even sincerely, and then spent your money in some degrading way, and the boy who took your money carelessly and without a word, but spent it in a way that made you proud of him, you would surely choose the latter. But what is it that makes us worthy? It is "the beauty of holiness." And what is holiness? Here we have another word that has lost its first and best meaning. Our dictionary tells us that "holy" is the same word, essentially, as heal, hale, whale. A man is physically holy when he is healed, or in health, when he is hale, when he is whole. Holiness is wholeness. No man is holy who is not a whole man; and, to be a whole man, he must care for his body as well as for his soul. "What we shall be it doth not yet appear;" but it is very certain that while we are here, the body is part of the man. Holiness is wholeness; and wholeness means a sound body and a sound soul together. But it means more than that: it means sound judgment, common sense. Good people are the salt of the earth. But it is possible to have too much salt in proportion to your porridge. It would be hard to say that anybody is too good; but it is very certain that many a man's goodness would be worth a great deal more if only he had a little practical judgment to direct it. The world needs its dreamers, its men and women of enthusiasm and ideals; but it needs also the calm, steady balance and ballast of the men and women of common sense. There are other things that one needs to be a whole man, as a warm heart and a strong will, without which he does not fulfil the Divine ideal, and so does not render back the worship that God loves. These are enough to show what is meant, so far, by the worship of wholeness. But we have yet to see that mere individual wholeness is not possible unless the individual recognizes larger wholes than himself, of which he is a part. In the first place, in so far as a man is a body, he is a part of the great whole of matter, or the universe. The man who does not realize that he is so far a part of the world cannot be a whole, cannot be holy. The farmer must put his work into line with the material laws of soil and season; the engineer must put his work into line with the laws of steam, and the physician with the laws of the human frame. If either tries to do otherwise, to set up a world of his own invention or imagination, the great universe calmly sweeps over it and him, as the sea sweeps over the child's house of sand on the beach. Let a man in any way separate himself from this great universe, and he suffers. As a man faints when he shuts himself into a room, away from the atmosphere that clothes the world, so he faints if he shut himself into his own life and interests. Just as the value of his land grows, though he may do absolutely nothing to it himself, simply because other people come and settle near him, and make a city about him, so his life grows, though he may not try to cultivate it at all, simply because other people are about him, and with him day by day. There are things that a man can do better in solitude than in society. There are necessities that sometimes drive individuals away from their fellows. There are circumstances that sometimes compel men and women to live destitute of the companionship which makes life rich and deep for others. But, though there may be a gain on one side, there is loss on others. There is about the recluse something less than human. The great currents of thought and emotion that sweep through society and keep hearts and minds fresh, as the breezes keep the air fresh, are lost by the recluse. It is a great mistake for those who are in grief or misfortune to shut themselves away either from the fresh air of nature or the fresh air of human companionship. Health is wholeness with nature and with man. To-day, human sympathies are broadening out with the spread of commerce; and, as it slowly dawns upon us that the good of the world is the good of every nation, so into our hearts comes a thrill of pity and desire to help, when we hear of the suffering of any part of this variegated human race. This is the beauty of holiness that is the best worship. In old days, when the sacrifice was not of the soul, but of the body, it was counted an unworthy thing to bring to the altar of God a bullock that had spot or blemish. To-day, it is not a one-sided any more than a stained manhood that makes a man worthy of the Divine love. It must be a whole man, body, mind, heart, will, and soul, all rounded and complete, at one with the world of nature and the world of man, — that is the acceptable offering.(W. H. Lyon) I. We worship God in the beauty of holiness when worship is characterized by REALITY. We should act with the same propriety, feel as much awe, dread of vulgarity, entering the old meeting house, as into the court and presence of an earthly king. As much? Yea, how much morel II. We worship God in the beauty of holiness when our worship is characterized by RECOLLECTION. Let the soul withdraw its faculties from men and time and affairs, come face to face with God and His righteousness, His truth, and His love. Bring by the process of recollection, as Miss Havergal says, your sins for cleansing, your uninterpretable heart, the cares from which you cannot flee, griefs you cannot utter, the joys of love, and the life you would no longer know as your own. III. We worship God in the beauty of holiness when our worship is characterized by RECEPTIVITY. The open souls are not sent empty away. IV. We worship God in the beauty of holiness when our worship is characterized by RESPONSIVENESS. I mean, carrying the ideals, impressions, determinations of the sanctuary back into the world and allowing them to mould our temper, habits and sentiments in the labours and recreations of life. If worship be true, character shall grow in strength and gentleness, and influences shall stream from us, bearing no tardy fruits, to our fellow-men. (D. B. Williams.) People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Array, Ascribe, Beauty, Bow, Due, Full, Glory, Holiness, Holy, Honour, Robes, Splendor, Splendour, Worship, YourselvesOutline 1. David exhorts princes to give glory to God3. by reason of is power 11. and protection of his people Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 29:2 1065 God, holiness of Library March 25. "The Beauty of Holiness" (Ps. xxix. 2). "The beauty of holiness" (Ps. xxix. 2). Some one remarked once that he did not know more disagreeable people than sanctified Christians. He probably meant people that only profess sanctification. There is an angular, hard, unlovely type of Christian character that is not true holiness; at least, not the highest type of it. It is the skeleton without the flesh covering; it is the naked rock without the vines and foliage that cushion its rugged sides. Jesus was not only virtuous and pure, but He was … Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth Note C. The Holiness of God. The Majestic Voice A Song of the Temple Of Meditation Upon the Hidden Judgments of God, that we May not be Lifted up Because of Our Well-Doing Appendix xvi. On the Jewish views About Demons' and the Demonised,' Together with Some Notes on the Intercourse Between Jews and Jewish Christians in the First Centuries. How the Preacher, when He Has Accomplished all Aright, Should Return to Himself, Lest Either his Life or his Preaching Lift Him Up. Period ii. The Church from the Permanent Division of the Empire Until the Collapse of the Western Empire and the First Schism Between the East and the West, or Until About A. D. 500 The History Books Exegetic. Man's Chief End The Acceptable Sacrifice; Peace Among the People, and with the Pharisees Psalms Links Psalm 29:2 NIVPsalm 29:2 NLT Psalm 29:2 ESV Psalm 29:2 NASB Psalm 29:2 KJV Psalm 29:2 Bible Apps Psalm 29:2 Parallel Psalm 29:2 Biblia Paralela Psalm 29:2 Chinese Bible Psalm 29:2 French Bible Psalm 29:2 German Bible Psalm 29:2 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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